nana: April 2013

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Quinoa Herring Roe Salad

This simple and colourful quinoa salad is ridiculously good for you, tasty, versatile and so simple to prepare with cherry tomatoes, fruits and herring roe. It's perfect for potluck or anytime really!

Herring roe is in truth the milets, which is from male fish, in other words, it's herring sperm. Leave it out if you are a vegetarian.

180 g Quinoa
480 ml Water
2 tbsp Herring roe
250 g Fresh fruit, diced
50 g Cherry tomatoes, halved
2 stalk Green onions, chopped
50 ml Extra-virgin olive oil
2 Limes, juiced
2 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Chilli flakes

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Whisk olive oil, lime juice, cumin, salt, and chilli flakes together in a bowl.
Combine quinoa, tomatoes, diced fruits, and green onions together in a salad bowl. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture. Toss to coat and season with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Poppy Chia Seed Bread

A deliciously moist, grain-free quick bread with poppy, chia seeds, vanilla yogurt and sweet potato. It works great for breakfast or snacks and a great way to use up leftover sweet potato puree.

160 g Ground poppy seeds
30 g Ground chia seeds
20 g Vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 tsp Sea salt
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
4 Eggs, medium
100 g Sweet potato puree
250 g Vanilla yogurt
2 tbsp Almond slices for topping

Line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F.
Whisk together the ground poppy seeds, chia seeds, vanilla protein powder, sea salt, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl.
In large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Stir in the sweet potato puree, and vanilla yogurt until well combined. Add the dry ingredients into the wet one and stir until well combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the almond slices on the top of the batter. Bake in the center of hot oven for about 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave it in the pan to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Strawberry Soya Protein Balls with Chia Seeds

These protein dessert balls are made of fresh berries, soya protein, almonds and chia seeds. If you are not keen on consuming soy protein isolate, rice, pea, or whey protein are just as good.
I love covering them with chia seeds for the extra delicious crunch and earthy look. Go for the white chocolate coating if you have a sweet tooth.

125 g Strawberries
75 g Blueberries
1 tbsp Chia seeds
125 g Almonds, toasted and ground
2-3 tbsp Soya protein isolate, strawberry flavour
50 g Almond slices, roughly chopped
50 g Chia seeds for coating
200 g White chocolate couverture

Puree the berries and mix with chia seeds, ground almonds, soya protein and roughly chopped almond slices in a bowl.
Shape the mixture into balls. Cover with a plastic film and refrigerate for an hour.
Melt the white chocolate couverture over a pot of hot water. Roll the balls with chia seeds. Or dip with the melted white chocolate.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Multiseed Rye Bread

This delicious seedy bread recipe, adapted from Brot-Bernd Armbrust
©angiesrecipes, is an alternative to your usual white bread. It is a firm, dense bread, but with great taste and packed with flavours. It is particularly good served with homemade nut butter, great as a sanwich or with salads. If you enjoy nutritious real bread, you will love this.

	Dough
200 ml Water, boiling 50 g Rye flakes or old-fashioned rolled oats 50 g Flaxseed 50 g Sunflower seed 50 g Pumpkin seed	20 g Fresh yeast 300 ml Water, lukewarm 350 g Bread flour 250 g Dark rye flour 20 g Salt 75 g Rye sourdough starter, 100% hydration 50 g Sesame seed for coating

Place rye flakes and seeds in a bowl. Pour in 200 ml boiling water. Stir until well mixed and leave it aside, covered, for 2-3 hours.
Dissolve the fresh yeast with 300ml lukewarm water in the mixing bowl. Add in soaked mixture, flours, salt and rye starter. Stir at slow speed for 5 minutes, then increase the speed and knead for a further 4 minutes.
Transfer the dough onto a floured work surface. Cover with a towel and proof for about 30 minutes. Fold and stretch the dough every 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into two portions and form each into a boule or baton. Brush the loaves with water and coat with sesame seeds. Place them in a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover and proof for 30 minutes. Dust the bread with a little flour and slash the top.
At the same time, fill a baking tray with some water and place it at the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 240C/475F. Once the oven has reached the desired temperature, remove the water and place the bread in the middle of the hot oven and baked for 35-40 minutes.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Gluten Free Green Pea Muffins with Poppy and Mozzarella

A gluten free muffin recipe using dried ground green peas, poppyseeds and buffalo Mozzarella. Dried peas, a small but nutritionally mighty member of the legume family, are gluten free, low GI, low in fat and high in protein. They contain soluble fibre that helps to optimise cholesterol and rich in minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants.

300 g Dried shelled green peas
40 g Poppy seeds
1 tsp Dried curry leaves
1 tsp Sea salt
½ tsp White pepper powder
2 tsp Baking powder
500 ml Sparkling water
12 Mini buffalo Mozzarella

Grind the dried shelled green peas into flour-like consistency. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin and line with paper or silicone liners.
Whisk together the pea flour, poppy seeds, dried curry leaves, sea salt, white pepper powder and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Gradually whisk in the sparkling water until well combined and smooth. Divide the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Top each muffin with a mini Mozzarella. Bake in the cold fan-assist oven at 140C/280F for 40 minutes.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Gluten Free Coconut Bread

This is a really delicious quick bread for those who are interested in dairy and gluten-free and low-carbohydrates diets. The bread is moist and light and easy to make. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup or some homemade mango jam.

240 g Desicated coconut, unsweetened
1 tsp Baking powder
1 Vanilla bean
4 Small eggs, at room temperature
3 Egg whites
30 g Maple syrup

Grind the desicated coconut into flour-like consistency. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape the seeds with a spoon or pairing knife.
Line an 8x4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to150C/300F.
Whisk together the coconut flour and baking powder. Beat the eggs, egg whites, vanilla seeds and maple syrup until light and fluffy. Fold in coconut mixture until well combined.
Bake the bread in the middle of hot oven for about 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.