Cherry Tomato Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts and Blueberries
Thursday, July 27, 2017This easy and tasty summer salad is simple to make and ready in just 15 minutes. It is bright and colourful, and bursting with flavour thanks to fig balsamic vinegar syrup and flaxseed oil. The toasted pine nuts add an extra special touch to this vibrant cherry tomato salad, that you can make all year round, but tastes the best when tomatoes are at their peak in summer.
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- Spread the pine nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 180C/350F, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown, 5 to 10 minutes. You can also do this in a skillet. Just put the pine nuts in a dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 3 minutes.
- Arrange the arugula leaves on a serving platter. Place the halved cherry tomatoes and blueberries on top. Drizzle with flaxseed oil and fig balsamic syrup. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and basil leaves.
Apricot Jalapeno Sauce
Thursday, July 20, 2017This apricot sauce recipe, mildly sweet with enough heat, is made with fresh apricots and pickled jalapenos. It is very simple to make and the sauce gets its complexity and unique depth of flavour from the use of cloves, allspice, juniper berries and mace. Great with grilled and barbecued meats, on sandwiches and in vinaigrette.
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- Wash, pit and coarsely chop the apricots. Place chopped apricots, pickled jalapeno, apple cider vinegar, apple juice and coconut sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cook, uncovered, over moderate heat for about 25 minutes.
- Use a mortar and pestle to crush the cloves, allspice, juniper berries and salt. Mix in mace powder. Add the spice mixture to the apricots and cook for 5 minutes.
- Use a stick blender to puree the mixture. Bring the sauce again to a boil. Transfer the sauce to bottles or small jars. Cool completely and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Upside-down Apricot Einkorn Cake with Thyme and Almonds
Thursday, July 13, 2017Made with seasonal apricots, freshly milled einkorn flour, almonds and kefir, this refined sugar free, moist upside down cake is easy to whip up for a tea time treat with family and friends. To serve, simply drizzle the cake with some maple syrup, but it also goes perfectly with a simple vanilla pudding or whipped cream.
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- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 9-10 inch springform pan and line the base with baking paper. Well drain the apricot halves. Arrange, cut-side down, over base of prepared pan. Sprinkle the chopped almonds between apricot halves.
- Whisk together the ground einkorn flour, baking powder and baking soda. Beat butter, coconut sugar, lemon thyme leaves and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine.
- Add flour mixture to the butter mixture in three batches alternately with the kefir in two batches, beginning and ending with flour. Pour the batter over apricots and spread with a spatula to cover apricots and smooth top. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Carefully turn cake out onto a serving plate. Garnish with extra lemon thyme leaves and drizzle with maple syrup.
Raspberry White Chocolate Tartlets with Mascarpone
Thursday, July 06, 2017Featuring a refined sugar free hazelnut chocolate spelt crust and filled with a smooth raspberry cream and topped with fresh raspberries and grated white chocolate, this raspberry mascarpone chocolate tart is bound to be a perfect summer favourite. If you are short on time, then skip the crust and just fill the cream in glasses. Feel free to use strawberry or blueberry.
Chocolate Hazelnut Crust | Raspberry Mascarpone Filling |
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- To make the crust, in a medium bowl, using fingertips, rub spelt flour, hazelnut meal, cocoa powder, erythritol granules, butter and a pinch of salt together until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add in iced water and mix with a knife until dough comes together. Shape dough into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured piece of baking paper to 3mm thick. Use the pastry to line the prepared tart pans. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the dough all over and chill for 30 minutes.
- Position the rack in the centre of the oven and preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease four 12-cm loose-bottomed tart pans. Line the tart shells with baking paper and fill with pastry weights or baking beans, bake for 12 minutes then remove paper and weights or beans and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Remove and cool completely.
- Cook raspberries in a saucepan over low heat for 2 minutes or until beginning to break down. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. You will need 100 ml raspberry puree. Set aside.
- Process the Mascarpone, sour cream, raspberry puree and erythritol in a food processor until smooth. Add the white chocolate. Process until combined.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Heat in a microwave for 30-40 seconds and stir until completely dissolved. Cool slightly and add the gelatine mixture to cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Smooth the surface and chill for 4 hours or until set.
- Garnish the tartlets with fresh raspberries, grated white chocolate and mint leaves. Serve immediately.