Believe it or not, we had snow here in Athens over the holiday season – very different weather from last year. White covered our bitter oranges. The snow only lasted for a short time before the rain washed it away. A good thing, too, as it is almost marmalade season. However, snow is not the white I am referring to in my title.
Nor am I referring to the ubiquitous white powdered sugar coated almond biscuits – kourabiedes – of the Greek holiday season. I am not sure you can eat one of these treats without a subsequent white dusting on your clothing. It is rather surreal, when out and about this time of year, seeing people decorated with white powdered sugar.
The white I am referring to in my title is egg whites. My kitchen was awash in leftover egg whites stashed in the freezer from curd, custard, and ice cream making.
I have always known that holiday feasts and creative leftover recipes go hand in hand, a kind of a ying and yang relationship. One encourages abundance, the other frugality. It is also helpful to think of leftovers as les delicieux petites restes (‘delicious small remains’) as mentioned by Diane Henry in her fabulous book on leftovers, Food from Plenty.
However, this year, even before our holiday feasts, I had to deal with a substantial supply of leftover egg whites. In fact, some even went into treats that featured in those holiday feasts.
The ‘cheat’ florentines I blogged about last year used up a few egg whites, but not hardly enough.
Quite a few of those egg white frozen packets were used to whip up numerous batches of walnut meringes, a modification of my chocolate chip macaroons (replacing the chocolate chips with more walnuts and adjusting the sugar to half white and half brown). I made so many and although giving many away, it seemed the pile of these sweets would never diminish. Finally, just before the new year, the last of these were used in a winter version of Eton mess. The crumbled walnut meringues and baked cinnamon flavoured apple slices were folded into a hefty dollop or two of whipped cream.
Last, but not least…
Sweet & Spicy Roast Pecans
Great nibbles for cocktail hour or for a party.
- 1 egg white
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 400g pecan halves
- 100g sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 90 degrees C (about 200 degrees F). Lightly whisk the egg white and water together in a large bowl. Add the walnuts, sugar, spices and salt. Mix until the nuts are covered. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until the nuts are slightly sticky, but dry. Remove the tray from the oven and let them cool on the tray. Pick them off the paper and separate any clumps.
* * *
After those sweet (and, in one instance, sweet and spicy) indulgences, it was time for a little healthy moderation. Just recently my sister reminded me that egg whites are high in protein, very low in calories and, of course, cholesterol free. Subsequently, they are said to be excellent for making nutritious savoury dishes that might also incorporate other leftovers.
Egg white soufflé was the first to be tried. I had some leftover smoked trout spread from our New Year feast – a good choice for a flavour addition. However, the texture of the soufflé was a bit chewy. I should have remembered that egg whites are ‘tougheners’ and ‘driers’ and need to be offset with tenderising and moisturising ingredients such as fats and emulsifiers.
Other egg white savoury choices include omelettes, crepes and quiches. I’ll have to try for a texture balance next time I experiment. The quiche sounds like a good choice.
Meanwhile, let me wish everyone a Happy New Year. We have adopted a few Greek New Year practices and, as we did last year, we cut the Vasilopita then smashed a pomegranate on the doorstep and put up a new γούρι-γούρι charm for 2017 in the kitchen. Ten little matia (evil eyes) on the tree of life should keep us protected throughout the year!
Happy New Year, Debi.
How fun to get a bit of snow in Athens around the holidays. I’m drooling over your tasty treats, especially the florentines. Our favorite bakery in Athens went out of business a year or so ago and one of their specialties was florentines. We always brought several boxes home with us every trip to Athens. All the best in the new year!
Donna
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Hi Donna – a lot more snow today! We had a great holiday and I hope yours was equally wonderful. Those florentines are a doddle to make. I call them cheat florentines because they are a quick and easy version of the real thing. You can find the recipe by clicking on my link. Χρόνια Πολλά!
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Hi Debi, We had a nice holiday. No snow here. Thx for the recipe. I will check it out. Chronia polla!
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Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing your tasty treats from your white kitchen. Those pecans, if any leftovers, would make a great ice cream I think.
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Happy New Year to you, too – or Χρόνια Πολλά as they say here. I love pecans, but they cost a fortune here as they are an imported treat. So, only for special occasions! I’m sure these candied treats would be fantastic in an ice cream (a butterscotch one?). Will wait for another special occasion to try. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Happy 2017 Debi. That pecan recipe is definitely a keeper, shame it doesn’t need more egg whites though…
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Happy New Year, Sandra! Well, will just need to make more spiced and candied nuts (cheaper walnuts this time, but I sure do love pecans). We made a dent in the egg white stash, but more to go plus we have ice cream making planned for a big event in another month, so more egg whites on the way. Really need to improve my sorbet making since no eggs involved. Your strawberry sorbet recipe is waiting in my inbox!
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Kali Kronia! Happy New Year, Debi! May 2017 bring many new
culinary adventures.
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Χρόνια Πολλά!!! Wishing all the best from a snowy, winter wonderland of Athens.
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What delectable goodies!!!
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Happy New Year! Thankfully the lore of those goodies is now in the past! Resolutions for a reduced sugar intake might hold for a month or two.
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I love those evil eyes Deb- and hoping they do their job, keeping your protected, healthy and happy this new year. Buon Anno, Francesca
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Happy New Year, Francesca. Head finally back in the ‘normal’ post-holiday groove. Fell in love with the little eyes. Am thinking of making a matia collection – Greek voodoo, as one friend calls it.
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Happy New Year KW! You did a great job of using those egg whites and how cool are the evil eyes?
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Happy New Year, Lisa!!! Hope you, SY and Kid 1&2 are whole, hale and happy in 2017. More of those egg whites to go, so I hope I find an acceptable and healthy way to use them up! The evil eyes are great!
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Love seeing the snow covered oranges 🙂
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[…] some of the meringue based sweets I explored last year – “cheat” florentines and walnut macaroons. Plus, there is a whole host of similar recipes from ladyredspecks, listed on her blog, Please Pass […]
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