FOOD PAIRING: NORI SEAWEED

References: ºThe Art and Science of Foodpairing: 10,000 Flavour Matches That Will Transform the Way You Eat – Peter Coucquyt, Bernard Lahousse, Johan Langenbick
ºThe Flavour Thesaurus – Niki Segnit

Delicate mouthfuls of luxurious smooth and melt-in-your-mouth pears.

Bring the water to a boil, add hibiscus flowers, honey and salt, stirring until honey dissolves. Let the water with the flowers boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and add peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and orange juice. Cover and steep 10 minutes.

Peel pears, leaving stems intact. Add pears to pan. Add 1 to 2 cups of water to just cover pears, if needed.

Bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 1 hour or until pears are tender.

Strain poaching liquid over a bowl, reserving 2 cups poaching liquid. Bring 2 cups poaching liquid to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high; cook 20 minutes or until reduced to 1/2 cup syrup.

Serve the pears with the syrup on top.

Raw Orange Rosemary Tarts

This smooth, creamy orange mousse is the perfect indulgent but healthy treat.

Scoop the coconut fat from a 400ml tin of full-fat coconut milk (you may need to refrigerate this the night before). Place it in a bowl. You can reserve the coconut water for a different recipe.

Infuse the rosemary in the orange juice. Place in a saucepan and heat very slowly for 5 minutes. Take the rosemary out.

Add the orange juice in the bowl with the coconut cream. Add the maple syrup and whisk,

Divide into 4 glasses and leave to set in the fridge for a few hours. You can eat them straight away but they won’t be as mousse-like.

I like to top it with some orange slices and blackberries. They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, covered.

To make the crust, combine the ground flaxseeds, applesauce, coconut sugar, and coconut oil in a bowl. Whisk until uniform.

In another bowl, whisk together the oat flour, brown rice flour, and tapioca flour. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until you get a uniform soft dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper, then transfer to a 9-inch springform tart pan or mini tart pan. Using your hands, press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the dish. You can use a glass to flatten the bottom. Prick the dough a few times with a fork to prevent it from rising in the oven.

Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the baking dish.

Orange, Grapefruit, Pomegranate Salad with mint and basil

Simple, delicious, vibrant salad to be enjoyed in solitude or shared with others.

This salad is as simple as it can be, but the flavours are fantastic.

Simple slice the orange and grapefruit, and add the pomegranate seeds.

Chop the Basil and Mint together to create an interesting aromatic and top the fruit with them. Mix well and enjoy!

Chocolate & Hazelnut Granola Bar

Sweet chocolate granola is even better with a crunchy twist

Preheat your oven at 180ºC. Blend the oats and hazelnuts until you get a flour. Add the dates, maple syrup and almond milk, and mix again.

If it’s too liquid add more oats until it resembles cookie dough.

Spread the mix on an oven tray with a silicone mat and bake for 15 minutes. Cut into bars and let cool.

Coconut and Peanut Balls

Peanuts and coconut are a thing of perfection . .

Mix all ingredients, except half the coconut shreds. If the mix is too dry add 1 more tbsp maple syrup, if it’s too wet add more oats.

Make small balls with the mix and roll them on the remaining coconut shreds.

Refrigerate them for 30 minutes before eating them.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Strawberry Galettes

A delicious, classic French dessert made vegan and gluten-free.

1. Make the Crust: In a medium bowl or standing mixer, beat olive oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and yogurt until creamed together and slightly fluffy. Add in tapioca flour, oat flour, and baking powder and fold together. Form into a ball and set dough aside on parchment lined baking sheet.

2. Make the filling: Use the same bowl to make the filling. Gently fold all filling ingredients together until berries are well coated.

3. Roll out Dough: Preheat oven to 200C. On parchment paper, press dough ball into a rectangle using the palms of your hands/fingers. Flour your rolling pin and roll out dough into a oval/rectangle. Thickness should be about 0.5cm. Dough might crack on edges while rolling, just pinch together sides of dough when needed.

4. Assemble Galette: Transfer the parchment paper with the rolled out crust onto a baking tray. Place astrwberries in the center of the dough, leaving a 5cm border. Fold the edges up and over the filling, overlapping slightly (pinch together dough at bottom if it cracks when folding over). Optional: Lightly brush with almond milk and sprinkle with coconut sugar.

5. Bake Galette: Bake galette at 200 C. for 25-30 minutes until golden and strawberries are slightly bubbling. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Vegan, Dairy and Gluten-Free Mango Curd Tarts

Heavenly, and vibrant dessert that will excite you beyond imagination.

FOR THE CURD:

Place the coconut cream in a small saucepan

In a small bowl add lemon juice and arrowroot starch whisk thoroughly until dissolved.

Then add to coconut cream mixture and stir.

Lastly, add the honey. Start with 1 tbsp and whisk until well combined. Add the second tbsp if needed.

Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low bubble – not boil – whisking often. Once it starts bubbling and getting thick, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking until a visible ribbon forms when spooning a bit of the curd across the top. It should be thick and kind of jiggly in texture. Stir constantly to ensure the curd isn’t sticking to the bottom or sides of the pan.

Remove from heat and taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more lemon juice for acidity, or honey for sweetness.

Let rest for 15 minutes, then whisk once more and transfer to a glass bowl or jar. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap touches the curd – otherwise a film may form.

Refrigerate for 5-6 hours, or overnight, or until completely chilled and set.

Once the crust for the pies has cooled down add the curd on top and refrigerate for 10 more minutes.

FOR THE CRUST:

Add the almond flour and coconut oil to a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Add the maple syrup and mix well, if needed water until the dough sticks together when pressed between fingers.

Place the dough in the pie dishes and press evenly to the bottom and up the sides.

Place in the oven at 200ºC for 15 minutes.

Let cool completely before adding the curd.

Banana Bread

It’s one of the most important recipes in my life, because of the meaning it has.

This is the master recipe from our Banana Bread ebook. It is FREE so be sure to download it. It will teach you how to make many versions of Banana Bread, so you never get bored.

Start by beating the eggs very well, then add the sugar and keep whisking very fast. After that, add the milk and oil and reduce the beating speed, then add the flour and baking powder. At the end fold the mashed bananas in.

Oil a baking pan and bake at 200oC until golden ( +or- 1 hour).

Crepes

Our founder’s grandmother recipe. An homage to her and her cooking

1. Beat the eggs, add the milk, sugar, salt and oil. Mix well.

2. Add the flour and baking powder. Mix everything well.
3. It has to be a silky and smooth liquidy mix. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

3. In a hot pan add a little bit of oil. Grab a ladle and fill it with the mix, add to the hot pan and distribute the batter very well by moving the pan in a circular motion. It has to be a thin layer of batter. Once the sides of the crepe are golden and crispy, and you have bubbles in the centre, flip it, it will only take 2 minutes to cook.

4. She usually sprinkles some caster sugar in the middle and roll them like a taco. You can also add honey and olive oil.

Chocolate Thins with Nuts and Fruit

Easy and fast little desserts to share and enjoy .

Simply start by breaking the chocolate bars and adding it into a bowl

Melt the chocolate with a “Bain Marie”. Ideally, the chocolate won’t heat higher than 45ºC. Use silicone or a wooden spatula to move the chocolate until it is completely melted.

Add the melted chocolate to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Spread it thinly with a spatula.

Sprinkle on top the toppings of your choice and put it in the fridge until the chocolate hardens. Cut into pieces.

Cheese Board

Valentine’s day is fast approaching, and cheese lovers will understand the importance of a good cheeseboard on this day.

I am adding 2 recipe ideas. One in the ingredients list and one below:

Grab 2 of your favourite cheeses. Ideally 1 soft and 1 strong. My choices are, most of the times, either brie or goats cheese; and manchego or cheddar.

Place 2 stalks of black grapes, because grapes and cheese pair very well together.

Buy a beautiful fig jam. Buy a good quality jam, it makes all the difference.

Choose your favourite nuts, either walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, etc. you could do a mix of some or simply choose one type.

Add some pretzels and toasted baguettes