Tom Kitchin: Cooking with nuts

I like to add walnuts, hazelnuts and chestnuts to some of my dishes to give a really interesting texture to the plate. Several different varieties are in season right now, including chestnuts, hazelnuts and wet walnuts. As an ingredient, nuts make a delicious addition to game dishes; as a dressing on meat and vegetable dishes; or as a delicious burst of flavour in soups and stews. They also work well in desserts. And they are packed with nutrients and vitamins, which are essential as the colder months approach.

For me, the distinctive smell of chestnuts captures the essence of autumn. Nothing else quite compares to the fresh, smoky smell of them cooking and it reminds me vividly of the times I spent as a young chef in Paris and London. I would walk by the many chestnut stalls on street corners to and from shifts and buy a warm bag so the sweet, burnt, warming taste is one I adore and always associate with the season.

Chestnuts have never been as popular in British kitchens as in continental ones, but I would recommend you always keep some at home as part of your autumn store cupboard essentials as they are so incredibly versatile and full of flavour. Even simply roasting them can make for an outstanding snack as the weather turns crisp.

I love to use chestnuts both at home and in the restaurant. They add texture and sweetness to so many fantastic game dishes that are perfectly in season right now, and they go particularly well with venison. I also enjoy using them in desserts as they complement many fruits, including pears.

If you hang wild chestnuts in a netted bag in a cool dry place for a couple of days after you buy them, the starch will be converted to sugar, giving a sweeter nut – ideal for puddings. The same goes for ground chestnuts or chestnut flour, which gives a really strong, sweet flavour. It also adds a slightly pasty texture when cooked. I’ve been using ground chestnuts in a dish at the restaurant recently – a chestnut spaetzle, which is a very simple German dough that, with the addition of chestnuts, takes on a delightful texture and smoky flavour.

If you’re buying chestnuts you can find them at their best from late September to December. They can be bought fresh, ground, dried, puréed or vacuum-packed. Make sure you look for plump, smooth, shiny nuts if you’re buying them fresh, which I would certainly recommend.

You’ll find a good selection of locally grown varieties, and can sometimes find fresh hazelnuts – particularly cobnuts – earlier in autumn. Cobnuts grow in the UK and I buy them fresh, still in their husks, when they're in season. I’ve been experimenting with them recently and they’re a lovely, unusual ingredient but are just coming to the end of their seasonality.

Some recipes, and often some dressings, like the hazelnut one in my leek terrine, might call for ‘skinned hazelnuts’. If you don't have any ready-skinned, just toast some hazelnuts in the oven for a few minutes, which will fill your house with a delicious, warming aroma, and when they’ve cooled slightly, rub the skins off with your fingers.

We’re serving a wonderful, seasonal dish at The Kitchin right now – a Newhaven brown crab served with hazelnut mayonnaise, toasted hazelnuts and a paysanne of autumn vegetables, which is a great example of the versatility of hazelnuts and shows the many ways they can be used. Added to the great nutritional benefits, there’s never been a better reason to experiment with your autumnal cooking with a selection of nuts.

Crab served with a hazelnut mayonnaise and toasted hazelnuts

Serves four

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

150ml hazelnut oil

200g picked crab meat

1 green apple, diced

1 red apple, diced

1 carrot, cut into triangles and blanched

½ bulb fennel, cut into triangles and blanched

100g chopped hazelnuts

salt to season

To make the mayonnaise

Emulsify the egg yolk and white wine vinegar by whisking the two ingredients together.

Slowly add the hazelnut oil. Add a little splash of water if the mixture gets too thick.

Whisk until it reaches a mayonnaise-like consistency.

To make the crab

Bind the crab meat with the mayonnaise.

Mix together half the apple, carrot, fennel and chopped hazelnuts, and mix with the crab meat and mayonnaise mix.

Place the mixture into a ring on a plate.

Take the remaining apple, carrot and fennel and scatter on the crab. Garnish with the remaining nuts.

Leek Terrine with Hazelnut Dressing

For the terrine

4 leeks

1 handful of sugar

1 handful of salt

3-or 4 Jerusalem artichokes

lemon juice

fresh herbs

For the dressing

250g hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and chopped

1 shallot, chopped

1 bunch of chives, chopped

2 tbsp hazelnut oil

sherry vinegar

salt and pepper