Apr 2, 2018 | Anna's Best Recipes, Cakes, biscuits & bars, Desserts & drinks
These are amazing for people who like really posh chocolate with gorgeous flavours. I have adapted Anna Jones recipe (from her book The Modern Cook’s Year) by using coconut sugar instead of standard brown sugar. It gives a gorgeous very slight crunch to the truffles. Keep them in the fridge until serving though, otherwise they melt.
This mix makes a lot (I got around 40), and will keep you in truffles for a couple of weeks.
For the flavouring, I used ground cardamom (1 teaspoon) and the rind of 1 organic orange which turned out gorgeously. I found the crushed rose petal topping looked spectacular and everyone wanted to eat those ones.
60g coconut oil, plus extra to grease
30g coconut sugar (gives a lovely crunch)
200g no-added sugar nut butter at room temperature (raw nut butter is healthiest)
200g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids, I used 81% for a less sweet truffle)
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod or ¾ level teaspoon vanilla powder or vanilla extract
2 big pinches of Himalayan salt
20 x 20cm brownie tin (with removable base. If you have to use a normal tin then I suggest lining it with silicon baking parchment so its easier to remove from the tin)
Additional flavours (optional)
Zest of 1 unwaxed/organic orange, lemon or lime
Smoked sea salt
Seeds of 3 cardamom pods, crushed (or use ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom)
½ teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
To coat
50g raw cocoa or cocoa powder
Pistachios, almonds, finely chopped
Candied ginger, finely chopped
Grated dark chocolate
Dried rose petals, crushed
1. Grease a 20cmx20cm square brownie tin with coconut oil.
2. Heat the coconut oil and sugar in a saucepan on a low heat until the oil has melted (the coconut sugar won’t really melt, I find).
3. Take the pan off the heat and add chocolate, nut butter, vanilla, salt and stir till melted. Then add the whatever flavourings you are using.
4. Pour the mix into the tin and chill for around 2 hours until set solid.
5. Turn the truffle slab out onto a cool work surface and cut into squares (mine were nearly 2cm) then gently dip each truffle in its coating to cover. I found I got half of them done then had to put everything in the fridge to harden up again is it was all starting to melt.
The truffles will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in a sealed container. If you want to keep them cool when serving, place on a chilled plate in the fridge until just ready to serve.
Why these are better for you
Although these contain cocoa (a stimulant) and a small amount of sugar (coconut and the normal sugar in the chocolate) they also contain some protein (from nut butter). That means they don’t upset your blood sugar and cause massive inflammation the way normal chocolates do. Coconut sugar also has a lower glycaemic load than normal sugar (doesn’t pump up blood sugar quite as much as traditional sugar AND contains more minerals). All sweet foods are still high carbohydrate though so these chocs are intended as a treat rather than a staple. Vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, cocoa and organic citrus zest are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory – good if you want to look better and be more well for longer. Coconut oil is easier to digest than all other fats as its absorbed in a different way in your gut. It contains medium chain triglycerides which are used directly for energy by your brain.
Feb 23, 2018 | Anna's Best Recipes, Main courses
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 in a saucepan or bowl. This is even better the next day and freezes really well.For 2 people with 1 serving of leftovers
160g/1 mug dried yellow split peas
1/2 level tsp ground turmeric to add to the cooking water
1 tbs ghee or virgin coconut oil
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 gently rounded tsp garam masala (available in Asian stores)
1/2 level tsp ground red chilli
1/2 level tsp ground turmeric
400g chopped tomatoes, ideally fresh but canned will do
160g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm piecesGarnish:
2 tbs chopped fresh coriander1. If using dried split peas: Place the peas with 800ml clean water and the 1/2 tsp turmeric in a heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Skim off any foam. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 25 minutes until tender.
If using soaked split peas: discard the soak water, place the peas and the half teaspoon turmeric in a saucepan with enough clean water to cover by about 2cm. Boil for a few minutes, skimming off any foam before turning down the heat to medium, cover and cook till tender for between 15 and 20 minutes. SOAKED SPLIT PEAS ARE BETTER IF YOU HAVE A SENSITIVE GUT.
2.
Meanwhile heat the ghee or coconut oil in a heavy-based pan on a medium heat, add 1 dsp water along with the onions and cover with a lid. Sweat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent. If its drying out too much before the onions are done, add a little more water to keep it steam-frying rather than browning or burning.
3. Stir in the rounded tsp of garam masala, 1/2 tsp of chilli and 1/2 tsp turmeric. Cook for a minutes, stirring and then add the tomatoes and the apple.
4. cook for about 25 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed, the apples are soft and the tomatoes have broken down.
5. Add the cooked split peas and simmer for a few minutes.
6. Garnish with the chopped coriander.Serve with:
Steamed greens (e.g. broccoli, green/runner beans, cabbage, sprouts, pak choi) plus one of the following:
Cauliflower rice
https://www.annacollins.ie/cauliflower-rice/
Indian spiced squash
https://www.annacollins.ie/?s=indian+spiced+squash
Not for SC diet: Brown rice or quinoa
Why this is good for you
This has a range of fibres that feed different categories of good gut bacteria, all of which you need to remain well. Pectin from the cooking apples, inulin from the onions, soluble fibre from the split peas all feed good bacteria. Cumin and garam masala have a suppressing effect on “bad”, pro-inflammatory bacteria in your gut. I always recommend a wide variety of plant types and herbs and spices to people who want to optimise their health and get digestive, bowel or autoimmune issues into remission. And guess what – stewed cooking apple in this recipe helps lower bowel inflammation too.
Feb 12, 2018 | Anna's Best Recipes, Breakfasts & smoothies, Dressings, rubs, spreads, sauces & more
Made these a few weeks ago and thought I’d better get them up here in time for Pancake Tuesday. They are thicker than normal pancakes and really light. I love to eat them for a weekend breakfast with a dairy-free coconut yoghurt and lots of thawed mixed berries. Mix a few drops of pure stevia with yoghurt or berries if you like them sweeter. Being a bit greedy, I made double quantity here but it was too much. The coconut flour and eggs make these protein rich to give you slow burn energy.
For 4 pancakes to serve 4
(with a generous serving of berries and maybe some coconut yoghurt)
45g coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you are gluten-sensitive avoid vanilla essence)
1 medium banana (with spots if you are on SC diet)
6 medium eggs
1/2 level teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
- Blitz everything except the coconut flour in a blender until mixed up and no lumps.
- Add the coconut flour, blitz till mixed.
- Heat frying pan on medium heat, add a little coconut oil. Use 1/4 of the batter for each of the pancakes.
- Serve with the yoghurt and berries.Variation: This is also lovely with apple stewed with Ceylon cinnamon.
Dec 20, 2017 | Anna's Best Recipes, Main courses
I was in a hurry last week and came up with this. Its super-fast on a weekday, provided you’ve already made up the Cajun spice mix (which only takes a couple of minutes). I’ve posted this mix already on the blog but its so good it deserves a reminder. I use it (when I remember) for grilling chicken fillets, salmon darnes and sometimes lamb chops. Rub the fish/meat with lemon juice first so the spice blend sticks on.
For 2:
2 hake fillets or darnes, about 160g each
Smoked paprika
Large bag of black kale (Cavolo nero) or curly kale
Sundried tomato paste, dairy-free red pesto (or if you are not dairy-free or on SC diet any good quality tomato pesto will do)
Fresh lemon juice (you will need about a teaspoon for the fish)
Extra virgin olive oil
Cajun spice mix:
You will need tinfoil and a roasting tin or dish
For the Cajun spice mix (store in an airtight glass jar away from heat and light)
½ level tsp chilli powder (omit or just use a pinch if you don’t like much heat)
1 level tsp Himalayan (pink) salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 rounded tsp dried thyme
1 tbs each of:
Coarsely ground black pepper
Dried basil
Dried oregano
Ground coriander
Optional extra:
Cauliflower mash (see post) to serve
1. Turn on the oven to 200C.
2. Prepare the kale – wash, destalk and slice thinly. Boil your kettle and put the kale in your steamer over at least 2cm of boiling water. It can take quite a while to become tender.
3. While the kale is steaming, put the fish skin side down in an roasting dish with deep sides, rub the fish fillets with some lemon juice. Sprinkle Cajun mix and a good pinch of smoked paprika on each fillet until well coated.
4. Cover with tinfoil and give it 10 minutes in the preheated oven. After 10 minutes, test with a skewer to see if it is tender (this depends on the thickness of the fish). If not, give it another 5 minutes, covered again with the foil to stop the fish drying out.
5. Meanwhile, warm a vegetable dish for the kale. Into the dish put a generous heaped teaspoon of the pesto or paste, a dessertspoon of extra virgin olive oil and a good twist of black pepper if you have some. As soon as the kale is done to your liking toss with the pesto/paste to coat and keep warm.
6. Serve the fish on top of a pile of kale.
Optional extras:
Cauliflower mash (see blog post). This freezes well. I like to make a big batch then freeze leftovers in single portions. Reheat in a saucepan, stirring from time to time.
Why this is good for you
Herbs and spices are a powerhouse of vitality-boosting qualities. They protect the food during cooking from generating toxic inflammatory compounds (e.g. amines) while also protecting ourselves and our brains from accelerated ageing. Herbs and spices have hundreds of times stronger antioxidant properties than fruit and veg, weight for weight. Kale is a dark green leafy veg so its rich in magnesium and folic acid. We need both of these for making us more resilient to stress as well as for a healthy digestive system and good skin.
Nov 21, 2017 | Anna's Best Recipes, Desserts & drinks
Rich Gluten-free Xmas Pud
This is a very traditional-tasting, rich, dark pudding. Yummy! Its more intense than my normal gluten-free pud (a light, cakey version) which is also posted on this blog. The recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s gluten-free pud recipe – I removed refined sugar/golden syrup and added blackstrap molasses and low GI xylitol/coconut sugar which are healthier. Thanks Jamie! I made 2 puds from this, one in a 1 litre bowl, that would give about 6 servings, and another small one that gives 4 modest servings.
You can make this pudding well ahead of time. In fact, 25 November is Stir-Up Sunday, the traditional day to make Christmas puddings. Soak the fruit the day BEFORE you want to cook the puds. Using dried fruit free from sulphur dioxide (used to preserve colour) is preferable as it can cause digestive symptoms and headaches in susceptible people.
If you can at all, use metal or ceramic pudding bowls. Cooking puds in plastic means toxic bisphenol A (BPA) residues leech into the food – mot something you want if you care about your health. If you havn’t wrapped a pud for steaming before you will see instructions here https://www.caseys.kitchen/2016/08/28/how-to-wrap-a-pudding-for-steaming/
100 g currants
150 g raisins
110 g dried sour cherries (from health stores. dried cranberries would do instead)
50g chopped dates
1 organic lime, the grated zest and juice of
½ an organic orange , the grated zest and juice of
50g mixed peel
75 ml tea, cooled (I use 1 tbs grated ginger root with a rooibosch teabag for extra flavour but you can just use normal tea if you want. If using ginger, strain out before using the tea)
Level teaspoon mixed spice
½ level tsp ground cinnamon
½ level tsp grated nutmeg
2½ tbs (40 ml) brandy
40g xylitol (or 40g coconut sugar which gives a nice caramel flavour)
1 level tbs blackstrap molasses
1 medium or large cooking apple,peeled and grated
50g roughly chopped almonds (sometimes I use flaked to save time)
25g rice flour
25 g cornflour
110g fresh gluten-free breadcrumbs (M&S now do a round GF loaf that’s slightly better quality than most GF sliced pan breads. If you are OK with dairy products you can also use Kelkin white sourdough gluten free bread which is free of industrial emulsifiers))
1 rounded tsp gluten-free baking powder
110g gluten-free suet (available online or see below for how to make it). You can substitute butter or coconut oil but these melt quickly and do tend to boil out of the pudding but if you are dairy-sensitive and want to avoid animal products or dairy…)
2 large free-range eggs , beaten (if your eggs are medium, add an extra egg)
1 large free-range egg yolk , beaten
Butter, coconut or light olive oil to grease
- In a large bowl combine the dried fruits, zests and mixed peel, then add the citrus juice, cold tea, spices and brandy, and leave overnight for the flavours to develop.
- The following day, add the coconut sugar, xylitol or coconut sugar, blackstrap molasses, apple and almonds.
- In a clean bowl, place the rice flour, cornflour, breadcrumbs, baking powder, coconut oil or suet and a pinch of salt. Add in the beaten eggs until you have a smooth mix, then stir into the fruit.
- Grease a 1.5-litre pudding basin and pour in the pudding mixture until it’s ⅔ full. Cover the top with a circle of greaseproof paper, then with 2 pieces of foil and secure with string. Or use a 1 litre and a smaller pudding bowl to make 2 puds.
- Place an upturned saucer into the base of a deep saucepan. Sit the pudding on top of the saucer, and carefully pour in boiling water to come halfway up the pudding dish. Put the lid on and steam for 8 hours (yes, 8!). According to Delia Smith DO NOT open the lids during the first half hour of steaming or you will prevent the puds from rising properly.
- According to Delia you should then allow the puds to get completely cold before removing the tinfoil and paper and replacing with fresh ones, again tied with string for easy manoevering on Christmas day.
- On Christmas Day: Fill a saucepan quite full with boiling water, put on the heat and when it comes back to the boil, place a steamer on top of the pan and turn it down to a gentle simmer. Put the pudding in the steamer, cover and leave to steam for 2 hrs 15 mins. You’ll need to check the water from time to time and maybe top it up a bit. When you are ready to serve the pudding, remove from the steamer and take off the wrapping. Slide a palette knife all round the pud and turn out onto a warmed plate. Place a suitable sized sprig of holly on top.
How to make suet
I had my first experiment with this in 2020 because there was only one online supplier and I was tired of buying online. Suet is made by grating or extruding leaf lard (pure, raw beef/pork fat) and then tossing it in some flour to keep it from clumping. Its best not to use lamb fat because its got a very strong flavour. Get a good butcher to save pork/beef fat for you and ask for at least double what you need because you will want to discard any pink bits. I give the pink bits to the birds who are desperate for extra calories at this time of year.
Instructions: freeze your suet, then pick through and remove any pink bits. Grate as much as you need for the recipe then toss in a teaspoon or two of gluten-free flour (rice flour will do). This can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge. It will keep for ages.
Why this is (somewhat) better for you:
Gluten has a temporary damaging effect on your small intestine even when you are not gluten-sensitive or coeliac. Gluten causes the tight junctions between absorptive cells to become unstuck for several hours. This means that undigested food particles, gut bacteria and other debris can enter your bloodstream unchecked (this is called increased intestinal permeability). This can cause symptoms as diverse as joint pain, mood problems, headaches and tiredness to name but a few. Because it inflames you this lowers your ability to fight viral and other infections.
This recipe avoids using highly refined sugars, which is good news if you want to avoid sabotaging energy levels, skin and digestive health. Blackstrap molasses is rich in chromium and iron needed for energy and metabolising the sugar. Getting the unsweetened sour cherries gives a lovely tang but also avoids the added sugars in glace fruit (including dried cranberries). The recipe still contains corn flour, which is a refined product though, and the large amount of dried fruits means Xmas pud is high in natural sugars and so is not a vitality-boosting food. Still though, sometimes, who cares…..
