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By Root 867 0

peanuts when I was growing up in North Carolina although goodness knows, I’d seen plenty of BOILED P-NUT signs at backcountry roadside stands. The truth is, I ate my first boiled peanut in New York while I was a food editor at The Ladies’ Home Journal. Two doors down from my office sat Jean Todd Freeman, the fiction editor, whose mother down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, kept her well supplied with boiled peanuts. A can of them always sat on Jean’s desk. Knowing I was a “Tar Heel born and bred,” Jean offered me a handful one day. When I admitted that I’d never eaten a boiled peanut, she was stunned, and then set about making a convert of me. Now that I’ve learned to boil peanuts, I must say that these are definitely better than the canned variety, which tend to be mushy. Properly cooked, boiled peanuts should be al dente. Although old-timers use only salt to season, some modern southern cooks also add four-or five-star anise or green cardamom pods to the pot. Note: For sources of green (raw) peanuts and boiled peanuts (see Sources, backmatter).

1 pound green (raw) peanuts in the shell, washed well (see Note)

4 quarts (1 gallon) cold water

1/3 to ½ cup salt (depending upon how salty you like things)

1. Place all ingredients in a large, heavy pot and bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Adjust the heat so the water bubbles gently, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes. Set off the heat and let the peanuts steep in the hot water for 40 minutes.

3. Drain the peanuts well, shell, discard the skins, then pat dry on paper toweling.

4. Serve as a snack.

SLOW-ROASTED PEANUTS

MAKES 1 POUND

I’ve always wondered if we call these “peanuts” because they’re legumes—like peas. So peanut or peanut, as we now spell it, makes sense. This is one of the easiest ways I know to prepare them and also one of the most delicious. But you must be picky about the pan in which you roast peanuts. I use a standard 13 × 9 × 2-inch aluminum pan (no nonstick coating) and find it just right. I once made the mistake of using a dark pan and the nuts browned too fast and unevenly, at that. Note: Though peanuts run to calories (166 per ounce), they are a significant source of protein, niacin, phosphorus, and potassium. Moreover, their fat is mostly monounsaturated. Tip: For best results, use plump, sweet Virginia Runner peanuts for this recipe (see Sources, backmatter).

1 pound shelled and blanched raw peanuts (see Tip above)

1 tablespoon peanut oil or olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 300° F.

2. Spread the peanuts in an ungreased 13 × 9 × 2-inch baking pan (uncoated, bright aluminum is best) and drizzle with the oil. Toss well, then spread the peanuts once again so that they are one layer deep and reach to the corners of the pan.

3. Slide the pan onto the middle oven shelf—crosswise—and roast the peanuts uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes, stirring several times, or until the color of pale caramel.

4. Take from the oven, sprinkle with the salt, and toss well; taste and adjust the salt as needed.

5. Drain the peanuts on several thicknesses of paper toweling, then cool to room temperature before serving. Good as a snack, good with cocktails.

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TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine

1716

The French establish a fort along the Mississippi at what is now Natchez. The town grows rich on cotton and within 100 years only New York has more millionaires.

Virginia colonists begin moving west from the Tidewater lowlands and settling in the soil-rich Shenandoah Valley.

1717

The English and French import African slaves into “Spanish America” (Florida plus parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana).

1718

The French build a rudimentary settlement near the mouth of the Mississippi and name it for the Duc d’Orléans, the Regent of France.

Germans begin settling in Louisiana southwest of Lake Ponchartrain (today’s St. Charles Parish).

1720s

South Carolina rice planters experience their first big boom; it lasts nearly 20 years.

1722

New Orleans becomes the capital