Peeling Garlic in the Thermomix

I love my Thermomix - not only does it mill, grind, pulverise, grate, knead, mince, chop, cook, whip, crush, heat, stir, weigh and wash itself - it can even peel your garlic for you! (I find this especially helpful when I have a head of garlic that has tiny little cloves which are a real pain to peel by hand.) I just break off a few cloves and toss them into the bowl...

...press the reverse button so that the blades are hitting the garlic with the blunt side, and mix on speed 5 for about 5 seconds, or until the skins have come off...


...then add some water, and the skins float to the top, making them easy to scoop off. Then just tip the water off and the garlic's chopped!

If you want it chopped finer, scrape the bowl down, and just press the reverse button again to make the blades turn the other way, then chop on speed 9 for a couple of seconds. Done!

Amazing, huh!

Baked Chicken with Cashew Satay Sauce

This is my favourite 'satay' sauce ever - it's so quick to make, and very tasty! If you don't have time to bake the chicken, you can just add the cashew sauce to stir-fried chicken and veges, or even just veges (and leave out the extra chicken stock).

1. Place chicken skin side up in roasting pan & brush with butter/oil:
- 1 large chicken, cut into pieces, or chicken thighs/breasts
- 2 Tbspns melted butter/ghee/olive oil

2. Bake for about 2 hours at 180° (350°) while preparing sauce.

Cashew Satay Sauce

3. Grind up in Thermomix for about 30 seconds on speed 7:
- 130g raw cashews
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled

- 2 inch piece of fresh red chilli (or to taste)
- 1 large bunch cilantro / flat leaf parsley / coriander (or mixture)
- 1 Tbspn extra virgin olive oil
- 40g Tamari
- 40g rice vinegar

- 1 Tblspn chicken stock paste (or some chicken stock powder - eg. Massel brand)

4. Add and blend on speed 8 for 10 seconds:
- 400ml coconut cream/milk

5. When chicken is baked and golden, remove to a pre-heated platter and keep warm. Add to roasting pan and scrape bottom of pan to remove drippings:
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 Tbspn gelatin (optional)
6. Pour juices into Thermomix (with cashew sauce) and cook for 5 minutes at 90 degrees, speed 4. Season to taste.

7. Serve chicken on rice with cashew sauce poured over, and stir-fried veges, steamed veges, or salad on the side.

[Note: picture shows sauce which is not as green as usual as I only had a small bunch of coriander - make it as 'green' as you like!]

Dairy-Free Raw 'Cream Cheese'

I love this tasty substitute for cream cheese - use it whenever you want a dairy-free, savoury, cream cheese. For example, try it on pizzas instead of cheese (pre-bake pizza without toppings, then spread with cream cheese and top with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capsicum, salad, etc). Use as a dip (or as a substitute for dairy cream cheese in dips) with raw veges, crackers or corn chips. You can also use it as a tasty substitute for sour cream by adding a little more water.

For best results, cover the nuts and seeds with water and soak at room temperature for a few hours. If you don't have time to soak them, you can start with dry nuts & seeds, grind them in the Thermomix, then add the remaining ingredients and blend. You'll need to use the larger amount of water for this method. Experiment with the amounts of water until you get the consistency you like. If you don't want the flavour quite so strong, add a bit less lemon juice.

I use my Thermomix for this recipe, but you could use a regular blender or food processor, although it will take longer to blend to a smooth paste, and you'll need to scrape it down a few times.

'Cream Cheese' used as a pizza topping with salad

  

- 180g (1 1/4 cups) blanched almonds
- 180g (1 1/4 cups) sunflower seeds
- 160g (3/4 cup) lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic
- some freshly ground black pepper
- 1 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 100-300g water

Soaked version:

- Soak nuts and seeds in water overnight, or for a few hours. Drain off water and discard.
- Place all ingredients in Thermomix bowl using 100g water, slowly turn dial to speed 8. Push mixture down into the blades with the spatula while mixing. Add a little more water if needed until you get the texture you like. Blend until you get a super smooth texture - takes 1-2 minutes.

Unsoaked version:

- Grind dry nuts and seeds on speed 9 for 10 seconds.
- Add remaining ingredients, using 200-300g water, depending how thick you like it, and mix on speed 8 until well mixed and super smooth. Use the spatula to help mixture along as it mixes.


Variation:
For a high protein, super-food 'green cheese', you can also add 1 bunch of parsley, 1 tsp spirulina powder and 2 TBS flax seed oil.

Avocado Topping for a Dairy Free Pizza

When you love pizza and you can't have cheese, life is tough! But thank goodness I found this recipe for a creamy avocado pizza topping in 'Rejuvenate Your Life' by Serene Allison (which I've slightly altered). It is so delicious, even my kids love it and come back begging for more. Yay! So for all you dairy-free pizza lovers out there - here's one for you! (By the way, you don't have to be dairy free to love it. And it's great as a dip too.)

I also like to sprinkle macadamia 'cheese' on top - you can find that recipe here in this post.

1. First, make and cook your pizza bases - I usually make either a yeast spelt crust, or a yeast-free scone dough crust, or a gluten free crust. (The gluten free crust can be made with 2 tsp baking powder instead of yeast, if you want it to be yeast free.)  You can even make a raw, dehyrdrated crust if you like.

2. While they're cooling, make the topping. In your Thermomix, mince the garlic on speed 7 for 3 seconds, then add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth & fluffy:
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 large avocados
- 4 tblspns raw almond butter (or you can just chuck in a couple of handfuls of roasted or raw almonds and a tablespoon of olive oil if you don't have any almond butter made up already)
- 2 tblspns Tamari
- a small piece of fresh chilli (optional)
- handful of fresh parsley
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp curry powder
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- sea salt to taste
- juice of 1 lemon 

3. Spread a good, thick layer on each pizza base, and top with some or all of the following:
- sun dried tomato strips
- kalamata olives
- green olives
- raw capsicum strips or pieces
- roasted red capsicum or eggplant
- diced fresh tomato or cherry tomato halves
- chopped fresh herbs (chives, lemon balm, oregano, basil)
- drizzle of fresh lemon juice (opt.)

I like to put all the toppings into separate bowls and let everyone choose their own toppings - the kids enjoy eating this way.  Warning: you will have garlic breath afterwards, but it will be completely worth it!!!  :D

Spicy Lamb Cutlets with Braised Lentils

Lamb is my favourite meat - it's so tender and tasty.  And it goes so well with lentils, especially when you add some cumin, coriander and garlic!  For this recipe, you can use lamb cutlets, lamb chops, or for a special occasion, lamb fillets.  For an everyday meal I just use lamb forequarter chops.  It tastes great with any of them.  Enjoy.


First, prepare the lamb:

1. Grind in Thermomix on speed 9 until fine:
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds

- peppercorns, to taste

- herb salt, to taste
    (or you can use pre-ground spices)

2. Add garlic to Thermomix and mince on speed 7 for 3 seconds:

- 2 garlic cloves

3. Rub spice mixture and seasonings into lamb:

- 1 kg lamb cutlets (or 750g lamb fillets, or 6 large lamb chops)

Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.

The braised lentils:

1. Chop in Thermomix bowl on speed 5 for 2 seconds:

- 1 red onion, halved

2. Add oil and cook on 100 degrees for 2 minutes, speed 1:

- 30g olive oil

3.  Add and cook at 100 degrees for 40-45 minutes, reverse, speed 1:

- 1 cup dried whole green lentils (rinsed - pre-soak if you have time)

- 1 bay leaf

- 700g water 

- 50g chicken stock paste (made in Thermomix)

     Lentils should be tender and liquid mostly absorbed.

     Pour into Thermoserver (or serving dish), remove bay leaf, and cover to keep warm.

     
Now cook the lamb:

1. Heat a frying pan on medium heat, than add:
- 2 Tblspns olive oil


2. Add lamb and cook until done to your liking. If using fillets, slice thinly to serve.

3. Spoon lentils onto plates, top with lamb, and serve with a salad.