White Bean & Artichoke Dip

White Bean & Artichoke Dip 

From Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book ‘River Cottage Veg Every Day’

This rich, creamy, deeply savoury dip is wonderful with crudités, or dolloped on to a warm flatbread. It also works well served on some crisp lettuce, as a salad.

Serves 4-6

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

200g artichoke hearts in olive oil, drained, oil reserved

3 garlic gloves, finely chopped

A few sprigs of oregano, leaves only, finely chopped

400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Juice of ½ lemon

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

2 tbsp thick, plain yoghurt (I didn’t use this)

25g walnuts, toasted (optional)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat and sauté for about 10 minutes, until soft and translucent. Meanwhile, roughly shop the artichoke hearts.

Add the garlic to the pan and stir for another couple of minutes. Tip in the oregano, cannellini beans and artichokes and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, until everything is heated through.

Tip the mixture into a food processor and add the lemon juice, chilli flakes and yoghurt. Blend to a coarse purée. Add salt and pepper to taste and thin with a couple of tablespoons or so of the olive oil from the artichokes, until you have the texture you like.

Serve the dip warm or cold, trickled with olive oil, and scattered with toasted walnuts if you like.

… Enjoy and do tweet me @lift_pt or facebook message me to let me know how you get on! 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs

Recipe taken from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (Ebury Press).

'This unusual combination of fresh fruit and roasted vegetables is one of the most popular at Ottolenghi. It wholly depends, though, on the figs being sweet, moist and perfectly ripe. Go for plump fruit with an irregular shape and a slightly split bottom. Pressing against the skin should result in some resistance but not much. Try to smell the sweetness. The balsamic reduction is very effective here, both for the look and for rounding up the flavours. To save you from making it you can look out for products such as balsamic cream or glaze.'

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 small sweet potatoes (1 kg in total)

5 tbsp olive oil

40ml balsamic vinegar (you can use a commercial rather than a premium aged grade)

20g caster sugar

12 spring onions, halved lengthways and cut into 4cm segments

1 red chilli, thinly sliced

6 fresh and ripe figs (240g in total), quartered

150g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled (optional)

Maldon sea salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C Fan/Gas Mark 9.

Wash the sweet potatoes, halve them lengthways and then cut each again similarly into three long wedges. Mix with three tablespoons of the olive oil, two teaspoons of salt and some black pepper. Spread the wedges out on a baking sheet, skin-side down, and cook for about 25 minutes until soft but not mushy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down.

To make a balsamic reduction, place the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 2–4 minutes, or until it thickens. Be sure to remove the pan from the heat when the vinegar is still runnier than honey; it will continue to thicken as it cools.

Stir in a drop of water before serving if it does become too thick to drizzle. Arrange the sweet potatoes on a serving platter.

Heat the remaining oil in a medium saucepan and add the spring onions and chilli. Fry on a medium heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring often, making sure not to burn the chilli, and then spoon the oil, onions and chilli over the sweet potatoes.

Dot the figs among the wedges and then drizzle over the balsamic reduction. Serve at room temperature with the cheese crumbled over, if using.

Enjoy! 

Spinach and CoYo (Coconut Milk Yoghurt) Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

So, my boyfriend cooked this last weekend. He seemed very dubious about my idea of cooking with plain coconut milk yoghurt but I said I thought it would work. So experiment he did and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks Mr Mahil :)

Wilt a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach with a little water in a pan, stir in a small amount of olive oil and a clove of crushed garlic, add two teaspoons or so of CoYo and season to taste.

Stir for a about a minute then take off the heat. Place into two big, juicy Portobello mushrooms and serve.

Simple but so tasty! Give it a try and let me know what you think :) 

I should have taken a pic but forgot to. I will post one here when I make it again soon!

Reduce Stress with Exercise and Mindfulness

In today’s world, stress management can be a serious problem. Financial difficulties, major life changes, as well as your day job can sometimes make you feel overwhelmed, irritable and anxious. If not managed well, stress levels can creep up on you and fall out of control.

Exercise is key in not only preventing but also reducing many types of illness, as some of you will have already discovered. Many of my clients feel entirely different after 60 minutes of training; whether they’ve simply got the blood pumping and taken their mind off the day’s concerns or done some boxing and hammered their stress out on the punching mitts.

As we know, physical training can help you fit into that brave outfit, give you a firm and shapely bottom but it can also really transform your confidence and change how we perceive ourselves. Whatever training method you choose; exercise will help reduce your stress and getting those *endorphins pumping.

For those of you who know the word but not quite the full meaning: *‘Endorphins are compounds that activate the body's opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect.’

Many people don’t realise the effects of stress on the physical body. The stress hormone cortisol is released and if that energy doesn’t go somewhere e.g. running for your life or a dynamic exercise session, it is often stored around the middle as fat. Stress generally leads to the desire for comfort food and drinks like sugary, fatty foods and alcohol so this also contributes to a larger waistline. Be cautious of letting things get into a negative cycle, as the long-term impact could be more serious than you think.

It can be hard to train when you’re stressed and not ‘in the mood’ but I assure you, it will only HELP YOU FEEL BETTER. Internally, your body will be thanking you as well as your mind feeling soothed. It may not shift a problem altogether but at least it will help you breath through the tension to a better state of mind, giving you a different, more positive perspective.

If you’re short on time then simple breathing exercises can also help a great deal with relaxation. The effects can be profound; depending on how much time you spend on it (and sometimes, how much you believe that it helps). I was asked at a Post-Natal Depression Group that I recently talked at; how to prevent/soothe a panic attack or similar? My advice is to focus solely on taking deep breaths, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Also try an audible sigh, letting out all the air inside you while releasing tension and calming the mind. Think about your ribs expanding sideways with long, deep breaths and then contracting as your diaphragm deflates.

About five years ago, I read a book called ‘The Power Of Now’ by Ekhart Tolle, which was pretty life changing for me. It really helped me to worry less and I therefore became happier as a result. I literally remember the feeling of lightness I had while reading and learning from Tolle’s teachings. Previous to reading the book, I concerned myself, more than necessary, with the past and future. I was too busy ‘fantasising’ about the past and future to think about and truly enjoy the present moment. … Do you do the same? If so, or even if you just need further enlightenment, why not give it a try.

Broccoli Salad with Sesame Dressing

from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book ‘River Cottage Veg Every Day’

Serves 4

1 large head of broccoli (about 500g)
½ garlic clove

1cm piece of root gingerA pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or cider vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2-3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the broccoli into small florets and steam, or cook it in some lightly salted boiling water, until just tender but still a bit crunchy — about 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, crush the garlic and ginger with the sugar and some salt and pepper to a paste, using a pestle and mortar. Combine with the vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil.

As soon as the broccoli is cooked, drain it in a colander and leave for a few minutes so all the moisture can steam off. While still hot, toss with the dressing and put into a serving dish. Set aside to cool.

Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until fragrant. When the broccoli has cooled to room temperature, scatter over the spring onions and sesame seeds, and serve.