Grilled fennel salad with apricots & goat cheese

For ➍

2 fennels

4 large apricots

2 tbs roasted hazelnuts*

1 handful of basil

200 g fresh goat cheese

lemon

salt

olive oil

Heat the barbecue.**

Slice half a fennel into thin slices using a mandoline or a sharp knife. Pour the juice of a lemon over it and add a generous pinch of salt. Mix briefly and let it marinate. Cut the rest of the fennel into slightly thicker slices. Rub with olive oil and salt, and grill on the barbecue**. Use a grill with small openings for this, so that the fennel does not fall through. When the fennel is slightly charred and a little soft, remove it from the barbecue. Cut the apricots in half and remove the pits, then rub with oil. Place them on the grill** with the cut side down for a moment, until they soften slightly and develop black stripes.

Assemble the salad by mixing the roasted and marinated fennel (and the lemon juice in which they marinated) with the grilled apricots. Place the goat cheese on top and finish with the basil leaves and hazelnuts*.

Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with some good olive oil.

*Replace with walnuts.

**Use a grill pan for small quantities if necessary.

Roast pumpkin soup with walnuts & herb oil

For ➏ 

1 kg pumpkin, such as kabocha 

400 g sweet potatoes, unpeeled 

15 cl olive oil 

5 g sage leaves 

1 red chilli, thinly sliced on an angle (10 g) 

1 leek, trimmed & cut into 2mm rounds (200 g) 

1 large onion, peeled & roughly chopped (240 g) 

10 g piece fresh ginger, peeled & julienned 

fine sea salt 

½ ts smoked paprika 

½ ts ground coriander 

2 small potatoes (200 g) 

60 g walnuts 

1½ tbs maple syrup 

10 g coriander leaves, finely chopped 

10 g parsley leaves, finely chopped 

1 ts finely grated lemon zest 

Heat the oven to 220° C (200° C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put the whole pumpkin and sweet potatoes on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and roast, turning once halfway, for an hour, until soft and golden. Remove and turn down the oven to 180° C (160° C fan)/350F/gas 4. Once they’re cool enough to handle, use a metal spoon to peel off the pumpkin and sweet potato skins, and to scoop out the pumpkin seeds. Meanwhile, put 80ml olive oil in a small saucepan on a medium heat, then add the sage leaves and fry for about 2 m, until deeply green. Use a slotted spoon to lift out the sage, transfer to a sheet of kitchen paper and leave to crisp up. Add the chilli to the hot oil, fry, stirring occasionally, for about 2 m, until deeply red, then transfer to the kitchen paper alongside the sage. 

Transfer the hot oil to a large saucepan on a medium heat, add the leek, onion, ginger and three teaspoons of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 m, until soft and translucent. Add the smoked paprika and ground coriander, cook for a minute, until fragrant, then add the cooked pumpkin and sweet potato flesh, and 1.6 litres of water. Peel and grate the potatoes on to a chopping board, then add to the soup before they discolour. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 15 m. While the soup is cooking, make the nut brittle. Line a small baking tray with greaseproof paper, top with the walnuts, maple syrup and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and toss to coat. Roast, stirring once halfway, for about 10 m, until toasted and golden brown, then remove, sprinkle the fried sage and chilli on top, toss to combine and leave to cool. 

Once the nut mix is cool, scrunch up the paper to crush the brittle into smaller pieces. Make the herb oil by combining the coriander, parsley, lemon zest, remaining 70 ml oil and a quarter-ts of salt in a small bowl. Once the soup has cooked, take off the heat and blitz with a stick or regular blender until smooth and velvety. Add a splash more water to loosen, if need be, then divide between six bowls. Scatter the maple walnut brittle on top and serve drizzled with the herb oil.

♥︎Walnut cake with coffee

For ➑-➓ portions
4 eggs

150 zusto (or sugar)

100 spelt wholemeal flour

50 g chopped walnuts*

handful of walnut halves for decoration*

2 tbs instant coffee, dissolved in 2 tbs hot water

1 pack of dry yeast

Split eggs. Beat yolks with sugar until foamy.

Mix flour, yeast, dissolved coffee and chopped nuts into the foam.

Beat egg whites into snow. Mix egg whites beaten into snow with the flour mix.

Line a baking tin with baking paper.

Finish with walnut halves.*

Bake 45 m at 160°C.

*Or pecans.

Autumn flammkuchen

For ➋

1 large puff pastry sheet

150 g crème fraîche

a few slices of pumpkin

½ red onion 

2 figs

100 g goat cheese

1 handful of walnuts

fresh rosemary

2 tbs honey

Spread Flammkuchen ingredients on the pastry sheet. Sprinkle some oil over it.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 200°C for approx. 20 m.

Miso butter pasta with mushrooms

For ➋

120-200 g spaghetti

400 g oyster mushrooms

pinch of chili flakes

40 g walnuts or pecans, chopped

clove of garlic, crushed to a pulp

30 g butter

1 tbs white miso

1 tbs lemon juice

salt & black pepper

Cook the spaghetti in salted water until al dente.

Cut the mushrooms into pieces and fry together with the chili flakes and chopped nuts in some oil over a medium heat until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Lower the heat, add the crushed garlic clove and stir-fry for 30 s before adding the butter and miso to the pan. Mix until the butter has just melted and deglaze with lemon juice and 100 ml of the pasta cooking water. Let it simmer until you have a smooth sauce.

Turn the heat very low and add the drained pasta to the pan. Mix about 1 m very well so that each strand has a nice layer of sauce and the sauce is almost completely absorbed. Add a few tbs of extra pasta cooking liquid while mixing if the sauce becomes too dry.

Divide the pasta between plates and season generously with freshly ground black pepper.

Plate pie with celeriac, chicory, pears & gorgonzola

For ➍
270 g fresh puff pastry
125 g crème fraiche
1 celeriac
3 stumps witloof / endives
150 g gorgonzola
2 Conférence pears
50 g unroasted walnuts

Preheat the oven to 200 ° C. Roll out the puff pastry and the accompanying baking paper over a baking sheet. Divide the crème fraîche over it.
Peel the celeriac and cut into 1 cm cubes. Cut the bottom of the witloof, halve the stump lengthwise and remove the hard core. Cut the half stumps in half lengthwise.
Divide the celeriac and witloof over the puff pastry. Cut the gorgonzola into cubes and divide over the vegetables. Bake the plate in the oven for 25 m until done.
Peel the pears, remove the core and cut the flesh into cubes. Spread the walnuts over the pie.

Grilled fennel with citrus dressing & goat cheese

For ➍
2 fennel bulbs
4 clementines
50 g walnuts
120 g soft goat cheese
1 tbs olive oil
pepper & salt
dressing:
2 dl clementine juice
1 dl lime juice
2 tbs sugar
1 cardamom pod (or try ginger)
2 star anise
3 cloves

Make the dressing: mix the spices & sugar with the juice of clementines and lemons. Heat the seasoned juice and reduce to ½.
Cut the fennel bulbs lengthwise in (not too) thin slices, and drizzle with olive oil. Keep some fennel leaves on the side for finishing.
Heat a grill pan. Grill the slices of fennel and season with salt and pepper.
Divide the grilled fennel on plates, drizzle with the citrus vinaigrette and crumble the goat cheese on top. Peel the clementines and cut into thin slices.
Put slices on top. Add the coarsely chopped walnuts and a few tufts of fennel leaves far.

Tortilla with endives & raw milk goat cheese

For ➍
1 shallot, chopped
1 zucchini (or 100 g peas, frozen), cubed
4 heads of chicory, cored cut in strips
2 large flowery potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 tbs finely chopped chives
6 eggs
150 g raw milk goat cheese
baking butter
pepper & salt
rucola salad

Boil the potatoes in salty water.
Bake the shallot in a little butter until glassy. Add the pre-cooked potato cubes and fry for a while. Add the zucchini and chicory and let it bake. Season with pepper and salt.
Beat the eggs and pour them over the vegetables. Crumble the goat cheese over the mixture. Put the lid on the pan and let it cook on a low heat for 10 m.
Turn the tortilla and let it cook for 2 m.
Finish the tortilla with the chopped chives and serve with the rucola salad.

Rucola salad

For ➍
100 g rucola
150 g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 scallions, cut into rings
2 tbs chopped walnuts
juice of ½ lime
olive oil

Mix the cherry tomatoes, the spring onions and the walnuts under the arugula. Season the salad with the lime juice, olive oil, pepper and salt.
Serve with endives tortilla, or omelet.

Risotto al cioccolato (chocolate risotto)

For ➍
2 tbs unsalted butter
100 g arborio rice
1 l milk
2 tbs sugar
125 g bittersweet chocolate, finely grated
walnuts for sprinkling, quartered

Similar to a regular process, melt the unsalted butter in a hot pan and add the rice. Stir for about 1 m or until the rice is translucent. Pour a cup of milk into the pan and stir until the milk reduces. Add the sugar and stir continuously. As the milk evaporates, add another 1/2 cup of milk to the rice and continue stirring. Repeat this process until the rice is at the 'al dente' stage.
Add the chocolate to the rice, and stir until the chocolate has melted and the milk has reduced to a creamy consistency.
Serve the dessert immediately in cups and finish with a sprinkle of walnuts on top.

Read the tip on making a quick risotto.

Fennel & blood orange salad

For ➌
4 tbs hazelnuts or walnuts
1 medium-large fennel bulb, leaves and stems trimmed off
salt & freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
2 large blood oranges (or any orange* or grapefruit*)
1 small shallot, peeled and cut into paper-thin slices
10 mint leaves
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 ts lime zest

Place nuts in dry skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, to toast. Let cool. If using hazelnuts, roll them around in a dishcloth (or, if cool enough, in your hands), discarding any loose skins. Coarsely chop nuts. Set aside. (Add some walnut oil for toasting*).
Slice about 1 cm from bottom of fennel and discard. Slice fennel very thinly on a mandoline, or with a knife, starting with flat bottom side. Toss in serving bowl with salt, pepper and lemon juice. (Add a drop of Pernod)*.
Trim all peel and pits from oranges. Holding peeled fruit over bowl containing fennel, use sharp knife to cut sections from membrane and let them drop into bowl. Squeeze remaining membrane over bowl to sprinkle salad with remaining juice, and discard membrane. Add shallots, mint leaves, olive oil and reserved nuts and toss gently. Sprinkle with lime zest.
Serve a a salad or as a side dish to smoked salmon or grilled fish fillets.
Leftovers can be served a day later.

*Optional.

The fennel trick here is to shave it thinly and toss it with lemon juice and salt, it’s licorice vibe is neutralized, leaving just the refreshing part.

Skordalia (Greek potato mash)

For ➍
500 g floury potatoes, washed but not peeled
2 cloves of garlic
14 cl olive oil (1 cl extra for serving)
juice of a small lemon
salt & pepper
80 g finely crushed toasted flaked almonds or walnuts to sprinkle on top or some olives

Boil the potatoes with their skins on in plenty of salted water. Once cooked, drain and, when cool enough to handle, peel them from their skin.
Crush the garlic with a pinch of salt into a paste. Push the potatoes through a sieve, mouli or a potato ricer and add the garlic paste. [Skordalia must be absolutely smooth – use a potato ricer to mash the potatoes or push the cooked potato through a sieve with the back of a spoon.]
Beat in the oil and lemon juice into the potato mix. Check the mix for salt and pepper.
If the skordalia is a bit too thick (it should be the consistency of hummus) thin with a bit of hot water.
If using the nuts, spread the skordalia onto a plate or bowl and sprinkle the nuts on top.
Add the extra trickle of olive oil to serve.
Serve with grilled meats. or as dip sauce. Or as a spread on fresh bread.

Asure (Noah's pudding)

For ➍
125 g barley or pearl barley (or a grain product like Ebly)
4 tbs rice
75 g sugar
1 ts vanilla extract (or 1 small package vanilla)
1 tbs custard powder (or 125 g drained chickpeas)*
water
8 dry apricots, soaked in water overnight, cut in pieces***
4 dry figs, cut in pieces***
4 tbs ½ cup raisins***
2 tbs cup walnuts, crumbled, for garnish

Boil the barley and rice in separate pans. Drain.
Mix barley, rice, chickpeas* and other ingredients*** (except walnuts), add some water**, and let cook for 30 m. Stir occasionally.
Pour into a large service bowl or individual serving bowls and let cool for 2 h.

*When using custard powder, mix it with 2 tbs of warm milk. Use Turkish asure powder instead. Adjust the sugar, as the asure powder is very sweet. Or use chickpeas to thicken.
**Any amount you see fit: the lesser, the thicker the pudding will become.
***Save some of the fruit to garnish the pudding.

This recipe is one of the oldest and best known desserts of Turkish cuisine. It is traditional to give some away to friends and family, and stems from a popular Middle East legend, echoed in the Bible. The feast is still repeated every year by the Islamic community. The recipe uses the age-old habit of making sweets with beans and cereals (instead of modern sugar) and dates back from at least the Ottoman times.
...5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, Noah was king of the city of Shuruppak. His was a trade empire, and he built a large trading ship. At that time, there was a raging flood and rainstorm. He and his family loaded animals, grain, fruit and beer on board. The rain continued for 40 days. Afterwards there was no land in sight for 7 days. They ran out of drinking water and since the sea was salty, they had to resort to drinking beer. They eventually landed on Mount Ararat, still one of the most spectacular sights on earth, now bordering the Armenian region of Turkey, close to the Iranian border. As a celebration for their survival, Noah made a pudding out of some cereals, dried beans and fruits for his family...
The image shows an old etching of Mount Ararat and the Lake Van.

Halibut with chervil crust

For ➍
1 large halibut (or cod) fillet (600 g) or 4 individual portions
2 tbs chopped fresh chervil
6 walnuts, finely ground or crushed
2 tbs ground breadcrumbs
coarse sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
1 lime (or lemon)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Chop the chervil with a knife or in a food processor. Crush the breadcrumbs in a mortar, or in a food processor. Same for the nuts.
Mix in a bowl, with salt and pepper. Pour some olive oil in to make a nice paste.
Cover the fish with the paste.
Bake for approximately 30 m in the oven.
Squeeze half a lemon over it. Serve with a salad or dried tomatoes and some rice.

Figs in syrup

For ➋
10 cl lemon water (1 lemon needed)
50 g sugar
1 tbs honey
½ whole clove
10 walnut halves
10 very fresh figs
10 cl plain yogurt
¼ ts vanilla
chopped walnuts

Cut a thin strip of peel about 5 cm long from lemon.
Squeeze juice from lemon. Add water to measure 10 cl.
In a small saucepan combine lemon peel strip, lemon juice mixture, sugar, honey, and clove. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Cook and stir until syrup is thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat, discard clove and lemon peel. Cool slightly.
Insert 1 walnut half into each fig. Place stuffed figs in individual dessert dishes.
Stir together cooled syrup, yogurt, and vanilla. Spoon yogurt mixture over figs.
Cover and chill. At serving time, sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Goat cheese, green beans & walnuts

For ➋
150 g fresh goat cheese roll
150 g fine green beans
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs walnut halves, toasted
marinade:
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs walnut oil
2 shallots, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, squashed flat
1 ts fresh thyme leaves
1 ts coriander seeds, cracked
1 ts fennel seeds

Cut the goats' cheese into thick slices.
For the marinade, combine all the marinade ingredients (olive oil, walnut oil, shallots, garlic, thyme leaves, coriander seeds, fennel seeds) together in a bowl. Pour the marinade over the goats' cheese slices, cover, and leave for a few hours or overnight, turning once.
The next day, drain the goats' cheese and reserve the marinade, discarding the garlic.
Top the beans. Cook in simmering salted water for 5 m. Drain.
Toss the beans in 1 tbs of the reserved marinade and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange the beans on two dinner plates.
Preheat the grill to medium. Transfer the goats' cheese to a sheet of foil and place under the grill for 2 m, or until just melted. Divide between the 2 plates, add 2 tbs of the marinade. Decorate with the toasted walnuts.
Serve with fresh toast.

Witloofsla (Belgian endives' salad)

For ➍
4 slices bacon
3 endives
1 green apple
50 g walnuts
200 g old cheese
1 shallot
raisins
watercress
chervil*
dressing:
3 tbs sour cream
dash of apple juice
splash of cider vinegar
dash of walnut oil
honey
pepper & salt

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Put the bacon strips on a baking sheet or a silicone mat. Bake in the oven until crisp (10-12 m).
Meanwhile, put the sour cream, apple juice, a dash of walnut oil, a dash of cider vinegar and honey in a mix cup. Mix with the hand blender. Add a little salt and pepper from the mill.
Cut the heads of endives and chop. Put in a large bowl.
Cut the apple into fine strips. Add to the endives. Add a handful of raisins, chopped walnuts and watercress to the salad.
Chop the shallot, add to the salad. Add some chopped chervil.*
Mix everything.
Use a peeler to shred the cheese over the salad.
Cut the slices of crispy bacon into small pieces. Add them to the salad.
Pour the dressing over the mixed salad.
Serve in a soup bowl or a deep plate.

*Optional.

Salsa con le noci per ravioli (walnuts sauce for ravioli)

For ➍
75 g walnut meats, peeled & minced
30 cl milk
3 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
salt & white pepper
700 g meat-free ravioli

Shell the walnuts, scald the nutmeats in boiling water for a few s, then peel and mince them.

Make a béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a small pot and carefully stirring in the flour. Continue cooking over low heat till the flour is lightly browned. Slowly add the milk in a thin stream, stirring briskly to keep lumps from forming.* When you’ve added all the milk, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring gently, till the sauce thickens (this will take several m). Then add the walnuts.

Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in boiling salted water, drain them, and carefully stir the sauce into them.

*If they do, stop adding milk, remove the pan from the fire, and stir the mixture till the lumps are gone before adding more milk. You can also make the béchamel sauce in a microwave oven: melt the butter and stir in the flour, then stir in the milk and the salt and pepper. Heat the sauce over high heat for 2 m and stir it briskly till most of the lumps are gone. Heat it for 4 more m at medium power, stirring after 2 m, then stir in the walnuts and heat 1 more m. Let it sit for a couple of m.

Read another Ligurian recipe, the related pine nut battuto recipe.

Endives & pink grapefruit salad

For ➍
4 endives
1 pink grapefruit
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs red wine vinegar
½ ts sugar
1 shallot, chopped
1 cup walnuts (60 g), coarsely chopped

Cut the bottom of the endives and remove the hard core. Cut the leaves lengthwise into strips.
Peel and remove white membranes from the grapefruit. Cut into segments above a a bowl, to catch the juice.
Mix the juice, oil and vinegar into a dressing. Season to taste with sugar and salt and pepper.
Mix the endives with the grapefruit and shallots. Pour over the dressing. Sprinkle with walnuts.
Serve as a salad or with cold roasted chicken meat.

The grapefruit originally comes from a 18the century mix of sweet orange and pomelo on Barbados or Jamaica. It was brought to Florida in 1823, where a red pigmented variety was discovered in 1907. A new variety, the ruby grapefruit, was bred in Texas in 1929, where, for a long time, the cultivation of so-called white grapefruits was suspended. Today, it is cultivated mainly in the US, from Florida, Texas and Arizona to California, and around the Mediterranean.

Pear & gorgonzola salad

For ➍
4-6 slices of walnut bread, cut into long triangles*
olive oil
6 small pears, halved
125 g rucola
150 g Gorgonzola, pulled into pieces
50 g toasted pine nuts
1 lemon, halved

Brush the walnut bread with a little oil and grill it until crisp on both sides. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the pears cut-side down until they brown, then flip them and cook the other side for 2 m or until they start to soften. Divide the walnut toast between 4 shallow bowls and heap some rocket on top, then scatter the cheese and pine nuts over. 
Add 3 pear halves to each bowl and dress with more olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and seasoning.

*Use brown bread, and add 50 g chopped walnuts.
**Or toast bread, spread with room-warm cheese, push chopped nuts in, and cover with slices of cold pear.