Walnut Orange Bites

From issue #5.
Photography by Photography by Aaron McLean.
Walnut Orange Bites

INGREDIENTS

125 grams toasted walnuts
½ cup finely ground cornmeal
1 cup flour
¾ cup sugar
zest of 1 orange
120 grams unsalted butter, softened
2 egg yolks
icing sugar to sprinkle

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease a 23cm square tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. Place the walnuts, cornmeal, flour and sugar in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the orange zest, butter and egg yolks and process until the
mixture forms moist crumbs. Press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the prepared tin, sprinkle with icing sugar and bake for 35 minutes.

Allow to cool in the tin before lifting out and cutting into small pieces. Sift over more icing sugar and serve stacked up on a plate. Serves 10-12

Tea Match: The orange flavour in these biscuits is very distinct and I wanted to find a tea that would enhance this without overpowering it. In the end I plumped for something which is not tea at all, but a wonderfully refreshing drink in its own right. Rooibos is a small legume, native to the Cedarberg region of the Western Cape in South Africa and was discovered around the turn of the 19th century. Rooibos is from the Dutch for “red-bush” and describes the oxidised needle-like leaves. Rooibos has a fruity, sweet taste, is high in anti-oxidants just like tea, and is caffeine-free. For this match I have blended the Rooibos with a small amount
of cinnamon to complement the orange of the biscuits.