Baked Pumpkin & Zucchini Frekkeh with Stilton

This is truly a Rustic meal

Inspired by the new Chasseur casserole pot i got for my Birthday from my family. I was dying to use it and luckily for me the weather on Sunday evening was cold and very wet.....perfect for a baked rustic meal.

This is the first time i have tried Freekeh and it is delicious. this meal would work equally well with Quinoa or Barley or Rice.

ingredients

* 6-8 roast pumpkin wedges (with skin on)
* 1/2 a whole roast onion (simply cut the top off the onion, cut an x in the top, rub a bit of butter (or oil) on and some herbs or garlic if you like and bake until nice and soft
* 2 tsp chopped garlic
* 2 tbsp pesto
* handful chopped parsley, marjoram and thyme
* 2 tbs Avjar
* rind of half a lemon
* 1 lemon cut into wedges
* 1 cup Freekeh
* water
* s & p
* 1/3 cup of blue vein cheese, Stilton or other salty soft cheese.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and roast veg.
Cook freekah according to packet directions

Put the casserole on the stove on low-medium heat and saute the garlic with a little oil

Add the freekah to the pot and stir to combine, add the Avjar and some of the roast onion (cut into wedges) and stir to warm through and dry out the freekah a little (if yours is a little soggy like mine was), stir through the lemon rind and some of the herbs

Arrange the pumpkin and zucchini and more onion wedges on top of the freekah and crumble the cheese on top.

Bake in the oven until cheese has melted and all is warmed through (approx 15-20mins)
the freekah should develop a delicious slightly crunchy crust on the bottom

Dollop the pesto on before serving and scatter with herbs.
Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze on top (optional)

Pumpkin & Pesto Ricotta Parcels

This is a simple recipe for those parties or BBQ's when you need to 'bring a plate'

it looks impressive, and doesn't take long to make.

You could alter the filling to whatever you have on hand. Maybe try pesto ricotta with cannellini beans and roast capsicum, or roast cherry tomatoes, pesto ricotta and olive... or corn, pesto ricotta and capsicum.

ingredients

* 200g ricotta
* 2 cups roasted pumpkin
* 1/2 cup caramelized onion
* 3 tbsp pesto
* 1 cup (or a bit more) English or baby spinach leaves chopped
* 1 egg lightly whisked
* 10 filo pastry sheets
* 100g butter
* 1cup chopped herbs of choice
* extra herbs to garnish
* s & p


method

preheat the oven to 180 degrees

mix spinach and herbs with ricotta s & p & egg

lightly brush a filo sheet with butter lay another sheet on top lightly butter and repeat until you have 5 layers

grease 2 muffin tins cut the filo into squares to suit the muffin tin. press the filo in to trays

spoon some of the ricotta into each filo cup, push a piece or 2 of roast pumpkin into each cup, add a little bit of caramelized onion to each. pop into the oven foe approx 15minutes until browned on bottom and set firm.

serve on a platter scattered with the the extra herbs.

x BA

Lemon baked brocolli

This is a delicious way to eat broccoli, it is amazing the difference in taste in comparison to the watery flavour and texture of steaming or boiling it.

The zing of the lemon and chili really make it special.

Its my new fave snack!

Ingredients
* 1 head of broccoli
* drizzle of olive oil
* pinch salt & pepper
* pinch chili flakes (optional)
* zest of 1/2 lemon
* juice of half a lemon
* 2 cloves garlic crushed
* parsley

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees
cut the broccoli into florets and coats lightly with olive oil, garlic & chili flakes (optional)
Sprinkle with salt & pepper
place on a baking tray and grate the lemon zest over the top
bake for 15 minutes or until slightly browned and crispy on the edges, (not too long as you want it to stay nice and green with a bit of crunch)
serve with a wedge of lemon, scattered with parsely. Or squeeze the juice over the top before serving.

yummo!

x BA

Asian pumpkin soup

 

I love pumpkin soup, this is my favourite variation. I used laksa paste this time but red curry paste or green curry paste also work well.

Ingredients
* 1/4 chopped pumpkin (2cm cubes)
* 1/2 Spanish onion diced
* 2 tsp ground coriander
* 2 tsp ground cumin
* 3 tbsp curry paste
* 1 or 2 tsp palm sugar
* fresh chilies to taste
* 1 tsp garlic
* water
* 1/2 can Coconut milk
* 1 tbs oil
* 1/2 bunch coriander -roots finely chopped and leaves picked and roughly chopped
* 1 apple

Sauté the onion and garlic with oil, add spices and curry paste and coriander roots (and chilli if using) and stir 

add pumpkin and stir.

Add water to cover and set to a high simmer until pumpkin is soft. Add extra water if required as the pumpkin is cooking

Once soft blitz the soup with a Bamix until smooth

Add 1tspn palm sugar and half the coconut milk. taste and add more sugar, coconut milk and or water to suit your personal preference

Lastly, grate one apple into the soup. Stir and serve garnished with lots of coriander, sprinkled with dukka if you like or with a splash of coconut cream or milk... Or with coriander pesto.

Ba xx

Basil pesto

Here is another kitchen staple of mine.

I wish I made my own all the time but the truth is as easy as it is to make I often buy pesto.

But why? It's far cheaper and tastier to make your own!

Here is a 5 min recipe for a must have condiment which is sure to jazz up many a meal with ease.

Here are some  ideas w pesto . Please let me know if you have some more!

*Pesto base pizza, use pesto instead of tomato for your pizza sauce
* add pesto to pasta with chopped tomato, lemon zest, fresh chillies and extra finely diced Spanish onion and fresh herbs
* put pesto onto your roast veg 5 minutes before done for extra flavour (to save the colour don't cook the pesto too long)
* add pesto to hollandaise for a fancy change
* add pesto to pasta sauce near the end of cooking  -  (i often do this when i am short of fresh herbs at home)
* add pesto to fritters, rosti, pie filling or tarts i often serve pesto as a condiment with these meals too
* use the pesto in salad dressings
* marinate your meats with the pesto with some extra oil added
* make a coriander pesto and use it in a stir-fry
* add it to casseroles/tagines toward the end of cooking
* add some Greek yoghurt to make a fresh dip for veggie sticks
* fill vol au vents cases with a little pesto, half a cherry tomato and a baby bocconcini or many other combos
* coat cubes of roasted eggpplant and feta with pesto and to toasted ciabatta slices with the mix for a yum bruschetta

i could go on all day....

time to make the pesto already! :)

Here I have omitted cheese and used a few types of nuts to add the extra flavor, plus extra lemon juice for a bit of zing. You could try different nuts or add a few capers or some chillies or Parmesan. Use raw nuts rather than toasted or use roasted garlic rather than raw.

I have even added marinated artichoke hearts and caramelised onions to my pesto before with a bit of verjuice, given it an extra whizz with the blender and used it as a salad dressing.

So go on experiment! 

Ingredients
1 large bunch basil, leaves picked
3/4c to 1c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c pecans
1/4c ABC paste
1/4 c lemon juice
3tspn garlic
S & P

Toast nuts In a dry fry pan shaking often until lightly browned, transfer to a dry tea towel cover with half the tea towel and rub gently to remove the flaky skins.

Put all if the ingredients except for 1/4c or oil and lemon juice in a food processor or blender, whizz until evenly combined

Check consistency , add more oil if required. Add lemon juice bit by bit to your taste.

Keep in an airtight jar in the fridge
I cover mine with a little extra layer of olive oil to help keep it longer and to keep it nice and green.

Should last over a week.

Xx Ba

Mango gelato served with banana & macapuno

 

My favorite food is mango, summer in neat little package all sweet smelling in its curvaceous blushing skin. A delicious mess to eat at the beach closely followed by a cleansing swim! I love mango for breakfast or dessert In a salad or on a skewer with some veg and feta on the BBQ (you NEVER see me with any facon or 'vege sausages') for dinner.

Mango is great anytime of everyday!

Today it's in a simple mango gelato

I served this with banana and macapuno. But if I didn't need to post a photo k would have eaten it straight out of the tub with a BIG spoon!

Macapuno is a delicious sweet Philippine conserve made with young 'sick' coconut, but Don't be put off! it's called a sick coconut as it's flesh does not dry and become hard. The coconut doesn't have any juice inside and the flesh is soft and jelly like. It is deliciously sweet, typically used in baked desserts.

Makes Approx 1L

*3 large mangoes flesh diced
*juice of 1 lime
* 1/2 cup caster sugar
* 100g glucose syrup

Put the mango flesh into a blender or food processor and purée until smooth

In a heavy based saucepan heat on medium-low the sugar and glucose syrup with a little of the mango puree until sugar is completely . Mix the glucose mix into the rest of the mango puree,add the lime juice & then transfer to a container and put in the freezer.

Once the gelato is frozen (I waited until the next morning) remove from the freezer cut up into pieces and process or blend until smooth again.

Put back into the container and freeze again.

Done 

(macapuno is available at most Asian supermarkets)

X ba

Pumpkin Fetta & Spinach Fritters

Makes approx 10 fritters

Ingredients

1 ½ cups wholemeal flour - I used biodynamic wholemeal spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

1 cup chilled soda water

½ tsp salt

2 cups of grated pumpkin (500grams)

2 cups loosely packed baby spinach or english spinach (leaves picked)

Handful of dill chopped

Handful of parsley chopped

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Tablespoon of fresh lemon

1/2 red onion finely chopped

100 grams crumbled goats fetta

Handful of grated parmesan

Extra virgin coconut oil for frying

Method

Mix flour, baking powder and eggs. Add chilled soda water and salt and beat to smooth batter. Cover and stand while you prepare other ingredients.

In a large bowl mix grated pumpkin, spinach, dill, parsley, grated nutmeg, fresh lemon juice, red onion, goats fetta and parmesan. Add in wet batter and mix well.

Heat a large heavy based frying pan to medium heat. I would recommend cooking one at first to test the batter and make sure the pan is the right temperature. Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil and add a large spoon of batter mix to pan, flatten with back of spoon and let cook for 5-10 minutes until the base starts to become firm or until golden. Flip and cook other side. Depending on how big your pan is you can cook a few at a time being careful that they are all separated (this will make it easier when flipping). Between each batch of fritters coat the bottom of the pan with about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. You can keep these warm in the oven on a baking tray at 50 degrees celsius until they are all cooked.

I served this with a very easy and quick Tzatziki and Martin & Ju's Summertime Salad.

Toasted Lebanese Bread

This is so simple and I love serving it with dips like hummus and tzatziki when people come over - or as a little snack before dinner. You can use wholemeal or white Lebanese bread. Don't forget to check the ingredients to make sure the Lebanese bread you choose doesn't have preservatives - there only needs to be flour, water, yeast and salt and usually they will also have iodine added.

Heat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Place Lebanese bread on a baking tray, Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with za'atar or sumac. Using a pastry brush mix the oil and spices on the bread and brush until coated. Bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until golden and toasted. They will become crispy as they cool. You can serve whole and you just break it up as you eat it or you can break it up before and place in basket to serve.

* sumac is a spice made from the sumac berry, often used in Lebanese food

Tzatziki

This is a really quick tzatziki I made very last minute to go with my Pumpkin, Fetta & Spinach Fritters.

1 lebanese cucumber
1 clove garlic finely chopped or grated
1/2 cup of Greek style or natural yoghurt
1 tablespoon of grated lemon rind
2 tablepoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch salt
freshly ground black pepper

Cut the Lebanese cucumber in half length ways. Scrape out the seeds using a teaspoon. Grate cucumber and squeeze out excess water using your hands (you can also do this more thoroughly by place the grated cucumber in a muslin cloth or tea towel and squeezing it). Mix with grated garlic, lemon rind and juice, salt and black pepper. Mix well and serve. Is a great accompaniment to many meal or served as nibblies with toasted lebanese bread

Biss  :)

Banana Bread

I haven't baked anything for ages and I have had some lovely stone ground biodynamic spelt flour that I have been wanting to turn into something delicious. I adapted this recipe from a few others I had found and I was a little bit concerned about whether it would work (this is always a concern when using superior quality aka expensive ingredients! )... baking can be so temperamental! However this was a success and I think this will now be cooked time and time again. Perhaps next time I would even put a little less sugar, and throw in some seeds or nuts... You could toast it and spread it with some extra virgin coconut oil or nut butter too :) Enjoy!

This recipe also used Coconut Sugar which is an unrefined sugar from the coconut palm blossoms with a naturally low Glycemic index. It has a lovely caramel toffee flavour and melts in your mouth  Regular brown sugar has been leached of it's minerals and is highly refined. Brown sugar is simply white or raw sugar which has had caramel or molasses added. Once you have tried this you won't go back to regular brown sugar!  You could also use Rapadura sugar (Panela) which is an unrefined sugar made from evaporated cane sugar juice. Extra virgin coconut oil is also a great oil for baking as it can be heated up to very high temperatures and doesn't oxidised through the cooking process. It is also a very yummy replacement for butter on toast! Make sure the baking powder you are using is aluminium free - I like the one from Honest to Goodness.
 
Biss xx

Ingredients

3 medium very ripe banana

1/2 cup cooked pureed apple or pear

2 organic free range eggs

 2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil (melted but not hot)

2 tablespoons raw agave or maple syrup

1 cup of coconut palm sugar (or Rapadura sugar)

2 cups wholemeal, spelt flour sifted

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

pinch sea salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Use a mini food processor and blend the bananas, apple puree, eggs, vanilla, coconut oil, maple syrup and coconut sugar and blend until smooth (alternatively just mash the bananas and beat the eggs and mix all ingredients well)

In a separate large bowl, combine spelt flour, bicarb soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. Combine wet and dry ingredients and fold gently until mixed.Pour the batter into your prepared loaf tin and bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes* or until dark golden and cooked through.  Cool a little in a tin before turning out to serve warm.

*NB: As all ovens are a little different so I would recommend you to set your timer to 35 minutes and check it every 10 minutes so as not to under or over cook it.

Biss xx
p.s I made this again the other day and I forgot the coconut oil! It wasn't as 'melt in the mouth' however it was still lovely and disappeared the same day!