RECIPE | an alternate use for overripe bananas

My default breakfast is whole wheat toast with nut butter, honey, sliced banana, and cinnamon (and coffee, obviously); whenever I eat cereal or granola, I end up ravenous two hours later. I also tend to avoid store bought granola since oil and sweeteners are usually found near the top of the ingredient list. However, after seeking a non-banana bread recipe to use the overripe bananas stinking up my kitchen, I discovered a recipe for banana granola on Green Kitchen Stories that was sufficiently different to any banana recipe I have made before.

After playing around with the ingredient list and proportions, and reducing the oven temperature, I have found my new go-to granola recipe (which just happens to be vegan and gluten-free). Including protein-rich quinoa flakes in the mix results in a filling granola that keeps you satisfied until your lunch break. This recipe is very forgiving, so do not fret if you do not have all of the listed ingredients. Applesauce or pumpkin purée could potentially take the place of the banana purée, and various nuts, seeds, and spices can be swapped in and out. Judging by how quickly this granola has disappeared in my household however, you will not want to make a half batch. Trust me on that.


BANANA NUT GRANOLA
Adapted from a recipe by Green Kitchen Stories

TASTING NOTES:
I found that baking the oats without disruption for the first 2/3 of baking time, then breaking them up into clumps for the final 5-10 minutes was the best method to create large clusters /// If you prefer smaller clusters, stir the oats a few times while baking and bake for 25-35 minutes total /// I like to replace 1 cup of the rolled oats with quinoa flakes to add extra protein /// This granola is excellent topped with chopped dates, sliced banana, unsweetened coconut flakes, and the milk of your choice (coconut, almond, oat, organic, etc.)

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups rolled oats (gluten-free, if necessary), quinoa flakes, or a mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup flax meal (optional)
1/4 cup wheat germ (optional - omit to keep gluten-free)
1 cup mixed raw nuts (I used 1/4 cup each brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, and pecans)
2 medium or 3 small bananas (about 1/2 cup worth)
3 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 175ºC (350ºF). Combine oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and optional wheat germ and flax meal in a large bowl. Chop nuts coarsely in a food processor and add to oat mixture. Blend bananas, oil, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla extract in the food processor. Add wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until fully coated. Spread the oats on a parchment-lined large baking tray, pressing it down into the tray so that the mixture is tightly packed together. Bake for 20-25 minutes without stirring, keeping an eye on the granola so that it does not burn. Remove from oven and break the granola up into large clusters with a wooden spoon or your hands (if yours are immune to heat like mine are). Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, until the granola clusters are crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.

Serves: 12-14 (1/3 cup servings)
Time to table: 45 minutes
Equipment: large bowl, small food processor, wooden spoon or rubber spatula, baking tray, parchment paper

RECIPE | baked chocolate pancake with pear and pomegranate

I made a baked chocolate pancake for Best Friends for Frosting. Check the recipe out here.

RECIPE | a different avocado toast recipe

Avocado toast is all over the internet and trendy London brunch menus as if it were a recent invention. Finnish rye bread topped with avocado, a sprinkle of sea salt, and occasionally a poached or fried egg or a slice of Manchego cheese has been the preferred lazy weekend breakfast or afternoon snack in my parents' house for over a decade, for good reason.

Instead of paying upwards of £6 for something that takes less than 10 minutes to make, try this unusual variation on the theme. Though the combination of ingredients may sound strange at first, consider that each ingredient works well together: avocado + chili; avocado + chocolate; avocado + lime; chocolate + chili; chocolate + olive oil; chocolate + sea salt; chocolate + black pepper; and chocolate + lime. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, this dish was also inspired by The Flavour Thesaurus). The cacao nibs add a crunchy and bitter contrast to the creamy and sweet avocado, and the chili flakes provide a nice kick of heat at the end.



AVOCADO TOAST WITH CHILI, CACAO NIBS, LIME & OLIVE OIL

TASTING NOTES:
Serve with a side of scrambled eggs, sautéed mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, and/or a simple salad to turn this snack into a filling breakfast, or accompanied by a Mexican black bean soup for dinner /// Omit the cacao nibs and rub the toast with a clove of garlic before topping with the remaining ingredients for a more traditional take on the dish

INGREDIENTS:
2 thick slices of country-style or whole-grain bread
1 ripe avocado
about 1 tablespoon raw cacao nibs
chili flakes
flakey sea salt, such as Maldon
black pepper
about 2 teaspoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
a lime wedge

DIRECTIONS:
Toast the bread. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and cut the flesh into cubes, being careful not to cut through the skin. Scoop the avocado pieces out of the skin and spread them across the slices of toast, smashing them slightly into the bread. Sprinkle with the cacao nibs, and chili flakes, sea salt and black pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lime, and serve.

Serves: 2 as a snack or light breakfast, or 1 hungry person
Time to table: 10 minutes
Equipment: toaster

RECIPE | roasted beet salad with pear, blood orange, walnuts, cocoa-coated goat cheese & cocoa-balsamic vinaigrette

This year I have been tasked with developing the Valentine's Day menu for my parents. I spent the week testing recipes for a menu that will feature Theobroma cacao in each course. This salad came about after reading through Niki Segnit's wonderful book, The Flavour Thesaurus. As its name suggests, this book lists flavour combinations that work well together and is an invaluable resource for inventive cooks looking for new ideas rather than step-by-step recipes.

Though these ingredients may appear disparate, they each complement each other (yes, even the goat cheese and cocoa powder, as long as you use a mild goat cheese). To simplify the recipe, you can omit the herbed cocoa coating on the goat cheese, and dress the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead of the cocoa-balsamic vinaigrette. All components can be prepared up to two days in advance and combined just before serving, which also makes this an ideal dish to bring to the office for lunch.

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH PEAR, BLOOD ORANGE, WALNUTS & GOAT CHEESE

TASTING NOTES:
Pomegranate seeds would make a nice addition to the salad /// Hazelnuts can be substituted for the walnuts /// Be sure to finely grind the spices for the goat cheese coating to avoid a grainy texture /// Using precooked beets reduces the "time to table" to 30 minutes /// Recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc.

INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch beets (about 4-5 small or 3 large beets)
1 blood orange or tangerine
1 pear, thinly sliced
1/3 cup walnuts
200 grams (7 ounces) wild arugula or mixed greens
100 grams (3.5 ounces) herbed cocoa-coated goat cheese (recipe follows)
cocoa-balsamic vinaigrette (recipe follows)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 205˚C (400˚F). Scrub the outside of the beets and remove the stems with leaves. Place the beets in a small roasting dish with a thin layer of water, sprinkle with salt, and cover the dish tightly with foil. Spread the walnuts on a small baking tray lined with foil. Transfer the walnuts and beets to the oven. Toast the walnuts for 7-10 minutes, until lightly browned and nutty-smelling. Remove from the oven, leaving the beets to continue roasting, and set aside to cool. Roast the beets for 45-75 minutes total (depending on size of beets), until you can pierce a beet with a knife all the way through. Set the beets aside to cool. Turn the broiler on or heat a grill. Broil or grill the pear slices for 5-6 minutes on each side, until lightly charred, then set aside to cool.

Peel the beets, slice in half vertically, then cut each half into quarters. Toss the beets with a spoonful of the dressing and a sprinkle of salt in a large bowl. Cut the top and bottom off of the blood orange, then carefully cut off the skin and white pith. Slice the orange horizontally and remove any seeds. (If using tangerine, peel and divide into segments.) Add the lettuce, citrus, and half of the walnuts to the beets, and add dressing to taste. Top the salad with slices of goat cheese, the remaining walnuts, a drizzle of dressing, and a few grinds of black pepper.

Serves: 2 as an appetizer or 1 as a main course
Time to table: 90 minutes (mainly waiting for the beets to cook)
Equipment: a small roasting dish, a small baking tray, a large bowl

HERBED COCOA-COATED GOAT CHEESE

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 unwaxed tangerine or blood orange, zested
100 grams (3.5 ounces) mild soft goat cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the pink peppercorns, fennel seed, thyme, cocoa powder, black pepper and orange zest in a spice grinder and finely grind. (Alternatively, grind with a mortar and pestle.) Spread the powder on a plate and roll the goat cheese in the powder to coat fully.

Serves: 2
Time to table: 10 minutes
Equipment: spice grinder or mortar and pestle, Microplane or fine grater

COCOA-BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder
small pinch cinnamon
1 teaspoon honey

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves: 2
Time to table: 5 minutes
Equipment: small bowl

RECIPE | nopi's chocolate cardamom cake with spiced candied hazelnuts & orange crème fraîche

In the two years I have lived in London, I have tried an unbelievable amount of restaurants. London's crowded restaurant scene provides thousands of options to chose from for your next meal, with the effect that I rarely go back to a restaurant more than once. Extraordinary restaurants or places that fill a void (e.g. Chilango for Mission-style burritos) are the exception, and they receive my utmost support. The Clove Club, Story Deli, and Nopi all fall into this category of restaurants, and I frequent them as often as my wallet allows.

Nopi in particular serves one of my favorite desserts anywhere, a chocolate-cardamom cake with spiced hazelnuts and orange crème fraîche. A dessert that was essentially designed for me with this list of ingredients, I knew I had to attempt to recreate it at home. The recipe below comes close to the original, albeit in simplified form. (I do not recall what the "orange soil" in Nopi's dish is.) The intense chocolate cake topped with unsweetened crème fraîche and crunchy spiced hazelnuts makes a perfect celebratory dessert for a birthday or Valentine's Day. All of the prep-work can be done ahead of time, so all you need to do on the day of the meal is slide the cake into the oven and top it with the crème fraîche and hazelnuts once it is done.

Address Book:
Nopi | 21-22 Warwick Street | London W1B 5NE



WARM CHOCOLATE-CARDAMOM CAKE
Adapted from this recipe in Cooking Light

TASTING NOTES:
The recipe below is halved to serve 4, but can be doubled and baked in a larger square baking dish or 8 ramekins /// Each component of the dish can be prepared up to 2 days before /// Watch the cake carefully towards the end of the baking time to make sure it does not overbake - you want the center to be slightly molten

INGREDIENTS:
3/8 cup (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 cup unsalted butter
scant 1/3 cup demerara sugar
1/3 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1.3 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and cardamom together in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugars together in a medium bowl until blended and slightly fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract and the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg, until fully blended. Fold in the flour mixture gently, then the chopped dark chocolate. Transfer the batter to a greased 4 x 7 inch rectangular baking dish, or 4 (4-ounce) buttered ramekins. Refrigerate, covered in plastic wrap, for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Remove batter from the refrigerator 10 minutes before baking. Bake for 18-21 minutes (15-18 minutes in ramekins), until puffy and slightly crusty on the top, but still molten in the center. Serve warm with spiced candied hazelnuts and orange crème fraîche.

Serves: 4
Time to table: 60 minutes + minimum 4 hours in the refrigerator
Equipment: fine mesh sieve, small bowl, medium bowl, electric mixer or stand mixer, spatula, 4 x 7 rectangular baking dish or 4 (4-ounce) ramekins

SPICED CANDIED HAZELNUTS
Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons water
small pinch of salt
small pinch of cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 205ºC (400ºF) and roast the hazelnuts for 7-10 minutes. Cool slightly, then rub hazelnuts between paper towels to remove skins. Chop hazelnuts coarsely and set aside. Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the color deepens to a light amber. (Reduce the heat if the mixture starts to boil and remove from heat if it darkens too quickly.) Add hazelnuts, salt, and cayenne pepper, and stir to coat. Taste (careful not to burn your tongue) and adjust salt and spice as necessary. Cook hazelnuts, stirring frequently, until the caramel darkens to a medium amber. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and spread hazelnuts out with a spoon or fork. Cool completely before serving.

Serves: 4
Time to table: 20 minutes
Equipment: medium saucepan

ORANGE CRÈME FRAÎCHE

INGREDIENTS:
200 grams crème fraîche
zest of 2 unwaxed tangerines or clementines, or 1 unwaxed orange
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1-2 teaspoons Grand Marnier (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and adjust flavoring to your liking.

Serves: 4-6
Time to table: 5 minutes
Equipment: Microplane or fine grater, small bowl

RECIPE | bittersweet chocolate hearts & hot dates

Valentine's Day is overrated, except as an excuse to eat chocolate (as if one needs an excuse). For Tastespotting's "Hot Date" celebration, I took a somewhat literal interpretation and made chocolate-coated dates topped with pink peppercorns. These four-bite hearts are a relatively healthy chocolate treat, especially when made with dark chocolate. Soaking the dates in hot water and double-dipping them in chocolate results in a smooth consistency that mimics that of a chocolate truffle. Pink peppercorns provide pleasant crunch (together with the interior toasted nuts), though the same beautiful colour contrast can be achieved with crumbled freeze-dried raspberries for a sweeter note.

Do not be put off by the 90 minute timeframe to make these - most of that time is dedicated to soaking the dates and chilling the chocolate. Just enough time to watch a bittersweet Audrey Hepburn film while you wait.



DOUBLE-DIPPED BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE DATES WITH PINK PEPPERCORNS AND TOASTED NUTS

TASTING NOTES:
White chocolate is a pretty (non-vegan) substitute for dark chocolate (I used Green & Black's) /// Crushed freeze-dried raspberries make a sweet alternative topping that is equally pleasing to the eye /// A few tablespoons of orange liqueur, brandy, or orange blossom water can be added to the soaking water /// I like to toast extra nuts and toss them in the bowl of chocolate after all the dates are coated to make sure no chocolate is wasted. Sprinkled with pink peppercorns, the chocolate-coated nuts also become a tasty snack /// Dates can be kept, covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated, for up to a week

INGREDIENTS:
8 good-quality medjool dates
16 pecan or walnut halves
200 grams (7 ounces) dark chocolate
2 teaspoons pink peppercorns, crushed

DIRECTIONS:
Soak the dates in hot water (and optional flavouring) for 20 minutes, until soft. Toast the pecans (or walnuts) in a 375˚F (190˚C) oven for 7-10 minutes, until they are slightly browned. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water. Pat each date dry with a paper towel, then slice lengthwise from the wider part two-thirds down to the bottom. (Do not slice all the way down since you want to keep the point at the bottom of the "heart.") Pull open slightly to form a heart shape and remove the pit. Stuff each cavity with a nut half and continue with remaining dates. (The nuts should be securely pressed into the date so as not to dislodge in the dipping process.) Dip each date in the melted chocolate, carefully turning it to fully coat in chocolate. Transfer to a plate lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, until chocolate is set. Remove dates from the refrigerator and repeat the process of dipping them in chocolate, using a rubber spatula to scrape chocolate off the sides of the bowl. (You may need to remelt the chocolate if it has cooled too much.) Transfer dates to the parchment paper-lined plate and sprinkle with crushed pink peppercorns immediately after dipping, while chocolate is still wet. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes until chocolate is set. Remove from refrigerator at least 10 minutes before serving to allow the chocolate to soften.

Serves: 8
Time to table: 90 minutes
Equipment: double boiler or bowl that fits over a pot, rubber spatula