Hot Roasted Almonds

If you want to impress your guests without having to do much at all, make these. Seriously. They’re healthy, super yummy and ridiculously easy. Sometimes I even skip the flavored oil and just drizzle on a bit of olive oil and good salt as they come out of the oven, and they’re still a hit.

Change up the herbs (rosemary is delicious!) or leave them out altogether, add shallots instead of garlic, sprinkle on some dried red pepper flakes…there’s no end to the flavor combinations you’ll come up with!

The key is to have your oil and seasoning ready, and the nuts on the baking pan. Have the oven hot and pop them in just as the first guests arrive. (I set the alarm on my cell phone and keep it in my pocket so I don’t get distracted welcoming friends and miss the buzzer and burn the nuts. So far it’s worked great! ) They’ll be ready in minutes and gone is just about as many!

Ingredients:

2 cups raw almonds
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
salt (I like flaky Maldon salt or pink Himalayan salt)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Place the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet.

Heat the olive oil, garlic and thyme in a small saucepan over low heat. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes to flavor the oil. As soon as garlic begins to show a little brown, turn the heat off.

Remove from heat and reserve.

When your guests arrive, place the nuts into the oven. Roast for about 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove garlic and thyme from the oil.

When the timer buzzes, remove the nuts from the oven, drizzle the oil over and toss to coat all nuts uniformly. Sprinkle generously with salt, then transfer them to a serving bowl. Serve while still hot.