Vegetarian Sausages, Creamy Cauliflower Mash and Red Wine & Onion Gravy

The Brits love sausages. Grilled or fried to perfection, and piled on top of creamy ‘mash’ and slathered in onion gravy, or put to bed in a soft pillowy bread roll with tomato ketchup - sausages taste great! As a teenager, I certainly thought so. Every Sunday night a crowd of us would leave our church youth club and walk into town to catch the bus home. There was a burger stand next to my bus stop that sold what we thought were the most delicious hot sausage ‘cobs’  (a Northern English word for bread rolls) with HP sauce. Myself and my boyfriend, who always walked me to my bus stop before crossing town to catch his own bus home, would shelter together in a shop doorway, like young lovers do, to eat our late night feast before saying a long and wistful goodbye prior to my return to weekly boarding school. My father too always prided himself on buying ‘proper’ fresh sausages from a traditional butcher and would travel 25 miles across the county of Nottinghamshire for the privilege. Whilst nothing like the mass-produced muck that you find on today’s supermarket chiller shelves, my dad probably didn’t realise that sausages per se are one of the oldest processed foods in history and, despite their reputation for tasting good, most sausage-making is almost certainly best done behind closed doors!

Although sausages are currently making a comeback with the consumption of them soaring, producers bulk out their sausages with scraps, fat, cereal, chemical preservatives and water. In my view, it’s high time for a sausage re-think. I don’t want sausages packed out with cereal and other nasties and I don’t want to cause farm animals immeasurable suffering just so I can eat them. Notwithstanding the risks to our health, if you’re a pig, any mention of sausage is never going to be a good idea!

The highlight of many a British BBQ, a cooked English breakfast, or a child’s favourite meal of sausage and baked beans, I think it is perhaps more the walk down memory lane that’s responsible for our adult sausage cravings, rather than the reality of what they are and where they come from. But there is a kinder and healthier way to satisfy our desire.

Today’s blog post features no ordinary ‘bangers and mash’. It is a no-meat, grain-free, potato-free, alternative to this great British staple, which is nonetheless every bit as comforting and tasty as the original and, most importantly, looks just like people think ‘sausage and mash’ should!

For taste and texture these cheesy veggie sausages are as close to their meat counterparts as ‘damn it’ is to swearing! Plus, they cook like a dream (see note below) because they don’t spit and splutter like ‘bangers’ do. Fabulous with low-carb creamy cauliflower mash and served with a deeply satisfying vegetarian red wine and onion gravy, it is the best transition to autumnal comfort food that you could ever hope for. 

Vegetarian Sausages (Makes 12 large sausages - allow 2 sausages per serving)

Ingredients

600g vegetarian Lancashire cheese, crumbled or grated (I coarsely grated mine in a food processor)

4 large spring onions, finely chopped

165g organic ground almonds

20g organic milled flaxseed

15g green banana flour

1 tbsp Marigold organic bouillon powder

2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

3 large organic eggs, lightly beaten 

Sea salt (about 1½ tsp) and freshly ground black pepper (about ¾ tsp)

Olive oil - for frying

Instructions

Put the grated cheese, spring onions, ground almonds, ground flaxseed, banana flour, bouillon powder and herbs into a large mixing bowl and mix everything together well. 

Add the beaten eggs and a generous amount of seasoning, then using a fork or your hand bring the mixture together so it binds into a soft cheesy dough-like consistency. 

Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside to chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

When the sausage mixture is thoroughly chilled, form into 12 large sausages - about 7.5cm (3”) long, weighing approximately 85g each.

Pour a large glug of olive oil into a large non-stick frying pan and set it over a high heat until the oil is really hot. When the surface of the oil starts to shimmer shallow-fry the sausages until deep golden brown and crispy on all sides, about 5-6 minutes. Drain the cooked sausages on paper kitchen paper. 

Serve hot with the creamy cauliflower mash, red wine & onion gravy and peas for a low-carb, vegetarian ‘twist’ on a favourite British classic. 

Red Wine & Onion Gravy (Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

2 large onions, finely chopped

1 tsp coconut palm sugar

1 tbsp green banana flour

200ml vegetable stock, made with 1dsp Marigold organic vegetable bouillon powder

200ml red wine

1 tbsp Clearspring tamari (soy sauce)

1 fresh bay leaf

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Add the onion and coconut palm sugar to the pan, then cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until beginning to brown. Reduce the heat to medium/low and continue to cook with the pan lid on for another 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onion is deep golden brown.

Add the banana flour and stir over the heat for another minute to incorporate, then gradually stir in the stock and wine. 

Bring to the boil, stirring continuously until the sauce has thickened, then turn the heat back down to low.

Add the tamari and taste check. Season with a very little sea salt (only if you think it needs it) and some freshly ground pepper 

Add the bay leaf (or thyme sprig) and gently simmer for another 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

Serve this intensely flavoursome gravy really hot with sausages and other vegetarian savoury dishes. 

Creamy Cauliflower Mash (Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets

1 fresh bay leaf

100g full-fat soft cream cheese (I used Longley Farm)

Generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 

Sea salt and freshly grated black pepper

Instructions

Boil a kettle of water.

Place the cauliflower in the top half of a steamer with the bay leaf tucked in-between the florets. 

Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the bottom half of the steamer, add some sea salt then bring back to the boil. Steam the cauliflower with the pan lid on for about 8 minutes, until it is cooked through.

Tip or spoon the cauliflower into a large bowl and allow it to cool down for a couple of minutes - this will let the steam evaporate and make for a drier mash. Remove the bay leaf. 

Using a stick blender or food processor, whizz the cauliflower into a rough puree. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg and cream cheese then briefly process again into a creamy mash consistency.

Put the cauliflower mash into a clean pan and gently re-heat, stirring from time to time so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. 

Serve hot as a delicious low-carb alternative to mashed potato.   

Notes

Keep the formed ‘sausages’ really cold (in a refrigerator) until you’re ready to start cooking them. This will ensure that they stay sausage-shaped in the cooking process i.e. cook to a crispy exterior before the cheese gets a chance to melt and they become misshapen. For the same reason, it is important not to overcrowd the pan because this lowers the temperature of the oil. You want your sausages to fry quickly in the hot oil, not semi-steam, which can cause them to ‘squidge' out of shape as you’re turning them over in the pan (also causing them to absorb more oil).  

The uncooked sausage mixture will keep for several days in a refrigerator. With this recipe being hot-off-the-press I haven’t tried freezing it yet but I think that would probably work too.

If it looks like a sausage, tastes like a sausage and behaves like a sausage it probably IS going to be mistaken for a non-vegetarian sausage! Apart from the difference in colour when you bite into them (pale gold cheese colour rather than cooked-meat-grey) I’d defy anyone to distinguish the difference between these veggie sausages and meat ones, especially when cold. Cooked leftovers, eaten next day straight from the fridge, still had their crispy exterior intact and tasted so ‘porky’ I was genuinely gob-smacked! Which means I’ve also developed a brand new picnic food to go, which is an absolute god-send for when Sarah and I are doing full-day weddings on the move #happy

If you want a smooth gravy i.e. without onion bits,  strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan before re-heating and serving.

If you think the finished gravy is a little too thick just add more water to thin it out to your liking.

I used steamed cauliflower to create a creamy ‘mash’ that’s very similar to - albeit a lighter, low-carb version of - mashed potatoes. Sweet potatoes, carrots, celeriac, swedes, parsnips and turnips - either alone or in combination - all make a good alternative to potato mash. Just be wary of stacking up the carbohydrates when you eat the sweeter root vegetables i.e. parsnips and sweet potatoes.

Carbohydrates 11g Protein 40g - 2 sausages per serving

Carbohydrates 13g Protein 1g - per serving of gravy

Carbohydrates 12g Protein 6g - per serving of creamy cauliflower mash

Primal Naan Bread

Following on from last week’s blog post, we’ve recently been going through a spicy phase at our house. We love curry, which is a good thing because for the past week we’ve been eating it most days whilst I tried to figure out how to make the perfect grain-free naan bread accompaniment. Happily (actually I am ecstatic!), Primal Plate has cracked the code for a grain-free naan bread that looks and tastes as close to an authentic Indian flatbread as you can get, without using traditional ingredients.

I had to go from memory when developing this recipe because with rice, legumes and grains all off-limits, I’ve not eaten out at an Indian restaurant or had an Indian ‘take-away’, for a very long time. I always remember the best naan being soft, chewy and subtly sweet, so my first thoughts turned to tiger nut flour, which I knew would give my naan a slight sweetness, without adding sugar. 

Traditionally, naan is made from plain wheat flour and leavened with yeast before baking. To get the taste, smell and texture of traditional naan it seemed important that the raising agent for my naan was also yeast, although I wasn’t certain whether this was a Paleo/Primal-approved ingredient or not. Consulting Mark’s Daily Apple, I discovered that if you drink wine or beer, the type of yeast used to make both is the same as the yeast used for bread making. And, assuming you’re not yeast sensitive, there are some nutritional benefits to eating it, especially if you avoid animal products. As a primal, vegetarian wine drinker, I concluded yeast was good to go! 

For the rest of the recipe I got my inspiration from the queen of Indian cuisine, Madhu Jaffrey. However, when refined wheat flour, the primary ingredient of naan bread isn’t an option, I had to find alternative ingredients and put them together in just the right amounts so that my naan bread would look and taste like the real deal.

To be honest, my first attempt included a high proportion of green banana flour (a brilliant source of resistant starch, which is one of the best foods to feed our good gut bacteria) but it turned out almost exactly like wholewheat pitta bread instead (another recipe for another day). For naan, I wanted it to be altogether softer and fluffier.

Substituting ground almonds for banana flour and changing the ratio of ingredients finally did the trick. The virtually no-need-to-knead dough rose better (doubled in size at the first proving), looked like I’d used plain flour rather than whole-wheat (more naan-like) and had the desired soft, fluffy texture I was looking for.

It was another ‘Eureka!” moment in my Primal cook’s career. I am still totally amazed that each new recipe I attempt to develop with the same handful of ingredients - albeit in differing amounts - can be transformed into an endless variety of grain-free, refined sugar-free cakes, breads, biscuits, scones and pancakes that look and taste no different to those made with conventional ingredients like wheat flour and sugar. 

If you're trying to lose weight and eat low-carb please be aware that these naan are extremely moreish! They’re lovely as an occasional treat, but don’t go overboard. Although a well known supermarket’s plain naan has 50% more grams of carbohydrate than Primal Plate’s naan bread, I have in fact gained 2 pounds this week, which I can only attribute to multiple testing of this recipe. It was worth it!

PRIMAL NAAN BREAD (Makes 3 decent-sized naan)

Ingredients

75ml hand hot milk            

1 tsp raw organic liquid honey                

5g (about 1 heaped tsp) dried active yeast

150g tapioca flour

20g coconut flour

30g tiger nut flour

1½ tsp baking powder                    

¾ tsp xanthan gum

50g ground almonds

½ tsp tsp sea salt    

1 tbsp olive oil + ¼ tsp for greasing            

50ml yogurt, beaten

1 medium egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp butter or ghee, melted - for brushing        

Instructions

Gently warm 75ml milk to ‘blood’ temperature with the honey. Put the milk/honey in a bowl. Add the yeast. Stir to mix. Set aside for 15-20 minutes or until the yeast has dissolved and the mixture is frothy.

Meanwhile, sift the tapioca, coconut, tiger nut flours, baking powder and xanthan gum into a large bowl. Add the ground almonds and sea salt and make a well in the centre. 

In a separate bowl, combine the beaten egg, olive oil and yogurt, then pour it into the well, along with the bubbling yeast mixture. Gradually bring the mixture together with a fork then gently knead with your hand for a few minutes until it forms a soft, smooth ball of dough.

Pour ¼ tsp oil into a medium/large bowl and roll the ball of dough in it. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside for 1-1½ hours in a warmish place until doubled in size. (I heat my oven to 40℃, then switch it off and put the covered bowl of dough in the closed oven to prove).

Tip the proofed dough out of the bowl onto a work surface then briefly knead again. Divide the dough into three equal balls. Lightly cover with cling film and set aside whilst you melt the butter or ghee in a small saucepan over a low heat. 

Heat a heavy non-stick frying pan over a high heat for 5 minutes or so and put the oven on low. 

Meanwhile, gently flatten each of the balls between two sheets of cling film then lightly roll or press into a tear-shaped naan, about 25cm long and 13cm wide at its widest point and slightly thicker around the edge. Keep lightly covered until you’re ready to cook them. 

Put the naan into the hot frying pan (no oil is needed) and cook until it starts to puff up and is tinged brown in patches (about 1-2 minutes), then using a flat bladed spatula flip the naan over and cook the other side until that too is patched with brown (another 1-2 minutes). Turn it back over one final time and cook for about another 30 seconds or so until cooked through and there are no doughy bits remaining.

Brush the cooked naan with the melted butter or ghee and put in the warm oven whilst you make the other flatbread(s). Serve with curry. 

Notes

If the dough seems too sticky when you’re trying to knead it, add more tapioca flour - a very little at a time - only just enough so that the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and isn’t sticking to your fingers.

You may have guessed that I regularly cook for three people (hence a recipe for three naan). For a family of four or more, simply double the ingredients to make six. Alternatively, divide the existing dough recipe into four balls to make the finished naan smaller.  

We struggled trying to determine the best and simplest way to cook the naan - or at least that was our excuse to keep taste-testing them! As well as cooking them on top of the hob, they can be baked in a super-hot oven for 5 minutes. Firstly, pre-heat a heavy baking sheet in an oven set to its highest temperature. Literally, ’slap’ each prepared naan down onto the hot baking sheet. It will puff up. Bake for 2½ minutes then turn over and continue cooking for a further 2-2½ minutes. Wrap each naan in a clean tea-towel and keep warm whilst you make the rest in the same way. 

Naan bread cooked in the oven will turn out more evenly golden but not quite as soft and chewy as when cooked on top of the stove in a frying pan. We finally all agreed that the pan-cooked ones had the ‘edge’ i.e. looked and tasted the most authentic. 

Carbohydrate 52g  Protein 8g - per serving

Grain-free, gluten-free Primal Naan Bread is the perfect sharing bread to eat with curries and Indian food, shown here with Cauliflower & Mushroom Curry

Best Ever Vegetable Curry

Fifty years ago I was at catering college (a career I never pursued) and there is one particular memory of my student days that’s stayed with me. One afternoon Mr Green, our lecturer, demonstrated the methodology for making meat stew and afterwards we students, who had all been given identical ingredients to work with, were told to recreate the dish from scratch. 

Given the constraints of a predetermined set of ingredients, it was truly bizarre to experience how differently our individual interpretations of a simple recipe for beef stew turned out, which varied between downright inedible to very tasty indeed. It was then I realised that cooking isn’t just about acquiring skills - it’s an instinct.

From a food blogger’s perspective this has taught me that I need to create and test recipes very precisely to ensure there’s virtually no room for error in their translation. Not an easy task when ‘season to taste’ is purely subjective and people don’t know what’s wrong or missing from a recipe unless, like me, they instinctively do. You’d be surprised at how many times I read a recipe and ‘know’ it’s not going to work before I’ve even cooked it. 

I have five golden rules for success:

• Read every recipe through at least twice before you start to cook it.
• Prepare everything in advance e.g. assembling ingredients, chopping vegetables, lining tins etc. 
• Taste your dish each step of the way - add extra seasoning etc. cautiously.
• Consider the overall balance of the meal -  colours, taste, texture, ratio of protein to carbs etc. 
• Delegate - there is nothing more bonding than cooking a meal with people you love, then sitting down together to eat it.

Sadly, none of this is an issue for people who’ve already been persuaded by the food industry that it’s better to stay out of the kitchen and let someone else (in a factory) do their cooking for them. In my view, this is precisely why factory-farming and other ecologically unsound food production methods have flourished. The demands of big business supplying ready-meals and cheap convenience food has consistently applied pressure on farmers to keep driving food production costs down. Economies of scale now forces millions of factory farmed animals to live and die in abject misery and to be treated with less respect than a fruit farmer must give to a crate of apples to prevent them from being bruised - all in the name of profit. 

Feeling energetically connected to the food you eat goes with the territory for the instinctive cook, so in the face of gross acts of cruelty to these sentient beings, I feel compelled to create vegetarian meals that taste as good, if not better, than meat-based ones. Morally, veganism would be better, but since both grains and legumes are off limits for a Primally inspired lifestyle, it is an impossible decision to make if I want to continue living healthily. My best hope is to encourage readers to roll up their sleeves and acquaint themselves with the sheer pleasure and satisfaction of cooking real, nutrient dense foods that don’t exploit animals and aren’t at odds with nature.

I created this weeks’ recipe for the Best Ever Vegetable Curry (indeed the best-of-any-type of curry I’ve ever tasted), for that reason. John, Sarah and I needed something to eat at my son-in-laws recent 40th birthday party, because although his favourite curry house delivered enough food for 50 guests, none of it was compatible with our self-imposed no meat, no legumes, no grains diet. 

I’ve called this fresh-tasting, fresh-looking, aromatic vegetable curry ‘Best Ever’ because Sarah and I only had to take one mouthful before we both excitedly announced “This is the best tasting curry I’ve eaten…ever!” Perfectly balanced - not too hot, not too spicy, not too creamy - I spent most of the evening congratulating myself! 

Craving curry? This one ticks all the boxes. It’s delicious, it’s inexpensive, it’s vegetarian (I like that many Indians are strict vegetarians), it’s a complete meal in a bowl and, because it’s one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day when the flavours have been allowed to fully develop, it’s the perfect make-ahead meal for family and friends. Served with Coriander & Mint Chutney, it’s in a flavour-packed league of its own that could convert even the most dedicated meat eater.  

For those of you that already follow the Primal eating plan and think that curry nirvana can’t exist without naan bread, I agree! There is no better way to get curry into your mouth! Which means that a Primal Plate recipe for grain-free naan bread is already in development and (fingers crossed) will be posted soon. Watch this space!

Best Ever Vegetable Curry (Serves 4)

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, finely diced

walnut-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 1 tbsp when grated)

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 green chilli

1 dsp organic tomato paste

1 dsp Marigold organic reduced salt vegetable bouillon powder

350g organic sweet potatoes

250g organic carrots

1 small celeriac (about 500g unpeeled weight) 

1 x 400g tin organic plum tomatoes

160ml organic coconut cream

3-inch piece cinnamon stick

Sea salt (about 1½ tsp) and freshly ground black pepper (about ¼ tsp)

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into small bite-sized florets

120g baby spinach, washed and dried

Coriander and Mint Chutney - to serve

Instructions

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large deep sauté / frying pan. Add the onion, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until beginning to brown. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook with the pan lid on for another 8 to10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onion is deep golden brown.

Peel and chop all the root vegetables (carrot, sweet potato, celeriac) into even-sized dice (about 15mm / ¾ inch) - you should have about 950g prepared vegetables in total.

Halve, deseed and finely chop the chilli. Peel and grate the ginger. 

Add the chilli and ginger to the onions; cook, stirring, for 1 minute to combine the flavours. 

Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric; stir for another minute to toast the spices. Add the bouillon powder and tomato paste and stir for another minute until well blended into the spice mix.

Add the diced vegetables, stir to evenly coat them in the aromatics, then cover the pan and continue to cook over a medium/low heat whilst you open the tomatoes and drain the juice into a measuring jug. 

Remove any daggy stalk ends, bits of skin etc. from the tomatoes, then chop them and add to the pan. Make the drained tomato juice up to 300ml with filtered water and add that too. 

Add the coconut cream, cinnamon stick, salt, and freshly ground pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium/ low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the root vegetables are almost tender. 

Add the cauliflower florets, stir well, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Remove the cinnamon stick. 

Stir in spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted, about 2 minutes more. Check the seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. 

Serve in warmed bowls topped with a generous spoonful of Coriander and Mint Chutney.

Apple and Blackberry Crumble

This week there’s been yet another impediment to our 2015 home improvement plan - namely a mahussive wasp nest measuring at least 18 to 20 inches across. Not that we got close enough to actually measure it, but it is significantly bigger than my largest sized hat box that holds the most glamorous and ostentatious hat I possess (thanks Philip Tracey!). 

I was first alerted to our yellow-jacketed uninvited house guests when I was up until the early hours of the morning one day last week doing a food-blogger’s night shift. At first I thought that the incessant tapping at the window were moths trying to get to the light. Then I thought it must be raining. Finally, when I got up to investigate, I saw the outside of the window pane was teeming with a hundred wasps or more. Quite scary, since I never knew that wasps were nocturnal or even attracted to the light. I’d sort of hoped that as we have a fruiting damson tree adjacent to the office window, they were looking for something sweet to eat. In retrospect, I think they were simply on their flight path to and from the nest, which we later discovered in our loft.

Because the loft door has to be left open for re-decoration, during which time the wasps can merrily make their way into our home, we had to cancel the decorator and call in pest control. But wait. You can’t kick up a fuss about the decline in the bee population and then kill off a whole nest worth of wasps can you? A rhetorical question because no, we can’t. We’ve decided it would be just as an unethical to kill off our resident wasps as it is to kill bees. In spite of their bad press (I don’t think they’re nearly as aggressive as a human being flailing around in a state of panic because they’re frightened of being stung), wasps really do serve a useful ecological function - they pollinate flowers and crops and are the natural predator of many other insect pests e.g. they eat caterpillars that would otherwise destroy food crops and keep the fly population down by feeding them to their young. Good job! 

Nevertheless, it would be rude to risk them stinging our decorator, so the work has had to be put on hold until we can figure out how to construct a no-fly zone by creating a wasp-proof curtain to contain them on their side of the attic. In a few more weeks, when the weather turns colder, the worker wasps will die off naturally and then the hive becomes obsolete. And the good news is, wasps are fiercely territorial. This means they will never re-colonise an old nest or build a new nest anywhere near the site of an old one. Magic! Our magnificent wasp nest will be left in situ as a natural deterrent to future wasps, proving that nature takes care of itself if only humans will live and let live.

Like humans, wasps have a sweet tooth and they really love ripe fruit and all things sugary, which is probably why late summer and autumn - the ‘‘season of mists and fruitfulness” - is when they become more noticeable. There’s definitely something in the air, because on a recent sortie to our local greengrocer my man came back with some locally-grown, outrageously plump, sweet, juicy blackberries that he felt compelled to purchase because they were so big, black and beautiful. He had no idea what I would do with them, but on an unusually cold day in early September nothing shouted ‘comfort’ at me more than the prospect of a glorious Apple & Blackberry Crumble with lashings of cream. 

Blackberries have a wonderful affinity with apples (so too do raspberries - see notes below) but a classic crumble is normally off-limits for anyone who doesn’t eat grains and doesn’t want a dessert laden with sugar. If this is you, rejoice because gloriously comforting fruit crumble is now back on the menu with this delicious, easy-to-make, no-grain, low sugar recipe.

As an advocate for eating Primal (albeit primarily vegetarian), I’ve found tiger nut flour is a brilliantly conceived ingredient that just keeps on giving. Quickly whizzed in a blender with grass-fed butter and very little coconut palm sugar, plus chopped pecans for crunch, this Apple & Blackberry Crumble is as good to eat as any I can remember from my childhood. For a moment of happiness, just dive in with a spoon. 

Apple and Blackberry Crumble (Serves 4)

Ingredients

100g tiger nut flour

50g cold organic butter, cut into pieces 

15g organic coconut palm sugar

30g raw pecans, finely chopped

4 decent-sized organic eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Braeburn but Cox’s or Granny Smith’s would be good too)

40ml fresh orange juice (about ½ orange, juiced)

175g blackberries

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180℃ / 350℉ / Gas mark 4

Put the sliced apples and orange juice into a medium saucepan, cover the pan and cook over a moderate heat for about 8 minutes, or until the apples are soft but not mushy. If there is any juice left in the bottom of the pan at the end to the cooking time, take the pan lid off, turn up the heat and continue cooking for a minute or so more until there is no liquid left. 

Tip the apples into an ovenproof dish (I used an oval Pyrex dish measuring 6.5 cm x 9cm) then arrange the whole blackberries on top of the apples in a single layer.

Put the tiger nut flour, butter and palm sugar into the bowl of a food processor and ‘pulse’ several times over until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Tip into a medium size bowl and add the chopped pecans. 

Spoon the crumble mixture evenly over the fruit. Place the dish on a baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes.

Take out of the oven and allow the crumble to stand for 5 minutes before serving with a generous spoonful of clotted or double cream. 

Notes:

Although this is a quick and easy dessert to make, you can skip the apple ‘prep’ altogether by substituting 350g fresh raspberries for eating apples. Just make sure they’re naturally sweet-tasting so you don’t need to add any other sweetener. Simply layer up your oven-proof dish with raw whole raspberries and blackberries before spooning over the crumble mixture and baking at 180℃ for 25 minutes. 

To make the crumble mixture without a food processor, use the rubbing-in method. Using your fingertips and thumbs, take small amounts of the cold butter and tiger nut flour mixture and rub them together, from little finger to first finger. Raise your hands above the surface so they are not warming the rest of the mixture. When the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, add the coconut palm sugar (and cinnamon, if using - see note below) and mix together with a fork before spooning on top of the fruit. 

If you like the spicy, sweetness of ground cinnamon, a teaspoon added to the crumble mixture before baking will complement the apple in Apple & Blackberry Crumble beautifully. 

Carbohydrate 39g Protein 3g - per serving (Apple and Blackberry)

Carbohydrate 29g Protein 3g - per serving (Raspberry and Blackberry)

Sweet Potato Hash With Crispy Fried Eggs

If there was one word to describe my life right now it would be “overwhelming”. Nearly four months ago it seemed like a good idea to order a large quantity of new self-build furniture to grab a seventy-per-cent-off deal at Laura Ashley. In retrospect, an odd choice given that DIY is not our forte. Since delivery, half our bedroom space has been relinquished to twenty-two enormous and very intimidating boxes.

Now (subject to us finding a competent joiner!), they’re not going to be gathering dust for much longer. The re-vamp of our living/bedroom space, which has been overdue for the past ten years has finally begun and we, with all our clothes and personal possessions, have been displaced throughout the rest of the house whist the work is carried out. I hate the disruption, but at least the financial liability of a large, cold Edwardian property that’s a nightmare to heat and maintain is offset by having space! Perhaps we should have considered moving when my two daughters flew the nest, but the prospect of a new owner coming in and cutting down the trees and destroying the habitat of numerous squirrels and birds that have made our garden their home, prevents us. So given that we feel we have to stay, we're stuck with the ongoing commitment and upheaval of one costly home improvement after another.

With all the chaos going on around me, what I don’t have too much time for is cooking, food shopping and devising new recipes for this blog! Hence, for the next few weeks, I’ll be in the same boat as most people who prefer to eat ‘fast’ food. However, in my world, fast food can never mean processed, ready-made or take-aways. Simplicity is key to making healthy meals that are quick and easy to get to the table, which also means me relying heavily on my family’s co-operation and team work. My husband John is my brilliant commis chef that does most of the chopping and slicing, whilst Sarah is a dab-hand at making perfect fried eggs for this comforting Sweet Potato Hash With Crispy Fried Eggs. 

A delicious, nutritious, inexpensive meal that really works, it is one of my all-time favourites for an uncomplicated supper.

Sweet Potato Hash With Crispy Fried Eggs (V) (Serves 3)

Ingredients

750g organic sweet potatoes, cut into small (about 2cm) cubes

1 small organic Savoy cabbage, stem and stalks removed and thinly sliced

3 tbsp olive oil 

1 organic red onion, finely chopped

30g butter

1 dsp cumin seeds

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 organic medium eggs

Large handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

Boil a kettle of water. Put the boiling water into the bottom pan of a steamer and the sweet potato cubes in the top of the steamer.

Steam the sweet potato cubes with the pan lid on for about 10 minutes, until almost tender. Use a draining spoon to scoop the potato cubes out of the steamer into a large bowl. Season well with sea salt and black pepper and add the cumin seeds, being careful not to break the potato cubes up. Set aside. 

Add the cabbage to the steamer, put the lid back on and cook for 2 minutes until tender. Tip the cooked cabbage into a separate bowl. Season with a little sea salt and a good grinding of black pepper. 

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large deep frying pan over a moderate heat and fry the onion for 3 minutes or until just softened. Turn the heat up to medium/high, add half the butter and the sweet potatoes and fry, stirring frequently, until the potatoes and onions start to caramelise and turn golden brown.

Add the cabbage and the rest of the butter to the sweet potato mixture and continue frying, stirring from time to time, whilst you simultaneously cook the eggs.

Take a second large frying pan and heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil until the surface seems to slightly shimmer. Crack each egg into a small bowl or cup then carefully pour into the hot oil. After 1 minute reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until underneath the whites of the eggs are crispy and golden.

While the yolks are still runny, use a fish slice to transfer the eggs to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain off any excess oil. 

Pile the sweet potato hash on to three warmed plates and gently place two fried eggs on top of each. Season the eggs with a little sea salt and black pepper then scatter over the chopped parsley to serve. 

Notes:

Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet-tasting but their natural sugars are slowly released into the bloodstream, helping to ensure a balanced and regular source of energy, without the blood sugar spikes linked to fatigue and weight gain. 

If the eggs stick together in the frying pan, use a non-stick flat ended spatula to 'cut' and separate them. Do not try to dowse the egg yolks in hot oil - they should be cooked to perfection (soft and runny) if you leave the eggs alone in the frying pan until the edges of the whites are a lacey, crisp and golden.

Wear a bibbed apron to fry the eggs - they can spit and splutter in hot oil!

Carbohydrates 58g Protein 23g - per serving

Courgette Linguine With Cashew Pesto and Marinated Mushroom and Broccoli

Although at Primal Plate we’re more than happy to occasionally have our grain-free, refined sugar-free cake and to eat it too, there comes a time (usually after a second slice of said cake) that I begin to pull back from borderline over-indulgence to something altogether more healthy and savoury. 

Sugar is sugar, and although raw honey, coconut palm sugar and pure maple syrup are much healthier options than refined sugar, they are still sugar. Even fructose, the natural sugar found in fruit, is unhealthy when eaten to excess. I know that because I used to make myself what I thought was a healthy multiple-fruit smoothie, which oftentimes boasted more than my ‘five-a-day’ in just one potent glass full. During this time I developed an inflammatory skin condition, which my doctor initially diagnosed as shingles. In fact it was a severe case of atopic eczema, which became infected. Within two weeks of switching to a low-carb Primal diet, which meant I stopped drinking excessive amounts of fructose in my breakfast smoothie, the rash disappeared for good.

The occasional sweet treat probably doesn't do much harm, but eating too much sugar (this applies to virtually everyone who eats a processed, high-carb Western diet and doesn’t do significant amounts of exercise) can have harmful effects on metabolism and is pro-inflammatory. Inflammation can lead directly to the development of all sorts of diseases throughout the body including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer and undoubtedly it was sugar-linked inflammation that caused my erstwhile eczema. 

So, after developing and testing last week’s recipe for Tiger Nut Victoria Sandwich, which involved baking and eating two cakes within three days, I came across a recipe in Paul Gayler’s book Pure Vegetarian that is the perfect antidote to sugar overdose. 

My adaptation of Courgette Linguine With Cashew Pesto and Marinated Mushroom and Broccoli is a refreshing, vegan plateful of gorgeous colour and outstanding texture. Classic, Asian-style flavours come together in perfect harmony for one of the healthiest, zingiest, freshest-tasting meals ever! With virtually no cooking involved, it is also surprisingly simple to make. 

Try this almost raw ‘detox’ recipe if you don’t cook / won’t cook, if you need an instant energy boost or if you simply want to make amends for some recent foodie indiscretion. Good to look at, good to eat and oh so good for you, it really is health food at its best. 

Courgette Linguine With Cashew Pesto and Marinated Mushroom and Broccoli (V) (Serves 4)

Ingredients - for the cashew pesto

50g raw organic cashews

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2cm piece of root ginger, peeled and grated

100ml extra-virgin olive oil

25g fresh coriander

15g fresh mint leaves

15g fresh basil leaves

Juice of 1 lime

Sea salt

Instructions

Place the cashews in a blender and blitz until broken down. 

Add the ginger, chilli, oil and herbs and blend until pureed.

Add lime juice, then season with sea salt to taste (I used ½ teaspoon) and briefly whizz again to incorporate.

Cover and set aside.

Ingredients - for the marinated vegetables

200g organic chestnut mushrooms, cleaned (I just wipe them over with a damp paper towel)

100ml organic extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)

1 organic spring onion, very finely chopped

2cm piece of root ginger, peeled and grated

100g organic broccoli, cut into small florets (without stalk)

50ml fresh lime juice (approx. 1 large or 2 small limes)

4 crispy and firm organic courgettes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Slice the mushrooms very thinly, place in a large bowl and add the oil, soy sauce, onion and ginger. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes (no longer than this or they create too much juice)

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli for about 2 to 3 minutes until it turns bright green but is still crunchy in texture. Quickly remove and add to the mushrooms along with the lime juice and season to taste.

Cut the ends off the courgettes, then using a kitchen mandolin, spiralizer, vegetable peeler or sharp knife, slice as thinly as possible lengthways into long strips or ‘linguine’. 

Toss with the mushrooms and broccoli, adjust the seasoning and serve with a dollop of cashew pesto on top. 

Carbohydrate 13g Protein 8g - per serving

A Spirilizer makes perfectly thin and even courgette 'linguine'

Tiger Nut Victoria Sponge

I don’t see my sister that often but when I do I try to make it something of an occasion. She travelled up from London to Nottingham on a business trip this week, but since my house is currently akin to ‘Steptoe’s parlour’ (the entire top floor including my dressing room and bedroom have had to be cleared and vacated for refurbishment and re-decoration), I was unable to offer her overnight accommodation. I decided the next best thing I could do was to bake a cake.

Thankfully, Sarah volunteered to host our impromptu tea party at her house, which involved buying a selection of the finest teas she could find (my sister is something of a tea connoisseur) but I still had to devise a last-minute, quick and easy, gluten, grain and refined sugar free cake from scratch. Overwhelmed at the prospect it was a bit touch and go as to whether a visit to our local deli wouldn't be a better option, but then I remembered…

When my two children were little I used to regularly take them on very long walks (at least 5 to 10 miles) mainly because I wouldn’t let them sit for more than 2 hours a day glued to the television screen (thank goodness computer games hadn’t been invented). Anyway, I think more often than not they were persuaded to go the distance with me because I promised them freshly-baked cake on our return. At that time, my go-to cake recipe was for a Victoria Sandwich, which I could weigh out and quickly knock-up in a food processor in about 10 minutes flat.

The memory of an all-in-one method for making cake was sweet relief in the midst of the current crazy-busy situation I’m in. All I had to do was devise a healthy new recipe without a sniff of the refined self-raising flour, flora margarine and caster sugar, which so reliably whizzed itself up to seeming perfection thirty-plus years ago.

Fuelled by a taste for nostalgia, I am so excited that my re-invention of a Victoria Sandwich works just as well as the original. Strictly speaking, a classic Victorian sandwich recipe firstly involves weighing the eggs and then weighing out the same quantity of butter, sugar and flour before laboriously creaming the ingredients together with a wooden spoon - certainly not with a whisk - or, as in this recipe, a food processor. However, only the cook will know the difference, because this cake only takes about 10 minutes to make, not 30 minutes!

The result is an evenly risen, delightful party cake full of golden spongey goodness, which I think owes much of its success to tiger nut flour. Baking it wasn’t all plain sailing. The amount of cake batter my recipe made wasn’t enough to fill two 20cm/8” sandwich tins and, since I don’t have any smaller sized tins, I ended up piling all my cake mixture into just one of the sandwich tins and manually splitting the cooked cake through the middle with a serrated knife after it had completely cooled down (see note below).

Also, because tiger nuts are naturally sweet, I think I could have got away with using less honey i.e. 100g rather than 125g (to make my cake more low-carb) - however, as everyone agreed it wasn’t too sweet for their taste, I’ve left the original recipe alone. Just a word of caution if you’re concerned about your carbohydrate intake, make sure you have a few more friends to share it than I did - four of us happily (and all too easily), devoured the whole cake in just one sitting!

To make my cake extra special, I used whipped cream and fresh strawberries as well as 100% pure fruit spread to fill and decorate it. Whether you prefer to keep your cake simple or make it more luscious, I can promise you that this light and lovely easy-to-make cake recipe is a teatime winner. 

Tiger Nut Victoria Sponge (10 servings)

Ingredients

200g tiger nut flour

2½ level tsp gluten-free baking powder (I used Waitrose Cook’s Homebaking brand)

200g butter, softened + a little extra for greasing the tin(s)

4 large organic eggs

125g raw clear organic honey

150g 100% strawberry fruit spread (I used St Dalfour)

200ml organic double cream

225g fresh strawberries, washed and dried - approximately 150g hulled and sliced and 75g left whole (for decoration)

Instructions

Heat the oven to 175℃ / 350℉ / Gas mark 4

Grease and bottom line (with non-stick baking parchment) either 1 x loose-bottomed 20cm (8 inch) sandwich tin OR 2 x 15cm (6 inch) loose-bottomed sandwich tins.

Sift the tiger nut flour and baking powder together into a medium bowl.

Fix the double-bladed ’S’ shaped knife into the food processor and place the butter, honey, flour/baking powder and eggs into the processor bowl. 

Process for about 30 seconds until well mixed and a creamy (not runny) consistency. You may need to scrape down the sides of the of the bowl once or twice to make sure everything is incorporated.

Tip the cake mix into the prepared cake tin(s), spreading out evenly and levelling off the surface with a palette knife, then place into the oven. 

Bake the single 20cm (8”) cake for about 30 mins OR, if you’ve divided the cake mix between two 15cm (6”) sandwich tins, for about 20 minutes - until risen, golden-brown and firm to the touch. Also, if you put your ear close to the surface of the cooked cake it will kind of ‘sing’.

When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 mins in the tin(s), before turning out onto a wire rack and cooling completely.

Split the single cake horizontally into two even halves, if required. Sandwich the two halves (or the two separate cakes) together by spreading the strawberry preserve onto one half. Top with the second half of the cake (cut side down, if you had to slice a whole cake through the middle)

For a special occasion, lightly whip the cream until it stands in soft peaks (don’t over whip it as it’ll be difficult to spread out evenly on top of the fruit spread). Fill the cake with the whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Put the second half of the cake on top (see above) and decorate with whole strawberries if liked.

Notes

N.B. I need to confirm the exact size of sandwich tins best suited to this recipe - 2 x 15cm is a guesstimate based on my only experience of making this cake in a larger tin. It is obviously easier for you to bake the cake halves separately in two tins rather than having to manually cut one cake horizontally through its middle afterwards. Please let the cake cool down completely before attempting to do this, otherwise it might fall apart. You still need a steady hand and clear vision to make an even cut! 

To avoid wire rack marks when you’re baking your cake in two tins, put a clean tea towel over the cooked cake in the tin, put your hand on top of the tea towel and turn the tin upside-down onto your hand and the tea towel - then carefully turn it from your hand onto the wire rack to cool completely.

If you are making a 15cm (6”) diameter sandwich cake, you may want to reduce the amount of whipped cream and strawberries for the filling accordingly. However, if you’re just using fruit spread to sandwich this size of cake together, the quantity shown in the above recipe will still be correct. 

Carbohydrate 29g Protein 5g - per serving

Nutburgers

The heartbreaking news about Cecil the lion continues to haunt me. It isn’t just the immorality of seeking out and killing magnificent endangered species of wild animals for ‘game’, it’s also the general lack of reverence for animals and nature, prevalent in today’s society, which I find so depressing. Who’d think to dye baby chicks neon colours and then seal them inside plastic bags to sell as toys? Closer to home, I’ve just stood and watched a motorist swerve his car across to the opposite side of the road outside my house to deliberately run over a female blackbird that was foraging for insects in the verge!

I’ve been teetering on the brink of eliminating all meat from my diet for a long time, but a constant stream of ugly events, symptomatic of a worldwide epidemic of insensible violent acts against the environment, other people and animals, have pushed me over the edge. It isn’t just a question of killing animals for sport. Whilst ever beautiful vegetarian food is available, why raise innocent sentient beings and subject them to systematic cruelty, mutilation and suffering before destroying their bodies in an industrialised slaughterhouse designed to kill 200 animals per minute? Just to eat? What for?

The fact is, an abundance of delicious, healthy, life-giving vegetarian food IS available, so what need is there to continue the very crude, primitive, uncivilised behaviour involved in destroying a body to eat its flesh? If you think this is okay, why not eat dogs, cats and horses? Or, to take the okay-ness and disconnected-ness of killing unevolved animals for food to its logical conclusion, it's just another step away from killing evolved animals for food, a.k.a. cannabilism. Enough now.

Primal Plate is committed to sharing recipes that are more in tune with compassion, beauty and love - how life should be lived - rather than the inhumane behaviours associated with eating factory farmed meat. 

Sir Paul McCartney sums it all up: "If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty”.

Primal Plate wants to pave the way for healthy, nutritious, vegetarian, Primal-friendly alternatives to meat that won’t compromise on your foodie sensory pleasure. Quite the opposite in fact. Vegetarians all too often turn to grains and legumes to pack out their meals, but unfortunately these foods contain anti-nutrients, are pro-inflammatory and can ultimately make you fat and diseased. All Primal Plate recipes are created without the unhealthy ‘bad boys’ - grains, legumes, refined sugar, processed seed oils - but look equally as good, and often taste much better, than their gluten, lectin, trans-fat riddled counterparts. Making meat-free meals is aesthetically more appealing because vegetarianism respects life and doesn’t disconnect people from the suffering caused by them consuming “corpse and two veg”.     

These meat-free, vegan Nutburgers are serious contenders for the best of alfresco or BBQ fare. With a full-on savoury taste profile and a better texture than ground beef or lamb, they might easily be confused with ‘sausage-burgers’ for uninitiated carnivores.

Keep the Primal/Paleo ethos intact by ditching the burger bun and wrapping them up in the biggest, freshest raw savoy cabbage leaves you can find. Top with your choice of dressing - tomato ketchup (is sort of obligatory), homemade mayonnaise, or spicy chutney. Serve with sliced tomatoes, avocado and a handful of micro-leaves for a lovely-looking, very filling, nutrient-dense, moreish burger that doesn’t hurt or harm any animal - a conscious lifestyle change that doesn’t add to the pain and suffering in this mad world. Walter Palmer-ites, take note!

Nutburgers (V) (Makes 12-13 burgers)

Ingredients

2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely diced

100g organic butter or vegan alternative (M&S Simply range do a vegan-friendly sunflower spread)

250g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped

25g green banana flour

1 tbsp organic ground flaxseed

2 tsp organic Marigold vegetable bouillon powder

2 tbsp Clearspring tamari soy sauce

2 tsp yeast extract (e.g. Marmite)

200ml filtered water

450g mixed nuts (I used raw organic cashews, walnuts, macadamias, brazil nuts and pistachios) - finely chopped 

200g ground almonds

4 rounded tablespoons fresh mixed herbs (parsley, thyme, marjoram, rosemary etc.), finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To finish

75g ground almonds, to coat 

Olive oil for shallow frying

Instructions

In a large pan, gently sauté the onions and celery in the butter (or vegan alternative) for 10 minutes until they are soft a just turning golden brown.

Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes until soft and most of the liquid has been driven off as steam.

Mix in the banana flour and cook for a further minute. Pour in the water and stir continuously over a medium heat until thickened.

Add the stock powder, ground flaxseed, tamari, yeast extract, mixed nuts, ground almonds, fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Allow the mixture to cool before proceeding to the next step.

Tip extra ground almonds onto a large flat plate in readiness for coating the burgers.

When the burger mixture is cool enough to handle, form into 12 burgers - about 6cm (2½”) wide x 2 cm (¾”) thick, weighing approximately 100g each. N.B. Don’t make the burgers much bigger than this because they’re easier to manoeuvre and turn them over in the pan (without breaking up) if they’re smaller and more compact.

Coat the burgers in the ground almonds and place onto a clean plate. Cover loosely with cling film and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to start cooking.

Cook on a lightly oiled flat tin (or frying pan) over the barbecue. Alternatively, if you’re not firing up the barbecue, gently fry the burgers in a little olive oil in an oven-proof frying pan over a moderate heat for about 3-5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Then place the frying pan in the oven (pre-heated to 190℃) for a further 8-10 minutes to heat through completely. 

We topped the burger with ketchup and mayo, slices of tomato and vegetarian mozzarella and some pretty micro leaves, before wrapping around the savoy cabbage leaf. Knives and forks not needed!

Notes:

The easiest, quickest and least messy way to finely chop the mixed nuts is in a food processor. Ditto the mushrooms and fresh herbs.

To make this recipe suitable for vegans, I used ground almonds for coating these burgers. However, if you eat eggs and you have some 2-3 day old leftover Grain-free Bread vegetarians can convert this into panko-style breadcrumbs for a crispier coating. 

To make panko-style breadcrumbs for coating: 

• Pre-heat the oven to 140℃. 
• Cut about 150g of grain-free bread (including the crust) into cubes. Using the coarse grater/shredding disk of a food processor, push the bread cubes through the feeder tube to make coarse crumbs. 
• Spread the crumbs out onto a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for about 15-20 minutes until they are dry but not browned. Tip: To ensure the crumbs bake evenly, take them out of the oven every 5 minutes or so and turn them over with a spatula, then give the tray a good shake to level them out again before continuing with the cooking process.
• When the crumbs are completely dried-out (crispy but not toasted) remove them from the oven and allow to cool.
• Coat the burgers in the dried breadcrumbs and cook as above,

The burger mixture can be made 2-3 days in advance and kept covered in a refrigerator. It can then be shaped into burgers and coated with ground almonds/dried breadcrumbs the day you intend to eat them. 

Carbohydrate 10g Protein 17g - per burger

Good food, wine, a generous tomato and vegetarian mozzarella salad and our nutburgers are the perfect partners for chilled-out al fresco dining.

Fiery Ginger Ale

I’m feeling disgruntled. A couple of months ago, sick of suffering leg cramps and night-after-night of disturbed sleep, I decided I’d better monitor my alcohol consumption. Don’t get me wrong, two or three small (less than 100ml) glasses of wine whilst preparing and eating our main meal of the day to help me ‘wind down’, didn’t seem excessive to me. In fact, I was convinced that if there was a downside to my relatively miserly alcohol intake, it was probably doing me less harm than sitting and stewing in my own stress hormones at the end of a hard day! I was deluded. Alcohol, even within the UK government’s drinking guidelines (3 units per day for women, 4 for men), is toxic to my system. A unit, by the way is 70ml (I always thought it was a small glass of wine as defined by bars and restaurants, namely 125ml!)

I’ve since discovered that the maximum amount of alcohol I can tolerate without any apparent adverse consequences is about 125-170ml of 11-12.5% table wine. Pathetic or what? I mean, how can you party? Still, as much as I might balk at the situation, it was timely that a BBC Horizon programme, broadcast on 20th May 2015, entitled ‘Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad?’ validated what I already knew. And, to give you the heads-up, binge drinking most certainly is bad! You can follow this link to check out the definition of binge drinking and the effect of your drinking habit.

But, the party still goes on - so, notwithstanding the odd glass of 11% ABV Prosecco, I now feel compelled to search out, test and/or create Primal-friendly mocktails: low-sugar, low-carb, non-alcoholic drinks - or at least alcoholic drinks with greater fluid content, which don’t get absorbed into your bloodstream so quickly, and hopefully last longer in your glass - so that I, and everyone else whose brain says “yes” but whose body is telling them “no”, can still feel like they’re part of the celebration.

Whether mixing cocktails or mocktails, a successful outcome isn’t so much about the headline ingredient - whether fruit or alcohol based - because both the taste and ‘fizz’ factor of your drink depends more on the quality of your mixer. This is tricky if you don’t want to load up on sugar and carbs, because it’s really difficult to find natural, sugar-free, low-carb ginger beer or ale, tonic water or lemonade for sale here in the UK. In my view, shop-bought, sugar-laden or artificially sweetened ‘soft’ drinks, colas, sodas and other mixers are completely unfit for human consumption!

Fever-Tree is the one exception I’ve found, which I think stands head and shoulders above the rest because it boasts the best ingredients, is all-natural and is relatively low-carb. Their Naturally Light Tonic Water and Naturally Light Ginger Beer are both sweetened with natural fruit sugar (pure fructose, not nasty high fructose corn-syrup) rather than the likes of “Ssh you know who”, whose slimline versions of these drinks contain the deadly artificial sweetener and neuro-toxin aspartame and saccharin. Remember that next time you’re out at a bar or pub!

Whilst it’s always best to get your fruit sugar (fructose) from fresh food (and to eat your carbohydrates rather than to drink them), Fever-Tree’s recipe for Naturally Light Gin & Tonic passes musters (2 units of alcohol and 6g carbohydrate per drink), so I’ve included it on my ‘allowed' list on the basis that one double G&T is my absolute limit (special note to Sarah, who’s been badgering me to lift the ban on Gin & Tonic for a long time!) Meanwhile, Fever-Tree’s Naturally Light Ginger Beer really stands up well against the flavour profile of my homemade Fiery Ginger Ale, so for sheer convenience and an enlivening ‘fizz’, go buy.

Other healthy mixers (no added sugar, zero carbs) include seltzer water, soda water, sparkling water, mineral water, club soda or just fizzy water! Basically these are all carbonated water. Some have carbon dioxide pumped into them, like my favourite San Pellegrino, to make them effervescent and others, such as Perrier, are naturally carbonated.

Our non-alcoholic, low-sugar, Fiery Ginger Ale needs a grown-up ginger ale concentrate as its base. I do so love the fantastically refreshing, spicy-heat of this cooling ginger ale (I know that sounds contradictory, but it’s true) that I could almost be persuaded to go tea-total! I’ve added fresh lemongrass to underline the citrusy aromas of fresh ginger and a pinch of chilli flakes to give extra kick to ginger’s heat. To sweeten my concentrate, I’ve used zero-carb liquid stevia in combination with raw honey (rather than using all honey or coconut palm sugar) because this effectively halves the grams of carbohydrate. Yey! only 1g carb per drink! It also minimises the potential aftertaste of stevia.

If further justification was needed, ginger is also really good for you. It’s an anti-inflammatory (that should take care of the inflammatory effects of alcohol then!) settles an upset stomach - including motion sickness, morning sickness, vomiting, nausea and loss of appetite - strengthens the immune system (brilliant treatment for colds and flu), lowers cholesterol, improves circulation, aids digestion and protects against cancer.

A brighter future for social drinkers starts here. Cheers!

Fiery Ginger Ale is perfect served in a long glass with plenty of ice - sunshine optional!

Fiery Ginger Ale (makes approx 24 fl oz = 10 to 12 drinks)

Ingredients - for the concentrate 

200g (8oz) fresh ginger, sliced

1 stalk lemongrass, cut into small pieces

½ tsp organic chilli flakes

900ml (32 fl oz) filtered water

1 tablespoon raw organic clear honey + 8 drops liquid stevia

Instructions - for the concentrate

In a medium saucepan, combine water and ginger over high heat. Once boiling, turn heat to very low, cover with the pan lid and leave to just barely simmer for one hour. 

Take off the heat and let stand for another 30 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine sieve. 

Stir in honey and liquid stevia, then cool completely. This is your ginger concentrate.

Pour it into a covered container and keep chilled. 

To Serve (makes 1 drink)

Put a handful (half a dozen) ice cubes into a highball glass (a tall, 250ml glass tumbler). Add 60ml ginger concentrate and 15ml (1tbsp) lime juice 

Fill the rest of the glass with 200ml of soda water or sparkling mineral water.  

Decorate with a sprig of fresh mint and enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

In our neck of the woods (North Nottinghamshire, UK) I’m fed-up with waiting for summer to arrive. As far as I’m concerned, 14℃ day-time temperatures don’t hack it at the end of July. Recently, I’ve even resorted to taking a hot water bottle to bed! 

I don’t know whether it’s symptomatic of global warming or personal stress levels at the height of the wedding season that’s to blame (Mirror Imaging is my second day job) but I’ve felt unseasonably cold for this time of year. Meanwhile, Sarah’s been threatening a sore throat for the past week. This means that whether the weather fails to get any warmer, or is actually getting colder, a bowl of bright-red Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup is just the thing to improve our disposition.

Peppers and tomatoes hail from warmer Mediterranean climes - the very thought makes me feel more cheery - and are incredibly healthy, being stacked with vitamins and minerals, so they’re perfect for staving off a cold.

So, if we can’t just dive into summer this year, at least we can pretend by bringing a little bit of sunshine into cooler summer days with this great tasting soup. Roasting the peppers and tomatoes really gives a delicious depth of flavour to the end result. Simple to make and gorgeous to look at, I can say with absolute conviction, “Eat soup, be happy!”

Meanwhile, I’m really hoping for a hot and sunny August.

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup is a vibrant red colour - serve with a drizzle of cream and some shredded fresh basil leaves for a simple but impressive garnish.

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup (V) (Serves 4)

Ingredients

500g ripe plum tomatoes, halved

2 red peppers, halved, de-seeded and chopped into smallish pieces

1 onion, quartered

2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 heaped tbsp organic Marigold vegetable bouillon powder

900ml water, freshly boiled water

1 tbsp organic tomato paste

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2-3 drops liquid stevia - optional

To finish:

Double cream

Fresh basil leaves, finely shredded  

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 220℃ / 425℉ / Gas mark 7

Place the tomatoes, peppers, onion and thyme into a large mixing bowl, drizzle over the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix everything together well so that the vegetables are evenly coated in oil, then tip onto a large non-stick baking tray in a single layer and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until wilted and slightly charred all over. 

Meanwhile, make a vegetable stock with the bouillon powder and freshly boiled water.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large saucepan, cover with the vegetable stock and add the tomato puree. Cook over a moderate heat for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool down for 5 minutes before proceeding to the next step.

Ladle the contents of the pan into a blender container (you will need to do this in several batches), then blitz until completely smooth. 

As you go, strain each batch of blended soup through a fine sieve into a clean pan. 

After the final batch of soup has been strained, adjust the seasoning (if it tastes a little acidic, add 2-3 drops of liquid stevia) then re-heat to just below boiling point.

Pour the hot soup into 4 warmed bowls, add a swirl of cream and sprinkle with shredded basil. 

Notes:

Crumbled feta cheese sprinkled on top of the soup just before serving, is a tasty alternative to cream.

I suppose it’s sods law that the minute I decide to blog a hot soup recipe, the weather forecast for this weekend is that Summer 2015 is back on. If so, Roasted Pepper & Tomato Soup is a lovely soup to take on a picnic!

Carbohydrate 15g  Protein 3g - per serving

Sweet red peppers and ripe, juicy vine tomatoes are the basis for this delicious soup.

Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites

If you had a go at making Tiger Nut Horchata last week, you might be thinking that despite the tiger nut pulp leftovers (I just feel guilty for throwing it away), horchata is such a delicious, healthy drink it deserves to be a ‘keeper’. If so, today’s recipe for Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites answers the need for thrift by transforming tiger nut pulp into a superfood energy bite that’s as enticing as tiger nut milk itself.

On the other hand, if you haven’t yet tried homemade horchata, this week’s recipe might just be the means to an end…

Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites are simply yummy - chocolatey, fudgy, fruity and nutty all at the same time - but they won’t cause your blood sugar levels to spike. A really healthy option when you’re craving something sweet, these chocolate-coated balls of fibre-rich goodness are packed full of  vitamins, minerals and protein and are perfect to enjoy anytime you feel the need for an energy-boosting snack. I find them seriously addictive with my favourite morning Nespresso, so the next time I make a batch of Tiger Nut Horchata, I’ll be using up all the residual tiger nut pulp in one go and doubling up the recipe below for these irresistible, no-added sugar sweeties!

They’re also dainty and elegant enough to serve as after-dinner petits fours.

Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites (Makes 32 ‘bites’)

Ingredients

50g whole almonds

50g pecans

100g tiger nut pulp (left over from making horchata)

100g (about 6-8) Medjool dates, with stones removed

50g organic Goji berries

30g coconut butter

45g dark chocolate chips

¼ tsp sea salt

For chocolate coating (optional)

75g chocolate chips, melted

Extra Goji berries, for decoration (optional)

Instructions

Put half the almonds and pecans into a food processor and pulse together until they are coarsely chopped into small pieces (the texture should be slightly coarse with some bigger pieces, to add ‘bite’ to the final mixture). Tip the chopped nuts out into a bowl and set aside.

Add the remaining almonds and pecans to the bowl of the food processor and whizz until very finely chopped. Add the tiger nut pulp and whizz some more until everything is well combined.

Add the pitted dates to the mixture and whizz again until the mixture becomes sticky and starts to form a dough. 

Add the Goji berries and coconut butter and process again until well incorporated. Keep whizzing until you have a thick smooth paste (the texture of almond paste/marzipan).

Add the chocolate chips, sea salt and the reserved chopped nuts and pulse (minimally) several times to ensure that the chocolate and nuts are evenly distributed throughout the mix whilst still retaining their texture.

Roll the mixture into small balls between the palms of your hands (10g per ‘bite’ is just the right amount) and store in the refrigerator.

For chocolate coating, melt 75g of chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a barely simmering pan of hot water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the surface of the water).

When the chocolate is melted, stir with a metal spoon until it is smooth and glossy then remove from the heat. 

Using a couple of teaspoons to help you, carefully drop the tiger nut stollen balls one at a time into the melted chocolate and turn them over and around until evenly coated. Allow any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl before placing each coated bite onto a baking tray lined with waxed paper. Leave alone until completely set. Decorate each with a single Goji berry, if liked.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week - though they’re highly unlikely to last that long!

Notes:

You don’t have to cover Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites in melted chocolate but I think the chocolatey-taste-hit and ‘snap’ of the cold chocolate shell surrounding a soft, fudgy centre makes for a decidedly more decadent experience.

Dark chocolate can develop a whitish-grey ‘bloom’ on its surface when kept in the fridge. Although blooming may make the chocolate look less appetising it is still perfectly safe to eat. I deliberately didn’t ask Sarah at Mirror Imaging to photograph my tiger nut stollen bites until they were four days old and, as you can see, they look fine - not as glossy as chocolate kept at room temperature but still looking good. 

I coined the name ‘Stollen’ (a traditional German Christmas cake) for these little bites because that’s what their taste and texture remind me of, though I didn’t want to wait for next Christmas to share the recipe! When the time is right, a dash of ground cinnamon added to the mix would certainly make for a distinctly Christmassy treat.

The Goji berry is a nutritionally rich, dried red fruit from Tibet, Quinghai Province that is packed full of minerals, including zinc, calcium, selenium and iron. Goji Berries contain more than 11% protein, including 18 amino acids and all 8 of the essential amino acids. They’re also very rich in beta-carotene and supply up to 500 times more vitamin C than oranges! 

Carbohydrate 7g Protein 1g - per bite

Tiger Nut Horchata

In the heat of summer our thoughts are often wont to turn to ice cream. However, with my new found friend the tiger nut, otherwise known as chufa (pronounced Choo-fah), I’ve discovered a serious contender when making my first batch of ice-cold Tiger Nut Horchata. There can simply be nothing more refreshing, or good for you, than downing a glass of this Spanish-style refreshment on a hot day.

Tiger Nut Horchata a.k.a. tiger nut milk is a delicious creamy, milk-like drink that can be best described as ‘liquid gold’ for the health conscious. Tasting so good and loaded with resistant starch, raw tiger nut milk (and whole organic tiger nuts eaten as a snack) are a veritable powerhouse of nutrients (see my last two blog posts for more information). Suffice to say, tiger nuts are an original Paleo superfood with a ratio of carbohydrates, fats and protein so similar to human breast milk it almost beggars belief. Tiger nuts are, after all, just a brown, wrinkly vegetable tuber!

In spite of its name, tiger nut milk is both nut and dairy free, which is an absolute boon for people who are lactose intolerant or who suffer from a nut allergy. It’s also gluten-free so coeliacs needn’t go without either. You can use Tiger Nut Horchata as a milk replacement in tea, coffee, poured over our Nut & Seed Granola for breakfast, and pretty much for everything that calls for normal milk. Naturally sweet, tiger nut milk is non-allergic, safe for diabetics and, since tiger nuts do not contain inflammatory omega-6 fats, Tiger Nut Horchata makes for a much healthier alternative to dairy milk or other nut milks.

Most recipes I’ve found for Tiger Nut Horchata (Horchata de Chufa) are full of refined sugar (up to 200g of sugar per 250g of tiger nuts) but because tiger nuts are intrinsically sweet-tasting, I think it’s debatable whether tiger nut milk actually needs any added sugar at all. In the end I decided to stay true to Spanish tradition (I confess my tiger nut milk did taste a little ‘thin’ without) but I have so moderated the amount and type of sweetener in my Tiger Nut Horchata, it still faithfully follows Primal and Paleo dietary guidelines. My sweeteners of choice in this unique recipe are small amounts of raw organic honey and liquid stevia, which both make the grade (to see why, please read The Definitive Guide To Sugar on Mark’s Daily Apple). The end result is a slightly thickened, rich, creamy, sweet (but not too sweet), seriously satisfying vegetable milk that’s fit for the gods.

Using heathy sweeteners rather than refined sugar, I can well imagine Tiger Nut Horchata justifiably becoming the world’s next healthy-drink ‘craze’. And, with that thought, I drink to your good health. Salud!

Tiger Nut Horchata (makes 1000ml / 1 litre)

Ingredients

250g organic tiger nuts, covered with cold water by 5cm (2”) and left to soak overnight at room temperature

1000ml (1 litre) fresh, filtered water

40ml raw organic liquid honey (I used mild-tasting Raw Health organic acacia flower honey)

2 drops liquid stevia (*see note below for Vegan Tiger Nut Horchata) 

Organic ground cinnamon

Fresh ice cubes

Whole cinnamon stick(s), if liked

Instructions

Take your Nut Milk Bag and set it over a deep bowl. 

Drain the tiger nuts, rinse them well under cold water then drain again and tip into the blender container. Add the filtered water, the honey and 2 drops of liquid stevia, then secure the lid and blend on high speed until completely homogenised and smooth - this will take about 3-4 minutes (depending on your blender). After blending, if the mixture seems a little too hot to handle, allow it to cool down before proceeding to the next step.

Carefully pour the blended tiger nut mixture into the nut milk bag, tighten the tie at the top of the bag to hold everything inside, then using your hands firmly squeeze out all the liquid until you’re left with only dry tiger nut pulp.

Cover the bowl containing the tiger nut milk and cool completely, then transfer to a glass bottle or lidded container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 

To serve, third-fill a glass with ice (small ice cubes are best), shake or stir your chilled horchata well then pour over the ice and sprinkle a large pinch of organic ground cinnamon on top (**see note below) 

For a final flourish, add a whole cinnamon stick to each glass and use as a swizzle stick to distribute the cinnamon flavour throughout your drink.  

Notes

You’ll need a powerful blender and a strong Nut Milk Bag to ensure this simple Tiger Nut Horchata recipe is a breeze for you to make on a regular basis. You can use 2 or 3 layers of wet cheesecloth or cotton muslin to strain your tiger nut milk through but the Nut Milk Bag sold by Love Tree Products is strong, re-usable and easy to clean. it also produces a silky-smooth milk with no bits in it. I personally wouldn't want the mess, the faff or the unpredictability of making a DIY version!

*To make Tiger Nut Horchata vegan, simply leave out the raw honey and double the drops of liquid stevia (to 4) for the same level of sweetness.

It’s recommended you don’t discard the tiger nut pulp, instead dry it out in an oven and use as a substitute for desiccated coconut. Alternatively, convert into nutritious Tiger Nut Energy Balls

** I actually prefer to put my refrigerated horchata into a blender with half dozen ice cubes and whizz together for about 10 seconds to break up the ice for a super-cold drink that doesn’t smack you around the mouth with ice cubes every time you take a sip (it was Sarah that insisted I put a single ice cube in the glass for the photographs!) You can also put the horchata into the freezer for about an hour to turn it into a ‘slushy’. Which suggests to me that I should be creating a tiger-nut-milk-based recipe for ice cream, sooner rather than later!

To calculate the carbohydrate content of this recipe I’ve referenced whole tiger nuts, not tiger nut milk. Although carb grams per serving looks relatively high, there is a significant amount of tiger nut sediment that’s discarded after squeezing out the milk. Also, some of the carbohydrate content in raw tiger nuts is in the form of a unique fibre known as resistant starch, which cannot be absorbed by the body in the process of digestion. This means it passes through your system without deleterious effects on blood sugar or insulin levels. Similarly, you don’t obtain significant calories from resistant starch either.

However, resistant starch is a highly beneficial pre-biotic that feeds the friendly bacteria in your gut, which in turn provides numerous health benefits that can ultimately assist in weight loss. Your healthy gut flora actually need this ‘food’ to survive and thrive, Thus, Tiger Nut Horchata is recommended for even the most carb sensitive individual. Even if you are trying to lose weight, it’s more important to focus on eating real, nutritious food than to worry unduly about counting grams of carbohydrate or calories. The message is: ditch all grains, legumes, refined sugar and unhealthy processed seed oils and fats, and your carbohydrate and calorie intake will happily take care of itself!

Caution: Tiger nuts and tiger nut flour have very high amounts of resistant starch which, if you’re not used to, can cause discomfort and bloating when eaten in large amounts. It is therefore advised that you slowly introduce resistant starch into your diet (less than a teaspoon per day) and gradually increase your tolerance to your particular comfort level, which will hopefully be about 15-30 grams a day. 

Carbohydrate 55g Protein 5g - per 250ml serving of Tiger Nut Horchata (without ice)

Tigernut ‘Hob-Nobs'

Last week Sarah and I went clothes shopping. We both stared in disbelief at the clothes tag, which read Size 4. The garment we’d picked up looked the right size but in unison we both exclaimed ”I’m never a Size 4!” Well, at least as far as Whistles is concerned, we both are, and so we ended up fighting over a single pair of trousers (Sarah’s sense of Birthday Girl entitlement meant she won!)

The surprising thing is, now I’m developing Primal-friendly recipes for this blog, we eat far more guilt-free baked and sweet treats than ever before, yet we continue to drop dress sizes or, at the very least, 'stay put' at our optimum weight. True, we have recently cut back on our alcohol intake (one bottle of Champagne between three of us is now our idea of binge drinking!) but still…way to go! I am absolutely convinced that an eating strategy that’s highly nutritious, low in carbohydrates and much higher in fat than you’ve been told is good for you, is decidedly the best if you want to lose excess weight.

The downside? For a full-on, enjoyable experience whilst you shed unwanted inches, you actually have to cook! I think It’s a crying shame that most people seem to prefer ready-meals, eating out, microwaving, meal-replacement shakes and other fast food options rather than getting into the kitchen with their family and cooking fresh, nutritious food for themselves. Consequently, they then either have to resort to extreme bouts of exercise or workouts in the gym in the hope they can ‘burn’ off their foodie indiscretions (how much time does that take up in the “I’m too busy to cook’ lifestyle?), or allow themselves to get fat. People need reminding that a good diet isn’t just about weight loss and being thin, it’s about being healthy and giving your body all the nutrients it needs so it doesn’t fall prey to debilitating disease.

To get you started on your real food adventure (if you haven’t already), Tigernut Hob-Nobs are where it’s at! These crunchy, crumbly biscuits are child’s play to make, moreishly delicious to eat and are full of goodness. Perhaps it’s most useful to begin by saying what these biscuits don’t contain:

• No grains
• No gluten
• No sugar
• No dairy
• No eggs 

What you do get from taking the time to bake Tigernut ‘Hob-Nobs’ are some remarkable health benefits:

• Tiger nuts have a high content of soluble glucose and oleic acid, along with high energy content (starch, fats, sugars and proteins)
• They are rich in minerals such as phosphorous and potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron necessary for bones, tissue repair, muscles, the blood stream and for body growth and development. 
• They are rich in vitamins E and C. Vitamin E delays cell ageing, improves elasticity of skin and helps to clear the appearance of wrinkles, acne and other skin issues.
• Sugar-free tiger nut milk (Primal Plate recipe for Horchata coming soon) is suitable for diabetic people and also helps in weight control. It is recommended for those who suffer from indigestion, flatulence and diarrhoea because it contains digestive enzymes like catalase, lipase and amylase. 
• The high content of oleic acid has positive effect on cholesterol, thereby preventing heart attacks and thrombosis. 
• Tiger nuts reduce the risk of colon cancer and prevent constipation. 
• Tiger nuts also contain a good quantity of vitamin B1, which assists in balancing the central nervous system and helps to encourage the body to adapt to stress. 
• The health benefits reflect a reduction of low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, which is good for sports’ men and women and those intending to lose weight.

In summary, I really can’t imagine any other snack food that would nutritionally support anyone (including gym bunnies and athletes) better than my Tigernut ‘Hob-Nobs' Nor a better way to indulge in some childhood nostalgia than with delicious raw whole milk and biscuits. Scrumptious!

Go nuts for tiger nuts! You can buy them online from The Tiger Nut Company

Our Tigernut Hobnobs are perfect with a glass of raw whole milk

Tigernut ‘Hob-Nobs' (Makes 16 biscuits)

Ingredients

75g coconut butter (not coconut oil)                            

2 tsp vanilla essence

150g tiger nut flour

¼ tsp sea salt                

1 tsp baking powder

75g macadamia nuts, chopped (for ease, I pulse the nuts several times in a food processor - however, don’t process them too long or you’ll end up with nut butter!)

50g cup unsweetened shredded coconut 

3 tbsp cold coconut water

Instructions

In a large bowl combine tiger nut flour, salt and baking powder.

Use your fingertips to rub the coconut butter into the flour, salt and baking powder until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of coconut butter remaining.

Using a fork, stir in the vanilla essence, chopped macadamia nuts and desiccated coconut.

Stir in the coconut water then abandon the fork and knead the mixture with your hand until it all comes together to form a firm dough.

Roll the dough out between two sheets of cling film to 6mm/ ¼ inch thickness. Using a 6cm / 2½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out 16 biscuits. As you go, you’ll need to gather up the off-cuts and press them back together before re-rolling out to make more biscuits N.B. because tiger nut flour is gluten-free, you can work the dough several times over and it won’t get tough.

Lay the biscuits 2cm apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the biscuits loosely with cling film then place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 160℃ / 325°F / Gas mark 3

Transfer the baking sheet to the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes until light golden brown. Turn the tray around halfway through the cooking time to ensure the biscuits brown evenly.

Remove from the oven and transfer the biscuits to a wire cooling rack - they’ll crisp up even more as they cool, so try to distract yourself from eating them until they do!

Carbohydrate 12g Protein 2 g - per biscuit

Summer Berry & Lemon Cream Tigernut Tart

This week was the start of Wimbledon (think strawberries and cream) and culminates in Independence Day (Saturday, 4th July) - think, ‘Happy Birthday’, to my beautiful daughter, Sarah! After that Mirror Imaging is into a run of photoshoots and weddings on five consecutive weekends that will keep us both busy until the end of September. So with that in mind, I really wanted to make an extra special summer birthday ‘cake’ for Sarah, not only to celebrate her birthday but also the last of our leisurely weekends for the foreseeable future!

Today, I am so excited to be able to bring something completely new to the party - a delicious summer fruit tart made with tiger nut pastry. “Tiger, erm what?”…I hear you say!

Q. When is a nut not a nut? A. When it’s a tiger nut! 

Tiger nuts, also known as ‘earth almonds’ and in Spain, ‘chufas’, are the sweet, brown, nutty, ‘super’ tubers of the sedge plant (a stubborn, weed-like grass), which is grown and harvested like potatoes. And, they are incredibly good for you. 

Truly Primal/Paleo (our early human ancestors used to forage and feast on this nutrient dense wonder food), tiger nuts have a nutritional profile that really holds its own against red meat, olive oil and even human breast milk. In fact, tigernut milk (recipe for Spanish style ‘Horchata de Chufas' coming soon) is the healthiest substitute for dairy milk because it is rich in monounsaturated fat and does not contain inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids like other nut milks do. Tiger nuts are also full of dietary fibre, particularly resistant starch, are high in minerals (magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, calcium and iron) and Vitamins C and E. Sounds to me like the under-utilised tiger nut might well be the answer to 795 million people around the world still struggling with hunger and malnutrition! 

And, in modern society, where people are often overfed and under-nourished, research suggests that tiger nuts can help reverse or stop the progression of degenerative diseases such as  diabetes, heart disease, circulatory problems, digestive disorders, autoimmune diseases and some cancers, including colon cancer.

I’ve only just re-discovered tiger nuts (they were sold as sweets when I was little) as part of my ongoing search for grain-free, gluten-free and now nut and allergy-free alternatives to grain flours. To say I’m chuffed with the way my chufa pastry lined Summer Berry & Lemon Cream Tigernut Tart worked out, is an understatement! This new kid on the block for lovers of Primal/Paleo treats, ticks all the boxes for healthy, nutritious food that makes you glad to be alive - indeed a little bit smug - because who would guess that this gorgeous Summer Berry & Lemon Cream Tigernut Tart would be entirely compatible with a low-carb, refined sugar-free diet?

When cooked, this tigernut pastry has more the taste and texture of a biscuit cheesecake base than it does shortcrust pastry per se, but I like this. As pastry goes, it’s very user friendly. It rolls out like pâte sucrée (French name for sweet shortcrust pastry) and was incredibly well behaved when I lined the flan case - although a chunk fell off one edge when I lifted my rolled pastry disk off the work surface, it was easy to patch up and press everything back together again with my fingers, once it was in the tin. 

Best of all, because tiger nuts are naturally sweet, you don’t need to add sugar or other sweeteners. I’ve been wanting to devise a recipe for Primal cheesecake for some time, so when I do I’m certain this recipe will double-up, adapting itself to both sweet tarts and cheesecakes beautifully.  

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll make the most of summer’s juiciest berry-fruits in this exceptionally lovely looking tart - I think summer celebrations will be the sweeter for it. 

Summer Berry & Lemon Cream Tigernut Tart (Serves 10)

Ingredients - for tiger nut pastry

225g tiger nut flour (available online from The Tiger Nut Company)

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp pure vanilla essence

30g unsalted butter, melted

1 large organic egg, beaten

a little extra melted butter (about 5g), for greasing 

Instructions - to make the pastry case

Pre-heat the oven to 180℃ / 350℉ / Gas mark 4.

Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch loose-bottomed fluted flan tin with melted butter.

Combine the tiger nut flour, baking powder and vanilla essence in a bowl.

Mix in the melted butter, then add the beaten egg and stir with a fork to combine.

When roughly combined, abandon the fork and bring the mixture together with your hand to achieve a firm but moist dough. 

Roll out to a round thickness of 3mm-6mm between two sheets of plastic cling film (to avoid the dough sticking to your worktop or rolling pin). As you roll, turn regularly to achieve an even round shape that is approximately 2½cm/1” larger than the circumference of your tart tin (this allows for the sides of the tart). 

Carefully peel off the top layer of cling film, then loosely wrap the pastry around your rolling pin removing the bottom layer of cling film as you do, then using the rolling pin to support the pastry, lift it one piece directly into the tart tin. If it splits or breaks in transition (mine did!), don’t worry, just patch it back together by pressing it firmly and evenly into the base and up the sides of the tin with your hands. N.B. Since tiger nut flour is gluten-free it’s easier to handle than normal shortcrust pastry, because it doesn't get harder and tougher if you need to re-work it. Once it’s settled in the tart tin in an even thickness, trim any raggedy bits of pastry off the top edge by going around with a sharp knife (chef’s privilege to eat these pastry off-cuts raw!)

Prick the base of the tart all over with the prongs of a fork. 

Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp. Leave to cool completely in the tin before transferring to a serving plate.  

Ingredients - for lemon cream filling

150ml Primal Lemon Curd

150ml Crème Fraîche (I used Roddas)

150ml Double Cream

Instructions - to make the lemon cream filling

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk until the mixture thickens and will stand in soft peaks.

Cover and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble your tart. 

Ingredients - for fruit topping

250g fresh strawberries, picked over and cleaned as necessary

175g fresh raspberries 

100g fresh blueberries

A few sprigs of fresh mint or lemon balm, to decorate

Instructions - to assemble the tart 

Not more than an hour before serving the tart, place the pastry case onto a serving plate. 

Spoon the lemon cream filling into the tart case and spread out evenly.

Arrange the fruit attractively on top of the lemon cream filling, then garnish with sprigs of fresh mint or lemon balm. 

Notes

Although this tart looks like ‘fancy-pants’ French patisserie, please do not be intimidated by the recipe. Rolling out the pastry and lining the tart tin is the only challenge - and only then for the novice cook. Everything else is quick and easy to do - including making the pastry and assembling the tart. If you need to, just follow the photographs for how to arrange the fruit topping.

I suggest you make a batch of yummy Primal Lemon Curd up to several days in advance (in readiness for the lemon cream filling) and store (hide!) in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble your tart. 

I like the visual treat of using several different types of summer berries as the topping for this tart - and the particular selection I’ve chosen all marry well with the lemon cream filling. However, just one type of fruit (blackberries, cherries, sliced peaches, apricots, etc.), or any combination you like, will work. Just select the sweetest, juiciest and most visually appealing fruit you can find.

Refrigerated in an airtight container, this tart still eats really well the next day.

Carbohydrate 26g Protein 5g - per serving

Cucumber and Lettuce Vichyssoise

Continuing on from my last blog post extolling the virtues of resistant starch, I’ve been thinking about different ways to incorporate resistant starch into Primal Plate recipes. Vichyssoise nicely fits the bill because it’s not only a delicious summer soup to beat the imminent heatwave we’ve been promised for next week, it’s also a natty way to introduce more resistant starch into everyday food.

Now that the wedding season is upon me (oh boy, wedding photography is one of the toughest jobs!) and one of my rental properties has just become vacant and needs to be re-let (so many applicants to sift and sort), the inside of my head and fridge are stuffed full of food-related items that, although originally intended for several blog ‘works in progress’, still remain unused for lack of time.

I was therefore grateful to find this interesting Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe from his book River Cottage Veg for Cucumber and Lettuce Vichyssoise, which not only neatly uses up some recent food purchases that would otherwise spoil and be thrown away, but also has been easily adapted to include resistant starch - both in its raw state and in the form of cooked and chilled white potato (retrograded). 

Although this soup is made from relatively cheap ingredients, do not be fooled - nor let the idea of cooked cucumber and lettuce dissuade you! It’s a classic. A really beautiful pale green, cooling and luxurious soup to be enjoyed in the garden at the height of summer. Fresh looking and tasting, it’s also perfect picnic fare.

Cucumber and Lettuce Vichyssoise (Serves 6)

Ingredients

2 tbsp (60g) butter

2 large leeks, trimmed (use white and pale green parts only) and sliced

1 large, starchy potato (about 250g / 8oz), peeled and cut into large chunks

2 pints vegetable stock (I used 5 level teaspoons of Marigold organic bouillon powder to 1 quart freshly boiled water) 

2 cucumbers, peeled and cubed

2 Little Gem or butterhead lettuces, shredded

2 level tbsp green banana flour

3 tbsp heavy cream

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To finish:

Crème fraîche or double cream

Chopped chives

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, cover, and sweat gently for about 10 minutes, until soft. 

Add the potato and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until the potato is almost cooked. 

Add the cubed cucumbers and shredded lettuce, return to a boil, and simmer for a further 4 minutes. Take off the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes or so.

Scoop out the potato chunks and press them through a metal sieve into a large mixing bowl, using the back of a wooden spoon (whizzing these in a blender would make the soup gluey).

Using a large soup ladle, transfer the rest of the simmered mixture into a blender container and blitz to a smooth puree. You will probably need to do this in several batches. 

As each batch is processed, pass the pureed soup through a metal sieve into the mixing bowl containing the potato puree. 

When you get to the final batch, add 2 level tablespoons of green banana flour, then blitz and pass through a sieve as before. Stir the entire contents of the mixing bowl together to incorporate the potato puree, then add the double cream and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Leave to cool completely, then chill for a couple of hours, 

Serve the chilled soup topped with a swirl of cream or crème fraîche and some chopped chives. 

Carbohydrate 20g Protein 3g - per serving

Raw Chocolate Banana Milkshake

Oh heck! I never meant to get into nutritional science but fear I have to in order to persuade you to eat your carbohydrates!

A food blogger that champions all things ‘low-carb’ and then, on the face of it, appears to do a u-turn by subsequently suggesting you eat high-carb, starchy foods might seem to have gone a bit ‘bananas’. Which is, as I shall reveal later in this post, quite literally true!

There are three increasingly popular buzz-words flying around at the moment that are relatively new as far as my understanding goes - probiotics, prebiotics and resistant starch - all three are absolutely essential for a healthy digestive system and long-term health. Here’s why…

Probiotics are types of ‘living’ friendly bacteria, like those that inhabit your gut. They’re found in cultured and fermented foods such as yogurt, buttermilk and sauerkraut. Probiotics help control the bad bacteria in your gut and allow the good bacteria to proliferate.

Prebiotics are ‘non-living’ carbohydrates that feed probiotics. They’re found in legumes (non-Primal) whole-wheat products (non-Primal) Jerusalem artichokes, chicory root, onions, cabbage, asparagus and leeks - although you’d need to eat a significant amount of these prebiotic foods in their raw state to achieve the recommended daily amount of prebiotic fibre. Not the easiest, nor the most pleasant, thing to accomplish!

Resistant starch is a prebiotic that has unique health benefits. Basically, it is the undigested part of starchy carbohydrate food that passes through the digestive tract unchanged, which is why it’s called ‘resistant starch’. It is good news for people following a low-carbohydrate diet or those trying to lose weight, because resistant starch can’t be digested and absorbed as glucose (like other carbohydrates are), instead it becomes food for bacteria. Nevertheless, it does increase a sense of fullness, which helps people eat less. It also improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood sugar levels and improves metabolism. 

To be perfectly honest though, it’s taken me a while to get to grips with the idea that starch of any description can be good for you. Having eschewed all high-carbohydrate food for almost two years I was borderline paranoid in my resistance to resistant-starch - such is my fear of carbohydrates and the havoc they have wreaked on my body over the years. 

Sarah still has to be persuaded, though I’m hoping that this blog post might convince her that it’s not only okay, but actually advisable to eat resistant starch. There are 4 types:

RS Type 1 – is found in beans, grains, and seeds, which can’t be digested because the starch is bound-up within fibrous cell walls. 

RS Type 2 – found in raw potatoes and unripe bananas, which in their raw state are intrinsically indigestible.

RS Type 3 – found in cooked and cooled white potatoes and white rice, the cooling process (called retrogradation) changes the structure of the food so that digestible starch becomes resistant starch - that’s a green light for home-made potato salad and sushi then!

RS Type 4 – an unnatural, man-made chemically modified resistant starch (sounds unpleasant!)

I originally thought combining cooked and chilled potato (chilled = refrigerated) and green banana flour would be a clever way to get a double-whammy of resistant starch in a Primal/Paleo-friendly potato gnocchi recipe. However, I’m still in the process of working this through. Subjecting resistant starch to temperatures exceeding 130℉ degrades it. On the other hand, retrograded starch (the cooked and chilled type) is supposedly maintained if it’s subsequently re-heated - at least when re-heated gently. Whilst all the banana flour nutrients including potassium are retained during cooking, I don’t want to risk nullifying the resistant starch in my potato gnocchi so, until it’s tried and tested, the jury’s still out. If it does work - meaning my gnocchi cooks and stays intact in less than barely simmering water - I’ll be posting the recipe soon!

Meanwhile, supplementation is the easiest way to reliably get enough resistant starch into your diet. To this end I have developed a totally moreish Raw Chocolate Banana Milkshake - a delicious milk smoothie that contains a healthy quota of green banana resistant starch, and tastes so good that it has quickly earned its place as my preferred breakfast. Must be addictive, because it’s the thing I most look forward to before falling asleep at night! 

I have been trialling green banana flour for the past week. I started with a full tablespoon (about 10g -15g) as a supplement from Day 1. Caution: If you are suffering with any digestive issues such as gas, bloating, cramping, diarrhoea or constipation, build your tolerance slowly - start with half a teaspoon and gradually increase the amount up to the optimum (15g to 30g) over a few weeks. 

After several days, I get a sense that everything is functioning better and moving more efficiently - although I have developed one side-effect, which is rather loud, persistent tummy ‘gurgling’. I like to think that this is my hitherto half-starved friendly bacteria expressing relief at being properly fed, rather than my gut protesting!

Whatever, I intend to persist with my resistant-starch-enhanced smoothie regimen because, in a nutshell, resistant starch is a superfood for the digestive system. It ends up in the large intestine where, as far as the friendly bacteria are concerned, it's like manna from heaven. As they use the resistant starch for energy they release small carbohydrate molecules, which feed other bacteria, which in turn excrete butyrate. Ta dah!  Butyrate is where it’s at! The preferred fuel for the cells lining the colon, butyrate is a potent anti-inflammatory that encourages blood flow and helps keep the cells healthy, which in turn reduces the risk of colorectal cancer.  

Not only does resistant starch and it’s by-product butyrate promote healthy gut flora and optimise digestive health, any surplus butyrate not used by the cells in the colon is carried by the bloodstream to the liver and other parts of the body, where it has other beneficial effects including enhanced immunity, increased metabolism, weight loss, satiety, decreased inflammation and improved stress resistance. 

Sounds good to me, especially when all these health benefits are contained in an indulgent chocolately drink! Who knew that feeding your hungry microbiomes could be such fun?

Raw Chocolate & Banana Milkshake (Serves 1)

Ingredients

180ml whole milk (preferably raw), very chilled

1 under-ripe banana, peeled and cut into several pieces (about 200g unpeeled weight)

1½ tbsp raw cacao powder

1 tbsp green banana flour

1 dsp pure vanilla essence

Large handful of fresh ice cubes (about 60g)

Liquid stevia, to taste

Instructions

Put the milk, banana, cacao, banana four and vanilla essence into a blender jug. Blend until well combined - my Vitamix (*see note below) takes about 30 seconds to do this.

Add the ice cubes and blend again until smooth, cold and creamy - another 15 to 20 seconds. 

Taste, then add 2-4 drops of organic liquid stevia to sweeten. 

Pour into a tall glass and decorate with whipped cream and a sprinkling of chocolate curls, if liked.

Carbohydrate 48g Protein 12g - per glass

Notes

I am happy using up one-third to a half of my daily carbohydrate intake in one generous glass of Raw Chocolate Banana Milkshake because I’m already at what I consider to be my ideal weight (just over 7 stone). Generally, I find this milkshake is enough on its own to sustain me until I sit down to eat my main meal of the day, which I always try and do before 6pm. If I get peckish, I might snack on some cheese, a small piece of fruit or some nuts, but basically everything I eat in a day never adds up to much more than 100g of carbohydrate, which is considered low-carb (100g to150g per day). If you want to lose weight by eating very low-carb (50g-100g per day) try substituting 125g of fresh or frozen berries e.g. blueberries, raspberries or strawberries for the banana and cacao. This will reduce the grams of carbohydrates in your milkshake by about 18g. 

* I use a Vitamix C-Series blending machine to make healthy drinks, smoothies, hot soups, sauces, frozen desserts and more, in a matter of minutes. If you are using a different blender or container size, you may need to make adjustments to the processing time, and/or ingredient quantities. To be honest, if I had to choose just one kitchen gadget to magically bestow on cooks everywhere, it would be this Vitamix!

For people who are lactose intolerant, vegan or who suffer from a nut allergy, I will be developing more non-dairy, nut-free, resistant starch milkshakes and smoothies shortly. Watch this space!  

Griddled Asparagus & Tomato with Pecorino with Parmesan Crusted Chicken / Twice-Baked Cheese Soufflés

There’s a debate going on in our household. A sort of ‘Daddy or Chips?’ to-ing and fro-ing. Sarah thinks I should feature more meat recipes on Primal Plate’s blog and I’m not finding any reason to do so. In fact, the opposite is true - I am not interested in promoting meat consumption.

Mass cruelty is going on, and millions of factory-farmed chickens, pigs and cows are suffering the consequences, without any encouragement from me. Most people don’t want to know how the food they eat arrives on their plate, because if they become fully aware of the heartrending, unmerciful, intense farming methods, kept ‘under wraps’ by agribusiness and food advertising agencies, natural empathy will force them to change their eating habits, or at least make them willing to pay the extra price for compassionately and ethically reared farm animals. I have a solution. If you think you can’t afford to buy organic, free-range, grass-fed meat, stop eating meat! Or, if you must eat it, save it for special occasions when you are happy to pay a little more for the privilege.

So now my intention is clear, I can indulge Sarah and look to those people who like to draw attention to the fact that meat is most often missing on Primal Plate’s blog. Today’s post should make the point admirably. 

Griddled Asparagus & Tomato with Pecorino is a fresh, light-bite that’s been slightly modified from an original Waitrose recipe. More than a cold salad but not quite a hot dinner, this dish captures all the flavours of summer with the minimum of fuss. With the exception of griddling the asparagus spears (which only takes about 6-8 minutes) everything else can be pre-prepared and quickly assembled when you’re ready to eat. 

It’s delicious with Parmesan Crusted Chicken (buy your chicken here) assuming you’ve taken on board the importance of provenance - but here’s the thing, it’s twice as good (and a lot more convenient to serve) teamed with Twice-Baked Cheese Soufflés (recipe adapted from Rose Elliot’s book Vegetarian Four Seasons).

This is my sort of food - tasty soft pillows of all-protein goodness, topped with golden, crunchy, cheese - and no animal suffering in the making thereof! When it comes to deciding which is more enticing to eat, I think the photographs here say it for me!

Still, I’ve included the recipes for both chicken and soufflés, so you have the choice. However, I entreat you to please stop supporting the horrors of intensive animal farming by paying the extra money for free-range, outdoor bred, organic chicken - without exception. Thank you.

Griddled Asparagus & Tomato with Pecorino (V - see note below) (Serves 2-4)

Ingredients

250g tomatoes, halved (I used Pome dei Moro)

500g asparagus, trimmed

Fast and easy vinaigrette

30g pine nuts, toasted

25g pack fresh basil, shredded if leaves are large, or left whole if small

30g Pecorino, Parmesan or Twineham Grange cheese, finely grated

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 150 ℃ / 300℉ / Gas mark 3

Arrange tomato halves in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking parchment . Cook in the pre-heated oven for up to 1 hour. N.B. Because oven temperatures can vary considerably, check the tomatoes progress after 45 minutes - they should be semi-collapsed, semi-dried and slightly caramelised when they’re done - definitely not scorched! Remove from the oven and set aside.

Gently toast pine nuts in a small dry frying pan over a low heat until golden - watch like a hawk, don’t let them burn!

Make the fast and easy vinaigrette. Set aside.

Wash asparagus, drain and dry. Snap off the bottom of the spears and peel the lower third with a potato peeler. Drizzle the prepared asparagus with olive oil, coating them evenly, then season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

Just before you’re ready to serve, heat a griddle pan to hot. Cook the asparagus in a single layer until lightly charred and tender (takes about 5-8 minutes)

Arrange the cooked asparagus on a large serving plate, scatter with the tomatoes. Drizzle generously with the vinaigrette then top with pine nuts, shredded basil leaves and grated cheese…in that order.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken (Serves 2) 

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts 

1 egg white, lightly beaten

60g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

A generous grinding of freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp Clearspring organic sunflower frying oil

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 200℃. 

Combine freshly ground black pepper with grated Parmesan.

Dip each chicken fillet into the beaten egg white and then firmly press the chicken into the combined Parmesan and black pepper.

Heat the oil in a non-stick oven-proof frying pan over a medium heat. When it is hot, cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Do not be tempted to move the chicken around the pan - it will be crispier if you leave it alone. 

Put the frying pan into the pre-heated oven for a further 8-10 minutes until cooked through. N.B. if you’re not sure if it’s completely cooked, cut through the middle of one of the chicken fillets with a sharp knife and check.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 3 minutes before serving. 

Twice-Baked Cheese Soufflés (V) (Makes 8 soufflés - serves 4 for a main course, 8 as a starter) 

Ingredients

Butter for greasing 

8 tbsp ready-grated Parmesan cheese

225g full fat cream cheese (I used Longley Farm)

4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

150g Gruyere cheese, finely grated

5 large egg whites

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180℃ / 350℉ / Gas mark 4. Boil a kettle of water.

Generously grease 8 ramekin dishes, then sprinkle the insides with 4 tablespoons of the ready-grated Parmesan.

Put the cream cheese into a large bowl and mash with a fork until it’s smooth. Gradually mix in the egg yolks, then add half the grated Gruyere. Season with sea salt and black pepper. 

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with a clean grease-free whisk (preferably electric if you’re not feeling energetic) until they stand in soft peaks.

Stir one tablespoon of the whisked egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to loosen it, then using a metal tablespoon gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.

Spoon the mixture into the ramekins to come level with the top, but don’t pile it up any higher.

Stand the filled ramekins in a roasting tin, pour the boiling water round to come halfway up the sides and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are risen and set.

Remove from the oven and allow to get cold - they’ll sink a bit. Loosen the edges and turn them out. It’s easiest to turn them out into the palm of one hand, then transfer them to an ovenproof dish.

Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere cheese, then with the rest of the Parmesan cheese. 

They can now wait until you’re ready to bake them. Then, pre-heat the oven to 200℃ / 425℉ / Gas mark 7.

Bake them for 15-20 minutes or until they are puffed up and golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Notes

It’s impossible to make Pecorino or Parmesan cheese without using animal rennet, so they are not suitable for vegetarians. Twineham Grange cheese is made with a vegetarian rennet in place of the animal rennet and is the only cheese of its type to be Vegetarian Society Approved. For more information click here.

Twice-baked cheese soufflés are excellent for a special brunch served alongside slices of wild smoked salmon and accompanied by a glass of freshly squeezed orange and pink grapefruit juice. They can even be made and frozen in their dish, ready to be quickly defrosted and baked.  

The cooking times for chicken breast fillets depend on their size and thickness so I have allowed some latitude in my timings. Try to ensure that both fillets are the same weight so you’re not juggling around with different timings for each. Ultimately, you have to use your discretion but, if in doubt, nothing will spoil if you cut one open, just to make sure it’s nicely cooked all the way through.

Carbohydrate 6g Protein 8g - per serving of Griddled Asparagus & Tomato with Pecorino/Twineham Grange cheese

Carbohydrate 0g Protein 44g - per serving of Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Carbohydrate 2g Protein 28g - per main course serving of 2x individual Twice-Baked Cheese Soufflés (1g carbohydrate 14g protein - per soufflé)

Blueberry & Coriander Seed Muffins

It is my twenty-second wedding anniversary today and there’s one food-related delight, baked in honour of my husband, that I want to share with you. After a miserably cold May and start to June, I’d been hoping that the lovely warm weather we enjoyed in April wasn’t the beginning and end of our summer because I’d planned for us to start our special day with a laid-back, leisurely breakfast of Blueberry and Coriander Seed Muffins, eaten ‘al fresco’ in the sunshine, with several delicious cappuccinos. Luckily for me, John is not only the best of husbands and the best barista in North Nottinghamshire, we also woke up to a gloriously sunny day! 

Whilst blueberries are available all year round, the start of the season for British blueberries is June (lasting through till September) so they’re bang-on time for our morning celebration. What could be healthier than field-fresh fruits so chock-a-block with antioxidants and phytonutrients they’ve been labelled a ‘superfood’? Or more sensuous than plump, juicy blueberries with their sweet-sharp ‘pop’ of flavour and the lovely inky juices they release during cooking?

It took me a while to fathom out how to make the perfect gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free blueberry muffin, but I’m proud to say that I think I’ve achieved my goal with this original Primal Plate recipe. The flavour of blueberries combined with a little sweetness from raw honey and the spicy, slightly citrus fragrance of freshly ground coriander seed makes for a delicious, low-carbohydrate, home-baked muffin that’s an aromatic, flavourful and visual treat to share with everyone you love (suggest you make double the quantity if there are more than two of you!). 

Actually, come rain or shine, baking Blueberry and Coriander Seed Muffins to show my appreciation for 22 years of wedded-bliss is absolutely guaranteed to put a smile on my favourite man’s face! #feelingsmug!

Blueberry & Coriander Seed Muffins (V) (Makes 6 Muffins)

Ingredients

65g (2½oz) unsalted butter, melted 

60g (2oz) raw, clear honey

150g (5½oz) ground almonds                                         

20g (¾oz) organic coconut flour, sifted

1 level tsp baking powder                

¼ level tsp sea salt

1 tsp coriander seed, freshly ground (I use a pestle and mortar)

3 large organic eggs                    

1 dessertspoon vanilla essence

60ml (2 fl oz) full-fat whole milk - or enough to make a soft batter 

150g (5½oz) fresh blueberries, preferably organic

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180℃ / 350°F / Gas mark 4 and line a muffin tin with 6 paper cases.

Put the honey and butter into a small saucepan, set over a low heat until the butter is just melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix together the ground almonds, coconut flour, freshly-ground coriander seed, baking powder and sea salt.    

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey/melted butter and vanilla essence.

Using a rubber spatula, mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Add enough milk to make a soft batter of dropping consistency. 

Gently fold in 125g of the blueberries, then spoon the mixture into the paper cases (about ¾ of the way full - or approximately 105g batter per muffin) 

Top with the remaining 25g blueberries, allowing 2-3 extra blueberries per muffin.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes

Notes

Look for blueberries that have a firm, smooth skin and a waxy bloom. Most of the nutrients are in the skin so although large, plump fruits are touted as the best, I think smaller ones may in fact be better for you. 

Also, according to a 2008 study, it was found that organically produced blueberries can contain significantly more antioxidants that conventionally grown ones.

Raw blueberries are a wonderful snack - especially useful to give to children instead of sweets!

Carbohydrate 17g Protein 10g - per muffin

Courgetti with Cherry Tomatoes & Asparagus

It’s taken nearly two months for me to get my Lurch Spirali out of its box! A quick mid-week peek inside my refrigerator was the inspiration. Apart from organic courgettes, cherry tomatoes, a couple of bunches of asparagus that were begging to be eaten, half a raw cauliflower, eggs and several different cheeses, there wasn’t much else to speak of that could be converted into a substantial meal for three. Since we’d already succumbed to staving off our appetites with salted nuts and a large glass of wine, I knew I had to get something on the table sooner rather than later.

Besides which, I thought that at least making vegetable ‘spaghetti’ might distract us from our hunger pangs. And It did. Not that Courgetti with Cherry Tomatoes & Asparagus took very long to make. In fact, I think it was on the table in less than thirty minutes in spite of there being minimal instructions in or on the box and, according to my husband, not much more information on the internet! 

Anyway, vegetable spaghetti, for the purposes of this recipe we call it courgetti, was fascinatingly simple and quick to make. We were all quite excited to see these long beautiful green pasta-type spirals falling effortlessly from this genius little gadget (kids, especially those who find vegetables unappealing, will just love it!). Plus, we think the result is even better to eat than conventional pasta - altogether tastier, healthier and lighter - which lets your choice of pasta sauce sing even more loudly! 

My ‘sauce’ is an adaptation of a similarly entitled recipe in Rose Elliot’s book, Fast, Fresh and Fabulous. and, as well as befooling veggie-reluctant children (you might just change their minds by getting them involved in making the courgetti!), this low-carb, really healthy recipe is a slimmer’s delight - because who would not like to lose a little bit of excess weight in contemplation of baring all in the heat of summer? Or if that’s not your concern, when the sun starts to rise in the sky, you might just prefer spending more time outside rather than in the kitchen! 

A cross between a pasta dish and a warm salad, this is so quick and easy to make it’s practically convenience food! I’ve used slender asparagus spears here because they need very little preparation. Just snap off the bottoms, wash and cook. They also cook so quickly. Happily this means you can leave the ‘sauce’ to make itself under the grill whilst you attend to the courgetti, which is cooked al dente in just 3 minutes flat!

The images of the raw ingredients I’ve used for Courgetti with Cherry Tomatoes & Asparagus are not just for show! This is how I get organised when making any meal or recipe. I collect all the ingredients together and prep them first, i.e. before I even start the cooking process. 

This is a lovely, fresh way (looks so very Italian!) to eat young, thin spears of asparagus and get a healthy quotient of other fresh vegetables on your Primal Plate too. I’ve used soft goats cheese and some Gran Padano to add more depth of flavour and texture to the dish, but if you prefer, you could get your protein fix by substituting grilled meat, chicken or fish for the cheese.

Courgetti with Cherry Tomatoes & Asparagus (V) (Serves 2)

Ingredients

300g (10½oz) cherry tomatoes

250g (9oz) thin asparagus spears (about 12 thin spears per person, or if not available, 7 thicker ones see Notes below)

2 tbsp olive oil

Basil leaves, about 8 large ones, finely shredded

3 medium-large, firm, flat (not curved) chunky courgettes (size and shape matters!)

Sea salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

100g (3½oz) full-fat soft goat’s cheese

25g (1oz) Parmesan (or Gran Padano, or Vegetarian parmesan-style cheese), finely grated

Instructions

Boil a kettle of water. Set the grill to high.

Cut off both ends of the courgettes. Put the centre of the courgette into the centre of the Spirali vegetable support and holding the machine steady with one-hand, turn the crank clockwise with your other hand whilst pushing the vegetables tight up against the blades. - the courgettes are easily and quickly sliced twice into fabulous long julienne strips. What fun! Set aside whilst you prepare the ‘sauce’ ingredients.

Place the cherry tomatoes in a single layer on a grill pan. Put the washed and dried asparagus into a large bowl with half the olive oil and mix together with you hands until evenly coated. Put these on the grill pan too and season everything well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Put under the grill and cook for about 6-8 minutes or until the tomatoes are on the point of collapse and the asparagus just tender to the point of a knife, and perhaps tinged golden brown.

Once the tomatoes and asparagus are about half-way through their cooking time (after about 3-4 minutes) put the courgetti into the top half of a steamer and pour the boiling water from the kettle into the bottom half of the pan. Put the pan lid on and steam for 3 minutes. Keep your eye on the asparagus and tomatoes whilst the courgetti cooks.

Drain the courgetti well, then pour over the rest of the olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Divide the courgetti between two warm pasta dishes (large shallow bowls). Add the tomatoes and asparagus to the vegetable pasta and top with goats cheese, shredded basil and a sprinkling of Parmesan, if liked. Buon appetito!

Notes:

Select the finest (3mm blade) out of the 3 cutters supplied with your machine - this makes thin ‘spaghetti’ spirals out of your vegetables that not only look fantastic, they only need a very short period of time to cook. Assemble your Spirali machine on a clean flat surface and place a large container underneath to catch the prepared courgetti as it falls from the machine.

If you want to, you can peel the courgettes first so it comes out white, like pasta.

If you can’t get thin whole asparagus, use asparagus tips. Alternatively, first cut the tips off thicker asparagus and then split the stems vertically in half. 

For vegans, omit the cheese and try adding other finely chopped herbs to the basil - perhaps tarragon and chives. Serve the vegetable pasta with freshly chopped herbs and perhaps a good handful of toasted pine nuts scattered over.

You can make this dish completely fat-free by omitting the olive oil (although ‘low-fat’ isn’t a concern for people who follow a Primal or Paleo diet) 

Carbohydrate 16g Protein 22g - per serving

Thai Spiced Aubergine Curry with Cauliflower Rice

I met one of my oldest friends last week. We go back nearly thirty years, I think. I don’t see her that often, but when I do, it’s as if it’s just a continuum of the time before - even if our last meeting was months, or even years, ago. I love this woman’s courage, directness and no-nonsense attitude to life. Turns out, we’ve both lost a significant amount of weight recently, so obviously our respective weight-reduction diet plans were up for discussion and comparison. Her low-fat / low-calorie / high-nutrient Slimmer’s World diet (by which method she has lost four stone!) is almost the exact opposite of my high-fat / low-carbohydrate / Primal diet that doesn’t give a hoot about counting calories (though it’s still nutrient dense).

It’s a sure-fire thing that Primal Plate has nothing to offer my friend in terms of optimising a weight-loss maintenance plan because she’s doing brilliantly already, thank you very much! What I do know is that you cannot combine Primal eating (no-grains, low-carbohydrate) with a low-fat diet because you’d find yourself in a dietary hell of restricted food choices and no energy. And vice versa. The natural consequence of a high fat, high carbohydrate diet and a sedentary lifestyle is an increasingly fat and unhealthy body. In this context, today’s obesity and type-2 diabetes epidemic is the norm.  

It appears dietary guidelines for weight loss are still polarised between low-fat / high-carbohydrate (including grains, potatoes and wholemeal bread) and high-fat / low-carbohydrate (your source of energy comes from healthy dietary fat like cheese, grass-fed meat, butter and cream). So, the message is, unless you do insane amounts of exercise, you really can’t combine both diets and stay at your optimum weight! Whatever you’ve been conditioned to believe, there is mounting scientific evidence that proves fat, particularly saturated fat (butter, cheese, meat and cream), isn’t the enemy. In fact, it may be high carbohydrates that are more dangerous. Hence, Primal Plate recipes answer the need for comfort food that could be mistaken for carbohydrate-rich meals.

Whilst putting the world to rights, as only sixty-something sagacious women can, I mentioned my inclination towards vegetarian food and my friend went on to tell me how tricky she found cooking for her son and girlfriend, who are both vegan. It was then a light went on inside my head. To make Primal Plate blog more relevant to her, why not develop a low-carbohydrate, Primal (no grains, no pulses, no legumes) easy-to-cook vegan recipe? And with that thought, Thai Spiced Aubergine Curry with Cauliflower Rice was created.

The first time I made this dish, the result was such a pleasant surprise! The aubergine transforms itself into a sort of ‘vegetarian meat’ that absorbs the curry spices and fresh lime juice well, and perfectly blends with creamy coconut milk into an amalgam of sweet-sour, meltingly soft, spicy curry perfection. 

The trick to cooking aubergine is to cook it thoroughly - in this instance, first cutting it into smallish pieces and frying in coconut oil until it’s evenly brown on all sides, then lightly braising in the sauce until it’s unctuously soft and velvety. Low-carbohydrate, grain-free, cauliflower ‘rice’ does a brilliant job of soaking up all the delectable juices and voilà - a healthy, flavoursome vegan meal that is seriously yum!   

You’ll need a food processor to make the Cauliflower Rice.

Thai Spiced Aubergine Curry with Cauliflower Rice (Serves 4)

Ingredients - for the aubergine curry

3 medium aubergines (about 750g (1lb 10oz) total weight)

3 tbsp organic coconut oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2.5cm (1in) piece root ginger, finely chopped

4 tsp red Thai curry paste (I use Barts)

1 tbsp raw organic coconut sugar

1 lime, juiced

1 tbsp tamari

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

300ml (10½ fl oz) cold water

2 x 400g (14oz) cans full-fat coconut milk

15g (½oz) basil leaves, finely shredded

60g (2oz) raw cashews

1tsp olive oil

Instructions 

Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small frying pan and slowly toast the cashews over a low heat until they are golden. Allow them to cool on a plate lined with kitchen paper. When cool, use a sharp knife to chop them into smallish pieces. Set aside.

Meanwhile, clean the aubergines with a damp kitchen towel, cut off the stalk end then cut the flesh into small (2cm) cubes.

Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat then add the chopped onion and ginger and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. 

Add the aubergine cubes and fry, turning over from time to time, until everything is a deep golden brown on all sides. This takes about 10 minutes so keep your eye on it to make sure the mixture browns evenly and doesn’t burn.

Add the curry paste to the pan and cook for a further minute. Then add the coconut sugar, the lime juice, the tamari, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and the cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to gentle simmer and continue to cook for 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to about a third of its original volume. 

Stir in the coconut milk and continue to cook gently for another 5 minutes.

Taste to check the seasoning, then serve with shredded basil and toasted cashews scattered over and steamed Cauliflower Rice.

Cauliflower Rice (V) (Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower, preferably organic

1-2 fresh bay leaf (optional)

Instructions

Boil a kettle of water.

Wash and dry a large head of cauliflower. Cut off the florets only (you don’t need the stem). Blitz the florets in a food processor for about 30 seconds until it comes together into a powdery cauliflower ‘snow’. 

Tip the cauliflower into the top of a steamer and tuck a couple of bay leaves into the cauliflower, if you have them. Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the bottom of the steamer, cover and steam for 3-4 minutes (do not cook any longer than this - the ‘grains’ of cauliflower should stay separate, not reduce to wet mush!)

Drain well and serve immediately with Thai Spiced Aubergine Curry

Notes:

There’s no need to salt the aubergines for this recipe, or indeed for any recipe calling for aubergine now that the bitterness has been bred out of modern varieties. When it comes to Mellanzane Parmigiana I still do, mainly out of force of habit, which just harks back to the time when I used to fry the aubergine slices in olive oil prior to assembling the dish and, unless they were pre-salted, the amount of olive oil they absorbed was alarming!

Carbohydrate 28g Protein 13g - per serving of aubergine curry with cauliflower rice