Thyme Roasted Pecans

Besides having a rich history as a mystical and medicinal herb, thyme is also one of the most versatile culinary herbs. They get their characteristic fragrance because of the chemical thymol. It’s easy to confuse Ajwain with thyme, since the chemical is common to both.Whenever I buy herbs, I get a lot of flak from the folks at home because they know most of it is going to sit in the refrigerator and dry up (though I’m not complaining, I get homemade dried herbs). So, what does one do when you need just a tiny bunch of it? I put together a list of things that I could do to use up fresh thyme and found that thyme can be your best friend because it’s almost like an all-purpose herb.

What one can do with fresh thyme:
• Stuff chicken
• Use it in soups and stews
• Baste steak when mixed with olive oil , garlic, salt and pepper
• Use it with rosemary for a more robust and woody flavour
• Also pairs well with pairs particularly well with lemon, garlic and basil
• Sprinkle on pita mixed with sumac, slat and sesame for fresh za’atar
• Flavoured butter! (Oh, how I have a weakness for this).
• Pastas and risottos
• Scalloped potatoes
• Chimichurri. Kelly has a great recipe for a Herby Chimichurri.

Thyme Roasted Pecans

4 cups pecan halves
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• In a bowl, mix all your ingredients except the pecans, set aside.
• Toast the pecans over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• Add the pecans to the spice mix and toss gently until they’re coated.
• Let ‘em cool a bit before serving.
Like always, if you’ve got only dried thyme, use half the amount of the dried herb.