Fresh fruit salads
EACH RECIPE SERVES 2
VEGETARIAN
There’s nothing like a fresh fruit salad to make you feel healthy and invigorated. Eat for breakfast or serve as a starter, simple snack or dessert, either on its own or with natural yoghurt (for making your own). First make the fruit juice dressing, then mix with your choice of fruit salad.
Fruit juice dressing
1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp caster sugar or runny honey
2 tbsp finely chopped mint (optional)
Mix the orange juice and lemon juice together in a bowl and stir in the sugar or honey to dissolve. Pour this over your choice of fruit salad below (adding finely chopped mint, if you wish). Stir to combine and serve immediately.
Pink grapefruit and pomegranate
2 pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented
Seeds from ½ pomegranate
Mix the pink grapefruit segments and pomegranate seeds together. Stir in the dressing (see above) and serve.
Grape, melon and grapefruit
110g (4oz) seedless red or green grapes (or a mixture), halved
250g (9oz) peeled and deseeded melon, diced
1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented
1 tbsp very finely chopped celery (optional)
Mix the red or green grapes with the melon, grapefruit and celery (if using). Stir in the dressing (see left) and serve.
Tropical fruit mix
1 large orange, peeled and segmented
200g (7oz) peeled and stoned mango, roughly chopped
125g (4½oz) peeled and cored pineapple, roughly chopped
110g (4oz) peeled and deseeded papaya, diced
Seeds and pulp from 1 large passion fruit
Mix the orange, mango, pineapple and diced papaya with the passion fruit. Stir in the dressing (see above left) and serve.
American buttermilk pancakes
MAKES ABOUT 12 PANCAKES
VEGETARIAN
My children and I love making these thick and spongy pancakes (see picture). The basic recipe is delicious, but the pancakes also taste great with other ingredients added to the batter to flavour them (see the variations opposite). Once cooked and cooled, the pancakes can be kept in the fridge and then warmed through for a few minutes in a hot oven. Spread with a little butter and jam or apple jelly or try one of the toppings suggested below.
150g (5oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g (2oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
150ml (5fl oz) buttermilk or soured milk (see tip)
25g (1oz) butter, melted and cooled
Sunflower oil, for frying
Icing sugar, for dusting
1 Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl, then stir in the sugar. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk or soured milk and melted butter together in another bowl, then pour into the dry ingredients, whisking all the time until you have a smooth batter. The batter is now ready to use or may be stored in the fridge overnight.
2 When you are ready to cook the pancakes, fold your chosen flavouring (if using – see opposite) into the batter. Place a large frying pan on a medium heat and oil it very lightly (I usually pour the oil onto a piece of kitchen paper and rub it on). Working in batches, drop large spoonfuls (about 50ml/2fl oz) of the pancake batter into the pan, spacing them apart to allow for spreading while cooking.
3 Cook on one side for 1–2 minutes until bubbles appear on the upper surface, then flip over with a fish slice or palette knife and cook on the other side for a further 1–2 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with any remaining mixture, keeping any cooked pancakes warm in a low oven (cover with foil) as you go.
4 Serve dredged with icing sugar and your choice of toppings from below.
Toppings
- Crème fraîche or Greek or natural yoghurt
- Slices of mango or strawberry, or pomegranate seeds
- Honey or maple or golden syrup
- Chopped nuts, such as pecans, hazelnuts or almonds
- Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
- Top with banana slices and toffee sauce
Variations
Choose one of the following to fold into the batter once it’s made:
Banana pancakes: 1 large or 1½ small–medium bananas, mashed (giving 150g/5oz mashed weight)
Berry pancakes: 75g (3oz) fresh or frozen (and defrosted) berries of your choice
Chocolate chip pancakes: 75g (3oz) chocolate chips (dark or milk chocolate)
Dried fruit pancakes: 75g (3oz) dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas, apricots or cranberries (chopped if large)
Cinnamon pancakes: 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
