Raw walnut and chocolate ganache tarts

If you are a fan of dark chocolate, you’ll enjoy these decadent raw walnut and chocolate ganache tarts. They are the perfect partner for a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

The tarts are “raw”, meaning they naturally preserve the stellar nutritional profile of the whole food ingredients used. Walnuts and raw cacao both contain a phenomenal array of nutrients, including Omega 3 fatty acids (walnuts), iron and polyphenols (cacao).

What I love about this recipe the most is its fuss-free nature. It’s a simple assembly job of a few select ingredients yet they look and taste impressive.
If you happen to double up on the recipe, the tarts can be stored in the freezer until you need them. Just take them out 10 minutes before serving.

I will be showing you how to make this super tasty treat during cookery demonstrations at food & drink festivals.
Here is where I’ll be stepping on stage: food festivals

Equipment needed:
4” tart cases with removable bottoms
A blender (any but a high speed one like a Vitamix makes things a lot easier)

Ingredients to make 3 tarts

For the base:
50g of oats
50g of California Walnuts
5 medjool dates
1 tablespoon of coconut oil

For the ganache
40g of good quality raw cacao or cocoa
80g of agave or maple syrup
1 pinch of sea salt
1 heaped tablespoon of coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

Method:
To make the base, pit the dates and pop them in a small bowl.
Pour in just enough boiling water to cover them and let them steep for 10 minutes.
Drain the water and transfer the dates to a small blender. Pulse until it turns into a rough paste.
Add the oats to the same blender jug/ cup and blend again to turn the oats into a rough oat flour.
Add the walnuts and pulse lightly to break up the walnuts, leaving some smaller chunks for added crunch.
Melt the coconut oil and mix this into the walnut, oat and date mixture.
Add 1.5 tablespoons of the mixture to each tart case.
Press the mixture into the tart cases, working them up the edges.
Pop the tart cases in the freezer whilst you make the ganache.
To make the ganache, mix the agave, cacao, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl until well combined.
Melt the coconut oil and combine this with the cacao/ agave mixture.
Pour the ganache into the tart cases.
Freeze for 30 minutes before serving.

Roasted red pepper & chicken pasta

Ingredients for 4:

2 free-range or organic chicken breasts
, diced
1 onion
, peeled and sliced
1 stick of celery
, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), drained
2 large peppers (or 3 smaller ones), 1 red and 1 orange/ yellow

rapeseed oil for cooking
sea salt & black pepper to season

one small bunch of fresh parsley

100g of pasta per person - suggested fusilli or conchiglie

Method:
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, reserving 2-3 tablespoons of the water.
Put the grill on.
Cut down the side of each pepper so you end up with 4 flat pieces.
Lay the pepper pieces on a large roasting tray.
Put the roasting tray under the grill and grill the pepper pieces until the skin starts to blacken and blister.
Set aside to cool.
Once cool enough to handle, peel off the charred skin and discard.
Put the pepper pieces in a blender with the tomato and sundried tomato.
Season with black pepper and a generous pinch of sea salt and blend until completely smooth.
Add a splash of oil to a large frying pan and put it on a medium heat.
Add the onion and celery to the pan and sweat for 3-5 minutes, until they start to soften, adding a splash of water if it looks like it may be browning.
Add the chicken and garlic to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook for 2-3 more minutes, ensuring that the chicken is completely cooked through.
Stir in the pasta and the pasta water if needed.
Check the seasoning.
Ladle into bowls and serve with a generous sprinkling of parsley on top.

No bake carrot cake flapjacks

Ingredients for 5 flapjacks:
1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup, agave or honey
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 carrot, grated
80g of oats
1 tablespoon each of pumpkin, sunflower, chia and sesame seeds (if you don’t have one, use double of another)
3 tablespoons of desiccated coconut
A handful of Brazil nuts, roughly chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons each of goji berries & raisins
1 scoop of whey protein (optional)
3 tablespoons of any milk
1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon & vanilla essence

Method:
Line a lunch box/ Tupperware with greaseproof paper.
Melt the coconut oil in a small pan.
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl.
Pour in the coconut oil. Stir really well. I mean really well.
Taste to see if you like the flavour & adjust if necessary (i.e. add more honey if it isn’t sweet enough or perhaps a bit more cinnamon).
Press the mixture into the Tupperware and smooth out the top.
Freeze for 30 minutes to firm it up.
Cut into bars and store in the fridge.

Cucumber, sesame and smoked tofu salad

Crunchy cucumber with ginger, creamy avocado, hints of chilli/ coriander, edamame, smoked tofu and a lime, soy and sesame oil dressing.
It’s a tasty one.
Give it a go.

Shopping notes:
Edamame is available frozen and may be sold as soya beans. If you can’t find it, frozen broad beans or tinned chickpeas will do the trick too.

Ingredients to feed 2:

1 cucumber, cut into half moons
thumb size piece of ginger (25g), grated

a large handful of coriander leaves
2 spring onions, sliced
150g edamame beans
8 radishes, finely sliced
2 avocados, peeled and sliced
1 red chilli, finely sliced
1-2 teaspoons of sesame seeds
300g smoked tofu, cubed
sea salt and black pepper to season
rapeseed oil for cooking

For the dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoon of tamari or good quality soy sauce
2 teaspoons of agave or maple syrup
6 teaspoons of sesame oil

Method:
Put the cucumbers into a bowl, season with sea salt and black pepper and squeeze over the juice of the grated ginger. If some of the grated ginger falls in then this isn’t a big deal.
Set this aside whilst you make the rest of the salad.
Put a frying pan on a medium-high heat with a splash of rapeseed oil in it.
Throw in the cubed tofu and cook until crispy on most sides.
Put the frozen edamame beans in a small saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to the boil then take it off the heat and drain. Either run it under some cold water or allow it to cool naturally.
In a large bowl, combine the edamame, spring onion, avocado, radish, chilli and coriander leaves. Season with a small amount of black pepper and stir to combine.
Add the cucumber and stir again.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients and tip this over the salad.
Stir to combine then divide between two plates/ bowls.
Top with the smoked tofu cubes and sprinkle the sesame seeds over it all.

Whole baked cauliflower, roasted red pepper sauce, chimichurri, hazelnut dukkah

Our food isn’t merely a bunch of macronutrients, vitamins and minerals, it is way more complex than this.
Bioactive compounds present in plants form a small proportion of the food we eat.
These are not vitamins or minerals but they are very good for us. If you see a health claim on a particular food, it is almost always likely to be because of the bioactive compound.
Curcumin in turmeric is an example.
Bioactive compounds are especially high in herbs and spices and in different coloured vegetables.
This recipe capitalises on some of the best bioactive compound-containing ingredients to create an incredibly tasty (& fancy looking) dish.

In case you are not a fan, cauliflower is easily replaced with a baked sweet potato or a chunk of any roasted veg.

Ingredients for 2:
1 small cauliflower (1 large cauliflower will serve 4)
rapeseed oil
sea salt & black pepper
150g dry weight quinoa (or 1 ready-cooked quinoa pouch)

For the roasted red pepper sauce
1/4 of a tin of chopped tomatoes
2 peppers
1/2 jar of sun-dried tomatoes (75g drained weight)

For the chimichurri
1 bunch of parsley
1/2 bunch of oregano
1-2 shallots (dependant on size)
1 clove of garlic
1 red chilli, optional
1 lemon
Italian olive oil 

For the hazelnut dukkah
1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
50g hazelnut (ideally blanched hazelnuts)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Put the cauliflower in an ovenproof dish with a lid and drizzle with oil or wrap it in tin foil.
Bake for 1 hour, until the cauliflower is soft and fully cooked through.
Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions and season well with sea salt and black pepper.

To make the dukkah, put all of the ingredients on a small ovenproof roasting tray and roast for 10 minutes. The spices should become fragrant and the hazelnut golden in colour.
Allow it to cool completely then pulse in a blender to roughly break the ingredients up.

To make chimichurri, finely chop all of the ingredients aside from the lemon and transfer them to a bowl.
Add the juice of 1/2 lemon, a pinch of sea salt and stir in enough olive oil to give it the consistency of pesto.
Taste and add more lemon if needed.

To make the roasted red pepper sauce, cut the sides of the pepper off and lay them on a roasting tray, skin side up. You should have 4 flat pieces per pepper.
Put the pepper slices under a hot grill and grill them until the skin blackens and blisters.
Take them out and allow them to cool.
Once they are cool enough to handle, peel off the blackened skin and transfer the pepper pieces to a blender.
Add 1/2 jar of drained sundried tomatoes and a 1/4 of a tin (100ml) of chopped tomato.
Blend until completely smooth.

To serve, put 2 tablespoons of the roasted red pepper sauce on a plate and swirl to form a circle.
Add 3-4 tablespoons of quinoa, a 1/4 or 1/2 of the roasted cauliflower.
Top with a couple of tablespoons of chimichurri and a tablespoon of the hazelnut dukkah.