recipe

All about nuts and seeds at the moment.  I’ve just posted more about them here on the blog and  Appleaday facebook page because I seem to have spent weeks roasting different combinations for presents.
This recipe is such an easy and delicious addition to the festive season and they will store for a couple of weeks in airtight containers… if you’re very good at self-control.

Ingredients:

100 g cashew nuts
100 g macadamias
50 g brazil nuts
50 g almonds
100 g pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
25g butter
1 generous tbsp thyme or chestnut or dark honey (ideally manuka…but too expensive at the mo)
about 4 small sprigs rosemary and thyme, leaves removed, finely chopped
sea salt, freshly ground pepper
pinch or three of cayenne or chilli powder

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees centigrade and arrange the nuts on a sheet of baking paper.  Bake until golden and crunchy, c. 15-20 mins.

Meanwhile, heat the honey and 3 tbsp water until dissolved.  Remove from the heat and stir in the spices, butter and salt.

Quickly fold in the nuts and transfer them back to the baking sheet and spread them out as much as possible so they’re not touching (they’ll clump otherwise due to the honey).

Bake for another 5 or so minutes in the oven until a lovely caramel colour, then remove and allow to fully cool.

This is a combination of two old recipes which I tweaked yet again for appleaday’s recent online Detoxathon.  It was one of the dishes participants yummed about the most.  Such an easy one-pot dish, it has a wonderful selection of spices, including cinnamon, ginger, coriander, turmeric and saffron.Cinnamon must be one of my all time favourites, my ‘rescue’ spice for anyone trying to get off sugar cravings.  However, it not only improves insulin efficiency and regulates blood sugar, but it also acts as an antimicrobial (some studies showing it’s effective against the likes of H.pylori!), and the cinnamaldehyde component apparently blocks the release of inflammatory agents in our cells.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons research shows it can reduce inflammation linked with neurological disorders like Parkinsons and Alzheimers.
Research will continue, but this dish is staying as it is.

Serves 4-6

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 red onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek, finely sliced
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
100g red lentils
1 x 400g can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
pinch of saffron
1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 x 400g organic chopped tomatoes
400g butternut, peeled and cubed
800ml vegetable stock
handful of spinach, sliced
generous handful parsley, chopped
generous handful coriander, chopped

Method:

Heat the oil in a pot over a medium/low heat and add the onions and leek until they are transparent. Then comes the celery, garlic and spices (not saffron) until aromatic.
Next step, the saffron, lentils, cans of chickpeas and tomatoes. Stir well then add the chopped parsley and half of the coriander. Cook for about 10 minutes over a low heat.
Mix in the cubed butternut and stock and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until the butternut squash is cooked.  Turn the heat off, add the spinach and return the lid so that it wilts slightly but keeps its green goodness.
Add a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve with rice or quinoa and scatter the remaining coriander over the finished dish.

This recipe was on my website a while back, but seems to have vanished, so due to request, here it is again – unfortunately the photo of mine steamed the camera (!) so here’s a spinach version (without tomatoes…but you get the drift 🙂

Chard is a great fibre source, plus it’s packed with vitamin C and is a good source of calcium, vitamin K, magnesium and vitamin A (beta-carotene).

The trick is not to overcook so it still has life and ‘green’ – have your eggs at hand.

We like a touch of spice in our foods. I’ve used harissa here, which is chilli/peppers based. Add a tablespoon or replace the harissa kick with a good addition of crushed garlic – or just eat as is.

(Serves 4)
2 small red onions, finely sliced
150g red chard, or 200g spinach leaves, cut into shreds, red stems and leaves
1 generous cup water – or Marigold stock broth
2 tbsp harissa – optional; or garlic if you prefer
4 chopped tomatoes (or ½ can organic tomatoes)
freshly ground pepper
4 organic eggs
8 basil leaves, roughly chopped

Method:

Add the finely sliced onions to a medium hot pan of hot broth/water and cook until soft.  Add the harissa – and/or garlic – plus and tomatoes, then add the chard, stirring well to mix with the onions and tomatoes.

As the chard begins to wilt and flatten have your spoon ready to make the 4 ‘nests’ for the eggs. There should be a generous bed of tomato/greens in your pan so that the eggs aren’t just being fried directly on the pan surface. I made quite deep nests, pushing the chard aside in order to cook my eggs on a layer of juice and chopped tomatoes. Cooking the eggs on top of the chard will take longer – and chard loses its charm when overcooked!

Once the eggs are cooked to your taste scatter the basil leaves over the top and add freshly ground pepper.

Use an egg slice to cut a square of tomato-greens with the egg in the centre – and that’s it, so easy.

This recipe was inspired by a risotto we ate recently in the Torstrasse, Berlin, in a restaurant called “Lava”.  Their risotto was intriguing – barely any rice in sight, it was hiding beneath a mound of delicious mixed greens and strips of what appeared to be carrot.  The orange carrot around the sides of the plate turned out to be fine strips of Mimolette.
This is a cheese traditionally produced in Lille but made in the tradition of dutch Edam, so if you can’t find Mimolette cheese, Edam will work well.  We used strips of soft Pecorino as that’s what we had in our kitchen!   For those giving dairy a wide berth, this risotto tastes delicious without the cheese.

I prefer cooking my risottos in a very large pan – that way I can see all the ingredients & add more colour if necessary.

Serves 2-4 depending on starter or main

250g arborio rice

1 large red onion, finely chopped

1 small leek, finely sliced

1 small bunch each of dill & basil;  1/4- 1/2 small bunch tarragon, all chopped

small handful of parsley, finely chopped

200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced or chopped to your taste (or any mushroom with a strong flavour)

3 generous handfuls of roughly chopped baby spinach

1 red chicory, sliced – a handful of rucola/rocket also works

2 garlic, crushed

1 granny smith apple, peeled and grated

sea salt & freshly ground pepper

1.2 litres hot strong vegetable stock…more depending on how well you like it cooked

a generous dollop of light olive oil or coconut oil

optional: 25g finely sliced Edam cheese

Method:

In a large pan, gently fry the chopped onion in the oil until transparent; add the leek until softened, then the mushrooms. Stir to avoid ‘catching’.

Mix in the chopped herbs then add the arborio rice and coat well.

Add a ladle of the hot broth and wait until the rice mixture has absorbed the liquid.  Then continue adding the broth, a ladle at a time, stirring to avoid the mixture sticking to the pan.

The amount of stock may differ according to your taste – some prefer risotto ‘al dente’, others like it well cooked. If you need less liquid, well and good, however should you want to cook it longer, then just add a little extra broth or hot water.

When the risotto is almost done to your taste, add the garlic, grated apple, chopped greens and chicory and stir into the mix so the greens are just wilting.  Do a taste check; add a little sea salt or pepper if desired.

Serve as is, or decorate your plate with finely grated strips of Edam, then place the hot risotto on top.
Guten Appetit!

We ate this delicious ‘cake’ – a giant Turkish kibbeh –  on a bed of rocket and watercress.  I tweaked the original recipe (from Salma Hage), using rice flour, slightly different spices – and more sweet potato  as we couldn’t taste it in the original.  Delicious served warm from the oven.

Serves 6

2 kg sweet potato
350g bulgur wheat soaked in water for 15-20 minutes
4 tbsp rice flour
1 red onion, roughly grated
250 g mozzarella, grated
120g well drained sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
½ tsp cayenne (or more it you like hot)
1 tsp sweet paprika
freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh basil, chopped
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
olive oil for brushing and drizzling

Method:

Note:  After soaking the bulgur wheat, put in some  muslin and squeeze well so that all the liquid is removed.  A sieve is not enough!

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 6.  Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake until tender, about 45-60 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool so you can handle it.  Cut in half, scoop out the flesh and put into a bowl together with the grated onion, all the spices and chopped herbs, flour, mozzarella, tomatoes and the drained bulgur wheat.
Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.
Brush a 30cm round cake pan with oil then line with baking paper.  Put the mixture in the prepared pan, pressing down firmly.  Score the top into 8 portions and make a 2cm hole in the centre (a clean index finger does the job!)
Drizzle with oil and bake for about an hour.
Cool before cutting – best served still warm from the oven.  Either enjoy a slice on a mixed bed of salad greens and herbs, or as an accompaniment to a larger mezze meal.

What a success this dish had been.  It not only looks good but tastes delicious.  Originally a Jane Baxter recipe, I’ve tweaked it quite a bit to make it a little easier and more to our taste.

It definitely needs some salad greenery alongside.  Either a small bed of mixed greens as a starter, or a generous side salad if serving it as a main meal.

The recipe is not difficult and actually it’s surprisingly quick.  Risotto however is always needy as you have to stay by its side and not slip out of the kitchen to send off emails or hang out washing.   (You can however go to the oven and turn over the roasting vegetables, and remove them from the oven whilst risotto ‘ladeling’).

As it all has to cool I actually left the finished risotto and vegetables for the day – covered –  then, early evening, I spent an easy 10 minutes ‘layering’ the cooked components, then baking it for 30 minutes.
The layering part was fun, and the end result is a ‘wow’ moment.

Easily serves 6 as a starter.  It also should have managed 6 as a main – with a generous rainbow-content salad alongside.  However as three of our foursome had ‘seconds’, only a small 5th portion was left – and no 6^th !
Either be cruel and say ‘no seconds’ to your six guests, or aim to serve 4 and have yummy left-overs the next day.

Serves 4-5-6

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 generous tbsp olive or coconut oil (for cooking)
…plus some olive for coating the vegetables, oven-ready
pinch of saffron
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds
1-2 chilli, de-seeded, finely chopped (if you like chilli, 2 were very manageable)
200g chopped tomatoes, canned (or use the whole can and a little less broth)
450g arborio (risotto) rice
1.2 litre hot vegetable stock
1 aubergine, thinly sliced, but not shaved
3 courgettes, thinly sliced, ditto
1 bunch fresh basil, torn or sliced
250g mozzarella, sliced
200g roasted red peppers (some then need peeling but some don’t – up to you!)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Method:

Cook the onion in the oil over a low heat until transparent.  Add the crushed garlic, fennel seed, saffron and finely chopped fresh chilli and stir for another few minutes before adding the rice and chopped tomatoes; coat the lot well over a medium heat.

Now add the stock gradually to the rice, as one does with risotto.  One ladle at a time.  Wait for each one to be absorbed before adding the next (the 20-25 mins goes quickly and you can indeed be checking on your roasted veg at the same time).
When most of the liquid is used up check the rice – cooked but still a little ‘al dente’.  Season with some sea salt – if needed – and fresh pepper, then add the basil leaves.
Let cool.
Meanwhile, toss the aubergine and courgette slices in some olive oil and bake in a hot oven for about 15 minutes, until limp and a little coloured.  Place on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil left over.  These cool quickly.

Butter or oil a loaf tin well. I used a tin which took 2litres of poured water as I can find all these tin sizes a bit wayward at times; I trust ‘content’!)
Line the base with a strip of baking paper – or if you love ‘lining’, do the whole tin.

Layer your tin as follows:
Take 1/3 cooled rice mixture and press it into the bottom – easy and fun because it has become quite sticky and pliable.  Don’t be overly generous with your 1/3 as you’ll run out of rice for the final layer as I did the first time I made this.

Top this lay with ½ your roasted vegetables and mozzarella cheese, ie. a row of courgette slices then aubergines and red/yellow peppers and then mozzarella.

Repeat with another 1/3 rice and the remaining vegetables and mozzarella, then finish with the last 1/3 of rice.  That’s it.

Bake in a 150c degree oven (or 350F or gas mark 4) for 30 minutes until golden on the top.  Run a knife around the edge of the tin, place a serving dish on top and turn it over.  If it doesn’t flip, just turn back and run your knife around the edges of the tin again.
The risotto cake has come out beautifully every time although the last time I had to re-run the knife twice!

Serve hot or room temperature with salad.

Now is the time for wild garlic soup.  Well, actually it’s a bit late as the flowers are in full bloom and the leaves’ nutrients are highest when blossoms are still tightly furled.
However the heady scent coming from today’s freshly collected leaves means nutrients and flavour abound, so I still made up this soup – an easy Mon recipe, using what I had in the fridge (no cruciferous please as these will ruin the delicate flavour).
I added just the usual vegetables you would use for a basic broth – celery, onion, carrot and a potato for thickening.  Easy.
And if you’re off potatoes, try adding another carrot.
This is such delicately fragrant soup – may even win over the staunchest of non-garlic eaters!

Serves about 6-8

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1large carrot, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
3 large handfuls of wild garlic leaves, torn
1 potato, roughly chopped
garlic flowers & some leaves for decorating
Enough vegetable broth/water to cover (about 1.5 litres, but add more after blitzing if too thick, and return to the stove)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper…if you must (I didn’t).

Method:

Gently sauté onion in the heated oil until translucent.  Add the water or vegetable broth (home-made or use about 1 heaped tbsp of Marigold broth powder to a litre of water), then add the vegetables and finally the leaves, leaving a few as decoration.

Let simmer until soft then blitz in the blender, taste in case you feel it needs a touch of pepper or sea salt – but this soup has such a delicate flavour, don’t be tempted to play around with too many extras.

Serve with wild garlic flowers or finely chopped garlic leaves.  A fab healthy soup – and what a colour!