It’s taken me so long to get round to posting this that you’ve probably all been out and bought the book already, but for those you who haven’t get got their hands on a copy of The Green Kitchen, here’s a little sneaky peak just for you. The product of the wonderful Green Kitchen Stories blog written by Swedish art director and food stylist David Frankiel and his Danish girlfriend Luise Vindahl, who’s studying to be a nutritional therapist, The Green Kitchen is a beautifully produced vegetarian cookbook that’s packed full of quick, healthy and delicious recipes, all delivered with typically Scandinavian artistic flair. From the moment I flipped open the front cover, I was hooked… it now has pride of place on my kitchen bookshelf. If you need any more persuading, then take a little look below at a few of my favourite recipes below. And if you’d like to know more about Luise, David, and their little girl Elsa, you can follow their foodie adventures at Greenkitchenstories.com.
FLOUR-FREE BANANA & COCONUT PANCAKES
These pancakes are nothing less than a family classic. We always prepare a large stack of them when we make brunch. We have been making them for years and shared the recipe with most of our relatives and friends. And from what we have heard, they have passed the recipe on to their friends. The pancakes have a lovely fruity flavour and are easy and quick to make. What is also great is that they only call for very few ingredients, are completely flour-free and still very thick and rich. They also make a quick snack anytime of day, and a perfect post-workout meal.
Makes 10 pancakes
3 ripe bananas
6 eggs, lightly beaten
50 g (2 oz/½ cup) desiccated
coconut, plus extra for sprinkling
150 g (5 oz/1 cup) blueberries (fresh
or thawed if frozen)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp coconut oil, for frying
2 tbsp of maple syrup or plain
yoghurt, for topping (optional)
Mash the bananas with a fork. Place in a medium-sized bowl and whisk together with the eggs and coconut. Add the blueberries (reserve a few for serving) and stir well.
Heat the coconut oil in a 25 cm (10 in) non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add two to three tablespoons of batter for each pancake. You should be able to fit 3 to 4 pancakes in at a time. Use a spatula to carefully flip the pancakes when they have set and the bottom is golden – about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute on the other.
Stack the pancakes and top with the reserved blueberries. On weekends we like to drizzle ours with maple syrup or yoghurt and sprinkle with a little extra coconut.
PORTOBELLO & PEACH BURGERS
Although over the years we have made several different versions of veggie and bean burgers, patties and cakes, nothing is quite like a grilled portobello mushroom burger. It is the simplest, most natural and delicious piece of food you can put inside a burger bun. It is big, chewy and actually strikingly burger-looking, and when heated it releases moisture and becomes all flavourful and juicy. We like to top our burgers with mashed avocado, fresh tomatoes, sprouts and some kind of fruity salsa. Here we have replaced the salsa with peaches that are grilled with the mushrooms. Serve with our Spicy Skinny Root Sticks (see page 178) and some homemade Apple Ketchup (see page 30).
Makes 8 wraps
6 portobello mushrooms
6 peaches
6 wholegrain burger buns
100 g (3½ oz) fresh pea sprouts
5 small tomatoes, sliced
5 small spring onions (scallions),
sliced
a small handful of thyme leaves,
picked
Marinade
60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) extra virgin
olive oil
2 sprigs of rosemary (chop 1 of them
finely and use the other as a brush)
1 tbsp of thyme, leaves picked and
finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of ½ lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Guacamole
4 ripe avocados, halved, stoned and
peeled
3 small tomatoes
1 handful flat-leaved parsley
1 clove garlic
½ lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Clean the portobello mushrooms by carefully removing dirt from the caps with kitchen paper or a cloth; use a little water if necessary. Cut off the stems and discard. Pat dry. Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones.
Make the guacamole – chop the avocados, tomatoes and parsley roughly. Put them in a small bowl with the crushed garlic, squeeze lemon juice over and mash everything with a fork. It should be mixed but still a bit chunky. Set aside.
Now make the marinade – pour the olive oil into a small bowl. Add the chopped rosemary, thyme, garlic, freshly squeezed lemon juice and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use the other rosemary sprig to brush the mushrooms and peaches with the marinade.
Preheat a griddle pan and griddle the mushrooms and peaches for about 3–4 minutes on each side over high heat. Alternatively, you can barbeque them. Use the rosemary sprig to brush the marinade over them as they cook.
Slice the buns in half and toast them lightly on the grill. When done, place a big dollop of guacamole on the bottom bun, add pea sprouts, tomatoes, spring onion, thyme, one mushroom and two peach halves. Add the top of the bun, and insert a cocktail stick to hold it all together.
QUINOA & VEGETABLE CHORIZO SALAD
A word of warning: this recipe uses words that might freak out some vegetarians. But fear not – our chorizos are purely plant-based! This is without doubt the most unexpected dish in this cookbook. Not only have we made sausages(!) but we also threw them in a quinoa salad. It’s definitely not our usual combination, but it is really good. The mustard dressing in the salad matches the chorizos perfectly. You can of course also make the quinoa salad without the chorizos (or buy ready-made). And equally,
there are many ways you can eat and serve the vegetable chorizos – as a classic hot dog, in bangers and mash, or in a stew.
Serves 4
Vegetable chorizos
100 g (3½ oz/scant ½ cup) sundried
tomatoes, rinsed
125 g (4 oz/¾ cup) cashew nuts, toasted
½ red onion, coarsely chopped
½ red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
6 unsulphured dried apricots, coarsely
chopped
2 sprigs of oregano, leaves
picked and chopped
200 g (7 oz/1 cup) rice flour
1 tbsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp linseed (flaxseeds), ground
60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 litre (59 fl oz/4¼ cups) vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil, for frying
Quinoa salad
200 g (7 oz/1 cup) black quinoa
15 heirloom tomatoes, halved
2 small red apples, diced
½ onion, sliced
350 g (12 oz/2 cups) cooked butter
(lima) beans (see page 28)
Dressing
75 ml (2½ fl oz/ cup) olive oil
zest and juice of ½ organic lemon
3 tbsp hot English mustard
sea salt
a few sprigs of oregano, to garnish
To prepare the chorizos, combine the sundried tomatoes, cashew nuts, onion, chilli and apricots in a food processor or blender. Pulse until finely chopped. Add the herbs, rice flour, xanthan gum and linseeds and pulse until everything is combined. Add the olive oil and 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) water and pulse until a dough is formed. It should be easy to handle and form into a sausage shape.
Divide the dough into 5 equal parts. Roll each piece into a sausage, place on the cheese cloth, roll up and tie the twine firmly around both ends. Repeat with the rest of the sausages. Bring the vegetable stock to the boil in the widest frying pan you have.
Lay the chorizos in it and let them boil for about 45 minutes. Next, carefully remove the cloths from the boiled chorizos. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat and fry them until they are nicely browned all over.
Next prepare the quinoa salad. Place 500 ml (17 fl oz/2¼ cups) water, the quinoa and salt in a heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and gently simmer for 15–20 minutes. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool. Prepare the tomatoes, apples and onion, and slice the fried chorizos.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Put the quinoa, tomatoes, apples, onions and butter beans into a large bowl. Add the chorizo slices then pour over the dressing and toss about to make sure all the ingredients are well coated. Garnish with oregano and serve.
FROZEN STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE ON A SUNFLOWER CRUST
I don’t think we have ever served this cake to someone who hasn’t immediately loved it. Therefore it has become one of our go-to recipes for all kinds of occasions. We used to make it with nuts in the crust, but lately we have moved to this seed-based crust. It has the most wonderful flavour and texture, not to mention that it is allergy friendly and gluten-free. Since the crust is very sweet, the filling doesn’t have to be. If you are looking for new variations, you can play around with all kinds of yoghurts, soft cheeses or coconut creams. You can also vary the colour of the filling by adding different berries to it. If you are having a big party make a range: blueberry blue, kiwi green, mango yellow and so on …
Serves 8–10
300 g (10½ oz/2½ cups) sunflower
seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds, optional
12 fresh medjool dates, pitted
2 tbsp coconut oil
½ tsp sea salt
Filling
300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) fresh
strawberries (or frozen unsweetened
strawberries)
juice of ½ a lemon
120 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) clear honey
or agave syrup
500 g (2 oz/2 cups) quark
(or Greek yoghurt or mascarpone)
Topping
250 g (9oz/1 cup) strawberries
a few edible flowers (see tip)
Toast the sunflower seeds in a frying pan on low heat, or on a baking tray on 180°C (350°F/Gas 4), for 6–8 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before putting them into a food processor or blender together with the hemp seeds. Pulse for about 20 seconds. The seeds should be chopped but not powdered.
Add the dates, coconut oil and salt and process until the mixture comes together to a sticky crust. Alternatively, mash the dates until caramel-smooth and work in its remaining ingredients. Put the mixture into a 20 cm (8 in) spring-form cake tin and flatten it out over the base. Chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
Purée the strawberries, lemon juice and honey in a food processor or blender, pour into a large bowl and add the quark. Mix well. Pour the mixture on top of the crust in the cake tin and put it in the freezer for about 1½ hours. You can keep it in the freezer for a few days but you will need to let it thaw for about 20 minutes before serving. Top the cake with strawberries and a couple of flowers. Serve immediately.
Tip: Here are some suggestions for edible flowers: violas, calendula, roses, rosehip, dandelions, carnations, lavender, cornflowers, pea flowers, day lilies and chamomile. Although the flowers are edible we mainly use them for decoration.
Tip: For vegans substitute vegan cream cheese for quark
The Green Kitchen, RRP £25, Hardiegrant.co.uk
