WALNUT CRACKING RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Ingredients out • Kettle boiled • Oven grill on high • Large lidded pan, medium heat • Griddle pan, high heat • Stick blender
  2. START COOKING Peel, halve and finely slice the onions and put them into the large pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
  3. Crumble in the stock cube, add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, strip in the thyme leaves and squash in 2 unpeeled cloves of garlic through a garlic crusher.
  4. De-stalk the chestnut mushrooms and place the tops on the griddle pan, turning when charred.
  5. Tear the chestnut stalks and portobellos into the onion pan, add the rice and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in 1 litre of boiling water and boil with the lid on.
  6. Cut 4 slices of ciabatta at an angle and add to the griddle pan. When charred on both sides, rub with a halved garlic clove.
  7. Coarsely grate or slice the apple into matchsticks and toss with the roughly chopped parsley and a little lemon juice.
  8. Place the chestnut mushrooms on the toasts, crumble over the stilton and walnuts, then pop under the grill until the cheese is melted.
  9. Use the stick blender to purée the soup to a consistency you like, then season to taste, if needed, and swirl in the cream and truffle oil.
  10. Top the toasts with pinches of apple and parsley and serve on the side.

Steps:

• This works great as a stand-alone recipe, but also as a component in Jamie’s Celebration Roast from Together – see the full collection of menus here. GET AHEAD Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Scrub the squash, carrots and beets, and chop into 3cm chunks. Peel and quarter the onions. Place it all in a roasting tray, keeping each veg separate. Strip over the thyme leaves, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, jiggling the tray to coat. Roast for 1 hour, then remove and leave to cool. Soak the porcini in 100ml of boiling kettle water. Place the flour, baking powder, suet and grains in a large bowl, crumble in the chestnuts and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Coarsely grate in the Cheddar and finely grate in half the nutmeg. Scoop out the porcini, finely chop with the sun-dried tomatoes and add to the mix, then pour in the porcini soaking water, discarding just the last gritty bit. Beat the egg into the milk, and stir it all together. Mix in the cool roasted veg, taking care not to break them up, and adding an extra splash of milk to bring it together, if needed. Generously grease a 2-litre non-stick bundt tin, pudding basin or 23cm springform cake tin with butter, pack in the mixture, cover with greaseproof paper and a tight double layer of tin foil, then refrigerate overnight. TO SERVE Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Roast the veggie crown above the meat for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until crisp at the edges, then turn out, slice and serve. It will sit happily, covered, for up to 40 minutes before serving, if needed.