Dried Longan and Garlic Almonds

It seems like we're always looking for new flavor combinations on this board, and this one's fantastic!

Longan is a fruit very similar to lychee, but smaller and sweeter with a larger seed and hard brown shell. I don't know where it originates, but in rural Taiwan trees produce so much longan people can't give them away quickly enough. Hence the dried fruit. It can be found in the States in most Chinese herb stores. If purchased with shell on they're a pain to peel and pit, but I found a whole bag pitted and peeled on sale. Wahoo!

Eating dried longan with garlic almonds is a great study in contrast: savory vs. sweet, crunchy vs. chewy, totally dry vs. slightly moist, you get the idea. But the beauty of it is after the initial contrast, the flavors combine into something wonderful.

I think anyone who enjoys figs with bacon and cheese, walnuts with honey, quince with cheese, or other similar combinations would love garlic almonds and dried longan.

I've found longan's perfect nut; I wonder what its perfect cheese is? Maybe one day I'll serve a cheese plate with dried longan instead of the more traditional figs, pears, apples, etc.