Nigel Slater's fruit and nut recipes for early autumn

Roast quail with figs, pork with plums and pistachio, chocolate cookies with hazelnuts. Nigel Slater reaps the autumn harvest

The weather has cooled, the garden is turning gold and there are nuts toasting in the kitchen. This cook couldn’t be happier. In the last few days alone I have made a simple pine kernel and sausage stuffing for roast birds; given deep roasted flavours to soft chocolate cookies; added crunch to tender root vegetables and made an addictive honey and nut butter for spreading on toast. What all these dishes celebrate is our love of seasonal hazelnuts and apples, pine kernels and figs, almonds and pistachios. The universal marriage of fruit and nut.