CHESTNUT NUTS RECIPES

1. If your pastry is frozen, defrost it – this is best done by removing it from the freezer the night before and putting it into the fridge overnight.

2. Now make the chestnut and cashew filling. Peel and finely slice the onions. Chop any rough gnarly bits off the celeriac and grate it along with the carrots (no need to peel, as a lot of the goodness is in the skin).

3. If your cashew nuts are not roasted, put them into a small pan on a high heat and dry-roast them for about 5–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, till they start to get golden. Set aside to cool down.

4. Put the oil into a large pan or pot on a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Next, add the grated carrots and celeriac, and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring regularly. Remove the pan/pot from the stove.

5. In the meantime, crush two-thirds of your roasted cashew nuts by putting them into a food processor and pulsing until they are finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, you can wrap them in a tea towel and bash them with a small pan/rolling pin until they are all mashed up and fine.

6. Remove the leaves from the thyme and sage and roughly chop, along with the chestnuts. Add all these to the pot along with the cayenne, tamari, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Add all the cashew nuts (crushed and uncrushed) and mix well. Taste the filling and season if you think it needs any more salt or pepper.

7. Add the cooked couscous/quinoa to the filling, then put the pot back on the heat and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring well until all is warm and well mixed.

8. Now it’s time to assemble your Wellington. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Lay one sheet of puff pastry on the parchment and lightly brush with oil on the top side.

9. Put the cashew and chestnut filling into the centre third of the pastry, leaving a third of the pastry clear on either side and also leaving a little space at each end, so that you can properly seal your Wellington. Form the filling into a smooth mound shape.

10. Place the second sheet of pastry on top, so that it covers the filling completely, and tuck in carefully. Brush the entire outside of the pastry with oil and make score lines with a sharp knife.

11. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and puffy and the kitchen smells fab!

12. Before serving, scatter over a few peppercorns if you have them. Serve with cranberry sauce and gravy for a magic meal. Gravy is such a core part of a celebratory dinner that we felt a bit left out as we had none for years, until last year when we came up with the vegan version (see recipe here). It’s quick and easy to make and we reckon it tastes even better than the real thing!

1. Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic, and roughly chop all the fresh mushrooms. Pick the thyme leaves and tear the stale bread into small chunks.
2. Lightly toast the nuts in a dry frying pan, then roughly chop. Pick and roughly chop the parsley.
3. Cover the porcini with 300ml of boiling water and leave aside to rehydrate.
4. Heat the oil in a large, wide pan and add the shallot and garlic. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes or until the shallot is softened but not coloured.
5. Drain the soaked porcini over a bowl, reserving the liquid. Add these and the rest of the mushrooms to the pan along with the bay and thyme leaves and cook until all the mushrooms are well softened. If they release a lot of liquid, pour it onto the diced bread and carry on cooking.
6. When the mushrooms are tender and browned, tip the mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool completely.
7. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
8. Once the cooked mushroom mixture has cooled, add the chunks of bread, a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, the pecans or hazelnuts and about half of the porcini’s reserved soaking liquid (make sure you pour it through a sieve first to stop any grit getting through). Combine well.
9. If the stuffing seems too dry, just add a little more of the reserved porcini liquid.
10. Add most of the parsley and stir it through then tip the stuffing into a lightly greased baking dish of approximately 20cm x 25cm and cover with foil.
11. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes. Scatter over the rest of the chopped parsley before serving.

Start by putting the flour and ground almonds in a non-stick frying pan and toasting on a low heat till golden. Take off the heat when golden and leave to cool completely in a bowl.

Put the butter, chocolate and coffee in a saucepan and melt on a low heat till it comes together into an even, glossy mixture. Leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm springform tin.

Add the eggs and sugar to the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk on high using an electric whisk or in a freestanding mixer until combined. Add a third of the chocolate mixture to the flour mix and stir till really well combined. Add this back into the chocolate mix and fold through evenly.

Sprinkle the chestnuts first and then the hazelnuts into the base, then pour in the cake mix and level off the top. Bake for 40 minutes.

Leave the torta to cool in the tin till it’s just warm and then take out. Take a small sieve, add cocoa to one side and icing sugar to the other and then dust the top all over. Serve in wedges with cream and jam.