Currant Pine Nut Relish Recipes

CURRANT-AND-PINE-NUT RELISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pine nuts on a rimmed baking sheet just until pale golden and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine currants, saffron, and hot water, adding more water as needed to just cover currants; let stand 10 minutes. Strain, reserving saffron water.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low. Add celery, onion, chile, and fennel seeds; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is soft and sticky but not taking on any color, about 15 minutes. Remove and discard chile. Transfer onion mixture to a bowl.
• Pulse currants in a food processor 3 to 4 times, just until coarsely chopped. Add pine nuts and pulse 2 more times (mixture should be chunky and sticky). Stir currant mixture into onion mixture. Stir in saffron water, a little at a time, until relish has desired consistency; season to taste.

CURRANT-PINE NUT RELISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Toast the pine nuts for about 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they're golden brown and smell nutty.
• Heat a small sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium, and add the olive oil, rosemary, and chile. When the rosemary and chile start to sizzle, add the onion and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Turn the heat down to low, and let the onions stew gently for about 10 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a small bowl to cool and discard the rosemary sprig and chile.
• While the onion is cooking, place the currants in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let the currants soak for 10 minutes, and then drain well.
• Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan the onions were in, and reduce it over medium-high heat to a scant 1 tablespoon. Stir the reduced vinegar into the onion mixture.
• Add the toasted pine nuts, currants, and parsley to the onion mixture, and stir to combine. Taste for balance and seasoning.

SWEET AND SAVORY PINE NUT RELISH

Steps:

• Combine first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Add tomatoes, pine nuts and cilantro to apricot mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

SWISS CHARD WITH CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Place the raisins or currants in a bowl and pour on hot water to cover. Soak 10 minutes and drain.
• Fill a bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the chard. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until just tender. Transfer to the bowl of ice water and let sit for a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as you can. Chop coarsely.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the chard stems and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until tender. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, until they begin to color, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, just until the garlic begins to smell fragrant about 1 minute. Add the chopped greens and raisins or currants and toss together until they are well coated with oil and heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve, or allow to cool and serve at room temperature.

BURICOTTA WITH BRAISED ARTICHOKES, PINE NUTS, CURRANTS, AND MINT PESTO

Steps:

• Combine the pine nuts, garlic, salt, and half of the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade or the jar of a blender. Add the parsley and pulse until it is finely chopped. Turn off the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the mint, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the remaining olive oil and purée, stopping as soon as the ingredients form a homogenous paste, and adding more olive oil if necessary to obtain a loose, spoonable pesto. (You want to stop the machine as soon as you achieve the desired consistency, as the blade will heat the garlic and give it a bitter flavor. Also, overprocessing the pesto will incorporate too much air, making the pesto fluffy and too smooth.) Turn the pesto out into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lemon juice if desired. Use the pesto or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two days-any longer and it will lose its pretty green color and vibrant flavor. Bring the pesto to room temperature, stir to recombine the ingredients, and taste again for seasoning before serving.
• To assemble, lay the crostini oiled side up on your work surface. If you are using ricotta, place it in a medium bowl and stir vigorously with a spoon to fluff it up. Lay 1 slice of buricotta, or spread 2 tablespoons of ricotta in an uneven layer on each crostino, leaving the edges of the bread visible. Season the buricotta or ricotta with salt and spoon 1 teaspoon of pesto on top. Cut off the long stems from the braised artichokes, leaving 1/2 inch of stem on each and reserving the stems to snack on. Open up the artichokes like a flower, and set 1 artichoke on top of each crostino, sticking the stems into the buricotta like stakes to secure them. Season the artichokes with salt and spoon 1 teaspoon of relish over each artichoke. Sprinkle each crostino with 1/2 teaspoon of the bread crumbs if you are using them, and serve.
• Suggested Wine Pairing
• Malvasia di Cagliari Secco (Sardinia)

SWISS CHARD TART WITH GOAT CHEESE, CURRANTS, AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Defrost the puff pastry slightly and unroll it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a paring knife to score a 1/4-inch border around the edge of the pastry. Make an egg wash by whisking one egg yolk with 1/2 teaspoon water, and brush the egg wash along the border. (You will not need all of the egg wash.) Chill the puff pastry in the freezer until ready to use.
• Tear the chard into large pieces.
• Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the shallots, and the thyme. Sauté a few minutes, and add half the Swiss chard. Cook a minute or two, tossing the greens in the oil to help them wilt. Add the second half of the greens, and season with a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently, until the greens are tender.
• Spread the greens on a baking sheet or platter to cool. (You may want to put them in the refrigerator, so they cool more quickly.) When they've cooled, squeeze the excess water out with your hands.
• Place the ricotta, remaining egg yolk, and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Purée until smooth, and remove to a mixing bowl. Gently fold in the crème fraîche, and season with a healthy pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Spread the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry inside the scored border. Crumble half the goat cheese over the ricotta, arrange the greens on top, and sprinkle the remaining goat cheese over the tart. If you aren't ready to bake, cover the tart with plastic and chill.
• Bake the tart for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Check underneath the tart to make sure the crust is really cooked through (if you under-bake the tart, it will be soggy).
• Cool a few minutes, and then transfer the tart to a cutting board. Spoon some of the currant-pine nut relish over the tart and serve it on the cutting board at the table. Pass the remaining currant-pine nut relish in a small bowl for anyone who would like a little more.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Toast the pine nuts for about 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they're golden brown and smell nutty.
• Heat a small sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium, and add the olive oil, rosemary, and chile. When the rosemary and chile start to sizzle, add the onion and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Turn the heat down to low, and let the onions stew gently for about 10 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a small bowl to cool and discard the rosemary sprig and chile.
• While the onion is cooking, place the currants in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let the currants soak for 10 minutes, and then drain well.
• Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan the onions were in, and reduce it over medium-high heat to a scant 1 tablespoon. Stir the reduced vinegar into the onion mixture.
• Add the toasted pine nuts, currants, and parsley to the onion mixture, and stir to combine. Taste for balance and seasoning.
• Assemble the tart in the morning, cover, and refrigerate. Bake just before you're ready to serve. You can make the currant-pine nut relish in the morning.

CEDAR PLANK SALMON WITH CELERY SALAD AND CURRANT PINE NUT RELISH

Steps:

• For the salmon: Preheat a smoker for cooking to 225 degrees F and preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the cedar planks from the water and pat the surfaces dry. Put the cedar planks on a baking sheet. Place the salmon portions skin-side down on the cedar planks. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Evenly top the salmon with the parsley and lemon zest. Place the baking sheet in the smoker and allow the salmon to smoke just until it has been slightly infused with smoke flavor, about 15 minutes. Remove from the smoker and immediately transfer to the oven to finish cooking, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit until room temperature, or refrigerate and serve the next day.
• For the currant and pine nut relish: Combine the vinegar, currants, honey, shallots and mustard seeds in a small pot. Heat the pot over medium-high heat until bubbles begin to form, then lower the heat to maintain a slow simmer. Continue to cook until the currants have plumped and the liquid has reduced and become slightly viscous, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and fold in the pine nuts. Season the relish with salt.
• For the salad: Dress the celery, celery leaves and cilantro in a medium bowl with the olive oil, Meyer lemon juice, flaked salt and pepper. Top the salmon with the celery salad and a spoonful of the currant and pine nut relish and serve.

CURRANT AND PINE NUT RELISH

Steps:

• Warm the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the onion, chile, and rosemary, and season with the salt. Sauté, stirring often to prevent the onion from browning, for about 5 minutes, until the onion is tender and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent it browning.
• Meanwhile, place the currants in a small saucepan. Add the vinegar, making sure there is enough to cover. Bring the vinegar to a simmer over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until they are soft and plump. Add the currants and vinegar to the sauté pan with the onion. If there is so much vinegar that the relish is runny, bring the vinegar to a boil over medium-high heat and boil it until there is just enough liquid to bind the currants. Turn off the heat and allow the currants to cool to room temperature. Remove and discard the chile and rosemary and stir in the pine nuts just before serving. Note: In order to ensure that they keep their crunchy texture, you want to add pine nuts only to the amount of relish you will be using at the time. Transfer the remaining relish to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week.