Fruitful breakfast

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (Spring 2021)

This refreshing, original acai bowl from ‘Plant Over Processed‘ by Andrea Hannemann is a great substitute for hot porridge as the days get warmer.

Serves : 2

Ingredients :
2 cups frozen blueberries
3 frozen ripe bananas
2 acai superfruit packs of 1 scoop acai powder
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup plant milk

For the toppings
Sliced banana, granola, shredded coconut, goji berries or blueberries

Place all the ingredients except the toppings in a high-powdered blender.
Blend, starting on medium speed and gradually making your way up to high, for 1-2 minutes, stopping every 20 seconds to mix the ingredients and push them down with a smoothie stick.
Once you see the ‘swirl’, you will know it’s done. Pour your smoothie into your favourite bowl and add your choice of toppings.

Roasted Broccoli with Chilli Yogurt and Orange

Recipe Courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (May 2020) and taken from Life Kitchen by Ryan Riley.

Broccoli pairs deliciously with aromatic orange, which provides an uplifting aroma and acidity to balance out the other flavours. Ideal for a quick lunch.

Serves : 2

Ingredients :
230g long-stem broccoli
Olive oil
1 tsp capers
Small handful of flaked almonds
3 tblsp full-fat Greek yogurt
1 tsp Chilli Oil (see recipe)
1 orange, zested and halved
Sprinkling of sumac
Chilli flakes, to serve (optional)

Heat the oven to 180oC. Place the broccoli on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Spoon the capers over and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the almonds over and bake for 5 minutes more, until the broccoli is tender and the almonds golden.
While the broccoli is baking, combine the yogurt and Chilli Oil in a bowl. Peel and segment one orange half. As soon as the broccoli is ready, squeeze the juice from the remaining orange half over the top, sprinkle with a good dusting of sumac and orange zest and serve with a dollop of the chilli yogurt (sprinkled with chilli flakes, if you like) and the orange segments on the side.

Chilli Oil:

Ingredients (Makes 200ml) :
200ml rapeseed oil
40g dried chipotle chilli flakes
20g red chilli flakes

Place a saucepan on a medium heat and add the oil. Bring it to a simmer – be very careful as the oil will be extremely hot. After a few moments, drop in a chilli flake: if the oil is hot enough, the flake will sizzle slightly.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in both types of chilli flakes. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Pour the cooled Chilli Oil into a sterilised jar and seal with a lid.

Rhubarb and Coconut Rice Pudding

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (May 2017) and taken from ‘A Year of Beautiful Eating’ by Madeleine Shaw.

Serves : 2

Ingredients :
500ml rice milk or other milk
200g coconut cream
1 vanilla pod
1 cinnamon stick
1 cardamom pod
1 tblsp maple syrup
120g pudding rice or short grain rice
2 tblsp flaked almonds, to serve
Extra maple syrup, to serve (optional)

For the rhubarb compote :
2 rhubarb stalks
2 tblsp maple syrup
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

Method :

First make the rhubarb compote. Finely chop the rhubarb into 1 cm pieces. Place in a saucepan with the maple syrup and orange zest and juice. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Keep warm to serve with the rice pudding.

Meanwhile, put the milk, coconut cream, vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod and syrup in another pot, over a medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes, then bring to the boil and add the rice. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring well, until the rice is cooked through.

Take out the cinnamon stick, and the vanilla and cardamom pods. Serve the rice pudding with a dollop of the rhubarb compote, sprinkled with flaked almonds on top, plus a drizzle of maple syrup, if needed.

Carpaccio Di Ananas E Fragole

Recipe courtesy of Hello Magazine.

Serves : 4

Ingredients – Honey Syrup :
6 tblsp water
100g / 4oz caster sugar
2 tblsp honey

Ingredients – Fruit :
1 small pineapple, peeled and cored
1 punnet strawberries
4 scoops of sorbet (perhaps raspberry)

Method :

For the syrup, place the water, sugar and honey in a heavy pan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Boil rapidly until the syrup turns golden brown, remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. Drizzle over 4 serving plates.

To prepare the fruit, slice the pineapple as thinly as possible, using a food slicer – and slice the strawberries. Arrange on serving plates in a flower pattern and add a scoop of sorbet in the centre. Serve at once.

Summer Fruits – Smooth operator

Recipe courtesy of The Co-operative Food Magazine.

Nothing evokes summer quite like the taste of plump and juicy summer berries. Whether you’re planning a weekend picnic, making a fruit tart or a healthy smoothie.

Ingredients :
115g blueberries
115g raspberries
150ml apple juice
2 tblsp natural yogurt
Some crushed ice
Extra blueberries and raspberries to garnish

Method :

Pop all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. Pour into a glass and garnish with the blueberries and raspberries.

Redcurrant Chocolate Puddings

Recipe taken from Hello Magazine many years ago.

Serves : 10

Ingredients – Base sponge :
100g (4oz) butter
100g (4oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
300g (11oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Juice of 2 medium oranges

Ingredients – Top sponge :
50g (2oz) caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
150g (5oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) butter, melted

To serve :
225ml (8 fl oz) chocolate sauce
Strawberries brushed with warmed redcurrant jelly

Step One : For the base sponge, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Stir in the eggs and egg yolk, then fold in the flour, baking powder and orange juice. Divide the mixture between 10 ramekin dishes.

Step Two : For the top sponge, whisk together the sugar, egg and egg yolk until thick and creamy. Carefully fold in the flour and melted butter and spoon into the ramekin dishes.

Step Three : Preheat the oven to 220oC / 425oF / Gas Mark 7 and bake for 10 minutes or until just firm when pressed. Turn out the sponges and serve with chocolate sauce and strawberries brushed with warmed redcurrant jelly.

Chelsea Buns

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from “All You Knead is Bread” by Jane Mason.

Makes : 8-10 buns

Ingredients :
300g all-purpose white wheat flour
200ml water
3/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tblsp butter
1 tblsp sugar

Filling :
75g dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants)
25g mixed peel
50g soft brown sugar
25g butter, melted and cooled
2 big tblsp honey, melted to glaze

You will need a deep baking pan, about 25 cm wide, well-greased.

Step One : Put all the ingredients into a big bowl and mix together. Tip out and knead well for 10 minutes. Pop the kneaded dough back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rest for 1-2 hours until doubled in size. Meanwhile, mix the dried fruit, mixed peel and sugar together to make the filling, then set aside.

Step Two : Pull the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Roll into a rectangle about 30 x 23 cm. Brush the cooled, melted butter over it and scatter the fruit mixture evenly over the top.

Step Three : Roll up the rectangle, tugging it gently toward you at each roll to achieve a tight sausage. To make it easier to slice, cover it with clingfilm and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

Step Four : Use a sharp, serrated knife to cut the sausage into 8-10 slices if you like your buns thin, or 6 if you like them really fat. Place them into the prepared baking pan and cover with a lightly floured tea towel. Allow to rest for 1 hour until doubled in size.

Step Five : Preheat the oven to 180oC / Gas Mark 4. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Brush with melted honey while they are still hot.

Salute the Salad : Poached Salmon, Almond and Grapefruit Couscous

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (May 2016) and taken from “Savour : Salads for all seasons” by Peter Gordon.

For this light, healthy meal, poach the salmon in a pan wide and deep enough to hold the pieces in one layer. The couscous can also be served with other meats.

Serves 2 as a main course

Serve warm or at room temperature

Ingredients :
100g couscous
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated (shredded)
1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
2 spring onions
1 small handful of flat-leaf parsley, still on the stalk
1 grapefruit
2 salmon fillets (150-175g each), bones removed but skin left on
3 tblsp flaked almonds, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
1 small handful salad leaves (perhaps use pea shoots)
1 lemon, halved

Step One : Mix the couscous with 100ml of tepid water and 1/4 tsp of salt, and leave for 5 minutes. Mix in the grated carrot and olive oil and leave for 5 minutes. Trim both ends from the spring onions. Thinly slice the green parts and mix into the couscous. Pick the parsley leaves from their stalks, coarsely shred and add to the couscous. Put the parsley stalks and spring onion white ends in a separate pan. Add water to a depth of 4 cm and 1 tsp of salt, bring to the boil then reduce to a rapid simmer. Peel three strips of rind from the grapefruit, avoiding any white pith, add to this poaching stock as it heats up.

Step Two : Gently lower the salmon pieces into the stock, skin side facing down, and bring back to the boil. Turn off the heat, put a lid on the pan and leave for 8-10 minutes, by which time it will be cooked (if the salmon is thin, and submerged, leave it for no more than 4-5 minutes).

Step Three : Meanwhile, segment the grapefruit, cutting off the peel and pith. Cut each segment into three or four pieces and mix into the couscous along with the almonds and any juice you can squeeze from the grapefruit core.

Step Four : To serve, divide the couscous among your plates and sit the salad leaves on top. Remove the salmon carefully from the poaching liquid and lay on a plate, skin side facing up. Peel off the skin and carefully scrape away any dark-coloured flesh (and blood line) under the skin using a teaspoon. Break the salmon into flakes and sit it on top of the couscous. Tuck in a lemon half and serve.

Salute the Salad : Grilled Carrots, Manchego, Orange, Agave, Pecans and Sultanas

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from “Savour : Salads for all seasons” by Peter Gordon.

This relatively simple salad will seem all the more fabulous if you use a few different colours of carrots. I found the combination of just two colours worked well and decided against using purple ones. I’ve also made this using baby carrots, which looks and works a treat. Manchego is a fantastic ewes’ milk cheese from La Mancha, near Madrid, in Spain. If you prefer, you can use British Wigmore or Berkswell, Italian Pecorino, or some other firm ewes’ milk cheese – something you can shave or slice over the top. Agave syrup is a fabulous, earthy, sweet syrup, which complements the pecans – replace it with maple syrup if you can’t find it.

Serves 4 as a starter

Serve warm or at room temperature

Ingredients:
600g carrots, peeled, halved lengthways
3 tblsp olive oil
2 oranges, segmented
3 tblsp agave syrup (or use maple syrup)
50g sultanas (or golden raisins)
100g pecans, toasted and chopped
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
handful salad leaves (perhaps rocket)
60g manchego

Step One : Steam or boil the carrots in salted water for 6 minutes. If using baby carrots, cook for 4 minutes. Tip into a colander and leave to drain. Brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt and pepper, then cook in a heavy based pan until coloured on both sides and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes depending on their size. Leave to cool.

Step Two : Mix the orange segments with any of their juice you can squeeze from the ‘core’. Add the agave syrup, sultanas and pecans. Leave for 10 minutes, then mix in the remaining oil. Leave for at least 20 minutes to allow the sultanas to soak up some of the liquid, tossing from time to time. Just before serving, mix in the spring onion.

Step Three : To serve, lay the carrots on a platter or individual plates. Scatter on the salad leaves, then spoon on the orange, sultana and pecan mixture. Thinly shave the manchego on top just before you serve it.

Grilled Peach with Ginger Cream and Walnut Praline

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (May 2019)

A perfectly ripe peach is hard to find. In this recipe from Vegan for Good by Rita Serano, you can use peaches that are not entirely ripe, which is just, well, peachy! You’ll need a ridged griddle pan or panini maker.

Serves : 4

Grilled peaches

Ingredients :
350ml Coconut yogurt
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
Pinch of salt
60ml maple or brown rice syrup
6 ripe but firm peaches, halved and stoned

For the praline :
100g walnuts
2 tblsp maple syrup
Pinch of salt

Step One : In a bowl, combine the coconut yogurt with the fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg (if using), vanilla and salt. Set aside. (You can do this in advance and refrigerate).

Step Two : Roast the walnuts in a dry non-stick or cast-iron pan over a medium heat until golden brown. Stir frequently and, after 3-4 minutes, add the maple syrup and salt, stirring to coat all the nuts. Leave to cook for a further minute. Tip the walnuts out of the pan and spread them on baking paper to cool. Once cool, chop them roughly.

Step Three : Now, set your griddle pan or panini maker on high. The pan must be very hot before you grill the peaches. Lay the peaches cut side down on the pan and grill for about 3 minutes, or until grill marks appear. Serve the peaches with the soured cream, maple or brown rice syrup and the walnut praline.