Tag: salads

Black Rice with Roasted Butternut, Spring Onion & Pumpkin Seeds

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Black rice

In parts of Asia, black rice was given the name ‘forbidden rice’, as it was reserved only for royalty due to its health benefits. It is very high in fibre and antioxidants and is a super anti-inflammatory.

Add to that some butternut squash which is also an anti-inflammatory (and because the contrast of colours look so great!) and some spring onion and pumpkin seeds for calcium, and we have a winning dish.

I bought this black rice ages ago and only got round to cooking it now and this dish is really delicious and so easy to make.

Ingredients

125g organic black rice
2 spring onions, chopped finely
1 butternut squash, chopped in small squares
Handful of pumpkin seeds
Extra virgin olive oil
Organic, natural maple syrup
Balsamic vinegar
Himalayan salt

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

Put the rice in a saucepan and cover generously with boiling water and put on a high heat. Once the water starts bubbling, stir, turn the heat down to low and put the lid on. Keep an eye on it. It should take around half an hour to cook.

Peel the butternut squash and cut into small squares. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and a bit of salt, mix well, and put it in the oven for half an hour.

Once the rice is ready, take it off the heat and put it in a bowl. Add the butternut, spring onion and pumpkin seeds.

Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar, no more than a tablespoon, and drizzle with some maple syrup, then add a pinch of salt, stir, and serve. Can be eaten hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Tahini / Tchina (depending on where you’re from!)

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Tehini

Sorry for the strange title… in the west, this is called Tahini (the paste itself is called that) but in the Middle East, where this originated, it’s called Tchina. Whatever it’s called, it’s yummy, easy to make and is one of the best sources of calcium out there. So if you read our article about why to stay away from milk and you are wondering where to get your calcium, tahini is one of the best places to find it.

Ingredients

3 tbsp tahini paste
Quarter cup purified water
5 tbsp lemon juice
Half tsp Himalayan salt
Half tsp garlic salt
Quarter tsb paprika
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil

Method

Spoon the tahini paste into a medium size bowl (it gets quite messy so you want to make it in a separate bowl to the one you’ll be serving it in), then add the water and mix really well. You will see it go from a weird texture to smooth quite quickly and it will become much more pale. If it still seems quite thick (it should be relatively runny) then add some more water; gauge it for yourself. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Taste to see if it needs more of anything and add to your taste. Transfer to a smaller bowl.

Great with other dips and salads (have a look on both those pages on our website for more ideas) and with bread or crackers.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Moroccan Salad

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Moroccan Salad

This is a really delicious way of having all the spices of Moroccan food but having the benefit of having raw veggies in it. I whipped this up today for a Friday night dinner party I’m hosting tomorrow and it’s really delicious…

Ingredients

2 carrots
1 beetroot
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp organic runny honey

Method

Gently heat the vinegar and honey together in a saucepan then set aside.

Peel and grate the carrots and beetroot into a bowl, then add the vinegar and honey mix, followed by the spices and mix really well.

Serve straight away or keep in an airtight container for 5 days.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren