They’re not the most beautiful pick of the nut world. But prepared correctly, walnuts give up a deep and earthy flavour – find the freshest nuts you can, roast them in a hot oven, and rub off their bitter skins with a clean tea towel. They’re an excellent alternative to pine nuts in pesto – try them in our winter-friendly linguine with walnut-parsley pesto, or the orecchiette with cauliflower and walnut brown-butter pesto. For something sweet, you can’t go past the walnut and date galette by legendary chef Alice Waters or the walnut, whiskey and salted caramel.