mushroom and chestnut soup - drizzled with white truffle oil

Ahh.. Tartufo Bianco.

You make any meal a mind blowing experience.

I love you.

We love you.

We worship you.

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you.

The earthy tones of the mushrooms combined with the sweetness of the chestnuts make for the perfect winter warming soup.

Not to mention the truffle oil.

The first time we tried this tasty tasty artisans dream, was in a tiny little town called Motovun in Croatia.

Walking down the cobbled streets sampling all the free taste testers they had available was a treat.

No way could we afford to buy any of the produce, but we did.

It was really the beginning of the end for us.

Motovun, Croatia

We bought the White Truffle infused oil and kept it in our van for the nights our mediocre meals needed some spicing up.

Following on from this experience when we continued our travels into Italy, we were able to stock up on more oil and even attended a White Truffle (Tartufo Bianco) festival.

White Truffle oil is now a staple in our kitchen.

Ingredients

(serves 4-6)

500 g chestnuts

250 g button mushrooms, sliced

1 medium leek, roughly sliced

2 chokos, diced

2 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2 vegetable stock cubes

couple of pinches of salt to taste

water

white truffle oil

Turn oven to 200 degrees. Score each of the chestnuts with an 'x' and place on a baking tray in the oven to roast for 40-50 mins.

Remove from oven and cool.

Using a nut cracker, de-shell the chestnuts and put in a heavy based pot.

Add all other ingredients with enough water to cover the contents.

Boil for about 20-30 mins.

Remove from stove and cool.

Using a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.

Return to stove and warm through.

Serve - drizzled with truffle oil, roasted chestnuts and chopped parsley.

Yummm. x

silver beet and chestnut dal with matcha roti

I'm just going to open with - weather. 

I love autumn. The colour of the trees start to change and the valley that we live in, has a gorgeous glow.

But seriously, what's with this cold snap? Did winter start without telling anyone?

We've even had to start the fire!

Luckily in preparation for winter, we had already started to collect fire wood. As we live on a large property in the bush, collecting fire wood isn't too much of an issue. I always feel better when there's an abundant supply of fire wood.

With this cooler weather comes desire for a more warming meal.

Indian based foods work perfectly in a vegetarian, dairy free diet. Not to mention that the spiciness and strong curry flavours make for a whole body warming experience.

Bare with me, the list of ingredients is long, but the process is pretty simple.

Ingredients

(serves 4-6)

Dal

1 bunch of silver beet, roughly chopped

1 sprig of garlic, peeled

5 cm of fresh ginger, roughly sliced

20 chestnuts (or so), de-shelled

water

1 c chickpeas (soaked for 12 hours)

1 large turnip, cubed

1 bunch snake beans, sliced into 2 cm lengths

pinch of hot hot ground chili

1 - 2 tblsp of roasted curry powder

1 tblsp garam masala

1 tblsp agave syrup

2 stock cubes

2 tblsp coconut oil

Process silver beet, garlic and ginger in a food processor until there are no chunks.

Empty into a heavy based pot (I use cast iron).

Next process the chestnuts until finely chopped.

Add to silver beet mixture along with approx 2 cups of water and simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour. Check every now and then and stir as required - you may need to add more water if it starts sticking.

Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Roti

1 c gram (besan) flour

1 tblsp matcha (green tea powder)

1 tblsp wheat germ (omit for gluten free)

1 c water

coconut oil

Combine all ingredients in a small pouring jug.

Whisk together (it should be a batter-like consistency) adding more water if necessary.

Heat up a wok and drop in 1 tsp of oil. 

Next pour in a quarter of the mixture - guide the wok so that the batter runs down the sides. 

Cook until golden, flipping once or twice. 

Keep toasty xo