Celebrate the season with this simple yet delicious autumnal recipe. Use it as an accompaniment to a chicken dish, leftover turkey or enjoy it on its own as a light meal.
Hazelnut & Sage Pesto Ingredients:
- 3-4 roughly chopped cloves of garlic
- 1 cup destemmed fresh, flat leafed parsley
- 8 leaves of fresh sage
- Salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup of hazelnuts
- 1 cup of olive oil
Roasted Pumpkin Ingredients:
- Seasalt
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 pumpkin
How to Prepare:
Take a bag of hazelnuts (at least a cups worth) and spread them on a baking sheet. Place in an oven at 200°C/395°F and roast them, shaking and stirring every 2 or 3 minutes until they are a lovely, nutty brown. Remove from the oven and empty onto a clean tea towel. When they’re cool enough to handle comfortably, fold up the tea towel into a sack and then roll the hazelnuts between your hands until the skins come off. Separate the nuts from the chaff and allow to them to cool. Next, in a food processor place all of the pesto ingredients, bar the olive oil. Whiz until large crumbs appear and then pour in ¾-1 cup good quality olive oil (you may need to add more depending on how many hazelnuts you use).
Taste for seasoning and if needed add in some more fresh sage. If you’d like an added kick add in a tablespoon of Quatre épices instead. This four spice mix consists of ground pepper, cloves, nutmeg and ginger and is guaranteed to give your dish a unique flavor. By now the pesto should be pleasantly liquid, perfect for dipping.
Cut the pumpkin into thin half moon slices and remove the seeds. Pour the olive oil and sea salt into a large plastic bag and swish the pumpkin pieces until they’re thoroughly coated. Place on a baking sheet in a hot 220°C/425 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until nicely browned on top.
Remove and serve – I used our Clematis Serving Plate and Tiny Bowl. If you decide to give the recipe a try send us a picture of your creation on our Twitter or Facebook pages or leave a comment below!
*The pesto is also great for stirring through pasta or adding to the top of fish before baking. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.