Green Dinner Table Christmas Feast

Start with the chocolate pie – recipe by minimalist baker 

Soak the dates in warm water for 10 mins,  then drain

Prepare the crust by pulsing walnuts and cocoa powder in a food processor until it reaches a fine meal. Remove and set aside

Place soaked dates in the food processor and process until small bits remain and it’s sticky. Add back in the walnut-cocoa meal and process until well combined.

Transfer to a lightly oiled pie pan. Or place baking paper in the bottom for easy removal. Place a piece of glad wrap over the crumbs and press with your hands to form a uniform crust that goes up the sides. Pop in the freezer to set.

Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30 second increments. Once melted, work quickly to add to a blender along with the tofu and coconut  milk. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed.

Pour over crust and smooth. Cover and freeze until set. Alternatively, refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until pretty firm.

Cut the cherries in half and remove the stones, set aside.

The serve, cut the pie into the required number of pieces, drizzle with coulis and top with cherries.

Pumpkin time

Pre-heat the oven to 170.

Remove the top from the pumpkin just enough so you can get to the seeds,  using a large spoon remove the seeds/fiber and discard (or dry them).

Cook the quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water for about 20 mins or until it sprouts. Once cooked strain and set aside

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. In a large pot cook the onions for 5 mins until soften, add the garlic and cardamon then cook for another 3 mins. Once cooked remove from heat.

While this is cooking zest and juice the oranges, also finely chop the parsley, remove the thyme leaves from the stalk and chop.

In a large bowl combine the onion garlic mixture with the quinoa, spiked maple, orange zest and juice, chopped herbs and a good pinch of salt. Taste add more salt if needed

Season the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper. Stuff the filling into the pumpkin then put the top on and bake for about 1 3/4 hours or until soft when stabbed with a skewer.

To serve the pumpkin. Allow to sit at room temp for about 10 mins the carve the pumpkin! You can do this on the table (for the show) or in the kitchen. Cut the pumpkin in half the drizzle over yogurt and scatter over dukkah.

Stuffed artichokes

Chop the thyme, keep the stalks. Combine the bread crumbs with lemon zest and juice, olive oil, chopped thyme  salt and pepper. Crush together with your hands if should stick together like wet sand.

With a sharp knife take off 90% of the stalk and discard, remove some of the woody  leaves from the around the base. Next using kitchen scissors cut 2 cm from the leaves at the top of the artichoke, using your hands gently separate the leaves so its easier to get the stuffing in.

Working your way in from the outside stuff a little of the stuffing between the leaves once stuffed place in a baking dish. Repeat with all 4 artichokes, any left over mix can be stuffed on top. Fill the baking  dish with about 3 cups of water, it should be about 5 cm up the sides of the artichoke, add the thyme stalks and a pinch of salt. Cover the dish using tin foil or a tight fitting lid, it is important that it’s tight to stop the liquid escaping and the artichokes drying out.

Bake for 40 mins, then check if they’re cooked stabbing the base with skewers it should feel like a cooked potato, alternatively you can see if they’re cooked by pulling one of the outer leaves it should easily come away. If not ready re seal and cook for another 10- 15 mins

Serve with saffron aioli to dip the leaves in. Click here here for a short video on how to enjoy your artichokes.

New potatoes

Wash the potatoes, no need to peel them.

Cook the new potatoes in boiling salted water for about 20 mins, once cooked strain and toss with a little of the chipotle butter, serve with the remaining butter on the side.

Strawberry and tomato salad

Remove the cores from the larger tomatoes and cut into wedges. Lay wedges on a serving platter. Chop smaller tomatoes into halves or quarters, scatter over platter, season with salt. Cut the strawberries in half and scatter over tomatoes, season with a good crack of black pepper. Right before serving drizzle over olive oil & balsamic reduction, then rip over basil.

Asparagus, sugar snap & radish with mint

You can prepare the vegetables earlier but hold off cooking until right before its time to eat.

Trim the bottom couple of cm off the asparagus, remove the stalks from the radish and slice as thinly as possible, pinch the tops off the peas and peel down the front to remove the fibrous strip.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the asparagus and cooking for 1 minute, add the peas and cook for another 20 seconds. Strain and toss with sliced radish, served drizzled with mint salsa verde.