Melissa and Jasmine Hemsley are the Golden girls of healthy cooking. Between blogging for vogue.co.uk, writing their second book (The Art of Eating Well is out now and Good and Simple will be out next March), and appearing on magazine covers and television screens regularly, they are seriously busy women. But we are delighted that they have taken some time out of their very, very busy schedules to share three recipes with kodomo.com. All are designed to make you feel your best, they are great options on holiday this summer for parents and little ones alike, and your children will love making them with you. And if they leave us looking half as good as either sister, we’ll make them daily for life. Thank you Melissa and Jasmine.
INGREDIENTS
150 g fresh blueberries
6 tbsp raw honey (or more to taste)
1½ tsp dried lavender
500 ml coconut water
125 ml lime juice
250 ml vodka
METHOD
1. Wash the blueberries thoroughly. Pulse them with the honey and lavender in a food processor or blender with 250 ml of water to make a lavender-infused syrup.
2. Strain the syrup into a jug using a fine sieve or a piece of cheesecloth, making sure you squeeze all the goodness from the blueberry-lavender pulp. Add the coconut water, lime and vodka and stir thoroughly.
3. When ready to serve, add the frozen blueberries.
TO SERVE
150 g frozen blueberries
Use frozen blueberries as ice cubes and let them bob around in this pretty cocktail. Freeze them in a single layer on a baking tray.
FOR THE MEATBALLS
500 g minced lamb or beef (don’t go for lean mince)
1 egg
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
A large pinch of ground cumin and a large pinch of ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ghee, for frying a pinch of ground chilli or a little fresh chilli (optional)
FOR THE TABBOULEH
2 cauliflowers
1 tbsp ghee or butter
2 red onions or 2 bunches of spring onions, finely chopped
4 large tomatoes, diced
3 large handfuls of fresh parsley, finely chopped
A large handful of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped juice of 1 lemon
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
TOPPINGS
Chopped radishes, nuts or seeds (such as almonds, pistachios or sunflower seeds), to garnish
METHOD
1. First make the tabbouleh. Remove the caulifower leaves and the tough end of the stalk. Grate the cauliflower into rice-sized pieces using the slicing attachment of a food processor or the coarse side of a hand-held grater.
2. Steam the grated cauliflower in a saucepan, lid on, with a couple of tablespoons of water and the ghee or butter. Over a medium heat, it should take roughly 4−6 minutes for the cauliflower to cook (not too soft!). Check there is enough water at the bottom of the pan so that the cauliflower doesn’t burn. Drain any excess water and tip the steamed cauliflower into a large serving bowl.
3. While the cauliflower cools, chop up the rest of the tabbouleh ingredients, then combine everything together. Taste for seasoning.
4. In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients, except the ghee, and mix well.
5. In a wide saucepan over a medium heat, add a little ghee and fry a small piece of the meatball mixture and taste to check for seasoning. Adjust the remaining mixture as necessary.
6. Wet your hands and shape the mince mixture into balls. We use roughly 1½ teaspoons of the mixture per meatball to make about 20 balls, but make them any size you like. Just remember, the larger they are, the longer they’ll take to cook.
7. Heat up a little more ghee and, over a medium-high heat, fry the meatballs in a few batches until lightly browned on all sides and cooked through – this should take about 6–7 minutes. You can always brown the meatballs in advance and finish them off in the oven later if you’re having people round.
FOR THE PEA AND MINT ICE CREAM BASE
350 g frozen petits pois
1 tin of full-fat coconut milk
150 g full-fat probiotic
Natural yoghurt
4 tbsp raw runny honey
1 tsp peppermint
Extract or 50 g fresh mint leaves and a little peppermint extract, too
A pinch of sea salt
A handful of cacao nibs )optional)
FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE
50 g cacao powder
80 g raw runny honey
1 tbsp coconut oil
METHOD
1. To make the pea and mint ice cream base, blend all the ingredients except for the cacao nibs together until very smooth.
2. To make the chocolate sauce, measure out all the ingredients into a jug or small bowl and stir together, along with 9 tbsp hot water.
3. To make the ice cream, place the pea and mint base into an ice cream maker and, following the manufacturer’s instructions, churn until you have ice cream. When it is ready, scoop the ice cream into bowls and sprinkle with cacao nibs and drizzle with chocolate sauce to serve. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour the pea and mint mixture into ice cube moulds and freeze. Pulse the frozen cubes in a food processor for a soft serve ice cream.
4. To make 12 lollies, make up half the quantity of pea and mint base and add about 4 teaspoons into the bottom of tall shot glasses or lolly moulds and pop into the freezer. After 20 minutes or more, insert a lolly stick into the pea mixture and pour some of the chocolate sauce around it. Repeat with the pea and mint base and finish with the chocolate sauce, freezing for 10 minutes between layers. Freeze the finished lollies for a further 2 hours, then enjoy.
5. Alternatively, mix the half-quantity of pea and mint base for the lollies with the chocolate sauce and pour into shot glasses. Insert the lolly sticks and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.
8. Serve the meatballs with the tabbouleh and your choice of toppings scattered over the top.
The Art of Eating Well by Melissa and Jasmine Hemsley is out now. (Ebury Press, £25)
Good and Simple is due for release on 3rd March 2016
The Hemsley Spiralizer is out now and available to purchase for £29.95. See www.hemsleyandhemsley.com for stockists.