I hosted a Pink ribbon breakfast on the weekend to help raise money for the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ.
I made a lovely kumara & green bake with goats feta.
I love to ensure we get veggies early in the day, as in order to get 10 serves daily (I probably usually get 8 on a good day), we must have some at breakfast or lunch, preferably both.
A friend coming doesn't like eggs so I've made pies in the past & want to do one but without pastry. Without egg to bind it as a frittata or baseless quiche it's a little hard to call this a pie.
I've also been trying to eat 40 plus plant based foods weekly. A great trick to ensure you are eating a diverse range of foods.
I grated an orange kumara, sprinkled pepper & salt & extra virgin olive oil on it then pressed it into my pie tin. You could also use leftover mashed potato or kumara or smashed cooked potatoes.
In a pan add a decent glug of extra virgin olive oil then cooked, most of a large leek, an onion, mushrooms, 1 stick of celery (I try to only use spray free or organic, it's one of the dirt dozen*), small thumb of turmeric, cumin seeds, ground nigella seeds (don't worry if you don't have these).
Once it had cooked down, stirring for 10 mins, added mustard, & chopped cashews & a decent handful of chopped greens, mine was from my garden & had; kale (2 types), silverbeet, sorrel & chives.
Cook to wilt.
Then added 3 crushed cloves of garlic. I like to add garlic later as it's going to be baked anyway & to preserve the great health properties in the garlic by cooking it less. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Then top this onto the kumara base. Dot with goats feta (optional).
I try to use goat & sheep cheese when I can. I love the flavours & they are A2 milks, meaning a different protein to normal dairy which can be better for those sensitive to dairy.
Pop it in a preheated oven 170 degrees C for 30mins or until just golden on top.
This didn't hold together that well but would if you wanted to add some egg to the filling. Hence why I've called it a bake not a pie.
It tasted great.
Health benefits;
- Allium plants; onions, leeks, chives, garlic. These are prebiotic foods containing inulin & fructooligosaccharides (FOS) which nourish your good gut microbes helping.
- Turmeric; anti-inflammatory, assist with liver support & gut support. May assist with immunity. Needs fat (olive oil & cashews, feta) for absorption & enhanced by black pepper
- Nigella (black cumin seeds); antioxidants, may assist with immunity, allergies, omega 3 fatty acids (if crushed)
- Kumara; good source of fibre, vitamin A & C
- Greens; magnesium, fibre, vitamin C & Bs
- Cashews; plant protein, good fats, magnesium
Final count of plants; kumara, onion, leek, celery, mushrooms, calvero nero, purple kale, silverbeet, sorrel, chives, garlic, turmeric, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper. Total 16.
Ingredients
Base
1 medium sized kumara (I used orange but any type is fine)
Black pepper & Salt
Drizzled of extra virgin olive oil
Filling
Decent amount of olive oil in pan
½ a large leek, washed & sliced
1 onion diced (1 cm)
1 stick of celery (spray free or organic if possible)
2 decent handfuls of mushrooms, any type, sliced
2 cm piece of turmeric finely diced, can use dried 2-3 tsp
1 tbsp ground nigella seeds (black cumin)
Then added;
1 tsp mustard, I used dijon
½ C chopped cashews
Salt & pepper to taste
Lastly add chopped greens till just wilted;
1 decent handful
Silverbeet, kales, sorrel (not needed, could add some lemon zest & juice if not using), chives. Any greens will do. Spinach would be great. Turn off the heat & add crushed garlic.
While the filling is cooking, press the kumara into your tin.
Top with the filling.
Dot with feta if using.
Bake in preheated oven 170 degrees C for 30 mins until the kumara is cooked & top just golden.
Enjoy 💚
* Dirty dozen is published yearly, are the vegetables/fruits with the most spray residues
