nana: November 2014

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Lamb's Lettuce Salad with Belgian Endive, Grapes and Goat Cheese

A fresh and healthy winter salad wtih lamb's lettuce, Belgian endive, grapes, and goat cheese, dressed with a truffle mustard vinaigrette, which complements the flavours of the lettuce. This delicious salad is full of goodness, and makes a simple yet impressive starter.

Lamb's lettuce, also known as mache lettuce, or corn salad, has long spoon-shaped dark green leaves and a distinctive, tangy flavour. The interesting name comes from the lettuce's resemblance to the size and shape of a lamb's tongue.

Salad	Dressing
2 Belgian endives A handful of red grapes 50 g Lamb's lettuce 1 log / 200 g Fresh goat cheese, sliced	1 tbsp Lime juice 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar 1 tsp Clear honey 1 tsp Truffle mustard 2 tbsp Olive oil 1 tsp Rose peppercorns 1 tsp Pickled green peppercorns Sea salt

Up to 2 days ahead, shake all the dressing ingredients together in a jar. Season and chill.
Slice the chicory in half diagonally so you get loose leaves and a solid stalk end. The leaves will be easy to separate, thinly slice the stalks, add the grapes, and lamb’s lettuce. Chill until needed.
When ready to serve, top with sliced goat cheese and drizzle with prepared dressing.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Black Quinoa Salad with Mandarine, Kale, Radicchio and Anchovy Vinaigrette

Sweet, juicy mandarin oranges, slightly bitter crisp radicchio, deep earthy kale, and crunchy nutty quinoa tossed with a balsamic anchovy vinaigrette-- this beautiful vibrant salad is bursting with flavours and naturally gluten free. I used black quinoa here, but you can use whatever kind you like.

Salad	Anchovy Vinaigrette
120 g Black quinoa, well rinsed 240 ml Vegetable broth 2 Mandarin oranges 100 g Kale, trimmed and thinly sliced 80 g Radicchio, thinly sliced	4 Anchovy fillets 1 Garlic clove 1 Small shallot, chopped 2 tbsp White balsamic vinegar 1/2 tsp Sea salt 1/4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper

Place all the dressing ingredients in a food processor on medium speed until combined.
In a medium saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to a simmer over medium heat. Add the quinoa, cover, turn the heat down to medium low, and cook until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Toss the black quinoa, mandarin oranges, kale, and radicchio together. Add some of the vinaigrette, toss, and serve.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Pear and Walnut Tart

A deep dish pear tart, adapted from Eat Smarter, with walnut honey filling in a nutty spelt shortcrust pastry. This is also great with the combination of apples and almonds.

Spelt Walnut Crust	Filling
200 g Refined spelt flour 40 g Walnuts, ground into flour 120 g Butter, diced 70 g Honey 1 Egg	50 g Vanilla sugar 125 ml Water 5 Pears 260 g Walnuts, ground into flour 4 Eggs 70 g Honey

Combine all the ingredients for the crust and mix until the dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Combine vanilla sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Peel, halve, and use a melon-ball scoop to core and stem the pears. Cut them in half lengthwise and add to the saucepan. Adjust the heat to low and let it simmer for 12 minutes. Remove the pear halves and set aside to cool.
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat the egg yolks with honey until thick and creamy. Fold in egg white.
Preheat to 180C/350F. Roll out the chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper and Gently lay dough inside 9-10-inch spring form pan and press up the sides.
Spread the walnut filling evenly into the crust. Arrange the pear halves atop filling and gently press in. Bake tart until golden, about 50 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Cut tart into wedges and sprinkle with powdered sugar and chopped walnuts, if desired, and serve.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Black Quinoa Spelt Muffins

These delicious and moist quinoa spelt muffins, adapted from Martha Stewart, are an ideal breakfast on the go or for a post work out treat. They are healthy, protein packed, and refined sugar free. Use regular quinoa if you don't have the black variety.

120 g Black quinoa, rinsed
240 ml Water
240 g Refined spelt flour
0,6 g Pure stevia extract powder (or 180 g sugar)
1+1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
60 g Raisins
60 ml Olive oil
180 ml Milk
1 Large egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pure stevia extract, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 300 grams of cooked quinoa. Reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, milk, egg, and vanilla extract. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined. Divide the batter among prepared muffin cups.
Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Teriyaki Tofu Steaks

The delicious teriyaki marinade, a blend of dark soya sauce, brown sugar, sake, mirin, and fresh ginger, imparts a wonderful salty, sweet and yet tangy taste to tofu steaks. Sake can be replace with dry sherry, and mirin with white wine or vermouth with 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Teriyaki Tofu Steaks

adapted from taste

60 ml Dark soya sauce
60 ml Sake (or dry sherry)
2 tbsp Mirin
2 tbsp Brown sugar
1 tsp Fresh ginger, finely grated
500 g Firm tofu, cut into 1cm-thick slices
2 tsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 tbsp Toasted sesame seeds
2 Green onions, thinly sliced
1 Red chilli, diagonally thinly sliced
Chilli threads
Greens

Combine the soya sauce, sake, mirin, sugar and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Place the tofu in a single layer in a glass or ceramic dish. Pour over the soya mixture with the sesame oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4 hours to marinate.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Cook the tofu for 3 minutes each side or until caramelized. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions and chilli. Serve over the greens.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Spiced Apple Hazelnut Bread with Einkorn and Spelt

Warm fragrant Lebkuchen spice mix, apples, hazelnuts and organic ancient grains make this the perfect fall quick bread. Applesauce was added to make the bread more flavourful and moist, while chopped hazelnuts make an appealing crunchy top. It's great for breakfast and ideal for tucking into a lunchbox.

100 g Einkorn, ground into flour
160 g Refined spelt flour
0,6 g Pure stevia powder (or 180 g sugar)
1 tbsp Baking powder
3/4 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tbsp Lebkuchen spice mix
1 Apple, peeled and chopped
60 g Hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

120 ml Milk, at room temperature
2 Large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla extract
140 g Homemade unsweetened applesauce
100 g Butter, melted
40 g Hazelnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 26-cm loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. Skip this if using a silicone bread tin.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, pure stevia powder, baking powder, salt and spice mix. Whisk until well blended. Stir in the toasted hazelnuts and chopped apples.
In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs, vanilla and applesauce, whisking until blended. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold until blended.
Scrape the batter into the prepared bread tin and spread evenly. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts evenly over the batter, gently patting them in so they adhere.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until the top is nicely golden and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely.