This is another lovely recipe from Food, Glorious Food by Patrick Holford. If you are using pumpkin for this recipe, use a small one, rather than the large watery-fleshed ones used for carving Halloween lanterns. We loved these and other people seem to love them too. Great hot, warm or at room temperature as an accompaniment to lots of green vegetables and some form of protein (e.g. beans, pulses, meat, fish).
For a more Mediterranean flavour use oregano/Herbes de Provence and ground sweet paprika instead of cumin, coriander and turmeric.
For 4
950g pumpkin or a large butternut squash, washed but unpeeled
Level tsp turmeric
Rounded tsp ground cumin
Rounded tsp ground coriander
Half level tsp Himalayan salt or sea salt
2 tbs (140g tin) tomato puree
1 tbsp olive oil
Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan).
Cut the squash or pumpkin in half length-ways and scrape out the seeds and pulp with a spoon. For the squash, cut each half into 4, length-ways, so you have 8 long pieces. If using pumpkin, aim to cut into lengthways wedges about 3cm thick.
Mix the turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt, tomato puree and oil together in a bowl, then rub the paste all over the squash or pumpkin until evenly coated.
Place the squash in a roasting dish and cook for 45-60 minutes or until the flesh is soft when pierced or squashed.
Serving ideas:
Use as an accompaniment to my chickpea and cauliflower curry for a filling meal.
Substitute for baked potatoes as an accompaniment for meat, fish or a salad
Cut the leftovers into bite sized chunks and mix with salad and beans, fish, meat or eggs for a healthy lunch or lunchbox
Why this is good for you: All orange vegetables are rich in beta carotene, which helps give your skin an attractive golden glow. Most peoples bodies convert beta carotene to vitamin A, needed to protect against infections and for good vision and healthy skin. Herbs and spices are powerful antioxidants, which fight inflammatory conditions like eczema, Crohn’s, colitis and rheumatoid arthritis. Squash or pumpkin is a healthier alternative to potatoes as it contains more nutrients, more fibre and less (natural) sugar.
This is gorgeous. The tomatoes and apples perfectly balance the earthy flavour of yellow split peas. Like all beans and pulses this is more digestible and cooks faster if you soak the split peas overnight in clean cold water to about twice their depth...
This is another fantastic and quick recipe by Chetna Makan. Again I’ve taken out the toxic refined cooking oil and swapped in the better-for-you coconut oil. I’ve also added onions to bulk it up and add even more goodness for your long-term health. I’ve increased the quantity of sauce too, as I love sauce.
For 2
200ml natural full fat yoghurt (for SC diet use home made full fat kefir or 24-hour SCD yoghurt)
1/2 level tsp Himalayan/sea salt
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ level tsp chilli or (the milder) cayenne
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
300g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3cm pieces
1 onion, finely sliced or chopped
1 tbs virgin coconut oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
20g fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped (a handful of whole coriander will give you enough).
1.Mix the yoghurt/kefir, salt, spices and garlic in a bowl. Add the chicken pieces, turn until well coated, then leave to marinate while you prepare the curry base. If you are planning ahead you can marinate these in the fridge overnight too.
2.Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and cumin seeds, a splash (about 1 tbs) of water, cover with a lid or plate and cook over a medium heat for five minutes,until softened, translucent but not brown.
3.Add the tomatoes, then the marinated chicken and any excess marinade, mix well, then bring to a boil, cover and cook over a medium to low heat for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with the coriander.
Serve with :
Low carb/SC diet: 2 cups broccoli rice per person or 1 cup cauliflower rice and 1 cup steamed greens per person.
Had to rush home last Saturday at lunchtime and there was not a lot in the house. We cobbled this together and it was gorgeous! We thought it had quite a lot of umami – the sort of meaty, satisfying deliciousness chefs and food writers go on about.
If you have a problem with raw onions, try cutting up the onions before you do anything else. Soak them in the lemon juice for 10 minutes – it “cooks” the onions and takes the heat right out. I don’t know how it works, but it does.
For 4
1 dsp of sundried tomato paste, dairy free red pesto or paste from my Indian spiced butternut squash recipe on this blog (ingredients below)
2 tins (about 850g) rinsed, drained, cooked chickpeas
2 tbs lemon juice
3-4 spring onions, finely sliced (or ¼ of a large red onion, thinly sliced or chopped)
Small bunch parsley, chopped (tip: rinse, dry and chop parsley and keep in the freezer for instant use)
1 heaped tbs black olives – pitted or unpitted, whatever you prefer
3 sundried tomatoes, soaked in boiling water for 5-10 mins, drained and chopped (Or use semi sundried, which don’t need to be soaked at all)
Black pepper
2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
A handful of leftover bite size pieces of baked or steamed sweet potato, squash, potato, pumpkin, quinoa or millet you might have hanging around the fridge
The Indian spiced butternut squash rub from the recipe on this blog is made by mixing:
1 level tsp turmeric
1 rounded tsp ground cumin
Rounded tsp ground coriander
Half level tsp Himalayan salt or sea salt
2 tbs (140g tin) tomato puree
1 tbs virgin olive oil
In a large bowl mix up the paste or sundried tomato pesto with the lemon juice, olive oil, chopped parsley and a few good grinds of black pepper.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to coat. Serve at room temperature.
Serve with a large green salad or as a side dish to roast meat/white fish with a green vegetable.
Variation:
Use a small bunch of roughly chopped coriander instead of parsley, or 1 teaspoonful of chopped fresh rosemary leaves.
Why this is good for you: Herbs and spices are fantastic for your health. They help clear your skin and slow the ageing process. They are also anti-inflammatory, good news for calming your digestive system. Chickpeas and onions are a great source of soluble fibre which provides nourishment for the friendly bacteria in your gut. If you are new to eating beans and pulses, start with small amounts and build up. Friendly bacteria are important for all aspects of wellness, from weight management, to good skin, healthy digestion and strong immunity to prevent infections and colds. Chickpeas are rich in protein (at around 8%) so they can take the place of meat or fish at a meal. If 25% of every meal is protein, you will stay fuller longer and be less prey to cravings. Chickpeas contain magnesium too, which aids relaxation.
This recipe comes from Food Glorious Food, by Patrick Holford and Fiona McDonald Joyce. I did adapt the quantities slightly, increasing the chickpeas, giving more protein to keep you fuller for longer. We also used curry powder instead of the curry paste recommended and it was still lovely. It isn’t hot. The curry is really a meal in itself without needing accompaniments though we did roast some pumpkin wedges. We coated them in tomato puree and spices according to Patrick and Fiona’s recipe for Indian Spiced butternut squash, also from the same book. Don’t be tempted to leave out the coconut oil – extra (healthy) oils are very important for keeping you fuller longer when you eat animal-free meals.
For 3 big eaters, with a little left for lunch next day: Remember to go to my “larder & shopping” section for unusual ingredients.
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
2 heaped tbs Thai curry paste or Sharwoods Madras curry powder (or any curry powder – make sure to check labels for gluten if relevant)
2 large onions, sliced
2/3 large cauliflower, broken into bite size florets
2 x 400g tins chickpeas or 220g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, then boiled till tender to yield 440g when cooked and drained (about 2 mugs)
400ml can full fat coconut milk
100ml hot vegetable stock (use 1/4 teaspoon Marigold bouillon or 1/2 a Kallo vegetable stock cube to make this up)
1 tbs tamari sauce
250g fine green beans (or you could use runner beans, cut into 2″ lengths)
Optional: Handful of coriander, torn or roughly chopped
Put the oil, curry powder and onions in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Le Creuset type pot on a medium heat, mix around, cover with a lid or plate and sweat until softened and translucent – this usually takes around 10 minutes. Add the cauliflower and chickpeas to the pan and stir to coat them in the other ingredients.
Pour in the coconut milk, stock and tamari, and stir. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over a gentle heat until the cauliflower is nearly done. I found this took about 15 minutes.
Stir in the green beans, cover and cook for another 5 minutes or so until they’re tender. Scatter with the coriander leaves (if using) before serving.
To serve: You can eat this curry on its own, or serve with brown rice or with the gorgeous Indian spiced butternut squash recipe I will be posting shortly.
Why this recipe is good for you: Thousands of clinical studies show that a wide range of spices have profoundly anti-inflammatory properties, helping soothe joints, digestive system and delay ageing. Sometimes people complain that Indian takeaways upset them, thinking it is the spices. It is more likely to be the heavy use of low quality refined oils that promote inflammation and play havoc with their stomachs!! The chickpeas in this recipe are a good source of protein and also of soluble fibre, that feeds beneficial bacteria in the gut to help your health. Chickpeas, like all beans and pulses, need to be soaked and boiled thoroughl (or tinned!) to make them digestible. Virgin coconut oil and full fat coconut milk contain important medium chain triglyceride fats that feed your brain. MCTs also used by the body directly to make energy, rather than being stored as fat – good news if you want to be slim and trim. People with ME/chronic fatigue syndrome particularly benefit from coconut oil in their diets. Cauliflower is a sulphurophane vegetable, helping your liver detoxify used-up hormones and other waste products. Substituting beans/pulses for meat/cheese in some of your meals every week is a good way of helping your kidney function and supporting joint and bone health. Fresh coriander binds to heavy metals such as mercury and aluminium in the gut, helping their safe elimination. “Silver” fillings give off toxic mercury while “normal” tea is high in aluminium, a known neurotoxin. Helping your body eliminate these is good news.
