Pickled Walnuts Recipes

TURBOT WITH WATERCRESS AND PICKLED WALNUTS

Steps:

• Put the turbot steaks in a pan with the onions and enough wine and stock to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and poach gently for 15 minutes. Remove the fish to a serving dish and keep warm. Strain the liquid and reserve.
• Mash the pickled walnuts. Combine them with the butter, 1 cup wine/stock mixture and the chopped watercress. Season. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Pour this sauce over the fish, garnish with pickled walnut halves and serve.

SWEET PICKLED WALNUTS

Steps:

• Use rubber gloves to handle the young walnuts and pierce each one a few times with the tines of a fork. Watch out for the clear juice this produces. It stains a dark, espresso brown and is a natural dye. Place the walnuts into a bucket and fill with enough water to cover. Stir in 3/4 cup of salt to make a brine. Soak walnuts for 1 week, then drain and make the brine again. Soak for 1 more week.
• After the second week, drain the walnuts and lay them out on trays to dry in an airy place. In a couple of days they will turn black. Once they have all turned black, they are ready to pickle.
• In a large pot, stir together the malt vinegar, brown sugar, allspice, cloves, cinnamon and ginger. Bring to a boil and then add the walnuts. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Spoon the walnuts into sterile jars and fill with the syrup to within 1/2 inch of the top. Seal with lids and rings. Store in the refrigerator or process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature and store in a cool dark place.

MARINATED LAMB LEG, ROMANESCO & PICKLED WALNUTS

Steps:

• The night before, trim the fat from the lamb then mix with the yogurt and rosemary leaves. Cover and put in the fridge to marinate overnight.
• The next day, trim the stalk off a romanesco so that it sits upright on a board. Slice 5cm off each side with a bread knife (keep these off-cuts to make the couscous). Slice the rest of the romanesco into three thick slices. Repeat with the other romanesco. Oil a large, non-stick baking tray with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Lay the romanesco slices in a single layer and drizzle with a little more vegetable oil. Season with salt and scatter over the rosemary stalks, ready to roast.
• Finely chop or pulse the romanesco off-cuts in a food processor until they are the texture of couscous. Mix the finely chopped walnuts into the couscous with the olive oil, and season with salt.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Wipe the marinade off the lamb and season with sea salt. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil a large ovenproof frying pan. Fry the lamb until golden all over, then roast in the oven for 8-12 mins, depending on how rare you like it. Put the romanesco in the oven at the same time. Once the lamb is ready, remove from the oven, flip the romanesco slices over so they char on both sides, and cook for a further 10 mins. Cover and rest the lamb in the pan for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, simmer the stock in a wide saucepan with 1 tbsp of the walnut pickling vinegar from the jar for 10 mins until it forms a jus.
• Slice the lamb and serve with the romanesco slices, some couscous, half a walnut and the jus.