They say popcorn is a healthy snack- well not the kind you buy in family-sized buckets at the cinema, nor the kind that’s photographed, but air-popped kind, that’s the low calorie one. Like everything though, there is a limit to how much one can eat before it becomes unhealthy- yes even air-popped. I am 110% certain that I have reached that limit, and yes I am the teeniest bit ashamed to admit it. After a long day at work Don comes home craving pasta covered in cheese and if I have been unfortunate enough to have worked an equally long day he will unquestionably find me sprawled out on the sofa scoffing popcorn drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and Maldon sea salt. I can see the disappointment in his face as he notes that his wife was clearly too exhausted to cook him dinner, again. It’s not a habit that I’ve become proud of but there are evenings (and I hate to admit it but also the odd lunch or two) where I’ve been working so hard that all I want to eat is something crunchy and salty, preferably sat on the sofa watching idol, with a cup of tea- fresh mint, which I think marginally raises my level of class.
I’ve tried to make big meals at the weekend to last us through the week but whilst Don is happy to reheat and eat, I am most pleasant to be around when I’m sat with a bowl of popcorn. It’s just a passing phase, I’m sure- not the lack of a nutritious dinner but the popcorn itself. If I’ve been cooking food all day the last thing I want is to sit down in front of a plate of it. Popcorn has a lovely way of being inoffensive to my palate.
The popcorn photographed came as a result of one exceptionally lazy weekend which led to a rather loose handed pour of kernels into a scorching hot pan. Rather than fish them out at the risk of seared fingers I popped the lid on and shook the pan until I was left with what can truthfully only be described as a popcorn explosion. Something had caught my eye over at Smitten Kitchen a few weeks ago so I snuck back over and sourced out the guilty culprit. It looked even more desirable that I had remembered the first time, so it was not even a question that I was going to give it a go. It’s disgustingly good- you’ll want to remove it from your house as quickly as possible and emphatically impose it upon your friends. They will without question declare you a culinary genius and you’ll be pleased that you no longer have to face its ogling eyes each time you pass through the kitchen.
The only problem of course, is when you decide that you really ought to make it again. And again. And again. And then once you’ve left batches for the doorman and then the cleaner and you’ve finally made friends with your neighbours, you’ll probably find yourself sick of the stuff. And only then will you decide that despite your new-found popularity, you probably don’t need to make another batch.
I had an idea after making the Smitten Kitchen recipe to turn this into a sort of trail-mix. The caramel popcorn takes the place of chocolate and forms little clusters of sweet and salty joy along with toasted mixed seeds, roasted almonds and dried cranberries or cherries. It’s not something that you want to carry with you on a hike but it’s perfect for serving to friends for an energy-fueled game night.
The recipe makes a lot more caramel than is photographed- the idea being that you can tailor it to your own ideal level of sweetness. If you don’t add it all though, you will have to be very quick about stirring to insure that all of the seeds get picked up by the caramel and stick to the popcorn. I like to spread out all the dry ingredients in a large greased roasting tin before I pour over the caramel- that way each ingredient stands its best chance of being sugar coated.
Just don’t start making this in place of dinner- because that would be just plain wrong.
Print This PostCaramel popcorn clusters
Making caramels used to terrify me but so long as your patient and follow the directions it’s really not that hard. The hard part is finding the patience and following the directions. This makes a lot of caramel and I only used 2/3 in the photographs- feel free to go the whole hog though and get a full coating.
Makes a lot
Diet Facts This should not serve as a meal replacement
For the mix
4 Tbsp un-popped popcorn kernels (or 8 cups popped popcorn)
35g/1/4 cup shelled toasted pumpkin seeds
35g/ 1/4 cup shelled toasted sunflower seeds
60g/ 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or dried cherries, raisins)
75g/ rounded 1/2 cup toasted unsalted almonds
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
For the caramel
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
Prep work
Spray a large roasting tray with non stick cooking spray or grease well with oil. Do the same for 2 large spoons or rubber spatulas.
How to make
1/ If you popping your own popcorn, place a large deep saucepan with a lid over a high heat until very hot, about 1 minute. Add the popcorn to the pan, put the lid on and shake the pan ever couple of seconds until all the popcorn is popped. This will take about 5 minutes.
2/ Place the popcorn into the roasting tin and spread out. Sprinkle over the ingredients in the order listed. This will help to bind the nuts and seeds to the popcorn once the caramel is made
3/ for the caramel. In a medium straight sided pan or medium saucepan combine the sugar, salt and water. Turn the heat onto medium and DO NOT STIR. Allow the sugar to melt, swirling the pan every few seconds. Turn the heat up to high and let the sugar bubble until it turns a light golden colour, continuing to swirl NOT STIR. This can take anywhere from 8-15 minutes depending on the pan. Whatever you do do not walk away from the pan, do not pass Go and do not collect 200 or you will burn your sugar!
4/ Once you have a light golden colour, turn the heat off and quickly whisk in the baking soda. Then IMMEDIATELY drizzle the caramel over the popcorn mixture and use your greased spoons to toss everything together and spread evenly in the pan. You do not need to use all of the caramel, I use about 2/3 because I don’t like it to be fully covered, but if you like it really sweet and want all the seeds and nuts to stick the use all the caramel. Whilst it’s still warmish break into smaller chunks to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
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I’ve never made my own caramel corn, but I love making popcorn at home – no bagged stuff here!
This recipe looks great!
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