CHOCOLATE AVOCADO TRUFFLES

Normally I do my blogging on a Thursday or Friday when I'm at home by myself.  Not so this month as both kids are at home on holiday.  They are both quite good at entertaining themselves but nevertheless it is still just a bit more hectic than usual.  I had a small window of opportunity this morning before I had to take the kids to swimming lessons and thought I would quickly rustle up these delicious little treats of avocado and chocolate truffles.  All went to plan - kids playing contentedly outside while I played with melted chocolate and dusty cocoa powder inside.  That was until the kids popped their heads indoors and spied the bowls of melted chocolate.  By this time I was taking my photographs and was quite engrossed in what I was doing and gave a few vague nods when asked if they could lick the bowls.  Kids quiet - I carried on with my photos.  Most of my photos are taken next to an open door in the dining room and what I hadn't realised was how windy it was today.  Dusty cocoa powder sprinkled over a board with a gust of wind equals dusty cocoa powder all over cream floor tiles.  By this time I'm starting to watch the clock so no time to clean up.  Another dusting of cocoa powder is added to my board and off we go.  Kids run outside - barefoot - through the cocoa powder.  Next time I looked at the clock we had exactly 10 minutes to get ready.   The kids were called in from the garden only for me to discover they were covered in chocolate and cocoa powder. A quick wipe over, toilet check and we were out the door in 10 minutes. I patted myself on the back for arriving on time, got the kids changed, another toilet check and made our way out to the pool past the wash hand basin with the mirror placed conveniently above it.  What! What did I just see?  I stepped back to take another look in the mirror and was horrified to find that I had a generous helping of cocoa powder on my face and through my hair. "Why didn't you tell me?" I shrieked at the kids.  "Well, you always look like that" was the response.  There is not much you can say to that.  I found myself a little corner and hoped nobody would notice as I sat and picked and wiped away chocolate from head to foot.  

 Reminiscent of watching a chimp in a zoo, I'm sure.

  

 

I first came across the idea of combining chocolate and avocado from one of my favourite blogs, Strands of My Life.  I have adapted Suzanne's cupcake topping slightly by adding the melted chocolate to make a lovely rich truffle mixture which is much healthier that the traditional full cream version.  The only downside to using avocado is that the mixture doesn't keep for very long - a couple of days at the most. 

Oh well - I'd better eat up.

Chocolate Avocado Truffles

 

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 30 minutes (includes resting time)
Cook time: n/a
Total time: 30 minutes (includes resting time)

Yield: 14 small truffles

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 60ml cocoa powder
• 60ml honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 150g good quality dark chocolate

Cooking Directions

1. Melt half (75g) of the chocolate in a microwave or over a pan of boiling water.
2. Remove the flesh from the avocado and place in a small food processor.
3. Add the melted chocolate, cocoa powder, honey and vanilla essence and blend to a smooth consistency. (**Note** make sure to taste at this stage.  You should not be able to taste the avocado and if you do you will need to adjust the amount of chocolate you are using.  It will all depend on the size and variety of avocado you use.)
4. Place in a shallow dish and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until mixture is firm enough to handle.
5. Just before removing the mixture from the fridge, melt the remaining chocolate as before.
6. Using a teaspoon take enough mixture and roll between your hands to form a ball. You might find it easier to dust your hands with some additional cocoa powder to stop the mixture sticking to your hands.
7. Dip in the melted chocolate and place on a baking tray which has been lined with baking paper,
8. Decorate with sea salt flakes, chilli or drizzle with white chocolate.
9. Refrigerate to set completely.

This is my entry for this month's We Should Cocoa which is run by Chocolate Log Blog and Chocolate Teapot.  This month Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary has challenged us to make small chocolates or truffles.

Written by: Angela Darroch

LAMB KOFTA CURRY

I've spoken before about my love for hot, spicy food and this lamb kofta is one of my favourite midweek curries. 

The kofta mixture is very versatile - make small meatballs, shallow fry them in oil and serve with chutney or a yoghurt dip as an appetiser, mould them on to skewers and char-grill and serve as a starter or cook them in this curry sauce for a more substantial meal. 

 I always make this quantity and then freeze any surplus meatballs and sauce separately, ready for a quick home made meal when I don't feel like going to too much trouble.

When served with the curry sauce, they are quite spicy but it is easy enough to tone down the chilli if you prefer.

 

For the printable version - click here
 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

 

Yield: 6

 

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 5 cm piece of ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 green chillies, seeds removed
• 15 g coriander (cilantro) leaves
• 2 tblsps plain yoghurt
• 500 g minced lamb
• 2½ tsps ground cumin
• 1½ tsps ground coriander
• 2 tsps garam masala
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• 2½ tsps salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

 

•  For the sauce
• 3 tblsp ghee or sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 10 cm piece of ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 3 tsp garam masala
• ¼ tsp asafoetida
• 4 ripe tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 tblsp tomato puree
• 500 ml lamb stock
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 curry leaves
• 200 ml water

Cooking Directions

1. To make the kofta, blend the onion, ginger, garlic, green chillies and the coriander leaves together in a food processor until they form a paste.
2. Put the lamb mince in a bowl, add the paste, yoghurt, spices, salt & pepper and mix well with your hands until thoroughly combined.
3. Cover and put in the freezer to rest while you make the sauce. (You just want it super chilled - not frozen).
4. To make the sauce, heat the ghee in a large saucepan and gently fry the onions, garlic and ginger until softened and lightly browned.
5. Add the chilli powder, garam masala, and asafoetida and stir well.
6. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes to release some of the juice.
7. Add the stock and tomato puree and season with black pepper.
8. Add the cinnamon stick and curry leaves and bring to a simmer.
9. Partially cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Remove the sauce from the heat and discard the cinnamon and curry leaves.
11. Blend the sauce until as smooth as possible.
12. Return to the heat, add 200 ml water and bring back to a simmer.
13. Remove meat mixture from the freezer.
14. Using wet hands, shape the mixture into meatballs about the size of a walnut. you should get between 25 and 30.
15. Drop all the meatballs gently into the sauce mixture and return to a simmer.
16. Cook, uncovered for a further 30 minutes, stirring regularly.
17. Serve the meatballs with rice and topped with yoghurt and fresh coriander leaves      

 

Written by Angela Darroch  

 

The sauce is adapted from BBC Food

KASHMIRI CHICKEN

Many, many moons ago when I lived on my own I used to treat myself to some deliciously hot and spicy curries.  The kind of curry that clears your sinuses and leaves your mouth numb for hours after.  That all changed when I met my husband. He was a meat and two veg man and so as to not scare him off I toned down my taste for all things spicy.  Next came the kids and once again I have had to change the way I cook a curry.  There is now almost no heat, just the delicious mix of different spices.  How I love a curry takeaway these days when I can order my very own vindaloo. 

 This recipe for Kashmiri Chicken is one that we all love.  It is definitely not a hot curry but the combination of cardamom, chilli and paprika are delicious.  My 4 year old describes it as "the curry I can't get enough of."  As a Mum, that is music to my ears.

 

 

 

For the printable version - click here

Kashmiri Chicken

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

 

Yield: 4

 

Ingredients

• 25g ghee or butter
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 10 whole peppercorns
• seeds from 10 cardamom pods, crushed
• small cinnamon stick
• small knob of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsps paprika
• 600 g skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
• 100 g frozen peas
• 250 ml natural yogurt

 

 

Cooking Directions

1. Melt the ghee or butter in a wok.  Add the onions, peppercorns, crushed cardamom seeds and cinnamon and fry for about 8 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden.
2. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli powder, paprika and salt to taste and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the chicken pieces and fry until they are evenly browned and cooked through.
4. Add the peas and fry until cooked.
5. Gradually add the yogurt, stirring constantly until heated through.
6. If sauce is too thick, add a touch of water to thin it out.
7. Serve hot with rice and lime wedges.

 

** The curry does tend to curdle when adding the yogurt but I find if I leave it to cool down and then reheat again, the sauce blends together but you will need to add some water to thin it out a bit.       

Written by : Angela Darroch

BLUEBERRY & ORANGE MUFFINS

My kids eat a lot of fruit.  3 kgs of grapes, 1kg of blueberries, 16 plums, 12 apples, 6 bananas, 4 pears, 2 pkts of strawberries and a couple of oranges – and that's just in a week!  The first thing people say (apart from our dentist) when you tell them is “you’re so lucky,” and I agree but it is so, so expensive.  And as much as they love fruit it has to be the freshest, crispiest, crunchiest fruit that you can buy,  so no bargain buys for me.  The problem I had this week was that a lot of the blueberries were a bit squishy and I have to admit that even I struggle with soft, squishy blueberries but at £4 a punnet I have to find a way to use them up.  I don’t necessarily want to turn them into a sugar and fat laden dessert just for the sake of using them up so the healthiest option for me is these muffins I found in Annie Bell's Baking Bible.  The kids still refuse to eat them because of the squishy blueberries but they are the perfect snack for me together with my much loved daily cup of coffee. There is no butter in them and I have used a blend of sugar and stevia to cut down the sugar content and of course my favourite ingredient of the moment is the delicious seeded spelt flour from Sharpham Park.  These muffins are not necessarily frugal if you have to go out and buy the ingredients but if like me you have some over ripe fruit to use up then it is preferable to throwing the fruit out. 

   These muffins are deliciously moist and stay fresh for a few days and like most muffins will freeze really well. 

 

 

Blueberry & Orange Muffins
 

For the printable version - click here

 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

 

Yield: 8 - 12 depending on size

 

Ingredients

 

• 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 180 ml orange juice, no bits (approximately 2 large oranges)
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 medium eggs (I used 2 large eggs)
• 275 g plain flour (I used Sharpham Park Seeded Spelt Flour)
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 200 g golden caster sugar (I used 100g Tate & Lyle's Stevia & Sugar blend)
• 150 g fresh blueberries (I used 200g)

 

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190C (170C fan).
2. Whisk the oil, orange juice, zest and eggs lightly in a bowl.
3. Add the flour, baking powder and sugar and stir until just combined.
4. Fold in two-thirds of the blueberries.
5. Spoon the mixture into your muffin tray, two-thirds full.
6. Scatter over the remaining blueberries and a little extra sugar and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

 

As these muffins contain blueberries and have no butter in them they are perfect for A Kick at the Pantry Door's first Feel Good Challenge.

 

Recipe adapted from Annie Bell's Baking Bible   

Written by Angela Darroch    

SPELT CRACKERS

Today is the reveal date for my first entry into the Daring Bakers Challenge.  Sarah from All Our Fingers In The Pie has challenged us to make crisp crackers or flatbreads. Now I don't think I have ever contemplated making my own crackers but this is what I love about taking part in these challenges - it forces you to try something new.

The original recipe that I found uses whole wheat flour but I have read so much about Spelt flour over the last few months that I decided to try it out with these crackers. I chose seeded spelt flour made by Sharpham Park with the added benefit that it is grown in Britain. I couldn't believe how quick and easy it was to make these little biscuits until that is, it came time to rolling out the mixture. It is really difficult to get them thin enough to resemble a store bought cracker so I did some more research on the internet and came across a tip from Smitten Kitchen. Although she hadn't tried it, she suggested using a pasta machine to roll the dough out. I hauled mine out from the back of my cupboard, checked that there was no playdough still stuck to it and gave it a whirl. At first I tried to put all the dough through at once but it was just too messy. After a few failed attempts I tried putting through just enough dough to make one cracker at a time and bingo - perfect thickness every time. 

My first batch of these disappeared before I even had time to photograph them so I would say they are going to be a firm favourite in our household.

My only word of caution is watch them like a hawk when baking. They go from nicely crisp to overdone very, very quickly.

 

 

Spelt Crackers

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Total time: 38 minutes

 

Yield: 24 crackers (depending on size)

 

Ingredients

• 155g seeded spelt flour (or wholewheat flour)
• 5ml sea salt flakes
• 2.5ml caster sugar
• 55g salted butter, cubed
• 50 - 60ml cold water

 

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Add flour, salt, sugar and butter to a food processor and whizz together until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add water and whizz again until a soft dough is formed.
4. Remove from food processor and knead gently using some extra flour if needed to form a smooth dough mixture.
5. Roll out evenly to about 3mm thickness and cut out the shape required.
6. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and place in the oven for approximately 15 - 18 minutes.               

Recipe Adapted from King Arthur Flour and Smitten Kitchen
Written by Angela Darroch

Blog checking lines: Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!

LIGHT AT HEART PANCAKES AND BLUEBERRY SAUCE

As a family we do not use large quantities of refined sugar. The only time I ever use it is in my baking and that is usually for a treat rather than the norm. Over the years I have tried several artificial sweeteners in my baking but have never been converted and always revert back to the normal household brands of sugar. While I was out shopping last week I came across a new product by Tate & Lyle called Light at Heart. This is a combination of Brown Sugar and a Stevia Blend and has 50% less calories. I shook the container and could tell that the sugar was granulated (I hate the powdery substance of artificial sweeteners) so in the trolley it went.

Since buying the product I have done a bit of research into Stevia and I think it would be fair to say that there is a divided camp when it comes to the safety of consuming Stevia products. The plant has been used for centuries in South America as a natural sweetener, it has almost zero calories and studies have shown that it significantly inhibits the development of dental plaque. On the flip side it has negligible nutritive benefits (but then neither does refined sugar) and there is this small camp who maintains that more research needs to be done before allowing Stevia to be used in food products. For me the positives outweighed the negatives and I know we will not be consuming large quantities so I was keen to try it out.

I decided to try it out on something simple first so went for these easy pancakes and a blueberry sauce. Now what I didn't notice on the packaging was something it said on the back *as it's twice as sweet, only use half as much* My blueberry sauce was very, very sweet so I would definitely have been able to use half the quantity. By the time I made the pancakes I was a bit wiser and only used half my usual quantity of sugar and this time the taste was perfect. More to the point - there was no artificial taste normally associated with low calorie sugars/sweeteners.

The next step now is to try baking one of my tried and tested cakes to see how it compares. I will let you know how I get on.

  

 

 For the printable version - click here
 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

 

Yield: 2 - 4

 

 

Ingredients

• Juice and zest from 1 large orange
• 70 g sugar or 35g Light at Heart sugar
• 125 ml water
• 2 tsps cornflour mixed with a small quantity of water to form a paste
• 350 g fresh blueberries
• 115 g self rising flour
• 30 g butter
• 50 g sugar or 25 g Light at Heart sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 80 ml milk

 

Cooking Directions

1. Add the orange juice, zest, 70g (35g) sugar and water to a pan and heat until simmering.
2. Stir in the cornflour paste and continue to stir until mixture thickens slightly.
3. Add the blueberries and stir gently to combine.
4. Leave to simmer for approximately 5 minutes.  The blueberries should still be whole.
5. Remove from  heat and leave to one side.

        To make the pancakes

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
2. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.        
3. Add the sugar.
4. Add the egg and stir lightly to mix.
5. Add enough milk at this stage to make a thick pouring batter.
6. Lightly grease a heavy bottomed frying pan with butter.
7. Using a tablespoon, pour a spoonful of the mixture into your heated pan.
8. When the surface of the pancake begins to bubble turn it over to cook on the second side.          
9. Serve with natural yoghurt (or a dollop of cream) and blueberry sauce.

 

Written by : Angela Darroch       

CARROT & COCONUT MUFFINS WITH CHOCOLATE TOPPING

I can hardly contain my excitement whilst writing this post. Why? you may ask. It looks like just any other muffin topped with the usual artery clogging butter and sugar frosting. Well guess what - there is no butter, no refined sugar and it is grain free. I have most definitely not turned over a new leaf and gone super-duper healthy but I have been following the progress of a lady over in New Zealand who is trying to alleviate some of her health issues by changing her diet. Suzanne's blog is over at Strands of My Life and is full of interesting information about using alternative products to change the way we eat. Suzanne is adamant that going gluten, dairy and refined sugar free should not mean that she cannot have her sweet treats and this gorgeous treat below and many others are as a result of her hard work to achieve this.

 

The muffin itself is made with coconut oil, coconut flour, honey, carrots, raisins, shredded coconut, eggs, bicarb and cinnamon. I found the first two products at Holland & Barrett and they are not cheap. £14.00 for the two products is a lot to pay but if you are plagued with food intolerances then you may have these items already. I was just curious and wanted to try them out for myself. The baked muffin is quite heavy and dense but not unpleasant. It is sweet and tasty and very moist. But the piece de resistance is the fabulous chocolate frosting. This is made from avocado, cocoa and honey. It is unbelievably thick and creamy and has absolutely no taste of avocado. Suzanne explains about the benefits of avocados so I will not repeat it here. If like me, you have children then you will know that it is usually the frosting on a cupcake that they go for, leaving the cupcake for someone else to finish off (me). Every time I watch my children devour all this butter and sugar I feel guilty but this would be so different. Yes, avocados contain fat but it is good fat and honey is so much better for you than all that refined sugar that makes up icing sugar.

 

I have just returned from picking my 6 y/o up from school and couldn't wait for him to try one of these muffins. I had placed the muffin so that he would see it as soon as he came into the kitchen and of course he begged to have it there and then. I was trying to act as normal as possible so as not to alert him to the fact that is was different. He took his first lick of icing, looked at me and said "did you make this?" Oh here we go, he's sussed me out, I thought. "Yes," I said, "why?" He walked over to me and gave me a big hug and said "this is so yummy, thanks." He didn't eat the muffin but that is not unusual.

Result!!

 

The next time I make chocolate cupcakes for the kids I will definitely use this frosting.  It is just so much healthier than the buttercream frosting I normally use.

For this fabulous recipe and more information on going grain, dairy and refined sugar free pop over to

 Strands of my Life - Carrot & Coconut Muffins with Chocolate Topping

 

 

 

Because these muffins are sugar free I am going to submit them to the We Should Cocoa challenge which is hosted by

Chocolate Log Blog and Chocolate Teapot

 

 

 

 

and to the Calendar Cakes challenge which is hosted by

Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes

 

 

Written by : Angela Darroch

RED LENTIL SOUP

Well that's it for another year.  Christmas decorations have been packed away, the fridge cleared out and hubby sent back to work.  As much as I love Christmas, I do enjoy the process of sorting out and cleaning up afterwards.  It makes me feel calm - everything in its right place again. 

 

On the food side it feels good to be back to healthy eating again.  I made a big pot of this lentil soup today.  Warm, comforting with just a hint of chilli and best of all it's low fat.

 

It is also perfect for freezing.

 

For the printable version - click here

 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

 

Yield: 6

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 4 carrots, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 0.5 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tins (800g) chopped tomatoes
• 200g red lentils
• 2500ml vegetable stock
• salt and pepper

 

 

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the oil and cook the onion, thyme & carrots for about 4 minutes until just soft.
2. Add the garlic, chilli and mustard seeds and cook for a further couple of minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, lentils and stock and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Blend until smooth or leave chunky.

 

TIP - Store your fresh thyme in the freezer.  When you need to use it just give it a shake and the leaves will drop off the stems.

      
Written by : Angela Darroch

SPICY CRAB AND PRAWN FRITTERS

"Help - I'm in trouble!!"  This is what I said to my hubby this morning on a rare trip together into our local town.  I had noticed a new bookshop had opened and it is one that I used to pop into frequently when I worked in London.  It sells heavily discounted books including cook books.  Now I used to be able to justify buying cook book upon cook book because I was earning a salary but now it is different.  I'm supposed to be watching what I spend and to be honest I really don't need any more cook books.  Apart from the fact that I have absolutely no more space for books I must have at least one recipe for every conceivable kind of dish out there.  BUT if you are an avid collector of cook books like me you will know how difficult it is to walk past a book without having a peek inside and then of course convincing yourself that you absolutely must have the book to add to your collection.  My hubby didn't say much at the time but I did notice that later in the day he was reading through the Property magazine so I am guessing he thinks it is probably cheaper to move house than to let me loose on a whole lot of new cookery books .  He's probably right!!

Anyway - back to cooking.  This recipe for spicy crab and prawn fritters is from The Australian Women's Weekly Best Food collection.  They are so versatile - you can make them into larger patties and serve them as a main course or make them smaller and serve as a light starter or canape.  The addition of fresh lemon grass makes all the difference.  It is not always easy to get in the shops here so when I do see it I make sure I get some just for these fritters.  They do need some kind of dipping sauce - here I have used my own Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce -  isn't that colour gorgeous?  They are definitely worth a try.

 

SPICY CRAB AND PRAWN FRITTERS

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 15 minutes plus 30 minutes chilling time

Cook time: 20 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes plus 30 minutes chilling time

Yield: 6 large or 10 small

Ingredients

• 200g shelled, uncooked prawns (large)
• 170g tinned crab meat, drained
• ½ a tblsp red curry paste
• 1 egg
• 1 green (salad) onion
• 1 tblsp chopped coriander (cilantro)
• 1 tsp chopped fresh lemon grass
• 1 red chilli, seeded & chopped
• olive oil

 

Cooking Directions

1. Dry and drain the crab meat and prawns as much as possible.
2. Blend or process the prawns, crab meat, curry paste, onion, herbs and chilli with about half the egg until just combined.  Every time I make these the consistency is different. It will depend how much water the prawns have absorbed. If the mixture is really too wet to form into patties I would add some fresh breadcrumbs but you really don't want too much as it will detract from the taste of the fish.
3. Using your hands, shape into fritter shapes. The mixture can still be quite wet at this point.
4. Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes
5. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook fritters, in batches, until golden brown and cooked through.
6. Serve with a dipping sauce.        

Written by: Angela Darroch

SALMON BURGERS WITH HORSERADISH CREAM

It's that time of year again.  A month to go before we go on our summer holiday and the panic sets in.  I start thinking about the trips to the beach and what I'll be wearing.  All that lovely food which has to be sampled and of course all the lovely french wine to go with the lovely food.  As a result my Weight Watchers recipe book has been dusted off and given pride of place in my kitchen for the next month - or two.  These burgers are very tasty and substantial enough to not feel like a diet meal.  I served them up with a big bowl of side salad and one was enough for me but I think my hubby was left a bit hungry.  Two for him next time.

Recipe adapted from - The Complete Kitchen by Weight Watchers

SALMON BURGERS WITH HORSERADISH CREAM

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Yield: 2
 

Ingredients

• 250g skinless salmon fillet
• 1 egg white
• 50g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 75g fat free Greek yogurt
• 1 tblsp horseradish sauce
• wild rocket
• 2 burger buns

 

Cooking Directions

1. Place the salmon in a food processor and whizz until it is finely chopped, but not pureed.
2. Mix the salmon together with the egg white, breadcrumbs, spring onion and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Shape into two large flat burgers.
4. Add a touch of olive oil to a frying pan and fry the burgers for 4 - 5 minutes on each side until cooked.
5. While the burgers are cooking, toast the burger buns.
6. Mix the yogurt and horseradish sauce together with a seasoning of pepper.
7. Place the burgers on the buns, top with horseradish cream and some wild rocket.

Written by : Angela Darroch

BIRCHER MUESLI

There is something very satisfying about having a bowl of oats porridge in the morning.  Aside from tasting good it is so healthy for you - you only have to Google 'benefits of oats' to find pages and pages of reasons to eat oats.  My only problem with a bowl of oats porridge is that it seems more suited to a cold, wintry morning.  Now that summer is here we need something a bit lighter but just as healthy.   A bowl of Bircher muesli is the answer - just don't forget to prepare it the night before.

BIRCHER MUESLI

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 15 minutes plus overnight for chilling

Yield: 2 servings

 

Ingredients

• 200g oats
• 200 ml apple juice
• 1 Granny Smith apple
• 75 ml plain yoghurt
• 25 ml raisins
• 125g seasonal fresh fruit
• 25g almonds
• runny honey

 

Cooking Directions

1. Place the oats in a bowl and pour the apple juice over to cover and moisten.
2. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and chill overnight, in the fridge.
3. Just before serving, core the apple and then coarsely grate.
4. Mix the apple into the oats together with the raisins.
5. Add the yoghurt and mix well.
6. Serve in individual bowls topped with fruit, nuts and drizzled with honey.

Written by: Angela Darroch