This healthy and fruity orange olive salad brings colour and joy to any dinner table. It makes an awesome accompaniment for just about any meat dish.
If blood oranges aren't available, ruby red grapefruit is an excellent substitute. Or just use more naval oranges or a mix of oranges and tangerines. Kalamata olives are harvested when they are fully mature and have a distinctive, rich, fruity taste. Use black olives instead if you wish.
2 Naval oranges, peeled and sliced
5 Blood oranges, peeled and sliced
50 g Blanched almond sticks, dry toasted
80 g Kalamata olives, rinsed
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tbsp Raspberry balsamic glaze
1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh herbs of your choice (I use spring onions, basil leaves, flat pasley leaves and arugula)
Using a sharp knife, peel naval and blood oranges thickly, removing all the bitter white pith. Thinly slice the peeled oranges crosswise, removing any pits.
Stir blanched almond sticks in a small frying pan over medium heat until toasted lightly.
Arrange orange slices on a large serving platter. Top with toasted nuts, olives and fresh herbs of your choice. Season with salt and pepper. Then drizzle with balsamic glaze and olive oil just before serving.
The moist, tender chocolate muffins are best enjoyed still warm from the oven, but they will keep for a week in an airtight container and they freeze well. Serve them with some pomegranate seeds if desired. Besides date syrup, you can use honey or maple syrup instead. For a healthier and less sweet version, replace some of it with a ripe banana or applesauce.
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
200 g Dark rye flour
80 g White spelt flour
40 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Coarse sea salt, plus a pinch to sprinkle on top
100 g 50%-70% Cacao dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 Medium eggs, at room-temperature
250 ml Full-fat coconut milk
150 ml Date syrup
150 ml Cold-pressed olive oil
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cases or grease a jumbo 6-cup muffin tin with olive oil and dust with a bit of flour.
Sift together the dry ingredients except the salt and chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Add half the sea salt and reserve the remainder for topping. Add half the chocolate and set the rest aside.
Beat the eggs in a separate bowl for about a minute. Then add the coconut milk, date syrup and olive oil while constantly whisking. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and use a spatula to carefully fold everything until combined.
Divide the batter among the muffin cases and top with the remaining dark chocolate. Bake for about 18 minutes for smaller muffins and 22-25 minutes for the jumbo ones until well risen and spongey and the chocolate has melted. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining sea salt.
Chewy, nutty and buttery...these classic Florentine cookies are filled with almonds, desiccated coconut flakes, dried cranberries and a caramel. They are baked until golden and crisp with a slightly chewy center. Enjoy yourself or give as a homemade gift.
100 g Butter
70 g Sugar
50 g Honey
2 tbsp White spelt flour
50 g Desiccated coconut flakes
50 g Blanched almond sticks
50 g Dried cranberries, chopped
125 g Dark chocolate couverture
Melt the butter, sugar and honey in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring frequently.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour then add the coconut flakes, almond sticks and chopped cranberries.
Heat oven to 190C/ 375F. Divide the mixture into 16 silicon muffin cups. Bake for 10 minutes until golden. Leave to cool for a few minutes until firm. Cool completely.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water. Turn the florentines over on the wire rack. Dip the bases of the cookies in the chocolate, then sit them upside down on a tray until set. If you like, use a fork to draw wavy lines across the chocolate when the chocolate is firm enough to hold its shape. Leave to set and then store in an airtight container.
Ras el hanout is a spice blend from North Africa, where it is used heavily in Moroccan cooking. This Moroccan spice blend is full of warm spices (like paprika, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cayenne and mace, etc.) that gives the dish a unique aroma and exotic, robust, but slightly sweet flavour. If you don't have ras el hanout, garam masala or curry would work too. Or just use your favourite seasonings.
6 Yellow onions
250 g Carrots
1 tbsp Olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
150 ml Chicken stock
1 tbsp Parsley, chopped (plus more for garnishing)
250 g Chicken mince
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1 tsp Fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 tsp Ras el hanout
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut 1/2-inch slice from top of each onion and trim small amount from bottom end so onion stands upright. Peel away the outer skin. Using a melon baller or teaspoon, scoop out the insides of the onions, leaving two layers intact. Don't worry if you make a hole in the bottom.
Set aside the hollowed out onions, and coarsely chop the scooped out pieces. Peel and slice the carrots. Heat the olive oil and chopped onions in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and have a glossy look. Remove half of them and place in a bowl. Set aside to cool briefly.
Add the sliced carrots to the skillet with the remaining onions. Cook for a few more minutes. Pour in chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat until carrots are soft. Puree the carrot-onion-mixture until smooth. Stir in chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce into a casserole dish. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Add chicken mince into the bowl with onions. Stir in the garlic, ginger and ras el hanout. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide the filling between 6 hollowed onions and place them on the top of the carrot sauce. Drizzle the onions with a little of olive oil. Bake in the middle of hot oven for 40-45 minutes, or until onions are soft and cooked, and the stuffing has turned golden brown on top.
Quick and easy, this Asian-inspired flavourful cabbage salad with radicchio, apple, fresh herbs and roasted salted peanuts is the ultimate throw-together feel-good salad. You can team the salad with some pork chop, or grilled chicken to create a super speedy and family friendly meal.
800 g Cabbage (Napa, savoy or white), finely shredded
1/2 Radicchio or red cabbage, finely shredded
1 Green apple, finely shredded
10 g Cilantro or flat parsley, chopped
1-2 Spring onions, chopped
75 g Roasted salted peanuts, chopped
1 clove Garlic
20 g Ginger root, peeled and chopped
120 g Peanut butter
5 tbsp Sesame oil
5 tbsp Soya sauce
4 tbsp Rice vinegar
2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
2 tbsp Coconut sugar
2 tbsp Water
Place all the ingredients for the dressing in the cup of immersion blender. Process until everything is smooth and creamy.
Finely shred the cabbage, radicchio and green apple. Chop the herbs, and peanuts.
Add shredded cabbage, radicchio, chopped herbs and peanuts in a large salad bowl. Add in half of the dressing and toss everything together.
A lovely yeast-leavened carrot bread boule made with organic bread flour, finely grated carrots and honey sweetened carrot juice. The unexpected use of curry powder and honey sweetened carrot juice give this bread a beautiful golden colour, and a warming, earthy and mildly sweet flavour that is perfect for any topping, as well as a nutritional boost. I spread it liberally with schmaltz, freshly milled black pepper and arugula. You can use butter instead.
500 g Organic bread flour
20 g Fresh yeast, crumbled (or 10 g active dried yeast)
2 tbsp Curry powder
1 tsp Sea salt
200 g Organic carrots, finely grated
210 ml Honey sweetened carrot juice (or water)
1 tbsp Olive oil
In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix together the flour, crumbled yeast, curry powder and salt. Add in finely grated carrots and carrot juice. Mix at slow speed until the ingredients come together, then increase the speed and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, 7-9 minutes.
Cover the dough with a clean towel and set aside at room-temperature for 45 minutes until double in size.
Gently press down the dough and shape the dough into a tight ball. Place it in a parchment-lined baking tray and brush with the olive oil. Dust the bread with a little flour.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Use a sharp knife, razor blade, or bread lame to quickly score the surface of the boule. I did a common "tic-tac-toe" pattern, but a simple cross will be great too.
Bake in the middle of hot oven for 50-60 minutes until crusty, golden and sound hollow when done. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Angie's Recipes is an interactive blog dedicated to sharing yummy & creative recipes, helpful cooking hints and tips.
Enjoy your visit and spread the word!
If you enjoy my recipes and want to support me, THANKS!