Back at school, the weeks are whizzing by and we are in the full blow of autumn. Haven’t we been blessed with the most gorgeous days ? Now is the time to celebrate seasonal fruit and vegetables and the wealth of variety they bring to… Read more
All posts tagged “Vegetarian”
Irma’s rainy day gluten free banana pancakes
This spring has been a bit up and down and all around. One day it’s hot, the next freezing cold and the heating needs to go back on. The following morning you are looking for your flip flops and in the afternoon you find yourself… Read more
Gluten free mini banana pancakes – makes 12
80g of organic oat flour ( simply ground oats in a coffee grinder)
50g of organic buckwheat flour
1 tsp of baking powder
120 ml organic nut or rice milk
4 small ripe fair trade organic bananas (2 for the pancake & 2 to garnish)
2 medium sized eggs
1 tbsp of coconut oil
2 tbsp of maple syrup plus some extra to garnish
A pinch of salt, a dash of cinnamon and a handful of pecan or peanuts to garnish
Coconut & banana cream (optional)
1 cup of fresh coconut or one coconut yogurt
1 small organic fair trade banana
1 tbsp chia seeds
1-2 tbsp nut milk
A squeeze of lemon juice
If you want to add some extra banana flavour, start off with making a quick coconut & banana cream. Just put the 1 cup of fresh coconut, one small banana, a squeeze of lemon juice, 1 tbsp of chia and 1 -2 tbsp of nut milk in the food processor and blend until smooth. If you don’t have fresh coconut you can use 1 small tub of coconut yogurt instead, there won’t be any need to add nut milk for that one. Once blended, leave to set in the fridge for about 20 minutes. You can either add it on each serving or spread some onto each layer of the banana tower.
For the pancake mix sift flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Next, whisk milk, eggs, oil and maple syrup together and pour into the flour mix, then add the mashed bananas and beat until you get a smooth batter. The easiest way to do all this is to put all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, that way you ensure everything is mixed together well.
Leave the mix to sit for 15 minutes, you will see how it thickens and produces air bubbles.
Cut a couple of bananas into equally slim slices and set aside, you will need these to layer your pancakes as you stack them into a small tower.
Next heat a small frying pan with a little coconut oil, add the first ladle of batter and cook until the top of the pancake starts to bubble, now it’s time to turn it over. Cook both sides until golden brown. Keep the temperature at medium heat to prevent burning the delicate pancake whilst it is cooking through.
Have a ‘pretty’ looking plate ready for the first pancake and whilst the next pancake is cooking away, add a layer of banana slices around the outer circle, here you would add the coconut banana cream layer as well. Carry on until you get until the 6th or 7th pancake before getting the next plate ready and repeat the process. This all depends on how many hungry mouths you have to feed.
The final layer of each pancake ‘tower’ can be decorated with more banana slices or strawberries are pretty delicious with this combination, then add pecan nuts and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey as a final finish – a real rainy day breakfast, any day dessert or afternoon treat.
Gluten free summer rolls in spring
Summer rolls are pretty much my favourite starter, they are super tasty and really easy to make, that is once you got past the slight fear of rolling greens in a very delicate piece of rice paper. It actually is not that delicate provided you… Read more
Summer rolls – makes 12
12 round rice paper wrappers
100g brown rice vermicelli noodles
1 bunch of fresh coriander
1 bunch of basil or Thai basil
1 bunch of fresh mint- leaves only
1 bag of watercress, iceberg lettuce or bok choy- finely cut into strips
6 asparagus sticks- finely cut into 10cm strips and blanched
1 large carrot- roughly grated and blanched
1 cup of shredded red cabbage – blanched
1 bunch of spring onions- finely sliced
1 cup of fresh or roasted peanuts, cashew & pecan – chopped finely
1 ripe avocado- thinly sliced
50g alfafa sprouts ( or sprout mix of your choice)
Hoisin Sauce – 100ml
1 small cup of organic tamari or gluten free soy sauce
1 tbsp of peanut butter ( you can use tahini if you are allergic to peanuts)
2 tbsp of agave; maple syrup, honey or molasses
1/2 small cup of rice vinegar
1 finely shopped or grated clove of garlic
1 tbsp of sesame seed oil
1/2 tsp fresh hot chilli finely chopped- careful don’t make it too hot
Chili & Ginger dipping sauce- 50ml
2 small cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp of maple syrup
3 tbsp of fish sauce ( vegan version use algae blended/soaked with water)
1/2 tsp of hot chili or less careful with the heat
juice of 1 lime
Method:
It’s best to start with making the sauces, so you can start eating as soon as you have made your first roll. The Hoisin sauce involves some cooking the Chili&Ginger sauce is made rather quickly, so best to make that whilst the Hoisin is simmering away.
For the Hoisin sauce take a small pot, add all ingredients, bring to the boil,then turn down the heat and leave to simmer until reduced by 1/4- stir well so the peanut butter completely dissolves. Keep an eye so it doesn’t burn. Once you have a nice and thick sauce fill into a jar and leave to cool.
For the Chili & Ginger Sauce, simply add all ingredients into a jar, close tightly and shake well, done.
For the summer rolls start with putting the rice noodles in a glass bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Best to cover the bowl with a plate to keep the heat inside. After 5 minutes rinse with cold water and set aside.
Next, cut your greens in a string like way- maximum 10cm length- that way they you can create rolls of a similar length. Blanch the shredded /grated cabbage and carrots, that way they are easier to digest and will not be as hard. Simply cover with boiling water for 2-3 minutes and drain and rinse with cold water, do the carrots separately as the red cabbage will leak quite a bit of colour. Repeat the blanching process for the asparagus and any other cabbage types or broccoli in case you are using that.
It will be best to prepare a plate with all ingredients so you are ready to fill each roll as you go along. For dinner parties prepare a few plates and bowls and distribute across your dining table, so everyone can access what they need for their rolls.
Once you are ready to make the rolls, dip one of the rice papers in a bowl of cold water, no need to move it around or leave for longer, just make sure it has completely been covered by water for a second or two. When lifting the paper out of the water, leave to drain for a few seconds, so it doesn’t end up being to wet in some places and not in others.
Place a rice paper wrapper on a board and at one end of the wrapper put your ingredients. I usually start with asparagus or cucumber, so I get the dimensions right and add more greens, herbs, sprouts, nuts and some noodles on top, then I put red cabbage and carrots just in the next ‘row’ and fold over the left side, then the right side of the wrapper and tightly but carefully roll up to create a complete roll – done next. Please be careful not to overfill the wrappers, they easily break otherwise. Dip the summer roll into your sauces and enjoy !
Buckwheat scones with cashew vanilla cream & strawberry chia jam
As of today the British Strawberry is officially stepping back into the limelight and shall be touring the country until the end of July. Let’s just hope the clouds stay high as apparently that is a sign for good weather to come. Strawberries love the… Read more
Chia cherry & almond crumble
I hope you had a lovely Easter break ! I was so happy when the clocks jumped forward last weekend, being a day light addict it just changed my world. Spring also seems to have truly arrived with all its beauty, warmth, scents and sounds… Read more
Chia cherry & almond crumble ( per serving)
1/2 cup of nut milk ( almond, cashew, coconut, etc)
3 tbsp of chia seeds
1cm vanilla pod (scored lengthways to retrieve seeds ) or a couple of drops of extract
1/2 tsp of honey or maple syrup ( optional)
Cherry compote ( enough for 4 servings )
2 cups of frozen cherries ( or fresh when in season)
2 cups of fresh filtered water
1/2 stick or 1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 vanilla pod -scored lengthways to retrieve seeds
1 tbsp of honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar
Almond crumble ( enough for 4 servings)
1/2 cup of finely chopped dates
1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of coconut oil
2 tbsp of organic barley malt extract or maple syrup
2 cups of ground almonds
Method:
For the chia pudding combine nut milk, honey, vanilla pod & seeds, stir until all the honey have dissolved completely. I usually use a little bottle with a lid to mix the milk , it’s very easy and saves time. Next place chia seeds in desert bowls, pour the milk on top, stir well, cover and leave to set in the fridge. Stir well a couple of times more over the next two hours, so all the seeds are distributed well to soak up the milk. Repeat the process for each desert bowl.
For the cherry compote, place cherries , water, cinnamon, honey, vanilla pod and seeds into a sauce pan , bring to the boil and simmer until liquid is reduced to half. This will take about 20-30 minutes. Once reduced taste for sweetness and leave to cool down a little.
Whilst the cherry compote is simmering away, start preparing the almond crumble. Pre-heat the oven at 135C, line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, best to use your hands. It will be sticky to start with but keep kneading until you get a nice dough like texture and all coconut oil has been completely combined with the rest of the ingredients.
Now crumble out on the baking paper getting a nice and even layer, approx 1/2 inch thick. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown. This process can go rather fast , so keep an eye as to not to burn the crumble.
Leave to cool before cutting out the crumble top for each bowl. I used a round cookie cutter- super easy- you can also go free style and use a knife or just crumble the crumble quite literally on top later on.
To serve: get the chia bowls out of the fridge, scoop a few table spoons of cherry compote on top and finish off with placing the crumble on top-it’s best when cherry compote and crumble are still slightly warm but you can prepare everything and warm it up before serving – the perfect desert. The cherry compote and crumble also work a treat on yogurt or ice cream.
Bon Appetit!
Making milk without cows and cashew&coconut pulp macaroons
It was meat free last week, I hope you got on well with all those fabulous vegetarian recipes that were published everywhere. Still riding that wave I thought I would share with you how to make milk without cows. Now you wonder how is that… Read more
Cashew & Coconut nut milk- makes 500ml x2
Cashew Milk
1 cup of soaked cashew nuts ( soaking over night is best, but 4hours should be fine too)
3 cups of filtered water
2cm of vanilla pod or a few drops of extract if you like to flavour your milk ( optional)
Coconut milk
1 cup of fresh coconut meat
3 cups of filtered water
2cm of vanilla pod or a few drops of extract if you like to flavour your milk ( optional)
If you want to make almond milk, please soak the almonds over night and peel them as the skin would make the milk quite bitter. You can also get already peeled almonds if you want to save time peeling them but they will be more expensive and you would still need to soak them over night.
You will always need a cheese cloth or bag to strain the milk.
And here is how it works : just put the soaked nuts or fresh coconut, water and optional the content of 2 cm of vanilla pod into a blender and blend until you have a smoothie like liquid.
Leftover tip : keep the piece vanilla pod and use it to flavour salt or sugar. Just add it to the jar and after a couple of days you have lovely flavoured vanilla salt or sugar, leave it in to keep the flavour- it works a treat.
Next get a jug and a cheese cloth ready and start poring the liquid.
Once all is pored in, pick up the cloth and carefully squeeze it to get all the remaining liquid through, it does actually look quite authentic, doesn’t it ?
You can either use the milk straight away or fill into a bottle and keep in the fridge, consume within 4-5 days and always shake well before use as the milk will separate. Enjoy!
Coconut & cashew pulp macaroons– makes 12-16
Nut milk pulp of one cup of coconut and one cup of cashew nuts
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut
1 tbsp of chia seeds & 1 tbsp of ground almonds
2 egg whites
3-4 tbsp of honey
content of half a vanilla pod or some extract (add the empty pod to your salt or sugar jar)
A pinch of sea salt
3/4 of bar of dark chocolate for the coating- ideally organic and 85% ( optional)
Pre-heat the oven at 160C. Next place all ingredients except the cocolate into a food processor and blend until you get a nice gloopy and sticky texture. A handheld mixer or whisk should work fine too.
Now line a baking tray with baking paper and start making egg shaped macaroons using two tea spoons. You can also make balls if that is easier, although the mix is quite sticky so using spoons is probably going to be easiest.
Bake for 15-20 minutes ( I always try one after 15 minutes to see if they are done). Leave to cool before coating the macaroons with chocolate.
For the coating, melt chocolate over a hot water bath, adding a small pinch of sea salt gives the chocolate coating an extra twist. For the water bath boil water in a pot, take off the hob and put a glass bowl on top, then break chocolate into smaller pieces into the bowl and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until completely melted. Now dunk the macaroons into the chocolate-coating the bottom part- best to use your hands and leave to set on a sheet of baking paper- done-delicious ! Happy Easter !!
