Fruit and nut

Ray McVinnie makes a start on incorporating the now-huge variety of nuts and berries available to the home cook

The array of nuts and dried fruit available from some supermarket bulk bins is now astonishing. (Is this the upside of the paleo diet craze? If it is, I’m glad us non-paleos get some benefit.) Similarly, the variety of berries available, whether fresh or frozen, is also excellent.

Nuts, berries and dried fruit always remind me of Christmas. We inherited the British customs that go with this northern European winter festival (our only festival with special food — we need to work on a Matariki celebration meal), which used nuts and dried fruit, preserved from summer, as sweet treats. In New Zealand, where Christmas is a summer thing, there are also always lots of fresh berries.

I always sniff nuts, especially walnuts and pine nuts, before I buy them to make sure they aren’t rancid. Luckily, with so many good New Zealand nut producers around, the careful shopper can easily avoid rancid, bitter walnuts, for example. Many people who say they don’t like walnuts obviously haven’t yet tasted the fresh, creamy Kiwi-grown kind. Because there is oil in nuts, I keep them in the fridge to stop oxidisation, which results in rancidity.

The following are a few of my favourite ways to use nuts and berries but I have only scratched the surface of the huge variety of these ingredients.

Circassian chicken

This is my slightly deconstructed version of the Middle Eastern classic. The recipe is said to have originally come from the Circassian women of the Ottoman harem, who had a reputation for great beauty and excellent cooking. This dish is rich and subtle and hardly needs any accompaniment other than steamed rice.

Serves 6

Size 16 free-range chicken, wing tips cut off
1 onion, peeled and halved
3 medium-sized leeks, white part only, cut into
2cm slices
3 medium-sized carrots, peeled, cut into 2cm slices
½ tsp each, whole cloves, black peppercorns and
coriander seeds
6 dried allspice berries
3 bay leaves
¾ cup walnut pieces, lightly roasted, plus extra for serving
½ cup almonds, roasted, plus extra for serving
½ cup pine nuts, toasted, plus extra for serving
4 cloves garlic,
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs made by blitzing fresh bread in a food processor
¼ cup milk
1 cup coarsely chopped coriander leaves and stalks, plus extra sprigs for serving
3 Tbsp walnut oil
Large pinch chilli flakes
1 Tbsp sweet smoked paprika

1. Put the chicken, the onion, 1 of the leeks and 1 of the carrots into a saucepan just big enough to hold everything.
2. Add the cloves, peppercorns, coriander seeds, allspice berries and bay leaves and enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 45 minutes.
3. Remove the onion, leek and carrot and discard.
4. Add the remaining leek and carrots and simmer 15 minutes or until the chicken is almost falling to pieces. Don't boil furiously or the chicken will be dry and tough.
5. Remove from the heat and carefully lift the chicken and vegetables on to a warm serving platter and cover loosely with foil. Strain the cooking liquid, bring to the boil and fast-boil until reduced by three quarters.
6. Put the nuts, garlic, the bread soaked in the milk and the coriander into a food processor and process until the nuts are coarsely chopped.
7. Add enough of the cooking liquid to make a creamy sauce and process again (freeze the remaining cooking liquid for future use). Taste and season with salt and pepper.
8. In a small bowl mix the walnut oil, chilli flakes and paprika. Season with salt.
9. Serve the nut sauce over the warm chicken with the leek and carrots around it with the walnut oil mixture drizzled over the top and extra nuts and coriander sprinkled over everything.

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Roast belly pork with Catalan greens

In Catalonia they cook spinach with raisins and pinenuts. Here I have done the same with an onion and a mix of greens, nuts and dried fruit. Good served with rice or baked potatoes.

Serves 6

1 kg boned belly pork, skin sliced in parallel lines almost down to the flesh
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cup dry white wine
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
8 dried apricots, sliced
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup dried cranberries
6 silverbeet leaves, white stalks cut off and discarded, leaves sliced
2cm thick, boiled in salted water for about 5 minutes, cooled under cold water, squeezed dry
3 handfuls each baby spinach leaves and rocket leaves
150g kale, leaves pulled off stems, leaves boiled in salted water for 5 minutes, cooled under cold water, squeezed dry
¼ cup each coarsely chopped roasted almonds and roasted pine nuts

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Bring an electric kettle full of water to the boil.
2. Put the pork into the bottom of a clean sink and pour the boiling water over the skin. This ensures crisp crackling. Dry the pork on paper towels.
3. Put the garlic, fennel seeds and ½ cup of the wine into a small roasting dish. Put the pork on top, skin side up. Sprinkle the skin with salt. Place in the oven for 1 ½ hours or until tender. Place under the grill until the crackling is crisp. Be careful, as it burns easily.
4. When the pork is almost ready, Heat the oil in a frying pan over moderate heat and add the onion, apricots, raisins and cranberries. Fry gently, without browning, for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the silverbeet, spinach rocket and kale and mix well. Fry for 5 minutes until hot then add the almonds and pine nuts. Mix well, taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Remove the pork from the oven and rest in a warm place. Skim the fat off the pan juices. Add the remaining wine, place the pan over high heat and bring to the boil, stirring with a wooden spoon. Boil for 2 minutes, taste and season.
6. Slice the pork thinly and serve with the greens, with the pan juices drizzled over the top.

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Orange, apple and berry compote with icecream and chocolate almond biscuits

The combination of stewed fruit, icecream and a plain biscuit is one I can’t resist. This is a deluxe version. Chocolate almond biscuits Based on a recipe from the Silver Palette Cookbook by Julie Rosso and Sheila Lukins, these are good made one day in advance and stored in an airtight container as they become moister and slightly chewy.

Makes about 20

125g butter
75g brown sugar
90g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
120g flour
35g cocoa, sifted
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup sliced almonds
2 Tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon.

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Line a couple of oven trays with baking paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugars until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
3. Thoroughly stir in the flour, cocoa, baking soda and sliced almonds.
4. Place large teaspoonfuls in well-spaced rows on the oven trays. Place in the oven and bake 8-10 minutes but be careful not to let them burn. Cool on a rack.
5. Mix the icing sugar and cinnamon and dust the biscuits well with this mixture before serving.

Orange, apple and berry compote

Serves 6

1 orange, thinly sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
150g caster sugar
1 stick cinnamon
150ml red wine
500g mixed berries (frozen are fine)
Vanilla icecream, for serving

1. Put the orange slices in a small saucepan and cover well with water. Bring to the boil over high heat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain well.
2. Put the orange slices, apple, sugar, cinnamon and wine into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer 5 minutes or until the apple is soft.
3. Add the berries, bring back to the boil, remove from the heat, cool and chill.
4. Serve the compote with scoops of icecream and the biscuits on the side.

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