Warm Hummus Bowl

Yes, warm hummus as a base for meals is a thing and yes it is super tasty.
Here is why I utterly adore this recipe:
- The warm hummus base provides a good dose of plant-based protein
- You can use up any veggies that are past their best for the topping. Just roast them up.
- It’s a bowl of goodness that’s utterly brimming with nutrients. A friend once described it as ‘you can feel the goodness filling up your body with every mouthful’.
- The price per portion is definitely on the very affordable end of the scale. Aka it is very cheap to make.

Feel free to use shop-bought hummus if you are short on time but I do think it’s worth making the fresh version featured here. The spices used give the homemade version a little something extra.

Ingredients for 2 portions:

For the hummus
1 tin of chickpeas, drained but the water reserved
2 teaspoons of tahini
2 tablespoons of oil (i.e. olive oil, rapeseed oil or sunflower oil)
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/2 a teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Salt & pepper

For the topping
This part is entirely your choice, here is what I went with:
Any vegetables for roasting: I used a mix of red onion, butternut squash and cauliflower
Potatoes - simply cube and boil these then pan fry them using some garlic, paprika, smoked paprika, sea salt and black pepper
Salad veggies: I went with lettuce, parsley & cucumber dressed with olive oil and lemon juice but anything goes
Pickles if they are your thing: I went with some pickled rose petals but only because I was testing this recipe for a retreat and it needed to have something fancy. Pickled beetroot or pickled gherkins will do the trick just as well.
The toppings aim to bring elements of sweetness (roasted veggies & potatoes) and elements of sour (the lemon juice on the salad and the pickles) as well as working with different textures (think crunchy salad and soft potatoes). Aiming for this variety makes everything taste good.

Method:
Roast your veggies & boil some potatoes.
Chop up the salad vegetables.
To make the hummus, put a small saucepan on a medium heat.
Add the oil and sliced garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the cumin seeds and coriander and cook for a further minute. The oil should be very fragrant.
Set the oil aside to cool slightly.
Put the chickpeas, 1/3 of the chickpea water, tahini and lemon juice in a blender.
Season with two very good pinches of sea salt and a generous amount of black pepper.
Pour in the warm oil and spices.
Blend the hummus until it is smooth, adding a bit more of the chickpea water if needed.
Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if required.
Transfer the hummus to a saucepan and gently warm through. You don’t want it to boil, merely to take on some of the heat.
Divide the hummus between two bowls and top it with the roasted veggies, salad and potatoes.
Enjoy!

Berry cheesecake semifreddo(ish)

I have an amazing treat for you.
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of desserts and I’m especially fond of them if they are full of goodness.
This berry cheesecake semifreddo(ish) dessert is just that.
A higher protein treat full of nourishing berries and a base made of oats and seeds. It’s technically healthy enough for breakfast because if we think about it, it’s actually just berries, yogurt and granola. 🤫
In case you aren’t familiar with semifreddo, it’s basically melting ice cream. Semifreddo = half frozen.
Here is how to make it:

Ingredients for 4 generous portions

For the oat base:
25g pumpkin seeds
50g oats
70g Medjool dates, pitted (4-5 dates approximately)
50g of butter or 2 tbsp coconut oil

For the berry yoghurt layer:
250g of full-fat Greek yoghurt or equivalent plant-based yoghurt
150g of berries - I used a mix of frozen strawberries & raspberries
3 tbsp of agave, maple syrup or honey
1 tbsp of lemon juice
I also added a tablespoon of rose syrup but this is entirely optional

Method:
Line a small loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
To make the base, blitz the oats, dates and seeds in a food processor or blender until they resemble crumbs. Transfer to a bowl.
Melt the butter or coconut oil.
Stir the butter or coconut oil into the oaty mix.
Transfer to the lined loaf tin and press it all down to form a base.
To make the berry yoghurt layer, blend all of the ingredients until smooth.
Pour the yoghurt layer over the base and freeze for at least 4 hours.
When you are ready to eat it, remove it from the freezer and allow it to defrost slightly for around 20 minutes before serving.
Slice into generous portions and serve with a few extra fresh berries if desired.

Green mole

I was deep into researching Spanish food for the Ibiza retreat held last April when I stumbled across a recipe for mole.
It turns out the Spanish conquered a bit, leaving their influence on the food culture of whole swathes of South America. I was thankful for this discovery because the Ibiza retreats are fully vegetarian and Spanish cooking is anything but.
Cue hours of South American food research and the discovery of green mole.
Mole, arguably one of the shining stars of Latin American cuisine, is a sauce made from a combination of onion, chilli, nuts, seeds and fruit. It has a rich, sweet and sour flavour profile with a mild chilli kick that forms a flavoursome base for anything that is added on top.
I’m underselling it here, it’s actually super tasty.

Mole comes in MANY varieties. I’m semi reliably informed by an episode of ‘Somebody Feed Phil’ that every family has their own secret recipe.
The one that appealed to me the most during my research was a recipe for pistachio green mole. It’s a half-cooked, half-raw combination finished with lime and balanced with earthy nuts.
Long story short, I ended up reworking the recipe because unsurprisingly, we aren’t into chilli varieties as much as the Mexicans so it was hard to obtain 30% of the ingredients needed for the authentic version.

The end result is a nutrient-dense, amazingly flavoursome sauce that will elevate anything you may happen to throw on top.
For me, the toppings ended up being roasted courgette & leek, black rice, greens, edible flowers, pistachios and a Clarence Court egg (not pictured). BUT, you pop whatever you fancy on top. It goes just as well with proteins as it does with plant-based toppings.

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 medium onion, roughly diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1” piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
2x medium Bramley apples, roughly chopped & the core removed
1 yellow pepper
1 green chilli, roughly chopped, deseeded if you like less heat
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
100g of hemp seeds - I used Good Hemp, available in most supermarkets
1 handful of coriander
1 handful of parsley
2 large handfuls of spinach
2 limes
Sea salt and black pepper
Cooking oil of your choice

For the top:
Black rice, cooked according to packet instructions
4x Clarence Court eggs, hard or soft boiled
4x small courgettes, sliced and roasted
Any soft herbs
A handful of roasted & salted pistachios, shells removed

Method:

Put the grill on maximum heat.
Slice the pepper down each side so it forms 4 flat pieces.
Put the pepper pieces on a roasting tray and put under the grill until the skin on the pepper has charred. This makes the pepper pieces sweet and smokey, adding extra flavour.
Set aside to cool.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the pepper pieces.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Put the apple pieces on a roasting tray, drizzle with oil and roast until you make the sauce.
Put a saucepan on a medium heat and add a splash of oil.
Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and cook until softened (around 5 minutes).
Add the tomato, pepper pieces and hemp seeds to the sauce. Add a couple of splashes of water and cook for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have cooked down.
Throw in the roasted apple pieces and cook for another couple of minutes, adding a splash of water if it’s beginning to look dry.
Season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Transfer the sauce to a blender, add the coriander, parsley and spinach and squeeze in the juice of 1.5 limes.
Season again with sea salt and black pepper and blend until completely smooth.
Check the flavour and add more lime juice, salt or pepper as required.

To serve, divide the sauce between 4 bowls and top with the desired toppings.

Proper veggie gravy - It's a superfood

Ingredients (enough for a Sunday roast for 2)

2 onions - leave the skin on. The skin = quercetin aka the holy grail of phytonutrients
1 stick of celery
1 carrot
280g shrooms - I used a mix of chestnut & mini portobello for a darker gravy - these are a source of l-ergothioneine which is AWESOME for us. It’s basically a super antioxidant
3x cloves of garlic, leave them unpeeled
1 sprig of rosemary
2-3 sprigs of thyme
100ml red wine - once the alcohol is cooked out, resveratrol is left behind. Resveratrol is anti-aging. Yup!
2 heaped tablespoons of flour
Sea salt & black pepper - you’ll need to season everything very well
400ml (approx) of veg stock

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Pop the onions, celery, carrot, mushroom, garlic and herbs on a roasting tray.
Try and nestle the herbs underneath the onions. This will stop them from burning and becoming bitter.
Drizzle everything with rapeseed oil and roast for around an hour until browned.
Put a casserole-style dish on a medium heat and transfer the roasted veggies to it.
Add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes whilst mashing everything with a wooden spoon.
Season really well with sea salt and black pepper.
Add the wine and cook for a minute more.
Pour in the veg stock.
Cook until it has reached the desired thickness, approximately 5 minutes. If it’s too thick, a splash of water will thin it.
Check the seasoning (aka taste it) and season if required.

Here is a video version of the method in case that’s easier:

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Coconut noodle bowl with miso sesame tempeh

I’ve recently made it my aim to try and come up with quick flavour combinations that require little equipment.
Here is one that is a total winner:

Rice noodles are dressed with a coconut, lime, ginger and chive dressing.
Tempeh is coated in a combination of miso and sweet sesame.
The bowl is then topped with some “match-sticked” veggies and a handful of herbs.
It’s a 10-15-minute dish. Swift and full of flavour.

Tempeh, for those of you that are unfamiliar, is the better cousin of tofu. Soya beans are fermented then pressed together.
The resulting product is similar to firm tofu but with more flavour and slightly more texture.
Just make sure to buy organic soya products, otherwise you are almost always guaranteed to be buying genetically modified soya beans/ soya products. Organic ensures a non-GM version.

The recipe also works with a piece of fish such as a salmon fillet in case you aren’t keen on tempeh.

Ingredients for 2:
A large handful of mangetout, sliced into matchsticks
1 large carrot, sliced into matchsticks
1 bunch of coriander
100g rice noodles
200g of tempeh, thickly sliced and each slice halved (the shape doesn’t matter, you are creating bite size chunks of tempeh)
Sea salt and black pepper

For the coconut dressing
100ml of coconut cream
The juice of 1.5 limes
1 tablespoon of finely chopped chives
Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled & grated

For the miso and sweet sesame dressing
1 level tablespoon of white miso (miso shiro)
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
The juice of 1/2 a lime
1 teaspoon of agave or 1.5 teaspoons of maple syrup or honey

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Boil a kettle of water.
Whisk together the ingredients for the miso and sweet sesame dressing.
Put the tempeh pieces into the dressing, coat evenly and transfer to a roasting tray. Roast for 10-15 minutes until the edges start to crisp up.
Whilst the tempeh is roasting, chop the veggies and make the rest of the dish.
Put the rice noodles in a cereal bowl. Cover with boiling water and allow them to steep for 5 minutes. There is no need to cook these.
After the 5 minutes, drain and set the noodles aside.
To make the coconut dressing, put the coconut cream, lime juice and chives in a bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper and whisk together using a fork.
Grab the grated ginger and squeeze as much of the juice into the coconut mix as possible. Stir again.
Divide the noodles between two pasta bowls and pour half of the coconut mixture over each bowl of noodles. Give it a mix to combine the noodles and coconut dressing.
Top each bowl with half of the mangetout, carrots and a large handful of coriander.
Finish with the tempeh.
Enjoy!