Essentially Healthy Food

Spiced Apples & Pears with Macadamia Cream

2009-11-13T12:01:34+00:00

As winter draws in and the nights get longer and darker, sticky comforting puddings get all the more enticing. Yet many of the winter classics deliver a hefty helping of empty calories. So, what's the alternative for a healthy warming pudding?

Think seasonally - juicy apples and pears are the ideal choice at this time of year. Bathe the fruit in a sticky aromatic syrup and they are transformed into a luxurious treat. Macadamias blended into a smooth cream, flavoured with a hint of vanilla provide a cool creamy contrast to the hot sticky spiced fruit and the crunch from the toasted nuts adds the finishing touch.

Incidentally, this is also delicious, hot or cold, for breakfast too!

Spiced Apples & Pears with Macadamia Cream

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 Apples

2 Pears

Syrup

¾ Tsp Ground Cinnamon

¼ Tsp Freshly Grated Ground Nutmeg

3 Whole Cloves

25g Pear & Apple Spread

¼ Lemon, juice & zest

150ml Apple Juice

Macadamia Cream

75g Macadamia Nuts, ideally soaked overnight in water, drain well before use

¼ Lemon, juice & zest

75ml Apple Juice

1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

To Serve

6-8 Macadamia Nuts, chopped & lightly toasted

First of all make the syrup by combining the spices, lemon juice and zest, pear and apple spread and apple juice in a pan. Bring up to the boil and simmer for a few minutes until syrupy.

Pre heat the oven to 220℃/Fan 200℃.

Cut the pears and apples into quarters and remove the cores, then cut each quarter into thick slices lengthways. Place on a baking tray lined with non stick parchment and pour over the spiced syrup making sure that all the slices are well covered. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the slices are just cooked through.

Meanwhile make the macadamia cream by blending together the macadamia nuts, lemon juice and zest and apple juice until very smooth and creamy. Stir in the vanilla bean paste.

Divide the apple and pears slices between the serving plates, top with a spoonful of the macadamia cream and scatter with the chopped, toasted macadamia nuts.

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Orange & Cardamom Crème Caramels - not only a healthier version but dairy & egg free too!

2009-11-06T16:15:59+00:00

Last weekend, as I knew the rest of the family wouldn't settle for anything less than pumpkin pie for a Hallowe'en dessert, to avoid temptation, I decided to create myself a dairy, egg and gluten free alternative! Running short of time, and also needing to make some coconut jellies, it seemed the obvious solution to use that as a base for my pumpkin dessert. So, with the extra coconut jelly mixture ready I simply blended in cooked pumpkin and some spices and left it to set. The result a deliciously creamy, spiced mixture, not a million miles from the usual pumpkin pie filling. Which got me thinking ......

Adding the pumpkin created a lovely custardy texture, which, I thought, would make a fantastic alternative to egg custard based desserts like Crème Brûlée and Crème Caramel. Hence this weeks decadent but healthy dessert. For another slight twist, the Crème Caramels are flavoured with orange and for increased depth of flavour the coconut milk is infused with crushed cardamom pods. The coconut milk, used here primarily for its rich creamy texture, loses its coconutty flavour to the intensity of the orange and cardamom.

Although I've used Agave Nectar in the recipe, this week, thanks to the lovely Janey Lee Grace and her monthly 'Imperfectly Natural Tips', I've discovered a new low GL sweetener. It's called Sweet Freedom and is made in the UK purely using water extracted from apples, grapes and carob. Like Agave, there are two varieties a light mild syrup and a darker slightly stronger flavoured version. You can order online from Sweet Freedom and it is available in some supermarkets and farm shops.

The delicate, self saucing desserts only need a light touch when it comes to decoration, so pieces of thinly sliced orange and a scattering of zest fit the bill nicely.

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Orange & Cardamom Crème Caramels

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Serves 4

Ingredients

Caramel

50g Agave Syrup

50ml Orange Juice

Zest of ½ Orange

'Custards'

150g Raw Pumpkin Flesh

400ml Coconut Milk

2 Cardamom Pods, crushed

4 Leaves of Gelatine

20g Agave Nectar

Zest of ½ Orange

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

To Serve

Pieces of Thinly Sliced Orange

Orange Zest

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Line 4 large ramekins (125ml) with a small disk of non stick parchment.

Boil the orange juice, agave nectar and orange zest until syrupy. Divide between the 4 ramekins.

Steam the pumpkin until tender. Drain any excess liquid.

Heat the coconut milk and crushed cardamom pods. Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 15-20 minutes. Cut the gelatine leaves into small pieces and soak in cold water for about 10 minutes. Place the infused coconut milk back on the heat, drain the gelatine and add to the pan, stirring until it dissolves - don't allow the milk to boil, otherwise the gelatine won't set. Strain the milk into a blender and add the cooked pumpkin vanilla extract, agave nectar and orange zest. Blend until smooth.

Divide the pumpkin mixture between the 4 ramekins. Leave to cool and then refrigerate until set, preferably overnight.

To serve. Gently press around the edge of the 'custards' to release them from the ramekins. Hold a serving plate over the ramekin and quickly invert the plate. Give the ramekin and plate a couple of sharp shakes until you hear the plop as the crème caramel is released from the ramekin. Carefully remove the ramekin and non stick parchment, taking care not to spill the caramel which will have turned to liquid. Decorate with small orange slices and zest.

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Food Preparation & Food Presentation Guides

& Garnishing Skills eBook

Colour ~ Texture ~ Shape/Form ~ Less is More ~ Garnishing

Serving Styles ~ Plating Techniques ~ Plating Styles

Importance of the Visual Appeal of Food

Why Attractive Presentation Makes Food More Enjoyable

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Sweet Pepper, Beef & Pumpkin 'Pies'

2009-10-29T17:23:12+00:00

This recipe gives a colourful, autumnal twist to the classic family favourite, Cottage Pie. Deconstructing familiar dishes and reassembling them to create new ones is a fantastic way of adding some variety to your meals. The filling for the 'pie' is a rich bolognese sauce and instead of chopping the peppers and adding them to the filling, they are instead used as edible dishes to contain the pie. I've used the long pointed peppers here but you could easily use the normal block shaped ones instead. It is essential to use red peppers because they contrast beautifully with the orange pumpkin and harmonise well with the tomatoey bolognese sauce.

Mashed potato is the usual topping for Cottage Pie but as it's pumpkin season, and because of their gorgeous autumnal colour, I've chosen to use pumpkin instead. However, mashed pumpkin doesn't have the fluffy texture of potato, so instead the pumpkin is diced and left in chunky pieces on the top of the 'pies'. A light drizzle of oil helps to crisp up the tops but you could also use some grated cheese if you prefer.

To save time you can cook the bolognese sauce and diced pumpkin in advance and assemble just before cooking or even prepare the 'pies' themselves in advance. If you're cooking from chilled don't forget to allow extra cooking time.

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Sweet Pepper, Beef & Pumpkin Pies

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Serves 4

Ingredients

450g Lean Minced Beef

2 Sticks of Celery, finely diced

1 Small Onion, finely chopped

1 Clove of Garlic, crushed

3 Tbsp Sun dried Tomato Paste

450ml Passata

200ml Water

1 Tsp Dried Oregano

1 Bay Leaf

Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper

600g Pumpkin, finely diced

4 Medium Sized Red Peppers

Olive or Rape Seed Oil

Freshly Grated Nutmeg

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Dry fry the mince in a large frying pan, breaking it up into smaller pieces as it cooks. Add the onions and celery and continue to cook until the onions are soft. Add the crushed garlic, sun dried tomato paste, passata, water and herbs to the pan. Stir well and bring up to the boil. Leave to simmer on a low heat for an hour, adding more water to the pan if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Whilst the mince is cooking, steam the pumpkin until tender.

Halve the peppers lengthways and remove the seeds and white membrane. Place them in an ovenproof dish and pre heat the oven to 200℃/180℃ Fan. Divide the mince between the pepper halves and top with the diced pumpkin. Spray or drizzle over a little oil and then sprinkle with some grated nutmeg.

Cook in the pre heated oven for about 45 minutes or until the peppers are cooked and the pumpkin is golden brown.

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Food Preparation & Food Presentation Guides

& Garnishing Skills eBook

Colour ~ Texture ~ Shape/Form ~ Less is More ~ Garnishing

Serving Styles ~ Plating Techniques ~ Plating Styles

Importance of the Visual Appeal of Food

Why Attractive Presentation Makes Food More Enjoyable

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Creamy Chicken with Celery (Dairy Free)

2009-10-22T16:58:48+01:00

When I'm cooking I like to create contrasts, particularly with colours. Pale coloured foods such as the chicken and celery dish can easily look insipid so I always look for ways to brighten them up.

There are three options that I could have used. The first is to serve the chicken with a green salad or some green vegetables, maybe broccoli, kale, spinach or peas. These would all give it a lift.

Alternatively, I could choose to serve it on a colourful plate. More often than not I use white plates but in this case the pale coloured food would blend into the plate and would lose its impact.

The third option is the one that I chose to use as it has the advantage of adding an extra layer of flavour to the dish. As you can see from the photographs, it is the addition of some chopped herbs. Celery leaves from the tops of the celery stalks, but you could use any herb that goes well with chicken such as tarragon, parsley, chervil or chives.

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Creamy Chicken with Celery

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Serves 2

2 Chicken Breasts (approx 350g), diced

1 Rasher of Bacon, cut into small pieces

½ Small Onion, finely sliced

4 Sticks of Celery, sliced

200ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock

200ml Coconut Milk

1 Bay Leaf

1 Clove of Garlic, crushed

1 Tsp Cornflour

Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

A small handful of celery leaves, chopped (or any other suitable herb)

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Gently fry the bacon, onions and celery until the onion is tender. Use a low heat to ensure that the vegetables and bacon don't brown. Add the crushed garlic, stock, coconut milk and bay leaf and bring up to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened to a syrupy consistency.

Add the diced chicken, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and tender.

Slake (mix) the cornflour with a little water and stir into the sauce. Keep stirring and simmer until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir through the chopped celery leaves or parsley.

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Food Preparation & Food Presentation Guides

Colour ~ Texture ~ Shape/Form ~ Less is More ~ Garnishing

Serving Styles ~ Plating Techniques ~ Plating Styles

Importance of the Visual Appeal of Food

Why Attractive Presentation Makes Food More Enjoyable

Garnish Your Way To Health eBook Photo Preview II

2009-10-16T12:24:24+01:00

How To Use Garnishing Techniques

To Create Beautiful Healthy Food

Here's a few more photos from the Garnish Your Way To Health eBook which contains over 30 full colour photographs to illustrate the concepts and techniques described in the book.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Pork & Pear Kebabs

The herb garnishes used to decorate the Stuffed Tomatoes and the Pork & Pear Kebabs are both regarded as suitable accompaniments for the main ingredients in the dishes. This is one approach to choosing an appropriate garnish.

Thai Fishcakes

The eBook shows how to create the oriental Lime Camellias, Chilli Flowers and Spring Onion Tassels used to garnish the Thai Fish Cakes.

Rosemary

Growing your own herbs is a fantastic way of ensuring that you have a ready supply of garnishes. The eBook provides a guide to growing many of the best culinary herbs.

The weekly recipes will resume next week.

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