Para Food
BRAZIL NUT PESTO
Recipe by Dreena Burton
1. In a food processor, combine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, brazil nut oil, water and basil and puree until fairly smooth. Puree less for a chunkier texture, or longer for a smoother texture. At this point, refrigerate pesto in a covered container until ready to cook pasta.
2. Once ready to use, cook pasta according to package directions. Just before draining, remove about 1/2 cup or so of the cooking water and set aside. Drain pasta (don't rinse it!) and toss with the pesto, using as much or as little pesto as you like. If the pasta is a little dry, add more pesto, a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water, and/or brazil nut oil.
3. Season to taste with additional sea salt, black pepper, and fresh lemon juice as desired. In the summer, top this salad with fresh, ripe sliced cherry tomatoes!
4. Note: You can use 3/4 lb. of pasta, or up to 1 lb. if you like, you simply may need to add extra cooking water or brazil nut oil to help spread the pesto through the pasta. Try wheat-free pastas, such as brown rice, spelt, or quinoa pasta.
5. Note: You may need extra water for this pesto once you toss it through the pasta. Instead of adding extra water directly to the pesto blend, you can instead reserve some of the pasta cooking water and add that to pesto and pasta once you are combining the two (as explained in directions).
6. Note: Use any leftover pesto to spread on pizza crusts, slather on crusty breads, dollop on soups, or mix with sandwich fillings!
HOMEMADE BRAZIL NUT BUTTER
Recipe by Unknown
Heat your oven to 200° C.
Add the brazil nuts bran into a food processor with the brazil nut oil and salt (and the optional items) and blend for 6-8 minutes stopping every minute to stir around with your spatula.
You can blend it more if you like it creamier and less if you like it crunchier.
Transfer the butter into a glass jar and store either in the fridge or at room temperate (it will keep for several weeks).
BRAZIL NUT CHEESE WITH HERBS
Recipe by Unknown
Place the nuts in a bowl and cover with cold water. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly brazil nut oil a baking tray.
Drain the brazil nuts bran and place in a blender or food processor. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Blend until very smooth. You may need to pulse the machine and scrape down the sides.
Place the mixture in the centre of a large clean Chux cloth or tea towel.
Bring up the ends and edges to the centre and twist so the mixture forms a ball.
Squeeze out any excess moisture.
Place the herbs and pepper in a bowl. Roll the ball in the herb mixture. Place on the tray.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until warm. The ball may start to crack. Lift on to a serving plate and drizzle with the extra brazil nut oil.
Serve with small crostini or crackers.
CHRISTMAS ROCKY ROAD
Recipe In Nigella Lawson's book Feast, published by Chatto & Windus
Place the dark and milk chocolate pieces into a heavy-based pan. Add the butter and golden syrup and cook over a low heat to melt and combine.
Place the amaretti biscuits into a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin to make crumbs of various sizes. Place the Brazil nuts bran into another freezer bag and bash in the same way.
Take the pan of melted chocolate mixture off the heat and add the crushed biscuits and bran.
Add the glacé cherries and mini marshmallows.
Fold the mixture carefully to coat all of the solid ingredients with the syrupy chocolate mixture.
Pour the mixture into a 25cm/10in x 30cm/12in greased and lined baking tray and smooth the surface as much as possible (although it will look bumpy).
Refrigerate for two hours, or until firm enough to cut. Dust with icing sugar, then sprinkle with edible glitter if you wish.
Remove the block of rocky road from the tray and cut into 24 rectangles.
SOUFFLÉ CRÊPES WITH BANANA, BRAZIL NUTS AND CHOCOLATE PIECES
by James Tanner
Preheat oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
Place the flour and caster sugar into a bowl. Whisk in the egg and add just enough milk to form a batter, whisking until you have reached the consistency of double cream.
For the soufflé, place the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and whisk togetherto combine.
Place the egg whites into a clean bowl and whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks,when the whisk is removed.Carefully fold the egg white mixture into the whisked yolks.
Melt the butter in an ovenproof saucepan over a medium heat, and pour in a little of the crepe mixture, tilting the pan so the batter covers the base. Cook until the underside of the crepe is golden.
Place the chopped banana, nuts and chocolate onto half of the crepe and top with the soufflé mixture.
Fold the crepe in half with a spatula and transfer into the oven and cook for eight minutes, or until risen.
To serve, dust with icing sugar.
GEISHA CUPCAKES
Recipe by Gok Wan
Preheat the oven to 200C/190C Fan/Gas 6. Fill two 12-hole cupcake tins with paper cases.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt using an electric whisk until the ingredients are well incorporated.
Whisk the milk, vanilla essence and eggs in a jug.
Pour three-quarters into the dry ingredients and beat slowly using an electric whisk until combined. Increase the speed, pour in the remaining milk mixture and beat until you have a smooth batter.
Stir in the bananas.
Divide the batter evenly between the 24 cupcake cases and put a brazil nut into the centre of each one. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed.
Leave to cool slightly in the tin before transferring to a wire rack.
For the decoration, roll out the flesh-coloured icing and cut into circles to fit the top of the cupcakes. Roll out the black fondant icing and cut to resemble the geishas’ hair. Top each cupcake with a circle and use the edible ink pen to draw on facial features. Attach the hair using edible glue or a little water.
FOUR NUT CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
Recipe by Delia Smith
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Begin by chopping the nuts roughly, not too small, then place them on a baking sheet and toast them in a preheated oven for 8 minutes exactly. Please use a timer here otherwise you'll be throwing burned nuts away all day!
While the nuts are cooking, put the chocolate and butter together in a large mixing bowl fitted over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water.
Allow the chocolate to melt, then beat it until smooth, remove it from the heat and simply stir in all the other ingredients until thoroughly blended.
Now spread the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 30 minutes or until it's slightly springy in the centre.
Remove the tin from the oven and leave it to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into roughly 15 squares.
Then, using a palette knife, transfer the squares on to a wire rack to finish cooling.
BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE
Recipe by Merrilees Parker
Place the peaches or nectarines into a juicer and extract the juice.
Pour the juice into a blender with the remaining ingredients except the maple syrup and blend.
Taste the smoothie for sweetness, adding a little maple syrup if necessary.
Serve immediately in tall glasses.