Posts

Butternut squash soup with cumin, ginger and crispy butternut

When I was making this soup I was thinking about the food I eat. I grew up eating the simplest of foods. I was reminiscing about how simple the food was when we were little. We ate rye bread with a slice of goats cheese and pepper every day for lunch. No packed lunch boxes, our open bread sandwiches were wrapped in brown paper and sealed with an elastic band. We got an tangerine or an apple as our pudding. There were no special drinks just the water fountain at school. Treats were baked at home or a simple raisin bread bun from the bakery. We had weekly meal planners on our fridges and dinner was cooked at home. Breakfast was porridge or homemade muesli with plain yogurt and berries. Bread was thick and dark and wholesome.

Eating whole, fresh, natural food isn’t a fad to me. It was the way I was raised and is the way that I understand. It is the way I know how to nourish myself and those around me. It isn’t anything revolutionary or exciting. It is just stripping away, holding back and making the most delicious combinations. It is eating food in its natural, unrefined state, not because someone tells me to, but rather because its best that way. Its food as energy, love, togetherness and nourishment. Its the opposite of a diet, its eating more of the good.

This soup is simple. It is based on one vegetable that is in abundance at this time of year. Butternut squash packed with nutrients known as carotenoids which are often shown to help protect against heart disease. Butternut boasts very high levels of beta-carotene which your body converts to vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for healthy eyes and a strong immune system. This soup uses ginger to give the soup a little bit of heat and also to help keep us winter fit. I love this butternut soup served with crispbreads or chunky slices of sourdough. If you are extra hungry then simply add in some cooked butterbeans or chickpeas for an added boost. The crispy butternut peel takes the place of croutons..extra delicious, extra nutritious. To make the butternut ‘croutons’ all you have to do is simply rub the peel with a little coconut oil and then roast in the oven for 10 minutes at 180C.

Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash – peeled and diced
1 onion
1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp grated ginger
1ltr vegetable stock

Method
Place the oil into a large pan with the cumin seeds
Over a medium heat stir the cumin seeds until they begin to pop
Add in the diced onion
Stir for a few minutes until the onions just begin to soften
Add in the butternut squash and stir for a minute or two
Add the stock and stir well
Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes before adding in the ginger and simmering for a further 5 minutes
Place into a blender and blend until silky smooth

/0 Comments/by

Sexy roasted cauliflower

Have you had a nice weekend? We had a lovely one as my sister and her family came to visit. We headed down to Tegernsee one morning to have time at the lake, to drink locally roasted coffee and drink pale beer. We cycled the kids around in the bike box, hung out at the swings and celebrated the littles ones first birthday again. My sister made the most epic cake topper version of our bull terrier Nanuk and we had round two of lemon cake this time with fresh strawberries in the middle.

Each night once the kids were asleep we could sit and eat together. One night we had german ‘brotzeit’ but the second night I made sexy roasted cauliflower. I have been making roasted cauliflower for a few months now. Alex had a ‘cauliflower steak’ in California last year dressed with herby,tahini lemon salad and it had been on my ‘must recreate’ list since then. Its called sexy roasted cauliflower because Alex thought that cauliflower was an aphrodisiac…I had to break it to him that most of the cabbagy/brassica family is probably considered the opposite for rather unfortunate reasons.

This meal though. Seriously. This meal. Firstly cauliflower has never been top of my food list. Its one those vegetables that I normally ignore if I am honest, but all that has now changed and this is now my go to dinner/dinner party/easy meal. Somehow boiling and then roasting a cauliflower turns it into a thing of beauty and there is also a actual beauty to it when you place it down on the table. The entire head, slightly charred and golden. We have been serving it up with lemon dressed salad but it is delicious with a tangy goats cheese too. A large cauliflower head with serve 4 adults but dont be afraid to make it just for two, its delicious cold the next day…and you might be surprised how much you eat. You can use a standard cauliflower or a romanesco….or do both when you have friends over. Place them on the table whole, slice like a loaf of bread, serve with a huge salad and a chilled rose.

This is simple,delicious week night meal or a phenomenal alternative to a sunday roast. Let me know if you make it…we love it!

Ingredients
1 large cauliflower head
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp olive/rape seed oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C
Place the whole cauliflower (leaves removed) into a large pan of salted boiling water
With the lid on, simmer for 10 mins
Remove the cauliflower, drain, and then place onto a large baking tray lined with baking paper
Coat the cauliflower in salt, pepper and olive oil
Place into a hot oven for approx 40mins or until golden brown

 

/0 Comments/by
,

YNBO- barely baked bakewell tart

Val has exited the tent. I realize that she was probably never going to win, but I did have a soft spot for her. I love that fact that baked from memory and challenged Paul “we like our Danishes a little soft in the middle in our house”. It also turns out that she makes a Bakewell tart weekly. Who makes any tart weekly? Let alone a Bakewell? To be perfectly honest I don’t think I have ever tried bakewell tart, but I do love the combination of fruity jam, marzipan and a biscuity base.

I thought about tackling danish pastries or filo pastry this week, but filo seemed like a crazy crazy idea and most filo that you can buy ready made is plant based anyway, and danish pastries just don’t excite me. Lets not lie, if there was only one option for a Scandinavian treat it would OBVIOUSLY be the cinnamon bun!

So this morning I set about making the YNBO version of the bakewell tart. Knowing that the case would be holding marzipan and a sweet jam layer I didn’t want to make the dough too sweet. I used oats, ground down into a flour, added ground almonds and then used a ripe banana to bind it all together. A teaspoon of coconut oil and one date for added stickiness and I had the perfect consistency. If you can’t tolerate nuts you could easily not add them. This dough tastes amazingly good, not too sweet but somewhat decadent. It would be great rolled into balls or made into bars as a post or pre workout snack….

I pressed the dough into mini muffin tins and baked for 15 minutes until they were golden and crunchy. Then all I had to do was fill them with a spoonful of homemade marzipan and top then with a spoon of extra thick cherry and damson chia jam. So simply, so delicious. These barely baked bakewell tarts are the perfect afternoon treat, paired with a rich espresso and shared with friends.

 

Barely Baked Bakewell Tart – makes 24 mini tarts

Ingredients (base)
200g oats
3 tbsp ground almonds
1tsp coconut oil
1 ripe banana
1 date

Method
Preheat your oven to 160C
Place the oats into a food processor with the almonds and grind down into a flour
Add in the banana and the oil and process until a dough begins to form
Add in the date and pulse until combined
Press the dough into mini muffin tins and bake for 15mins
Remove and allow to cool

Ingredients (Marzipan)
150g blanched almonds
1.25 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp rosewater

Method
Place the almonds into a food processor & pulse until you have a fine flour like powder
Add in the syrup & rosewater
Pulse until you have a dough
Roll into balls or any shape you like
Store in the fridge for up to a week

For the chia jam I used this recipe but substituted the blueberries for half cherries and half damsons. I also added an extra tbsp of chia to make it extra thick.

 

/0 Comments/by

Beitzels – the beigel, pretzel hybrid

First came the Cronut, then the duffin….and now we have the beitzel! My hybrid of a beigel and a pretzel. These bad boys are a seriously good thing!

Our baby is definitely half Bavarian. I say Bavarian rather than German because she was born in Munich, during Oktoberfest time & her absolute favourite food are bretzel. Pretzel are a go to here. For breakfast split & slathered with butter, on the go during the day, for “Brot zeit” dinner (bread & cold cuts) and of course the supersize version to help mop up beer.

If the little one is being particularly cute you can guarantee that somebody in a bakery or cafe will hand her one having dusted off the salt. I have to let you in on a secret though, I don’t like pretzel. It’s the distinctive lye taste that I don’t like. Lye is used to give pretzel their traditional brown colour and you can replicate it at home but it’s pretty dangerous as it involves sodium hydroxide, gloves & eye protection…..which makes me question whether it is a good thing to be ingesting. I also wanted to make a pretzel that was simple, that shunned the buttery dough and all the added salt.

These beitzels are a pretzel -beigel hybrid. They are made from a simple risen dough which is then shaped & boiled, sprinkled with seeds and then baked till golden brown.

These beitzels have the shape of a pretzel & the delicious doughiness, but they also have the satisfying crunchy chew of a traditional boiled beigel. The little one had one this morning, we had some last night warm out the oven, dipped in sweet potato hummus. They are great spread with jam or made into a sandwich and if you are celebrating Oktoberfest then I’m sure that they paid well with any beer too!

Ps- if you need some help shaping your beitzels that check out my video on my instagram page yolandanaturally

Ingredients
450g strong bread flour

1 tsp salt

7g instant yeast

220ml slightly warm water

1 tbsp maple syrup

1.5 ltr water

3 tbsp mixed seeds to top (optional)

Method
Place the flour into a large bowl

Place the salt on one side of the bowl & the yeast on the other

Add in 3/4 of the water and stir the dough to bring it all together

Combine well, adding more water as you need

Tip out onto a lightly floured surface & knead the dough for 10mins

Once smooth, place back into the bowl, cover & pop in a warm spot for 1 hour

Once the dough has doubled in size tip out & split into 12 portions

Roll the portions into long sausages and then shape into pretzel

Bring the water to the boil, add in the maple syrup

Place the pretzels, a few at a time, into the simmering water

Cook the pretzels on both sides for a minute & then remove with a slotted spoon

Place them onto a lined baking rack

Sprinkle with seeds

Place into a preheated (190C) oven & bake until golden

Enjoy!

/0 Comments/by

YNBO- Tigernut buttermilk pancakes with coconut butter

We just got back from the most beautiful weekend in Cambridge. We have come back reinvigorated, filled with friendship & our kitchen has a few new ingredients to boot.

We got back just in time for this weeks adventures in the tent too, and last night was all about the batter. Was it the first time ever that the ovens were only used in one out of the three challenges? And also is it a bake if it’s not in an oven? Anyway, Great British Batter Off saw the bakers (batterers sounds oh so very wrong) tackle identical Yorkshire puddings, lace pancakes and finally churros. There were some great flavor combinations but personally I have to admit that I missed the baking bit last night. Still, it was fate that pancakes were a challenge & I can home from Cambridge with a bag of unusual flour that I have been itching to use!

I decided for my YNBO batter challenge to make plant based buttermilk pancakes using an ingredient that is totally new to me: tigernuts. Tiger nuts are not actually nuts, they are in fact a tuber & they used to be sold in sweet shops in the 1940s & 50s. They are rich in iron and have a nutrient profile that mirrors…well, breast milk. They are also a pre-biotic too.

They taste creamy, rich & slightly nutty, similar to a cashew. Thanks to a wonderful friend, I am the proud owner of 2kg of tigernut flour & with batter week upon us it seemed like the perfect time to test it out. Tiger nut flour looks not dissimilar to spelt flour. It is nut brown and very finely milled. These pancakes are somehow fluffy & thick and yet dense at the same time. They remind me of buckwheat pancakes. The tiger nuts provide a rich taste and the baking powder gives them lift. The homemade buttermilk helps keep them light & moist (sorry there is no other word!). I added lemon zest to the mix but you don’t have to and these could easily be a savoury base, topped with pesto & roasted vegetables or even made into single bite canapes hosting any toppings you fancy.

The coconut maple butter is inspired by LA and a delicious breakfast at The Butchers Daughter. With the baby asleep in the ergo, I perched on a stool & devoured buckwheat pancakes with berries & melting coconut butter. I practically inhaled them, pausing only to lick stray crumbs off the little ones head. I’ve never had such great pancakes since but these tigernut ones have arrived and are bringing a little bite of Abbot Kinney into our kitchen.Inspired by LA, created in Munich, prompted by Welford Park and facilitated by Cambridge. These are seriously international pancakes.

Ingredients (makes 8 pancakes)
1 cup (250g) tigernut flour

1 cup (250g) spelt flour (or gf flour)

Juice 1 lemon

1 tsp baking powder

1.5 cup (180ml) oat or other milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Method
Place the lemon juice into the milk & set aside for 10 mins

Place the flour & baking powder into a large dish

Add the lemony milk & apple cider vinegar and stir well

Leave to sit for 10mins

Ladle the mixture into a hot greased pan letting the pancakes bubble on the upside before flipping over

Ingredients (Coconut maple butter)
8 tbsp desiccated coconut

1 tsp maple syrup

Method
Place the coconut into a food processor or spice grinder

On a medium setting allow to process

Scrape down the sides every minute to keep incorporating

Keep processing till you have a creamy butter

Stir in the maple syrup & serve

/0 Comments/by