MOROCCAN LAMB TAGINE WITH APRICOTS AND ALMONDS - really worth a try

Moroccan Lamb is one of my favourite dishes. I LOVE the spices that come together, the slight tartness of the apricots with the crunch of the almonds and the sweetness from the cinnamon. This dish will dance on your taste buds and leave you wanting more and more and more......

MOROCCAN LAMB,  APRICOT & ALMOND TAGINE

Here is the awesome recipe -serves 6-8 people

To make the Ras-el-hanout (you may be able to buy this spice-

I make a lot of it and then place in a sealed container)

1 ½ tsp Coriander seeds

½ tsp Crushed Chillies, dried

¾ tsp Cumin Seeds

1 ½ tsp Cinnamon, ground

½ tsp Ground cardamom

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp Paprika

Blend all in a pestle and mortar or in a coffee grinder

Ingredients for the Lamb Tagine

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil/ Avocado Oil/ Olive Oil

1 kg Lamb Shoulder, cubed

1 Large red onion, diced

5 tsp Ras-el-Hanout spice blend

1 Tbsp ginger, peeled and grated

3 Cloves Garlic, crushed

400g tin diced tomatoes

2 ½ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

2 ½ cups water

½ cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

1 tin Chickpeas, drained

2-3 Tbsp Chopped fresh coriander

Zest of 1 lemon plus juice of half

1 Small butternut, cut into bite sized pieces and roasted with a little oil.

1 Punnet Courgettes, cut into bite sized pieces and roasted with a little oil.

1/2 Cup Almonds, flaked and toasted

Method

1.     Season the lamb with the salt and pepper.

2.     Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown off the meat.

3.     Transfer the lamb to a dish and sauté the onions until lightly golden in colour.

4.     Add in chopped garlic, ginger, meat and spice, stir for a few minute.

5.     Add in the tomatoes, stock , water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

6.     Add in the apricots, chickpeas and simmer for a further 30 minutes

7.     Stir in the chopped coriander, lemon juice, lemon zest, butternut, 

       courgettes & half the almonds, taste and season if need be.

8.     Serve with Basmati Rice or on a bed of roasted vegetables. Sprinkle over the

       remaining toasted almonds and garnish with extra fresh coriander leaves. 

 TIP:  I like to add a little Harissa paste  or coriander & chilli yoghurt to the dish 

         before serving to add an extra kick:) 

   "In the picture I made a black onion and turmeric bread roll. Sadly it was not 

     gluten free but my husband enjoyed it:)"

H.E.A.L.T.H. by Tanya March: Asian Lentil, Aubergine and Goats Cheese Salad- A ...

H.E.A.L.T.H. by Tanya March: Asian Lentil, Aubergine and Goats Cheese Salad- A ...: I was looking at old pictures of my Cafe.....gee do I miss the creativity, people and excitement it use to bring me. So how do I bring that ...

Asian Lentil, Aubergine and Goats Cheese Salad- A REAL HIT

I was looking at old pictures of my Cafe.....gee do I miss the creativity, people and excitement it use to bring me. So how do I bring that back?  I thought the best way to "BRING it BACK" was to share my ideas, thoughts and creativity with you all. 

This Asian Lentil, Aubergine and Goats Cheese Salad was a real hit in my cafe. I thought I would share it with you:)

ASIAN LENTIL, AUBERGINE & GOATS CHEESE SALAD

Ingredients

1 Tbsp lemon Grass, finely chopped or ½  tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp Fresh ginger, peeled, grated and chopped

½ red chilli,  finely chopped

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp Fish Sauce

2 Tbsp Lime Juice if not sour add a squeeze of half a lemon juiced.

1 Tbsp Basil, Chopped (optional)

1 Spring Onion, Chopped

1 Tbsp Mint, Chopped

1 Tbsp Coriander, Chopped

3 Cups Cooked Brown Lentils

2 Cups Rocket/ watercress/ lettuce or a mix

1 Cup Diced and roasted aubergine

1 Goats cheese Chevrille-sliced in rounds

Garnish with fresh coriander or mint

1.     Mix together the lemon grass, ginger, chilli, olive oil, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, basil, spring onion, mint and coriander.

2.     Stir into the lentils and mix well. I sometimes allow it to stand for 24 hours to absorb the delicious flavours.

3.     Pour lentils into serving dish, sprinkle over rocket/ watercress/lettuce or a mix. Toss roasted aubergine over the salad, place goats cheese rounds ontop of the aubergine. Drizzle over Coriander Dressing (recipe below) and Garnish with fresh coriander or mint. 

Coriander Dressing

1 Tbsp Fish Sauce

2 Clove Garlic, peeled and chopped finely 

½ red chilli, chopped finely

3 Tbsp Coriander, chopped

2 Tbsp Mint, chopped

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 tsp Honey/ Brown sugar

1 cup yoghurt (take out if you want dairy free option)

1 cup mayonnaise 

1.     Mix all the ingredients together.

2.     Pour ½  of the dressing over the lentil salad. The other half I use as a marinade for chicken.

((The picture has cherry tomatoes-I usually leave these out but it depends on what you are in the mood for:)

Orange, Coconut and Almond Chiffon Cake - Gluten & Dairy Free

My husband told me to "Eat the Frog" today. This saying implies that you tackle your worst jobs first in the morning which leaves you free for the rest of the day to do the other tasks you so enjoy . 

Oh my goodness that sounded positively boring so I decided to ignore him and do what I was super excited to do.....that is to share my chiffon cake with you. The GREAT news is, it is gluten and dairy free (YAY). 

Orange, Coconut and Almond Cake

When making this cake, I do advise using a chiffon tin but I have made cupcakes out of this recipe which can work really well. 

OPTION: You are also able to use a small cake tin (8-10 inch) instead of the chiffon tin but try not to fill the tin up too make with the mixture. It may be best to use 2 cake tins (the same size) and fill half the mixture in each. Remember baking time will also reduce due to the smaller amounts in the tin.

I have decided to add a variation onto the recipe with a diabetic option (placed opposite the original recipe with the relevant changes).  The diabetic option is also suitable for  GRAIN FREE / PALEO / GLUTEN FREE / DAIRY FREE/ DIABETIC FRIENDLY individuals (SUPER AWESOME if you ask me).

When I make something diabetic or paleo friendly, I find my clients then think they can EAT MORE. NOOOoooooo, you cannot eat more even with this cake. Portion control is always advised with any food item:) 

Here is this delicious recipe:

ORIGINAL RECIPE                             DIABETIC/PALEO RECIPE
7 Jumbo Eggs, separated                    7 Jumbo Eggs, separated
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar                       1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
2/3 Cup Almond Flour                          2/3 Cup Almond Flour
2/3 Cup Desiccated Coconut               2/3 Cup Desiccated Coconut
1 1/2 Cups Caster Sugar                     2/3 Cup Xylitol & 1/2 tsp Liquid Stevia
3 tsp Baking Powder (Gluten Free)     3 tsp Baking Powder (GF)
1 tsp Salt                                              2/3 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Oil                                          1/2 Cup Oil
2 level tsp Orange Zest                        2 level tsp Orange Zest
3/4 Cup Pure Orange Juice                 3/4 Cup Orange Juice

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 160 Degrees Celsius. Chiffon cakes do not require greasing but when I bake this cake, I sometimes find it can stick. To prevent the cake from sticking to the tin, I lightly grease the tin with coconut oil.
2. Sift together the almond flour, caster sugar (or Diabetic version: xylitol), baking powder and salt.
3. Add the desiccated coconut to the dry mixture above.
4. Lightly whisk the egg yolks, oil, orange zest and orange juice together.
5. Pour the egg whites into a large glass or stainless steel bowl (make sure no egg yolks have managed to get into the egg white otherwise they will not expand). Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy and add in the cream of tartar. Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff.
6. Stir the oil mixture into the almond flour mixture, making sure it is well mixed. For the Diabetic version: If using liquid stevia, add to the oil mixture.
7. Fold the egg whites into the the almond-oil mixture.
8. Pour into chiffon tin and bake for 50 minutes or until set.
9. Ideally, when the chiffon cake has baked you are suppose to turn it upside down to cool down. However with this cake, I find the best thing to do is leave it in its tin for 20 minutes, then I turn it upside down on a cooling rack. You may have to loosen the sides and base by using a knife or pallet knife to allow the cake to ease out.

OPTION: if using cup cake holders bake for 20-25 minutes.

OPTION: I am not a big fan of icing for my cakes but you can use your own recipe to ice this cake. A coconut cream or ganache will also go well with this style of cake. 

CHOCOLATE HEAVEN

I LOVE chocolate and not just any chocolate, I want a chocolate to be rich, creamy and decadent with a long lasting mouth feel (sigh).....just thinking about it makes me happy and relaxed. Thats why emotions can be a deadly combination with great chocolate: feel sad....eat chocolate, feel stressed...eat chocolate....feel angry...eat chocolate, do you notice any common denominators here, I do.

So when my birthday came along awhile back, what did I REALLY want......I wanted to eat chocolate.  I decided to make myself a gluten free Birthday Chocolate Cake:) I decided to lower the carbs (carbohydrates), lower the (GI) glycaemic index and reduce the sugar intake in the cake. This is my Chocolate cake from HEAVEN. I served it with a ganache and a touch of cream (optional).

CHOCOLATE HEART CAKE

ORIGINAL RECIPE                             To Make it Dairy Free replace with

175 g  Chocolate (Dark chocolate)           Callebaut dark chocolate -DF

115 g  Butter                                             Coconut Oil

100 g  Almond Flour

60 g    Coco

1 tsp   Bicarbonate of Soda

1 tsp   Gluten Free Baking Powder

30 g    Coconut Flour,

100 g  Desiccated Coconut

250 g  Sugar

70 g    Dark Chocolate Chips                     Callebaut dark chocolate chips-DF

4         Organic Eggs

2 tsp   Vanilla Essence

125 ml Water

1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil 

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease well, a heart shaped mould or round cake mould.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl, over a double boiler.
3. Sieve the almond flour, coco, bicarb, baking powder  and coconut flour together. 
4. Stir into the almond flour, the desiccated coconut, sugar and the dark chocolate chips.
5. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla essence, water and oil. Mix in the melted chocolate & butter mixture.
6. Mix the egg mixture with the flour mix until well combined.  You may need to add a little extra water if the mixture is too dry. It should have the consistency of a thick batter.
7. Pour the batter into your mould and bake for 40-45 minutes. Then switch off your oven and allow the cake to stand in the oven for a further 15 minutes. 
8. Remove and let the cake rest for 10 minutes before you tip it out onto a stand.
9. Enjoy with ganache and cream. 
10. To follow through with a dairy free theme, replace cream with coconut cream and make the ganache with dairy free dark chocolate + coconut butter + a touch of coconut milk

OPTION: the cake batter can be baked in a long tray to make brownies but reduce the baking time to 20-25 minutes then and there is no need to leave the brownies to stand in the oven.