Baked spiced pears with raspberry, cocoa and pistachio quark

A decadent tasting yet fairly ‘good for you’ protein and vitamin filled dessert.

Ingredients

• 2 medium pears (peeled, halved and cored)
• Seeds of 10 cardamom pods (crushed)
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp vegan margarine
• 125g raspberries
• 225g Quark or vegan soft cheese (if making the dish vegan)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tbsp icing sugar
• 15g pistachios (chopped)

Recipe

1. Prepare all of the ingredients and set aside.

2. Place the vegan margarine, cardamom, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract in a large ceramic dish and warm in an oven for around 5 minutes until the ingredients are melted, remove from the oven, ensure the ingredients are mixed and then coat the pears in the mixture.

3. Set the pears aside and place the ceramic dish in the oven for another 5 minutes until the spice mixture bubbles.

4. Place the pears in the ceramic dish and ensure the pears are coated with the spice mixture.

5. Place the ceramic dish in an oven at 175C and allow to bake for around 30 minutes.

6. Whilst the pears are baking, place the raspberries, quark/vegan cream cheese and cocoa in a bowl and ensure thoroughly mixed together.

7. Set the quark/vegan cream cheese aside and, around 3 minutes before the pears are baked, toast the chopped pistachios in a pan.

8. Remove the pears from the oven, spoon the quark/vegan cream cheese onto the plate and sprinkle the entire dish with the warmed chopped pistachios.

9. Serve and enjoy!

 

TVL

Spiced chocolate, raspberry and pistachio pots

 

 

 

 

 

A simple and surprisingly low calorie dessert with plenty of protein and a mixture of great textures.

Ingredients

• 50g dairy free/dark chocolate or carob
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• Pinch of cardamom (ground)
• Pinch of cinammon (ground)
• 125g raspberries
• 15g pistachios (chopped)

Recipe

1. Prepare all of the ingredients and set aside. At this stage, if you are using cardamom pods, ensure you extract the seeds and finely crush them.

2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering hot water and leave to cool slightly.

3. Whisk the egg whites (with an electric whisk unless you have strong arms and patience!) until stiff and then whisk in the sugar, cardamom and cinammon.

4. Fold in the chocolate and chopped pistachios.

5. Divide the raspberries and place them at the bottom of 4 ramekins.

6. Pour the chocolate mixture over the raspberries in the 4 ramekins.

7. Chill in the fridge.

8. Serve and enjoy!

 

TVL

The Good Life?…

I visited home this weekend and was pleasantly surprised by my sister’s allotment and the amount she has managed to harvest from it of late.

This got me thinking, why do more people not do this local Council’s often have plots available at a very reasonable price? She gave me baby pak choi, strawberries, shallots, beetroot, round carrots and curly kale but is currently also growing/has recently harvested courgettes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, lettuce, raspberries, rocket, French beans, peas, gooseberries, blackcurrants, cauliflowers, sweet potatoes, celeriac, red cabbage and rhubarb as well as an assortment of fresh herbs.

People think having an allotment is a time consuming exercise but, whilst it can be somewhat addictive, she has 3 young children and still manages to grow and harvest all of the above. In fact, she cites some of the main reasons for having the allotment as drumming up the children’s interest in veg, keeping their intake at least partially organic, getting them even more active and saving money in the process.

So when it comes down ‘brass tax’, unless it’s a large plot, you will not be entirely ‘veg self-sufficient’ off of it but you will get amazing produce all year round to supplement your diet and, flavour wise, there is nothing like it.

An example of the cost of the upkeep of an allotment is, with my sister’s plot for example, £60 to the Council per year, £30 for seeds etc, a small amount for materials (although you can scavenge most/improvise) meaning a total yearly cost of around £100. For the amount of fruit and veg you will get in that year together with the enjoyment of growing your own produce, you can’t say fairer than that.

 

TVL

Penne arrabbiata with beetroot and lime granita

A fiery and traditional Italian dish with a cooling accompaniment and best of all…it’s completely vegan if you drop the meat substitute mince! Granita is usually served as a dessert but, with this spicy sauce (‘arrabbiata’ translated into English means ‘angry’!), it cools when necessary.

Ingredients

• 150g wholewheat pasta (75g dry per person)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
• 5 cloves garlic (finely diced)
• 2 tbsp fresh basil (roughly chopped)
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 red chilli (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped)
• 2 red peppers (roughly chopped)
• 200g artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
• 1 tsp fresh sage (finely chopped)
• Meat substitute mince (leave out if vegan)
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 500g cooked beetroot
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 limes (juice and zest)
• Ice cubes
• 1 tbsp fresh mint (finely chopped)

Recipe

1. Place the beetroot, caster sugar and lime zest in a pan and cook for around 30 minutes. Set aside for later and allow to chill.

2. Prepare all of the other ingredients as directed in the list and set aside.

3. Heat the olive oil slightly then cook onion and garlic gently for around 5 minutes taking care not to burn them.

4. Stir in the sugar, basil, sage, parsley, chilli, red peppers, tomato puree, black pepper, artichoke and (if applicable) meat substitute mince. Ensure the ingredients are all combined together.

5. Mixed in the chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil then reduce the heat allowing the pan to simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

6. Whilst the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta as directed in a pan of boiling water with a little olive oil and rock salt (to prevent sticking).

7. Also around 15 minutes into the simmering, place the ice, lime juice, beetroot mixture and mint into a blender and blend to taste. The more rough the granita, the more authentic to the west of Italy it is and the more smooth the granita, the more authentic to the east of Italy it is.

8. Place the pasta into the sauce mix and ensure it is all covered by the sauce.

9. Serve the pasta and sauce on a plate and the granita in a small (preferably cooled) glass.

10. Serve and enjoy!

TVL

Good things come to those that wait…

Apologies for the delay but the fiery dish promised will be up on Monday 13th June night now!

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