History
The Macadamia Nut is native to Australia and have been used by First Nations Australians for thousands of years as food, liniment, body paint, and trading.
When European settlers arrived in the 1860’s they too discovered the fine qualities of the nut growing on the NSW and Qld coast. So much so that farming slowly began in the 1870’s near Lismore. However seeds were also transported to Hawaii where they thrived in the conditions leading to commercial production starting there in 1921 and at one stage Hawaii produced about 90% of the world's Macadamia Nut supply.
Commercial macadamia production began in Australia in the 1960’s and has since developed into a thriving industry, with macadamias grown along a considerable stretch of the east coast.
Nutrition
Around 80% of the total fat in macadamia nuts is monounsaturated fat which is more than all other tree nuts. They contain no cholesterol and no trans-fatty acids.
They are rich sources of Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, and Phosphorus, and contain high levels of Zinc, Copper, and Selenium.
They’re also packed with vitamins including Thiamine (B1) Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), and Folate (B9) and are high in energy.
Macadamia Milk
Macadamia milk is one of the recent additions to the plant-based milk options. It’s versatile and can be used as an everyday, dairy-free alternative to cow's milk. It has a creamy texture with a rich buttery flavour.
It can be used in cooking, hot beverages, smoothies, or to simply pour over cereal or muesli. It can even make an interesting cocktail. It goes really well with flavours such as chocolate and orange. It’s also a good source of mono-unsaturated fat and omega-7 fatty acids.
Other Uses
Macadamia oil is commonly used to nourish and moisturise the skin and to help smooth and repair dry hair. It has also been found beneficial in treating stretch marks, prevent drying and cracking skin, and reduce scarring.
Culinary Uses
Macadamia nuts are common and easily sourced. They can be purchased raw or roasted in the forms of whole, crushed, or meal.
There are endless ways of enjoying this superb nut. They add a subtle and welcoming flavour to either sweet or savoury dishes and they’re also useful for adding texture or volume.
They’re simply quite nice just roasted in the oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown and eaten by themselves. They match well with orange, chocolate, and caramel flavours and are a great addition to cake mixes, cookies, stuffing’s, and bread dough. They can confidently be used in place of most other nuts in most dishes. They match well with fish and chicken and are great thrown into salads and stir-fry’s for added crunch.
ORANGE AND MACADAMIA NUT CRUSTED BARRAMUNDI FILLET
The combination of macadamia nuts and oranges are an old favourite. This crust adds a fresh, sweet, nutty dimension to the fish and is complimented well with the extra moisture and tartness of the lemon butter sauce.
4 x Barramundi fillets (approx 200g each)
½ cup crushed macadamia nuts
¼ cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Rind of 1 orange, finely grated
Juice from half the orange
2 Tablespoon melted butter
1. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC
2. Skin and clean the Barramundi fillets and place onto a lined baking tray.
3. Keeping the butter and orange juice to the side, toss the remaining ingredients (nuts, crumbs, parsley, rind, and salt) together in a bowl.
4. Then add the butter and juice and mix well to combine. The mix shouldn’t be too wet but able to hold together when pressed.
5. Press firmly onto the fish and mould into a generous covering.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until crust has browned and dried slightly.
7. Serve with the Lemon Butter Sauce and your favourite side dish. Whether it’s a salad, fries, or whatever you like.
Lemon Butter Sauce
¼ cup white wine
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup cream
150g butter, diced
1. Place wine, lemon juice and cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Reduce to a slow simmer and cook until liquid has reduced to half of its original volume.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter until well combined.
4. Sit in a warm area away from direct heat until ready to use.
MACADAMIA NUT, WHITE CHOCOLATE AND MALIBU CAKE
200g butter
1 ½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup (200g) white chocolate buds
1 cup (150g) chopped roasted macadamia nuts
1 ¾ cups SR flour
1 cup milk
1. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC, or 160ºC for fan-forced ovens.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light.
3. Add eggs one at a time beating well then add white chocolate and macadamia nuts.
4. Fold in the flour and milk to make a smooth batter.
5. Pour mixture into a 25cm lined and greased cake tin and bake for approximately 1 hour.
6. It can be tested by inserting a wooden skewer into the cake and then pulling it back out. If it comes out clean then it’s cooked. If it has cake batter stuck to it then it needs longer.
7. Cool on a wire cake rack.
Malibu Ganache
A general guideline for making ganache is 1 part cream to 3 parts chocolate.
1 cup white chocolate
¼ cup cream
2 shots (60ml) of Malibu
1. Bring the cream and Malibu to the boil in a saucepan.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until fully combined.
3. Let it sit to cool down and thicken a little otherwise it’ll run straight off the edge. Spread over the cake before it sets too hard and can still be poured.
4. Garnish with some melted white chocolate drizzled over the top and some crushed macadamia nuts.
GRILLED LAMB WITH MACADAMIA INFUSED SWEET POTATO MASH, WILTED WILD ROCKET, SMOKED PEAR AND A BLUE CHEESE SAUCE
Sweet Potato and Macadamia Nut Mash
500g sweet potato
250g potato
1 Tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper
100g macadamia nuts
1. Bring two separate pots of salted water to the boil. Peel and roughly chop potatoes and place into one and then peel and roughly chop the sweet potatoes and place into the other. Cook for 15-20 minutes until they show little resistance when poked with a small knife. The sweet potato will usually cook a little faster than the regular potato.
2. Roast the macadamia nuts in the oven for about 5 minutes until golden brown then roughly chop.
3. Mash both potatoes together, add butter and salt and pepper to taste, then add macadamia nuts.
MACADAMIA NUT DUKKAH
The Macadamia Nuts add a sweetness and richness to this traditional Egyptian spice blend. It’s great to use alongside bread and olive oil, or as a seasoning for meats.
1 cup chopped Macadamia Nuts
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
3 Tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon of good sea salt flakes
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
2. Roast Macadamia Nuts for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Stir occasionally to assist in even cooking. Allow to cool then process in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. Cook the sesame seeds in a dry frypan for 1-2 minutes tossing regularly until golden brown. Add to the bowl with Macadamia Nuts.
4. Separately cook the coriander, mustard, cumin, and fennel seeds in a dry frypan for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Crush up the seeds using a mortar and pestle, or in the food processor, then add to the mixing bowl along with the salt flakes.
5. Mix well and allow to cool to room temperature then store in an air-tight container.
NOTE: Do not allow anything to go black when roasting/toasting. This will make the mix very bitter and unpleasant.
MACADAMIA NUT OIL
The oil will take on the flavour of the nut magnificently and can be a great addition to a salad, used as a marinade base, drizzled over cooked meat, used in dressings, or whatever you like.
200g of macadamia nuts
1 litre of extra virgin olive oil
1. Roast macadamia nuts about 5 minutes until golden brown. Roughly crush.
2. Add to the olive oil and slowly heat in a saucepan to approximately 60ºC.
3. Blend in a food processor and let sit until it has cooled down. Strain through a fine sieve.
SPICED MACADAMIA QUAIL EGGS
See our post on Cooking Quail Eggs and Quail
for the Spiced Macadamia Quail Eggs recipe.
References
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