Walnuts are in season now, ready for chicken and dessert dishes

We call them English walnuts. The English call them Persian walnuts. I wonder what the Persians call them.

Whatever they’re called, these thin-shelled walnuts are in season right now and through the holidays. They give almonds a run for their money as the most indispensable nut in the pantry. Crushed, they’re part of crusty coatings, spooned over ice cream, used as flocking on iced cakes and essential in salads. They can be companions to meats, fish and vegetables.

They have a mild flavor that seldom interferes with other flavors in a dish, which makes them so versatile. Toasted, they increase in flavor but not greatly. Candied, they become wonderful with tossed greens and in desserts. And walnut oil is a superior oil for salads — and for oil painters: Michaelangelo used it to thin his paints when working on the Sistine Chapel.

English walnut trees are cold-tender, which makes them right at home here in Sonoma County. Most walnuts grown in the United States are grown in California, especially in the Central Valley.

There once was a large walnut production in Napa and Sonoma counties during Prohibition, but with the return of legal wine, our region eventually replaced most of our walnut acres with wine grapes. Still, it’s not hard to find walnut trees planted along roadsides and in a few surviving groves here and there. You can tell an English walnut tree by the orange sap that runs in the spring, and by the obvious graft where the walnuts were grafted onto drought resistant rootstock.

Until recently, organic walnut production was held back by the walnut husk fly, which could totally destroy a walnut crop. Agricultural researchers have come up with a method of spraying walnut trees with kaolin — a natural clay — that turns trees white, prevents the husk fly from penetrating the nuts, prevents sunscald and scatters enough light onto the leaves to hasten ripening. This has allowed an organic walnut supply to develop, giving farmers the chance to increase their income by 50% over conventional walnuts.

That’s good for us, because English walnuts are one of the few plant sources of health-promoting omega-3 fatty acids — about 3 grams in a handful of walnuts. That compares to less than a half a gram in other tree nuts. Walnuts also contain good amounts of vitamin E, thiamine, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, copper and zinc.

Like any oil-rich seed or nut, walnuts can spoil if not stored properly. If you detect a paintlike odor from your walnuts, they have turned rancid and should be discarded. In fact, walnuts have more oil than most nuts. About 70 percent of their weight is oil. So store the shelled nuts in the fridge or freezer so the oil is protected. Place them in an airtight bag, especially in the fridge, as they can absorb odors from fish, citrus and other foods. Unshelled walnuts will stay fresh from their fall harvest until late winter or early spring if kept in a cool, dry place.

As for versatility, use walnuts on top of breakfast cereals, tossed into salads or on pastas, in risottos, sprinkled into stir-fries, as a healthy between-meal snack, chopped and applied to a frosted cake or muffin, used on pastries, added to waffles and pancakes, crushed to coat fried fish and added to bread doughs to make walnut breads. When chopping walnuts in a blender or food processor, don’t overdo it, because the oil in the walnuts will soon reduce the nuts to a paste.

The 2021 crop is in stores now, but if you want organic walnuts and can’t find them in stores, they are available online at Ferrari Farms in Linden (ferrarifarms.com/organic-walnuts) and Gibson Farms in Hollister (gibsonfarmsinc.com/store.php).

Candied walnuts are best when they have a little spicy heat to them, which this recipe provides. They go great in salads.

Spicy Candied Walnuts

Makes 1 cup

1 cup walnut halves

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

⅛ teaspoon sea salt

Place a large skillet over medium heat and when it’s hot, add all the ingredients.

Shake the skillet and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts and the ingredients are blended.

Pour the mixture onto a greased cookie sheet and set aside to cool. When the mixture is cooled completely, store in a tightly covered jar until needed.

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There are so many ways to use walnuts, but this way is particularly tasty.

Curried Walnut Chicken

Makes 6 servings

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 14.5-ounce can organic chicken broth

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon curry powder

Vegetable oil, enough to coat pan

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 small red bell pepper, de-stemmed, seeded and cut into thin strips

4 green onions, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces

Sea salt, to taste

3 cups hot, cooked, long-grain basmati rice

Heat walnuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat for 1 - 2 minutes until nuts are slightly toasted. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, cornstarch and curry powder. Set aside.

Coat a 12-inch skillet with vegetable oil and set over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute, stirring occasionally, until chicken is seared and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrots, bell pepper and green onions. Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes.

Stir in the curry mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, chicken is cooked throughout and vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.

Place rice in a serving bowl and top with the chicken curry mixture. Garnish with the chopped walnuts.

Jeff Cox is a Kenwood-based food and garden writer. Reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.