Nuts! Walnuts, hazelnuts, or perhaps the slightly more exotic—but wonderfully Dutch—okernoot (that’s a walnut, my friend!). The Netherlands might be famous for tulips, but come late summer and autumn, a different kind of treasure appears in the branches of farm orchards. Forget the bagged, shelled versions from the supermarket—here, you get to be a squirrel for an afternoon.
Picking ’em: The Great Nut Heist
Grab a basket, a pair of gardening gloves (those green husks can be stubborn and leave your fingers looking like a woodworker’s), and a sense of adventure. Most farms let you wander between rows of towering trees. Look for the nuts that have already tumbled to the ground—that means they’re ripe and ready. A gentle shake of a branch is allowed, but the fallen ones are nature’s freebies. It’s a perfect low-effort outing: you’re chatting, squinting at the grass for that perfect round shape, and racing the kids to see who can find the biggest one. The crunch of leaves underfoot and the smell of damp earth? That’s your side dish.
Back Home: Shell, Toast, and Dominate
First, you need to get them out of their party clothes (the green husk). Wear gloves! Then, spread them out in a single layer in a dry, airy spot for a week or two to cure. Or, cheat: roast them in the shell at 180°C for 10 minutes. This dries them and makes cracking them open feel like a victory, not a workout. Now, what to do with your haul?
🍶 COCKTAIL RECIPE: The Gentle Nutcracker
Perfect for a crisp evening fire. This one uses walnuts (or hazelnuts).
- Ingredients: 60 ml bourbon or rye whiskey, 30 ml walnut/hazelnut liqueur (like Nocino or Frangelico), a dash of orange bitters, 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, a sprig of rosemary.
- Method: In a shaker with ice, combine all liquid ingredients. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a lowball glass over one large ice cube. Garnish with a light sprig of rosemary for that forest-y fragrance. Cheers to the harvest.
🍝 MAIN COURSE RECIPE 1: Creamy Walnut Pesto Pasta
Skip the pine nuts. Walnuts are the boss here.
- Ingredients: 200g pasta (orecchiette or linguine), 100g shelled walnuts, 2 cloves garlic, 50g Parmesan (grated), a large handful of fresh basil, juice of ½ lemon, 100ml olive oil, salt & pepper.
- Method: Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3 minutes until fragrant. In a food processor, blitz the toasted walnuts, garlic, basil, and Parmesan until crumbly. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until it becomes a chunky paste. Squeeze the lemon in, season. Cook the pasta, reserve a cup of pasta water. Toss the pasta with the pesto, adding pasta water a splash at a time until creamy. Serve with extra Parmesan.
🍰 DESSERT RECIPE 2: Dutch Hazelnut Speculaas Biscuits
Because nuts love spiced cookies.
- Ingredients: 200g flour, 100g ground hazelnuts, 125g butter (cold, cubed), 100g brown sugar, 1 egg, 2 tsp speculaas spice mix (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom), a pinch of salt, whole hazelnuts to decorate.
- Method: Mix flour, ground hazelnuts, sugar, spices, and salt. Rub in the cold butter until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and form a dough. Roll to 5mm thick, cut into shapes (windmills or circles). Press a whole hazelnut into the center of each. Bake at 175°C for 12-15 minutes until golden. Your house will smell like a Dutch Christmas market.