Recipes - All Recipes

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Poached Pears In Honey Syrup

Ingredients

  • 60ml/4 tablespoons Manuka honey
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • 375 ml/1-1/2 cups water
  • 6 saffron threads
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 cloves
  • 6 firm brown pears

Serves 6

Preparation

  • Heat honey and lemon juice in a heavy deep pan
  • Stir over a low heat until honey has dissolved
  • Add water, saffron, cinnamon stocks, and cloves. Bring mixture to boil, reduce and simmer for 5 minutes
  • Peel pears with stalks attached and level the bases by cutting so that the pears stand up by themselves
  • Add pears to the liquid in pan and simmer with lid on for 20 minutes or until the fruit is tender.
  • The dish is delicious served warm or cold.

Tip

Add some fresh raspberries when serving. The tart taste of the berries is a marvelous counterbalance to the sweetness of the honey.

Healthy Hints – serve with Greek yoghurt to add good bacterial cultures to strengthen the immune system. Manuka honey has anti-bacterial benefits.

Spinach Dip

Ingredients

  • 250g/4 cups baby spinach leaves, stalks removed and leaves washed and spinach drained
  • ½ cup wholemeal breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup Extra Virgin or grapeseed oil
  • ¼ cup water
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ground sea salt and ground white pepper

Serves 6

Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 180 deg C/350 deg F
  • In a hot frypan or wok add spinach and turn leaves with large flip or spoon until the leaves have wilted but still remain bright green.
  • Soak breadcrumbs in cold water and squeeze well. Discard water.
  • Place walnut on a baking sheet and roast in oven for 5 minutes.
  • Place spinach, breadcrumbs, walnuts, oil, garlic and lemon juice in blender and zap until mix is smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Give the dip another zap.
  • Spoon dip into a serving bowl.

Tip

Serve dip spread on serving plate with an additional sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil and some lemon wedges.

Healthy Hint – This dish is delicious with wholemeal flat or mountain bread which provide added fibre. You can also substitute spinach with lightly steamed broccoli.

Tuna Pilaf

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
  • 300 g basmati rice
  • Cayenne pepper
  • 400g can cherry tomatoes
  • 400 mls chicken stock,
  • 2 x 200g cans tuna, drained,
  • 200g green beans trimmed and blanched
  • 2 tbsps fresh coriander, finely chopped

Preparation

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
  • Heat the oil in a heavy based container and sauté the onion until golden
  • Add the rice and a pinch of cayenne stirring to coat in oil
  • Stir in the tomatoes and stock, seasoning to taste
  • Bring to the boil
  • Cover and cook in the oven 18 -20 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the liquid has been absorbed
  • Stir through tuna and beans, and garnish with coriander to serve

Tip
Frozen peas can be used in place of blanched green beans

Onion Soup with Cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 heaped tbsp. butter
  • 500g brown onions thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp. plain flour
  • 1 litre veal or chicken stock
  • 1 potato peeled and grated
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 4-6 rounds toasted, buttered French bread
  • Grated Swiss cheese

Serves 4 – 5

Preparation

  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onions and stir until soft and golden brown
  • Sprinkle onions with flour and stir to combine
  • Pour in stock; bring to just under the boil
  • Add potato, bay leaves and seasonings to taste
  • Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves
  • After reheating, pour soup into individual bowls and serve topped with toasted, buttered bread and grated cheese

Tip:
Best made a day ahead.

Speedy Spotted Dick

Ingredients

  • 225gr SR flour
  • 110gr butter, melted
  • 50gr caster sugar
  • 175gr currants
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • ½ cup skim milk

Preparation

  • Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and stir through melted butter evenly
  • Stir in the sugar and the currants
  • Add the eggs a little at a time until the mixture is smooth
  • Pour in the milk and combine, so the mixture has a consistency where it will drop off the spoon
  • Pile the mixture evenly into 6 lightly oiled individual custard cups
  • Cover with plastic wrap and place on the outer edge of the microwave turntable
  • Cook on High (100%) for 4 minutes
  • Stand for a minute before inverting onto serving dishes to serve warm with golden syrup