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:

Muhammara as a salad base

Muhammara is a Middle Eastern dip made with breadcrumbs, walnuts, charred peppers and pomegranate molasses. It is an utterly delicious combination of sweet and sour flavours with a hint of smokeyness from the peppers.
If you are a regular here or follow me on social, you’ll know my love of adding flavour bases to salads. Muhammara is one that I keep going back to.
Here I added crunchy lettuce leaves, chicken, parsley and toasted seeds to that base to create a wholesome salad that is packed with flavour.
Feel free to swap the chicken for eggs, chickpeas or halloumi. The same thing works with other protein combos.

If you are fond of salads, or are totally bored of them and need new ideas, there is a salad guide here: To the 5* salad guide.

Ingredients for 2:

For the muhammara:
1 slice of bread, toasted and left to cool completely
3 red peppers
1 clove of garlic, crushed
50g of walnuts
1 teaspoon each of ground cumin and sea salt
A pinch of chilli flakes
Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
2 tablespoons of olive oil plus a little extra for drizzling
1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses plus a little extra for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:
2 little gem or 1 cos lettuce
A large handful of cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons of sprouted seeds (like this one, you can find these in most supermarkets on the salad isle)
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, leaves only
3 tablespoons of toasted seeds, I used this one, it’s in most supermarkets
2 chicken breasts, cooked to your liking
Sea salt and black pepper

Method:
1. To make the muhammara, preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
2. Put the peppers on a baking tray or ovenproof dish and roast in the oven for 30 minutes until the skin blackens and bubbles up. There is no need to drizzle oil on top and the peppers should be roasted whole.
Set them aside to cool.
3. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel them and remove the seeds. Discard the skin and seeds and tear the pepper flesh into strips.
4. Cut the toast into cubes and transfer to a food processor or blender.
Pulse the toast to make breadcrumbs.
5. Add the remaining muhammara ingredients to the blender, season well with freshly ground black pepper and pulse again. Don’t over blend it, it should be chunky, not smooth.
6. Divide the muhammara between two plates, pressing everything down so it is flat on the plate.
7. Drizzle olive oil and extra pomegranate molasses over the top.
8. Divide the salad ingredients between the two plates.
9. Season with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle a bit more olive oil on top if desired.

Proper gravy - It's a superfood

There are few things better than properly made gravy on a Sunday dinner.
This post is entirely dedicated to the goodness of gravy.

First things first, it’s an actual superfood.
Yes, I am a nutritionist, and yes, I am declaring gravy a superfood.

Superfood = “a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being”

Freshly made gravy is exceptionally full of nutrients. I’m not referring to the boil a kettle and pour some water over the granules kind here, I’m talking about making gravy from scratch.
Don’t worry, the recipe for the meat version is featured here and the veggie version can be found on this link (link pending).
It couldn’t be easier to do and freezes well, so make a mega batch and it’ll keep your dinners saucey for the foreseeable.

Back to the nutrients.
Properly made gravy starts with a base of veg. In this case onions, garlic, carrot and celery, which are understood to all be full of nutrients and therefore good for us.
It then contains the fresh herbs thyme and rosemary. These are also good for us.
Last but not least chicken wings contribute protein (needed) and things like collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin, calcium, B vitamins and many others. Move over expensive collagen-based face creams and joint-supporting supplements with glucosamine and chondroitin because all we really need is a bit of gravy on our dinners.

The good news doesn’t even stop there.
Let me introduce you to the wonder-nutrient quercetin.
As well as our food containing protein, carbs, fats, vitamins and minerals, it also contains bioactive compounds.
Bioactive compounds (big word, I know) are nutritional components that health claims are usually attached to.
Ever heard of garlic being good for the cardiovascular system? That’s down the bioactive compound allicin. What about the skin-boosting power of berries? That right there is the bioactive compound anthocyanin.
I’m sure you are getting the idea.
Quercetin is a bioactive compound found in onions and it’s a pretty stellar little thing.
Studies indicate that quercetin is awesome for the immune system, it may reduce blood pressure, fight inflammation and ease the symptoms associated with allergies amongst others.
Here comes the curveball. Quercetin is only really present in the skin of onions and the part where the root attaches, meaning in an average onion-containing meal, we would throw the majority of it out.
This is actually where gravy can make a mega difference.
By roasting the onions with the skin on and subsequently cooking them with stock, we are extracting that suberbly good for you quercetin and transferring it straight into the gravy.
Told you gravy is a superfood.

Also, let’s not ignore how obscenely nice tasting fresh gravy is.

Here are two recipes for super chicken gravy:

1. If you have a chicken Sunday roast happening
This is a good easy option that makes a very tasty gravy. So easy in fact that you’ll be wondering why you haven’t done this before.
The only downside is it just makes enough gravy to cover the Sunday dinner (generously so).

Here is what you’ll need:
2 small/ medium carrots, washed, don’t even worry about peeling them
1 large stick of celery
2 large onions, cut into quarters, leave the skin on them (see note about quercetin)
3-4 cloves of garlic, left unpeeled
4 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
Sea salt and black pepper
2 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
300- 500ml of good quality chicken stock, extra points for homemade

Method:
1. Put all of the veg and herbs on a roasting tray.
2. Put the chicken on top of the veg and roast as you would usually (20 mins per 500g plus 30 mins, basting halfway through).
Try and aim to have the herbs and garlic sitting directly under the chicken, this way they won’t burn.
3. Take the roasting tray out of the oven.
4. Take the chicken off the veg and tip it vertically so any juices that collected in the cavity run off. Pop the chicken on a chopping board or warm plate and let it rest whilst you make the gravy.
5. Transfer what is in the roasting tray into a saucepan, scraping as much from the roasting tray as possible.
6. Using a spoon, spoon off any excess fat that has floated to the top. You’ll want some of this fat in the sauce but not all of it.
7. Pop the saucepan on a medium-high heat.
8. Season the gravy mix well with sea salt and black pepper.
9. Cook for a minute and really mash everything down with a wooden spoon. Burst the garlic cloves, smash the celery, carrot and onions into pieces.
10. Add the flour, season again, and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, in order to cook the flour out.
Some of it may catch on the bottom. Keep it from burning but otherwise, this isn’t an issue. The more you cook the mixture, the darker the gravy will be.
11. Add half of the stock and stir really well.
At this stage, everything will thicken up quickly.
12. Add the remaining stock and stir again. It should now be the right gravy consistency, thick and rich.
Allow it to come up to boil and cook for a minute or so. If your gravy is looking thin then cook it a bit longer to thicken it up.
13. Strain the liquid through a sieve to get rid of the solid parts. Make sure to press down on the solid parts as they are sitting in the sieve, so to extract any liquid from it.
Discard the solids and return the liquid to the saucepan.
14. Try the gravy and season it again if it needs more salt & pepper.
15. Warm the gravy through again and it is now good to go.

2. The chicken wing method for freezer gravy
This process is very much the same as for the chicken dinner version but instead of needing a whole chicken, it uses chicken wings.
Thus, this version can be made irrespective of whether you have a Sunday roast happening or not.
It’s a good option to make a big batch of gravy and freeze portions of it since it produces a higher yield.
Make sure to buy good quality, ideally organic, chicken wings. They are inexpensive.

Here is what you’ll need:
2 small/ medium carrots, washed, don’t even worry about peeling them
1 large/ 2 small sticks of celery
3 large onions, cut into quarters, leave the skin on them (see note about quercetin)
4 cloves of garlic, left unpeeled
4 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
6-8 organic chicken wings
Sea salt and black pepper
3 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
500ml of good quality chicken stock, extra points for homemade
1 teaspoon of vinegar such as apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (do not use malt vinegar)
Water

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Put all of the veg and herbs on a roasting tray.
3. “Break” the chicken wings by smashing a sharp knife directly into them in 3-4 places. Open up the wing joint. This just ensures more of the flavour is extracted.
4. Put the chicken wings on top of the veg, drizzle with a small amount of rapeseed oil and roast for 1 hour or until the chicken wings are golden.
Try and aim to have the herbs and garlic sitting directly under the chicken wings, this way they won’t burn.
5. Take the roasting tray out of the oven.
6. Transfer what is in the roasting tray into a saucepan, scraping as much from the roasting tray as possible.
7. Add a splash of water to the roasting tray and set this aside.
8. Pop the saucepan on a medium-high heat.
9. Season the gravy mix well with sea salt and black pepper.
10. Cook for a minute and really mash everything down with a wooden spoon. Burst the garlic cloves, smash the chicken wings, celery, carrot and onions into pieces.
10. Add the flour, season again, and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, in order to cook the flour out.
Some of it may catch on the bottom. Keep it from burning but otherwise, this isn’t an issue. The more you cook the mixture, the darker the gravy will be.
11. Add half of the stock, the water from the roasting tray and stir really well.
At this stage, everything will thicken up quickly.
12. Add the remaining stock, 1 teaspoon of vinegar and a splash of water and stir again.
Allow it to come up to boil, reduce to a bubble and cook until you have reached the desired gravy consistency.
To test this, submerge a tablespoon in the liquid. It should coat the back of the spoon if it’s spot on. If the liquid falls straight off then it’s too thin, so keep cooking it.
13. Strain the liquid through a sieve to get rid of the solid parts. Make sure to press down on the solid parts as they are sitting in the sieve, so to extract any liquid from it.
Discard the solids and return the liquid to the saucepan.
14. Try the gravy and season it again if it needs more salt & pepper.
15. Allow it to cool and portion it into freezer bags.

Pro tips:
- If you want to go fancy, you can add a bit of wine. This would need to go in after the flour and be allowed to “cook out”. Basically, allow it to cook until most of the liquid disappears.
Continue the gravy by adding the stock and follow the remaining points.
White wine works best.
- Go fancy at Christmas by adding a bit of sherry or port. Do this the same way as the wine method described above.
- You can pour the cooking juices from any meat into the gravy. Do this as you are warming it through before you are about to serve the gravy.
- Smoked bacon or lardons are a legitimately good addition for a smokier flavour. The chicken wing method allows for this, just simply add them at the time of roasting. A couple of rashers are enough.
- A teaspoon of cranberry sauce is a nice addition for a more sweet & sour flavour. Stir this through at the end.

Chickpea burgers with kimchi ketchup

Let’s chat about plant-proteins.
Most aren’t complete proteins, so even if you eat a sufficient amount of plant protein, sometimes it can still fall short of the mark.
Let me explain:

Proteins are made of amino acids.
We have to eat 9 specific amino acids to be able to make protein that our bodies can do something with.
Protein sources of animal origin contain all of these 9 essential amino acids. This means they are a “complete protein”.
Plant-based sources of protein often miss 1 or 2 of the amino acids.
When these amino acids are missing, it doesn’t mean the protein was useless, it just means we can’t use the total package so well. If some of the amino acids are missing, the foodstuff in question is not a complete protein.

Chickpeas are not a complete protein because they miss 2 of the amino acids.
Meaning, even if the tin of chickpeas says it contains 17g of protein, we can’t actually fully make use of this.

There is a small trick however: protein combining.
Chickpeas fall short of the amino acids methionine and cystine.
Hemp seeds contain both of these amino acids.
By mixing chickpeas and hemp seeds in the same meal, you get a complete protein and can therefore utilise the protein present.
Neat isn’t it?

That was a very long winded explanation as to how I ended up combining chickpeas and hemp seeds in these chickpea burgers but hopefully you learnt something new.
Seeds in general are a good way to add more protein to meals.
They are also useful to create “complete” proteins alongside beans and pulses.

A few tips:
- It’s easier to cook the chickpea burgers from cold so if you have more time, refrigerate the patties before cooking. This will help them hold together better. Otherwise, flip them over with caution.
- The chickpea burgers can be frozen. Do this after cooking and cook them from frozen by either warming them up in the microwave or cooking them in the oven at 180 degrees C until piping hot (20 mins approximately).

 
 

Ingredients to make 6-8 burgers:
2 tins of chickpeas, drained
3 tablespoons of the chickpea liquid
40g of hemp seeds
10g of chia seeds
3 spring onions, washed and sliced
1 tablespoon of peanut butter (40g), both smooth and crunchy work
1 teaspoon each of cumin seeds, paprika and sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the kimchi ketchup:
80g of kimchi - pick a good quality kimchi, I’m a huge fan of this one
50g of organic ketchup

To serve:
Burger buns
Slaw & greenery as desired

Method:
To make the chickpea burgers, put all of the ingredients apart from the chia seeds, in a blender or food processor and pulse until well combined. Season well with freshly ground black pepper and pulse again.
The idea isn’t to create a smooth mixture, so don’t worry if there are “bits” in it.
Take the mixture out of the food processor and stir in the chia seeds. Mix to combine.
Check the seasoning and add a bit more salt and pepper if needed.

Pop a frying pan on a medium heat with a couple of tablespoons of a neutral oil (i.e. rapeseed or sunflower oil).
Take a heaped tablespoon of the chickpea mix and form it into a pattie using your hands.
Pop the pattie in the frying pan and make patties out of the rest of the mixture.
The chickpea burgers will take 5 minutes to cook on each side so keep the temperature of the pan lower (medium heat) and add a bit more oil after flipping them over.
They should be golden on both sides when cooked.

To make the kimchi ketchup, pop both ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth.

Serve the chickpea burgers in burger buns with a large dollop of kimchi ketchup on top.