Avocado Chocolate Gelato

When we stayed at Tiger House two years ago, in celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary, we had a lovely time reading through the resident cookbooks. 

Blowed if I can remember which one it was now. But I did take a photo of the recipe. Phew!  

This chocolate gelato is so good! What a strange addition- lots of ripe avocado, but it works. beautifully.

100 gms dark chocolate- 70% 

300 gms ripe avocado- probably 2/3 depending on the size

200 mls full cream milk (or milk that suits)

2 tbsps cream (or coconut cream I imagine)

1/3 cup of unrefined sugar- not honey as I tried that and the mixture was not quite firm enough.

35 gms (1/3c) raw cocao powder

2 tsps vanilla essence 

pinch of good salt

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over water in a little saucepan

Add everything else into a blender or food processor. 

Pulse to combine-mixture should be thick & mousse like. 

Add melted chocolate and blend for another minute or so to combine well.

Freeze in to small jars, a container, or little bowls.

Leave to stand out of the freezer for 10 minutes or so before eating/serving.

Actually, this is fine as a mousse and firms up nicely by simply being in the fridge.

This dessert is great on it's own but also teams up well with instant banana ice cream.

You can find the recipe for that here.

Another variation for this versatile dessert is to layer the mousse with other deliciousness such as this nod to Tiramsu:

Bottom layer is the above avocado mousse

Second layer is coffee chia pudding made with 1/4 chia seeds

 1 cup of whole milk, 1 dsp chicory coffee essence, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 tsp maple syrup or honey.

Mix altogether in a jar, stir every now & then.

Leave to do it's thing for a few hours- until thick.

Third layer- 1 cup coconut cream set with 1 tsp gelatine, a wee pinch of salt & a tsp of vanilla & maple syrup or honey.

Top with caramelised walnut pieces or dust with cocoa powder or whatever takes your fancy at the time! I used our own foraged walnuts. Melt a dsp brown sugar in a pan, add the walnuts stir to combine- cook for 5/10 minutes until crispy. Cool.   

These are great stored in the fridge with the lid on.

Great for barbecues & picnics too. 

Of course there are loads of variations that you could use in the chia pudding part such as strawberries, even the freeze dried powders etc instead of the coffee flavouring. And of course, you could use coconut milk or cream or almond milk etc.

Katie x

Cheesey Green Feta Slice

 This slice (in the original recipe it was called Feta and Spinach Brownie), but I've decided to call it Cheesey, Green, Feta Slice- just for fun.

Really, the mixture is just a variation on a savoury muffin, a frittata or fancy scone and it is so easy. It includes loads of greens & is brilliant hot, cold and for travelling and picnics.

There's lots of lee-way- just use what you prefer & what you have available.

The key ingredient is a load of greens- either spinach, or a mixture of garden or wild greens. 

These all came from our garden- a mixture of spinach, silverbeet, beet leaves, nettles, nasturtium leaves, loads of wild onions (whole plant) tender parsley stems, coriander, thyme, dandelion leaves, chickweed and anything else that takes your fancy.   

Rinse the greens if necessary, shaking off all the water well. Snip them all up with a pair of kitchen scissors & saute they them all in a fry pan with a good glug of olive oil. Cook just enough to cook them down as if blanched. Cool.

In a large bowl add 1 cup of white flour (organic white spelt for me)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp good sea salt & ground black pepper

Mix together

Add 1 cup of milk, 1/4 melted butter & 2 eggs & mix again.

Then gently add in the cooled greens, 1 cup of grated cheese- whatever's your preference: cheddar, mozzarella etc, a packet of feta (crumbled), and 2 tbsp of parmesan.

Other additions would be finely sliced sundried tomatoes, cooked asparagus, broccoli, capers, olives etc

Spoon into a deep baking tin such as a cake tin lined with baking paper. The one I use is 18 cms square.

Bake in a moderate oven for around 40/45 minutes.

This bake is delicious hot, but just as good cold and reheats very well too.

I doubled the recipe and we took this away with us on our last trip to The Stables in Otaki and it was so useful to have with us.

Katie X

Frypan Cornbread

This cornbread is such a different take on the dry pale cornbread that I've made from time to time through the years and then flagged it. Filled with veges and herbs and moist and tasty- it's a winner and quick and easy to make. Although it probably benefits for the pause to soak of the main ingredients.

1 cup coarse cornmeal

1/2 cup buckwheat semolina

1/3 cup chia seeds

1 cup water

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp good salt & a grind of black pepper

Mix all the above together and leave to sit for an hour or two (or overnight)

And a little more water if its a bit stodgy. You should be able to move the spoon through it.

Add 1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup of whole kernel sweet corn

1 cup of chopped cooked broccoli

4 or 5 whole onion weeds chopped with scissors

1/2- 1 cup of other herbs & greens: spinach, kale, parsley, coriander, nasturtium leaves etc- cut up

Pour in to a small cast iron fry pan that you've swirled a tbsp or two of oil in to.

Bake at 180 for 20 to 30 minutes. 

You could of course make this in a baking tin.

Katie X

Lime Pickle

6 limes and a small lemon or lemonade (double quantities for more pickle!)

Cut up the lime & lemon/ade finely.

Put in to a bowl with a good rounded tsp of sea salt & let it sit while you're organising the other stuff.

Spices: 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp fennel. 1/2 tsp fenugreek, 1/2 tsp whole grain mustard

Grind finely in a spice grinder (or mortar & pestle).

In a pot gently heat 2 tbsps of olive oil add 4/5 chopped whole onion weeds (or an onion & some garlic if you like). Wilt for onion weed, cook well for onion. Then add the spices & stir through for a few seconds.

Add: 1 tsp black cumin seeds, 1 tsp garam marsala, 1/2 tsp powdered turmeric (of fresh), 1/2 tsp ginger, a pinch of chilli flakes.

1/3 cup of raw sugar, 2 tbsp apple cider, white wine or white balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup of golden raisins- optional

Add the lime mixture and gently simmer for around half an hour stirring from time to time.

Amazingly it will all thicken up and turn in to pickle!

Pop the stick blender in to the cooled pickle if you like to make it smoother.

Spoon into sterilised jars.

Improves with age, but can be used immediately.

Katie X

Turkish Delight & Coconut Cream Jellies

I often find myself reinventing recipes to make them more nourishing and perhaps more satisfying to all the senses too.

This coconut cream Turkish Delight is deliciously light, looks so pretty and is ever so simple to make.  

I am so happy with it. 

The coconut layer is simply a can of coconut cream. Only Kara will will do- trust me, I tried another brand and it was grainy and truly horrible. Simply add a dsp of jaggery, honey or maple syrup, a tsp vanilla essence (homemade is so easy), and a dessert spoon and a half of gelatine.

Mix the gelatine with a little cold water, Sit for a minute to bloom. Microwave for 15 seconds & then stir through the coconut cream mixture. Make sure it's mixed through really well.

Pour into a glad wrap or greaseproof paper lined suitable container.

To make the Turkish Delight topping- brew 2 cups of rose petal & hibiscus tea (I add double pink hawthorn too), strain & add honey or jaggery to taste & a dsp of rose water.

Set with a dsp of gelatine- once again using a little of the liquid to dissolve the gelatine & then mix it back in the the rest of the tea. Cool. Carefully pour over the coconut base (which sets very quickly even out of the fridge) & leave to set fully in the fridge.   

Good gelatine itself is a wonderfully gut healing and nourishing food, along with the coconut and the lovely benefits of the herns (heart nourishing and spirit lifting especially) and the use of either honey or jaggery- a richly delicious and caramelly unrefined cane sugar product that I get from the Indian shop down the road, this really is a perfect summery delight..  

Jaggery. 

Very unrefined cane sugar with a delicious caramel flavour.

Katie X

Chickpea Blondies

 Yes, chickpeas and chocolate is a thing!

These "blondies" are quick and easy to make and can be vegan too, if you like.

Turn on the oven to 180 degrees

In to a food processor put:

2 cans chickpeas or white beans, drained and dried off with a clean tea towels or paper towels.

2/3 cup of maple syrup (rice syrup or honey).

2/3 cup of smooth peanut butter (or almond butter).

2/3 cup of spelt flour or a mix of flour and ground almonds.

2 tsps baking powder and a large pinch of salt.

1 dsp of vanilla

Blend all together until smooth.

Remove the blade and stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips- good quality dark chocolate is best.

Spoon in to a small tin lined with baking paper. Sprinkle over a few more chocolate drops and press in to the mix gently

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and cooked.

Cool well before removing or cutting.

What Wat- Shiro Wat, Doro Wat

 It wasn't until I read a novel set in Ethiopia that I heard of Wat- Ethiopian stew and Injera- fermented flatbread. I made Shiro Wat all through last winter and loved it so much, but then suddenly realised that I didn't need to just make it plain & smooth. Oh my goodness what a marvellous dish Wat is! 

It's kind of like "stone soup" as you start out with a wee handful of ingredients and you cook and stir and add some water and then a bit more water until suddenly you have a fragrantly delicious meal that fills the whole pot!  

Wat is really just a sauce made with onion, spices, tomato, chickpea flour, butter and water.

Cut up and gently fry 2 onions in some butter, ghee or olive oil. Or use a whole lot of onion weed instead, or a couple of leeks.

Add salt, ground pepper & a pinch of sugar.Add more butter or olive oil. 

And a tbsp of Berbere spice mix or:

2 tbsps paprika, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground fenugreek, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of cloves. Add a little chilli if you want some heat.

It would be good to make up a little jar with this mix so you didn't have to get out all the spices each time.

I am still experimenting with the spices. But you can google Shiro Wat for some other ideas.

Then a large tbsp of tomato paste and a cupful of chickpea flour, add some water and stir it all together. As it thickens add more water & more water and some more butter or oil and keep stirring.

This is now Shiro Wat. You can blend it smooth or leave it as is.

You can add all kinds of greens, some chickpeas, shredded chicken, mushrooms, sweetcorn or anything that you think might work for you. Add chopped fresh coriander near the end of cooking if you like.

If you have added chicken the stew now becomes Doro Wat.

You may be confused about the oil and butter- use as much as feels good to you, but when you add enough and it all goes glossy and thick it'll taste amazing!

We love paneer cubed and fried a little on top. The cashews worked well too.

This tastes even better the next day and keeps really well.

Green Falafel

 These green falafel are just brilliant! Entirely flexible in the making, full of greens and so tasty.

So different to any other falafel I have ever come across. Based on a Jamie Oliver recipe, but I have made some additions- like loads of onion weed and wild greens. 

A food processor is a good idea as my poor little stick blender was pushed to it's limit in being asked to blend everything.

1 1/2 cups of any of these, or a mixture: frozen green peas, broad beans or edamame

1/3 cup of chickpea (or plain if you prefer) flour- organic is best for texture. 1/3 tsp baking powder.

A whole pile of wild or other greens such as onion weed, puha, spinach, dandelion leaves, beach beet, nettles, nasturtium leaves, coriander etc

A large handful of fresh mint. 

Salt, pepper & the magic ingredient- a preserved lemon. I dare say you could just add some zest if you don't have a preserved lemon on hand.

1 tsp black cumin seeds or regular cumin. 1/2 cup of either chickpeas or butter beans etc (canned). 

Add a slug of olive oil and process until it all comes together and is green!

Fry in a little olive oil until golden. 

Preserved lemons are very easy to make.

Just cut up a few lemons removing seeds as you go & fill a jar with the wedges sprinkling salt over the layers- 1 tsp salt to each lemon. Packing firmly. Pop on the lid & leave for a week to process.

You can also do limes and oranges this way.

Orange Frangipane Tart

 Oh how did I not understand frangipane before now!?

We fell in love with a walnut tart a while back, so when I read a recipe from @NZLife for an orange tart I knew I needed to adapt it to be frangipane too.

So here it is- an orange frangipane tart that is perfect for mid winter, while we have the sublime locally grown navel oranges in abundance & for picnics. Last week we had a wonderful wandering adventure out in Havelock North. Our afternoon tea under a leafless oak tree up at Keirunga gardens simply comprised of an orange frangipane tart & a tea of rose petal, hibiscus (sabdariffa), linden & double pink hawthorn blossom that was light & floral & perfect.

So to make the tart:

Pastry: 125 gms of chilled, cubed butter, a pinch of salt if it's unsalted like ours

1 1/4 cups of flour- I used 1 cup of wholemeal spelt & 1/4 white spelt flour

1 rounded tbsp of jaggery or brown sugar & a 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

2 tbsps cold water.

Either process the mix to a fine crumb & then pulse in the water, or rub the butter through the flour & sugar & mix the water in. Chill while you get organised- like turning on the oven to 180 degrees C 

Bake for 10 minutes in a 23cm tart tin lined with baking paper, or several smaller ones 

Filling: soften 75 grams of butter & a large tbsp of jaggery, raw or brown sugar, beat together 

Add 1/2 cup of lovely honey

Beat in 4 eggs one at a time

Add the grated zest of a good rough (easier to grate) large orange so that you have at least a tbsp of zest

Add the juice of the orange, a tsp of lemon zest & the juice of half a lemon

Then stir through a cup of ground almonds & a tbsp of flour

Pour in to the par baked shell. Add mandarin segments in a pattern on top if you like.

Bake 180 degrees for 10 mins & then 20- 25 minutes at 160 until the tart is golden & set.

Cool before removing from the tin/s

Katie X

Apple, Raisin and Oatmeal Biscuits

 I don't bake a lot of biscuits but these apple, raisin and oatmeal biscuits are great.

See alternative recipe below made with sweet persimmon.

The recipe makes loads of good sized biscuits. They keep surprisingly well considering they have apple in them, they are really satisfying and best of all they are perfect for picnics.

In a large bowl mix

3 cups of rolled oats & 1 cup of flour- I prefer white or wholemeal spelt flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 

1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

In another bowl cream 170 grams of butter (cut up & soften) with 3/4 cup brown sugar or jaggery.

Add an egg, a tsp of vanilla extract and 1/3 of a cup of milk.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together along with a large grated apple and 1 1/2 cups of raisins or sultanas. 

Bake in a preheated oven at around 160 degrees C on baking paper for 15- 20 minutes until golden.

I used generous tablespoonfuls of mixture. They don't spread particularly so you can bake them quite close together.

Cool on a wire rack.

June 2024 and we are still loving these biscuits. Right now we're in the middle of persimmon season. To be honest, I prefer sweet persimmons just as they are but lots of people have been telling me about using them in other ways so, when we decided to head off for an adventure on Monday- King's birthday, I decided to have a go with persimmon not just apple & they are fabulous biscuits indeed.

I made a variation of the above

In to one bowl put:

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup of shredded coconut

1 cup of organic flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups raisins (or cranberries, apricots etc

1 tsp each cinnamon & ground ginger

1 tbsp chia seeds (add some sunflower seeds if you like too)

2 grated persimmons

calendula flowers- three or four flowers just the petals

In another bowl add:

170 gms butter- soften

3/4 cup brown sugar cream together

Add 1 egg 

1 dsp vanilla essence

Add the above dry stuff in to the bowl plus 1/3 cup milk 

Mix altogether.

Spoon out large spoonfuls of mixture- shape & flatten a bit.

Bake for 20 minutes at 160 degrees just the same.

Katie X