Crunchy Slivered Almond Sprinkle

Slivered almonds are one of those pantry pieces that do more work than their size suggests. Half an ounce is a small pile, maybe two tablespoons, and yet it changes the whole plate. The trick is that they belong at the very end. Almonds that sit in a warm sauce or under a lid go soft and quiet, but a handful landing on top at the table keeps its snap for a good while.

Almonds are the seed of a tree in the same family as peaches and cherries, which is a fun thing to remember when you taste them next to fruit. Slivering them just means the thin, flat pieces cook faster and spread out, so a little goes further across a dish. If you have a bag that has gone a bit stale or tastes like cardboard, toast a small pan of them dry over medium heat, shaking often, until they smell toasty. Then let them cool before they go on anything. Stored airtight in a cool cupboard, they keep well for weeks, and a freezer bag keeps them longer if you buy in bulk.

Where do they fit? They like anything with a bit of softness around them. A spoonful over a bowl of plain yogurt with some berries, or over a green salad with a sharp dressing, gives you the crunch that makes a simple meal feel finished. They also sit nicely beside grains. If you are making a pot of wild rice, the Toasted Almond and Cranberry Wild Rice pairs the nuts with chewy rice and tart fruit, so you get texture in every bite. For something sweet after dinner, a few almonds over a bowl of creamy shrikhand make a lovely contrast, and the Saffron and Cardamom Shrikhand is a good one for that.

Keep a small jar of toasted slivers in the fridge door next to your cooking oil and you will find yourself reaching for them more than you expect. They are an easy way to add interest without adding a lot of fuss, and that is the kind of cooking I like best on a weeknight.