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Recipe Detail Page
Candied Seed & Nut Clusters with Confetti Fennel Seeds
Summer 2016
Colourful and flavourful, candied fennel seeds are a traditional nibble after a curry; they’re both a breath freshener and a digestive, and they go by a few names: candy fennel seed, sugar-coated fennel, or mukhwas. Look for them online or in East Indian, Middle Eastern and North African grocery stores and spice shops. If you simply can’t find them, any colourful, tiny or crushed hard candy will work, though to keep the lovely fennel flavour, add ¼ cup (60 mL) plain fennel seeds too.
Makes about 48 clusters
¼ cup (60 mL) sesame seeds
½ cup (125 mL) raw, shelled sunflower seeds
½ cup (125 mL) raw, shelled pumpkin seeds (green pepitas)
1 cup (250 mL) whole hickory-smoked almonds
½ cup (125 mL) beer nuts (candied peanuts) or honey-roasted peanuts
1 cup (250 mL) crisp rice cereal, white or brown
½ cup (125 mL) finely chopped candied ginger
½ cup (125 mL) candied fennel seeds
½ cup (125 mL) runny honey
¼ cup (60 mL) corn syrup
½ cup (125 mL) sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 Line 2 cookie sheets or large trays with parchment paper; set aside. Into a large skillet over medium heat, add the sesame, sunflowerand pumpkin seeds, stirring and swirling the pan constantly to lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to brown too darkly, or seeds will become bitter.
2 Into a very large bowl, add the toasted seeds, as well as the almonds, peanuts, rice cereal, candied ginger and candied fennel seeds. Stirto combine well; set aside. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, add the honey, corn syrup, sugar and butter, stirring constantly andbringing up to a frothy simmer. Simmer and stir for about 20 minutes, until slightly thickened and, if you have a candy thermometer,when it reads about 300°F (150°C).
3 Being careful not to splash yourself—this stuff can burn!—pour the hot honey over the nut mixture and stir to combine and evenly coat all the dry ingredients with hot honey.
4 Working quickly, drop clusters onto the prepared sheet pans by the soup spoonful. It’s important to stir to combine the mixture once in a while, and to move quickly, as it will become more difficult to handle as the honey begins to cool and harden. If it does become too cool andstiff to work with, either pop it into the microwave for a couple of seconds, into a warm oven for a minute or 2, or place the bowl over a panof simmering water, and stir to loosen again.
5 Allow the clusters to set at room temperature unless it is super hot and humid; then pop them into the fridge.
Makes about 48 clusters
