6 week Nutritional Cookery Course

Nutritional Cookery Course Two.

I am now just over half way through my second nutritional cookery course and it has been as exciting as the first.  It is amazing how members of the group have bonded.

In the last course, people knew about basic nutrition but in this present one there are several people who know a lot about nutrition and food.  This really enriched the group and meant that we have had wonderful discussions.  I have been learning so much from other people.

This is the time of the year when there is plenty of wonderful cruciferous vegetables.  In this week’s season box we had cauliflower, cabbage, curly kale, kohlrabi and Swiss chard – wow.  Cruciferous vegetables are almost considered to be a super-food as they are rich in compounds called glucosinolates which are well-known to help protect against cancer.  I decided to show the group how to make an unusual pesto using curly kale, yeast flakes and cashew nuts!  I also made a normal pesto and suggested they compared them both!  This is a signature dish of mine.  People really enjoyed them and were surprised by the variety of ingredients you can use to make pesto – it was a great success and a fantastic way for people to eat edible raw greens!

Next, I cooked a wonderful warming Swiss chard soup inspired by Ottolenghi with several delicate spices.

The group asked me to do a stir-fry and this was a wonderful opportunity to use coconut oil.  Coconut oil is a very stable when heated to high temperatures.  I was also able to be creative with all the season’s vegetable.  The colour was beautiful and I many people tried tofu for the first time – there was a mixed response!

I did a couple of delicious winter salads, one of which was inspired by Ottolenghi again.  I enjoy encouraging people to use flavours that they might not otherwise try.  As I did for the first course, I bought almost everything from my local supermarket.

Finally, I chose to serve everybody a signature Chocolate and Hazelnut Beetroot Cake.  I used to coconut oil which can cause the cake to become a torte at room temperature.  When it is slightly warm, it is soft and very moist.  What a special way to use beetroot and end the session!

See my website recipe section for the Warm Cauliflower and Caper Salad and the unusual Pesto, two popular recipes in this weeks menu.