Dietary: Vegetarian

Did you know acai bowls originated in Brazil, where the classic pureed berry dish became globally loved for it’s refreshing smoothie like texture from the blending of the acai berry, causing it to have it’s classic purple-hued colour.

The bowl is then topped with a heap of sliced fruits, nuts and seeds. You can follow our homemade granola recipe to also add as a topped to your bowl, giving it a delectable, crunchy texture.

  1. Place your bowls in the freezer – this will help keep the puree in form without melting.
  2. Add the acai powder, frozen banana, frozen berries, ice cubes and pinch of Maldon Salt into a high powered blender and blend until smooth.
  3. Pour the smoothie into 2 bowls, then top with any of the following toppings you like: sliced kiwi, diced mango, sliced strawberries, blueberries, coconut flakes, granola, chia seeds.
  4. Serve immediately.

Have you ever tried baked ricotta before?! Try our recipe with Bold Bean Co and you will become hooked on the soft creaminess of this traybake, mixed with Queen red beans, beetroot and purple sprouting broccoli to give a nutty, earthiness to the dish. Sprinkle with a final pinch of Maldon Salt to enhance the sweetness of the gently baked ricotta cheese.

  1. Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan/gas 7).
  2. Tip the red beans, beetroot, thyme, shallots and garlic into a large roasting tin (big enough to fit everything in in a single layer). Mix with the honey with a good pinch of Maldon Salt and olive oil.
  3. Mix well, then put in the oven for 30 minutes.
  4. Toss the broccoli with some olive oil and add to the tray, dotted throughout the beetroot & bean mix.
  5. At the same time, make a space in the centre of the tin, and gently upend the ricotta into it.
  6. Dress it with the olive oil, Maldon Sea Salt, the zest of half a lemon and freshly ground black pepper.
  7. After this, return the tin to the oven for a further 20 minutes, lowering the temperature to 200C (180C fan/gas 6).
  8. When the traybake is cooked, drizzle over the extra-virgin olive oil, the other half of the lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice, and scatter on a few more thyme sprigs and a final pinch of Maldon Salt before serving.

Dukkah, also commonly spelt duqqa, is a Middle Eastern and Egyptian blend of nuts, seeds and warming spices, coarsely grounded to create a savory, sweet and slightly zesty flavour!

Typically used as a dip for breads or vegetables, we serve ours on a softly roasted sweet potato to really infuse the flavours and aromas of the blend. We use a pinch of Maldon Salt to heighten the earthy notes of pistachios, almonds and cumin within this dish.

  1. Start by toasting the nuts. Heat the oven to 180C and place the nuts on to a baking tray and place in the oven for 5 minutes – keep an eye on them so they don’t burn but are nicely golden.
  2. Remove from the oven and then when slightly cooled, chop or bash in a pestle and mortar. Then tip into a large bowl.
  3. In a large frying pan start by toasting the sesame seeds, then add these to the nuts.
  4. Next toast the fennel seeds, coriander seeds and cumin seeds until they are golden and smelling fragrant. Add these to the pestle and mortar and crush before adding to the bowl with the nuts. Add the smoked paprika, Maldon Salt and black sesame seeds and mix well.
  5. You can now use this dukkah on several dishes – salads, on feta or burrata, meat and fish, roasted vegetables and hummus. We served ours on a soft roasted sweet potato.

The only thing that survived this winter’s frost in Olia’s garden was kale, so she is using it in anything and everything! Use any dark greens that you have – spinach, cabbage, spring greens, wild garlic or nettles if you go foraging. Leeks give this pie a nice body and sweetness.

  1. Clean the leeks well and slice lengthways in half, then slice thinly across. I only trim the dry edge of the green part of the leek, but use up the rest of the green part. Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan or pot and add the leeks, cook over a medium-low heat until they soften, then add the garlic followed by the spinach and the kale and a generous pinch of Maldon Salt. At this point I cover the pan with a lid, this will help steam the greens. You want everything to yield and become nice and soft. Add the spring onions at the very end and cook for 2 minutes.
  2. Let the filling cool down a little, then stir in the feta and plenty of black pepper. Butter a pie dish or a small deep tray and put the filling in.
  3. Brush the melted butter over each filo sheet and crumple it on top of the filling.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180C fan. Cook for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the filling piping hot.

Store-bought granola’s can be quite expensive these days – Why don’t you save your pennies and make your own!

This recipe is packed full of nutrients from the blends of toasted nuts and seeds. Swap your honey with agave syrup for this recipe to be completely vegan-friendly as well.

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
  3. In a large bowl mix together the oats, nuts and seeds with the cinnamon and Maldon Salt. In a small pan melt together the coconut oil and agave syrup gently. Then pour this over the oats and mix well, making sure everything is evenly coated.
  4. Spread it across the baking tray and place into the oven. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until lightly toasted and golden brown.
  5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before stirring through the coconut flakes.
  6. Add on top of your breakfast porridge, yogurt or even on a salad to add a new level of texture with the delicious crunch of the nuts and seeds!

We’ve teamed up with our good friend’s Bold Bean & Co in creating a perfectly spiced bean dish, accompanied with sweet, slow roasted carrots and crispy kale to add texture.

Bold Bean & Co’s Organic White Beans (haricot beans) are perfect to use for this dish as their bean’s are slow-cooked which allows them to hold their shape, creating the perfect, buttery and smooth flavour.

Amongst a bundle of spices such as chilli, cumin and garam masala, we add carrots to bring a gentle sweetness to the dish, with also a generous pinch of Maldon Salt to enhance the sweet notes and counteract the bitterness.

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. Start by roasting the carrots. Peel the carrots and cut them into 2-inch pieces, then toss in some olive oil and 1 tsp of cumin seeds. Season with Maldon Salt and pepper and place in the oven to roast for 15 minutes.
  3. While the carrots are cooking, start the spiced beans.
  4. Melt the coconut oil in a large sauté pan. Add the diced onion and cook gently until softened. Then add the garlic, chilli, and ginger and cook for another minute. Then add the cumin seeds, turmeric, black mustard seeds, garam masala and ground coriander and cook for another minute. Follow this with the chopped tomatoes. Cook these down gently until they collapse and soften.
  5. Once the tomatoes are soft, add the Bold Beans & Co White Beans – including their juices – and the coconut milk to the pan, and mix. Then gently simmer this for 10 minutes until lovely and thickened. Season well with Maldon Salt and cracked black pepper.
  6. Once the carrots are cooked remove from the oven and tip out of the baking tray. In the same baking tray then add the kale leaves.
  7. Drizzle in olive oil and a good pinch of Maldon Salt and scrunch together with your hands so they are well coated. Place this back in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes until crispy but still green.
  8. Remove from the oven.
  9. To serve, spoon the beans into bowls and top with the cumin roasted carrots, crispy kale, and some coriander. Serve alongside some natural yoghurt and mango chutney.

We recently caught up with the talented Imogen Davis, co-founder of Native restaurant, situated in London’s Mayfair. As previously noted in our article; In Conversation with Imogen Davis, Native is a zero-waste eatery with a strong focus on ingredients being foraged and sourced locally.

Within this article, Imogen gets creative in making a deliciously good punch made with mushrooms! (Yes, really mushrooms!). Being a non-alcoholic beverage, this drink is perfect for Dry January – to be enjoyed over ice to infuse the wintery, warming notes of the forest and freshly ground coffee. Additionally, we also managed to sit down and share a few details with the creator herself, where we get to know her tips for making a low/no alcohol tipple to understanding her own personal inspirations.

Mushroom Milk Punch

Imogen’s clarified milk punch with mushroom coffee takes a little advance preparation, but is 100% worth the effort for a showstopper of a silky smooth, slightly earthy non-alcoholic beverage – enhanced by a sprinkle of our Maldon Salt. The reason you add a pinch of Maldon to this drink is to enhance the sweetness and counteract the bitter notes of the ground and mushroom coffee.

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Brew the coffee, sugar and mushroom powder with 200ml boiling water, leave to infuse for a minimum 12 hours and then filter. As the mushroom powder is very fine, leave plenty of time to drip through.
  2. Bring the milk to a slow boil in a saucepan over low-medium heat.
  3. Once boiling, add the lemon juice and remove from heat, slowly stirring as the curds separate from the whey. Leave for 30 minutes until cool.
  4. Strain the curdled milk through a fine cheesecloth into a large jug and watch the clear liquid slowly separate from the solid curds – have patience!
  5. Once it has fully filtered and you have a clear liquid, stir the mushroom coffee cold brew into the whey, remove the curds from your filter and set aside to enjoy as a snack or to make a salted lassi.
  6. Now reuse the cheesecloth to filter the mushroom-whey mix. You should see a very clear, golden liquid. Filter until you have the desired finish – it took Imogen three trips of drips.
  7. Now to reap your rewards! Add a pinch of Maldon Salt (subbing in Smoked Salt will give a more wintery, rich notes) and 150ml of the punch mix you have made to a highball glass. Stir over ice.

Notes:

Tips, Tricks and More with Imogen Davis

Once the making this delectable punch was done, we were able to sit down and have a chat with Imogen, getting to know her tips on creating a low/no alcohol tipple, the benefits of Dry January and what motivates her being the co-founder of a restaurant with a zero-waste ethos and foraging fanatic!

What are your tips for creating no/low alcohol cocktail creations?

Just like all of our drinks, we look at classics and try and give them a native twist, I try not to define a drink by specifying that it contains alcohol or not, but create something that is inspired by the seasons, or a special ingredient we’d like to spotlight.

What are the benefits of Dry January?

January is a great time to reset and refocus for the year ahead. I tend to steer clear of demanding a whole dry month upon myself, but it’s definitely welcomed after an indulgent festive period – especially with the no/lo options that are now out there! 

Name 3 things in your kitchen that you can’t live without.

  1. A multi-tool! It’s so versatile- it’s a knife, I can take it foraging as well as the kitchen and even use it to fix broken things.  
  2. Kilner jars  – kilners are perfect for organising everything from spices to my daily kombucha, as well as ensuring my freezer is prepared for all eventualities! It makes the mission of having no single use plastic a joy. 
  3. Maldon salt, of course!

What inspires/motivate you?

Bringing joy to people through food and drink – it really is as simple as that! (the process of getting there is often less-so!)

Still Wanting More?

If you are interested in creating more low/no alcoholic beverages during the month of Dry January, we have many delicious recipes to choose from! Our delicious Paloma mocktail using Feragaia is perfect to replicate a warming, wintery spice in the dark evenings.

Make sure you have your Maldon Salt ready for these recipes! If you are running out, please feel free to browse on our Where to Buy Page to find your nearest store in which stocks our beloved Maldon Salt.

Lastly, we LOVE seeing your creations – please tag us on Instagram using the #maldonsalt so we can share your cocktail masterpieces on our socials.

For this Shakshuka dish, I’m using eggs from my hens, and cooking it over live fire, but this can just as easily be made on the hob at home.

  1. Finely slice a white onion, add a pinch of Maldon Salt and cook until softened.
  2. Add chopped garlic, cloves, smoked paprika, tinned tomatoes, sherry vinegar, pepper and another sprinkle of Maldon Salt.
  3. Reduce the tomatoes slightly. At this point you could also add other veg like chestnut mushrooms or finely chopped courgettes but on this occasion, I’m keeping it simple.
  4. Using the back of a spoon, make small divots in the tomato sauce for the eggs, cover, and leave to cook on the coals or place into the oven until the eggs are cooked.

This sweet and sour chutney is made with a variety of home-grown tomatoes – I’m using un-ripened tomatoes, which are left behind at the end of the harvest but are delicious when fried or used in chutneys.  

  1. Start by slicing the onions and dicing your tomatoes. Put both in a pan on a low heat along with cloves, star anise, sugar, wine, pepper and a good sprinkle of Maldon Salt.
  2. Slowly cook the ingredients on a medium heat, stirring regularly.
  3. The chutney is ready when it has reduced by about 3 quarters and the texture has turned jammy.
  4. Serve on fresh toast with a poached egg, add pepper, a final pinch of Maldon Salt and enjoy!

Homemade jam using foraged fruit is a labour of love. This delicious, sweet spread is made with blackberries that I foraged during the summer and stored in the freezer.

This method of foraging and freezing means that you can enjoy making jam all throughout winter.

  1. Simply mix together your berries, sugar, and lemon juice – pips and all, for a healthy dose of pectin, which will help to bind the jam. Add a pinch of Maldon Salt to enhance the flavour and temper any bitterness. Cook on a low heat, stirring regularly.
  2. Once the fruit has thickened and turned jammy, remove from the heat and add to a sterilized jar.
  3. There’s nothing better than warm jam on toast, so make sure you try a bit before sealing. Delicious.