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Lunchbox, Salads & Suppers, Sides, Vegan &/or Raw

New-dles … and a kickass harissa

spirulisercourgettes SJW

Move over kale.

Courgette is here with its own range of kitchen appliances.

That’s right. Sales of spiralisers in Dublin are tailing sales of teapots. To the tea drinkers of Ireland, this might constitute a national threat.

Spiralisers are those dinky kitchen gadgets that can twist and turn a courgette into glorious ribbons of vegetable spaghetti. Courgetti, to be precise.

Carrots work beautifully too. Tumble in some spicy olive oil to your spiralised carrot, add some fresh parsley and lemon, and you have yourself a carrot noodle dish in less than 60 seconds. Italians in LA came up with the ingenious concept of spiralisers. (Of course they did).

 

courgette spaghetti

 

Courgettes are not a sexy veg. This is why they’re called zucchinis in America.

These svelte green veggies are a type of summer squash. We’re probably more familiar with the sweeter, carbalicious winter squash, such as butternut. The zucchini is lighter and less fibrous than its wintry cousins (maybe that’s why it rhymes with bikini). But both varieties are rich in vitamin C. Our bodies need vitamin C for luminous skin. No wonder the Hemsley sisters are horsing into courgetti every day. They’ve even started manufacturing their own line of spiralisers. Smart girls.

 

harissa healthy recipe

 

Harissa (Courgetti)

Harissa is a spicy North African paste guaranteed to send your blood beating like a bodhrán. This version is designed to oil those squeaky knees and rusty wrists. It marries chilli pepper with omega-rich hemp seed oil to help reduce inflammation and pain. Food scientists have found that capsaicin, a compound found in chilli peppers, encourages the body to release its natural painkillers and stress-busting endorphins. So by all means, feel free to use more chillis than stated. Let your body levitate.

While hemp oil sounds like a member of the narcotic squad, don’t get too excited. It’s not. Unlike olive oil, hemp seed oil is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids (psst, don’t fry with it!) Omega-3 enables our bodies to manufacture lots of good prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are hormone-like substances involved in refereeing inflammation in the body. Inflammation is not confined to Sunday morning hangovers. It also covers bronchitis, arthritis, eczema, asthma, sprains and large egos.

This harissa keeps in the fridge for at least one week provided you hide it behind the stinky cheeses away from thieving mitts. Otherwise, expect it to last sixty seconds. Seriously good barbecue fodder and all-round friend.

 

3-4 red peppers

Splash EV olive oil

6 red chillis

1 tablespoon cumin seeds, ground

1 tablespoon caraway seeds, ground

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon sea salt flakes

4 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon tomato purée

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons EV hemp seed oil or olive oil

 

Slice the peppers into chunks, discarding the inner white film, stalk and seeds. Toss on a baking tray with a splash of olive oil and roast for 30 minutes at 180 degrees.

While the peppers cook, get going on the remaining ingredients. Using disposable gloves – if you have nappies to change later you’ll burn the bejaysus out of your nipper’s bottom – cut the chillis down the side and scoop out the seeds and pith with a teaspoon. Discard. Or rub on husband’s toothbrush if he hasn’t taken out the bins.

Blitz the chillis with the herbs, salt, garlic and tomato until it forms a smooth paste. Toasting the seeds on dry heat, or even frying on a hot pan with a lick of oilve oil helps bring out their bewitching aromas. Not necessary though – it will still taste amazeballs.

Now, and no sooner, add the roasted red pepper and vinegar. Pulverise to your satisfaction. Stir through hemp seed oil and scoop into your serving dish. Avoid adding the hemp seed oil while pulverising the former ingredients or the harissa will turn pink. And no one will eat it, even if it sounds mildly illicit.

 

harissa zoodles recipe

 

 

 

Bread, Breakfast, Lunchbox, Sides, Treats & Snacks, Videos, x For Freezer x

Gluten-free focaccia with rosemary and lemon

Rosemary ain’t just a pretty fragrance. Its medicinal properties – appreciated by herbalists and Granny Joan for hundreds of years – are now being confirmed by modern science. Yes, a daily round of Sudoku (or brushing your teeth with your left hand) helps to keep brain rust at bay. But so too might rosemary.

This woody herb contains several groovy compounds shown to inhibit the nasty breakdown of acetylcholine in the brain. Acetylcholine is a very important neurotransmitter for optimum brain function. Some of the drugs available for Alzheimer’s disease work similarly by interfering with acetylcholine breakdown. Mother N! You clever beast!

 

rosemary and lemon flaxseed focaccia_edited-1

 

A few other racy compounds, caffeic and rosmarinic acid, contribute to rosemary’s health-buffing reputation. These acids, along with vitamin E and assorted flavonoids from the plant, may be helpful in reducing inflammation in the body and the brain (hangover anyone?)

If Sudoku doesn’t tickle your brain cells, this bread should sort you out. Don’t forget flax is nature’s richest source of plant-based omega 3s. Body. Slam.

 

 

Paleo & gluten-free focaccia with rosemary and lemon

What is paleo? It’s a screamingly trendy caveman menu of fruit, nuts, meat, dairy and eggs. Disciples are not so fond of grains or carb-rich foods.

Being a giddy herbivore for 90% of my day, I’m not an acolyte but I appreciate the appeal. Paleo bread recipes have been cantering across restaurants and cookbooks from Dehli to Dunlaoghaire. This one is the best of them all, and freezes exceptionally well.

 

3 teaspoons dried rosemary
240g milled flaxseed / linseed
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs
185ml regular or plant milk
2 tablespoons black strap molasses

½ unwaxed lemon, juice and zest
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Handful golden sultanas or mulberries
Sea salt flakes, to dust

 
Preheat conventional ovens to 180 degrees, gas mark 4, fan assisted 160. Line an 8×10 (20cm x 25cm) with greaseproof paper. This will look like a focaccia rather than a loaf, that’s why we use something bigger than a bread tin or a brownie tin. Size is really important.

Let 2 teaspoons of the rosemary, the ground flax and your baking powder party in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, molasses, zest and juice of your small lemon and olive oil with a fork until happily glossed up. Parachute your sultanas into the mix. Dried mulberries are also awesome but are dastardly expensive.

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry bowl, and immediately pour into your pre-lined tin. Spread evenly, and sprinkle the remaining rosemary on top with a flurry of sea salt flakes. Bake for about 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and its tin. Allow to cool for 25 minutes on a wire rack. Tickle with smashed avocado, black olive tapenade or hummus. This kale pesto is particularly good smothered over a slice, even 3 days old.

 

p.s. I know some of my terribly clever readers are bound to ask why I use 3 eggs here, and not 4 like the last paleo flaxseed focaccia. Smart question! This recipe requires less hold, becasue it does not have the addition of olives and tomatoes. Ta dahhh!

 

 

 

Breakfast, Lunchbox, Salads & Suppers, Sides, Treats & Snacks, Vegan &/or Raw, Videos, x For Freezer x

New Video #WTF Kale

Kale is a member of the cruciferous clan, which always scared me as a child given this was how Jesus died. 

So why the excitement? Kale is an excellent source of folate (folic acid), often associated with great quality nookie. Looks like folate can regulate the production of histamine – a very important chemical released during orgasm. No, a cabbage smoothie will not bring you to climax but you’re welcome to try.

You probably don’t need another reason to watch your folate intake, but here’s an additional fireworks display you’ll be interested in. Folate plays a large role in our mental and emotional health. It is in fact a B vitamin – think B for Brain and Battery. Or Bergman and Bogart (okay, that’s probably E for Electricity, but you get the picture).  

Want to neck more of it? Here’s a cheeky video I prepared for you …

 

 

What else? Kale has a team of bone-building nutrients such as calcium, vitamin K and sulfur, all well-known allies against degenerative osteo conditions (stiff Macarena moves to you and me). 

Lutein and zeaxanthin are fancy carotenoids that pharmaceutical companies try to synthesise in laboratories and pack in tablet form to support eye health. No need to waste your money on these if you’re regularly scoffing kale.

 

Pistachio & Kale Pesto

Listen up. This is bonkers good.

We’ve made wild garlic and chilli fraternise with kale. Then beefed it up with toasted pumpkin seeds and pistachios.

You’re welcome.

 

100g pumpkin seeds /pepitas
100g freshly picked wild garlic leaves (I get mine in trendy delis April-May. See photo below)
Generous handful of pistachios or walnuts
30g hard goat’s cheese, grated (entirely optional)
60g kale, stems removed
1 & 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil (375ml)
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
squeeze of lemon juice
chilli flakes (optional heat)


Toast the pumpkin seeds on a very hot pan, no oil, and dry fry until they swell with exciting (some might even pop). Remove and cool on a plate.

Then you’ll need to pick the wild garlic leaves over, discarding any coarse stalks and grass. Whiz in a food processor along with remaining ingredients.

Transfer to a scrupulously clean jar and set aside. Honkingly good stuff, especially with my flaxseed focaccia (video up on my channel next week) or tumbled through spirulised carrots and courgette.

 

courgette spaghetti

 
Leftover pesto can be frozen in jars. Make sure to press the pesto down firmly with the back of a spoon to remove any pockets of air (trapped air can cause contamination and foul tempers). Top the pesto with a little more oil, making a seal, before freezing.

 

wild garlic image

 

A special announcement

Join me on Substack

Howdy! I’ll be deleting this website shortly. Gah! But please stay in touch – I so appreciate your loyalty and lovebombs.

You can continue to access my recipe drops over on Substack.  Hope to see you there, and to continue frolicking on this veggie-fueled dance floor.