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Recipes: 5 dishes that are too pretty to eat
Eat with your eyes this weekend, and use these food plating tips to make your food look absolutely irresistible
Pitaya smoothie bowl
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Serves: 1
Ingredients
1 frozen banana
Handful of kale
Handful of spinach
2 tsp moringa powder
50 ml vanilla-flavoured soy milk
To serve:
Pitaya or dragonfruit balls
Yellow swirl (plain coconut yoghurt with turmeric)
Pink swirl (plain coconut yoghurt with beetroot powder)
Method
Prepare the pitaya balls first with a melon baller. Mix the desired swirl colours in separate bowls and pour them into ketchup or similar plastic bottles.
Make the smoothie using a powerful handheld blender or a smoothie maker. Pour it into a white bowl (white will make the colours pop!) and then add the pitaya balls carefully.
Using a toothpick or a thin chopstick, make a swirl design as pictured. Serve.
Note: You can leave out the moringa powder if you like, as it has a slightly bitter flavour. However, the benefits of moringa are incredible. It is high in protein, fibre and antioxidants and is a rich source of vitamin A, E and K. It is also high in iron, calcium and magnesium, and known to reduce tiredness and boost the immune system. What's not to love?!
Stuffed bell peppers
Cooking time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 2-3 people as a side, 1 person as a main
Ingredients
4 colourful bell peppers
½ cup red (or white) rice
½ cup black lentils
1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
150 gm brown button mushrooms
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mixed herbs
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp lemon pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Bunch of fresh basil
1 can chickpeas
3-4 stems of spring onion
Method
Boil rice and lentils in separate saucepans, according to the instructions.
Cut off the tops of the peppers as well as little from the bottom, so they stay upright on the plate later.
In a frying pan, sauté red onion and garlic with olive oil on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add mushrooms and spices and continue sautéing for 8 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked. Add basil and sauté for a minute.
Mix all ingredients together and stuff peppers with the mixture.
Drizzle an oven pan or roasting dish with extra virgin olive oil and bake in an oven at 210°C for 20 minutes.
Serve with a salad on the side.
Note: The stuffing mixture even worked on its own, as a filling salad the next day, with some fresh cucumbers and tomato thrown into the mix. Also, if you're looking to photograph the dish, it's best to do so prior to cooking the peppers, as they are prettier this way.
Smoothie flower bowl
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 mins
Serves: 1
Ingredients
1 ½ frozen bananas
3 purple plums
Handful of blackberries
50 ml plant-based milk
Plant-based raspberry yoghurt, for
the swirl
Handful of granola (gluten-free)
Frozen blueberries
Method
Make the smoothie using a powerful handheld blender or a smoothie maker.
Pour the smoothie into the bowl and make the swirl design using a toothpick.
Top with a handful of granola and a few blueberries (or other berries of choice). I used frozen berries as I prefer the colour and texture, but fresh berries would work equally well.
Note: This was my first time trying this design and, therefore, not perfect. But the more smoothie flowers you make, the easier the designing gets!
Spring salad
Cooking time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 2-3 people as a side, 1 person as a main
Ingredients
150 gm lamb's lettuce (or any mixed greens)
80 gm red quinoa (or any colour of choice)
1 candy beetroot (or regular beetroot)
Small handful of blueberries
5-6 raspberries
Lemon slices
Spicy roasted pumpkin seeds
Small handful crimson cress (or any other sprouts)
Edible flowers, to decorate
For the mustard dressing:
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Method
Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions and prepare the dressing and the rest of the salad in the meantime. Peel the beet, then spiralise approx. half, and cut out shapes (like small hearts) from the rest with small cookie cutters. Cut the blueberries in half for added colour and texture.
Once the quinoa is ready, rinse it, let it cool down for a while and arrange all on a serving dish, as pictured. Serve.
Note: Salads that mix sweet and savoury flavours are really 'in' right now. I wasn't a big fan at first, but this colourful spring salad made me change my mind! The mixture of salty, spicy and sweet go together really well and the addition of quinoa makes this a satiating meal. Use large, white, square-shaped plates instead of bowls, to show off individual ingredients better.
Stuffed aubergine boats
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Plating time: 10 minutes
Serves: 3-6
Ingredients
3 medium-sized aubergines
1 medium red onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus some to drizzle
¾ cup of grape or cherry tomatoes
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli flakes
Black pepper to taste
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed
Handful of chopped parsley
For the dressing:
2 tbsp tahini
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder (optional)
Method
For the sauce, mix tahini with lemon juice, salt and pepper and some garlic powder to it. Mix well; set aside.
Cut aubergines in half lengthwise. Puncture each aubergine with a fork and line them all on a parchment or baking paper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and bake in an oven at 210°C for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, on a frying pan, sauté red onion and garlic on medium heat for 5-8 minutes with 3 tbsp of olive oil.
Add tomatoes and spices and continue sautéing for 10 minutes until tomatoes are nice and plump.
Take the aubergines out of the oven, once fully cooked. Carefully remove the flesh of the eggplant with a large spoon and add just the flesh to the sautéed tomatoes; set the aubergine skin aside for later use.
Continue sautéing tomatoes with aubergine flesh for about 5 minutes. Add chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff aubergine boats with the chickpea mixture, sprinkle with some chopped parsley and drizzle with tahini sauce.
Serve with quinoa, rice or fresh salad.
Note: I like serving this dish straight off the oven pan. The baking paper adds a lovely rustic feel to it!
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