Daring Cooks' Challenge July 2010: Nut Butters

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

When I read this months challenge I was really excited because the first recipe that came to my mind was a Kung Pao Sauce. I love anything Kung Pao, but my favorite has to be the Kung Pao Spaghetti from California Pizza Kitchen; I looked up the recipe, made a few changes and of course added my homemade nut butter! The hubby and my sister-in-law loved the Kung Pao Spaghetti, I thought it was pretty good too and the homemade nut butter really added a wonderful taste to the sauce.

  The process for making various types of nut butters is essentially the same. Pour nuts into bowl of food processor. Grind the nuts in the processor until they form a paste or butter. The nuts first turn into powdery or grainy bits, then start to clump and pull away from the side of the bowl, and finally form a paste or butter. The total time required depends on the fat and moisture content of the nuts; grinding time will vary from roughly 1 to 4 minutes (assuming a starting volume of 1 to 2 cups nuts). Processing times for a variety of nuts are described below. You may add oil as desired during grinding to make the nut butter smoother and creamier or to facilitate grinding. Add oil in small increments, by the teaspoon for oily nuts like cashews or by the tablespoon for dryer/harder nuts like almonds. You may use the corresponding nut oil or a neutral vegetable oil like canola.

Kung Pao Spaghetti

Ingredients  

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup chicken stock 
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 3/4 cup soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup dry sherry 
• 3 tablespoons pea-nut butter
• 1 tablespoons minced garlic 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 
• 1 tablespoon chili oil

Egg Coating:

• 2 egg whites 
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pasta:

• 1 lb spaghetti 
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts 
• 10-15 whole Chinese dried red chili peppers 
• 1/2 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts 
• 1/4 cup minced garlic 
• 3 cups coarsely-chopped scallions

Directions  

Kung Pao Sauce:
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the chicken stock and cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Stir in all the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.
 

Egg Coating:
In a mixing bowl, use a whisk to stir together the egg whites, cornstarch, and salt until thoroughly blended; be careful not to beat them into a froth. Set aside.
 

Preparing Pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick frying pan over high heat, heat the olive oil for about 1 minute. Add the chicken pieces to the Egg Mixture and toss to coat them. Taking care to avoid splattering, add the coated chicken to the pan and cook like a solid pancake until the egg mixture sets; then, using a large spatula, carefully flip the chicken pieces over together and, with a wooden spoon, gently separate the pieces.
 

Gently stir the Chinese peppers and roasted peanuts into the pan. As soon as they darken in color, after no more than 1 minute, stir in the garlic and scallions. Once the garlic begins to brown, after no more than 30 seconds, add the Kung Pao Sauce and toss and stir to coat the ingredients. When the pasta is ready, drain it well and, in a large mixing or serving bowl, toss it thoroughly with the sauce.