Probably best known for their use in pesto sauce, pine nuts have a very delicate taste and texture and are high in protein which makes them especially useful in a vegetarian diet. They can be eaten raw, when they have a soft texture and a sweet buttery flavour and are especially good in salads. They are delicious toasted as this brings out their flavour and adds a little extra crunch.
Tom Kerridge’s butternut squash and sage risotto
Express bacon and pesto pasta
Chicken with chorizo, peppers and sage with spiced aubergine
Quick sausage casserole with Savoy cabbage pesto
Basic tortellini with ricotta and pine nuts
Pesto lemon chicken
Kid’s customised couscous salad
Spinach, feta and pine nut salad
Honey and chestnut cake
Gluten-free Venetian carrot cake
How to make pesto
Pine nuts are oily and rich in protein, so they tend to go rancid quite quickly; store them in the fridge and they will keep longer.
The longer, thinner Asian varieties are higher in oil than American or Mediterranean types. Pine nuts have a rich buttery, resinous flavour and are used in many savoury dishes, especially vegetarian ones, but are particularly associated with Italian, Mediterranean and Asian cooking. They’re a key ingredient in pesto and appear in lots of pasta dishes.
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