Hazelnut Paste

Free

Difficulty: Low
Time: 10 minutes (plus roasting time about 20 min)
Quantity: 500 g
Type: Sauces and Spreads
Dietary requirements: Gluten-free Cream-free Sugar-free Vegan

Ingredients

500 g hazelnuts

Hazelnut paste is a paste that is semi-fluid and is made 100% from hazelnuts; there are no other ingredients inside. The hazelnuts are roasted and then blended until a semi-fluid mixture is obtained. It can be purchased ready-made or made at home; it may also be found under the name "hazelnut butter" or "hazelnut cream" (this applies to all types of nuts). If you buy it, pay close attention that it contains no other ingredients, because in general Paste and Butter are 100% nuts, whereas Creams often have other ingredients such as powdered milk, oil, lecithin, sugar, etc., since they are meant to be consumed as is, while 100% Paste is very concentrated and cloying on the palate if eaten alone. It can be used to flavor creams, mousses, ice creams, etc. Try for example this hazelnut pastry cream recipe. Also try hazelnut praline, which is similar but contains caramelized sugar. The recipe here.

Method

Preheat the fan-forced oven to 180˚C. Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Pour the hazelnuts onto it. Roast for about 20 minutes, occasionally moving the hazelnuts with a spoon. The skin should detach.

Cool for 10 minutes at room temperature. Then remove the skin. I suggest two methods. Rub the hazelnuts between your hands to remove as much skin as possible.

Or transfer the hazelnuts into a clean tea towel, close it well and rub the towel.

Transfer the hazelnuts to a powerful food processor. Turn it on at maximum power. It will now take several minutes to reach the final result. First of all the hazelnuts will be chopped into a coarse powder.

Then the paste will begin to form; the paste will still be dense and coarse, it is not ready yet, you must continue blending to extract all the oil contained in the hazelnuts.

When the paste is semi-fluid it is ready. Then transfer it to a container.

Storage

Store in a closed container for several months away from light and heat sources, until the fat becomes rancid or the hazelnuts used have expired. If the fat separates and you see a layer of oil on the surface, simply blend again; it is not to be thrown away, this is completely normal.

Tips

You can make this paste with all types of nuts; it will be more or less fluid depending on the fat content of the nuts used. You can use blanched hazelnuts if you want a lighter-colored paste. It is recommended to read these articles: - which ingredients to use - where to buy pastry ingredients and products