Garrapiñada
Caramelised peanuts
Garrapiñada: peanuts cooked in sugar until crunchy and caramelised, sold hot from street carts
On Florida street, in the plazas of San Telmo and outside every football ground in Buenos Aires, vendors stir copper pans of peanuts over little burners, and the smell of hot caramel reaches you half a block away. Garrapiñada comes in a paper cone, still warm, each peanut wrapped in a rough, sandy, crunchy sugar shell. It takes 20 minutes and three ingredients at home, and it is vegan. The process looks wrong halfway: the syrup turns cloudy and grainy, and that is exactly what you want, because the crystallised sugar is what gives the crunchy coating. The mistake is to stop stirring once it turns sandy; keep going until some of the sugar melts again and glazes the nuts. Chef's tip: use raw, skinned peanuts and a heavy pan, and add a pinch of salt at the end; it lifts the sweetness the way the street carts' slightly smoky pans do.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 9 oz raw peanutsskinned
- 7 oz sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 pinch salt
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 9 oz raw peanuts, 7 oz sugar and ½ cup water in a heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and the syrup boils.
4 minStep 2: Keep stirring as the water evaporates. After about 8 minutes the syrup turns cloudy and then sandy, coating the nuts in dry, grainy sugar. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract now if using.
8 minStep 3: Turn the heat to medium and keep stirring for 4–6 minutes, until some of the sugar melts again into an amber glaze and the coating looks rough and shiny. Take care not to let it burn.
6 minStep 4: Tip onto a tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle with 1 pinch salt and separate the clusters with two forks. Cool for 5 minutes until crunchy.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does garrapiñada take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 2 minutes to prepare and 18 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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