cooking Archives - SAHARASPLASH

saharasplash26 August, 2016

Marinade Masterclass with Heinz

Things started off pretty well this week for Yasmine and I as we made our way to the ever trendy East London for something very special. I made a bad decision to walk from Bethnal Green to Shoreditch High St in the midday heat to catch the overground but we made it on time, if not a bit hot and sticky! We were in for a real treat as we rocked up to the Berber & Q Bar and Grill for a marinade masterclass with Heinz.

We had the Berber & Q to ourselves for the duration of the afternoon, it was such a great place for the type of food we were cooking- homey but incredibly saucy which really reflected our surroundings.

We got settled in and met our masterchef Josh Katz as well as the Heinz team, the Golin team and some great guys from Unilad too. We got our very own Heinz aprons to wear as we went through everything from kitchen safety to the ingredients which looked so good!

Heinz Peri Peri & Honey Glazed Smoked Chicken Wings

For the rub- preferable to rub and marinade the day before

1tsp Smoked Paprika

1tsp Cayenne

½ tsp Cumin, ground

1tsp Black Pepper, coarse

For the marinade

60ml Heinz Peri-Peri Sauce

1tbsp Lemon Juice

10ml Maple Syrup

For the glaze- combine all together and heat on med/high before using on the wings

150ml Heinz Peri-Peri Sauce

90ml Clear Honey

30ml Lemon Juice

½ tsp Black Pepper, coarse

The Kitchen had its very own smoker so as soon as we had glazed the chicken all over, in they went! If you don’t have a smoker, here’s where the BBQ comes in. We grilled the lemons and added chopped parsley to finish this dish.

BBQ Whole Head of Broccoli, Harissa & Charred Spring Onion Aioli

The next part we got a little hotter as we went over to the grill with some fabulous veg. I learnt how to blanche and flame grill a broccoli too!

For the Charred Spring Onion Aioli

80ml Heinz Salad Cream

50g Crème Fraiche

2 Spring Onions, blackened on the grill & finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, minced or finely chopped

15ml Olive Oil

15ml Lemon Juice

After blanching the broccoli we put them on the grill to make them lovely and crispy. To garnish we used 2 tbsp harissa and roasted hazelnuts to go with the Aioli, I cannot believe how intense and flavoursome this dish was!

We also did a duck recipe too but I couldn’t have it due to the soy sauce involved. But luckily, Josh was kind enough to create my very own duck and seasoned with a little Heinz Peri Peri, salt and pepper! All the sauces we used in the recipes from Heinz were gluten free and I think you should definitely try using some for a marinade or glaze the next time you fire up that BBQ! Thank you so much to Berber & Q, Josh, Heinz and Golin for such a wonderful marinade masterclass with Heinz, we are now fully stocked up on all the essentials for a while!

Saharasplash x

Thanks for reading my marinade masterclass with Heinz, why not check out some more great gluten free food, this time from Sainsburys!

saharasplash8 June, 2016

Food from Flora Freedom

To celebrate World Environment Day, I wanted to do something a bit different on my blog. I have previously reviewed gluten free products, and even done a step by step macaron post, but I’ve never done any of my own recipes on here before. So now is my chance to show you all that I can actually cook too! This post is all about going green and reducing your carbon footprint by using a brand new dairy/vegan friendly butter- food from Flora Freedom!

New analysis from the Carbon Trust in partnership with Flora Freedom has revealed the environmental benefits of reducing butter in our diets. Going dairy-free for even one day a week helps reduce our carbon footprint. New Dairy Free Flora Freedom spread is a good choice for those who favour a plant-based diet but want to add the indulgence of a great tasting dairy free spread to their meals. It is completely dairy free and contains no ingredients of animal origin, making it a spread suitable for vegans. I put it to the test and here’s what happened…

Recipe 1- Veggie Kebabs, free from gluten, dairy and vegan friendly

You will need:

Flora Freedom spread

kebab skewers

Peppers

Courgette

Sweet potato

mushrooms

Sweetcorn cobs

Savoury rice packs

Baby spinach

Chop your veggies up, not too small as we need to put these onto skewers! Start the rice first as this takes the longest. I boiled the rice for 20 mins in 1 pnt of water, and added in a little pepper and garlic salt. I also boiled my corn in a separate pan too, I did them for 15 mins.

Fry the raw veggies all up (I did peppers separate to the courgette and mushrooms) with a tablespoon of Flora Freedom and season with some jerk spice- fry until golden brown. I did the sweet potato in the microwave (5 mins), and then sliced them into round sections and peeled of the skin last, et voila!

You are ready to skewer.

I used the baby spinach to lay the kebab on top of, so pretty! I used the Flora Freedom on my corn too! A gorgeous, vegan friendly meal in under 30 mins.

Recipe 2- Classic Victoria Sponge, free from gluten and dairy

You will need:

300g Flora Freedom spread

300g caster suger (white or brown)

300g gluten free, self raising flour

3 eggs

Raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

First mix the Flora spread with the sugar to create a smooth paste. Next break in the eggs one by one and stir in individually. I do all my mixing by hand as I feel that this way the cake tastes better, but you can use a mixer too 🙂

Then add in the gluten free flour bit by bit, and carefully fold into the mixture to lose as little air as possible.

Once you are happy with the consistency of the mixture, separate out into 2 cake tins, and shake tins back and forth so that the mixture evens out and touches all the sides (we don’t want a wonky sponge!).

Place into the oven for about 30 mins. I usually don’t rely on exact timings, normally your nose will tell you when it’s just right! If unsure, stick a knife into the centre and if it comes away clean, your cake is done!

Once cooled, take out of the tin, and add a nice layer of raspberry jam into the centre before placing the top tier on.

You can leave as is, sprinkle with some icing sugar perhaps, or decorate it however you like!

So there you have it, 2 quick and easy recipes you can use to cater for allergy sufferers and vegetarians, plus at the same time you are helping to reduce the carbon footrint by switching to a dairy free spread too! It tastes just as good as your regular spread so why not try these recipes out for yourself? Food from Flora Freedom in my opinion was a great success!

Saharasplash x

This is a sponsored post

For more food and fun, check out my DIY spa night in with Oykos Whip n Mix!

saharasplash4 March, 2016

Mon Dessert Macarons for Mother’s Day

This one is for all the sweet-toothed mums out there and for all the cool kids who want to bake something extra special for their mummas. On Wednesday night I successfully baked my first batch of macarons thanks to Mon Dessert. So get ready for some seriously awesome baking skills as I’m making Mon Dessert Macarons for Mother’s Day!

Mon Dessert is a fabulous patisserie owned by Samina who is a London based baking queen. She has honed her skills through time and effort and has managed to create her own business which caters to big weddings and events as well as small gifts such as this beautiful Macaron Kit.

This is available to buy from Fortnum and Mason as well as online here. It comes with everything you could possibly imagine, right down to the icing bag and the macaron mat. It is a wonderful little gift that you can use to make something for your mother this weekend. The Macaron Kit can also work as a gift itself if you want a little less work! I found the kit so beautifully designed and decorated, each item was carefully packaged and wrapped so neatly, and the instruction booklet was so easy to follow.

So, onto the baking! First I made the white chocolate and raspberry ganache:

Then onto the macaron mixture! I had a little trouble getting my eggs to peak for some reason, though I am putting this down to either my whisk or my skills. At least my hair looked good from this angle!

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About ten minutes later it was ready to go and so I folded in the almond powder and the icing sugar as instructed.

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The mixture was so colourful after adding the beetroot powder! Next it was onto the piping!

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It was really easy to pipe out and after a bang to get the bubbles out and a few shakes to even the mixture out, here are the results!

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20 minutes later…

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Look how they’ve changed! I was so happy with how they rose, and the colour change to a lovely burnt orange was a nice surprise. I decorated them with rose petals which came in the kit for a professional effect. They popped off the mat with ease, and so I turned them over to cool as instructed.

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Once ready, I used my pre-made ganache for half, and the other half I used Jim Jams raspberry spread– it’s the best jam ever!

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Here are the final results, just perfect! I used the macaron tin to lay them gently onto a bed of ripped paper and they were ready to send off to my mum!

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She knows they are coming and is very excited to try them- I really enjoyed making these macarons for Mother’s Day and want to thank Mon Dessert for giving both me and my mother such a great gift.

Give making macarons for Mother’s Day a go this year, and make them with Mon Dessert!

Saharasplash X

If you want more gluten free goodness, head over to read my review of London’s best gluten free restaurant- Niche!

I received this product for free for my honest opinion and review

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Recipe 1- Veggie Kebabs, free from gluten, dairy and vegan friendly

Recipe 2- Classic Victoria Sponge, free from gluten and dairy

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