FLOWER POT KITCHEN: NOODLE ZOODLES LOW FAT LOW CARB

10 Jan 2015

NOODLE ZOODLES LOW FAT LOW CARB

THAI COCONUT SOUP

How fantastic is this, a courgette can become zoodle noodles a great alternative to rice or pasta noodles, I did wonder if I was going to be able to give up my rice noodles that I love in ramen and find a super healthy low carb/calorie alternative that is just as good in not only taste but texture too, I am super excited that the gadget I brought to make zoodle noodles from vegetables really does make fantastic noodles. This recipe is a glorious bowl of super health and great taste without compromise.

Prep time 5 minutes / Cooking time 5 minutes

Zoodles

These are very quick and simple to make, you will need a zoodle maker if you want long zoodles like noodles! Alternatively if you want to try these before buying a gadget that will end up sitting in a drawer only to be given away a few years later then you can use a julienne blade on a mandolin or a potato peeler, they will be shorter and not as thick, think rice noodles v vermicelli in size, if using a potato peeler peel long ribbons and stack them neatly back together and then using a sharp knife slice longways into thin zoodles.

The zoodle gadget

Ingredients

(serves 2)

800ml chicken broth

(home made recipe below)

200ml coconut cream/milk

1 star anise

1 tsp fish sauce

1/2 stick cinnamon

1/2 lime juiced

1 courgette zoodle noodles

4 stems broccoli

6 stems asparagus

1 pak choi

10 mangetout finely sliced

1 red chilli sliced

2 spring onions finely sliced

2 handfuls spinach and rocket

2 cloves of garlic sliced

1/2" turmeric grated

A super fast and fabulously fragrant and healthy bowl of abundance, prep all your ingredients before you start, I often prep three times more than I need so that these ingredients are ready straight from the fridge which means I can have this meal on the table in under five minutes!

Place your serving bowls ready to go and put the watercress and rocket in one side. Place the chicken broth and coconut cream or milk in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, add the zoodles for one minute, remove and place in your serving bowl, Next add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for three minutes, remove the star anise and cinnamon stick then pour the gorgeous stock over your zoodles and enjoy,

This style of broth is really a blank canvas you can add anything you like to zing up or down the broth, I like to add tamarind, tom yum and hot chilli harissa paste to va va voom the broth or sometimes I just fancy a simple clean broth and leave out the coconut cream, there are so many variations you will never feel bored of this gorgeous meal.

Home made chicken stock

(makes 1.5ltrs)

Prep time 5 minutes / Cooking un-attended 2 hours

1 free range chicken

2 carrots roughly chopped

2 celery roughly chopped

1 onion quartered

1 leek rough chopped

2 bay leaves

5 star anise

10 black peppercorns

1/2 stick cinnamon

2 tbsp fish sauce

2" piece ginger sliced

1 lemon halved

Place all the ingredients in a deep pan and cover with water approx three litres bring up to a gently simmer and leave to tick away for two hours, skim off any froth that accumulates on top. When cooked and the stock has reduced by half take off the heat and leave to cool. Remove the chicken and keep for other meals, pass the stock through a sieve and store in a large glass jug in your fridge, once the stock has set in the fridge it is easier to remove the fat from the top of the stock, you can keep this fat in a dripping bowl in the fridge if you want and use as fat for cooking.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.