Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory - Spicy Chocolate Biscuits

I've been carrying out so many chocolate biscuit experiments recently that I'm starting to feel like I'm working at a chocolate biscuit factory! Why this sudden obsession with chocolate biscuits and cakes? I should be filling out my tax forms, that's why.

Anyway, my starting point for these chocolate biscuits was this recipe:

http://mynewroots.blogspot.pt/2011/11/black-bean-chocolate-chili-cherry.html. The original recipe is nice but I wanted to make my biscuits a bit sweeter (when trying out the original recipe, I didn't add the dried cherries, which would have probably made the biscuits a lot sweeter). To add that little bit of extra sweetness, I've been experimenting with pureed vegetables. So far, I've tried beetroots and sweet potatoes - sweet potatoes definitely being the winner. Apart from sweet potatoes, I think that carrots and pumpkin might work well in these biscuits. Don't worry, by the way, because there isn't a hint of bean or sweet potato taste in the end product!

I'm really quite happy with the texture of these biscuits, by the way. I've been having some problems making my gluten-free biscuits stick together well enough but these are just perfect (they are definitely softer than glutenous biscuits, though). To compensate for the pureed vegetables being liquid, my recipe contains a lot more ground flax seeds than the original recipe (ground flax seeds can be used as an egg replacement).

As a side remark, you should be able to make these biscuits vegan by using agave instead of honey. If you're not big into spicy stuff, you could also try replacing the spices in this recipe with vanilla, cinnamon, or something else.

WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

2 dl cooked beans (the ones in the picture were made using white beans; black beans will result in a darker brown colour)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

0.5 dl honey

0.5 dl boiled and blended sweet potatoes

4 tablespoons ground flax seeds

1 1/3 tablespoons ground ginger

a couple of pinches of sea salt

a couple of pinches of chilli powder

OPTIONAL: 0.4 dl chopped walnuts (about 6 large walnuts; the ones in the picture were made without but the ones with walnuts are prettier)

0. Soak the beans overnight, then cook and drain them.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Peel a sweet potato, cut it in small pieces, steam until soft and blend until smooth.
3. Mix the honey, 0.5 dl of blended sweet potato, the coconut oil, the ground flax seeds, the ground ginger, the sea salt, the chilli and the cocoa powder, and let the mixture stand.

(4. Crack the walnuts open and cut them into small pieces.)

5. To prevent yourself from wolfing all the biscuits down as soon as they are ready, think of something to do for a couple of hours after you have taken them out of the oven.

6. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

7. Blend the beans and the wet mixture until smooth.

(8. Add the chopped walnuts and fold to incorporate.)

9. Use a tablespoon and a teaspoon to form the biscuits: both spoons to get the batter onto the lined baking tray, and the teaspoon to shape and flatten the biscuits. The batter is enough to make nine thinner biscuits without the walnuts, and six thicker biscuits with the walnuts.

10. Bake for 20 minutes until the edges of the biscuits are browning (a bit longer in case you choose to make thicker biscuits with walnuts). I turned the baking tray around after the first 10 minutes.

11. Place the biscuits on a cooling rack.

12. Do what you planned to do in Step 5.

13. Enjoy.

Annika

P.S. Please notice that the taste improves when you keep the biscuits in the fridge and the tastes have more time to meld with each other.
P.P.S. Please stay tuned for recipes for gluten-free gingernuts and gluten-free muffins, which I am working on at the moment.

Strawfenny - Strawberry Fennel Salad

I love combining fennel with fruit. This time, I combined it with strawberries and apple for this fruity, refreshing salad. Do buy the strawberries and apple organic if you can; both strawberries and apples always make it to dirty dozen list of foods with the highest amounts of pesticide residue (http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/dirty-dozen-foods#fbIndex1).


STRAWFENNY


1 small fennel bulb OR half of a large bulb 
15 strawberries 
1 small, sweet apple
large handful of unshelled hazelnuts 
extra virgin olive oil 
freshly squeezed lemon juice 
sea salt 
chilli powder 


1. Mix some freshly squeezed lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and a pinch of chilli powder, and let the salad sauce stand while you are preparing the salad. 
2. Wash and trim the fennel bulb, cut it in half and slice it as thinly as you can. 
3. Wash the apple and cut it into small pieces. 
4. Wash and trim the strawberries, and cut them in half. 
5. Shell the hazelnuts and cut them in half (unless they are very small). 
6. Mix the fennel, the strawberries, the apple and the hazelnuts well, and serve with the salad sauce. 


Annika

Strawberry Swing - Asparagus Strawberry Salad

I felt like cooking something a bit different today, and got the idea of making a salad using asparagus and strawberries.  It looks like lots of other people beat me to it, though; the internet seems to be full of asparagus strawberry salad recipes. Anyway, this is my version of the salad. The idea of the spicy strawberry sauce, which gives the salad a great punch, is mine. 



STRAWBERRY SWING

Salad:

160 grams strawberries (~2/3 of a 250-gram package)
300 grams asparagus
12 large walnuts
leek
sea salt

Sauce:

90 grams strawberries (~1/3 of a 250-gram package)
half of a large, juicy lemon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoons chilli powder
sea salt

Preparing the salad:

1. Wash the asparagus spears, cut off the woody bits, and cut the rest of the spears into 3-cm-long pieces. Divide the pieces into three groups: the ones that come from the bottom (the hardest), middle and top (the softest) of the spears.
2. Put a tiny bit of water and some sea salt on the bottom of a pot, and bring to the boil.
3. Add the asparagus pieces into the pot in three stages, starting from the harder bottom bits. Let them steam under a lid until tender. Mix the asparagus pieces a few times so that all of them will get salted.
4. Pour the water out of the pot, and let the asparagus cool down completely.
5. Shell the walnuts and break them into smaller pieces.
6. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add the walnuts into the hot pan and stir frequently, until the walnuts start to brown and smell toasted (~5 min).
7. Let the walnuts cool down completely.
8. Wash and trim the strawberries, and cut them in half (or in more pieces in case they are quite big).
9. Wash the leek, cut very thin slices of the white part, and cut those in half. The leek I had was really thin, and I used about 4 cm of it for the recipe.
10. Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl and put the bowl in the fridge.

Preparing the sauce:

1. Squeeze the juice of the lemon (about 3 tablespoons) into a small bowl.
2. Add the olive oil.
3. Add the chilli powder and a pinch of sea salt.
4. Add the strawberries and blend until smooth.
5. Let the sauce stand for about 10 minutes before serving it with the salad.

Annika