Tag: Resistant starch

Courgette Flower Arancini

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This is a rough recipe, as it’s dependent on several factors:

  • How much risotto you have left over
  • How many courgette flowers you have
  • How much time you want to spend making these!!

In all honesty, these weren’t the easiest recipe I’ve ever made, but I did think they were worth all the extra effort.

Your gut microbes will also love this recipe due to the resistant starch formation in the risotto when it’s left overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients

  • Leftover courgette risotto, stored in the fridge for 24 hours
  • Courgette flowers, male and female
  • Mozzarella (optional, but highly recommended!)
  • Plain flour
  • Eggs
  • Breadcrumbs – I used some stale sourdough focaccia

Method

  • Remove the stamen from the inside of the courgette flowers to make more space inside.
  • Stuff each flower with leftover risotto and optional mozzarella, twisting the ends of the petals to close the end.
  • Dust each flower in flour, egg and breadcrumbs before baking on a lined baking sheet in a preheated oven set to 225°C fan/ 250°C convection.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes till crispy and golden brown.
Courgette Flower Arancini

Roasted Smashed Potatoes with Broccoli and Beans

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If you cook potatoes and then let them cool overnight you can create something called resistant starch, which, as the name suggests, is resistant to digestion. This means that you get to eat delicious-tasting food, and your gut microbes also benefit from the starches, which we are unable to digest, but they love!

Serves 3

Ingredients

  • 500g new potatoes, cooked and cooled overnight
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, skin on
  • 1 tin of cannellini beans, drained, rinsed and patted dry
  • 250g sprouting broccoli
  • 200g thick strained yoghurt
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 10 sprigs of mint, leaves finely sliced

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C convection
  • Smash the potatoes using a large flat item so they are around the thickness of a pound coin. Place on a baking sheet and brush with 1 tbsp olive oil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes
  • Flip the potatoes over to crisp up the second side, adding the cloves of garlic and brushing with more olive oil. Bake for another 30 minutes, or till the potatoes are golden brown and crunchy.
  • Meanwhile, run your beans with the remaining olive oil and spread out over a second baking sheet, tucking the broccoli down the centre. Roast for 20 minutes.
  • Once the potatoes are cooked, remove the garlic cloves from their skin and mash into the yogurt along with half the lemon zest and juice. Mix well and season with pepper to taste.
  • Plate up with all the elements, and finish with the remaining lemon zest and juice and a sprinkle of mint.
Roasted Smashed Potatoes with Broccoli and Beans

Per serving: 350kcal/ 11g fat/ 2.5g saturated fat/ 38g carbohydrates/ 12g fibre/ 18g protein

Smoked Mackerel Potato Salad

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Smoked Mackerel Potato Salad

This potato salad is for all those mayonnaise haters out there! I’m using lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and Dijon mustard as the base of the sauce, and keeping it light by using a load of chopped herbs, capers and gherkins.

Cooking and cooling potatoes allows for the starch to retrograde into something called resistant starch. Our bodies are not able to digest this type of starch, but instead, it helps to feed the microbiota living inside your digestive tract.

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

  • 500g new potatoes
  • 200g asparagus, trimmed and cut into short lengths
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of Dijon mustard
  • 40g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 20g dill, finely chopped
  • 20g chives, finely chopped
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of capers, drained and roughly chopped
  • 2-3 gherkins, chopped
  • 1 packet smoked mackerel, skin removed and roughly flaked

Method

  • Boil the potatoes for around 15 minutes untill cooked through, adding the asparagus in for the last minute of cooking.
  • Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing the lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, herbs, capers and gherkins together.
  • Drain the potatoes and asparagus and add to the sauce, mixing while hot.
  • Serve with flaked smoked mackerel over the top.
Smoked Mackerel Potato Salad
Smoked Mackerel Potato Salad