The Wholefood Pantry Read online

  Contents.

  Introduction.

  SAVOURY PANTRY.

  Salads.

  Vegetables and Sides.

  Meat and Fish.

  Eggs.

  Flavoured Yogurts.

  Mayonnaise.

  Sauces.

  Salsa and Chutneys.

  Dips and Pâtés.

  Spice Mixes.

  Salts.

  Butters and Oils.

  Cultured.

  Broth and Soups.

  Wild Fermentation.

  Vinegar.

  Breads, Crackers and More.

  SWEET PANTRY.

  Sweet Butters and Creams.

  Nut Milks and Custard.

  Jams and Curds.

  Chocolate.

  Jelly.

  Marshmallows.

  Puddings.

  Baking.

  Sweet Sauces and Sugars.

  Drinks.

  Index.

  How to Use This Ebook

  Select one of the chapters from the main contents list and you will be taken to a list of all the recipes covered in that chapter.

  Alternatively, jump to the index to browse recipes by ingredient.

  Look out for linked text (which is in blue) throughout the ebook that you can select to help you navigate between related recipes.

  You can double tap images to increase their size. To return to the original view, just tap the cross in the top left-hand corner of the screen.

  Introduction.

  Kitchen staples and basics recipes are the nuts and bolts of every cook’s kitchen. They are what I like to call the ‘toolbox’ recipes. They are the flavoursome, nourishing base components and they are also the things that can finish a dish to make it sing. In my kitchen they are essential go-to recipes that can be adapted throughout the year to create seasonal, delicious meals and satisfying bakes.

  This is a reference book of all my favourite and most useful toolbox recipes. All the recipes are free from refined sugar, super healthy, delicious and above all, easy to prepare.

  The Wholefood Pantry is filled with all the recipes you will need to create healthy and beautiful syrups, chutneys, refined sugar-free jams, enzyme and probiotic-filled lacto pickles (ferments), cultured creams, healing broths, spice mixes, dips, nourishing desserts, nut milks, nut butters, sauces, essential marinades, irresistible raw chocolates and so much more.

  Armed with my simple, easy and delicious toolbox recipes you will be in control of what goes into your food and how it is prepared. You will then naturally have the confidence to add seasonal ingredients to adapt and embellish your cooking and baking as the seasons change to ensure maximum nutrition and flavour.

  I grew up in New Zealand in a little wooden homemade house in the middle of a rambling orchard filled with wild flowers, heritage fruit trees and a garden full of heritage vegetables. I spent my days as a young girl cooking and eating from the garden and was endlessly appreciative of the sun-ripened fruits and deliciously colourful and intensely flavoured vegetables that made up my snacks and meals on a daily basis. I spent a lot of my childhood helping my mum in the garden and in the kitchen, harvesting fruits for jams, picking herbs for pesto, stirring bubbling pots of tomato sauce, picking rose petals for intoxicatingly fragrant wild rose petal jam and scooping, peeling and chopping all manner of colourful heritage produce that we made into preserves at various times of the year, to last through the seasons. When you have a garden and not a row of supermarket aisles in front of you, you have to learn to cook and bake with what the seasons dictate and to turn simple ingredients into beautiful, colour-filled feasts. Cooking and eating seasonally means there are certain times of the year when vegetables or fruits are in abundance. It’s during these times that mountains of basil get made into pesto and popped in the freezer for use later in the year, or when the fruit that’s dripping off the trees is made into pickles, chutneys, sauces and other preserves.

  Of course you don’t need a garden to make all these wonderful ‘toolbox’ delights. Although many of the recipes in this book are inspired by my childhood’s seasonal, garden-to-table cooking experience, more often than not they can be whipped up in a flash with a minimum of ingredients and fuss. I have loved carrying on that approach to cooking even when, for many years, I lived in London and didn’t have a garden of my own.

  The savoury section contains the dips, pâtés and other easy recipes that I go back to again and again. In the sweet section, the basic baking recipes are my old favourites that I love to adapt as the seasons change. They are so easy to whip up that it’s almost a sin, but for me it’s the simple things that always bring so much pleasure: baking my own loaf of bread, making my own jam and whipping up nutritious desserts. I hope you find some pleasure and inspiration in these pages to help you fill your shelves and old jam jars full to the brim with delicious homemade toolbox delights.

  Much Love,

  Amber Rose xx

  Nutrient-dense produce.

  The words ‘nutrient dense’ seem to have acquired a bit of buzz about them lately. It’s a catchphrase we hear more and more, but with good reason: eating nutrient-dense produce is important for our health and the health of generations to come.

  Unfortunately, most of the food we buy from supermarkets has been bred for shelf life and not nutrition. Often it is grown in mineral-deficient soils, or even worse, hydroponically (in polytunnels in water). On top of that, it has been treated with an array of chemicals and pesticides, then picked before it is ripe so that it lasts longer on the shelf. This means the food has lower levels of disease-fighting nutrients in it, making it even less nutritious.

  It can be hard to find nutrient-dense fruit and veg, and also to maximise the nutrition of the produce you are eating, but here are a good few tips to help you on the way…

  * Cut out processed food and refined food. These contain empty calories and do not nourish us.

  * Buy local and in-season produce whenever you can. This will ensure fruit and veg is naturally ripe and hasn’t been in cold storage for too long. Naturally tree-ripened fruit is more nutritious.

  * Choose fruits and veg grown from heritage seeds and trees. It is well known that they are far more nutritious than their more modern options, which are usually bred for shelf life and looks.

  * Choose dark coloured fruit and veg, both of which contain increased amounts of antioxidants and minerals. Dark berries and dark green leaves are much more nutritious than their lighter coloured counter parts.

  * Buy organic food when ever you can. If money is an issue, at least try to get organic when buying produce that has thin, edible skin that isn’t usuallu peeled – things like berries, peaches, tomatoes etc. Non-organic versions will be covered in chemicals. Produce with thicker skins, like carrots and pineapples, is usually peeled before eating anyway, which will remove most of the chemicals. These chemicals will contribute to a damaged gut, a less effective immune system and hormone issues, amongst other things. When plants have been grown in chemicals, there is no way that the soil can be healthy, if the soil is not healthy then the plants will not be healthy, and so they will not make for nutritious food.

  * Eat high levels of traditional, healthy fats and oils. We require a minimum of 1200 IU daily of naturally sourced Vitamin A, without which our bodies cannot absorb key minerals and vitamins. Eat your fruit and veg along side healthy fats: add good-quality cold pressed oils to your salad dressings, and add cream, yogurt or coconut cream to your fruit or desserts. Many of the vitamins and minerals in fruit and veg are fat soluble, so if you eat them with healthy fat then you maximise your nutrient uptake.

  * Try to always soak, sprout or ferment your grains, seeds, nuts and legumes. This will ensure that they nour
ish you fully rather than leaching important minerals, vitamins and enzymes from your body. Un-soaked, they are hard to digest and actually contain toxic ingredients which, over a long period of time, can have a detrimental effect on the entire body. Soaking, sprouting or fermenting means you get as much goodness as possible out of them, which will in turn nourish you in the best possible way.

  My top superfoods to boost immunity and well-being.

  Having grown up in New Zealand with an incredible organic garden filled with heritage vegetables and fruits, flowers and herbs and wild food in abundance, I then moved to one of the biggest cities in the world, London, where it seemed that the only superfoods available were those that lined a health-food store’s shelves. After some time spent paying for expensive seaweeds, berries harvested from remote corners of the world and pseudo cereals with price tags equivalent to extortion, I moved to the countryside, where I was promptly reminded that superfoods are all around us, local and sometimes even free to forage.

  Look around you, and find what is local to you. Not only will it be fresher and more potent, it will generally be cheaper, and probably more suited to what your body needs, as it will be seasonal. If you live in a city, go to farmers’ markets or research foraging courses that are hosted in nearby countryside.

  Ignore the way the health industry has started marketing ‘superfoods’ as a way of making big bucks. These are the real superfoods that you should look out for. It’s common sense really – just look at what traditional cultures have been eating for thousands of years: the wisdom is all there.

  Cold-pressed oils, coconut oil, olive oil, fish oil, nut and seed oil. Cold-pressed oils give us immune benefiting components, antioxidants, and have substances that trigger the inflame/anti-inflame healing process and more.

  Butter and ghee, from grass-fed cows (see here). Ghee and butter contain vitamin K2, which plays a crucial role in bone, facial and dental development in growing babies and children. It also helps to heal the gut, reduces the risk of heart disease and helps with weight loss.

  Eggs from pastured organic chickens (see here). Eggs are amongst the most nutritious foods on the planet. They are packed full of healthy fats, protein and essential vitamins.

  Organic or wild dark leafy greens, fresh green herbs, stinging nettles and herbs, wild garlic leaves.

  A treasure trove of nutrients, these act as antioxidants, and also alkalise the body. They cleanse and provide important minerals.

  Bee pollen.

  Bee pollen is considered to be one of nature’s most complete foods. It’s approximately 40 per cent protein, in the form of free amino acids that are ready to be used directly by the body. It can reduce cravings and addictions, extend longevity, reduce allergies, help with infertility and prevent infectious diseases.

  Gelatin/bone broth, made from pastured organic chickens/animals or wild animals (see here).

  A powerful gut healer that deserves a place in your weekly diet.

  Turmeric.

  Turmeric contains powerful medicinal properties and has naturally occuring anti-inflammatory compounds that help reduce inflammation. It also dramatically increases the antioxidant capacity within the body.

  Onions and garlic

  These contain extremely high amounts of prebiotics, which are what the good guys in our gut, the probiotics, feed on.

  Nuts and seeds, eaten after soaking or sprouting.

  Full of protein and heart-healthy fats. They also contain plenty of life-enhancing nutrients.

  Dark berries, ideally wild or foraged.

  Berries, such as elderberries, blueberries and blackberries, contain very high amounts of antioxidants and also help to heal the gut.

  Fermented vegetables (see here).

  These contain huge amounts of probiotics and enzymes that boost immunity, help to heal the gut and help with digestion.

  My savoury ‘toolbox’ recipes are the recipes that have stood the test of time in my kitchen, year in, year out. They have travelled with me from country to country, many of them from my mother’s kitchen to mine – they are the ones I go back to again and again. This section contains everything from gut-healing ferments through to nourishing bone broths, with fresh zingy salads, sauces, cultured creams, butters and yogurts, as well as spice mixes and essential marinades. You will find everything you need to keep your fridge and pantry shelves stocked with delicious dips, oils, preserves and easy-to -prepare flavour bombs all year round.

  Salads.

  A rocket and avocado salad with salmon and toasted seeds.

  SERVES 2

  This is a meal in itself, perfect for a laid-back lunch or dinner. It’s packed full of heart-healthy omegas 3 and 6, fibre, healthy fats, zinc and various minerals, all of which boost the immune system and keep you feeling satisfied and ready for action. The fieriness of the rocket balances out the richness of the salmon, and the tamari dressing is just delicious. It contains ginger, which is anti-inflammatory and great for the circulation too. Toasting the seeds enhances their nutty flavour – an essential step not to be skipped.

  FOR THE SALMON

  2 tablespoons sesame seeds

  2 salmon fillets (about 130g each), skin off

  1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil

  40g pumpkin seeds

  40g sunflower seeds

  1 sheet of toasted nori, broken up into little pieces

  FOR THE SALAD

  1 avocado, halved, stoned and the flesh scooped out in pieces

  3 handfuls of rocket

  2 spring onions, finely sliced

  1 courgette, shaved lengthways into ribbons

  FOR THE DRESSING

  3 tablespoons olive oil

  Juice of 1 lemon

  ¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

  ½ teaspoon tamari

  1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (squeeze the pulp and discard, reserving the juice)

  Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4.

  First make the dressing. Put all the ingredients in a jam jar and screw on the lid tightly. Shake really well. Taste and season if you think it needs it – tamari is quite salty so you may not need to.

  Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan for a few minutes until golden. Place the salmon fillets on a baking tray, spread with a little ghee, then sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds, pop in the oven and roast for about 12 minutes, or until the fish is just about cooked through. Salmon is lovely and tender if still a bit pink right in the middle. Once cooked, remove the fillets from the oven.

  Meanwhile, toast the pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Spread them out on a baking tray and pop in the oven for 6–8 minutes, or until they are just turning brown and the pumpkin seeds are popping. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

  To assemble the salad, simply arrange all the ingredients on a platter, flake over the fish, sprinkle over the toasted seeds and nori, then drizzle with the dressing. Enjoy.

  An alkalising bowl of green goodness.

  SERVES 2–3

  This is a super-alkalising green salad to balance the acid-forming effect of many processed foods that upset our digestive tract. Light yet satisfying, it is very cleansing, which after too much rich food is just what I feel like. The healthy fats of olive oil increase our vitamin absorption from the greens. There are a lot of fat-soluble vitamins present in the greens so without the oil we don’t get the full benefit. This is such a simple salad with really pure flavours, so try to use the best-quality ingredients you can find. It is delicious on its own, or try it with a lovely piece of crispy salmon or some roast squash with a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds for a heartier veg meal. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit – if you can’t find yuzu, use a lovely organic lemon instead.

  2 courgettes, washed

  1 fennel bulb, trimmed, washed and halved

  ½ cucumber, washed, lightly peeled if the skin is tough

  A small bunch of dill, fronds torn

&n
bsp; A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped

  Extra virgin olive oil

  Juice of 1 yuzu (or 1 lemon)

  Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  Shave the courgettes lengthways using a very sharp peeler until there is nothing left. Then do the same to the fennel bulb and cucumber.

  Place the shaved greens into a bowl, sprinkle over the dill fronds and parsley. Give a light sprinkle with some really good-quality extra virgin olive oil, then squeeze over the yuzu juice and season to taste.

  My favourite jewelled green salad.

  SERVES 3–4

  This is my go-to quick and crunchy green salad, jewel-bright with pomegranate seeds. It’s absolutely fantastic alongside almost anything – even scrambled eggs for breakfast. I keep the dressing in a jar so that it’s ready whenever I want a quick salad with my meal. It’s my go-to dressing on just about any kind of salad.

  FOR THE SALAD

  2 baby gem lettuces, leaves separated and washed

  70g rocket, washed

  1 avocado, halved and stoned

  ½ cucumber, peeled with some skin left on, halved lengthways, then sliced into half moons

  20 mint leaves, torn

  2 tablespoons roughly chopped or torn flat-leaf parsley leaves

  Seeds of ½ pomegranate

  FOR THE CLASSIC FRENCH DRESSING

  1 garlic clove, finely grated

  1 heaped teaspoon dijon mustard

  100ml cider vinegar

  2 tablespoons lemon juice

  1 teaspoon raw honey or coconut sugar

  100ml extra virgin olive oil

  Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

  First make the dressing. Put all the ingredients in a jam jar and screw on the lid tightly. Shake really well until everything is completely emulsified. Taste and add a little more honey if it needs it.

  Select a lovely serving bowl, put in the lettuce leaves and rocket, then using a teaspoon, scoop in the avocado, scatter over the cucumber and lastly sprinkle over the herbs and pomegranate seeds.