Looking for a mouth-watering plant-based dining experience? Look no further than the lovely Glas Restaurant, located on Chatham Street in Dublin 2! Read on to learn more.
EventsFood & RecipesGood LifeHappinessHolistic HealthMeditation & Mindfulnessnatural medicinePositive BeautyPositive Businesspositive newsPositive News & Interviewspositive nightsPositive NightsPositive StoriesSpecial EventSpirituality
Summer Vibes: The Season’s Best Holistic Happenings
We love the Positive Vibes section of our magazine, where we get to take a look at some of the best holistic products, events and pick-me-ups out there. This edition of Vibes is featured in our Summer 2019 issue – to read the full magazine, click here to find your nearest stockist or subscribe to have a copy delivered direct to your door.
EventsFood & RecipesGood LifeHappinessHolistic HealthPositive Businesspositive newsPositive News & InterviewsPositive StoriesPositively PhysicalPositively Practical
May Vibes: The Month’s Best Holistic Products, Events and Happenings!
Merry May: Hello, Positive Lifers! Enjoy this collection of fabulous events, products and holistic news we have put together for you.
EventsFood & RecipesGood LifeHappinessHolistic HealthHolistic HolidaysInspiring InterviewsPositive BeautyPositive BusinessPositive News & InterviewsPositive Nightspositive nightsPositive StoriesPositively PhysicalSpecial EventSpirituality
August Vibes: This Month’s Pick of the Best Holistic Events, Getaways and Products
The Tidings of August: Summer is starting to give way to autumn, but not to worry: there are sure to be plenty more bursts of sunshine to enjoy this month! As always, we’ve been enthusiastically tracking down the best events, products, getaways and general news that Ireland’s holistic scene has to offer. Read on to learn more about the highlights we’ve picked out for you for this month. If you haven’t picked up our Summer 2018 issue yet, make sure you call into one of our stockists throughout the country soon. You can also subscribe here to get a copy delivered right to your door.
Discover the Benefits of Chi Fit Tea
Chi Fit Tea is an Irish company with a passion for high-quality, energising tea. They named the company after the Chinese word ‘Chi’, or ‘energy’, to emphasise the origin and heritage of their ingredients. When the founders felt that green tea, oolong tea and pu’erh tea were a little too bitter for them, they set out to create their own unique blend. They did this by blending a specific variety of powerful teas and spending months perfecting this blend until they were happy with the taste. They then set about finding an amazing organic tea producer in China. Now, Chi Fit Tea is composed of ten naturally powerful ingredients, full of naturally occurring properties that give drinkers an energy boost. This tea is great for pre-gym sessions, as the ingredients promote health and fitness benefits.
Vitality Expo to Bring Top Names in Health and Wellbeing to Dublin
On September the 8th and 9th, 2018, Dublin’s RDS will play host to the amazing Vitality Expo 2018, brought to you by Health Stores Ireland. The Expo will be dedicated to all things health-related, with a diverse array of wellness, lifestyle, fitness and nutrition talks being delivered by Irish and international speakers and natural health brands. The Expo’s Vitality Stage will play host to Alison Canavan, Vivienne Campbell, Rachel and Hannah Dare, Dr. Robert Verkerk Ph.D, Phil Beard, Dr. Sarah Murphy, Jessica Hatchett and Fiann Ó Nualláin (a bestselling author, horticultural therapist and community gardening advocate). All of the talks will be hosted by nutritional therapist Jemma Kehoe. For a full list of confirmed exhibitors and speakers, make sure you check out their website below.
Healing is Voltage: Check Out the New Book Making Waves
Dr. Jerry Tenant – a board-certified ophthalmologist in the U.S., who is now the director of the Tennant Institute for Integrative Medicine – has a revolutionary approach to healing that he outlines in his new book, Healing is Voltage. He explains that every cell in the body is designed to run at -20 to -25 millivolts. To heal, we must make new cells. To make a new cell requires -50 millivolts. Chronic disease occurs when voltage drops below -20 and/or you cannot achieve -50 millivolts to make new cells. Thus chronic disease is always defined by having low voltage. His book aims to tell you how to measure your voltage in each organ, how to correct it, and how to determine why your voltage may have dropped enough to allow you to get sick.
O’Brien’s Café Launches Healthy New Veggie Bowl
Well-known Irish café and sandwich bar company O’Brien’s has launched a new vegetarian Mediterranean Bowl – created with chef Rachel Allen and nutritionist Erika Doolan – and it looks delicious! The Mediterranean Bowl features grilled halloumi, falafel, spelt, kale slaw, houmous, Ballymaloe Foods beetroot, chunky salsa, rocket and mixed leaves. Pop into your local O’Brien’s and try it out today!
Positive Nights Presents: Kundalini Awakening Process with Venant Wong – Thursday August 2nd
Venant Wong, an expert in Kundalini, movement and energy, will be joining us at Positive Nights from 7.00 to 9.30 p.m.on Thursday August 2nd in the Central Hotel, 1 – 5 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2. Venant will discuss his Kundalini Activation Process: a direct Kundalini Transmission that activates our own personal Kundalini Awakening process. Venant has trained with three Kundalini Transmission masters: Adi Da Samraj (Fiji), Ratu Bagus (Bali), and Pi Villaraza (Phillipines) – after which the capacity to activate the kundalini in others arose. He has been leading Facilitator Trainings & Immersions in this modality, as well as open sessions for groups & individuals in Asia, Australia, and now in Europe. Click here to learn more and book your tickets.
WIN Two Tickets to Adyashanti Teaching Event in Dublin!
Adyashanti, the world-renowned spiritual teacher, writer and international speaker, who graces the front cover of our current summer issue, and who you may also recognise from his fascinating SuperSoul interview with Oprah (video link here), is coming to Dublin this August for a Special Intensive teaching event. This will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday August 19th, in the Gibson Hotel, Point Square, North Dock, Dublin 1. The exciting news is that we have two tickets to give away to this incredible event! This competiton is being run on our Facebook page. All you have to do to enter is click on this linked post, comment who you would bring with you and why, then be sure to like the post and our page for a chance to win! The winner will be announced on August 17th. Good luck, Positive Pals!
Special Yoga Event Invokes the Energy of Ireland’s Ancient Pirate Queen
Kitty Maguire, a yoga teacher who – alongside a variety of musicians – specialises in offering ‘Yocella’ classes (yoga accompanied by the music of the cello) has another exciting event coming up this month at the Fleadh Cheoil in Drogheda, Co. Louth. She is teaming up with fellow yoga teacher Gráinne O’Kane to tell the story of the historic Pirate Queen, Gráinne Mhaol, through the media of yoga, voice, fiddle and bodhrán. Gráinne will lead a Warrior of the Heart practice – inspired by hatha yoga – to fully embody the strength and resilience of the Warrior Queen. Kitty will then lead a Peaceful Warrior session, based on yin yoga. This will be a soothing practice of stillness throughout the body, to the sound of the bodhrán’s heartbeat, that will bring the Pirate Queen home. Kieran Gallagher will play the bodhrán and Ben McKenzie the fiddle. This event will take place on Monday August 13th, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in St. Peter’s Church of Ireland Parish Hall, Drogheda. To learn more, check out the event page here.
Looking for the perfect meal to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of spring? Tony Keogh of Cornucopia has got you covered. Below, we share his delicious recipe for leek and courgette barley cake, which features in our Spring 2018 issue.
By Tony Keogh
It’s time to shake off the winter coat – Spring has finally sprung. As the days get longer so too does the list of fresh ingredients on offer. The marriage of the passing winter and the awakening spring is celebrated in this dish. The coupling of beetroot with raspberry, just like the union of courgette and barley, bridge the merging of the seasons.
This dish is surprisingly easy to make. Please do not be put off by the list of ingredients. A bottle of raspberry vinegar or a pot of tahini are two ingredients that you will return to again and again. Metal rings can be purchased in any kitchen store or large supermarket.
The punchy salsa is very versatile and will find a comfortable home in many settings, from a sandwich filler to a salad dressing.
Leek and courgette barley cake in a beetroot tahini cream with pumpkin seed and pea salsa
For the cakes
375 grams barley
1350 ml stock
200 ml white wine
½ head (5 cloves) garlic finely minced
10 grams fresh thyme finely chopped
2 leeks
1 courgettes
30 grams corn flour dissolved in 50 ml water
150 grams firm tofu
Dijon mustard
2 bay leaves
Little lemon juice
For the cream sauce
1 large onion finely diced
1 packet of vacuum packed beetroot
Pinch of chili flake
10 ml raspberry vinegar
500 ml stock
5 grams chopped fresh dill
50 ml apple juice
20 ml tahini
Seasoning
For the salsa
100 grams of pumpkin seeds, toasted Juice of one lemon
100 grams frozen peas, thawed 4 scallions finely chopped
5 grams of freshly chopped mint 15 ml white wine or cider vinegar
Seasoning 10 ml apple juice
Method
Start with the cakes; rinse the barley and add it to a medium heavy based pot, along with the wine, the stock, the bay leaves and the thyme. Bring this to a boil for about 10 minutes and then lower the heat and leave it to simmer for a further 40 minutes.
Quarter the leek lengthways and slice it thinly. Sauté it in a small sauce pan in a little oil until it becomes translucent and soft. Quarter the courgette lengthways and slice it into little quarter moons. Fry these off in a little oil in a medium frying pan and set them aside with the leek.
In a blender, puree the tofu, cornflour mixture and mustard. When the barley is tender, fold the tofu mixture through it. Season it to taste with salt, lemon and black pepper. Remove the bay leaves.
Line an oven tray with parchment paper. Using a metal ring or a large scone cutter, shape mounds of the barley mixture onto the parchment into around 8 large discs – they will hold their shape.
Bake these in pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for around 20 minutes.
To make the sauce; sauté the diced onion in a little oil until soft. Add it to a blender along with the beetroot, chili flakes, raspberry vinegar, stock, dill, apple and tahini. Blend the sauce until it is velvety smooth. If the sauce is grainy it can be passed through a sieve, if it is too thick add a little water to thin it out.
To make the salsa; roughly pulse all the ingredients together in a food processor. Do not over blend – you want to maintain a rough texture.
Flood a serving plate with a little sauce, top with a cake and top the cake with a dollop of salsa.
EventsFood & RecipesHappinessHolistic HealthInspiring Interviewspositive newsPositive Nightspositive nightsPositive PersonalitySpecial EventSpirituality
Positive Vibes Jovial July 2017: Summer Festivals, Amazing events, competitions & more!
Jovial July! We have been blessed with plenty of sunshine days this summer and we hope you are all enjoying the festivals and that beautiful feeling of being alive the sun brings! If you haven’t enjoyed a BBQ day yet, we hear there is still plenty of sunshine to come and after last weekend’s clearing full moon, we are definitely ready to enjoy it! We are bringing you some beautiful news including not one but two fantastic competitions, as well as retreats, books, supplements, event recommendations & more! Our fabulous Summer magazine edition is still out! Sign up here to get a hot copy in your postbox!
A Course on Vegetarian Cooking!
Date: July 22nd
Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Mindful Health Ireland is offering an Introduction to a Vegetarian Cooking event. In it you will learn: What foods create and what foods curb the viscous inflammatory cycle; How to introduce foods that can reduce inflammation and improve conditions like cholesterol, heart health, hormonal health etc; How to make tasty & nutritious vegetarian meals, sides and snacks that the whole family can enjoy.
Check more info and how to book here.
Thrive: Ireland’s New Wellness Event at Groove Festival!
Groove Summer Festival presents Thrive, the Festival’s all new health, fitness and wellness quarter, which offers festival goers the chance to relax, rejuvenate and reenergise the mind, body and soul through a jam-packed programme of over 35 free movement classes, wellness workshops and inspirational talks.
Our friends at Groove Festival would like to offer you all a 10% discount on tickets to Groove Festival (plus kids 12 and under go free!) Visit groovefestival.ie and enter code POSITIVELIFE. Code is valid until July 31st.
It is summer, and sharing is caring! We are also giving away two tickets for two winners each for this fantastic festival! Simply follow Positive Life on Facebook or Twitter, share this post on your Facebook or Twitter page and tag @positivelifemag so we know!
Click here to learn more and book your tickets!
Spirit of Folks: The Gathering 2017
Location: Dunderry Park, Co. Meath, Ireland
Date: 9th – 10th September
Spirit of Folks presents the Dunderry Park Festival 20th Anniversary: The Gathering 2017. This celebration will feature some SOFF favourites with a specially curated SOFF stage and storytelling in the cairn, along with a whole host of inspiring speakers and workshops.
Click here to book and for more info!
Progressive Workshop with Dr. Joe Dispenza
We have two tickets to give away for Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Progressive Workshop weekend event in Dublin from September 29th – October 1st, 2017. Just follow us on Facebook or Twitter, share this post and tag us to let us know!
Date: September 29- October 1st
Royal Dublin Society (RDS), Merrion Road, Ballsbridge
Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Progressive Workshop returns to Dublin in 2017 presenting a unique three day workshop where Joe will lead you through the language of science to reveal the latest research and findings of how to step into a new personal reality!
You can get tickets and learn more here!
Sun Chlorella in Ireland
Sun Chlorella is clearly today’s most praised chlorella product on the market. It is like sunshine in a glass! They bring us their new DYNO ® -Mill technology that breaks down the cell walls of the algae (without the use of heat or chemicals which can reduce the quality of the chlorella) to ensure when you use either their granules or tablets you’re getting the most nutrients possible.
You can check where to get the Sun Chorella products and learn more here!
The Wonderful Aloha House!
Our very own Paul recently returned from a wonderful weekend at The Aloha House in Co. Kerry and confirmed we are blessed to have an amazing Lomi Lomi massage practitioner and teacher like Louise kleu in Ireland. She rocks! Lomi Lomi is an ancient Hawaiian healing art with plenty of benefits for the mind, body & spirit such as the elimination of toxins, increase of energy and metabolism & a complete alignment of the body.
You can read Paul’s review here and find out more on Aloha house.
Positive Nights welcomes Sisú to our Family!
Positive Nights is happy to welcome Sisú Cold Pressed Juices as our brand new sponsor!!! SiSú is well on its way to becoming Ireland’s leading health & wellness brand. Their 100% natural juices and smoothies are healthy, delicious & refreshing! After you give it a taste at our event, you can pick up a bottle of their fruit & vegetable goodness in various shops, cafes, gyms, health shops and restaurants nationwide. Paul recently tried them in Cork and absolutely loved the taste!
Deva Premal & Miten in Concert!
We are giving away two tickets for this beautiful Concert! Simply share this post on your Facebook or Twitter page and tag @positivelifemag so we know!
Deva Premal & Miten concert
Date: September 22nd, 2017
Time: 7:30pm
Location: RDS, Dublin
Celebrated chant masters Deva Premal & Miten bring their Temple at Midnight Tour to Ireland. Accompanied by Nepalese bansuri maestro Manose, with Canadian Joby Baker on bass and Danish percussionist Rishi, their unique, spiritually inspired evenings of mantra, song, and chant are treasured by audiences around the planet.
Dublin Vegfest is a family friendly celebration of vegan food, veg business and veg culture under one roof for one day on Sunday November 1st World Vegan Day 2015 from 11 am to 5 pm. There’ll be amazing food, lifestyle talks, music, cooking demos, cruelty free products, yoga, superfoods, natural and ethical products, goody bags for the first 50 people and much more. And it’s taking place in increasingly trendy Dublin 8.
Some great guys to check out there that we met at the Allergy & Free From Expo in the RDS recently are the Art of Zen Foods. They produce wonderful plant based foodie products so delicious that they might even convert a few veggies and carnivores. Try their Violife Vegan Cheese range and the Vegan Mayonnaise, Vegenaise.
Also check out the yoga classes with Lee Tracey and a really interesting looking talk by Barry McMullin titled, ‘How Does What We Eat Change the Climate?’
It all kicks off tomorrow at 11am and you can buy tickets, check out the programme and get info on how to get there here.
Life’s a Picnic
Tasty grub in summer surroundings.
By Deirdre McCafferty, recipe by Tony Keogh.
Why not plan for lots of picnics this summer. Maybe we can’t predict the weather but we can invent some nice back-up plans and the food is going to taste just as good! If the rain does come, simply move indoors and set up for a fun indoor picnic; nothing ventured, nothing gained. If the weather is good, well that will just make the treat even more special.
Link your picnic to an activity – halfway through a hike or a stroll in the woods with a stopping point to rest, eat and a gaze across a beautiful view. If you have kids or nieces and nephews, why not try out a teddy bears’ picnic in the park. If you’re stuck for free time, try a lunch time picnic with a good friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with and each bring a few items so neither has to be laden down with goodies and baskets heading to work.
There’s no doubt that great food tastes even better outside celebrating nature. The countryside is too unique here in Ireland to let the Summer pass without celebrating what we have right on our doorstep. You might even find some interesting edibles out on your walk to add to your salads, wraps or sandwiches.
To read the rest of the article including Tony’s easy to pack up and bring with you wraps recipe, pick up a copy of Positive Life free on in of our stockists all over Ireland, or subscribe and have have it delivered for a year.
Photo credit: Sammy Murphy
Cornucopia Warmed Raw/Living Broccoli and Dillisk soup in Shitake and Tamari Broth
This raw living soup was inspired by Chef Veronica O’Reilly of Healthy Habits Raw Foods café in Wicklow Town who I had the pleasure of working with a few years ago. We introduced this particular soup to Cornucopia Restaurant’s ever growing raw/vegan menu last year as the chilly weather started to catch up on us. This is a raw, albeit slightly warmed soup.
Ingredients
Broth:
- 400mls Cashew Cream
- 60ml cold pressed Sesame Oil
- 100mls Tamari soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shitake Mushroom Powder
Vegetables:
- 14g of dried dillisk seaweed, cut into small pieces using a scissors
- 1 medium carrot, topped, tailed, peeled and grated finely
- 1 scallion, sliced thinly
- 1 small head of broccoli (120g when chopped) finely chopped and marinated overnight in 30mls lemon juice)
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
To Prepare the Cashew Cream, Broccoli and Mushroom Powder:
Make the cashew cream by soaking 100g of cashew nuts in enough water to cover the nuts. Leave in a cool place overnight/8 hours. Drain the cashews, discarding the water. Place the nuts in a high speed blender or hand-held stick blender. Add 250mls fresh water and process until it becomes cashew cream.
Prepare the marinated broccoli by chopping it into very small pieces, and placing in a bowl with the lemon juice and salt. Gently massage the lemon and salt into the broccoli and leave to marinade for at least eight hours also.
To make the mushroom powder, grind a couple of dried shitake mushrooms to a powder. You can use a high speed blender, an electric spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.
To assemble the soup:
Place the cashew cream, sesame oil, tamari and shitake powder in a medium sized bowl. Using a whisk, gently stir the ingredients to combine. Add the chopped dillisk, grated carrot, sliced scallion, and then the marinated broccoli into the broth, and stir to combine. Place into a fridge to chill until ready to serve. This will make a very thick broth which will be later mixed with warmed water to serve.
To finish and serve the soup:
Place the broth into four soup bowls, filling the bowls halfway. Boil water in a kettle, letting it cool to about 80*c, then add to the soup to warm.
Baked Winter Crown Prince Pumpkin, Roast Cauliflower Puree with Parsley Tahini Sauce and Dukkah Seasoning
Crown Prince pumpkins are not the most commonly available in Ireland but grow very well in our northerly climate. Also known as ‘winter pumpkin’, they are available in many specialist greengrocers or farmers markets. If you can’t source them, a similar sized butternut squash will work just as well. Dukkah is an Egyptian seasoning that adds a pleasant crunch and excellent flavour . This recipe calls for cold pressed rapeseed oil but a similar virgin olive oil will also work. I like to use smooth dark tahini paste as it has a higher calcium and nutrient content, but again regular tahini will also work as an alternative.
Makes 4 medium servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sized Pumpkin/Butternut squash (About 1kg in weight before preparing)
- 15ml virgin rapeseed oil
Cauliflower puree:
- 1 medium sized cauliflower (About 1kg in weight)
- 95ml virgin rapeseed oil
- 120ml soymilk
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
Parsley tahini sauce:
- 60g tahini
- 120ml water
- 30ml lemon juice
- 1 small clove garlic
- 10g flat parsley
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For the dukkah seasoning:
- 90g whole hazelnuts
- 25g brown sesame seeds
- 6g whole corriander seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180*c/350*f
Cut the pumpkin in half lengthways, then slice into eight pieces. Remove the seeds using a spoon and peel each wedge lightly using a vegetable peeler. Place the pumpkin pieces onto a baking tray, brush lightly with the 15mls of rapeseed oil and set aside.
Prepare the cauliflower by removing the outer leaves and stalk. Roughly chop the cauliflower and add 15mls of the rapeseed oil – then place on a baking tray. Set the pumpkin and cauliflower into the oven. The pumpkin will need 35 minutes to cook and the cauliflower will take about 25 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the tahini sauce by pureeing all the ingredients with a stick blender and set aside. Add the Dukkah ingredients to a dry, roasting pan, and place in the oven to toast for 15 minutes. Gently heat the soymilk in a saucepan. Once the cauliflower has softened and slightly browned, add it to the warmed soymilk and puree. Add the sea salt and then slowly drizzle in the remaining 80ml of rapeseed oil until it has emulsified. Once the dukkah has been toasted, remove from the oven, very coarsely chop and set aside. Remove the pumpkin from the oven for serving.
To serve:
Divide the cauliflower puree between 4 plates and lightly sprinkle with the dukkah seasoning. Place 2 pieces of baked pumpkin onto each plate and sprinkle with more dukkah seasoning. Finish each plate by pouring the parsley and tahini sauces over the cauliflower puree and baked pumpkin.
Autumn Recipes By Tony Keogh, Head Chef at Cornucopia
Pick up a copy of the Autumn issue of Positive Life or subscribe online to have your copy delivered to your door.
Beetroot, squash & green bean bourguignon with caramelised onion, brazil nut & ketaifi filled Portobello mushrooms.
Serves 4
I recently came across a recipe for beetroot bourguignon, which is an interesting twist on the classic beef bourguignon. I have made a slightly different version here with some of my own additions. This dish can be made gluten free by omitting the ketaifi pastry
For the bourguignon:
- Sunflower oil for frying
- 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 peeled and grated beetroot
- 1 peeled and grated carrot
- Mushroom stalks from portobellos (see below)
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- Bulb of garlic
- Few twigs of thyme
- 8 baby potatoes, sliced
- 8 vacuum packed beetroot
- Pinch of each, ground star anise and clove
- 100 grams of green beans, halved
- 1 medium squash, peeled and cubed
- Few bay leaves
- Dessertspoon of mustard
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 250 ml red wine
- 500 ml stock
- Seasoning
For the mushroom:
- 4 good sized Portobello mushrooms, stalks removed (see above)
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Dessertspoon of nutritional yeast
- 50 ml tamari
- 200 grams of brazil nuts, toasted and ground
- 50 grams of ketaifi pastry
- Seasoning
Bourguignon Method:
Heat some oil in a large heavy based saucepan and add the onion. Sweat for a minute add the wine, thyme, bay and garlic. Allow to reduce and add the carrot, beetroot, stalks, cumin and stock. Leave to simmer over a low heat for about 15 minutes.
Roast the potatoes and squash in a little sunflower oil with a pinch of salt on a parchment lined tray for about 20 minutes. Slice the vacuum packed beetroot into wedges and tip into a bowl with the ground spices and a little sunflower oil, spread the beetroot over another lined tray and roast for about 25 minutes at 190 degrees.
Blanch the green beans. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce, add the mustard and puree. Using the back of a ladle, pass the mixture through a sieve into a clean pot, add the vegetables and season to taste. You may need to add a little water
The Mushrooms
Sauté the onion in sunflower oil for about 5 minutes, add garlic and tamari. After 5 minutes add the nutritional yeast and the ground brazil nuts and seasoning. Sprinkle some oil over destalked mushrooms and top them with the nut mixture. Open the ketaifi and chop it into two inch pieces and top each mushroom with a little pastry.
Bake the mushrooms in the bottom of the oven at 190 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve the bourguignon in a shallow bowl topped with a mushroom.
Panko crusted coconut arnacini with spiced tofu, daikon noodles and chilli-plum jam.
Arancini are traditionally breadcrumb coated deep fried risotto balls said to have originated in Sicily. They are most often filled with cheese, mince or peas and are commonly served with a dipping sauce. Here I have put a slightly Asian twist on them, A gluten free version of this can be made using black and white sesame seeds rather than the panko and by substituting rice flour for the regular flour
For the rice:
- 500 grams arborio rice
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 thumb of ginger
- 1 stalk of lemongrass
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1 red chilli
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 150 ml of mirin
- 1 tin of coconut milk
- 600 ml hot water
- Seasoning
For the tofu:
- 350 grams of tofu, chopped into very small cubes
- 50 ml of tamari
- 30 ml of sesame oil
- Pinch of five spice (optional)
- Teaspoon of agave or brown sugar
For the chili-plum jam
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 200 grams of plums
- ½ a thumb size piece of ginger
- ½ red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 heaped dessertspoons of sugar
- 30 ml rice vinegar
- Pinch of salt
For the Daikon noodles:
- 1 medium daikon peeled
- 1 dessertspoon of chopped coriander
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds toasted
- Dessertspoon of sesame oil
- Pinch of salt
- Dessertspoon of lime juice
For the Panko coating:
- 75 grams panko breadcrumbs
- 2-3 heaped dessertspoons of flour mixed with some water to make a batter
Method: Puree the ginger, lemongrass, garlic and chilli in a food processor; add a little water to make a paste. Heat a little sunflower oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the onion and spices. sautee for a minute, add the Arborio rice. Stir rapidly to coat the rice. Add the mirin and lime and leave to absorb.
Whisk the coconut and hot water until combined. Add this to the rice ladle by ladle until it is all absorbed. season. Leave to cool before use.
Tofu: Combine all ingredients, spread out and bake on a parchment lined tray at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes.
Jam: Simmer all ingredients for about 30 minutes, puree and pass through a sieve.
Noodles: Peel the daikon and shred into noodles with a julienne peeler or for a flatter noodle, use a regular peeler. Combine with the other ingredients.
Arnacini: From your left to right you will need firstly the rice then the tofu, a bowl with the batter, followed by a plate with breadcrumbs and lastly a parchment lined oven dish to bake them on.
Take a ball of rice slightly larger than a golf ball and flatten it out. Take a small amount of tofu, press it into the centre and fold the rice around to encase it. Roll the ball in the batter and then in the panko breadcrumbs and place it onto the lined tray. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Bake them in a preheated oven at 190 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, Serve immediately with the noodles and the jam.
Newer Posts