Walnut Hummus
1/2 cup Alison’s Pantry Walnuts
1 can of chickpeas, drained
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Toast the walnuts in the oven at 180 c for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool to room temperature.
In a food processor or blender, combine the toasted walnuts with oil and garlic then blend until smooth.
Lastly, add the lemon juice, orange zest, chickpeas, salt and pepper and continue to blend or process until smooth.
Festive Truffles
Makes 15-18 truffles
Homemade truffles are such a gorgeous gift to give and share with friends and family. These are simple to make and are easy to infuse with lovely Christmassy flavours.
Option 1: White chocolate, orange, coconut and macadamia truffles
250g white chocolate
1/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup Alison’s Pantry Shredded Coconut
½ cup Alison’s Pantry Natural Macadamia Nuts
Zest of 1 orange
Extra Alison’s Pantry Shredded Coconut for coating truffles
Place the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until smooth. Add the butter, orange zest, coconut and macadamias and stir well. Pour into a shallow bowl and place in the fridge for 1 – 2 hours until set enough to roll into balls. If you leave it too long and it becomes too hard, simply leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Roll heaped teaspoons of chocolate mixture into balls* and then roll in shredded coconut. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
*The rolling will be easier with cool hands-on a cooler day. If the mix is melting too much, place in the fridge for 10 minutes before carrying on.
Option 2: Dark chocolate, apricot and almond truffles with freeze-dried raspberries
250g dark chocolate (around 62% is good)
½ cup cream
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Alison’s Pantry Ground Almonds
10 Alison’s Pantry Choice Turkish Apricots – diced
Freeze-dried raspberry powder for rolling truffles
Place the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until smooth. Add the butter, ground almonds and apricots and stir well. Pour into a shallow bowl and place in the fridge for 1 – 2 hours until set enough to roll into balls. If you leave it too long and it becomes too hard, simply leave at room temperature for 1 hour.
Roll teaspoons of chocolate mixture into balls* and then roll in the raspberry powder. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
*The rolling will be easier with cool hands-on a cooler day. If the mix is melting too much, place in the fridge for 10 minutes before carrying on.
Option 3: Dark chocolate, pistachio and mint truffles
250g dark chocolate
½ cup cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon mint essence
¾ cup Alison’s Pantry Shelled Pistachios for filling – roughly chopped
¾ cup Alison’s Pantry Shelled Pistachios for rolling truffles
Place the pistachio nuts into a food processor and blitz for a few minutes until a fine crumb. Set aside until ready to use.
Place the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until smooth. Add the butter, mint essence and pistachio nuts and stir well. Pour into a shallow bowl and place in the fridge for 1 – 2 hours until set enough to roll into balls. If you leave it too long and is too hard, simply leave at room temperature for 1 hour.
Roll teaspoons of chocolate mixture into balls* and then roll in the pistachio crumbs. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
*The rolling will be easier with cool hands-on a cooler day. If the mix is melting too much, place in the fridge for 10 minutes before carrying on.
Jumbo Savoury Muffins w/ roast pumpkin and feta
Makes 6 large muffins
These are the perfect savoury addition to a festive brunch. Wholesome and packed with delicious flavour, they are wonderful with a thick spread of butter or basil and pistachio pesto.
6 free range-eggs
½ cup milk
1 garlic clove – finely diced
3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup melted butter
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 heaped teaspoon finely diced fresh rosemary leaves
2 cups Alison’s Pantry Ground Almonds
¼ cup Alison’s Pantry Hemp Seeds
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
80g crumbled feta
1 ½ cups roasted pumpkin cubes (roughly 300g of 4cm cubed raw pumpkin will yield this once cooked)
12 cherry tomatoes – halved
Alison’s Pantry Pumpkin Seeds and Sesame Seeds to top
Salt and cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius
Combine eggs, milk, garlic, parmesan cheese, melted butter, herbs, almond meal, hemp seeds and baking powder. Mix until thoroughly combined. Season generously. Gently fold in feta and roasted pumpkin.
Spoon into a well-greased or lined jumbo muffin tin. Place the halved cherry tomatoes on top, cut side facing up. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean when inserted.
Wait until cool before removing from the tin. Will keep for up to four days in an airtight container in the fridge. Can be enjoyed fresh or toasted under the grill.
Cooks tip: You can use a regular sized 12 hole muffin tin if you prefer. Reduce the cooking time to 20-25 minutes.
Christmas Cake with Figs, Ginger, Walnuts & Orange
Serves 8 – 10
This wholesome Christmas cake has a fantastic moist texture and is packed with figs, ginger, walnuts and zesty orange. Wonderfully simple to prepare, this cake would make a beautiful homemade gift.
Ingredients:
2 cups spelt flour*
1 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
1 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
½ cup Alison’s Pantry Figs, roughly chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 orange
1 cup currants
1 cup Alison’s Pantry Walnuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
A pinch of sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ cup Alison’s Pantry Natural Almonds for decorating
*For a gluten-free cake substitute the spelt flour for buckwheat or all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 160 C, and grease a 23cm cake tin with coconut oil or line with baking paper.
- Add all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and mix until well combined. The mixture will be quite sticky, don’t worry!
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin, and smooth out evenly. Place the almonds on top, and gently press into the batter.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
- Leave to cool in the tin completely before carefully transferring to a plate.
The cake will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Download the PDF version here: Alison’s Pantry Christmas cake with Figs, Ginger, Walnuts & Orange
This recipe was created by Eleanor Ozrich for Alison’s Pantry.
Fruit and Nut Shortbread
Makes 40
Ingredients
250gm butter softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Blueberries, chopped
1/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Whole Cranberries, chopped
1/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Shelled Pistachios, chopped
1/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Natural Cashews, chopped
Extra: 1 cup Alison’s Pantry Vitality (if making Christmas Tree)
- In the bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until creamy. Add flour and mix to just combine. Stir in dried fruits and nuts.
- Divide dough into two parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a log measuring 20cm long x 4cm round. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 170°C. Line 3 baking trays with baking paper. Cut logs into 1cm thick slices and place on baking trays. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove to cool on wire racks.
To Create a Christmas Cookie Tree
- Roll out prepared shortbread dough to 1cm thick. Cut out 9 circles graduating in size from 2.5cm to 12cm in diameter.
- Bake until firm and lightly browned around the edges. Watch carefully, as smaller circles will take less time to bake and larger circles will take longer, so adjust cooking time to suit.Remove to cool on wire racks.
- Once cold, layer up graduating circles starting with biggest cookie circle as a base. Scatter some Alison’s Pantry Vitality blend between cookies to separate layers and give height. Decorate tree, as desired (We used fondant icing snowflake cut-outs).
Download the PDF version here: Alison’s Pantry Fruit and Nut Shortbread
This recipe was created by Julie Le Clerc for Alison’s Pantry.
Dark Chocolate Blueberry Truffles
(Makes approximately 25)
Ingredients
1/2 cup cream
200g dark chocolate drops
50g soft butter, cubed
1/2 cup Alison’s Pantry dried blueberries, plus extra to decorate
1/3 cup Alison’s Pantry pistachio nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
extra 250g dark chocolate drops
Reindeer Pops
Cake pop sticks, if desired (for Reindeer Pops)
1/4 cup Alison’s Pantry dried cranberries, to decorate Reindeer
1/2 cup Alison’s Pantry pretzel bows, broken in half to make ‘antler’ shaped pieces
Method
- Place cream and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, or microwave in short bursts, to melt. Whisk until smooth. Add butter and stir to combine. Stir in blueberries and nuts.
- Chill mixture for 2 hours or until firm. Roll mixture into 25 small, even-sized balls, place on a tray, cover, and chill.
- To coat in chocolate, line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Melt the extra chocolate, stir until smooth and allow to cool slightly. With a fork, pick up one truffle at a time and dip into the melted chocolate to coat. Shake off any excess chocolate and place on the prepared tray to set. Decorate with extra blueberries placed on top.
- To give as presents, place truffles in individual foil or paper cases inside small, flat boxes; tie up boxes with ribbons. Truffles will last well for up to 10 days if stored in a cool place.
To create Reindeer Pops, attach cake pop sticks to the base of each truffle before dipping in chocolate. Once dipped, press a pretzel ‘antler’ on each side of the reindeer’s head. Use a cranberry to make a nose. Press on blueberries to create eyes. Repeat with all the other Reindeer Pops.
Recipe from Julie Le Clerc for Alison’s Pantry Christmas booklet 2014
Download the PDF version here: Chocolate Blueberry Truffles and Reindeer Pops
Fig and Walnut Logs
(Makes 4 x 125g logs)
Ingredients
1/2 cup (85g) Alison’s Pantry unsalted roast almonds
1 1/2 cups (250g) Alison’s Pantry dried figs, roughly chopped with hard stalks removed
1 Tbsp brandy
1 Tbsp Mother Earth Liquid Honey
1/2 cup (85g) Alison’s Pantry diced apricots
1/2 cup (50g) Alison’s Pantry walnut pieces, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp mixed spice
Method
- Place almonds in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Remove to a bowl.
- Blitz the figs with the brandy and honey until they form a sticky paste. Add the fig paste to the bowl with the almonds. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Mix well to combine, then shape into 4 small log shapes. Set on a plate, uncovered, in the fridge or in a cool, dry place for a week to dry.
- Wrap and tie in baking paper if giving as a gift. If stored in a cool, dry place, these logs will keep well for up to 2 months. Store in the fridge during summertime. To serve, slice and serve alongside your favourite cheeses.
Recipe from Julie Le Clerc for the Alison’s Pantry Christmas booklet 2014
Download the PDF version here: Fig and Walnut Logs
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
Date & Almond Chocolate Fudge
(Makes approximately 25 squares)
Full of natural, wholefood ingredients, this wonderfully sticky and delicious raw fudge is the kind of treat that leaves you feeling truly satisfied. Luckily it lasts well stored in the fridge or freezer, so you can just indulge in a piece or two as and when you wish.
Ingredients
25 Alison’s Pantry Select Dates
1 cup (150gm) Alison’s Pantry Natural Almonds (or cashews, any nut you have in the pantry at home will be perfect!)
¼ cup coconut oil (can be substituted for butter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp raw cacao powder (or quality dark cocoa powder – we love Donovan’s Chocolate)
¼ cup cacao nibs, to garnish (or desiccated coconut, chocolate chips, seeds or dried fruit – anything you have in your pantry will work)
Method
- Line a 15cm square cake tin with baking paper.
- Place dates in a saucepan and just cover with a little cold water. Simmer for 5 minutes, to soften. Drain off any excess water and remove dates to one side to cool a little.
- Place almonds into a high-speed blender or small food processor, and blend on low for 4-5 minutes until the mixture forms a creamy paste, scraping down the sides with a spatula occasionally. This produces almond butter.
- Add the dates, coconut oil, vanilla, salt and cacao/cocoa powder to the blender and process for 2 minutes or until a thick, smooth paste forms.
- Spread the mixture into prepared tin and smooth the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours before cutting into squares to serve.
Will last for up to 10 days stored in the fridge or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
When ready to serve, take pieces out of the fridge and top with a good sprinkling of cacao nibs.
This recipe was created by Julie Le Clerc for Alison’s Pantry.
Looking for a delicious wintry dessert?
You can’t go past this Apple Banana and Berry Crumble made with our Wholegrain Oats.
Click here for the full recipe.