I like salt and crunch. I really like potato chips. More than most. More than many.
I have to find creative ways to satiate my salt-tooth (like a sweet-tooth but different), and that means making my own gobble-able snack.
These salty tamari and maple roasted almonds are all the spicy, salt, sweet, and crunch I need. They’re not potato chips but… well, not even close but dang good, healthy and satisfying.
Did I mention that I really like potato chips? Just checking…
Simple things to start. Raw almonds, tamari which is a gluten-free soy sauce, pure maple syrup (the good stuff is preferred), and a good squeeze of sriracha pepper sauce for spice.
Salt and pepper, too. Always with those.
The tamari, maple, sriracha, and a dash of salt and pepper are stirred together in a small bowl. I also added a splash of olive oil because a little extra good fat never hurt anyone (probably not true, but still).
The almonds are roasted in the oven dry… just the almonds and the pan. This will help ensure that they’re crunchy and full of intense almond flavor when they come out of the oven the second time. Building layers of flavor like it’s our job.
Warm roasted almonds are stirred and covered in the sweet and spicy tamari sauce.
Double roasted, extra salty from tamari and sea salt, and extra spicy from sriracha and black pepper. Sweet, too… because I like a little sweet with my salt.
All of these flavorful nuts to cool before eating for maximum crunch and minimum mouth burns. These are things I learned the hard way.