Nut Truffles
(Makes 25)
Ingredients
2/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Walnuts
2/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Natural Almonds
2/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Hazelnuts
1½ cups dark chocolate drops
2 tbsp Alison’s Pantry Chia Seeds
3 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp honey
2/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Roast Unsalted Almonds, finely chopped
Serve
Ice cream cones
Method
- Grind all the nuts together in a food processor. Add chocolate and pulse to grind. Add remaining ingredients, except roast almonds, until combined and the mixture clumps together.
- Using damp hands, roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Roll nut truffle balls in chopped almonds, to coat. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- A fun way to serve these Nut truffles is to pop them into ice cream cones along with a mixture of Alison’s Pantry indulgent sweets to make individual servings.
Alison’s Pantry Milk Chocolate Almonds, Chocolate Salted Caramel Popcorn, Cranberry Nut Nougat and Chocolate Pretzels make a great combo with these Nut Truffles.
This recipe was created by Julie Le Clerc for Alison’s Pantry.
Sourdough Stuffing with Walnuts, Caramelized Onion & Sage
Serves 6-8 as a side dish.
Sweet caramelized onions and earthy aromatic sage add an irresistible depth of flavour to this delicious Christmas stuffing. It’s a lovely traditional style stuffing for roasted chicken or turkey, although it can also be served as a side dish on its own which is equally as delicious.
Ingredients
1 loaf sourdough, sliced into bite-size cubes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter 3 brown onions, roughly chopped
1 large handful sage, roughly chopped
1 tbsp honey
1 cup Alison’s Pantry walnuts, chopped
1 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
3 free-range eggs
sea salt and ground pepper
-
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Place bread cubes in a single layer over two baking trays. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and then place in the oven to toast. Bake for 3-5 minutes or until slightly toasted. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sage and stir to coat in the butter. Lower the heat and sauté until browned. Drizzle over the honey and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes or until caramelised. Leave to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, toss together the onions, toasted bread cubes, walnuts, and Parmesan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the stock, eggs and a good pinch of sea salt and ground pepper. Pour over the bread mixture and then, using your hands, mix well. The mixture should be moist but not dripping with liquid.
- Place stuffing into the cavity of a turkey or large chicken and cook as normal.
Alternatively, to serve as a side dish, transfer stuffing to a baking dish greased with butter or olive oil. Preheat oven to 180°C and bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden on top. Serve in a heated dish for people to help themselves.
Download the PDF version here: Alison’s Pantry Sourdough stuffing with Walnuts, Caramelized Onion and Sage
This recipe was created by Eleanor Ozrich for Alison’s Pantry.
COOKIE CUTTER HACK!
Fall in love with cookie cutters all over again
Bring your chocolate brownie to life using cookie cutters! Grab your festive cookie cutters (think gingerbread man, Christmas tree, stars and even candy canes!) and cut into your cookies, brownies and even fruit to bring your food to life!
Try using cookie cutters to cut watermelon or other fruit to give your dessert platters an added touch!
For a delicious brownie recipe try Alison’s Pantry Kiwi Style Fruit Mince Chocolate Brownies here
Warm French Almond Cake with Strawberry and Dried Fruit Salad
Serves 6
Warm French Almond Cake
Ingredients
125g caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g butter, softened, but not melted
250g Alison’s Pantry Ground Almonds
60g flour
icing sugar for dusting
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C
- Butter and flour a 20cm diameter cake tin or a 22cm diameter ring tin.
- Beat the sugar and egg yolks until pale and thick.
- Beat in the vanilla and butter then stir in the almonds and flour until well mixed.
- Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks.
- Add a little of the whites to the almond mixture and beat it in to loosen the mixture. Fold in the remaining beaten egg whites making sure there are no lumps.
- Spoon into the tin and bake 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, cool to warm (or cool and later reheat gently in the microwave) and dust with icing sugar.
- Serve with some of the fruit salad (recipe to follow) in the middle of the cake if using a ring tin and with mascarpone on the side.
Strawberry and Dried Fruit Salad
Ingredients
¾ cup Alison’s Pantry Prunes
6 Alison’s Pantry Dried Figs, halved
½ cup sweet sherry or dessert wine
juice and zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons caster sugar
500g strawberries, hulled and halved
200g mascarpone (to serve)
Method
- Put the prunes, figs, sherry or wine, juice, zest and sugar into a bowl.
- Mix well and set aside to soak for 30 minutes.
- Add the strawberries and mix gently.
- Cover and chill.
- Serve with mascarpone and warm french almond cake.
Recipe from Ray McVinnie for Alison’s Pantry Christmas booklet 2014
Download the PDF version here: Ray’s Christmas Dessert – Warm French Almond Cake with Strawberry and Dried Fruit Salad
Satay sauce
A punchy satay sauce is the key to tying together all the elements of this Gado Gado platter. Using homemade peanut butter makes this particularly delicious and really satisfying to make. It can be nice to serve the sauce topped with fried shallots, sliced spring onions and a little extra chill.
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup coconut cream
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 rounded teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon brown or coconut sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Dried chilli flakes to taste
Place all the satay sauce ingredients into a bowl and mix together until completely blended. Taste and add chilli flakes as desired. Add a splash of boiling water if it’s too thick.
Homemade Peanut Butter
Making your own peanut butter is incredibly simple and very satisfying.
2 cups Alison’s Pantry roasted unsalted peanuts
Sea salt to taste
- Place the peanuts in a food processor or powerful blender. Blend until the peanut butter is silky smooth or to your preferred consistency. This will take 3-10 minutes depending on your machine and you may need to give the blender / food processor a few breaks to avoid overheating. The mixture will start as crumbs and then become gluggy. Keep going (scraping the sides as needed) and it will eventually become a smooth runny nut butter.
- Add salt to taste once completed.
- Store in an airtight jar.
Roasted Kumara with Dried Cranberries, Feta and Pistachios
Serves 6
Ingredients
4 purple-skinned kumara, well-scrubbed but not peeled
100g feta, crumbled
¼ cup Alison’s Pantry Whole Cranberries
¼ cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Alison’s Pantry Roast Pistachios, shelled and chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Put the kumara into a dry roasting dish and place in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the kumara is tender.
- Remove from the oven and halve the kumara lengthways.
- Place the kumara halves side by side, flesh side up, in a warm serving dish.
- Sprinkle the cranberries and feta over the kumara.
- Drizzle the maple syrup over everything.
- Sprinkle the pistachios on top and serve.
Recipe from Ray McVinnie for Alison’s Pantry Christmas booklet 2014
Download the PDF version here: Roasted Kumara with Dried Cranberries, Feta and Pistachios
Flaxseed crackers
These crackers are easy to make and will bring a major crunch to any platter. Play around with different seasonings to suit your own tastes.
¾ cup Alison’s Pantry flaxseeds
¼ cup Alison’s pantry sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon ground psyllium husk
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ¼ cups boiling water
To garnish: flaky sea salt
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius
Place all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix until evenly combined. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Leave to sit for 5 minutes.
Pour onto a large (lined) oven tray and spread out thinly using a spatula or the back of a spoon. Keeping the spoon or spatula damp makes this easier. If you don’t have a very large oven tray, split the mixture in half and use 2 trays.
Bake for 40 minutes. Turn over the sheet of crackers after 30 mins and cook for the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt while still warm. Allow to cool completely, break into pieces and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Seed and spice crusted tofu 
Serves 4
A wonderfully tasty and visually appealing way to serve tofu. Delicious with satay sauce or a spicy mayo.
½ cup Alison’s Pantry coconut threads
¼ cup Alison’s Pantry sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon cornflour
½ teaspoon sea salt
Cracked black pepper
1 300g block firm tofu
1 free range egg for dipping
Olive oil for frying
Place coconut, seeds, spices, cornflour, salt and pepper into a food processor and blitz until a fine crumb. Cut the tofu into thick wedges and blot with a clean tea towel or paper towel. Dip in the egg and then coat well in the crumb.
Heat a generous glug of oil in a sauté pan over a medium low heat. Cook in batches until browned. Take care with the heat as the seed crumb will burn easily.
Quinoa, spring onion and parmesan patties
Makes 20 patties
These little patties are a very tasty addition to your festive table, BBQ’s and picnics. Delicious both hot and cold.
1 cup Alison’s Pantry Quinoa
2 cups vegetable stock
2 large garlic cloves – finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup Alison’s Pantry Ground Almonds
1 cup finely grated parmesan
2 spring onions, green parts finely sliced
Handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 free-range egg
Salt and cracked pepper
Olive oil for sautéing
Rinse the quinoa well. Place in a medium saucepan with the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook with a lid slightly ajar for 15 minutes until tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
Place the lid on and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Stir through the garlic, cumin, almond meal, parmesan and spring onion. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before mixing in the spring onion, basil, egg and a generous seasoning of sea salt and ground black pepper.
Form heaped spoonful’s of mixture into patties. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
Heat a generous glug of oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Cook the patties until golden brown on both sides. Keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.
Reindeer Sandwiches
Bring the joy of Christmas to your kids with these Reindeer Sandwiches. Quick and easy, they are a stress-free way to add some fun to your Christmas feast!
What you’ll need:
- Bread
- Filling choice (we used our fav peanut butter from Mother Earth)
- Heart-shaped cookie cutter
- Alison’s Pantry Pretzel Bows
- Alison’s Pantry Raisins
- Chocolate buttons
How to create Reindeer Sandwiches:
- Spread your desired filling onto bread
- Use heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the sandwiches
- Decorate with Pretzel Bows for the ears, a Chocolate Button for the nose and Raisins or Dried blueberries for the eyes!
Download the PDF version here Alisons-Pantry-Reindeer-Sandwiches
Nutty Pavlovas (Serves 8)
Ingredients
3 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour, sifted
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g Alison’s Pantry Roast Unsalted Supreme Nuts, roughly chopped
To decorate
150mls cream, whipped
60g Alison’s Pantry Maple Coconut Almonds, roughly chopped
40g Alison’s Pantry Shelled Pistachios, roughly chopped
Fresh seasonal fruits, such as berries Fresh mint leaves
Method
- Preheat oven to 120°C (not fan-bake). Line two oven trays with non-stick baking paper.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar, a little at time, whisking until meringue is very stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over cornflour, vinegar, vanilla and chopped nuts and fold in lightly to just combine (take care not to over-mix at this stage).
- Spoon dollops of nutty meringue mixture onto the baking paper to make 8 round mounds. Make an indentation in the centre of each to hold the filling.
- Bake for 1 hour until crisp and dry. Now turn the oven off and leave the Pavlovas in the oven, with the door slightly open, until completely cool.
- To serve, dollop cream into the cavities. Decorate with nuts, berries and finish with a mint leaf.
This recipe was created by Julie Le Clerc for Alison’s Pantry
Walnut, Oat, Sesame Seed & Parmesan Crackers
Makes 36 crackers
Homemade crackers are a wonderful gift, packed full of love and deliciousness. This recipe is surprisingly simple to make and is sure to impress.
Ingredients
1 cup Alison’s Pantry Wholegrain Oats
3/4 cup Alison’s Pantry American Walnuts
3/4 cup tapioca flour
¼ cup Alison’s Pantry Sesame Seeds
75g butter
¾ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
Method
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius.
- Place the oats and walnuts in a food processor. Blitz until a coarse crumb.
- Add the flour, sesame seeds and salt. Process to blend well.
- Add the remaining ingredients and process for a few minutes, scraping down the sides every now and then until the dough is very well combined. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to cool and allow the oats to soak up the moisture and help bind everything together.
- Line an oven proof tray with baking paper. Roll teaspoons of dough into balls and place on the tray evenly spaced. You’ll be able to fit around 12 at a time.
- Use the bottom of a heavy glass with a wide base to flatten each ball into a round cracker. Use a small piece of baking paper between the cracker and the glass to ensure it doesn’t stick.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.
- Gently slide the sheet of baking paper off the tray to continue to cool. You can then lift on another sheet of baking paper with crackers that you’ve prepared while the first batch was cooking, onto the oven sheet to bake.
- If it’s a very hot day it can be helpful to put any crackers that are waiting to be baked in the fridge or freezer to keep cool. This will ensure the butter doesn’t melt too fast while baking and give a nice even cooking result.
- Cooled crackers can be stored in an airtight container in a cool pantry for up to 1 week.
- The crackers are delicious served with pesto, cheese or chutney.
Dukkah (an entertainers delight!)
Makes 2 1/2 cups
This is a fantastic addition to platters when entertaining over the festive season. All you need to add is a side dish of good quality olive oil and some fresh bread. Dukkah can be used as a tasty coating for chicken or fish. It’s also delicious sprinkled over hummus, on avocado toast or over salads.
Ingredients
1/2 cup Alison’s Pantry Shelled Pistachios
1/4 cup Alison’s Pantry Natural Almonds
¼ cup Alison’s Pantry Hazelnuts
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/4 cup Alison’s Pantry Sesame Seeds
1 teaspoon salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Place the nuts in an oven-proof dish and roast for 10 minutes.
Place the hazelnuts in a dry tea towel and rub off as much skin as possible.
Heat a dry skillet over a medium-low heat. Toast the coriander seed, fennel seeds and cumin seeds for a few minutes until fragrant.
Wipe out the hot skillet with a dry cloth. Place the sesame seeds in the pan over the same heat. Toast for a few minutes until lightly golden.
Place the nuts and spices into a food processor. Blitz until the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Stir through the sesame seeds and salt. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight glass jar for 2-3 weeks.
Used as part of a crumb for schnitzel
Dukkah is a brilliant addition to family favourite schnitzel. Use a 50/50 mix of dukkah and panko breadcrumbs for an irresistibly crunchy and flavoursome crust.
This crumb is also fantastic with tofu or fish.
As part of an iceberg wedge salad
Ice cold iceberg lettuce wedges become delicious, crisp, addictive salad when drizzled with a creamy dressing (we love a tahini and miso dressing) and then sprinkled generously with dukkah. A scatter of fresh herbs finishes it off.
Fantastic at summer bbqs or as a quick weeknight side dish.
As a brunch topping
Dukkah is incredibly delicious sprinkled on scrambled eggs, roasted tomatoes and sliced avocado and just about anything you like to eat at brunch. It adds texture and an interesting flavour boost.
Hot Roasted Nuts
Serves 4 (as a snack)
This simple snack is a delicious way to nourish your guests, plus it will make your kitchen smell amazing. You can adjust the seasonings to suit your own tastes and play around with other herbs and spices that you enjoy.
Ingredients
2 cups Alison’s Pantry Deluxe Natural Nuts
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves – diced
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 pinches cayenne pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Method
Preheat oven to 140 degrees celsius. Place the nuts evenly spaced on a lined oven tray.
Roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and toss well with all the remaining ingredients.
Roast for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes before serving.
Lentil & Cashew Nut Curry
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Serves 6
This delicious weeknight curry is easy to create for the whole family. You can add chicken if that’s your choice of protein, or leave as-is for a vegetarian option.
Serving with Quinoa’s nutty flavour makes it a tasty alternative to rice or couscous. Quinoa contains phosphorous which helps build strong bones.
Ingredients
500g lean chicken breasts cut in bite-sized chunks (omit if you want a vegetarian curry)
2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 onions, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
1 cup Alison’s Pantry Natural Cashews Nuts
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp each turmeric and cumin powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 cup Alison’s Pantry Spilt Red Lentils
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock, as preferred
Salt, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
1 cup Alison’s Pantry Quinoa
Method
- If adding chicken, mix in a bowl with the ginger and garlic. Cover and chill until ready to use. Place the onion, chilli and cashew nuts in a blender and process until smooth
- Heat oil in a pan. Brown chicken all over then remove to one side. If not adding chicken then cook ginger and garlic in oil for 30 seconds. Add dried spices and fry for 1 minute. Add cashew nut paste; fry gently for 2 minutes, stirring continuously
- Return chicken to the pan (if using). Stir in the lentils and stock. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender
- Cook Quinoa in plenty of boiling water for 10-12 minutes until tender. Drain well in a fine mesh sieve. Season with salt and pepper
- Add lemon juice to curry and season with salt. Garnish with coriander. Serve with Quinoa on the side
Download PDF version here: Alisons Pantry Lentil & Cashew Nut Curry
Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Serves 6
We’ve given a decadent family favourite a wholesome update with nutritious Alison’s Pantry ingredients. It uses dates for sweetness and is packed with the nutritional powerhouse team of almonds and walnuts. This dessert is full of rich caramel flavour and will disappear fast!
Ingredients
2 cups Alison’s Pantry Select Dates
1 ½ cups water
75g butter
2 1/4 cups Alison’s Pantry Ground Almonds
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cups Alison’s Pantry American Walnuts – roughly chopped
Butterscotch sauce
1 cup fresh cream
½ cup coconut sugar
4 Tbsp butter
Method
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius.
2. Place the Alison’s Pantry Select Dates, water, and butter into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Use a masher to break up the Alison’s Pantry Select Dates and create a coarse paste. Stir through the baking soda.
3. Add to a large bowl along with the remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour into a well-greased oven-proof dish.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out just clean when inserted.
6. Leave to sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.
7. To make the butterscotch sauce, place the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer very gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The sauce will thicken as it cools.