It’s Walnut Season--Get Cracking!

Earlier this autumn, in the season of the walnut harvest, I walked from my house down the hill to gather a few walnuts from a neighbor’s tree. The silvery-white branches of the big, shady tree were heavy with nuts, and the grass was littered with walnuts that had fallen to the ground. I filled my hands with walnuts and breathed in their rich, warm perfume.

Once home, I peeled away the hulls of the nuts, removed the fine netting of black filaments on the hard shell and cracked open the walnuts. The meat, covered with a tender golden-brown skin, was delicious--ivory-colored, moist and crisp, the flavor light and fresh, with a mellow, pleasingly tannic aftertaste. It was my first taste of the new walnuts of this season.

Walnuts were once one of Southern California’s leading food products. Development--the blight of tract homes and shopping centers that has changed the landscape of Southern California from agricultural to suburban sprawl--has resulted in the loss of local walnut trees. Still, California produces 98% of the nation’s walnut crop, most of it cultivated in the San Joaquin Valley in Central California.

The black walnut, which is a native North American walnut, is not used commercially because of its thick, hard shell. But since it is very hardy and grows well here, different varieties of English walnut are grafted to black walnut root stock to create nuts with characteristics desirable for commercial production. Of the many varieties of English walnuts grown in California, there are four that predominate: Hartley, Payne, Eureka and Franquette. Some are cultivated to be sold in the shell, whereas others are cultivated for the nut meats.

Walnut trees start to leaf in early spring, and that is when the first little green nuts begin to appear. As the walnuts mature, the tender green hull covering the nut darkens to deep brown, then dries and breaks apart to reveal the hard, tan shell within. Depending on the variety, walnuts are ready for harvesting from mid-September to early November. Farmers harvest the nuts by shaking the limbs of the trees until the walnuts fall to the ground, then are gathered immediately before they are discovered by discerning insects.

The walnut is an extremely versatile nut, not only used in desserts and sweet breads but added to dressings, sauces, salads and meat, fish and vegetable dishes. In France, very tender walnuts, picked when the hulls are still green and before the walnuts have fully matured, are marinated in freshly pressed white grape juice, shallots and salt and pepper, to be served as an hors d’oeuvre.

In Italy, a wonderful liqueur is made from walnuts that captures the essence of the nut’s deep, rich taste. I remember tasting this liqueur in an Italian hill town on a chilly, fog-shrouded night. The liqueur perfectly reflected the surrounding landscape, which was heavily wooded and hauntingly beautiful.

Freshly pressed walnut oil imparts the walnut’s rich, resinous taste to foods; a few drops added to a simple dressing is especially effective in fall salads. Walnuts can be candied, packed in honey, pickled and used in sweetmeats.

My mother told me about still another use. During World War II, when all the shops and beauty salons in her hometown of Palermo were closed, her grandmother, a refined and formidable businesswoman, would boil the green hulls of unripe walnuts and use the black dye extracted from the skin to tint her hair.

I always feel that new-crop foods should be enjoyed at their simplest and most direct--unadorned and unencumbered, and as close to the natural state as possible--since this is when they have the most to say to us.

I suggest that you try new-crop walnuts accompanied only by good country bread and perhaps a small glass of red wine. Or spread a slice of whole grain-bread with sweet butter and top it with walnuts.

Starting from this point of simplicity, you can begin to incorporate walnuts into other cool-weather dishes. Just make sure that the walnuts you use are fresh. To insure freshness, buy walnuts from a reputable source, such as a nut shop or a grocer who carries high-quality produce.

Walnuts and walnut oil are unstable and can easily tend toward rancidity, and nothing is quite so unpleasant as an old walnut. To maintain the freshness of walnuts in their shells, keep them in a cool, dry environment. Walnut meats should be stored in an airtight container and kept refrigerated. Walnut oil is highly unstable and turns rancid easily; once opened, it must be kept refrigerated.

This requires good, rustic bread. I use a five-grain bread made in the European style. Grill the bread, rub it with a cut clove of garlic, then spread with goat cheese. Walnuts fresh from the trees are the topping, along with a grinding of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

GRILLED BREAD WITH WALNUTS AND GOAT CHEESE

1 thick slice country bread

1 clove garlic, cut in half

1 ounce fresh goat cheese, at room temperature

Meat of 2 freshly cracked walnuts, very coarsely chopped

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil

Grill bread on both sides. Lightly rub 1 side with cut clove of garlic. Spread goat cheese over top. Sprinkle with walnuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle with few drops olive oil. Makes 1 serving.

Golden beets have dramatically colored flesh and possess all the sweetness of red beets. Here, the flavor and color are set off by rich-tasting walnuts and the clean, herbal tang of pale green celery leaves. Baking the beets concentrates their sweetness.

GOLDEN BEETS WITH WALNUTS

1 bunch small to medium golden beets of uniform size

2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Few drops balsamic vinegar

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup very coarsely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons very coarsely chopped celery leaves

Trim beets of all but 1 inch stem. Wrap tightly in foil. Bake at 400 degrees about 1 hour, or until beets are tender but firm. Test with wooden skewer. Remove beets from foil. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut beets into wedges.

Place beets on platter and add olive oil, balsamic vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss. Sprinkle with walnuts and celery leaves. Toss again and serve. Makes 4 servings.

The mellow flavor of walnuts, roasted in their shells and served hot from the oven, is perfectly complemented by just-picked organic apples--cool, crisp and sweet. There should be a handful of walnuts and two or three little apples per person. Provide nutcrackers for the nuts and knives for the apples. Serve at the end of a country-style meal or as a wonderfully satisfying afternoon snack.

APPLES AND ROASTED WALNUTS

New-crop unshelled walnuts

Small, crisp organic apples

Place unshelled nuts in shallow pan. Roast at 400 degrees 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to bowl or platter. Serve immediately, accompanied by apples.