Recipes with pine nuts

The salad tastes fresh and summery although it is made with winter greens. The dressing is low calorie and it will keep for a week.

Calamaria Gemista: traditional Greek stuffed squid filled with rice, pine nuts, currants, and fresh herbs, then slow-simmered in wine and tomatoes until fork-tender.

Pasta al pesto with homemade basil and pine nut pesto, tossed with steamed carrots, sauteed zucchini, and snow peas. A fresh, vegetable-loaded Italian pasta dinner.

This is a vibrant colourful dish that has Summer BBQ ‘written all over it”. Adding mint to the pesto brings in a classic flavour accompaniment to great Australian Lamb – fabulous with a glass of Banrock Station Shiraz Mataro, 2008, £5.99 at Sainsbury’s, Somerfield, Tesco, Waitrose and Thresher.

Italian focaccia studded with olives, pine nuts, and roasted red peppers, finished with fresh basil and cracked pepper. A puffy, dimpled flatbread perfect for antipasto boards and sandwich bases.

Christmas Eve couscous with a spiced vegetable stew of squash, carrots, broad beans, and zucchini, served with harissa, chickpeas, raisins, pine nuts, and yogurt. A vegetarian North African feast.

Italian sausage and ricotta filling with spinach, pine nuts, and garlic for yeast pastry pockets. Savory hand pies baked golden with an egg wash crust.

Microwave lamb stir-fry with toasted pine nuts, bok choy, and mushrooms in a ginger oyster sauce. Tender lamb strips cooked on a browning dish, ready in 30 minutes.

This was very good. I prepared the salads individually on salad plates and fanned the pears for a more elegant look.

White chocolate mousse cake layered between sheets of genoise with candied citrus peel, pine nuts and shaved white chocolate curls. An elegant layered dessert with bright grapefruit, orange and lemon zest running through every bite.

Gratin Catalan with layered eggplant, roasted peppers, capers, anchovies, and a pine nut breadcrumb topping. A rustic Mediterranean vegetable bake served warm or at room temperature.

Mediterranean salad of torn lettuce and spinach chiffonade, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts, jewel-like pomegranate seeds and a simple olive oil lemon dressing. Ready in 15 minutes.

Grouper saor pairs grilled fish fillets with sweet-sour Venetian onions braised in red wine and balsamic vinegar with golden raisins. Topped with toasted pine nuts and fresh chives.

No-cook sun-dried tomato and olive pesto with pine nuts, fresh parsley, shallots, and garlic. A bold, savory alternative to traditional basil pesto.

Wilted spinach with lemon, garlic, and toasted pine nuts. A five-minute Italian-style side built from five ingredients and a hot pan.

Asparagus with Toasted Pine Nuts and Lemon Vinaigrette recipe