ORANGE AND PISTACHIO TORTE
Cook: 30-40 minutes
Q & A With Hope pointing
How did you learn to cook?
I found my love of cooking at a young age when helping my mum and dad in the kitchen. My whole family has always been obsessed with food - so there was no escaping learning about food and how to cook.
What is your favourite type of food?
I am coeliac, so the food I cook tends to be naturally gluten-free and based on whole foods. I love family-style cooking where there are big platters of delicious dishes so everyone can help themselves to what they fancy.
What's your favourite dish to cook?
My recipes are influenced by Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, where whole foods and veggies are at the heart of the dishes - but with big flavour and big impact! I always use lots of citrus and fresh herbs in my cooking, and I think this adds a real freshness to foods.
What would be your last meal on earth?
My last meal on earth would probably be a crispy BBQ chicken or whole BBQ fish, with baby roast potatoes and a load of yummy veg sides, salads, and perhaps a really herby pomegranate gremolata.
What is the first Belazu product you ever tried?
The First Belazu product I tried was probably their Rose Harissa - and what a place to start! It’s still a staple in my everyday meals, and I have at least two jars on the go at any one time. My top tip is to make a jam jar dressing with the last couple of teaspoons when a jar is running out. Just add some extra virgin olive oil, honey, seasoning and lemon juice, pop the jar lid on and shake!
-
175g ground pistachios
-
75g breadcrumbs
-
150g caster sugar
-
2 tsp baking powder
-
Finely grated zest of 2 un-waxed oranges
-
200ml Belazu Olive Oil
-
4 medium eggs
-
A pinch of sea salt
-
50g toasted pistachios
-
Juice of 1 orange
-
40g sugar
- Step 0: Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Step 1: Grind the pistachios in a food processor until fine.
- Step 2: Mix the pistachios with the bread crumbs, caster sugar, salt, baking powder and orange zest.
- Step 3: In a separate bowl, mix the oil and eggs, then stir them into the dry ingredients.
- Step 4: Pour into a greased and lined 20cm cake tin with several layers of grease-proof paper going all the way up the sides. I don’t worry about doing this neatly – I think having rough, jagged edges adds to the rustic feel of the cake.
- Step 5: Bake for 30 minutes. Check with a skewer if it comes out with cake mixture, and if so, return for a further 5-10 minutes until the skewer comes out clean. If the top of the cake begins to catch, cover lightly with tin foil when in the oven.
- Step 6: While the cake is cooking, heat the orange juice and sugar on medium-high heat until the juice thickens to a syrup. Once the cake is cool, prod with a skewer several times around the cake and pour over the sugar syrup and top with the toasted pistachios. The cake will absorb this and help keep it moist.
- Step 7: This is delicious as an afternoon cake or a dessert with fresh oranges and crème fraiche.
