California Walnut Thandai – Chef Neha Deepak Shah
Ingredients:
- ½ cup California walnuts (soaked in water for 30 mins to 1 hour)
- 5 to 6 black pepper corns
- ½ tablespoon fennel seeds
- 4 to 5 green cardamom
- ½ teaspoon saffron strands soaked and muddled with water
- ½ tablespoon poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons melon seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried rose petals
- ½ liter milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- Garnish – Chopped walnuts, pumpkin seeds and rose petals
Preparation:
- Soak the walnuts in water for about 30 mins to 1 hour
- Soak melon seeds and poppy seeds in water too.
- Muddle the saffron with water and make a saffron paste
- Blend together soaked walnuts, fennel seeds, green cardamom, black pepper, soaked poppy seeds, melon seeds, dried rose petals, sugar, saffron paste and a little bit of milk
- Once the paste is smooth and uniformly blended, add the rest of the milk and blend it well.
- Serve the thandai with some ice or chilled. Garnish with some chopped walnuts, rose petals and pumpkin seeds (optional)
California Walnut and Banana Kheer - Chef Abinas Nayak
Ingredients:
- For Walnut milk
- 1 cup California walnuts
- 3 ½ cups filtered water
- For kheer
- 2 teaspoons ghee
- 3 cardamom pods, crushed
- California walnut milk
- California walnut paste
- Sugar (optional)
- 1 banana
Preparation:
- Soak the walnut for 2-4 hours and blend with water to make walnut milk.
- In a pan, add ghee, cardamoms and walnut milk and keep stirring.
- Add roasted walnut paste in the mixture and keep whisking.
- Once the milk thickens, chop a banana and add that to the pan.
- Stir it for a while, take it off the heat and put it in a bowl.
- Top with chopped California walnuts and serve.
Lemon & California Walnut Pie
Ingredients:
- 150g butter
- 200g butter cookies
- 150g + 2 tablespoons California walnuts
- 400g sweetened condensed milk
- Grated peel of 2 organic lemons
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 sachet of powdered dessert sauce “vanilla flavor” (without cooking)
- 500g whipped cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Oil for the pan
- Baking paper
Preparation:
- Melt butter in a small saucepan. Finely chop the cookies and 150g walnut kernels, and mix with the butter. Grease a tart pan (24 cm diameter; 5 cm high; raised bottom) with oil. Pour in crumb mixture and press down to form a flat bottom and sides. Refrigerate.
- Mix condensed milk with lemon juice and lemon zest, except for about 1 teaspoon for topping. Stir vigorously with the powdered dessert sauce for about 1 minute. Whip 300g cream until stiff and fold in. Pour the cream into the pan and spread. Refrigerate for approx. 2 hours.
- Coarsely chop 2 tablespoons walnut kernels and roast in a pan without oil. Sprinkle with sugar and let caramelize. Remove, spread on a piece of baking paper, and let cool. Remove the cake from the pan and place on a cake stand. Whip the remaining 200g cream until stiff and spread loosely on top of the pie. Sprinkle remaining walnut kernels and lemon zest on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
California Walnut Chocolate Easter Nests
Ingredients:
- 200g milk chocolate, broken into pieces
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup
- 50g unsalted butter, diced
- 75g cornflakes
- 50g California walnuts, roughly chopped + 12 halves
- 80g bag of chocolate mini eggs
Preparation:
- Place 12 fairy cases (mini cupcake cases) in a 12-hole muffin tin.
- Place the chocolate, syrup and butter in a large bowl and set over a pan of simmering water, allow to melt completely then cool slightly.
- Stir in the cornflakes and chopped walnuts until completely coated. Divide between the paper cases and make a little hollow in the center of each.
- Press a walnut half and 2 mini eggs in the hollow and chill until set.
Olive Oil and Garlic California Walnuts
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups California walnuts, halved and lightly chopped
Preparation:
- Heat olive oil, garlic powder and sea salt in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add California walnuts and reduce heat slightly. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes or until walnuts are fragrant and toasted. Let cool.
Tuna Salad with California Walnut Wasabi Dressing
Ingredients:
- California walnut wasabi dressing:
- 1/2 cup California walnut pieces, toasted
- 2 tablespoons walnut or olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons wasabi
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- A dash of sesame oil
- 2 limes, juiced
- Tuna Salad:
- 125g sushi-grade tuna steaks
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lettuce
- 1/2 cup California walnuts, toasted
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 4 tablespoons pickled ginger, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup red cabbage, finely sliced
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- Handful cilantro
Preparation:
California walnut wasabi dressing:
- With an immersion blender, blend California walnuts, oil, wasabi, soy, sesame oil and lime juice until creamy in consistency. Set aside.
Tuna Salad:
- Season tuna steaks with salt and pepper. In a non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and sear tuna for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Let rest. Cut each tuna steak into thin slices.
- Divide the lettuce, walnuts, avocado, ginger and red cabbage among four plates. Top the lettuce with the walnut wasabi dressing and tuna. Garnish with green onion and cilantro.
Tips: The dressing can be used as a dip or as a sauce for grilled chicken.
toasting walnuts
Baking: Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Arrange walnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, checking frequently.
Stovetop: Cook walnuts in a skillet at medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Italian Bean & California Walnuts on Toast
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 50g California walnuts, chopped
- 400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ x 25g pack basil, shredded
- 4 slices seeded whole meal bread, toasted
Preparation:
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion for 4-5 minutes, add the tomatoes, walnuts and beans and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and most of the basil, season to taste.
- Spoon over the toast and scatter with the remaining basil and some chopped walnuts.
California Walnuts and Pumpkin Pesto
Ingredients:
- 350g hokkaido pumpkin
- salt
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100g California walnuts
- 100g feta cheese
- 175ml olive oil
- Pepper
Preparation:
- Wash the pumpkin, remove the seeds, chop it roughly and boil in salted water for about 15 minutes until soft.
- Peel the garlic and coarsely chop some of the walnuts and set them aside. Drain the cooked pumpkin, allow it to cool briefly, and dice a few pieces. Mix the remaining pumpkin with the other ingredients and puree until smooth.
- Season the pesto with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, sprinkling with the reserved chopped walnuts and diced pumpkin pieces over the finished dish.
Tip:
The pesto can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a short time.
Whipped Feta and California Walnut Dip
Ingredients:
- 400g feta cheese
- 100g greek yoghurt
- 60g California walnuts
- 2 tablespoons walnut oil
- Salt and pepper
- Topping:
- 60g California walnuts
- 100ml maple syrup
- ½ lemon juice
Preparation:
- In a blender or with a hand blender, thoroughly mix feta, yogurt, walnuts, walnut oil, salt, and pepper. Pour the mixture into a bowl.
- For the topping, roughly break the walnuts by hand and toast them briefly in a pan without oil.
- Add the maple syrup to the toasted walnuts, bring it to a brief boil, and then pour the mixture over the whipped feta dip. Finally, drizzle lemon juice on top. Serve sprinkled with thyme leaves and lemon zest.
Fruity Caribbean Chicken Curry with California Walnuts
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 500g chicken thigh fillets, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 227g can pineapple slices, cut into chunks
- 1 tablespoon medium curry powder
- 400g reduced fat coconut milk
- 400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 75g California walnuts, roughly chopped
Preparation:
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion and chicken for 5 minutes, add the pepper and pineapple chunks, reserving the juice, and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute before adding the coconut milk, pineapple juice and kidney beans, simmer for 10 minutes then stir in the walnuts, season.
