Zingy Miso Ginger Dressing

Ginger, carrots, miso, mirin – Engage taste buds and lets go

I like my dressings with salad. I like salad leaves glistening with oil. I dip bread in olive oil for breakfast. The only thing more revolting to me than low fat dressing is low fat yoghurt. But this dressing works for me. Its based on a traditional Japanese dressing that can also be made completely fat free. I prefer unsurprisingly a version with oil – but good oil – here I’ve used hemp oil but flax or sunflower oil is great. Olive il is not a great flavour in this particular dressing tho – avoid.

If you cannot find white Miso then use brown – the sauce wont be quite as bright but it will have that “umami” taste. Failing any miso then blitz up dried porcini or shitajke mushrooms with a little soya sauce. Ive put in quite a lot of substitutes so dont be put off…have a go..its a great dressing.

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Mellow Yellow Gazpacho

Superfood smoothies

Of course the Spanish have been making turbo charged superfood smoothies for centuries, its just that classic Gazpacho made in summer from sun ripened vegetables in sleepy Andalucian villages seems less headline grabbing than kale, spirulina and avocado smoothies made by people practicing yoga poses before breakfast in California. I joke of course……I love my kale smoothies……

“Gazpacho is indeed one of “the” dishes of summer. On a sweltering day in those whitewashed hilltop towns sipping a glass of this salady gloop saves a great deal of energy. No need to sweat cutting up a salad and chewing through vegetables and your other hand is free to hold a glass of something very cold indeed – preferably a Manzanilla or Fino. If those delectable drinks are not to hand then because a good gazpacho is fairly sweet (and don’t please even think about making this recipe with anything other than over ripe probably splitting in their skins sun ripened tomatoes) then a fruity ripe white or rosé is best. I’ve been enjoying with the Catleya Rosé and the Caloian White (yes) Zinfandel.

In this “mellow yellow” version the tomatoes used are yellow ones which makes for a showstopper iridescent blast of colour whether you serve in regular serving sizes (I like to serve in wine glasses or nice tumblers with a drizzle of something on top) or as pictured here in little shot glasses with a blob of pesto in the centre for a party. This is one of those recipes where the quantities are for guidance. If you see good things in the market that are screaming at you “we are ripe” then scoop them up and use them! Your gazpacho will taste infinitely better than following recipe quantities slavishly with not quite ripe ingredients.

You Are What You Eat

Tomatoes contain all four major carotenoids: alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene which apparently are even better for you in a group than individually. They contain inordinate amounts of the king of carotenoids “lycopene”thought to have the highest antioxidant activity of all. So far so good… add to this mix the raw onions and you can weep for joy because those tear jerking sulphur compounds ensure that your blood clots less easily and contains less cholesterol and triglycerides. The olive oil and all that oleic acid just further makes this a shot of something very very good indeed.

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Pumpkin Hummus with pomegranate molasses

When pumpkins proliferate…scoop this velvety dip up …

’tis the season to be profligate with your pumpkin and I for one have no problem finding uses for this most silky and seductive of vegetables. This delicious gloopy number is inspired by Mr Ottolenghi and a request for a Lebanese American Thanskgiving menu… I’ve dipped grissini in it, carrot batons and (guilty pleasure) mini crostini. I’ve slathered it on toast and pita bread and dribbled pomegranate molasses all over it. I’ve thought about serving a little bitter leaves side salad with it to address its inherent sweetness but so far that remains a mere healthy thought.

The actual “method” is nothing more than blitzing but like many dishes the end result is more than the sum of the parts if you have good ingredients and treat them kindly.

Ingredients – based around 1 x 400g tin of chick peas

which is something most people tend to have in the cupboard rather than a bowl of dried ones soaked overnight with a pinch of bicarbonate. Yes they do taste better but so does stuffed peacock.

1 tin of chick peas drained (I am not squeamish but sometimes that gloopy liquid in cans of beans freaks me out a bit…I like to drain them quite well under running water)

The juice of a lemon and quite a lot of zest. I find it highlights all the other flavours

You dont need tahini paste here as you have the pumpkin but as I like it so much I add 1 tablespoon and besides, its so full of Vitamin E.

2 fat cloves of garlic. I think you do need generous garlic.

salt, pepper, half a teaspoon of cumin, a little chilli and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Its the cinnamon that needs to prevail.

1 tablespoon of good olive oil – optional. The pumpkin really does add silkiness which is what makes it such a magical ingredient so you do not need loads of oil to make your hummus feel smooth.

Chunks of Roasted pumpkin – total volume equal to the sum of all the other ingredients.

Pomegranate Molasses – to serve. Do not add to the mix or you will not have the nice contrast.

How To

Blitz together until you have a smooth puree. Really there is no more method than that. OK to make this a more substantive recipe a few words on roasting pumpkin:

Cut the butternut squash in half or larger pumpkins in four. Roast at 160C until the flesh is soft. I cut off any black or caramelised parts not because I dont like the flavour but because they will impart a muddy brown colour to your dips/ soups. Scoop out the pips and use the flesh which will give your soups and dips a rich concentrated lovely flavour.