Here are two recipes that have a flair for flavour. Recipes and photos provided by SHA Wellness Clinic.
Quick-pickled pressed salad (serves 4)
INGREDIENTS
300g kale, 200g cucumbers, 200g celery, 200g turnips, 150g onions, 10g salt, 20ml rice vinegar, 10ml umeboshi vinegar, 20g peeled almonds
METHOD
Cut the kale thinly julienne style with a mandoline slicer. Peel the cucumber and cut into oblique slices and then thinly julienne style. Use a paring knife to remove the long fibres of the celery, pulling from the bottom of the stalk to the top, then cut julienne style. Peel and cut the turnips in slices and then thinly julienne style. Peel the onion and cut very thinly julienne style. Put all the vegetables in a bowl and add salt, then mix with your hands to spread the salt evenly. Place a weight on top of the vegetables and let it press for an hour. Drain and add the vinegars.
SERVING THE DISH
Fill a four-centimetre-diameter ring with the pressed vegetables, press well and place on a black plate. Remove the ring and grate some almonds on the side of the plate.
TIPS
The vegetables can be pressed for three to four days and thus become pickled, ideal for accompanying any type of protein. The right amount of salt is very important in preparing this recipe.
Miso gazpacho with a tofu, seitan and prawn burger with a seaweed curtain and apple foam (Serves 4)
INGREDIENTS
For the miso gazpacho, 200g red peppers, 200g green peppers, 400g cucumbers, 100g spring onions, 150ml extra virgin olive oil, 300g spelt bread, 20g salt, 200ml water, 150g shiro miso, 30g dry garlic
For the chive oil: 50ml extra virgin olive oil, 80g fresh chives,
For the burger: 400g prawns, 200g seitan, 200g natural tofu, 20g parsley, 10g dry garlic, Unrefined salt and black pepper, to taste, 400g spelt bread
For the seaweed tempura: 10g nori seaweed, 10g hijiki seaweed, 10g kombu seaweed, 10g wakame seaweed, 60g arrowroot, 2L extra virgin olive oil
For the apple foam: 200ml organic apple juice, 20g soy lecithin, 300ml water
PREPARATION
Miso gazpacho: Wash the green and red peppers and cut them in half, then remove the seeds and stem. Cut each half into four parts and place in a saucepan with water. Peel the cucumbers and cut in half. Remove the seeds with a spoon and cut into four parts. Add the cucumbers to the water with the peppers. Separate the green section from the spring onions and cut in half. Peel the first layer and cut into four parts and add them to the other ingredients. Soak the ingredients for an hour and then drain all of the water. Add olive oil, bread, salt, water, miso and peeled and sliced garlic. Blend everything in a blender and then pass through a fine sieve. Set aside.
Chive oil: Put the olive oil in a blending cup and add the coarsely chopped chives. Blend with a handheld blender and then pass through a fine sieve.
Burger: Peel and chop the prawns very finely and place in a bowl. Dice the seitan and add it to the bowl. Add the tofu and mix the ingredients until uniform. Add chopped parsley. Peel and chop garlic finely and add to the mix along with salt and pepper. Continue mixing. Make balls the size of ping-pong balls and flatten to form burgers. Cut the spelt bread into 2cm x 2cm cubes and toast in the oven for three minutes at 180°C.
Seaweed tempura: Boil water in a saucepan and add the seaweeds. Cook for 20 minutes and drain. Blend all the seaweeds in the blender and add the arrowroot, blending until the mixture binds and thickens. Load into a pastry piping bag. Heat olive oil in a deep pan to 180°C. Make a small cut in the top of the pastry piping bag and squeeze strings of the seaweed mix into the oil so that it forms a decorative curtain. Remove using a skimmer and dry on paper towels.
Apple foam: Put all of the ingredients in a tall jug and blend using a handheld blender until a foam is created.
SERVING THE DISH
Place the well-chilled gazpacho in a steel bowl. Add a cube of bread and top with a burger that has previously been cooked in a frying pan with a little olive oil. Add the seaweed curtain and a drizzle of chive oil. Finally, add a touch of apple foam.
