Macadamia nuts

I was strolling through the Hollywood Farmers Market a few weeks ago when I was brought up short by small boxes of round wooden things. They were macadamia nuts - in the shell.

I had never seen the whole nuts before, so of course I had to bring some home. They're organic macadamias grown near San Diego.

I suggested to Larry that he crack a few so we could try them.

Two nut crackers and much grunting and cussing later, Larry was on wikipedia searching for macadamia-opening strategies. Place the nutcracker on the round spot, crack them on the little line - whatever he tried, it didn't work. After much struggle he shared one shelled macadamia nut with me and mum. It was very good, but I can see why they're usually sold without the shells.

The following week I stopped at the stall where I'd bought the nuts to ask how they opened them.

It turns out the secret trick is to wrap a nut in an old towel and tap it with a hammer.

So yesterday I sat on the concrete floor of our garage with an old towel, a hammer, and the macadamia nuts. Tap is a relative term - some nuts require more bashing than others. And the towel is essential, not just to soften the blow from the hammer, but to contain the nut shells. They are hard and thick and could definitely do damage.

I managed to remove all the nuts from their shells without harming me or the floor. Some of the nuts split in half, but a remarkable number stayed whole and just popped out of the shell. The towel, however, got holes in it from the broken edges of the nutshells. Did I mention they're hard?

Now I have a half cup of shelled macadamia nuts. What to do with them?

I confess to not having eaten many macadamia nuts in my life. The main recipe I know is for white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, which seems a little like overkill, especially after the holidays.
So instead I'll be using them in Rose Eliot's recipe for nut burgers. I'll let you know how they turn out.