5 recipes you can enjoy all fall long

This native ingredient grows in backyards across the South and is ready for fall harvest.

If you’ve never been startled by the sound of racquetball-sized black walnuts falling onto a tin roof high in a tree, you’ve missed a quintessential Southern experience. My husband, Patrick, knows that sound all too well. On his family’s property in South Mississippi, there’s a large black walnut tree whose branches shade an old chicken coop.

I didn’t grow up eating black walnuts, except in ice cream, but Patrick did. He loved collecting those lime-green bombs that would hit the ground every September and October, and breathing in their scent, a tangy, lemony aroma that always made him sneeze. The effort of getting to the nuts’ meat kept most people from bothering—after cracking the incredibly hard outer shell, comes the task of breaking open the bone-tough inner shell, which is known to stain hands (and the mouths of enterprising squirrels).

Back then, you had to really love them to crack one open, and the reward was a taste like no other: deeply earthy, tannic, bitter and slightly sweet, with much more complexity than the traditional English walnuts. When I first tasted a fresh walnut that Patrick had dissected for me – rather than just eating the ice cream flavor – I was blown away.

Interestingly, those hard inner shells can be used in all sorts of products, from scouring agents to water filters to dynamite fillers. But the real highlight is, of course, the meat. Because the shell is so hard to open, you won’t find whole walnut halves like with English walnuts, but rather small nuggets and chunks. They are soft and rich in oil and have that distinctive flavor that is incomparable to the mildness of other nuts.

Because they’re so unique and flavorful, black walnuts aren’t content with a supporting role in a recipe. They’re the defining ingredient in everything they find their way into, whether they’re adding unparalleled robustness to an apple pie, lending their distinctive depth to banana bread, adding a welcome zesty note to a fall salad, or adding flavor to a pasta dish. And yes, when combined with cream and a little sweetened condensed milk, they can make an absolutely stunning ice cream.

Check out the following recipes in which you can make good use of this valuable nut.

Buy black walnuts

Fortunately, you no longer have to go through the trouble of shelling whole walnuts, as you can more easily find them in stores these days. As the official tree nut of Missouri, they grow in abundance there and are collected primarily by foragers and landowners who have trees on their property. They are not grown in orchards, but are a wild crop that must be harvested by hand.

Leading the way in making the nuts more available in stores is Missouri-based Hammons Products Company. You’ll often find their nuts in the produce or bakery section of supermarkets. The family-owned company keeps a sustainable black walnut industry alive, sourcing the nuts from people who sell their crops at over 215 shelling and purchasing locations in the South and Midwest.

Not only is this dessert wonderfully easy to make, it also has a dreamy texture. Made with just a handful of ingredients, it’s smooth and spoonable – and stays that way.

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The spicy heat of garlic and red pepper flakes enhances the flavor of black walnuts in this quick-to-make dinner. Toasted panko, zesty parmesan, and bright lemon work like magic to create a crunchy yet creamy pasta that’s both unexpected and extremely comforting.

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Quick breads and walnuts have long been friends. This recipe goes a step further by including the nuts not only in the dough but also in the buttery streusel topping.

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You’ve had candied pecans on a salad before, so why not try a different kind of nut? With sweet fall squash, a tangy dressing, and collard greens massaged until tender, this is a real showstopper.

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These rich nuts combine with tart Granny Smith and sweet Honeycrisp apples, warm spices, and a caramel-like filling to make the perfect fall pie.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.