nana: October 2014

Friday, October 31, 2014

Hachiya Persimmon Arugula Salad with Truffle Oil and Lemon Juice

Colourful, fresh and full of flavours, this autumn salad features sweet tender hachiya persimmons, bright peppery green, crunchy juicy pomegranate seeds and rich earthy truffle oil. Persimmons not only lend a seasonal touch to the salad, the sweetness also complements perfectly the spicy arugula and tart pomegranate.


2 Hachiya persimmons, peeled and sliced 50 g Arugula leaves 1 Small red onion, cut into rinds 1 handful Pomegranate seeds Walnuts, optional Truffle oil Lemon juice Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper

Peel the hachiya persimmons and slice them finely on a mandoline. Peel and cut the red onion into rings.
Arrange the arugula leaves and sliced persimmons on a serving plate. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and top with onion rings. When ready to serve, drizzle with truffle oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Avocado Red Lentil Salad with Macadamia Oil and Cream of Balsamic

A hearty vegan and gluten-free lentil avocado salad flavoured with lemon, macadamia nut oil, cream of balsamic and fresh herb. It is an easy and quick to make recipe that is healthy yet so rich and satisfying.

Avocado Red Lentil Salad with Macadamia Oil and Cream of Balsamic

adapted from Küchen Götter

400 ml Vegetable broth
200 g Red lentils
2 Ripe avocados
1 tbsp Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp Macadamia oil
4 tbsp Cream of balsamic
Parsley leaves
Peperoncini, optional

Place the vegetable broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add in red lentils and cook, covered, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Shake out all excess water.
Meanwhile slice the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit. Cut the avocado halves in slices and remove the skin. Arrange them on a serving plate.
Add lemon juice to the drained red lentils and season with salt and pepper. Now spoon the red lentils over the avocado slices. Sprinkle some chopped parsley leaves over. Drizzle with macadamia oil and cream of balsamic. Garnish with peperoncini and serve immediately.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Gluten Free Chocolate Muffins with Cream Cheese Coconut Filling

These sinfully delicious and decadent double chocolate muffins with cream cheese coconut filling are bursting with flavour and will surely please chocolate lovers. They are naturally gluten free thanks to the ground naked oats and coconut, and refined sugar-free with an optional chocolate glaze.

Gluten Free Chocolate Muffins with Cream Cheese Coconut Filling

adapted from das Kochbuch

Filling	Muffin	Optional Glaze
100 g 4% Low fat cream cheese 80 g Desiccated coconut 1 tsp NuStevia powder	160 g Naked oats, ground into flour 1 tsp Baking powder 1 tsp Baking soda 3 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder 45 g 70% Dark chocolate, melted 75 g Butter, at room temperature 15 g NuStevia powder 1 Egg 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 300 g Plain yoghurt, at room temperature	80 g Powdered sugar, sifted 1 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder 2 tsp Butter 1-2 tbsp Hot milk

Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl and shape the mixture into 15 balls. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line your muffin pans with 15 paper liners and set aside.
Sift together the ground oats, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder. Melt dark chocolate over a hot-water bath. Cream together butter and stevia. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Now stir in melted chocolate and yoghurt. Add the dry ingredients into the yoghurt mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
Fill each paper liner with 1 tablespoon of muffin batter, then add each with one coconut ball, and cover with 1/2 tablespoon of batter. Bake for about 25 minutes.
Place sifted powdered sugar, cocoa powder, butter and milk over a hot-water bath. Stil until smooth and well combined.
Spread the muffins with chocolate glaze and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Belgian Endive Fig Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

This beautiful salad is easy to prepare, delicious, healthy and it's both an appetizer and a salad. You can serve the endive leaves whole on a plate with the fig wedges or cut the endive into bite-size pieces for a chopped salad effect. Ripe, sweet figs are the perfect match for the mild bitterness of the endive, and the creamy pumpkin dressing made with white balsamic, walnut oil and fresh herbs is so delicious and definitely makes the salad. If fresh figs ain't available, or you just don't like it, use pears instead.


2 head Belgian endives 3 Fresh figs 2 Spring onions, sliced	150 g Pumpkin puree 50 ml White balsamic 80 ml Walnut oil 1 tbsp Parsley leaves 2 Sage leaves 1 Garlic clove, minced 1/2 tsp Sea salt 1/3 tsp Freshly ground black pepper

Place all the dressing ingredients in a blender and process until well combined.
Pull the leaves from the stem of each endive, trimming the base as needed to release them. Set aside. Or just simply cut them into 1-inch chunks. Cut the figs into wedges.
Arrange Belgian endive leaves, figs and spring onions in two plates. Drizzle the pumpkin vinaigrette over and serve immediately.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Pan Seared Tofu with Avocado Cashew Sauce

A simple sauce of avocado, tomato, cashew nuts, parsley and lime juice is served over pan-seared seasoned tofu for a light main course. It’s easy to make, yummy to eat, and your family won’t believe it is vegan. The crisp tofu is good on its own, but if tofu is not your cup of tea, chicken breast will do too.

	Avocado Cashew Sauce
2 block / 400 g Firm tofu Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 1-2 tbsp Sunflower oil	1 Ripe avocado, finely chopped 2 Tomatoes, finely chopped 4 tbsp Parsley, chopped 1 tsp Minced garlic 4 tbsp Cashew nuts, finely chopped Juice of 1 lime Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper

Cut each block of tofu in half diagonally, then cut each into two triangles. Well season the tofu triangles with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet until hot. Cook tofu, in 2 batches, for 1 minute each side or until crisp and golden, then drain on paper towel.
In a bowl, add in finely chopped avocado, tomatoes, parsley, cashew nuts, and lime juice. Mix well, then season with salt and pepper.
Place tofu triangles, overlapping, on a serving plate. Spoon some avocado sauce over.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Vegan Freekeh Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Crunchy peanut butter, almond milk and overripe bananas give this quick freekeh bread extra texture, flavour, and sweetness. A small amount of chopped roasted peanuts offers delightfully surprising crunch and richness. It's easy to prepare and makes a delicious breakfast treat or snack.

Vegan Freekeh Peanut Butter Banana Bread

adapted from Red Online

330 g Wholegrain freekeh, ground into flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1 Vanilla pod
5 Overripe bananas, cut into pieces
165 ml Almond milk
180 g Crunchy peanut butter
80 ml Melted coconut oil
1+1/3 tsp Cinnamon powder
40 g Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 28x10-cm loaf tin with baking parchment. Whisk together the ground freekeh and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.
Split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Reserve the pod for another use. Put the bananas in a separate bowl and add the vanilla milk, vanilla seeds, peanut butter, melted coconut oil and cinnamon. Using a hand blender, combine the ingredients until they form a smooth batter.
Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and fold gently to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and spread out evenly. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to four days.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Gluten Free Pumpkin Protein Oat Bars with Applesauce

These soft, moist pumpkin bars are packed with protein and have all the fantastic Fall flavours. There is NO PROCESSED SUGAR, and they are also naturally gluten-free. Warm speculaas spice balances really well with the pumpkin and pumpkin seeds add extra crunch as well as healthy Omega-3 Fats. They would make a great filling breakfast on-the-go or a post workout snack. If you don't use agave syrup, just substitute with 70 grams of honey or maple syrup.


300 g Homemade pumpkin puree 270 g Unsweetened applesauce 150 g Egg whites 50 g Agave syrup 1 tsp Vanilla extract 2 tsp Speculaas spice mix 1 tsp Baking powder 1/2 tsp Baking soda Pinch of sea salt 70 g Vanilla protein powder 130 g Old fashioned rolled oats 85 g Pepita

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 15x26-cm baking pan with a little coconut oil.
Whisk together the pumpkin puree, applesauce, egg whites, agave syrup, vanilla extract, speculaas spice mix, baking powder, baking soda, salt and protein powder.
Add in rolled oats and pepita, stir well. Pour the batter in the prepared baking pan, level with spatula and bake for 40 minutes or until a wood skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Cut with a serrated knife into 8 or 10 bars.