Pistachio crusted potatoes

Ingredients Potatoes, pistachios, olive oil.

Preparation: 30 minutes

After making my Carrot & Wensleydale salad, I had some of the seasoned pistachio mixture left. I was going to make Dukkah, a firm favourite of mine, but I had some fabulous potatoes from my favourite stall at Leeds Market and decided to make a lovely crispy coating.

1) Slice the potatoes (half the flavour is in the peel, leave it on!). I wanted the nutty coating to really cling to the potatoes so I crinkle cut them, but if you don't have a crinkle cutter (check your food processor!) then you could score the potatoes with a fork.

2) Add the potatoes to a bowl with a glug of olive oil and toss to coat the potatoes. If you're not terribly proficient at tossing (fnar) then cover the bowl with a plate or a layer of cling film and shake them about thoroughly.

3) Add the ground pistachios, salt and pepper to the bowl and repeat the tossing/shaking until evenly coated.

4) Add the potatoes to a baking tray and roast in the top of the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200 degrees. If you're serving these as a side dish they're really convenient to share oven-space with a bit of chicken breast or whatever. These are delicious served hot but also work really well cold in place of croutons to add texture to salad or soup.

Carrot & Wensleydale salad

Ingredients Carrot, Wensleydale, pistachios, clementine.

Preparation: 5 minutes

I know, I know I only posted a carrot salad recipe the other day but with flavours this wonderful, can you blame me for sticking with a good thing? This salad is so quick to make, travels well and with a double hit of protein from the cheese and pistachios it's satisfying too. Tangy sweet clementine juice goes perfectly with carrots but the peppery pistachio and sharp cheese contrast beautifully.

1) Grind the pistachios in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of sea salt and black peppercorns. I like the nuts to be mostly powder with a few bigger chunks but if you prefer a completely fine powder, go for it!

2) Peel the carrot and grate into a bowl. Add 3/4 of the pistachio powder and stir through before squeezing in the clementine juice

3) Grate or crumble through the Wensleydale and the remainder of the pistachio powder to season and either serve or save!

Spinach with puy lentil & pistachios

Ingredients 400g spinach, 100g puy lentils (I love Merchant Gourmet's ready to eat pouches), 50g pistachios, 1 tbsp olive oil, nutmeg.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes

Spinach, ah spinach. I never tire of coming up with ever more delicious ways to shovel this wonderfood into my mouth. Soft spinach, juicy bursting lentils and the salty crunch of the pistachios - salad perfection! This would make a scrumptious and beautiful side dish and also works well stuffed into pitta with a little crumbled feta for food on the go.

1) Dry toast the pistachios in the pan for 2-3 minutes before adding the oil, a little freshly grated nutmeg and the spinach.

2) Stir on the hob until the spinach has wilted, then season (adding more nutmeg if necessary) and stir through the lentils before serving.

Pistachio pesto scones

Ingredients 225g self raising flour, 50g butter, 75ml buttermilk, Basil, basil oil, garlic, pistachio, parmigiano, lemon.

Serves: 8 preparation: 30


I confess, I have never before enjoyed a cheese scone. It is something I would never order in a cafe by choice - often greasy and pungent with crispy bits of cheese on the top. *shudders* then I started to think that it was impacting my reputation for being a cheese whore in a thoroughly negative manner. The second result of my experimentations are these beautiful scones - a subtle flavour tang of basil with a great crumbly texture from the  pistachio and parmeggian.


1) To make pesto:  add a good handful of fresh basil leaves to a mortar bowl and grind to a fine pulp. Sautee 1 crushed clove of garlic in basil oil and add to the mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and a handful of pistachio nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice, basil oil and parmeggian to taste. 

2) Sift the flour and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3) Mix a tablespoon of pesto and the buttermilk in with the flour and butter until a dough has formed.

4)  Roll out the dough on a floured surface and then fold it in half and roll again. Cut out rounds of pastry with a scalloped cutter and brush with the last drizzles of the milk to help the surface colour.

5) Bake at 200 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Spinach, feta, olive & sun-dried tomato bean burgers

Ingredients 400g spinach, 1 potato, sun dried tomatoes, olives, feta, haricot beans, old bread, pistachios, sesame seeds, 1 egg.

Serves: 4 preparation: 30 minutes


This is one of my favourite recent recipes and I can see myself making these time and time again. The burgers are like an explosion of flavour - olive BAM, tomato BAM, feta BAM but there's the silky smooth potato and spinach to balance it out - the beans add a great texture and the crispy, nutty crust is fabulous.


1) Peel and dice the potato, then boil in hot, salted water until soft. Drain, mash and set aside to cool.



2) Drain the can of beans and slice them in half. This sounds laborous but it needn't be - just line them up and slice multiple beans at the same time! stir into the mashed potato.


3) Blitz the spinach in a blender and stir into the bean and potato mixture.


4) Dice the feta, tomatoes and olives and stir into the mixture.


5) Blitz your bread in a blender until fine breadcrumbs are formed. Crush a handful of pistachios in a blender and stir through the bread with some sesame seeds.


6) Whisk the egg and roll the patty into it before rolling it through the breadcrumbs, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Spinach & ricotta bean burger

Ingredients 400g spinach, 1 potato, 1 can cannellini beans, nutmeg, pistachio nuts, old bread, sesame seeds, ricotta cheese.

Serves: 4 preparation: 30 minutes


Spinach and ricotta are a match made in heaven - delicate, soft and comforting - and this bean burger is absolutely delicious.


1) Peel and dice the potato, then boil in hot, salted water until soft. Drain, mash and set aside to cool.


2) Drain the can of beans and slice them in half. This sounds laborous but it needn't be - just line them up and slice multiple beans at the same time! stir into the mashed potato.


3) Blitz the spinach in a blender and grate in some nutmeg and season with black pepper before adding 2 tablespoons of ricotta.


4) Stir the spinach and ricotta mixture into with the potato and beans and form patties.


5) Blitz your bread in a blender until fine breadcrumbs are formed. Crush a handful of pistachios in a blender and stir through the bread with some sesame seeds.


6) Roll the patties in the breadcrumb mixture, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

5 bean chilli & sweet potato melting burger

Ingredients 2 sweet potatoes, kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans, maize, pistachios, sesame seeds, old bread, coriander, 5 jalepenos, Philadelphia

Serves: 4 preparation: 30 minutes


I love bean burgers and this is a fabulously spiced with a scrumptious melting Philadelphia centre to cut through the heat.


1) Peel and dice the sweet potato, then boil it in hot, salted water until soft. Drain, mash and set aside to cool.  


2) Stir the beans into the sweet potato (Tesco sell "taco beans", 1 can of which is perfect - but rinse away the sauce, otherwise it will make the mixture too wet) and add a teaspoon of cumin and some chopped jalepenos to taste.


3) Sift in a little maize flour and stir through, adding more bit by bit until the mixture has stiffened just enough to form a patty with.


4) Blitz your bread in a blender until fine breadcrumbs are formed. Crush a handful of pistachios in a blender and stir through the bread with some sesame seeds.


5) Slice the patty in half and fill with a good teaspoon of Philadelphia. Form the patty back around the cheese to ensure there is no place for it to bubble out. Roll it in the breadcrumb mixture, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Creamed cabbage & potato cakes

Ingredients Pistachio, chilli & lime potato cakes, irish cheddar, cabbage, leeks, double cream, butter, black pepper

Serves: 2 preparation: 10 minutes


When I make potato cakes, I tend to like thick almost scone-like cakes that are crispy on the outside and meltingly perfect mash in the middle. On the rare occasion that I have "proper" flat potato cakes, I like to treat them as toast. In honour of St Patrick's Day (because what's more Irish than potatoes and cabbage?) I have created this creamed cabbage, cheddar and leek concoction to serve them with.


1) For instructions on making potato cakes see my previous recipe.


2) Dice the cabbage and leeks, then sautee in a little butter for 5 minutes, adding a tiny splash of cream once the leeks are soft.


3) Stir through some grated Irish cheddar and season well with black pepper.

Serve on the toasty hot potato cake

Dukkah with romanesco broccoli

Ingredients     Sesame seeds, pistachios, himalayan pink sea salt, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, paprika, chilli powder, cumin seeds, romanesco broccoli, pumpkin oil, basil oil.

Serves: 5 preparation: 10 minutes


I'm introducing three elements to you with this recipe. Firstly Dukkah, an absolutely stunningly delicious Egyptian dry spice mix which is usually served with bread and dipping oils. Secondly pumpkin oil which I bought at the incredible Cornucopia at Leeds Corn Exchange this week. It's a fabulous healthy oil made from dry roasted cold pressed pumpkin seeds which is evocative of sesame oil but FAR nicer. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it would change Dukkah for me forever. Thirdly, romanesco broccoli which is a gorgeous vegetable comprising of fractal spirals of crunchiness with a creamy flavour somewhere in between broccoli and cauliflower. I can rarely bear to cook it, instead preferring to admire the vivid green colour and sink my teeth into it. I chose to dunk the florets into the pumpkin oil and dukkah today and may never eat it with bread again! YUM!


1) Add equal quantities of the seeds and nuts to a hot pan and toast them off for 1-2 minutes or until the mustard seeds begin to pop.


2) Transfer to a mortar and pestle along with the sea salt, paprika, chilli powder and black peppercorns and grind until you have a rough, gritty powder.


Dukkah can be kept sealed in a jar in the cupboard for some time and makes a fabulous, fabulous dry rub for meat. I mixed the pumpkin oil with a little basil oil to bring out the sweetness of the romanesco broccoli.

Pistachio, chilli & lime potato cakes

Ingredients  leftover mashed potatoes, 100g pistachios, 2 limes, 1 tbsp chilli powder, white flour, olive oil.

Serves: 2 preparation: 10 minutes


Of all the exotic and delicious foods that I cook on a daily basis for your viewing pleasure, if you were to ask me what my favourite food is, I would probably answer mashed potato. Whenever I was poorly as a little girl my mum used to make me mashed potatoes and let me lay on the sofa under a duvet watching Disney films with a bowl of pure comfort. Leftover mashed potato isn't a regular occurrence in this house but on the occasions that I've made far too much I love to make potato cakes with it - and these tangy, spicy little lumps of heaven are spectacular.


1) Grind the pistachio in a mortar and pestle (or pulse in the blender) - until you have a good mix of fine crumbs and chunks, then stir into the mashed potato along with the lime juice and the chilli.


2) Season well and form into patties, then dust with flour. Personally I like them as you see, quite thick and scone like but it's more traditional to have them about half the size...


3) Drizzle a little olive oil in a frying pan and drop in the potato. Using a fishslice or a wooden spatula, turn them frequently until the surface is crisp and serve!

Baked potato: leek, pistachio & parmeggian

Ingredients Leek, pistachios, parmigiano, butter, potato.

Serves: 1 Preparation: 45 minutes - 1 hour

Once you have made your perfect baked potato, you need to fill it! Traditional fillings are all well and good but if you eat a baked potato every day for lunch then sometimes you need to mix it up! This has a wonderful flavour and texture and is great for using up leftover leek!

1) Slice the leek and finely chop. Sautee in a little butter for 2 minutes, and then add about a teaspoon of crushed pistachio nuts. Toast in the pan for a further minute and spoon onto the potato.

2) Top with grated parmeggian and serve!

Spinach & asparagus ravioli with sage & pistachio butter

Ingredients  400g spinach, 20 fine asparagus    stalks, 8oz pasta flour, 1 tsp olive oil, 4 eggs, handful of pistachio nuts, 1 tbsp sage, 2 tbsp butter

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour (+5 hours pasta preparation)

I adore pasta and thankfully love making it almost as much as I love to eat it - there's nothing quite like freshly made pasta, fresh from the pot. The combination of flavours in this dish is quite frankly insane but somehow it really works. Sage butter is something that I love with pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli but in this case I made it into more of a pesto using pistachio nuts to balance out the intensity of the sage. This sweetness really brought out the flavour of the asparagus and the spinach provided a freshness that balanced everything out.

1) Pour 8 ounces of grade 00 flour (pasta flour), 1 teaspoon of olive oil, a good pinch of salt, 3 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk into a bowl and kneed with your hands until you have a firm dough. Wrap this in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2-5 hours.

2) Steam the asparagus and 200g of the spinach for 4 minutes, strain as much of the water from the spinach as possible and then completely pulverise in the blender, leaving a thick puree.


3) To prepare the "pesto" finely chop the sage and stir into some gently warmed butter. Finely chop the pistachio nuts/ grind in a mortar and pestle or pulse in the blender. Stir the nuts through and set aside for the flavours to infuse.

4) Dust a worktop with pasta flour and roll out the dough into a sheet 1/3 of a centimetre thick. Cut out squares of pasta with a knife and roll these through a pasta machine (or using a rolling pin if you don't have one) until you have a thin rectangle of pasta. Add a teaspoon of the spinach and asparagus mixture to the centre of the rectandle and fold in half, pinching the ends together firmly like a cornish pasty until each piece is completely sealed.


5) When all the pasta shapes are stuffed, drop them into a large pan of hot, salted water. The pasta will sink to the bottom initially but when it is ready (2-3 minutes maximum unless your pasta is too thick) it will float to the top.

6) Remove the ravioli from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. Stir through the pesto and serve on a bed of steamed spinach with additional asparagus if you wish.

Courgette & pistachio bread

Ingredients  1 courgette, handful of pistachios, 500g wholemeal flour, 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 150ml  marscapone, 125ml milk, juice and zest of 1 lemon.

Serves: 8 Preparation: 1 hour


This bread manages to be at once light and spongy in the centre and incredibly crusty - I couldn't believe what a fabulous crust this formed from the texture of the nuts which also gave this enough flavour for me not to need to add any salt to the mix.



1) Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda and grate the courgette into it. Stir well until each piece of courgette is coated in flour.

2) Finely dice the pistachios (this took me about 25 minutes so a quicker option would be to crush them in a mortar and pestle!) then stir in to the flour mix.


3) Zest the lemon and stir into the flour mix, then squeeze the juice from the lemon and stir that through too.

4) Stir through the marscapone and add the milk little by little until a soft, sticky dough is formed.

5) Form a rough ball with the dough and dust with flour, or set in a loaf tin. Slice a line down the top with a knife and bake on a baking sheet for 30 minutes or until a good crust has formed which sounds hollow when you tap it.

Grape & feta calzone

Ingredients 3 stalks Rosemary, handful of pistachios, basil oil, feta, handful of   spinach, cinnamon, sherry, grapes, 200g very strong white bread flour (grade 00), 1/4 tbs salt, 1/2 a sachet of yeast, 1/4 tsp honey, 1 tbs olive oil, 130ml warm water.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour


I can remember the first calzone I ate as a little girl; a thin crisp shell dusted with flour that released a cloud of fragrant steam when I hacked into it, followed by an ooze of cheese and tangy tomato sauce. This particular recipe was inspired by a filling Jamie Oliver made for a breakfast pastry which I knew would be enhanced, like anything, with cheese.


1) For a quick pizza dough: sift the flour and salt together and pour onto a clean work surface. Make a well in the centre and after dissolving the yeast, oil and honey in warm water, pour into the centre and mix with a fork until it is gradually combined. Dust your hands with flour and kneed until a smooth, elastic dough has formed. Set aside.


2) Finely chop the rosemary and "bruise" in a mortar and pestle with a handful of pistachios until the nuts are crushed. Season with salt and pepper and about half a teaspoon of cinnamon, then stir in a tablespoon of basil oil and a teaspoon of sherry.


3) Roughly chop a good handful of spinach and quarter a good handful of grapes (I used seedless flame red grapes). Stir in the rosemary "pesto" and set aside.


4) Roll out the pizza dough to about half a centimetre thickness and cut out circles of dough (I used about 8cm diametre circles). Roll the circles a little thinner and dust one side with flour.


5) Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the filling onto each circle, adding cubes of feta (I used a 25 year barrel aged feta - the stronger the better for this recipe!) and then fold in half, ensuring the filling is evenly distributed.


6) Pinch the edges of the dough until it is sealed like a cornish pasty and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Fig, feta & pistachio stuffed mushrooms

Ingredients Mushroom, fig, feta, pistachio

Serves: 1 Preparation: 10 minutes


1) Wash the mushroom and stuff with crumbled feta and crushed pistachios.


2) Top with quarters of feta and bake for 5 minutes

Potato skins stuffed with courgette & pistachio pesto

Ingredients Potato, courgette, basil, basil oil, parmigiano, pistachio, baby plum tomatoes.

I make mashed potatoes in 3 different ways depending on the time I have, or the type of mash I'm making.
On the occasions where I bake the potatoes in the oven I cannot resist saving the skins to stuff them with scrummy things.

1) Cover the potatoes in foil and bake for 1 and a half hours.


2) Scoop the potato from the skins ensuring that you leave a thin layer of potato to give the shell some integrity. Set the potato aside to cool.


3) To make the pesto: Grind a handful of pistachios in a mortar and pestle, then grind a handful of basil into the nuts. Stir through some basil oil, a little finely grated parmeggian and stir the pesto into roughly grated courgette.


4) Spoon the courgette pesto into the potato shells, top with halved baby plum tomatoes and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Pistachio pesto & roast tomato bruschetta

Ingredients    Ciabatta (I used La Brea walnut    bread) plum tomatoes, basil, basil   oil, pistachios, parmigiano, balsamic glaze.

1) Slice the ciabatta and brush one side with a little basil oil - grill lightly and set aside.


2) Slice the baby plum tomatoes in half and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.


3) Grind a handful of pistachios in a mortar and pestle, then grind a handful of basil into the nuts. Stir through some basil oil and spread the pesto onto the untoasted side of the bread.


4) Layer the tomatoes over the pesto, then sprinkle freshly grated parmeggian over the top and grill for 2 minutes. Serve with balsamic glaze.

Pork & apple rice salad

Ingredients      Basil oil, pistachio, basil, pork    strips, apple, long grain rice, wild rice, lime.

1) Mix the rice together and boil for 20 minutes. Strain and set aside.


2) Peel and core 2 apples and dice the fruit. Warm a little basil oil in a frying pan and add the apples, stirring through until they begin to soften. Add the pork strips and sizzle until cooked.


3) Crush a handful of pistacho nuts in a mortar and pestle and add 2 handfulls of roughly chopped basil. Grind the basil into the nuts until it forms a paste. Stir through some basil oil, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt.


4) Stir the pesto through the rice and add the pork and apples.

Leek & pistachio risotto

Ingredients Risotto rice (arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano - I would recommend carnaroli), vegetable stock, leek, parmigiano, pistachios, basil oil, buttermilk.

All risottos (no matter what the ingredients) can be made in 3 simple stages. The first is called tostatura - coating the rice in fat, the second involves cooking off some alcohol (white wine, brandy or vermouth produce the best flavours) and the third involves releasing the starch from the rice one ladle of stock at a time.

1) Slice the leek and add into a hot pan along with a generous glug of basil oil. Stir through and after 30 seconds add in 1 cup of risotto rice (this will serve one - add a half cup for each additional person).

2) Stir through until the basil oil has coated the rice evenly. When you see the grain of rice becoming clear, revealing a white dot in the centre add a glass of white wine and stir through.

3) Add a ladle of vegetable stock and continue to stir the rice.

4) Add additional stock, ladle by ladle as the stock cooks off. With the last ladle add a few tablespoons of parmeggian.

5) When the rice is soft (takes about 20 minutes) serve topped with pistachio nuts. A good risotto will be a little soupy rather than dry. It should be possible to form a mound of rice but when the dish is tapped it should sink down. I added a little buttermilk to the rice to cut the richness of parmeggian.