Walnuts -- the best of fall in a nutshell, with 12 recipes

There are so many fruits and vegetables to look forward to in the fall -- apples, pears, quince -- but one of my absolute favorite things is also one that most people just take for granted. Fresh-crop walnuts.

Right off the tree, dried only briefly, their texture is creamy and their flavor is sweet and subtle. Best of all, there’s so many ways to use them.

There’s baklava, of course, and all kinds of combinations with chocolate -- that’s a natural pairing if ever there was one. Cakes, tarts, cookies -- they’re all better with walnuts.

And there are savory uses as well -- toasted and scattered across a winter squash risotto or a salad with grilled romaine. There’s even one recipe for pounding them into a pesto that is served atop grilled sardines and fennel. Now that’s versatility.

One of my favorite ways to use walnuts, though, requires no recipe at all. Here’s what you do: Set out a platter of ripe cheeses, a little bit of fruit (pears, apples, dried apricots) and a bowl of early crop walnuts in their shell. When walnuts are that young, you can crack them by squeezing them in your hand.

A bite of cheese, a bit of fruit, a fragment of walnut you’ve picked out of the shells. And, of course, a good red wine. There’s no better way to end a fall dinner.

How to choose: Walnuts that are already shelled are convenient, but be aware that they do go rancid fairly quickly. Choose nutmeats that are plump and pale; avoid any that are shriveled or discolored. For whole nuts, avoid any where the shell shows signs of mold.

How to store: Whole nuts can be stored at room temperature for several weeks. Shelled nuts must be refrigerated immediately. Even better: Freeze them in a tightly sealed bag and they’ll last up to a year.

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