A spiced nuts and seeds recipe from Linda McCartney’s plant-based ‘Family Kitchen’ cookbook

This recipe is excerpted from the cookbook “Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen.” Linda was ahead of her time on plant-based eating in the ‘80s and ’90s — today, it is much easier to follow a plant-forward lifestyle than when she wrote her first cookbooks.

Now, all the ingredients you need for tasty, healthy plant-based meals are more easily available in stores. Farmers’ markets and farm shares make it possible to eat locally and seasonally, and as more and more people embrace plant-based eating, the range of plant-based and vegan alternatives is growing fast.

Nuts are such a useful food and are key in a plant-based diet. They are rich in essential monounsaturated fats and high in protein. Add them to salads or bakes, or just enjoy them as a nutritious snack. To make them even more irresistible, these are roasted with some mixed seeds and coated with spices and herbs (seeds such as flax, sesame, pumpkin and hemp add nutrients and flavor to dishes.)

Spiced Nuts and Seeds

Servings: 2 to 3

Ingredients

• 1 cup mixed nuts, such as pecans, Brazils, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews
• 6 tablespoons mixed seeds, such as pumpkin, sunflower
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Spread the nuts and seeds out on a baking tray and roast for 5–7 minutes until they are a shade darker and aromatic, taking care not to burn them. Remove them from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, mix the maple syrup, soy sauce or tamari, rosemary, cumin and paprika in a bowl. Pour this mixture over the hot roasted nuts and seeds and toss together until evenly coated.

Allow to cool a little, then serve, or leave to cool completely and store in an airtight jar.

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Linda McCartney (1941-1998) believed in great tasting, honest, meat-free food and the shared pleasure that eating well could bring. In “Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen,” Paul McCartney and his daughters — photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney, and fashion designer Stella McCartney — share Linda’s passion for wholesome cooking. Linda was an American photographer, musician, activist and entrepreneur. She was a vocal defender of animal rights and was the author of numerous vegetarian cookbooks.

Excerpted from “Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen” by Linda McCartney. Copyright (copyright) 2021 by Linda Enterprises Ltd. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.