Bo's Kitchen

Plant based recipes made with love

gluten free

Cacao buckwheat breakfast cups

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cacao buckwheat breakfast cups gluten freeThis month has been full of change. In a really good way. So far I’ve been to a festival in a forest, spent five days in London with my best friend and made some really interesting new connections. It’s only the 19th already! I feel like I’ve learnt to embrace this rollercoaster of a year and welcome whatever else is coming my way with open arms. I definitely don’t feel like I’m the same person I was at the start of the year. It’s weird how sometimes a few months can make you feel like you’ve grown so much. I am truly grateful for the lessons this year has taught me. Without all of them, I wouldn’t be in this place right now. It’s a good feeling knowing it was all for a reason. I have so many plans for the next few months too, so it looks like the end of the year will continue to be eventful!

Anyway, back to breakfast cakes…. these little buckwheat babies are so simple to make and although they look like sweet little tarts, they are loaded with goodness. These raw, gluten free shells are free from nuts and sugar, and a couple in the morning will keep you going until lunch. Buckwheat is a super nutritious whole grain, great at fighting off those mid morning hunger pangs. Cacao is a natural anti depressant and improves your mood.. sounds like perfect Monday morning fuel to me! Load them up with yoghurt and your fave fruits, or make the shells in advance and decorate before serving. I guess these would make great party snacks too. I’m tempted to make them even smaller, into little canapés… I love tiny things! Unless we’re talking jars of peanut butter, then the bigger the better…

Cacao buckwheat breakfast tarts

For the tart shells (makes about 8 small tarts)

  • 1 cup buckwheat
  • 1 tsp lucama powder (optional)
  • 1/2 cup cacao powder
  • 1 cup dates, pitted
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 100ml water

For the filling

  • 1/2 cup non dairy yoghurt
  • 1 vanilla pod (deseeded)
  • Fresh fruit
  • Black sesame seeds and mint for garnish
  1. Roughly pulse buckwheat, lucama and cacao in a food processor until starting to crumble.
  2. Now add the dates, coconut oil and water and pulse until the mix comes together in a ball. Add water a tbsp at a time if it is too dry. You should be able to squish it between your fingers without it falling apart.
  3. Take out golf ball size lumps of dough and flatten in your palm. Press into a cupcake mould (I used a silicone one). Pop in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.
  4. Mix vanilla pod seeds with non dairy yoghurt and spoon into your tart shells. Garnish with fresh fruit, sesame seeds and mint. Store in the freezer for up to a month. Best eaten after thawing out for 15 minutes.

 

Chia and fennel green pizza

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chia and fennel seed pizza crust

I’ve just realised that this is my third pizza recipe. I must really love pizza! I think what entices me the most is how adaptable it is, you don’t really need to have much in the cupboards to whip up a pizza. I always end  up chopping up more veggies than I need for toppings.

I had a craving for a green pizza this week, a herby, summery, savoury affair but with a crisp base that tastes like the real deal. This is honestly so delicious I will be making more houmous at the weekend just so I can have it again next week for lunch. The fennel seeds work really well with the garlic infused pesto. Pesto houmous is also my new favourite thing- SO GOOD.  I thoroughly recommend using marinated artichokes on top, because they are just the most delicious vegetable in the world and every pizza tastes better with more artichokes. A good thing about being vegan and asking for a pizza with no cheese when I eat out is that I get to ask for more artichokes instead. I’m all about the artichokes.

Recipe

Chia and fennel seed pizza crust

  • 1 cup gram(chickpea) flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 5 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • Salt and pepper

Kale pesto

  • 5 large handfuls of kale
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 1 bunch of basil (large handful)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup of walnuts
  • 2 tsp Organic Burst wheatgrass (optional)
  • 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt

Houmous

  • 1 tin of organic chickpeas
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 cup of water/liquid from the can of chickpeas

Kale pesto –

  1. Start by blending your garlic cloves in a food processor until finely minced.
  2. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth.
  3. Store your kale pesto in a jar for up to four weeks in the fridge, covering with a thin layer of olive oil to keep it fresh.

Houmous –

  1. Blend garlic in a food processor until fine.
  2. Add all other ingredients and mix until smooth and creamy, adding more water/chickpea liquid a little at a time if you need to.
  3. If you want to make kale pesto houmous, simply mix equal parts houmous and kale pesto.

Chia and fennel seed crust-

  1. Preheat your oven to 180°c and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  2. To make the pizza crust, mix the chia seeds with 4tbsp of water and leave to form a gel. This should take around 5 minutes.
  3. Add all dry ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl and stir to incorporate. Now add the cup of water and the chia seed gel. Mix until it’s smooth but still quite thick, you want it to slowly drop of the spoon, like a thick paste.
  4. Spread the base over your prepared baking tray and cook for 20 minutes, until firm.
  5. Allow to cool and then top with kale pesto houmous, courgette ribbons, red onion, fresh oregano, fresh basil, marinated artichokes and sesame seeds.

Chocolate marzipan truffles

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chocolate marzipan trufflesChocolate and marzipan has to be one of my favourite flavour combinations, what a treat. I always used to have marzipan from the fridge when my Mum made wedding cakes (and icing too, oops). There was often a nice big chunk in there for decorating but I couldn’t help taking a little piece now and then (basically whenever I had the opportunity). I adore those marzipan bars you can buy in some health stores too, just a generous bar of marzipan, smothered in dark chocolate. Mmmmmm. I love the smell of it, almonds are so sweet and delicious. These babies are gluten free, refined sugar free and packed with healthy protein. You can omit the amaretto if you like, it just won’t taste as marzipan-y, is that a word?!

I got the basis for this recipe from the Lazy Cat Kitchen blog and in it Ania suggests tempering your chocolate, to get the ultimate snap and sheen to your little truffles. I’d never done it before, but now definitely recommend tempering for the best results. It wasn’t tricky, but you do need a thermometer- it’s all about using it at just the right temperature.

Chocolate marzipan truffles (makes 24 truffles)

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups almonds
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup almond mylk
  • 10 tsp amaretto
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 250g vegan dark chocolate, broken into medium size pieces (use a sugar free dark chocolate bar to keep totally sugar free)
  • Small handful of almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
  1. Blend almonds and cashews together in your food processor until finely ground, to a flour.
  2. Add lemon zest, maple syrup, almond mylk, amaretto, lemon zest, sea salt and vanilla to a small bowl and whisk together.
  3. Slowly add the mix, little by little, to the blender and pulse until combined. The mixture should be sticking together with your fingers. Bring dough together with your fingers and shape into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge.
  4. Slowly melt 150g of your chocolate in a bain-marie (a bowl gently heated over boiling water), being careful to keep the water away from your bowl of chocolate (water is the worst thing that could happen to your melted chocolate, be careful).
  5. When the chocolate has melted, take off the heat and gently stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to get things cooling. Chocolate fully melts at 46°C, but you want to cool it down to between 31 to 33°C. Add the remaining 100g of chocolate, this will increase the rate of the cooling process. Keep checking the temperature with your thermometer every five minutes or so.
  6. While the chocolate is cooling, take your marzipan dough out the fridge and make into balls. I made a tablespoon of dough per truffle. When the chocolate has reached the magical temperature of between 31 and 33°C, you’re ready to dip! Dunk your balls into the chocolate and leave to dry on a cooling rack.
  7. Put any remaining chocolate into a piping bag, or just drizzle on top of the truffles. Garnish with toasted chopped almonds. Try not to eat them all to yourself.

 

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Raw kiwi cheesecakes

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raw kiwi matcha slice

I have to admit, I’ve never been a cheesecake fan. Too rich and creamy for me. But raw cheesecakes? Yes please. They are filling, nutritious, delicious and require minimal effort to make! The best thing is they stay fresh for up to a month in your freezer, so anytime you get a sweet craving, you can satisfy all your sugary needs with a healthy alternative. These slices are raw, refined sugar free and vegan of course! If you don’t have any almonds, feel free to sub in more buckwheat groats. I used Zespri Golden Kiwis for this recipe, which you can find in all major UK retailers until October. If you haven’t tried them before, definitely keep an eye out for some, they taste like a cross between a regular kiwi and bananas! I’m sure you already know by now how I feel about bananas. So these sunny little fellas were right up my street.

Raw kiwi cheesecakes

Base

  • 1/2 cup buckwheat groats
  • 1 1/2 cups pitted dried dates
  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Filling

  • 3 cups raw cashew nuts, soaked overnight in water and drained
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
  • Juice of one lemon or lime
  • 1/2 cup agave or maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp matcha powder
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk
  • 2 green kiwi fruit (1 peeled, 1 unpeeled)
  • 1 golden kiwi fruit (unpeeled)
  1. Prepare your slice tin (I used an 8 inch square tin), line with baking paper, ensuring the paper goes up over the sides.
  2. Blend buckwheat groats briefly on their own in your blender or food processor, until crumbly, but not quite flour. Now add in the dates, almonds and coconut oil and blend until mixture starts to stick together. Press into your lined tin. I put another layer of baking paper on my base at this stage, followed by a book on top, to make sure it’s evenly flattened. Set aside in the fridge. Rinse out your blender.
  3. Now the filling. Pop drained cashews, coconut oil, lemon/lime juice and agave syrup into blender and blend on high until really smooth. Keep going until there are no lumps remaining.
  4. Add half of the filling mix to your chilled base and pop in the freezer briefly. To the remaining mix, add matcha powder, coconut milk and one green peeled kiwi fruit. Blend again until smooth. Add a little more matcha if you’d like it greener.
  5. Now add your final layer- pour on the green coloured filling on to your cheesecake. Slice up your remaining two kiwi fruit and arrange on top, alternating between green and yellow kiwi slices. Pop in the freezer to set overnight.
  6. Let sit out of the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing. Stores in the freezer for up to a month.