I love this dish from Julie Montagu’s ‘The Flexi Foodie’. I like her philosophy as she believes in eating healthy most of the time, but not to worry too much if you want the odd ‘unhealthy’ treat. She says “By adding more superfoods into your diet, you will naturally start to crowd out the bad ones”. You can almost imagine a group of brussel sprouts rolling down a hill and squishing the Maltesers along the way – I guess that’s kind of a good relaxed approach to food, right?
Anyway I was trying to figure out a good recipe to make to feed a group of hungry models on a shoot and this one looked like a great option – healthy, light and vegan. It was also a chance to test out some new props and lighting. This was shot at home, using the natural light from my balcony and reflectors – I wanted to highlight the fresh ingredients.
If you want to make this yourself, Julie’s recipe calls for the following ingredients:
250g sweet potatoes
125g shelled edamame (I always keep a bag in my freezer which you can buy from the local Chinese/Japanese or Korea shop if you’re lucky to have one)
45g sunflower seeds
Small handful of fresh mint, chopped
For the lemon dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Small garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
Serves 2
This was a pretty easy recipe to pull together, you chop up the sweet potatoes, add them to boiling water and simmer for about 15mins. You do the same for the edamame beans, (I always refer to these as ed-a-mummies – it makes me chuckle) but for just 5mins. Let it all cool down.
Chop up the mint – I usually grow some on my balcony, but alas my pot has been killed by winter. Grab the seeds (I used a packet of mixed seeds from the health food shop as that’s what I had in and I like them) and mix together in a bowl with the potatoes and ed-a-mummies.
Drizzle over the dressing. Add a sprig of mint if you’re writing a blog post, instagramming your food or have guests!
Voilà, a very tasty and rather healthy lunch or side dish:
