The Raw Chef

Lasagne Recipe

Ok, so I've received quite a few emails asking for this recipe since putting the photo on my flickr account. I really love this dish, it's great to take to potlucks or give to your non-raw friends and doesn't need any expensive kitchen equipment other than a knife, a chopping board and an inexpensive food processor.  A mandoline would be an advantage, and is also very cheap in terms of kitchen equipment.

Wilted Kale Salad with a Creamy Chipotle Dressing

Inspired by the classic kale & avocado salad, this dish was a hit in NY when I made it, almost on a daily basis, for everyone at The Plant.

Chipotle peppers are jalapeno that have been smoked, and so are not raw.  However, I love to use them as they have such a great taste and you don't need to use many!  I have provided an alternative combination of ingredients in the recipe as a substitute to using jalapenos that will give a similarly distinctive taste.

This is a real hearty meal with a kick that's perfect for those cold winter days!

Purple Pasta with Walnut Pesto & Tenderstem Broccoli

This recipe was inspired by a picture of pink pasta I saw on the internet.  Here I use beetroot juice to colour the courgette which isn't purely asthetic, it sweetens and gives a nice subtle flavour.  This recipe will make a huge plate full so is great to serve and enjoy between 2 people, healthy comfort food!

Stuffed Vine Leaves with Mint Cashew Aioli

I created these stuffed vine leaves after tasting the cooked version.  Seeing as anything cooked can be made better raw, I just had to come up with this alternative, which, I have to say really fills a gap.  This recipe will make 16+ rolls depending on the size of your vine leaves and how much mixture you put in.  Eating 2 is usually enough for me in one sitting!

I have found a sushi rolling mat (pictured) very useful in rolling nice tight leaves, and as for the leaves themselves...

You can pickle your own, which involves finding fresh ones - I found some organic ones on ebay!  You'll then need to soak them in salt water and lemon juice.  I've found at least 48 hours is needed to get them to turn a slightly darker green and become more pliable.

You also have the option of buying ones in a jar that are already pickled.  It depends how you feel about this but you should look for ones that have only used water, salt and lemon juice (citric acid).  Obviously the lemon juice and salt are not going to be as pure as the kind you'd use yourself, but it makes the whole recipe a lot more user-friendly.  You have a choice!

To the recipe...

Tomato & Macadamia Mozzarella Linguine

One of the most popular dishes, and one that I got asked for the recipe for many times at our recent London Dinner Party was the Tomato & Macadamia Mozzarella Linguine.  It's a really simple dish that only takes 20 minutes (unless you're making it for 30 people!) to make and it is also great to take to work as it will keep in a lunch box really well.  I'm particularly pleased with this recipe as it's tastes like it should be more complicated than it is!

Read on for the recipe...

Raw Chocolate Easter Eggs

Phew! What a busy time I've been having.  Most of last weekend was taken up with preparing for and demoing at The Fresh Network Open Day.  It felt a little bit different as it was on a Sunday instead of the usual Saturday, I mean, we were eating raw chocolate when most people would have eating roast spuds and then falling asleep in front of the TV!  There was a great crowd of people, it's really nice to be around like-minded people.  It always reconnects me to my reasons for being raw and also wanting to create raw food for others - it strengthens my 'why' as Karen would say.

Anway, on to my reason for this post.  As I have already said, I was demoing raw chocolate at the Open Day, in the form of Raw Easter Eggs.  Everyone loved the chocolate and was amazed when I popped the egg out of the mould so I wanted to share the recipe and method with you all.  This is a great one for parents as you now don't have to compromise or feel that your kids are missing out...read on....

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

If you were at the last Fresh Network open day you may have seen me demonstrating how to make herb bread and how to use the bread to make a sandwich.  Well, I've come up with a new bread recipe and I have to say, it's even better!  You are the first to know about this recipe as I only took the first batch out of the dehydrator this morning and I'm feeling particularly satisfied now as I've just polished off a sandwich fit for Scooby Doo!!!

Before I go into the bread recipe, I'd just like to remind you of the next Fresh Network Open Day.  These really are a fantastic day for members and guests alike.  As well as coming to the beautiful riverside location Ely and getting your hands on all the equipment and raw food you can handle, there'll be a range of food demos going on, some with free tasters!  You can come from 10am and stay until 4pm, having lunch with us, or you can just drop in to say hi!  If you time it right, you might even get some chocolate torte!  Seeing as it's Easter coming up, not only will I be demonstrating how to make my chocolate torte, I'll also be showing you how to make raw chocolate Easter eggs.  So now you won't have to worry about what to do when everyone else is eating their eggs this year, just join in!  Brilliant!

So on with the bread recipe...

Winter Warmer

Isn't it supposed to start warming up by now?  We're having some very cold weather in the UK right now (colder than normal) and i'm really feeling it!  Probably because the heating in my flat is rubbish - does anyone know how night storage heaters actually work?  Think i'm going to need a trip to Argos to invest in a portable electric one.  At least it's not snowing where I am, :-)  it's been beautiful sunshine every morning when I look out over the Church from my bedroom window but that just hasn't taken away from the coldness.

So in my quest to warm myself up, I thought of putting together a warming recipe.  I've made Spinach Masala on the basis that the spices will have a warming effect on me...errrrr, it didn't work, ahem, but it does taste good, so here's the recipe! :-)

A little bit saucy

As promised in my last post, here are the 2 sauces that go really well with a slice of Schnuggle!

Ginger Cream

Prep time 10 mins      How easy is this recipe? *(1 star)

Ingredients

1 cup cashews

4 tablespoons cashew butter

1/4 cup coco butter

1/2 cup agave

1 tablespoon fresh ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground clove

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

- Blend all ingredients together.

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Strawberry sauce

2 cups strawberries

1/2 cup agave

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons nutmeg

Method

- Blend all ingredients together.

Love chocolate?

If you love chocolate and you have someone to love then you could do alot worse than making this chocolate torte on Valentines day.  If you haven't got someone to love then love yourself for a while ;-)  Here is the recipe for the torte that I made for the last raw dinner party so I can assure you that you'll make an impression with it!

Cut yourself a slice, curl up on the sofa for a while...