ROAST PISTACHIO RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Grease a 24cm loose-bottomed tart tin with a little olive oil.
  2. Peel, deseed and chop the squash into 1cm chunks, then toss onto a baking tray with a drizzle of oil and sea salt and black pepper, and roast for 20 to 25 minutes.
  3. Peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic, and roughly chop the apricots and cranberries. Bash the cumin and coriander seeds, and zest the lemon. Pick and roughly chop the coriander, then roughly chop the chestnuts.
  4. In a frying pan over a medium heat, cook the onion in a little oil for 10 minutes or until soft and sweet. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so, until beginning to soften, then add all the spices and a little more oil. Cook for a couple more minutes, until it’s all smelling great. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  5. Blitz the pistachios and almonds until they’re ground to a coarse powder with a little texture. Tip into a bowl with the quinoa or rice and dried fruit, then add the lemon zest, coriander and chestnuts. Beat and stir in the eggs (or chia seed mix) and the onion.
  6. Take the squash out of the oven and mash half of it with the back of a fork, leaving the other half in chunks, then stir this into the mixture too.
  7. Pile the lot into the prepared tin and press down to flatten. Cook in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until set.
  8. While it’s cooking, make the tomato sauce. Peel and chop the garlic and onion. Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. Prick the chillies and add to the pan with a little oil, the cinnamon stick, sprigs of thyme, garlic, onion and turmeric.
  9. Cook for a minute or two, then add the plum tomatoes. Fill the tin with water and pour that in too, stirring to break up the tomatoes. Season with salt, stir through the balsamic vinegar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  10. If using the feta, place it in a bowl, zest over the lemon, add the coriander seeds, some black pepper and a good drizzle of oil and leave it to marinate.
  11. Once the sauce is thick and glossy, pick out the chilli, cinnamon and thyme. Set aside.
  12. Take the nut roast out of the oven, then carefully remove it from the tin and place it on a serving platter.
  13. Scatter the loaf with the feta (if using), and the pomegranate seeds. Serve with the sauce in a side bowl.

Steps:

• 1. Make the risotto base first. Soak the dried porcini in a little boiling water. Trim and finely chop the celery, and peel and finely chop the onions and garlic.
  2. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the celery and onion, and cook for 10 minutes, until soft and sweet. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
  3. Turn up the heat and add the rice. Cook for a minute or so until you hear it snap, crackle and pop, then add the wine and stir until absorbed.
  4. Drain the porcini, sieve and discard any grit from the liquid and add to the risotto pan, stirring until absorbed. Finely chop the porcini and add to the pan.
  5. Add the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring each one in until it has been completely absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir as much as you can – this is what will make it creamy. Once the rice is al dente (when you break into a grain, it should be almost cooked through but still have a white fleck in the middle), transfer to a bowl to cool.
  6. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375°F/gas 5.
  7. Fry the wild mushrooms in a little oil over a medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are just starting to crisp.
  8. Toast, then bash the nuts into coarse pieces, or quickly pulse in a food processor.
  9. Coarsely grate the Cheddar, finely chop the chilli and finely grate the lemon zest. Pick and roughly chop all the herb leaves. In a small bowl, beat the eggs.
  10. Once the risotto has cooled, add the breadcrumbs, Cheddar, chilli, lemon zest, eggs and chopped herbs, season, and mix well.
  11. Butter a 20cm loaf tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Cook the sugar and the cranberries in a pan over a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then tip into the tin and spread evenly. Pile on the nut-roast mixture and pack it down with the back of a spoon.
  12. Cover the whole thing with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes. Once it’s golden brown on top, remove the nut roast from the oven and leave to settle for 10 minutes.
  13. Use a knife to loosen the tin, then place your serving platter or board on top. Cover your hand with a tea towel and courageously flip the whole lot over, then carefully lift the tin off. Serve with all the trimmings.