Food & Drink
Neil Forbes is nuts about walnuts, plus Rose Murray Brown on albarino
Ihave happy memories of childhood holidays in France, where we’d scoff huge green salads with a wonderful walnut oil dressing and crusty baguettes. Many years later, I use Californian walnuts at Cafe St Honoré as I like their taste and pronounced flavour.
Pickled in vinegar, ground into an oil, fresh or dried, in salads or cakes, walnuts are a very versatile and healthy food. High in magnesium, calcium and iron and packed full of energy, these nuts are very good for us. Many will think of coffee and walnut cake, or that naughty chocolate treat, the Walnut Whip. But I believe a lot of us take the humble walnut for granted. However, a resurgence is on the horizon because, quite simply, they taste delicious.
Choosing Californian is a sign of good quality and consistency. If you do buy some, keep them in the fridge, or somewhere cool and dark, to retain their freshness.
Endive, pear, blue cheese and candied walnut salad
I adore this dish. It’s simple, tasty and one I come back to again and again. The bitter salad leaves cut through the rich pear. And the sweet candied walnuts are a joy with the rich, creamy Lanark Blue. Add a few watercress leaves for a peppery kick and serve in the middle of the table for everyone to share.
Serves four in one big bowl
2 red and 2 white endives, chicory or Witloof chicory, leaves removed and washed 2 Conference pears 200g caster sugar 1 vanilla pod, split 1 star anise 1 lemon 100g good blue cheese, I like Lanark Blue a handful of Californian walnuts, shelled a few watercress leaves sunflower oil for shallow frying cold-pressed rapeseed oil for dressing good salt and pepper
1 Begin by poaching the pears. Remove the peel from each and rub with a halved lemon. Then bring a litre of water to the boil in a pan. Add half the sugar, the star anise, the split vanilla pod, the juice of half a lemon then plonk the pears into this stock syrup and poach for about an hour on a gentle boil covered with a greaseproof paper cartouche so the pears don’t oxidise during poaching. The harder the pear, the longer it will take to cook. Allow the pears to cool in the syrup. Remove the stalk and any seeds, and dice. Set to one side.
2 To prepare the candied walnuts, make a stock syrup using the remaining sugar and 100ml of water and bring to the boil. Cook the walnuts in this solution for 5 to 7 minutes and allow them to cool in the syrup. Once cool, remove and drain on kitchen paper.
3 Heat the sunflower oil in a deep frying pan and fry the walnuts until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
4 To assemble the salad, add the endive leaves to a large mixing bowl and crumble in the blue cheese. Then sprinkle over the walnuts and the diced pear. Season with good salt and pepper and a drizzle of cold-pressed rapeseed oil and a little of the syrup from the pears. Mix gently.
5 To serve, place the salad into a serving dish and decorate with watercress, a little more oil and syrup, a squeeze of lemon juice and a final sprinkling of salt.
Ecclefechan tart with crème Chantilly
This is a Cafe St Honoré classic. Rich and fruity, the tart takes its name from the town in south west Scotland, and it’s absolutely delicious. Make a big one or use fluted tart cases. It is really easy to make and when baked, allow time to rest, whilst you whip up crème Chantilly. I will never tire of making or eating this tart.
1 10-inch sweet pastry tart shell, or 2 smaller 240g soft (almost-melted) butter 240g soft dark brown sugar 4 eggs, beaten zest and juice of 1 lemon 1 tsp cinnamon 960g Californian raisins 240g Californian walnuts, roughly chopped 200ml double cream 1 tbsp sifted icing sugar half a vanilla pod, seeds scraped and added to cream
1 Prepare a blind-baked sweet pastry 10in tart shell, and leave it in the mould. I use bottomless tins. Then heat the oven to 160C/gas Mark 3.
2 Beat the soft butter and brown sugar together until well combined and creamed. Then trickle the eggs in slowly, a little at a time. Add the cinnamon, lemon juice and zest and mix well.
3 Fold in the raisins and walnuts and give it a good mix. It should smell amazing by now.
4 Scoop the mix into the prepared pastry case and smooth it out with a wet palette knife. Bake for roughly 45 minutes, checking all the time and spreading the mix flat as you go.
5 To make the crème Chantilly, whisk the cream and vanilla seeds to almost soft peak stage, then add the sifted icing sugar and give a final mix, being careful not to over whip. It should be quite loose in texture. Serve.
Orange and walnut biscuits
These nutty, fruity treats are stunning served with a hot espresso coffee and a liqueur to dunk the biscuits in. The trick here is to cook the biscuit mix like a small loaf before forming into biscuits shapes. They keep well in an airtight container.
Makes 50 400g plain flour 250g unrefined caster sugar 150g chopped Californian walnuts 1 tbsp walnut oil 1 tbsp baking powder 1 pinch salt 125g unsalted butter, diced
zest of 1 orange 3 large eggs icing sugar to dredge (optional)
1 Cover the walnuts in the oil, and leave for an hour.
2 Pre-heat the oven to 150C/gas Mark 2.
3 Mix all the remaining ingredients (except the icing sugar) together in a mixing bowl or food processor, retaining the walnuts for after the dough is made. Mix until a firm dough is made – it should take a couple of minutes in a Kenwood mixer with a beater paddle. Then add the walnuts and give a final mix.
4 Split the dough into three pieces, and roll each piece into a sausage shape, the length of a rolling pin. Place on a non-stick baking mat in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Be very careful not to over bake, or you may find cutting them difficult.
5 Remove the baked dough from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Turn the oven down to 130C/gas Mark ½.
6 When completely cool, use a serrated knife to slice one inch thick biscuits. Lay them on their sides and bake again on a slightly lower heat until firm and crunchy. This should take another 45 minutes or so. Allow to cool out of the oven.
7 Dredge with icing sugar if you like and keep in an airtight biscuit tin. These biscuits are great with a strong coffee.