Thursday Breakfast: Blueberry & Ginger Granola Gluten-free – Grain-free – Dairy-free – Refined Sugar-free Requires nuts & seeds to be soaked overnight. This will keep for 3 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.

This sugar-free granola makes a wonderful breakfast served on top of creamy coconut yogurt, or with cold coconut or nut milk. Add a handful of fresh berries and extra toppings of your choice (bee pollen, hemp seeds, chia seeds, goji berries, raisins etc.)

Makes around 10 servings

Equipment:

  • Food processor
  • Foil lined baking tray

Ingredients:

  • 200g nuts of your choice – soaked overnight and then rinsed well
  • 200g mixed seeds – soaked overnight and then rinsed well
  • 150g fresh blueberries/1 punnet fresh blueberries
  • 5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 vanilla pod, cut in half down the length
  • 100g dried blueberries
  • 100g dried coconut flakes

  Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
  2. Place the nuts in the food processor and pulse until chopped into smaller pieces. Place the chopped nuts and seeds into a large mixing bowl.
  3. In a small pan place the blueberries, fresh ginger, coconut oil, cinnamon and the seeds scraped from the vanilla pod. Heat very gently, stirring, until the blueberries break down. Place the mixture into the food processor and blitz until smooth.
  4. Stir the blueberry mixture thoroughly into the nuts and seeds until everything is well coated.
  5. Line a large baking tray with tin foil. Spread the granola mixture out evenly until you have a layer only about 1cm thick.
  6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the granola is very dry but not burnt. I set a timer and check after every 10 minutes to ensure the granola does not burn. Turn after 20 minutes to ensure the granola cooks evenly. Sometimes I turn the oven off after 30 minutes and leave the granola with the oven door ajar to dry it out at a lower heat.
  7. Allow to cool and then mix in the dried blueberries and dried coconut flakes. Store in an airtight container.

 

Thursday Dinner: Pork with Courgettes & Salsa Verde

Introduction

Courgettes are great at any time of year and in plentiful supply. Pair that with British pork which is amongst the best in the world and you have a knockout combination. Here, pork loin steak is paired with chargrilled courgettes and a vibrant salsa verde to produce summer on a plate.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 pork loin steaks, approx. 1 ½ inches thick
  • 2 large courgettes
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 small bunch of parsley
  • 2 tbsp. picked thyme
  • 2 tbsp. chopped tarragon
  • 1 tbsp. chervil
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Slice the courgettes into rounds of approx. 1 cm thickness. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with a little salt, and set to one side
  2. Either by hand or in an electric processor, finely chop the parsley, tarragon, thyme, garlic, and chervil. Slowly add 1 tbsp. of the oil and the lemon juice, season well, mix and refrigerate
  3. Rub each pork steak with a very small amount of the olive oil. Place the pork steaks in a preheated griddle pan and cook for 6 minutes on either side (or until at 65° when probed). Remove, top each steak with a layer of Dijon mustard, and then press the green herb mixture on top of each. Cover loosely with foil and allow the meat to rest whilst the courgettes cook
  4. Drain any liquid from the salted courgettes and pour over the remaining oil. Mix well to coat the courgette pieces evenly
  5. In the same griddle pan used to cook the pork, lay the courgette slices across the pan and place over a medium heat. Turn after 4-5 minutes. The courgettes should be nicely marked by the griddle pan. Cook for a further 4-5 minutes on the other side
  6. Sprinkle the courgettes with fennel seeds and divide them between the plates. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Slice each pork steak into 6 pieces and place on top of the courgettes. Garnish with fresh herb leaves and eat immediately.