Beetroot, courgette and miso spirals with a cheeky fried 🍳

On the rare occasions that I'm at home for lunch and not rushing from client to client I like to experiment with all the random things I find in my fridge (and pretend I'm on Ready Steady Cook).
This was me wanting a healthy salad that wasn't spinach yet again so I dusted off my spiraliser (I know, it's a bit 2016) and zoodle-ified some courgette and beetroot. Whipped up a quick miso dressing and none of my salads are complete without an egg on top - this one was fried in a bit of coconut oil. Sorted.

Ingredients:

1 medium raw beetroot, peeled with ends sliced off
1/2 large courgette
1 tsp miso paste
2 tbsp lime juice
pinch of fresh chilli (optional).
1/2 tsp honey or syrup
black pepper
One large egg
2 tsp coconut oil
Coriander, parsley or mint (big handful chopped)

Method:

Spiralize the beetroot and courgette. If you've not got a spiralizer you can use the mandolin slicer on a grater (watch your fingers) or just your grater.
To make the dressing, mix the miso with a little water, the lime juice, honey, 1 tsp melted coconut oil, chilli and pepper.
Fry the courgette in the remaining coconut oil. Assemble the veg with the herbs and dressing and top with your egg. Ta da!

Hearty Chicken and chipotle stew

Ingredients: Serves 4

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 carton of tomato passata (or tinned tomatoes)
1 onion, finely diced
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
20g butter
1 tsp smoked chilli flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme
250ml chicken stock (or I used a chicken and noodle cuppa soup!)
50g dried wholewheat pasta (I used penne)
50g frozen peas (optional)
Black pepper

Method:

Heat the butter in a large casserole dish over a medium heat, add the garlic and onion and saute until softened. Turn the heat up and add the chicken thighs, browning evenly. Add the remaining ingredients minus the peas and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for around 30 minutes. Add the frozen peas 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time and leave the lid off for the final five minutes to thicken the sauce slightly.
Serve! If you're extra hungry add some green veg and crusty bread to serve. Or a dollop of creme fraiche and fresh herbs for an tasty touch.

Raw vegan cacao tart

Ingredients:

For the base

200g almonds

5 medjool dates (destoned)

150ml coconut oil (melted)

50g dessicated coconut

For the topping

250g unsalted cashew nuts

1/2 cup raw cacao powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/4 cup agave syrup

150ml coconut oil

50ml water

Method:

Soak the cashews in a bowl of water for an hour. You can use them unsoaked but it gives a much smoother texture if you can soak them first. 

In the meantime make the base. Blitz the almonds in a high powered food processor and then add the dates, coconut oil and dessicated coconut. Blend until well combined. 

Press into a non-stick springform cake tin and put in the freezer while you make the topping. 

When the cashews have finished soaking, drain and rinse and then put in your food processor with the rest of the topping ingredients. Blitz until really smooth. NB if you're still left with a grainy texture you can finish off in a Nutri Bullet or Nutri Ninja to get a really creamy consistency. 

Pour the mixture over the base and put in the fridge to cool for at least an hour or until ready to serve.