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!

The fix me up broth

As health boosts go, this nourishing yet easy to make bowl of goodness really delivers.
Layers of nutrient-dense veggies are topped with a Clarence Court egg and a flavoursome walnut gremolata, creating a dish that ticks a lot of nutrition boxes.
Gremolata is a delicious mix of parsley, garlic and lemon zest originating from Italy.
Here it is enhanced with California walnuts for added crunch and an extra serving of that feel-good factor.

If you’ve overdone it on the alcohol front or just haven’t been eating that well, this is your go-to recipe to replenish levels of nutrients.

Ingredients for 2


2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced

1 medium potato, peeled and cubed 

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced 

1/4 of a small celeriac, peeled and cut into matchsticks

2-3 sprigs of thyme

40g of spinach

40g of frozen peas 

500ml of good quality vegetable stock

Juice of an orange

Juice of a lemon

Sea salt and black pepper to season

Oil for cooking


2 Clarence Court eggs, cooked to your liking
, I just boiled them for 6 & a 1/2 minutes for a slightly runny yolk

For the walnut gremolata

1 bunch of parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

80g of California walnuts, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Method:



To make the walnut gremolata, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl.

To make the broth, add a splash of oil to a saucepan and put it on a medium heat.

Sauté the shallots, potato and carrots for around 5 minutes until they start to colour.

Add the celeriac and thyme and sauté for 2 more minutes.

Pour in enough stock to just cover the vegetables and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down to low and allow the liquid to bubble gently for around 5-10 minutes.
This should cook all of the vegetables.
Remove the thyme.

Drop in the frozen peas and spinach.

Take the pan off the heat.

Season well with sea salt and black pepper and pour in the lemon and orange juice.

Divide the mixture between two bowls.

Top each bowl with a halved egg and liberal quantities of walnut gremolata.

The Scandi fish stew

A simple Scandi-inspired dish with oodles of flavour that’s perfect for those wintery evenings with a cooking time of circa 30 minutes.
The stew itself is a combination of trusty root veggies with a few herbs, topped with a piece of fish, creme fraiche and a dill infused fennel slaw for added crunch.
Change the fish as you see fit or swap it for an alternative protein.
I have previously used the base and added leftover roasted chicken to it. It’d also work with some smoked tofu or a few chickpeas if you are looking for a plant-based version.
It’s a versatile dish so make it your own.

Ingredients for 4 portions

For the stew:
1/2 medium celeriac, peeled & cubed (300g approximately)
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (220g approximately)
400g new potato, washed and cut in half 
Leaves from a sprig of rosemary, finely chopped, (1 tablespoon approximately)
Leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme, (1 heaped tablespoon approximately)
3 heaped tablespoons of tomato purée
1 stock cube, any kind
Oil for cooking
Sea salt and black pepper to season

4x fish fillets of any kind, I used lightly smoked salmon
1 pot of full-fat creme fraiche

For the fennel slaw
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of dill, leaves only (substitute for parsley if dill isn’t your thing)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper to season

Method:
To make the stew, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan on a medium heat.
Add the celeriac, potato and carrot and saute for 5 minutes, until the veggies are beginning to colour.
Add the herbs, stock cube and tomato purée and cook for a further minute, stirring occasionally.
Season really well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pour in enough water to just cover the veggies and allow it to simmer gently, without a lid, until the veg are cooked through. This will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
The sauce will thicken up as the stew cooks. Give it a stir every now and then to stop the bottom from catching.
Taste the stew and add more sea salt and black pepper if needed.
Whilst the stew is cooking, make the fennel slaw.
Simply combine all of the ingredients, season with salt and pepper and set aside. This won’t taste of much by itself but it does come into its own once combined with the rest of the dish.
Cook the fish fillets either by pan-frying them or by preheating the oven to 180 degrees C and baking them for 10-minutes or so. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
If you are unsure how to cook fish, there are a lot of tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere on the tinterweb. Give it a Google.

To plate, add 1-2 ladles of the stew to a pasta bowl. Top with a fish fillet, a tablespoon of creme fraiche and a tablespoon of the fennel slaw.

Note: this dish doesn’t freeze well, but the stew will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and the fennel slaw for up to 2 days.

Whipped goats cheese, onion squash, rye crumb, crispy kale

Onion squashes are such a treasure.
They are sweet, have a beautiful texture and there is zero need to peel them (a definite bonus seeing as most squashes and pumpkins are a nightmare to peel).
Onion squashes have a really thin skin that when roasted either crisps up or just pleasantly adds to the overall texture.
As the name would suggest, the squash itself displays a similar shape to that of an onion. Here is a pic of a box of them from the last yoga & nutrition retreat:

They are widely available in the UK circa October - November so grab one if you happen to see one. They are tasty, fuss-free to prepare and super nutritious.

The recipe featured here is more of a celebration meal rather than an every day one.
Technically if you didn’t bother with the crispy kale and brown butter then it’d be much more of a simple supper.

Ingredients for feed 2:

For the roasted onion squash
1 small onion squash
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the whipped goats cheese
1 pack (125g approximately) of soft goats cheese
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the crispy kale
A bag of whole leaf kale, approximately 200g
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the rye crumb
1/2 loaf of rye bread (check the brand Mestemacher in supermarkets)
Leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
Leaves from 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the brown butter
100g of good quality butter

Method:

To make the crispy kale:
Heat the oven to 160 degrees C and grab a couple of large roasting trays.
Strip the kale from the stalk and break it up into 1” pieces.
Wash the kale and dry it well. I would usually use a salad spinner to get the water off the kale.
Pop the kale on the roasting trays, drizzle with oil and mix with your hands to coat the kale evenly.
Roast until crispy, stirring every 10 minutes or so, removing any pieces that have already crisped up. Unless you managed to get them all the same size, some will crips up sooner than others.
Season with sea salt and black pepper and try and resist the temptation to make all of the kale crisps disappear into your mouth. Yes, they are very moreish.
If you want to skip this part, sautéing some kale with garlic is also a good option.

To make the brown butter:
Pop the butter in a small saucepan on a medium heat.
Wait for it to bubble up then whisk gently until you smell “caramel” and the butter has turned a golden brown colour. Remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes.
You will notice that white/ golden crumb-like textures have dropped to the bottom. Pour the melted butter off the top and discard the crumb bits.
The melted part is your brown butter. Keep this warm (It’ll retain the heat well for around 20 minutes).

To roast the squash:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds.
Cut the squash into thick slices.
Pop the squash slices on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and roast in the oven until they are fully cooked through and the edges take on some colour. Approximately 40 minutes.
Season with sea salt and black pepper.

To make the rye crumb:
You can do this part at the same time as roasting the squash.
Chop the rye bread into small cubes.
Put them on a baking tray, sprinkle over the herbs, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until the edges of the rye bread have crisped up.

To make the whipped goats cheese:
Put the goats' cheese in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Mash together with a fork then “whip it” by stirring and mashing until it becomes fluffy.
It should increase in volume somewhat and take on the consistency of greek yoghurt.

To serve, divide the whipped goats’ cheese between two plates.
Pour around 1-2 tablespoons of brown butter on top.
Top with roasted squash slices and the rye crumb.
Finish with the crispy kale (if using).

Carrot cake granola

Ingredients:
1 heaped tbsp of coconut oil, melted 
1 mug of oats
1/2 mug of desiccated coconut 
1/2 mug of walnuts (or any other nut or sub for more seeds)
1/2 mug of seeds, I used sunflower, pumpkin & hemp
1 medium carrot, finely grated 
3-4 tbsp of agave or honey 
1 tsp of cinnamon 

Method:
Bake at 180 degrees C for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 mins to stop the top from burning. 
Let it cool completely & store in an airtight jar.