Cauli, kale and coconut soup

Cold days and dark nights call for nourishing soups. This recipe was born last Sunday night after a long journey home from a weekend away. I wanted to knock together something comforting and quick and I had cauliflower and cavolo nero (AKA Tuscan kale) in the fridge from my Growing Communities veg box. I made the soup for dinner that night and then took leftovers into work for lunch last week. It's so good I was happy to make another batch to work my way through for this post.

This really is a speedy, throw-it-together recipe. The only thing it's useful to have made up before hand is stock. I used chicken stock, but vegetable stock would work too. I always keep a supply of homemade chicken stock in the fridge as it's packed full of nutrients and a brilliant base for soups, stews and sauces. It's great as a hot drink too (especially if you're feeling under the weather). There's a reason why chicken soup is used in so many cultures as a healing food. Hemsley & Hemsley are great advocates of stock - or 'bone broth' - and they give a useful explanation of its health benefits and directions for making it here.

Combined with the stock and turmeric, the cruciferous veggies make this soup a truly anti-inflammatory meal. Cauliflower and cavolo nero contain a type of phytochemical called glucosinolates, which are thought to have cancer protective properties. They are also fantastic sources of vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, B's, C, K, and the minerals copper, iron, magnesium and manganese. This all-star combination makes them anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and supportive of detoxification processes.

The key to getting the most from these veggies is not overcooking them, which is why I keeping cooking time short and sweet. By using the liquid the veggies are cooked in for the soup, you'll also preserve any nutrients that have leached out during cooking.

Cauli, kale and coconut soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

200ml coconut milk (I use Biona full fat) - and a little extra for serving
500ml chicken stock
150g cavolo nero, roughly chopped
150g cauliflower (including leaves) roughly chopped
1tsp turmeric
Good grind of sea salt and pepper
Handful of cashews - ideally soaked for a few hours beforehand
1 clove garlic, crushed

Combine the stock, coconut milk, garlic and turmeric in a large pan and bring to a boil. Once bubbling, add the cauliflower, cavolo nero, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes until the cauliflower is just tender but still firm.

Allow to cool for another 5 minutes then add to a blender/food processor with the cashews. Blend on high speed until you get a completely smooth and creamy consistency.

Serve with an extra drizzle of coconut milk on top.

Christmas tree salad

It's been quiet on the blog for a while; I've had a busy month and other things have taken over. But I'm excited to be back with the beautifully bright Christmas tree salad. Don't worry, it doesn't contain pine needles.

The holiday period is many great things, but health conscious isn't necessarily top of the list. Food and drink punctuate - and sometimes define - celebratory events with family and friends. Work parties and drinks, Christmas dinner, leftover lunches and new years eve are full of boozy and sugary temptation… and let's face it, canapés, mulled wine, mince pies and your gran's special Christmas trifle aren't exactly bursting with nutrients.

Christmas is about relaxing and enjoying yourself. In every post, I try and get across the point that eating well really doesn't have to feel boring or like denial. Replacing some of the traditional classics with healthier, nutrient rich foods will not only be enjoyable (it's good to shake things up a bit after all), but it'll also help keep your energy and digestion on track and reduce the dreaded January slump where you feel like you've morphed into a brandy soaked Christmas pudding.

So in amongst the prosecco and roasties, why not include the Christmas tree salad to bring some balance. It would make a great addition to the Christmas dinner table, and if you're up for being controversial, it could even replace the roast potatoes and sprouts (or have I gone a step too far?). It would work brilliantly with leftovers and is handy to have made up in the fridge so there's something that's good for you to reach for when you're feeling peckish.

Romanesco broccoli florets are like tiny Christmas trees and pomegranate seeds like little baubles. Aside from looking pretty, their flavours combine really well. The slight bitterness and crunch of the romanesco and kale are balanced by the sweetness of the pomegranate, orange and sweet potato. This salad is rich in magnesium, folate, vitamin C and beta-carotene - these nutrients support immunity and offer anti-oxidant protection. The compounds in the romanesco provide important nutrients for liver function too.

Wishing you a very happy, colourful and bright Christmas x

Christmas tree salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the salad:
1 head romanesco broccoli
1 sweet potato
8 stalks of curly kale
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
1 large orange
1 cup walnuts
4 small spring onions
1tbsp coconut oil
Large pinch of salt (sea salt or Himalayan pink rock salt)

For the dressing:
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Juice of half a lemon

Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees.  Chop the sweet potato cross ways into 1cm slices, then cut each slice into quarters. Place in a roasting tin with the coconut oil and a large pinch of salt.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes, giving the tin a shake every 10 minutes or so to make sure the slices cook evenly.

Remove the kale from its stalks and chop the leaves. Cut the romanesco into small florets. Steam both for 2 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water.

Thinly slice the orange, then cut each slice into quarters. Roughly chop the walnuts and spring onions.

Combine and mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

To assemble, allow the sweet potato to cool a little, then mix with the greens and spring onions in a large bowl. Add half the nuts, pomegranate seeds and orange and mix well, adding the dressing. Sprinkle the remaining nuts, pomegranate seeds and orange slices on top to decorate. 

Beet soup with punchy cashew cream

I've been under the weather this week. Now that I'm out the other side, I wanted to make a nourishing soup that would energise me and boost my immune system.

After seeing beetroots piled high at the market, I decided it would have to be a colourful beet soup. A cashew cream with horseradish would give some extra punch.

The base

Soups are a great way of packing lots of vegetables into a meal, and the stock you cook the veg in is an important component. Try making your own stock instead of using a ready made cube or powder - just throw everything into a big pan with water and leave it to do its thing. I chose to include red cabbage in mine for its anti-inflammatory properties. Combined with onion, garlic, mushroom and carrot it provides a hearty and soothing base for the soup.

The beets

Beets have an intense, pinky purple colour and a sweet earthy taste. A good source of blood-building iron, they also contain vitamin C, folic acid, zinc, calcium and magnesium. Beets support the liver and have a cleansing effect on the blood. As a high fibre food, they keep the intestines lubricated. The leaves of beetroots are also nutrient dense, containing vitamin A, iron, manganese and calcium.

The punchy cream

For the topping, cashews add creaminess along with anti-oxidants and magnesium.  I've added horseradish to bring heat and some punch. Part of the brassica family of vegetables, horseradish's bitter taste helps to stimulate digestion and sulphur compounds support detoxification. It also stimulates the immune system and is anti-bacterial. 

Beet soup & cashew cream

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the stock
1 onion
1 carrot
1/2 red cabbage
1 clove garlic
50g mushrooms
1 bay leaf
1L water

For the soup
500g beetroots ( 3 medium beets) - peeled and roughly chopped with leaves chopped and reserved
1tbsp butter/ghee
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
600ml veg stock (see above)
Pinch of salt

For the cashew cream
50g cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours in clean water)
 2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
Juice & zest of half a lemon
1cm piece of horseradish, peeled and grated

Optional garnish
Beetroot sprouts and pea shoots - washed well in cold water

To make the stock, roughly chop (except the garlic clove, which you can add whole) and add all ingredients to a large saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer with a lid on for 2 hours. Strain and set aside the liquid.

Heat the butter/ghee in a large saucepan on a low heat, add the mustard seeds and then the onion. Cook until translucent, then add the garlic followed by the beets. Add the veg stock and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the beet leaves, cover and simmer for an extra 5 mins. Pour the soup into a food processor and blend until smooth. Check the texture - you may want to add a little boiling water if it's too thick.

Drain and rinse the cashews. Add to a blender with all the other ingredients for the cashew cream and blend on high speed until completely smooth. Spoon on to the soup and sprinkle some beet sprouts and pea shoots on top.

Hummus from the heart

I was at a family lunch recently when the conversation turned to hummus. Before this, my mum had been telling my cousins and me our grandfather's incredible life story. As we listened with amazement to the twists and turns of his early life, we nibbled on warm pitta smeared with creamy, nutty hummus.

When my mum had finished the story, our full attention turned to what we were eating and a debate started about how to create the perfect hummus. Things got heated and big questions were posed: what's the right ratio of chickpeas to tahini? Do you blend the chickpeas coarse or smooth? Lemon or no lemon? Everyone had a different opinion.

That family lunch was one I always want to remember for lots of reasons, and this hummus recipe will keep it alive in my memory. It's a combination of the passionate views expressed at the table and creates a fusion that I think is perfection.

Healthier hummus

Making your own hummus is so easy. And while shop bought varieties can be heaving with salt, additives and preservatives, the stuff you make yourself will only contain whole foods. You can also experiment with methods (like sprouting, as I do here) to increase its nutritional benefits and different ingredients to find the flavours and consistency you like best.

I won't try to deny that hummus with freshly baked, fluffy white pitta is one of life's great pleasures. But there are other ways to eat hummus that are equally delicious and provide more nutrients, a more sustained energy release and better digestion. Try with salad, carrot, pepper and celery sticks or on dark rye toast or whole grain crackers.

Hummus and nutrients

In the Middle East, hummus is traditionally eaten for breakfast as an energy dense meal to set you up for the day. As chickpeas are a good source of protein and fibre, they support blood sugar balance and keep you fuller for longer. Their high fibre content also aids healthy digestion and supports cholesterol balance.

Chickpeas are a phytoestrogenic food. Phytoestrogens are substances that can mimic or inhibit the effects of the female sex hormone oestrogen in the body. The gently phytoestrogenic properties of chickpeas may support the balance of oestrogen levels in women, so including them in your diet (along with other hormone balancing foods) could help reduce PMS symptoms or support post-menopausal hormone balance.

Tahini, an essential ingredient in hummus, is made from ground sesame seeds. These small white seeds are a fantastic source of calcium making them ideal for dairy-free diets. Sesame seeds also have good levels of protein and other minerals including zinc and magnesium.

Soak 'n' sprout

Soaking legumes such as chickpeas is an important step in their preparation. Soaking helps to remove phytic acid, making the precious minerals in the legumes  available for us to absorb. It also gets legumes ready for sprouting and reduces cooking time. Soak for 8-12 hours in plenty of clean water for best results. 

Sprouting chickpeas before cooking them is a method my cousin's husband uses in his hummus to increase nutritional benefits and make them even more digestible. Once sprouted, you can also use the chickpeas raw, as I have done here. The raw chickpea sprouts have a grassy flavour and crunchy texture, a bit like raw peas. Sprouting transforms the dried chickpeas into live plants, and this boosts their protein, B vitamin and vitamin C content. Watching your sprouts appear and grow is also pretty fun!

The right balance

I like my hummus creamy, so I've gone for my cousin's 50/50 ratio of chickpeas to tahini, but you can experiment with this to find your own perfect balance. My mum's hummus is always lemony, which I love, so I've added lemon juice for taste and an additional hit of vitamin C. I've kept to one clove of garlic, but you could try more (although it may be a bit anti-social).

Sprouted hummus

Makes a big plate - around 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 cup light tahini (mix well as the oil naturally separates)
Juice of half a lemon
1 large clove of garlic
2 tbsp pine nuts
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus a bit extra for drizzling
6 tbsp water (room temperature)
Generous pinch of sea salt (adjust to taste)

Soak the chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of clean water overnight or for 8-12 hours. Use enough water to completely cover them. After soaking rinse well and place in a large colander with a plate underneath. Keep out of direct sunlight and cover with a clean tea towel. Rinse the chickpeas 3 times a day (every 6-8 hours). After a day or so the chickpeas will begin to sprout. Continue the rinsing process for another day or two, or until the shoots are more developed. Rinse the sprouted chickpeas well and discard any skins that have come away. Reserve 2 tbsp of the sprouted chickpeas for the garnish and put the rest in a food processor with the tahini, crushed garlic clove, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and water. Blend until completely smooth.

Mix the reserved chickpeas and pine nuts with the paprika and toast on a low heat in a pan for a minute or two until the pine nuts turn lightly golden.

Put the hummus in a dish, sprinkle the chickpeas and pine nuts on top and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with rye toast, crackers, veg sticks or whatever you like!