Raw Chocolate Spread

Happy World Nutella Day! I used to be addicted to Nutella and would have in/on almost everything before I cut out sugar and processed foods. I was reminded by the lovely Mrs P that it was National Nutella Day today and I suddenly had a craving to make my own. This recipe is a complete fluke but I am so happy it turned out well. It is not overly sweet so I would add more date syrup if you want a sweeter spread. Equally you may find that the consistency is too thick for you so add more nut milk if you need to. I roasted the nut for a richer taste and it worked very well. If you can, it's worth brushing off the skins of the hazelnuts after roasting them. This will give you a smoother consistency. I was eating the remains out of the mixer but I will be enjoying some on my Caveman Paleo Bread in the morning and on my pancakes on Shrove Tuesday! I hope your taste buds enjoy this little treat. 

You will need:

1 jam jar

50g almonds

100g hazelnuts

4 tsp date syrup 

1/3 cup nut milk (I used almond)

2 heaped tbsp raw cacao powder

Heat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade and pop the nuts on a baking sheet. Roast for 8-10 minutes and then leave out to cool completely. At this point you can brush off the hazelnut skins. 

Place your roasted hazelnuts and almonds into a blender and blend until smooth and liquid-y. This may take 2-3 minutes depending on how strong your blender is. 

Add the date syrup, nut milk and cacao powder and blend again for about 1 minute. You will want to scrap down the sides half way through to make sure it's all combined. Add your milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. To make this a dip for fruit, add more almond milk to thin it out slightly. 

Pace into a jam jar or kilner and this will keep for a few weeks - but no double dipping of spoons! 

Chia Breakfast Pudding

My first experience of a chia pudding was not one I care to remember. It was bland, chewy and frankly I felt cheated out of a proper meal. I really did think that everyone was going mad, for this was not 'awesome' or 'insane'. It was bllurghhhh. Since then, however, I have persevered and tried various different additions which I have come to adore. This recipe was originally from Deliciously Ella with a few additions and tweaks along the way. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It really is mouthgasmic. This makes one large portion or two smaller ones. You can use honey or pure maple syrup in place of the date syrup if you prefer. 

You will need:

1 large jar

At least 6 hours!

5 tbsp chia seeds

half a banana 

1 tbsp almond butter

300 ml almond milk

1-2 tsp date syrup

2 handfuls of blueberries

1 handful raspberries

flaked almonds

cocoa nibs

The night before, place your banana, 1 handful of blueberries, almond butter, almond milk and date syrup into a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into the jar and stir in your chia seeds. I usually let it settle for an hour or 2 then give it a quick stir before going to bed. 

In the morning layer up your pudding - give it a stir first - with the blueberries and raspberries, making ure you have a few raspberries for the top. Sprinkle on your flaked almonds and cocoa nibs. Pumpkin seeds also work well or a little dessicated coconut. Et voilà! A delicious breakfast bursting full of goodness and flavours. 

Sweet potato and chicken curry

My boyfriend is an amazing cook. He creates these incredible meals with scraps and not much more but they always come out tasting insanely good. He has a gift. Sadly he is away travelling for work a lot so I have taken to trying to recreate his dishes with a Paleo twist. The following is his original recipe but with some additions and maybe one ingredient which some Paleo purists will disagree with. The humble pea. When I originally transferred to eating the Paleo way, I thought all legumes were off limits. I accepted this and carried on cooking without out them. Quite by accident I came across several articles which said that peas could be enjoyed as part of a Paleo diet, so long as you didn't make them a staple. They have much less of the nasty phytates and the lecithins aren't as toxic or as numerous as with other legumes. I read a piece in the Paleo Magazine which helped to make things slightly clearer. It seems if they are fresh and not dried and you eat them occasionally then they are ok. Phew, justification over, let's get back to the serious matter of cooking. You'll need a good spice selection but a pestle and mortar is not obligatory! 

Serves 2 very hungry/greedy people or 4 normal ones!

You will need:

4 - 6 chicken things, preferable free range/organic, take the skin off

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks

Plenty of fresh coriander

500 ml of good chicken stock (you may need a little more to add in the cooking process)

2 large white onions

2-3 garlic cloves

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 tsp coconut oil

1 cup fresh peas

pinch sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

5 cardamom pods

few sprigs of thyme

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cumin seed

1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

1/2 tsp allspice

1 tsp fenugreek 

1/2 tsp coriander seed

1/2 tsp ginger

Pop all the spices and the thyme into a pestle and mortar (or small bowl and handle of wooden spoon) and mix them up. Gently and only slightly crush the cardamom pods.

Gently melt the coconut oil over a medium heat in a deep pan. Brown the chicken thighs on both sides. Add the spices, thyme, salt and pepper and stir so that the mix covers the meat. Continue cooking for 1 minute. Take a moment to enjoy the aromas being released. Add the onions and garlic and fry off until the onions begin to soften. 

Add the sweet potatoes and the stock, bring to the boil then turn down and simmer for about 40 minutes (you may need to add a little more stock depending of how thick you want it to be) until the potatoes can be squashed against the side of the pan. Add the peas and a handful of freshly chopped coriander and stir through. Finally add your coconut milk and simmer gently for 30 seconds. 

Serve in bowls with a little extra coriander sprinkled on top. A delicious and nutritious dish that is packed full of flavour and goodness. Enjoy!

Coconut and berry breakfast pot

I slept really badly last night. Woke up in the small hours thinking about what I could be doing instead of wasting time sleeping. I curled up and forced my eyes shut for about half an hour. Then I made a terrible mistake. I looked at my phone. Cue the next hour fiddling around and not really doing much apart from feeding my social media addiction. When I eventually got back to sleep, I woke up feeling groggy and not at all rested. I craved something fresh to try and wipe away the taste of my dalliance with a night-time spent flicking through my Pinterest board, and hoping someone would like a picture from my Instagram. Sad but true and in the end I really did waste time.

My little breakfast pots are quick and easy to make and I find them very restorative after a bad night's sleep. You could use normal yoghurt if you'd rather but the coconut flavour and creaminess of coyo is heavenly. I sometimes sweeten mine with a little date syrup (see earlier post) or add cocoa nibs with the pumpkin seeds. Whatever you do I promise you won't be disappointed and on the plus side this is a hit with children too!

          

Serves 1 hungry, groggy soul

You will need: 

small jam jar or bowl

handful of raspberries

handful of blueberries

1 tsp almond butter

1 tsp pumpkin seeds

1 small pot of coyo

1/4 tsp raw cacao powder

                                                       

Mix the cacao in with the coyo and stir until all combined. Make sure you incorporate all the powder as it will not be a nice surprise if you find a dry bit of cacao when you eat it. Carefully layer the yoghurt and then fruit. Top with your almond butter, seeds and one more raspberry. Not only is this very quick but it is so pretty too! You'll have a smile on your face for that reason alone. 

Raw Chocolate Truffle Almond Tart

Like many of you I have been embarking on a fresh start to 2015 and gave up gluten, alcohol and refined sugar in the hopes I would be reborn into a new 'me'. In some ways this has happened, although not in some miraculous I-now-have-a-six-pack-and-am-living-in-a-grass-hut-making-my-own-clothes way (which is a brilliant way of life and I am totally envious), but I do feel 100 times better than I did in the run up to New Year. Being a teacher, there are always children bringing in all sorts of bugs and coughs and sneezes so we are bound to get ill. However, I felt that the entire Autumn term I was barely getting over one illness before something else hit me. I was exhausted (as I have been most of my adolescent and adult life - my boyfriend was always telling me to 'get it checked out'). I had blood tests but they seemed normal and my blood pressure, although fairly low, was considered healthy. I have often suffered with a sudden plummeting of blood sugar resulting in cold sweats, shaking and dizziness, sometimes fainting. In the last 3 weeks I have only had one such 'episode' which was in the supermarket after having been to the gym and not having had time for breakfast - silly me. I have been dabbling in the gluten free world off and on for a couple of years but never really stuck to it. This year is different, I can feel it in my bones! I am really trying to avoid refined sugars and gluten as much as I can (with the exception of when others cook for me as I don't want to be THAT person just yet). I can feel my energy levels up and I am not constantly hungry, tired and bloated.

                            

My biggest inspiration has come from an old friend who has an amazing blog called 'Paleo with Mrs P'. She converted to this way of eating for a pre-wedding diet but it has transformed her health and well-being and the recipes she posts are truly wonderful - she's an incredible photographer too! I have been following her recipes for the last three weeks and this weekend I tried out my own recipe to see how it went. My friend was having a few of us over for supper and we offered to bring puddings. Enter the Raw Dark Chocolate Tart! Another guest made an amazing cake made from pistachios, carrot and hazelnuts which I must admit I had a sneaky morsel from even though it contained refined sugar....it was heavenly - watch this space for a recipe soon. Anyway...back to the tart...the original recipe is taken from 'Bareroot Girl' but I have altered some of the ingredients and method to my tastes. It is so deliciously chocolatey and delicious without a smidge of gluten, dairy or refined sugar near it. Most of the guests thought it was really tasty (it didn't go down well with one of the children!), with some not believing me when I said there was no dairy in it at all. For those used to a sweeter pud this is probably not for you but for the chocoholics it is a must. It has a smooth truffle-like texture in the middle and a nutty, crunchy base. The different flavours hit you at intervals and are quite spectacular. This is definitely a new favourite of mine and one I will be making again and again and again.....and again. 

No oven required, simple ingredients

You will need:

9inch/23cm loose bottomed tart tin

food processor

blender (if making your own date paste)

For the base:

1.5 cups almond flour

half cup raw cocoa nibs (I use naturya)

3 medjool dates, roughly chopped

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

pinch salt

For the filling:

1 cup coconut oil

1 cup full fat coconut milk (from a can)

1 cup date paste (see below)

1 cup raw cacao powder (I used The Raw Chocolate Company's)

1 tsp good quality vanilla extract

For the date paste - this yields 2 cups:

15 dates, chopped 

1 1/2 cups chilled water

Soak the dates in hot water for 10 minutes then drain and put into the blender with the chilled water for 1-2 minutes until smooth. This will produce quite a runny paste but you can add less water if you want a spreadable consistency.

To make the base put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds to roughly break up the nibs. Then blend for 1 minute until the mixture sticks together when pinched. The mixture will still be quite chunky but should be all mixed.

Tip the mixture into your tin and press it down and around to cover the base and sides. Don't worry if it doesn't quite reach the top of the sides of the tin, but make sure it is firmly pressed into the edges and sides. Pop this into the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.

To make the filling put all the ingredients in the order shown into a food processor. It s important that you do it like this because if the cacao is at the bottom it will not mix properly. 

Mix for 1-2 minutes until it is smooth and glossy.

Pour into the chilled case, smooth the top with a warm palette knife and pop back into the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

You will need to bring it out of the fridge about 10 minutes before serving so that the oils melt slightly and you can gently push the bottom through. Scatter the top with berries of your choice, I chose raspberries as I think there is no better union than chocolate and these little berries of delight. 

Cut into slices and serve immediately. This tart should be covered and kept in the fridge and will keep (if you can restrain yourself) for up to a week. 

Enjoy every flavour hit and bathe in the pleasure and knowledge that it is doing you oh so much good. 

Empty plates, happy faces!

Lottie's cassoulet

As many of you know I live in Devon with my darling boyfriend and equally darling dogs. I love it here and I am thankful every day that we live where we do. However, because of Rory's job he travels a lot and is often away for long periods of time. I am also very lucky to have wonderful friends who travel near and far to visit so I am never lonely for long. This weekend was one such weekend, with friends from London and Devon dropping in for supper and a sleepover. 

I decided to make cassoulet as the temperatures were dropping and I had never made one before - I like to try everything at least once! From the age of 2 until 7, I lived in the south of France to enjoy an idilyc life of long summers running free and swimming all day, and cosy winter nights eating my mother's amazing cassoulet and snuggling in front of open fires. I wanted to try and recreate this feeling of a cosy night in and cassoulet felt like a natural choice. Little did I realize that it takes AT LEAST three days to make including making the duck confit. (TIP: You will have left over goose fat from the confit process. Heat it up again if necessary then put through a sieve and you can use this to make the best roast potatoes known to man. Discard the remains in the sieve).

I chose an Argentinian Malbec to drink and served with green beans and crusty bread. My Mother gave me her top tips and I called her several times for advice (thank you mummy) and I looked at a few recipes online but mainly I just followed my nose and did what I thought would work. I also had trouble sourcing a few things - dried beans which is why I used tinned cannellini- and pork rind so I used what I though was a good substitute - lardons. No doubt I will get a lot of people saying it's not a proper cassoulet but this is my version and it was bloody marvellous! 

Serves 6-8

You will need:

A cast iron/casserole dish that can go in the oven

To make the duck confit:

4 whole duck legs

500g goose fat

1tsp black pepper corns

4 bay leaves

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

handful of coarse sea salt

To make the cassoulet:

25g goose fat

4 confit duck legs, jointed

8 Toulouse sausages

140g smoked lardons

140g streaky bacon

2 x 400g cannellini beans, drained

6 garlic cloves, left whole

2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large red onion, roughly chopped

2 large plum tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges

500 ml good chicken stock

bouquet garni or a good quality vegetable stock jelly

fresh thyme

To finish:

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

chopped parsley

40g bread crumbs

60g goose fat

To make the duck confit you need to put half of the garlic, bay leaves, pepper corns and salt in the bottom of the casserole dish. Next, place the duck legs on top and rub in the rest of the salt and other spices. Cover and refrigerate for 24hrs. This draws the water out and helps the duck absorb the flavours in the cooking process. 

Heat your oven to 100 degrees c. After 24 hours remove the duck and pat dry with kitchen roll. Pour out the excess water but keep all the garlic and other spices. Replace the duck legs, skin up, and cover with the spices that you saved before. Cover the legs in goose fat. 

Place into the oven for 2- 2.5 hours until the meat is just falling off the bone. Leave to cool then refrigerate overnight (the duck legs will keeps for a few weeks if they are totally submerged in the fat). 

You can now make the cassoulet!

Heat the oven to 100 degrees c and remove the legs and fat from the dish. Carefully scrape off the fat goose fat a put aside into a bowl. Gently joint the legs using a knife at the joint. Heat the casserole dish over a low heat with 25g of goose fat. Sweat off the onions, garlic and carrot for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bouquet garni/veg stock jelly cube and cook slowly until it is sort of a jammy consistency.

Brown off the sausages, lardons and bacon in a separate pan then add to the casserole dish. Add the stock and bring to the boil then add the duck legs and nestle them down into the rest of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Transfer to the oven and cook uncovered for 1.5 hours, stirring once halfway. Then add your cannellini beans and cook for a further half an hour. 

At this point, if you have time, you can leave the cassoulet for a few hours out of the oven or over night in the fridge so that the beans can absorb the flavours. I strongly advise to do this as it really helps to strengthen all the flavours. If you don't have time, keep going! Now is the time to sprinkle over your finely chopped garlic, another 60g goose fat and the breadcrumbs. Return to the oven for a further 1-2 hours until the beans are creamy and the juices have thickened. (If it has been in the fridge get it out and pop into the oven for 20 minutes then carry on with the breadcrumbs etc). 

Serve in big bowls, making sure everyone has a bit of everything in the pot and sprinkle with parsley. Partner with green beans as I did or a fresh green salad. Breathe a sigh of relief. 

x X x

Gluten free macadamia nut and triple chocolate brownies

I have recently converted to a gluten free diet and I must say it is making me feel a whole lot better. There are a lot of substitutes in the shops now and a generous range to choose from, such as Udi's gluten free granola and bagels or Nairn's biscuits, both savoury and sweet, to Heinz pasta...the list goes on.

As you know, my passion lies with baking and I wasn't going to let a gluten intolerance stop me! Here is my version of gluten free brownies, made with half Dove's farm gluten free flour and half ground almonds. I have added macadamia nuts but you could either replace these with any other nut or extra white chocolate chunks. Do leave feedback if you try them out, I would like to know your suggestions to make them even more delicious!


You will need:
 14in x8in cake tin greased and lined
100g dark chocolate
100g milk chocolate
200g organic butter
175g light muscavado sugar
3 large free range eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp coco powder
50g gluten free flour
60g ground almonds
75g white chocolate
75g macadamia nuts



Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees c for fan assisted. Grease and line your tin. Roughly chop your milk and dark chocolate. Cut your butter into cubes and place the butter an chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Do not let the water touch he bowl or the chocolate will overheat.

Whiz together the sugar and eggs with an electric hand whisk until pale and frothy. Add the chocolate and butter mixture, then sift in the flour, baking powder and coco, followed by the ground almonds.



Roughly chop the nuts and white chocolate and fold into the mixture. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 18-20 minutes. They want to have some give so that they stay nice and gooey in the middle.
Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares. Serve cold or warm with a dusting of icing sugar. Rory had vanilla ice cream with his and I had some vanilla frozen yoghurt. They are also delicious served with raspberries and Greek yoghurt. Enjoy x