Minestrone - A nutritionally stellar soup

Soups are an actual necessity of warmth and comfort when the weather is cold.
Sadly, not many soups tick all of the nutrition boxes, which may mean one may start feeling hungry a short while after eating them.
Luckily, minestrone is pretty stellar.
It brings together an array of whole food ingredients, as well as the right combination of veggies and protein-containing beans to create a nourishing and warming bowl of food that’s perfect in winter. Or any season for that matter.

It ticks the box for:
- veggies - 3 portions
- antioxidants - thanks to the herbs, veggies and optional drizzle of olive oil
- protein - hello beans
- it is packed with gut-supporting fibre
- flavour
- comfort

Before you go on to the recipe, there is a small disclaimer: if you are of Italian heritage, please look away now.
This version of minestrone is far thicker than regulations permit and uses many shortcuts to make cooking this delicious soup much easier.
If you aren’t fond of thick soups, then feel free to add more water.
I quite enjoy the consistency being somewhere between a soup and a stew.

To the recipe:

Ingredients for 4 portions

1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
1 little sprig each of rosemary and thyme
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2-3 sticks of celery, blend it into a paste if you don’t like celery, otherwise roughly slice it
120g pasta of your choice, I used small flower shapes
2 tins of any beans, I used butterbeans and white kidney beans
1 tin of plum tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
1/2 small savoy cabbage, roughly sliced
Around 4 tins of water. I made a thick version of minestrone that was more like a stew so if you prefer a soupier soup, then add more water. Just remember: more water = more salt & pepper required.
Sea salt & black pepper to season
Olive oil for cooking & drizzling

Optional toppings (recommended)
Freshly chopped parsley
Parmesan cheese
Lemon zest from an organic lemon

Bread of your choice

Method

For a video explainer go here: Minestrone Reel
1. Grab a large pan.
2. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, the onion, garlic and herbs.
Turn the heat on to medium and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the carrot, celery and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Stir it every now and then to stop things from catching on the bottom of your pan.
4. Add the tinned tomato and a tin of water.
If you are using plum tomatoes, then break these up roughly by stabbing them with a wooden spoon as you are stirring the soup. It’s nicer to have a few chunks of tomato, so don’t go too wild with the prodding.
5. Add the 2 tins of beans and another 2 tins of water.
Stir well.
6. Add the pasta.
Stir well again.
7. Season the soup really well. Remember this is at least 4 portions and it contains a lot of water so it will need a decent quantity of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Add the sliced cabbage and another tin of water.
9. Put a lid on the pan and allow everything to cook for 10 minutes.
10. Taste the soup to check the seasoning. Unless you went wild with the salt and pepper earlier then chances are it’s going to need a bit more seasoning. Season it, stir it and taste it again.
11. Serve with grated parmesan, lemon zest, parsley and chunky bread.

The soup stores well in the fridge for 3 days.
I haven’t tried freezing it.

Herby potato salad (maybe the only potato salad you'll ever need)

This potato salad is stellar on both the nutritional and flavour fronts.
It’s the perfect balance of herby-ness, umami, creamy mayo and nutty spuds with a salty kick from the capers.
Use it as a side for pretty much anything. 

Nutrition note: Watercress is one of the most nutrient-dense veggies, except we don’t really eat much of it.
This recipe incorporates quite a large amount thanks to the reduction in volume achieved via chopping it finely.
A bag of watercress turns into a few tablespoons when shredded.
It’s utterly packed to the brim with feel-good vitamins & minerals. 
Similarly, herbs get you a lot of nutrition points too.
Here is a small overview of the nutrient content:

Watercress - Vitamin C, Vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, folate, Vitamin B6, iron, antioxidants
Parsley - iron, Vitamin C, calcium, potassium, Vitamin A, biotin, folate, antioxidants

A couple of extra nutrition notes:
- A large proportion of Vitamin C is lost from food with cooking so this recipe capitalises on Vitamin C containing watercress and parsley by keeping them both raw.
- Cold potatoes (cooked & cooled), like the ones used in this potato salad are a superfuel for gut microbes. In a nutshell, when fully cooled, the carbohydrates in potatoes turn into resistant starches. We can’t digest these too well but our gut microbes thrive on it. Hence cold potatoes are fab for gut health.

Ingredients

300g cooked baby/ salad potatoes, I used the anya variety, left to cool completely.
30g watercress
10g parsley
5g other herbs (I used chive & oregano but anything goes)
2-3 tbsp of good quality mayo, I used Stokes mayo
10 giant capers - don’t skip this, it adds all the umami
A generous amount of sea salt and black pepper - don’t be stingey, it needs seasoning well

Method:
Put the watercress and herbs onto a chopping board.
Finely shred them until they reduce in volume by half. Here is a short video of how I did this.
Slice your potatoes in half. I sliced them length-ways because the herby goodness sticks to them more efficiently this way.
Roughly slice the capers.
In a large bowl, combine the spuds, herbs, mayo and capers.
Season this really well with sea salt and black pepper.
Stir it really well to combine it. You want to coat the spuds well.
That’s it.
Finished.
Enjoy.

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.