Butternut Squash & Bean Dip

Butternut Squash & Bean dip with crudite

I've always been a huge fan of hummous, so imagine my distress when my system could no longer handle the basic ingredient of that gorgeous snack/dip.

My recent journey has brought me to many points where I must cleanse and release that which no longer nourishes me on the physical, emotional and spiritual levels; I realized that I may be able to step through the portal and create a new way of being, and on the physical level a  new nourishing snack dip that incorporates the flavours I enjoy, and boost those flavours with new elements that resonates with the energy of where I am now.

I have been listening to very old skool music combined with new to me music - Stereo MC's, Paloma Faith & H.U.V.A. Network.

So the Butternut Squash sitting in the pantry called to me  and so too did that little jar of Ras El Hanout, Tahini with no place to go calls out to me and the music of Cafe Marakech crystalises that moment of inspiration into a recipe that will evolve into the lushousness you see above.

pre-heat the oven to 350F/ Fan Oven 180C 
You will need a roasting tin & a food Processor.

You will need

1 Butternut Squash, deseeded, and cut into chunks (peeling is optional)
2 red onoins, peeled and quartered

1 tbsp Olive oil
4 cloves smoked garlic (unpeeled)
1-2 tbsp of Ras El Hanout ( I prefer the Alfez mix)
a pinch of sea salt (if you have smoked himalayan salt that's good too)
small pinch of crushed chipotle  chilli (optional)


1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp Tahini paste
1 preserved lemon rind,chopped finely
1 small tub fat free greek yoghurt
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp spiced lemon tagine paste
1 small tub low fat creme fraiche/( fromage frais if you prefer)
Large bunch fresh coriander

METHOD

1. Put the chunked butternut squash in a roasting tin with the onions, unpeeled garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle over the Ras el Hanout and salt and chipotle. Then put your hands in their and toss so that all chunks and garlic are coated in the oil and the spice rub.

2. Put into the oven and roast for about 30-40 minutes or until you can see the edges of the squash caramelising.

3. Take out allow to cool a little. When cool enough to handle take out the garlic cloves and squeeze out the roasted garlic into the bowl of a food 

processor.

4. Add the butternut squash and onions and all the the juices that collected in the bottom of the roasting tin - use a silicone spatula for best results. Then add the tahini, more fresh crushed garlic, drained cannellini beans, fat free yoghurt, preserved lemon, Creme Fraiche. Pulse in the the food processer until it all melds together and add more yoghurt to loosen it if you desire. 
Add the tagine paste if using, and then add the coriander and taste and season as you wish.

5. Decant to a tub and leave to cool in the fridge. This is a dip that will get better over the next few hours as the flavours. It will also get thicker too, so you may wish to keep loosening it to your desired texture with yoghurt or you can use olive oil if you wish.

Serve with  raw veggies and a little chilli oil if you wish. 

Inspirational music for this journey.



Cafe Marakech

Can't Rely on you - Paloma Faith

The symbolism of the water cleansing and releasing and washing away all that is no longer valid on my soul journey was a large part of the evolving recipe that came to be my new favourite dip - and perhaps I should add that this recipe is still evolving -  as am I.



 

Sour Cherry Amaretti cookies - Quick, easy, therapeutic

These are my ultimate, I need a batch of cookies quick, and I’m too tired. Each time I make these I become immersed in the music and the process and the different shapes and sizes of each cookie. The whole point is that these are not all equal in size. They can be small and wonderful, or large and juicy with cherries. Yummy!

A little note about the cherries. I use American dried sour cherries which I buy from a market in Norwich from the grumpy man on the dried fruit and herb stall. I have used in the past the small packets you can get in specialist stores or in the supermarket and sad to say, all cherries are not the same. The best place I bought them was from a visiting French Farmers market a few years ago in the local town but this is a rare occasion. So if you wish to use the small packets and cannot buy the loose cherries as seen in the image below, then try soaking in a little warm water to plump up first. Then dry off the cherries.

SOUR CHERRY AMARETTI – Biscuits

Makes about 20

INGREDIENTS

180g ground almonds

120g caster sugar

Grated zest of 1 lemon

A pinch of salt

60g dried sour cherries, roughly chopped

2 free range egg whites

2 teaspoons honey

Plenty of icing sugar for rolling

METHOD

Notes – I like to roast and then grind my own almonds, for a more intense almondyness.

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C /Gas Mark 3. Put the ground almonds, sugar, lemon zest and 3 drops almond extract and salt into a large bowl and rub with your finger tips to disperse the zest and essence evenly. Add the cherries and set aside.

2. Using an electric whisk beat the egg whites and honey until they reach soft meringue like consistency. Gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture.. At this stage you should have a soft malleable paste – if not add some more ground almonds.

3. With your hands, form the mixture into several irregular shapes. Roll them in plenty of icing sugar and then arrange them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

Place in the oven and bake for 12 - 15 minutes. The biscuits should have taken some colour, but remain relatively pale and chewy in the centre.

Leave to cool a little before taking off the greaseproof, if they stick they are not done!.

Leave to cool completely before indulging. The music of course is my own made up mix of favourite tracks including

Gamesmaster - http://youtu.be/SnX1DH8FiO4

Space Manoeuvres Stage One - http://youtu.be/-r58xH3YbBk

Babe I'm Gonna - Quivver Remix - http://youtu.be/D6I7_b4vOR4

The Boat - Cloak and Dagger -    http://youtu.be/R1OadpLJyMQ

The Journey - Planet Future - http://youtu.be/Ssx3QDmzlOQ

Misty Mornings, Dimensional Travel, Clementines

This morning I got up early and went out into the foggy misty morning, over field, through hedges and down to the river. Walking in the mists across the fields always feels like I am walking between the worlds, wandering in and out of the dimensions at will. It becomes a walking meditation flowing with nature and hearing the calls of all those beings wandering in the mists between our world and theirs.

When I eventually come back in to the kitchen I am renewed, energised and inspired. Of course there is the all important first and only cup of fresh coffee to be made and imbibed while choosing the music that inspired the above recipe. Still a cold and foggy day outside, and the only place to be is in a warm kitchen filled with music, a sage green candle burning, and some incense burning – a new delivery incense made in Santa Barbra of all places – such amazing aroma - shifting into a higher vibration and cooking and creating to create soul nourishing, light and flowing, heart warming food.

Requests were made for stew, a hearty winter casserole of chicken and vegetables – ‘something to stick to ya bones’ – and yet that wasn’t the energy that returned with me.  I wished to create a summery golden, dish that was bursting with light and harmony and reminiscent of warm days in the garden eating and laughing.

The music of the moment was the Bliss album – Hundred Thousand Angels.
A Hundred Thousand Angels

Another track that invokes a full throated sing along is I am the Light

Looking round the kitchen I saw an abundance once more of Clementine’s – they seem to multiply in the fruit bowl until they spill over and shout out for attention.

I went into the depths of the kitchen cupboard to dig out the perfect cooking dish – a Spanish terracotta dish I bought years ago in Spitafields market, after failing to buy one in Spain.

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts, cut in half lengthways

2 small leeks, sliced in small chunks

1 red pepper, sliced thinly

1 sweet potato, sliced into small chunks

Juice of 12 Clementines

1/2 pint water

1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon

Salt,

Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh or dried thyme to taste

METHOD

Pre heat oven to 190C/ Gas Mark 5

1. Put chicken and vegetables into the dish. Season and add thyme and bouillon powder.

2.  Add clementine juice and water and stir a little to mix in powder.

3. Use tin foil to cover the dish and put into preheated oven.

4. Cook for 1 hour and then take out to check chicken is done. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required. At this point I add a little orange zest and use cornflour paste to thicken.

5. I served this with Soba Pumpkin and Ginger Brown Rice Noodles

Soba Pumpkin and Ginger Rice Noodles

So a fat free and gluten free dish - you can serve this with brown rice or even potatoes, but I found we enjoyed this light citrus summer dish as an antidote to the winter blues.