Chilled Mexican Avocado Soup

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Chilled Mexican Avocado Soup

Serves 2
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan

1 organic avocado
1 cup organic spinach
1 ¼ cups (300 mL) filtered water or organic vegetable stock
100 mL almond milk
2 Tbs cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp Spice Sanctuary cumin powder
1/4 tsp Spice Sanctuary paprika
1/4 tsp Spice Sanctuary True Cinnamon
1/4 lime, juiced
2 tsp coconut, fresh grated or desiccated
1 tsp Spice Sanctuary Nigella Seeds

Chilled Mexican Avocado Soup

1. Cut open and scoop out the flesh of the avocado and place into a blender.

2. Add all the other ingredients apart from the coconut and nigella seeds and blend into a smooth soup. Chill the soup for at least one hour.

3. When ready to serve, divide the soup into two bowls and garnish with the coconut and nigella seeds and some grated beets or sauerkraut (optional) for a refreshing, alkalising starter or lunch.

Pear, hazelnut and cinnamon crumble cake

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Pear, hazelnut and cinnamon crumble cake

Makes 24 pieces Cake
■ 225g (8oz) light brown sugar
■ 225g (8oz) butter or margarine
■ 4 eggs
■ 225g (8oz) self-raising flour
■ 2 tsp cinnamon
■ 4 medium pears, peeled, cored and cut into 3⁄4cm (1⁄3in) slices Crumble
■ 85g (3oz) plain flour
■ 85g (3oz) Demerara sugar
■ 1 tsp cinnamon
■ 50g (1¾oz) butter
■ 50g (1¾oz) hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Pear, hazelnut and cinnamon crumble cake

1. Make the cake mixture: cream the sugar and butter/margarine together, then beat in the eggs, two at a time. Add the flour and cinnamon and fold them in.

2. Make the crumble: put the flour, sugar and cinnamon into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the hazelnuts.

3. Grease a 30 by 23cm (12 by 9in) baking tray and spread the cake mixture into it evenly. Arrange the pear slices on top in a single layer, then spread the crumble mixture evenly over the pears.

4. Bake the cake at 180°C (350°F, gas 4) for 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Pear and vanilla tarte tatin

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Pear and vanilla tarte tatin

Serves 8
■ 85g (3oz) sugar
■ 85g (3oz) butter
■ 1 vanilla pod, opened out
■ 1 tsp grated lemon zest
■ 1 tsp lemon juice
■ 4 medium-sized ripe pears, peeled, cored and quartered lengthways
■ 280g (10oz) puff pastry

Pear and vanilla tarte tatin

1. Put the sugar and butter into a frying pan, and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Add the vanilla pod and the lemon zest and juice, and let the mixture simmer until it has caramelised to a dark golden colour (no further; don’t let it burn).

3. Arrange the pear segments in a 20cm (8in) flan tin, cut side up. Pour the caramel mixture over the top, and remove and save the vanilla pod.

4. Roll out the pastry until it is ½cm (¼in) thick and cut out a 24cm (9½in) diameter circle.

5. Drape the pastry over the top of the pears, then tuck its edges down the sides of the tin. Pierce a couple of holes in the centre of the pastry.

6. Bake the tart at 190°C/375°F/gas 5 for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.

7. Let the tart cool for 10 minutes, then place a serving plate on top of the pastry and turn the tart out on to the plate. Garnish it with the vanilla pod, and serve it warm or at room temperature.

Warm salad of roasted peppers, tomatoes and chickpeas

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Warm salad of roasted peppers, tomatoes and chickpeas

Serves 2
■ 300g (10½oz) red and/or yellow peppers, deseeded and sliced
■ 2 cloves garlic, peeled
■ 2 tbsp olive oil
■ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
■ 115g (4oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
■ 60g (2¼oz) cooked chickpeas
■ ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
■ 1 tsp muscovado sugar
■ ½ tsp wholegrain mustard
■ A small handful of parsley, roughly chopped

Warm salad of roasted peppers, tomatoes and chickpeas

1. Put the peppers and garlic cloves into a roasting tin with the oil and season them generously with salt and black pepper. Stir the vegetables around so that everything is coated in oil.

2. Put the tin into the oven at 200°C/400°F/gas 6 for 15 minutes, then add the tomatoes, give everything another stir, and return the tin to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the peppers are starting to char at the edges.

3. Add the chickpeas to the tin, stir everything around, and return the tin to the oven for a final couple of minutes to warm the chickpeas.

4. Crush the roasted garlic cloves, then mix them with the vinegar, sugar and mustard.

5. Put the peppers, tomatoes and chickpeas, the dressing and the parsley into a bowl, mix everything together, and serve straight away.

Stuffed peppers in tomato sauce

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Stuffed peppers in tomato sauce

Serves 2
■ 20g (¾oz) rice (dry weight)
■ 1 tbsp vegetable oil
■ 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
■ 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
■ Either 125g (4½oz) pork mince
■ Or 125g (4½oz) Quorn mince plus 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
■ 1 egg
■ 2 sprigs of marjoram, finely chopped
■ Leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme
■ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
■ 4 medium bell peppers
■ 300g (10½oz) ripe tomatoes, diced
■ 1 tbsp tomato puree
■ 85ml (3floz) red wine

Stuffed peppers in tomato sauce

1. Parboil the rice, draining it when it is about five minutes short of cooked.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion and garlic for five minutes.

3. Put half of the fried onion and garlic into a bowl. Add the rice, the mince, the stock powder if you are
using it, the egg, the marjoram, half of the thyme leaves, a good pinch of salt and a generous grinding of black pepper. Mix everything together well.

4. Cut out the stalks of the peppers, and use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds. Pack the peppers with the stuffing mixture.

5. Find a lidded saucepan big enough to accommodate the peppers standing upright (then take them out again for now). Put the rest of the fried onion and garlic into the pan, add the tomatoes and simmer them gently for 10 minutes.

6. Add the tomato puree, the wine, the rest of the thyme leaves, a grinding of black pepper and 85ml (3floz) of water to the pan, and stir them in.

7. Sit the peppers in the pan and bring the sauce back to simmering point. Cover the pan and let it simmer for about 40 minutes, by which time the peppers will be tender and the stuffing cooked.

Grilled plums with ice cream and maple syrup

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Grilled plums with ice cream and maple syrup

Serves 4
■ 7-8 ripe plums
■ 8 scoops of ice cream
■ a few sprigs of mint
■ 2 tbsp maple syrup

Grilled plums with ice cream and maple syrup

1. Cut the plums in half and remove the stones.

2. Place the fruit on to the grill or hot skillet and cook for 4-5 min.

3. Serve with ice cream, mint leaves and maple syrup drizzled over.

Pink fritters and spicy plum salsa

Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Pink fritters and spicy plum salsa

Serves 4
Fritters:
■ 2 medium courgettes
■ 1 small beetroot
■ 1 medium carrot
■ 2 large eggs
■ 100g sweetcorn
■ 1 red onion
■ 4 tbsp plain flour
■ 2 tbsp corn flour
■ ½ tsp red peppercorns, crushed
■ ½ tsp salt
■ 2-3tbsp organic sunflower oil

Plum salsa:
■ 4 plums
■ ½ cucumber, de-seeded
■ a couple of sprigs of dill
■ 1 lime, juiced
■ 1 tbsp green jalapeños
■ 1 radish

Pink fritters and spicy plum salsa

1. Grate the courgette, carrot, onion and beetroot into a large bowl and add the sweetcorn and eggs, mix well. Add the flour, corn flour and spices and mix again until combined. Using two large spoons, gently drop the mixture into a large oiled frying pan set on medium heat. Cook the fritters for 5-6 min on each side, or until lightly golden and crispy.

2. Make the salsa by finely chopping the plums, cucumber, radish and jalapeños and add to a bowl. Squeeze over the lime juice, add the dill and mix the ingredients together.

3. Serve with the salsa and pita bread.