no cooking required

No cooking or minimal cooking

pavlova ice cream pudding

~ aplotzi ~ Leave a comment

This pudding can be assembled in 5 minutes max, so zero stress.  I’ve never met anybody who didn’t think it was really amazing. It has that great combo of creamy and crunchy mixed with sweet from the meringues and ice cream and tart from the berries. It’s a visual and sensual feast. The recipe uses any vanilla ice cream, but I use Swedish Glace or the newly launched coconut ice cream from Coconut Collaborative which are delicious if you are going down the dairy free route. None of your guests would guess it’s dairy free and it’s perfect if you are following kosher.

Continue reading →

pear drop sorbet with pear guitars

~ aplotzi ~ 2 Comments

This no churn boozy sorbet is based on the the delicious pear drop cocktail which is pear juice with vodka and vanilla. It’s such a brilliant combination of flavours I have made it into an easy gelato version which is perfect for valentine’s night or date night as it’s lighter than a traditional dessert, so you won’t feel like dozing off after dinner as you dim the lights and crank up the Barry White…
It can be made in advance and kept frozen till needed. It’s also very easy and quick to make, you just need a freezer and a food processor or a nutribullet. How to make the pear guitars is at the bottom of the page after the recipe instructions.

Happy date night!

Continue reading →

avocado, mint, and ricotta on toast

~ aplotzi ~ Leave a comment

This super healthy easy recipe for avo on toast is great snack, starter or light supper. People have even told me they have it for breakfast because they like it so much. The combination of flavours is really fresh and delicious and it’s creamy crunchy minty and zesty, so it tastes really fresh. The ricotta can be replaced by vegan cream cheese or peanut butter if you don’t eat dairy.

Continue reading →

tuna sashimi with sesame dressing

~ aplotzi ~ 2 Comments

this delicious easy recipe lower carb sashimi style tuna has a fab dressing which is sweet and savoury with the flavours of sesame and soya sauce. I serve it with the Japanese pickled ginger and a wasabi sauce as you would with Japanese food. It takes  about 5 minutes to make and there’s no cooking. So it’s perfect if you fancy sushi and a bit of a sushi scenario and you don’t want the carbs. Make sure the tuna you buy is the colour of watermelon and has not gone brown, so it’s the freshest possible which tastes the best. I hope you like it as much as me…

Continue reading →

preserved lemons

~ aplotzi ~ Leave a comment

Preserved lemons are a key ingredient in Moroccan cooking. The Moroccans put them in tagines and salads. They become sweet and mellow after pickling and are a sort of tangy condiment, pepping up the flavour of anything you stick them in. You only need a small amount finely chopped but according to John Gregory-Smith in his Moroccan cookbook Orange Blossom and Honey, you can also cut a slice and put it in your martini. Lemons are really healthy too, and good for your immune system, liver function, eyes and is the only food in the world that is anionic, which makes them really beneficial to your health. Continue reading →

moroccan orange salad

~ aplotzi ~ Leave a comment

I had this salad as a starter in a Moroccan restaurant in Paris and I have made it ever since. It’s divine and reminds me of that restaurant I think was called the Star. I went there twice with my boyfriend with a ten year gap between visits and when we told them that we loved it there and had come back ten years later they were very blasé and not interested, however the food was fantastic still. This salad is great as a dessert too. It’s perfumey with orange flower water so you feel transported to an exotic place in Morocco, at least I do, and it’s pretty healthy. So give it a try….

Continue reading →

fresh nectarine salad

~ aplotzi ~ Leave a comment

This salad is simple and sweetly delicious and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I really love salads that are using just one main ingredient. It’s the zen way. Also I have always secretly put vinaigrette on my fruit salad when it’s just for me. So this recipe, which could also use peaches, hits the sweet and savoury thing on the head, if you like that sort of thing. I love the sweetness of the nectarine with the zingy dressing. It’s particularly lovely with my winter slaw. A friend of mine makes it all the time…she’s completely hooked on it.

Continue reading →

healthy raspberry sorbet

~ aplotzi ~ Leave a comment

Raspberry sorbet always reminds me of summer holidays in France with my family when I was little. And when I eat it now in all its jewel red gorgeousness I am transported back to places we visited there and adored. Anyway, ices have always been my favourite thing, my Italian grandfather made Gelato so it’s in my blood.
This raspberry sorbet doesn’t need an ice cream machine and is made with raw raspberries that have been frozen and the only other ingredients are lemon juice and maple syrup, so it’s raw and low glycemic and really easy to make. I usually get a punnet of raspberries and stick them on a plate so they are separated as much as possible from each other and them bung them in the freezer till rock hard or over night, alternatively you can buy a punnet or bag of already frozen raspberries.

Continue reading →

greek salad on toast

~ aplotzi ~ Leave a comment

What could be nicer… an open salad sandwich always does it for me and my girlfriends. We love that combo of crunchy bread and salad. It’s healthy clean food and perfect for lunch or as a starter. This version of Greek salad is taken from all the most interesting recipes I could find for Greek salad and I mixed them up. I also cut the vegetables very small so it’s easier to stick the bread in your mouth if you want to eat them without a knife and fork, like I do. If you prefer it without bread just double the ingredients and make it as a salad.

Continue reading →