[Sca-cooks] Another ME question

[Susan Fox]

On 10/26/05 2:27 PM, "cldyroz at aol.com" <cldyroz at aol.com> wrote:

> Good afternoon! 
> Gee, can you tell I am new at this, or what?
> 
> Anyway, here is today's question;
> 
> In preparing Hais, it calls for ground pastachios. All I can find are the
> roasted and salted kind. the Almonds in the recipe are raw, so I would think
> the pastachios should be, as well.
> I am also having serious issues over the price ($10 a lb). This is a nut we do
> not like, and if I buy what is available on the market, (which is by one pound
> packaging) there is a lot of waste happening.

Roasted pistachios would work well enough, you can always shell them and
rinse them a bit to rid them of skin and salt and allow to dry on a towel.
However if you don't like them, don't use them!
 
> Walnuts, I do have on hand, in plenty, and they are more or less free
> (i.e.-already paid for, 'left-overs' from a mundane project).
> 
> Would walnuts work in Hais?
>

I do not see why they would not work.  You might want to handle them a
little more gently since they crush more easily than almonds or pistachios.
I would rub the whole nutmeats a bit to rid them of loose skin, which is the
part that many people [myself included] cause a bit of sensitivity in the
mouth.  Then chop finely and continue with the rest of the recipe as
written.

Desert peoples are practical folk, if you have walnuts, use walnuts!

Selene