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Chicken and Cucumber Salad with Carrot Top Pesto

Thursday, July 22, 2021

This hearty everyday salad is a lean-protein powerhouse thanks to chicken and kidney beans. You can also use black beans, chickpeas or edamame instead. Carrot top pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Carrot tops are high in vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium. Use them as you would parsley, or in place of parsley in recipes. You might not need all the pesto, the rest will keep for a week in an airtight jar in the fridge.

Carrot Top Pesto	Salad
50 g Carrot top greens, stems removed 20 g Parsley 1 clove Garlic, roughly chopped Juice of 1/2 lemon 30 g Roasted macadamia nuts 30 g Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated 1/2 tsp Sea salt 1/3 tsp Freshly milled black pepper 120 ml Extra-virgin olive oil	1/2 Roasted chicken, shredded 3 Persian cucumbers, chopped 1 can / 400 g Kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 tbsp Dill, chopped 100 g Arugula leaves 100 g Blueberries

Rinse the carrot top greens thoroughly and dry. Strip the leaves from the stems. Discard stems. Place the carrot tops greens, parsley, chopped garlic, lemon juice, roasted macadamia nuts, grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse several times, scraping sides as needed with a rubber spatula. While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the olive oil in a steady stream. Scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula. Pulse until smooth.
Stir together chicken, kidney beans, cucumber and dill in a large bowl. Add half of the pesto and toss to combine.
Divide the arugula and chicken salad into 3 plates. Sprinkle some blueberries over. Serve with the remaining pesto.

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Red Currant Pull Apart Bread

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Get some fresh seasonal fruit flavours in your pull apart bread! Bursting with the summer flavours of red currants and vanilla butter, this gorgeous pull-apart loaf is a fabulous addition for any picnic hamper or the ideal solution for easy entertaining.
The best part about this recipe, is that you can use any other seasonal fruit if you can't find red currants. Strawberries, raspberries or plums are excellent substitutes. I am just topping this with a simple dust of powdered sugar, but if you want to attempt a more elevated and decadent topping, you could whip up a quick glaze with cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla.

Dough	Filling
250 ml Whole milk, lukewarm 20 g Fresh yeast (or 10 g active dried yeast) 60 g White sugar 2 Medium eggs, room-temperature and lightly beaten 60 g Butter, softened 600 g Plain flour A large pinch of salt	120 g Butter, softened 24 g Dr. Oetker Bourbon vanilla sugar (3 packs) 300 g Red currants Powdered sugar

Combine milk, yeast and 1 teaspoons of sugar, stir and set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes, untill is gets foamy.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, add in eggs (reserve 1 tablespoon for the topping), softened butter, remaining sugar, yeast mixture, flour and salt. Stir at slow speed for 5 minutes until the dough comes together. Increase the speed and knead until dough is smooth and elastic.
Turn out the dough and shape into a ball. Lightly grease the mixing bowl with a little bit of oil. Return the dough ball into the bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it proof at room temperature for about an hour or until it almost doubles its size.
Grease and line a large loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Mix the butter and vanilla sugar in a bowl until well combined. Rinse and pluck the currants off of the stems.
Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough into a rectangle, roughly 50cmx35cm. Brush the rectangle with vanilla butter. Sprinkle the currants over.
Cut the dough into 4 strips and each strip into 5 or 6 even pieces. Stack a few of pieces together and place into the prepared baking tin. Repeat with the rest. Depending on the length of your loaf pan you might even have a couple of pieces left. Simply roll them up into individual buns and place in muffin tins. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Brush the top with the reserved egg and bake in the middle of the hot oven for about 30 minutes until nicely golden brown. Remove from the oven let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out and dust with powdered sugar.

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Eggless Mayonnaise

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Traditionally, mayonnaise is made using eggs, oil, lemon juice and mustard. If you are allergic to eggs or just don't eat egg, you can still enjoy the rich creaminess without the eggs on your burger, sandwich and potato salad with this eggless variant which uses emulsifying agent-milk in the place of egg. Use almond milk or plain soya milk if you want to go dairy-free.
This is a very basic eggless mayonnaise made with milk, lemon juice, Dijon and olive oil. It tastes like real mayonnaise and has the same texture as mayonnaise. It's made in an immersion blender and keeps well in the refrigerator for up to a week.

100 ml 3.5% Whole milk, cold
1-2 Garlic cloves, minced (or 1/3 tsp Garlic powder)
1 tbsp Freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
200 ml Extra-virgin olive oil (or sunflower oil)
1/2 tsp Sea salt
Freshly milled pepper

In an immersion blender jar, add milk along with garlic, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard.
Pulse a few times until frothy. Slowly add in oil while continue pulsing until it's emulsifi ed and thick. Season with salt and pepper. To attain a better consistency, chill for an hour before using.

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Apricot Frangipane Tart

Friday, July 16, 2021

Buttery flaky pastry filled with a sweet almond mixture topped with ripe apricot halves-a perfect dessert for high summer when apricots are at their peak with rich colour, sweet scent, and slightly soft. Apricot and almonds are a match made in heaven and this tart makes the most of both of them. For something a little more indulgent, serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of crème fraîche.
Frangipane is a mixture of butter, eggs, ground almonds, sugar, and sometimes a small amount of flour. Substitute other nuts (pistachios or hazelnuts) for new flavours if desired. According to Bakepedia, Frangipane is named after 16th century Italian nobleman Marquis Muzio Frangipani, who invented a bitter almond-scented fragrance that was used to perfume gloveswhile he was living in Paris. French pastry chefs were inspired and invented the recipe, which became a classic.

Pastry	Almond Filling & Topping
180 g Plain flour 50 g Almond meal 100 g Butter, cubed 30 g Vanilla sugar 1 Egg, large	150 g Butter, softened to room temperature 20 g Vanilla sugar 100 g Castor sugar 2 Eggs, large 150 g Ground almonds 20 ml Amaretto (or 1 tsp Almond extract) 8-10 Apricots, halved and stoned 2 tbsp Apricot jam Thyme leaves, to garnish Powdered sugar, to garnish

To make the pastry, either rub the flour, almond meal and cubed butter together using your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs or briefly process them in a food processor until just rubbed in. Add the vanilla sugar and mix, then add the egg and process until the mixture just holds together. Do not over work as it will make the pastry tough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the pastry out on a floured surface and use it to line a 24cm / 8-inch tart pan. Prick the base of the pastry using a fork then chill the pastry for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190C7375F. Line the pastry case with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or uncooked rice. Place in the hot oven and bake blind for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is set and pale brown. Remove the pie weights/rice and paper and return to the oven for about 5 minutes until the base is cooked.
For the filling, cream butter, vanilla sugar and castor sugar. Add the eggs and whisk together, then mix in the ground almonds and amaretto until fully incorporated.
Spoon the almond mixture onto the pastry case and arrange the apricot halves, cut side up, in circles on the top of the almond filling. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the filling is set and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Warm the apricot jam over a low heat then pass through a fine sieve. Brush the warm apricot jam over the top of the fruit to glaze. Garnish with fresh apricots and thyme leaves. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

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Watermelon and Labneh Salad with Pistachio Dukkah or Sumac

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Nothing screams summer quite like a juicy and sweet watermelon. Okay, maybe ice cream. But seriously, forget about vine-ripe tomatoes, sweet corn on the cob, and summer stone fruits, an ice cold slice of sweet watermelon in the hot afternoon is truly a summertime pleasure. This salad is the perfect side to some grilled chicken and brings a fresh sweetness that complements any grilled meat. You can even serve this as a breakfast, just swap some homemade granola for dukkah. Watermelon is considered a very healthy snack. Its high water content (92%) helps keep you hydrated.
Dukkah, a crunchy blend of roasted nuts, with sesame seeds, herbs and spices, can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place, or in the fridge, for up to 2 months to spice up any vegetables, salads, meat and fish with Middle Eastern flavour.

Pistachio Dukkah	Watermelon Salad
35 g Almonds 35 g Roasted pistachios, shelled 50 g Sesame seeds (white or black) 2 tsp Fennel seeds 2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp Ground coriander 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp Sea salt	1 Small watermelon, cut into wedges, cubes or balls Celtic grey salt Fresh herbs (basil, lemon thyme, mint) 200 g Labneh Pistachios Sumac Lemon zest

Dry toast the almonds and pistchios briefly over medium-high heat, tossing regularly, until the nuts have turned slightly browned and smlled aromatic. Set aside.
Place the sesame seeds in the same skillet and return to the heat. Toast over medium heat, tossing regularly, until the sesame seeds turn golden brown.
Place toasted almonds, pistachios, sesame seeds, spices and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds until the mixture is coarsely chopped.
Place the watermelon into a mixing bowl, season with salt and add the fresh herbs. Gently mix to combine.
When you are ready to serve, spread the labneh on a plate. Top with watermelon and sprinkle the prepared pistachio dukkah. Or simply sprinkle some sumac, lemon zest and pistachios over. Garnish with some extra fresh herbs if desired. Serve immediately.

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Green Pasta Salad with Pine Nuts

Monday, July 12, 2021

A quick, easy green pasta salad chock full of the tasty, nutrient-rich ingredients with a creamy salad dressing. You can make this flavourful pasta ahead of time, then keep it in your fridge until time to serve. I use whole spelt pasta, but you can choose a variety that meets your nutritional requirements-regular wheat pasta or gluten-free pasta made from rice, lentils or beans.

	Salad Dressing
150 g Organic spelt fusilli 200 g Frozen peas 75 g Arugula 2 tbsp Chives, chopped 50 g Pine nuts, toasted	100 g Crème double (Dr. Oetker) 100 g Crème fraîche 2 tbsp Herb vinegar (Hengstenberg) 1 tbsp Honey (or sugar) 2 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced Salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything for the dressing in a bowl. Taste and season. Chill until ready for use.
Fill a saucepan for the pasta with about 800ml of water. Place over high heat and bring it to a boil. Add 2 teaspoonfuls of salat to the boiling water. Add in pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. In the last minute of cooking, add frozen peas. Drain the pasta and peas and return to the saucepan.
Add in arugula, chives and two thirds of the dressing. Gently toss everything together. Season and taste. Place them on a large serving platter. Scatter the roasted pine nuts over and enjoy!

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Beef Liver Salad with Arugula, Gooseberries and Apricots

Friday, July 09, 2021

The beef liver is cooked to be really tender, wonderfully succulent and pairs perfectly with the arugula and fruit salad. The liver is really fantastic for you and filled with essential vitamins and minerals (Vitamin B12, Vitamin A, Iron, Copper and Choline) your body needs. If you aren’t a big fan of nutrient-dense superfood-beef liver like me, try lamb or chicken liver. They are milder in taste and have a softer texture. You can also soak beef liver in milk overnight to make the flavour milder.

500 g Beef liver, organic and grass-fed
50 g Ghee
3 Garlic clove, chopped
1 tsp Ginger, peeled and shredded
1/2 tsp Dried red chilli pepper flakes
2/3 tsp Coriander powder
1 tbsp Brandy (or Sherry)
Black lava salt
50 g Arugula
3-4 Ripe apricots, stoned and cut into wedges
100 g Gooseberries
1 tbsp Parsley, chopped
Pink peppercorns, to garnish

Clean beef liver and cut roughly into 2-inch segments. Heat the ghee in a skillet over high heat until hot. Add the liver, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry until browned but interior is still pinkish, about 2 minutes. Add in pepper flakes, coriander powder and Brandy or Sherry. Stir everything together and cook for a minute. Season with salt.
Place arugula, apricot wedges and gooseberries in two serving plates. Top with beef liver. Sprinkle some chopped parsley and pink peppercorns over.