Food & recipes

5 Ways To Get Your Greens

Chef Aaron Craze from loveyourgreens.co.uk shares five top ways to get a hit of green leafy vegetables

Chef Aaron Craze from loveyourgreens.co.uk shares seven top ways to get a hit of green leafy vegetables.

1. Sprout Kebabs

The following recipe will create sprout kebabs to feed six.
In a roasting pan, drizzle 300g of sprouts with 1 tbsp of maple syrup, some olive oil and salt and pepper then roast for 15 minutes at 160C.
When cooked, let them cool down and then wrap the sprouts with Parma ham, before putting them onto the cocktail sticks.
Whisk an egg, dust the sprouts in 30g of flour and then dip in the egg and roll in t200g breadcrumbs,100g parmesan cheese and some lemon zest.
Put the breaded sprouts on some baking paper then bake in the oven 190C for 8-10 minutes.
Dollop some crème fraiche or Greek yogurt on the side for dipping.

2. Broccoli Frittata

This recipe creates enough health frittata to serve four.
Boil a large pan of salted water and add the florets from a head of broccoli. Cook for 4 minutes then drain and run under cold water.
In a separate bowl, whisk 10 eggs with 1 tsp of paprika, and some salt and pepper. Put to one side.
Now, in a large non-stick frying pan add some olive oil and start to fry three minced cloves of garlic on a medium heat. Add some roasted red peppers from a tin and the broccoli. Toss the pan to cover the broccoli with garlic then add the egg mix.
Put the whole pan in to the oven 160C for 30 minutes.

3. Kale and Banana Shake

This will produce two servings of a tasty and delicious smoothie.

Add 250g of kale, 40g of raw cashews, one cup of ice and 500ml of water in to a juice blender and blend well. Pass the liquid through a sieve then pour back in to the juicer (clean any pulse out first). Now add one or two large bananas, 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 3 tbsp of honey and blend until smooth. Pour into a large glass and enjoy!

4. Swede Ice Cream

Fancy a naughty treat? Serve this icecream between four.
In a pan heat 500ml of mascarpone, 1 tbsp of honey, the seeds from one vanilla pod until warm – you may want to add in a couple of table spoons of water to loosen the mixture. When heated through add 10g of caster sugar and continue to heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture silky smooth. Leave to cool.
Separately bake 300g of peeled and diced swede. Place this in a tin foil bag and cook at 190 degrees until soft. The foil bag protects the swede from browning. When soft, puree using a blender.
Cool the puree and whip the mascarpone mix to allow air into the mixture. Fold the Swede puree into the mascarpone mix.
Whisk four egg whites till they form soft peaks and fold into the mascarpone and swede mixture.
Pour into ice cream tubs and set in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

5. Chinese Cabbage and Chicken Noodle Soup

This four-person recipe is ideal for a weeknight supper.
Put 10 roughly chopped spring onions into a pan with a little oil. Add one diced onion, a 2cm knob of finely chopped ginger, 2 cloves of roughly chopped garlic, 1 red chilli, deseeded and julienned, some shredded Chinese cabbage; the shredded white parts of a pak choi and a pinch of salt and cook over a medium heat until everything begins to soften slightly.
Add two chopped chicken thighs and 1 pinch of allspice. Stir around and continue to cook for a minute or two then pour in a dash of soy sauce and 1 litre of hot chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then toss in the shredded green tops of a pak choi, one stick of lemongrass and 150g of egg noodles and give the pan a good stir.
Leave to cook for 5 minutes or until the noodles are softened. Once ready check the seasoning, add 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander, stir and serve.