Turkish Pizza

by Liz Child

We love this spiced alternative to pizza. You won’t miss the Italian style cheese and oregano, this Middle Eastern style ‘pizza’ is a totally different beast. It’s essentially a pizza topped with a delicately spiced mince mixture (we use nuts and lentils to make a delicious vegan version) which is baked then eaten with a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of fresh parsley and some quick pickled pink onions. It’s the perfect summer party food with salads.

Grab all the organic ingredients from our online shop here. We deliver nationwide and are excited to announce we have been able to reduce our delivery charges with our new electric delivery van couriers, Green Way!

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the quick pickled onions:

  • 2 red onions
  • 2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
  • a large pinch of salt
  • a large pinch of sugar

For the mince:

  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 large handfuls of walnuts, crushed/finely chopped (or a mix of any nuts or seeds you like)
  • 2 tins of cooked green lentils, drained (or a mug of uncooked lentils – see method)
  • a tin of chopped tomatoes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Other ingredients:

Method

  1. If you are making your own pizza dough, do that first, otherwise you can use ready made bases or even large flatbreads.
  2. Make the quick pickled red onions before you start on the mince to give them time to turn a gorgeous shocking pink colour. It’s easy! Just finely slice the onions and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with a big pinch of salt and sugar then stir in the vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit at room temperature to one side while you make the mince and bake the pizzas. Give it another stir every now and then to ensure the ingredients are mingling nicely and marvel as the purple onions soften and turn bright pink.
  3. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, sauté the diced onion with the olive oil until it softens and starts to colour. Add the garlic and spices and stir until fragrant. Then add the chopped nuts, lentils and tomatoes (if you are using uncooked lentils, add 2 mugs of water to the mixture too). Then season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer until the mixture is rich and thick. You may need to add a splash of water every now and then to get the texture right. Simmer for 10 minutes if you are using cooked lentils, and about 20 minutes for uncooked (or until the lentils are cooked through). Taste and tweak the seasoning if needed with more salt or pepper.
  4. Pre-heat the oven to the highest temperature to imitate a pizza oven. Then shape your pizza dough and spread with a thin layer of the mince mixture. Bake until cooked to your liking then serve in slices .
  5. Each slice should be topped with tangy onions, fresh parsley and a good squeeze of lemon. I like to add a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds too and devour with a fresh cucumber and tomato salad. Enjoy!

A Halloween Party Table

by Liz Child

Here are some fiendishly fun and easy ideas for your Halloween table. There is a 100% guarantee that there will be a LOT of sweets being guzzled at the weekend, so this table is a fun way to balance out all that sugar. Delight and disgust your guests with this grisly spread of ‘finger food’. See what I did there?

Liz x

Freaky Fruit

Use sunflower and pumpkin seeds, nut butter and celery sticks to make some freaky fruit platters. We stock a wide variety of organic fruit all year round and have organic seeds in compostable bags to add to your order here.

This is so fun to make with the kids:
– Peel clementines and poke little slivers of celery through the centre to make ‘pumpkins’.
– Use pumpkin seeds to make the faces on banana ghosts.
– Make apple monsters. Cut apples into quarters and remove the core. Then carefully cut a wedge out for the mouth. Fill with nut or seed butter, sunflower or pumpkin seed teeth and eyes and return a bit of the apple for the tongues. To stop the apples turning brown, rub the cut sides with a wedge of lemon.
– The kiwi Frankenstein’s monsters are so cute. Carefully peel off the bottom 2/3rds of the kiwi leaving a head of ‘hair’. Poke thin celery sticks into the sides for bolts and use pumpkin seeds to make the face.

Green Skeleton Man

Use fresh green veggies and guacamole to make this spooky skeleton snack platter. Our organic celery crop is huge this year. Get them discounted while they’re in season now here.

Finger Rolls

Veggie sausages cut with nails and knuckle marks with ketchup in a roll? Finger lickin’ fun! We have a few different veggie sausages to choose from here and a really nice organic ketchup in a glass bottle.

Pumpkin Puke (Hummus)

Is it even a party if there is no hummus? Whip up this simple pumpkin version to go with your obligatory Jack’O Lantern. It’s delicious scooped up with the green man skeleton or tortilla crisps! We have organic chickpeas, tahini, olive oil and more in the grocery section of the shop.

Ingredients

  • 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained (reserve the aquafaba for another recipe)
  • 250g roasted pumpkin (use a kuri or butternut squash for extra flavour, or use up the flesh from a carved pumpkin)
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled
  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • the juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin (optional)
  • 1 heaped tsp of salt
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 ice cubes

Method

  1. Place all the ingredients except the olive oil and ice cubes into a food processor and blend until pretty smooth.
  2. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt or lemon juice.
  3. Then add the ice cubes and olive oil and blend again until silky smooth. The ice cubes are a secret ingredient which really helps lighten and whip the hummus into a gorgeous texture.
  4. Keep the hummus in a container in the fridge until you are ready to serve. It should last for 3 days maximum.

Pizza Fingers

Pizza dough stuffed with cheese and tomato purée, baked with an almond and dipped in a simple tomato sauce? This is perfect finger food if you can get past the squeamish feeling that you are eating trolls toes! We stock tomato purée, flour, yeast, cheeses, almonds and more in our grocery section.

Here’s how to make 16 pizza fingers:

Dough

  • 500g spelt flour
  • 7g quick yeast
  • 10g salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 325ml warm water

Filling

  • 16 sticks of cheese
  • tomato puree
  • 16 almonds
  1. Mix the ingredients above into a sticky dough then knead on a clean work surface until smooth. You may need to add an extra dusting of flour if your dough is too sticky to handle.
  2. Form into a ball and cover with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave to rise until doubled in size – depending on the temperature in your kitchen, this should take around 1 hour.
  3. Divide into 16 even balls. Turn the oven on to 200C. Find a large baking tray and line it with baking parchment.
  4. Stretch each ball of dough into a rectangle. Smear a 1/4 tsp of tomato purée along the middle then add a cheese stick. Fold the dough around the cheese and pinch to seal. Roll the parcel into a finger and pop it seal-side-down onto a lined baking tray. Repeat with all the balls of dough.
  5. Then dip the almonds into tomato purée and stick them on the ends of the doughy fingers. Use a butter knife to make knuckle marks.
  6. Then pop the tray into the hot oven for 20 minutes or until the fingers are golden brown and cooked through. Serve with a simple tomato dipping sauce (recipe below).

Sauce

  • 1 onion, peeled and diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Italian style herbs (I use a bay leaf, a few fennel seeds and a pinch of dried oregano)
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion in the oil until soft and starting to take on some colour. Add the garlic and herbs and stir until very fragrant. Then add the tin of tomatoes and season well. Simmer until the sauce is rich and delicious. At least 10 minutes but the longer the better. Alternatively use pesto as the dipping sauce or a jar of ready made pasta or pizza sauce. We stock a few option in the shop which can be added to your veg order.

Trick AND Treat Brownies

Didn’t get to go trick or treating this year? Here’s a spooky brownie recipe that is both a treat AND a trick!

Party Food

by Liz Child

We are celebrating 15 years of business this week and we’d love you to celebrate with us! To say thank you for all your support we are offering a whopping 15% discount code to anyone who wants one until the 6th of June 2021. Just fill out this form to receive your code. (Please pass the form link on to your friends and family too. We’d be honoured to have them onboard this sustainable food journey.)

There’s never been a better time to treat yourself! Add some bottles of organic wine or chocolates to your order, some cheese and crackers, some pantry ingredients to make a cake… Here are a few recipes to inspire you if you are planning a party too! Just click on the titles to be taken to the recipe blog.

Liz x

Grazing Boards

Create a snack feast for the eyes as well as the tummies with a grazing board. Perfect to feed a crowd with drinks.

Devilled ‘Eggs’

These vegan devilled eggs are a bit of retro fun with a twist. Lightly pickled mushrooms filled with a delicious chickpea purée. Canapés anyone?

Easy Peasy Pizza Party

Make your party-planning life easier with our organic pizza bases (we sell a gluten free one too), jars of ready made tomato sauce, pesto, cheese, olives, capers and more. Perfect pizza every time!

Show-Stopping Salads

Create vibrant, fresh salads with our range of incredible, organic ingredients. The Jay & Joy range of vegan cheeses are just brilliant paired with juicy fruits and crunchy fresh leaves. Add some salty olives and fresh herbs and red onions and you’re in heaven.

Let Them Eat Cake

What’s a party without cake? There are loads to choose from on our recipe blog here. But these are my top 3 to bring out at a party!

Beetroot Chocolate Brownie

Raw Millionaire Shortbread

Classic Chocolate Celebration Cake

FAST FAKEAWAYS – Pizza Night

by Liz Child

A couple of minutes to put together and just 10-15 minutes to bake. Way faster than a takeaway pizza, cheaper, and dare I say it, more delicious? Tailor your pizza exactly to your taste with our easy pizza bases (we sell gluten free ones too), sauces, olives, pesto, vegetables and selection of cheeses (including vegan cheeses). This is also the perfect fun meal to make with kids.

Add the ingredients to your next organic fruit and veg order from us and give yourself a night off. We deliver to every address in Ireland. Liz x

Ingredients

Watch the easy method here or read on below.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C fan. Get a couple of baking sheets ready and line with baking paper for ease.

Open the pizza bases and place them on the baking sheets.

Spread with three heaped tbsp of tomato sauce on each pizza base. Add some dollops of pesto for little herby flavour bombs.

Scatter over your favourite pizza toppings – olives, roasted vegetables, cheese – then pop the pizzas in the oven until hot and bubbling and just starting to take on some colour. Around 10-15 minutes.

Serve slices with torn fresh basil leaves, a fresh salad and glass of organic wine for the perfect Friday night fakeaway!