cookbook

Yield: 8 bars
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 100g/3 1/2 oz/ 1 cup jumbo/rolled oats; 50g/1 3/4 oz/ 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil; 2 tbsp honey (I use raw honey); 2 tbsp nut butter (of choice); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3 tbsp raw, shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped; 50g/1 3/4 oz/ 2/3 cup desiccated coconut/dried shredded coconut; 2 tbsp dried goji berries

May 25, 2017

Coconut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Granola Bars

You can read my full review of Packed, by Becky Alexander and Michelle Lake, published by Nourish Books here. Today, I’m happy to be sharing one of my favourite recipes from the book, Coconut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Granola Bars, from the Get Up and Go chapter. These bars perfect for mid-morning munchies or an afternoon snack. I’ve also made these with dried cranberries and raisins, in place of goji berries, but goji berries pack the most punch!

Recipe and image shared with the permission of the publisher. Image by Haarala Hamilton.

Goji Granola Bars Haarala Hamilton — Photo: Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton

1 vote

Author Becky Alexander and Michelle Lake

Yield 8 bars

Easy to rustle up, these bars are a good option when you need to eat breakfast on the go or for an afternoon snack. Almond, cashew or macadamia nut butters all work well to add protein and flavour.

Ingredients

100g/3 1/2 oz/ 1 cup jumbo/rolled oats
50g/1 3/4 oz/ 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp honey (I use raw honey)
2 tbsp nut butter (of choice)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp raw, shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
50g/1 3/4 oz/ 2/3 cup desiccated coconut/dried shredded coconut
2 tbsp dried goji berries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a 23 x 15cm/9 x 6 inch shallow baking pan with baking/parchment paper. Spread the oats thinly over the parchment and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
Put the oil, honey, nut butter and vanilla extract in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, and heat gently until well combined and the oil is melted.
Stir in the baked oats until well coated. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Tip the mixture back into the baking pan and press down firmly using damp hands.
Put in the fridge for 1 hour, or until firm, and then cut into 8 bars. Wrap each bar in parchment to take to work. Store in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours.

Notes

"Packed with...Vibrant red and intensely flavoured, the goji berry is rich in carotenoids and antioxidents that help to protect our eyes from damage. They are a little pricey, but they keep well and you only need to add a small amount to bars, porridge/oatmeal, granola or salads to reap their health benefits."

Courses Breakfast, or lunchtime snack

Cuisine British

Recipe and image shared with the permission of the publisher. With thanks to Nourish Books, Becky and Michelle.

July 14, 2015

Review: At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin

At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well

By Amy Chaplin

UK Edition: Jacqui Small LLP, June 2015, Currently £17.00 on Amazon

US Edition: Roost Books October 2014

Genre – Healthy Eating (Vegan/Vegetarian)

You might have noticed that there is a health food trend happening at the moment and as a result, there’s a plethora of healthy eating and ‘whole food’ books to choose from. At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen is an award-winning vegan and vegetarian book, written by Amy Chaplin and it’s certainly a book that stands out to me.

Amy was former executive chef of Angelia Kitchen, a renowned vegan restaurant in New York, and now works as a private chef, teacher and recipe developer. Through her book, she offers readers a very well-considered, sensible and achievable approach to eating well without compromising on flavour or satisfaction.

Structure

The structure of the book differs slightly from the standard order, in that it doesn’t jump straight into the recipes. Instead, it has a lengthy opening section (Part 1) devoted to ‘the pantry’ – with advice on how to stock your pantry. I restocked mine within a day of owning this book and had a big de-clutter, to include more of what Amy suggests which are whole grains (buckwheat, millet, rolled oats, brown rice, wholegrain noodles and pastas etc.), beans and pulses (legumes), nuts and seeds, superfoods (flax seeds, goji berries etc.), oils, vinegars, seasonings, condiments and spices.

Amy also sets out her go-to ‘fresh’ pantry vegetables (she sees her fridge as an extension of her pantry) as well as other staples in her fridge, such as fermented vegetables, goat’s cheese and nut butters. There are also some great suggestions for whole foods to store in the freezer, such as berries, sprouted bread and sweetcorn.

To follow, there are notes on baking ingredients, including almond flour and wholegrain spelt flour and some ideas for natural sweeteners.

All in all, I love how part one of Amy’s book is set out; the sections are succinct and uncomplicated and you can really start to define (and take control!) of your pantry and the different ‘whole food’ ingredients within it.

Amy moves onto a section on ‘cooking from the pantry’ and again, this is broken down into grains, beans, nuts and seeds, and roasting vegetables with ideas for a week of meals.

From page 85 onward, she moves onto ‘pantry recipes’ – you could try a simple red lentil soup, wholewheat fettuccine with kale, caramelized onions and marinated goat’s cheese (my favourite recipe of the whole book and featured here tomorrow), vanilla chai pudding or pink kraut (a mixture of green cabbage and red cabbage that turns pink!)

Part Two then expands on the basic concepts already introduced and Amy sets out her recipes, including the more traditional chapters:

Breakfast
Soups
Salads
Snacks, nibbles and drinks
Whole meals
Desserts (tarts & sweet treats for every occasion)

Blackberry cornmeal muffins are the perfect make-ahead treat for breakfast or brunch guests, the Peach chia breakfast shake is simple and can also be transformed into a peach-flavoured chia pudding. The soups are both nourishing and cleansing, whilst the salads take inspiration from a whole array of seasonal vegetables, from shaved courgette (zucchini) with purslane and a pine nut lemon dressing, to roasted winter vegetables or a shaved beetroot salad with blood orange and crushed hazelnuts.

The herbed spelt berry salad with peas and feta is both unusual and inspiring and would work equally well as a delicious ‘al fresco’ supper with friends as it would a lunch box for work or packed away for a picnic.

More substantial dishes include a coconut curry, a butternut squash lasagne (with wholewheat lasagne) and a spicy chickpea stew. By this point in the book we’re really eating well!

Following this, there’s a three-part recipe for coconut vanilla pod ice cream with roasted plums and maple coconut crunch which captured my attention (I made the roasted plums part and used peaches instead) and there’s a divine chocolate hazelnut layer cake for special occasions, too, which I can’t wait to make.

Why I like it

This book is really about feeding yourself with good food. It’s not about dieting or deprivation, and so for me, the recipes for desserts and puddings come as a welcome treat. There’s a big section devoted to making tarts, where you can mix and match the pastry and fillings, which is fun.

Amy is clearly an accomplished chef, and, as the title promises, I am left with the impression that this is the way Amy cooks at home. I don’t think that there are any recipes in this book that a home cook couldn’t tackle or try out for themselves.

This is a beautiful book, with bright and breezy photography by Johnny Miller, that offers a simple and straightforward, organised approach to a healthier lifestyle, without taking the ‘healthy eating’ approach to any extremes.

Click here for a handpicked recipe from the book…

Wholewheat Fettuccine with kale, caramelized onions and marinated goat’s cheese

Photo Credit: Johnny Miller, reproduced with permission from UK publisher, Jacqi Small.

At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well

By Amy Chaplin

UK Edition: Jacqui Small LLP, June 2015, Currently £17.00 on Amazon (non-affiliate link)

US Edition: Roost Books October 2014

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book from Jacqui Small for review, which I offered as a giveaway prize in June’s Simple and in Season (won by C. Ammar). However, I found it to be such a beautiful and practical book, that I promptly jumped on Amazon to buy my own copy. Therefore this review is based on my own purchase.

The Jewelled Kitchen Virtual Cookbook Launch

It’s time to introduce you to a brand new and beautiful cookery book by Bethany Kehdy called The Jewelled Kitchen – A stunning collection of Lebanese, Moroccan and Persian recipes. I was very honoured to be asked by Bethany to take part in her virtual cookbook launch. I dove straight into Bethany’s Whipped Hummus with Lamb, although there was an abundance of tempting recipes to choose from, including dishes from Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan.

I confess to having a weakness for Lebanese food; during my studies in London my best friend used to take me to a Lebanese restaurant pretty much weekly – it was my biggest splurge of the week, but they were student pennies very well spent. There might have also been a glass of the anise-scented ‘Arak’ or two shared…Even now; Middle Eastern cuisine is always at the top of my ‘eat-out’ food list and I was also very eager to get stuck into trying some dishes for myself at home.

If you are a food blogger, you may already be familiar with the very talented author of this book, Bethany, in her alter-ego as the driving force behind Food Blogger Connect. The fifth internally renowned conference took place this weekend gone at the Battersea Arts Centre in London – much more about the weekend to come. I remember speaking to Bethany at length last year about the process of writing her book, along with friend and photographer Šárka Babická. I knew back then that this collaboration of two highly talented and self-driven individuals would be incredibly inspiring – and it is. Bethany is also a blogger at Dirty Kitchen Secrets, a chef, a freelance food and travel writer and somehow, in between all of this, leads culinary tours across Lebanon.

Aubergine_Veal-3043 — Aubergine, veal and yogurt crumble from The Jewelled Kitchen by Bethany Kehdy © Duncan Baird Publishers 2013, commissioned photography by Šárka Babická

The Jewelled Kitchen, published by Duncan Baird Publishers, opens with Bethany’s very personal culinary reflections. Bethany begins by sharing her earliest memories of food in Beirut during the early eighties, stopping at the sweet-shop with her grandfather (jeddo) or shadowing her grandmother (teta) whilst grocery shopping.

Bethany was born in Houston, Texas, but returned to Lebanon with her father when her parents separated when she was just four years old. Bethany’s Lebanese father was a lawyer, meaning that Bethany spent most of her time with her grandparents. However, he later set up a dairy farm, where Bethany recalls hiding in the pine forest, exploring caves, making cheese or shelling pine nuts and chickpeas. After returning to America for a few years, Bethany was again lured back to Lebanon where she discovered cooking and feeding people as a “cheap and rewarding form of therapy.” In her twenties, she moved back to America again, spending time in Houston, Miami and Hawaii before ending up in London with her British husband.

Although Bethany has taken in her fair share of cultures and cuisines, it is her love for Middle Eastern food that has always had the strongest pull. Her book explores the very best of Middle Eastern home-cooking, celebrating humble vegetables and grains, brought alive by an array of spices and kitchen staples, such as garlic, lemon and fresh herbs as well as pomegranate molasses, bread, citrus and yogurt. Bethany explores mezze, poultry, meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes. On every page, there is a good dose of her trademark charm and a warm invitation to try some of her most cherished recipes.

This is a cookery book that I could easily spend the year cooking from in ‘Julie and Julia’ style. I would happily use it as a manual from which to learn the secrets of Middle Eastern cuisine, taking in recipes such as Silky Chickpea and Lamb Soup, Swimming Chickpeas, the enchantingly-named Slumbering Chamomile Chicken or the Duck Shawarma with Fig Jam that I’ve been dreaming of ever since receiving the book.

Swimming Chickpeas – from The Jewelled Kitchen by Bethany Kehdy © Duncan Baird Publishers 2013, commissioned photography by Šárka Babická

Bethany’s introductions are interesting and informative – in many cases, giving Arabic translations of dishes, explanations about ingredients or suggestions of alternative options, such as making the ‘fattet makdous’ (stuffed aubergine with crumbs) with lamb or beef, or even lentils for a vegetarian twist.

There is also a chapter filled with unusual and highly enticing fish dishes, such as, Almond Crusted Scallops, Slow-Braised Spiced Squid, or one of my favourite dishes of them all; Sea Bass with Spiced Caramelized Onion Rice. Added to which, there are also plenty of vegetarian dishes to explore, such as Courgettes Stuffed with Herb Rice, a Slow-Cooked Broad Bean and Tomato Stew, or a punchy Shaved Beetroot, Radish and Grapefruit salad.

At the back of the book, a sweet ending of Date Fudge, Semolina Pancakes, rolled and filled with ricotta or clotted cream, almond butter and honeycomb or these fun and colourful Fruit Cocktails with Lebanese clotted cream and nuts.

Fruit Cocktail from The Jewelled Kitchen by Bethany Kehdy © Duncan Baird Publishers 2013, commissioned photography by Šárka Babická

Through The Jewelled Kitchen, Bethany has succeeded in weaving together a collection of authentic, captivating recipes, whilst sensitively introducing her readers to Middle Eastern cooking in a modern, appealing and incredibly alluring way.

Pop back tomorrow morning when I’ll be sharing Bethany’s recipe for Whipped Hummus with Lamb.

With many thanks to Bethany Kehdy and Duncan Baird Publishers for my review copy of The Jewelled Kitchen. RRP £20.00.

You can follow the other posts in this virtual cookbook launch here.

May 24, 2013

Giveaway: ASK Italian Cookbook and £20 ASK Vouchers

A little while ago I mentioned the new ASK Italian cookbook, with recipes by Theo Randall and Carla Capalbo. I had made the Spaghetti Carbonara – a winning family recipe in our household always met with smiles. We also recently ate at ASK and we were really impressed by their new 2013 menu, showcasing Italian inspired dishes created by Theo Randall and Head of Food, Jeena Rodrigues.

We loved the seasonal ‘spring specials’ on offer; asparagus wrapped in prosciutto or Fettucine Primavera Con Prosciutto – a spring pasta dish with asparagus, peas, courgettes and a creamy pecorino sauce. The children were quick to start colouring and to tuck into their pizza with fresh vegetables to nibble on and garlic bread, too. ASK have come a long way since I worked as a waitress in their Tottenham Court Road branch back in 2000! They now have 118 restaurants and endeavour to source high quality Italian ingredients from local growers in Italy, with Theo and the chefs taking regular trips to Italy for menu inspiration. If you have an ASK near you, try the Panzerottini – baked dough balls with Pancetta and cheese and chilli, a classic Bolognese is served with the more authentic fetuccine, rather than spaghetti. Puddings are tasty too – especially the dessert sharing board…

For a chance to win a copy of the ASK Italian Cookbook and a £20 voucher to put towards a nice meal out enter the rafflecopter giveaway below –

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With thanks to ASK Italian for the cookbook and vouchers as a prize for one of my readers.

November 20, 2012

Family Spaghetti Carbonara (ASK Italian Cook Book)

Today marks the official publication of The ASK Italian Cookbook, in support of GOSH – Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. I’ve had a sneaky peak of the book ahead of the launch and have been busy bookmarking and cooking some of my favourite recipes from it. When I moved to London, aged 18, as a student, the very first job I had was in an ASK Italian restaurant, just off Tottenham Court Road. I have many happy memories of serving (and eating) big plates of pasta and tasty pizzas. Since then, many of the ASK restaurants have had an update. Chef Theo Randall has also been working with ASK to improve the quality of their food and to inspire some of the chefs and team working for the group. Theo has also contributed a number of his own recipes to the book and other collaborators, such as Carla Capalbo and ASK CEO Harvey Smyth have lent a hand, too. As well as giving the home cook the chance to try some of ASK’s favourite recipes at home, part of the proceeds of sale of the book will go towards their favourite charity, GOSH.

ASK’s goal is to raise an ambitious £1 million over the next few years to fund facilities in the new Surgery Centre.

The ASK Italian Cookbook offers a good mix of traditional Italian recipes, including Antipasti, Pasta, Risotto, Pizza, Fish and Meat, Salads and Desserts. There is a section called The Italian Larder, an Italian Wine Tasting Guide and wine recommendations alongside some of the recipes. You’ll also find advice on chosing pasta and making fresh pasta, risotto and pizza dough. Towards the back, there’s a chapter on some of the ASK Italian menu staple sauces and bases.

Photographs from the ASK Italian Cookbook. The photograpy is by Jamie Laing, Sylvie Tata and Carla Capalbo

Last night, I made a big bowl of ASK’s Spaghetti Carbonara, one of the dishes I remember looking forward to eating after a busy shift as a waitress. The purist would never add cream to the eggs, so Theo marks it as an optional ingredient. Other recipes I immediately want to make include –

Penne Con Salsiccia e Porcini (pasta with Italian sausage, garlic, dried porcini, tomatoes and cream) NB The porcini is duplicated in the ingredients list
Penne al Pollo Della Casa – this dish flies off the menu at all ASK’s. Baked, creamy, garlic and mushroom chicken with thyme, cheese and pasta
Lasagna di Caprino, Spinaci e Funghi – Goat’s cheese, spinach and mushroom lasagna perfect for feeding a large crowd
Risotto con Gamberoni e Zucchine – a really flavoursome risotto made with prawn stock, garlic, courgettes, wine, tomato passata and chilli
Spalla D’Agnelo con Olive – Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with anchovies, olives and rosemary (Sunday lunch this weekend)
Torta Morbida di Cioccolato – Theo’s Valrhona chocolate cake made with chocolate, eggs, sugar and cream and cooked in a bain marie

My version of ASK’s Spaghetti Carbonara – Spaghetti with Pancetta, Eggs and Cheese.

Although I have lots of Italian cookery books on my shelf, this book doesn’t over-complicate and makes for easy reading and cooking. It would make a great Christmas present for a young cook, perhaps beginning to dabble in pasta-making or for a student. There are some good cooking tips to be found within the recipes, too, such as buying king prawns in their shells and then using the prawns to make a stock for your risotto by poaching them, taking the prettiest ones out and peeling the rest. You then boil the shells for another ten minutes before straining – you’re left with a really tasty seafood stock for your risotto. Another ASK tip is to use semolina flour to dust the work surface before kneading pizza dough as it will give it a crispier dough.

ASK Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Recipe re-printed with the publisher’s permission

Ingredients:

250g pancetta, cubed (Italian bacon)
1 teaspoon ASK Italian extra virgin olive oil
500g spaghetti
6 large egg yolks
100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
100g pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
2 tablespoons finely chopped, fresh parsley
50ml single cream (optional)
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

Method:

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the pancetta slowly in a small frying pan in a tablespoon of oil until golden and crispy. Turn off the heat but leave the pancetta in the pan.
Drop the spaghetti into the pan of water and cook according to the packet instructions.
When the pasta is nearly cooked, place the egg yolks in a large warm serving bowl and stir in three-quarters of both cheeses and a tablespoon and a half of parsley. Grind in some black pepper. Turn the heat on under the pancetta pan to keep it hot.
Just before draining the pasta, use a mug to scoop out some of the hot pasta cooking water. Set aside.
Tip the steaming, drained pasta immediately into the bowl with the egg yolks and stir to coat the pasta and cook the eggs.
Add half a mugful of the hot pasta water to the pasta and eggs. Top with the pancetta and its hot oil and stir again. If you want to add cream, do it now.
Serve the carbonara immediately, garnished with parsley and black pepper, and with the rest of the grated cheese on the side.

The ASK Italian Cookbook is available to buy from today in all ASK restaurants. If you buy the book in an ASK restaurant, you can buy it for £10 and £4 will be donated to GOSH.

You can also buy the book online, and a minimum of £1 will be donated to GOSH from all sales. The RRP is £15

With many thanks to Penguin and ASK for my review copy and for permission to print a recipe.