Pine Nut Tea

By Anthony Raffo

When the editor of Cibare magazine asked if I wanted to be part of this November edition of course I jumped at the chance. She then went on to tell me it was going to be a breakfast themed edition.

Now for people that don’t know me I’m the head chef of Anglo Restaurant in Farringdon and because of this I’m definitely up well before most people consider it an appropriate time to eat breakfast. This also means I very rarely have time for breakfast so I was a little worried about what I would share with you, the readers.

I thought back to what I enjoyed for breakfast when I was younger and it’s as simple as peanut butter on toast with a cup of tea.

I very much enjoy foraging for ingredients myself to use in the dishes at Anglo Restaurant and one of my favourite plants to harvest from is pine trees. They are so versatile, from young tips in the spring to nuts in the winter. They are of course starting to be a common sight not just in your local woods but in shop windows around this time of year as well. Who doesn’t love seeing a brightly lit Christmas tree to make you feel happy inside?

So here is my recipe for pine nut butter and pine needle tea to enjoy throughout this cold month.

Ingredients: 500g of pine nuts 5g of sea salt 10g of caster sugar

Method:

Harvest your pine nuts by shaking and tapping the pinecone to loosen the nuts, allowing them to fall out. Do this as soon as you notice the pinecones opening and falling so that you get in there before the squirrels do. Failing all this you can always buy pine nuts from your local supermarket. Toast your pine nuts at 180°C, 160°C fan, Gas Mark 4 for 10 to 15 minutes or until they start to take on a golden colour. Remove the pine nuts from the oven and allow to slightly cool for 5 minutes. Now place in a food processor or blender and start to blitz at a low to medium speed. After a while you’ll see the nuts turn from a crumb to a paste. You may have to stop several times during the process to scrap the excess off the sides. When you see the nuts turning into a paste add the salt and sugar and continue till a smooth butter. Or if you like you pine nut butter crunchy stop blending just before you achieve a smooth paste. Place into a jar and chill before enjoying. Ingredients: 100g of fresh pine needles 2 dried orange slices Squeeze of lemon 2 tsps of raw honey 550ml hot water

Method:

Place all ingredients except the water into a tea pot. Heat the water but do not boil as you don’t want to scald your ingredients. Pour water into your pot and let the tea steep for 5 minutes. Pour into a cup though a strainer and enjoy.

Pine needles are a great source of vitamin C so they’re great for fighting off colds, especially with the addition of the citrus and honey elements. Very helpful in November and the chilly months that follow!