Natural Gourmet Institute hosted Julie Montagu, yoga instructor, nutrition teacher, and star of the Bravo show "Ladies of London," along with Chef's Training Program alumna, Chef Danielle Shine, for a Facebook Live segment in 2018. Together, Julie and Danielle prepared two delicious recipes from Julie's cookbook, "Superfoods: The Flexible Approach to Eating More Superfoods."
The first dish was a vibrant beetroot, celeriac and fig salad, a lighter dish perfect for the transition from summer to fall, and the second dish was a hearty buckwheat porridge with papaya topping, ideal for the chilly mornings that are on the way. See the recipes for these dishes below!
Beetroot, Celeriac and Fig Salad
Yields 4 servings
Beetroot is fantastic for increasing your stamina and helping your muscles work harder for longer. When I’m craving something that’s healthy and light to satisfy my taste buds, sometimes I find that a mundane salad doesn’t cut it. Keeping things interesting in the kitchen is the key to sticking to a healthy diet and this is the kind of salad that will help you do just that. This is another good side to serve with steamed fish – sea bass or bream are perfect. It is an absolutely stunning salad in both appearance and flavor!
Ingredients
- 3 large beetroots, peeled and cut into chunks
- ½ celeriac, trimmed and cut into chunks
- Large handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- Large handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 5 figs, quartered
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the lime dressing:
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- 3cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled, and minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Directions
- Fill a large saucepan with about 2 cm water and heat over a medium heat. Add the beetroot and cook for about 20 minutes. Drain and put in a large bowl.
- Add another 2 cm water to the empty pan and heat over a medium heat. Add the celeriac and cook for about 15 minutes. Drain and leave to cool in a separate bowl.
- Once the beetroot and celeriac have cooled, add the parsley, coriander and figs to the large bowl, along with the celeriac.
- Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over the beetroot and celeriac salad and season with salt and pepper before serving.
Buckwheat Porridge with Papaya Topping
Yields 2 servings
In addition to being high in vitamins A and C, Papaya contains papain, a digestive enzyme that is used to treat digestive disorders. It is also excellent for skin conditions, such as acne.
Ingredients
- 170 grams buckwheat groats
- 480 ml water
- 120 ml almond milk (or any plant-based milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
For the papaya topping:
- 1 large papaya
- Zest of 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
Directions
- At first glance, you might think this is going to be a tricky recipe, but in reality, it’s quite easy – especially when it comes to making the buckwheat porridge. You can get most of this ready the night before, which is a bonus, particularly if you’re rushing to work or doing the school run.
- Soak the buckwheat groats in the 480ml water for at least 1 hour or overnight. After soaking, strain and rinse well. Put the soaked groats, almond milk, vanilla extract and lime juice in a blender or food processor and blitz well.
- To make the topping, peel the papaya, then cut it into chunks and place in a large jar or container. Add the remaining ingredients and mash together with a large spoon – this will release the juices from the papaya, but be sure to leave a few good chunks. Cover your jar or container with an airtight lid and place in the fridge to marinate if you have time. (Again, a great one to get ready the night before.)
- Once marinated and ready to go, put your porridge in a bowl and spoon the papaya topping all over.
This post was originally published by the Natural Gourmet Institute. Learn more about today's Natural Gourmet Center.