Sunday 29 March 2015

Seed & Nut Loaf- Flour-less & Gluten Free


 Seed & Nut Loaf- Flour-less & Gluten Free

This recipe was donated by my Danish friend who lives on it. It's seriously worth giving
this a try, you can experiment with different combinations of nuts and seeds.

Feeds- 6-10
Preparation Time -5 minutes
Cooking Time 55-1hr
Ingredients:
100 g pumpkin seeds
100 g of sunflower seeds
100 g almonds (left whole)
100 g of linseeds
100 grams of pistachios (left whole but de-shelled)
100 g of sesame seeds
5 Organic medium eggs
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 large Tsp of salt
Instructions-
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, add to a greased loaf tin.
Cook in the oven on 160 degrees for 55 minutes to an hour. Serve while warm or cool on a  cooling rack.
NOTE- Keep any nuts you use whole as if Blended or grinded they release fatty acids and
they can become rancid once baked.

Homemade Hot & Smokey Slaw


Homemade Hot & Smokey Slaw
Feeds 4
Preparation Time – 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time -0 minutes

Ingredients –
3 large carrots- Peeled and grated
1 Small –Medium white cabbage- Cut in half then finely sliced
Handful of coriander – Roughly chopped

Hot Mayo-
4 Egg Yolks (Use good quality medium sized organic eggs)
Dollop of Dijon
450ml of vegetable oil
Splash of white wine vinegar
Sprinkle of sea salt
Generous sprinkle of white pepper
Generous sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
½ Tsp Smoked paprika
Pinch of chilli flakes
Couple of glugs of Tabasco

Instructions –
Start by preparing the carrots and cabbage as noted, I find that the thinner you slice the cabbage the batter, add in the roughly chopped coriander and mix.
The easiest way to make the hot mayonnaise is to start by adding the egg yolks to food processor or electric whisk and add in the Dijon then gradually start to add in the oil until you have a good thick consistency, add in the vinegar, then the seasoning and spice and mix again bringing the consistency back to smooth and fairly thick as per normal mayonnaise.
Check the spice and adjust if necessary. I like to go quite heavy on the white pepper…
Once ready combine with your carrot and cabbage and serve.

NOTE- You can store in an air tight jar for 2-3 days.



Friday 27 March 2015

Buttered Raisin Rice with Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Fries



Buttered Raisin Rice with Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Fries
Feeds – 4-6
Preparation Time – 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time 20-25 minutes

Ingredients –
Sweet Potato Fries –
3 – 4 Large sweet potatoes – Scrubbed clean then finely cut into slices then cut length ways into skinny chips
Glug of rapeseed oil
2 Stems of fresh thyme – Leaves removed and mixed with the potatoes
Sprinkle of sea salt
Sprinkle of white pepper

1 Medium sized cauliflower – Cut into florets
Glug of rapeseed oil
Sprinkle of sea salt
Sprinkle of smoked paprika

Buttered Raisin Rice-
3 Cups of rice or roughly ½ Cup per person/ 90g- Brown Basmati rice
 2 Large knobs of butter
2 Coves of garlic crushed and finely chopped
2 Handfuls of raisins
Generous sprinkle of sea salt
Good dash of white pepper
Good sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
Handful of fresh parsley – Roughly chopped

Homemade Hot Mayo-
4 Egg Yolks (Use good quality medium sized organic eggs)
Dollop of Dijon
450ml of vegetable oil
Splash of white wine vinegar
Sprinkle of sea salt
Generous sprinkle of white pepper
Generous sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
½ Tsp Smoked paprika
Pinch of chilli flakes
Couple of glugs of Tabasco
(NOTE- If you want to cheat the mayo you can mix the paprika, chilli flakes, seasoning and Tabasco plus a dollop of Dijon with regular mayonnaise)

Instructions –

Start by preparing the sweet potatoes as noted, don’t add too much oil as they’ll go soggy not crunchy, so just lightly coat them then add the seasoning and transfer to a non stick baking dish. Cook for 20-25 minutes on 190 degrees Celsius. Do the same for the cauliflower and allow to roast until crisp.

For the buttered raisin rice start by rinsing the rise then cooks as per instructions, for every cup of rice it 1.5 of water. Remember that brown rice is often more crunchy than white so don’t be tempted to overcook.
In a separate frying pan melt your butter over a medium to low heat and add in your finely chopped garlic plus the raisins and add seasoning. Allow to simmer here for a good five minutes or so, turning down the heat if the garlic starts to golden or burn. Prepare your parsley by roughly chopping and set to one side. Once the rice is cooked pour over the garlic and raisin butter, add extra black pepper and mix through the parsley. Serve immediately or cover until ready to serve.

The easiest way to make the hot mayonnaise is to start by adding the egg yolks to food processor or electric whisk and add in the Dijon then gradually start to add in the oil until you have a good thick consistency, add in the vinegar, then the seasoning and spice and mix again bringing the consistency back to smooth and fairly thick as per normal mayonnaise.

Serve it up all together and enjoy a really delicious combination of flavours.


Wednesday 25 March 2015

MEAT FREE WEEK - Cheats Risotto with Beetroot Crisps




Cheats Risotto with Beetroot Crisps
Feeds – 4-6
Preparation Time – 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time – 35-40 minutes

Ingredients-
Vegetables for roasting-
6 Large ripe tomatoes on the vine (the deeper the red they are the more flavoursome)- Leave whole
2 White onions – Peeled and roughly chopped in half then quarters
2 Red pepper – Cores removed and roughly chopped into strips
3 spring onions – Ends removed, left whole
6 Large sprigs of thyme
Generous pinch of dried oregano
Sprinkle of sea salt
Good sprinkle of both white & black pepper
2 Generous glugs of rapeseed oil

450g of Wholegrain Basmati Rice (Allow 75g per person) – Cook as per instructions, 1.5 the amount of water to rice.


To serve-
2 Fresh beetroots- Outer layer peeled then continue to peel slices of beetroot
Tiny glug of rapeseed oil
1 sheet of parchment paper
Handful of fresh parsley – Roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions –
Start by adding all vegetable to a large roasting dish, drizzle with rapeseed oil, add herbs and seasoning and cook on 200 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes. Have a check and shake the tray after 25 minutes so you don’t overcook one side of the vegetables, turning over any that need to be. You want the vegetable to be slightly browning but not overcooked.
Once the vegetable have gone into the oven get the rice on, boil the water in the kettle to speed up the process – remember wholegrain basmati will be slightly more crunchy than a regular basmati- so no need to overcook.
For the beetroot chips, lightly coat both sides of each crisp with rapeseed oil (a tiny bit on your hands will do the job-you don’t want to make them soggy) then lay out on parchment paper so they’re not overlapping and roast in the oven on the lowest shelf for 5-10 minutes, check after 5 minutes as all ovens vary and they can go from being perfect to burnt pretty easily. Once the edges start to curl they’re done, remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little sea salt.
Once everything’s cooked and ready, just combine the roasted vegetables with the rice, adjust seasoning if you need to then serve up, sprinkling over the beetroot chips and parsley plus a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and black pepper.

Super simple but super delicious.

Sunday 15 March 2015

Mothers Day Brunch Roasted Yellow Courgette, Purple Sprouts & Watercress Salad, with a side of Avocado, Goats Cheese, Egg & Basil Oil





Mothers Day Brunch

Roasted Yellow Courgette, Purple Sprouts & Watercress Salad, with a side of Avocado, Goats Cheese, Egg  & Basil Oil

For a super simple, delicious, healthy(ish) start to Mothers Day give this a try.
Feeds 4-6
Preparation Time – 5 minutes
Cooking Time 15-20 minutes

Ingredients –
2 Yellow /green courgettes – Cut into thirds then roughly chopped into chunks
3 Large handfuls of sprouts(I managed to get purple but regular sprouts work just as well) Remove hard ends plus any nasty outer leaves
Drizzle of rapeseed oil
Sea salt/ Black pepper
6 Organic eggs
2 Ripe hass avocados
Few sprigs of mint
½ Lemon – Cut into three
3 Large handfuls of watercress
1 Loaf of bread (I went for a Gluten free Olive ciabatta ) Sourdough is pretty good too
1 Goats cheese of your choice – Serve at room temperature

Basil Oil -
Small Handful basil leaves
Small sprinkle of salt flakes
2 Generous glugs of good quality Extra Virgin Olive oil

 

Instructions -
Start by preparing the courgettes and sprouts and place in a baking tray, drizzle with rapeseed oil, season and roast for 15 ish minutes or until golden.
Slice and scoop avocado out of the skin then slice lengthways and cover with a squeeze of lemon plus a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Wash and prepare watercress leaving it ready to add to the courgettes and sprouts. Pick a handful of mint leaves to add also.
For the basil oil, muddle the basil leaves with the salt flakes then add in the extra virgin olive oil until all combined, transfer to a serving bowl, ready to add the salad.
Once everything is pretty much ready to serve, cook your eggs, for fried heat a glug of rapeseed oil in a non-stick frying pan. Heat the oil for a minute then add in the egg, allowing to cook then serve immediately. For scrambled pre whisk eggs, add a pinch of seasoning ( a knob of Philadelphia is always delicious or glug of cream if feeling like indulging) and add to a hot non-stick pan. Roughly stir with a spatula until you have large slightly sloppy eggs before transferring to a serving bowl. They’ll carry on cooking so no need to overcook.
Once you’re all set to serve, combine the courgettes, watercress and sprouts, drizzle over the basil oil (or let people help themselves) add a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of seasoning and get stuck in.
This is the perfect brunch when for when you’re feeding the clan, everyone gets to pick out their favourite bits and the goats cheese with the zesty, fragrant basil oil salad works perfectly. Enjoy.