The Happy Pear A sweet & spice combo for indulgent winter nights

POSITIVE FOOD nourish

yourself

WINTER INDULGENCE, DONE RIGHT.

by David and Stephen Flynn

At this time of year, comfort is key. The food you eat should nourish you, body, mind and soul. This winning winter pair is sure to light you up during the darkening days.

Ingredients 350g soaked cashews (250g before soaking) 100g coconut oil 50ml maple syrup 40ml coffee – to add another flavour dimension, use cold earl grey tea or mint tea if preferred 30ml water 150g dark choc – min. 54% cacao solids with no dairy 1 tbsp vanilla

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE

This is a lovely healthy take on a classic chocolate ganache cake. It’s rich, it’s indulgent and it’s absolutely amazing!

Refrigeration time: 3 hours Serves: 12

Ingredients for the top layer

150 g dark choc for the top 1 tbsp coconut oil Method 1 Ideally, soak the cashew nuts overnight. If you don’t have time, just fill and boil the kettle and soak in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse them. 2 Melt 150g of chocolate and 100g of coconut oil, until both are runny. In a food processor, add all the ingredients for the ganache and blend on high speed for 5 minutes, until the texture is wonderfully smooth and delicious. 3 Line an 8 inch springform tin with baking parchment.

Scoop and spread this ganache filling in the pre-lined tin and spread out evenly. Put in the fridge to set for 3 hours. 4 Remove from the fridge. Using a pallet knife or butter knife, carefully cut around the cake in the springform tin. Remove the sides of the springform tin. 5 Chop 150g of dark chocolate (for the topping) into small even pieces. 6 Boil the kettle, fill a small pot (1/3 full) with boiling water, and put on medium heat. Put 100g of the chopped dark choc and 1 tbsp of coconut oil into a bowl that allows heat to transfer, such as a metal or glass bowl. Allow the mixture to melt. 7 Once it is all melted, remove from the heat and add in the remaining 50g of chopped chocolate slowly at a time. Mix until all is melted. This will ensure that your melted chocolate is thick enough that – when added to the firm ganache cake – it will weep down the sides, giving you a beautiful look. The addition of the coconut oil ensures that the chocolate will be easy to slice through, and won’t snap. 8 Pour the melted chocolate slowly and gently on top of the ganache cake. Gently spread it around, ensuring that some parts dip over the edge to give the appearance of chocolate weeping down the sides. 9 Decorate the top with any extra ingredients you like: chopped pistachio, raspberry, rose petals, etc. 10 Best served in small slices, as it’s so rich, and kept in the fridge, so it holds its form. Enjoy!

Chana masala is a delicious snack and street food from Northern India, and often comes with flatbreads. In our version, we serve it with a dosa, which is a beautiful light pancake: traditionally made by soaking and lightly fermenting rice, then blending it into a batter. We have taken the liberty of making a simple gram flour version of a dosa so it is quicker and easier to make and gluten free and just as tasty!

Serves: 3-4 Takes: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 x 400g tin chickpeas 2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1 large or 2 small red onions 2 large or 3 medium cloves garlic ½ thumb size piece of ginger 1.5 tbsp oil 1 tbsp garam masala 1 tsp chilli powder 1 tbsp ground cumin 1 tbsp ground coriander 1 tsp turmeric ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt 50g Fresh spinach Small bunch fresh coriander (approx. 15g)

Dosa: 4-6 pancakes 100g Chickpea flour 200ml oat milk or water 1 tbsp sunflower oil ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground coriander ½ tsp garlic powder ½ tsp salt Method: 1 Peel and roughly chop the onion. Peel and finely chop the ginger and garlic cloves. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks. Measure out your spices. 2 In a large flat non-stick pan, heat 1.5 tbsp of oil over a high heat.

When hot, add the onions and cook for 3 minutes until they start to brown, stirring occasionally. 3 Reduce the heat to medium and add the ginger, garlic and coriander stalks. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring so the garlic does not burn. Add all the spices, mix well and cook for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and 1 tsp of salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Transfer carefully to a food processor and blend until smooth. 4 Add back into the pan, along with the drained chickpeas, and heat for 1-2 minutes. 5 To finish, add the spinach and mix through until it wilts. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking by adding more salt, pepper, lime or chilli. 6 Add the fresh chopped coriander and set aside while you make your dosa.

To make your dosa

1 Sieve the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add in the spice and mix.

Make a well in the middle and add in the milk. Use a whisk and mix well, so there are no lumps. 2 Add ½ tsp of neutral tasting oil to a medium to large (30cm) non-stick pan and wipe lightly with kitchen paper to remove any excess oil. Put on a high heat. 3 When hot, reduce to a medium heat. Use a ladle or large serving spoon to add approx 60ml, or roughly a quarter of the batter, to the pan. 4 Using the base of the ladle, spread the batter quickly and lightly around the pan to nearly cover it and make a thin pancake. Cook for 2 minutes per side, using a spatula (we like to use a silicon one) to release and turn your pancake. 5 Repeat until you have four bigger or six smaller pancakes – you can keep warm in a preheated 100º oven if needed. 6 Heat up the channa masala, serve with the dosa and enjoy! thehappypear.ie

“This winning winter pair is sure to light you up during the darkening days.” 41

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Increases blood oxygen levels delivering more energy to your cells

Therapeutic water with natural gold and silver colloids

Excellent antioxidant

Exceptional anti-aging and regenerating properties

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Denis Healy ORGANIC DELIGHTS

Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow

You can find our products and produce not readily available, from other parts of Europe at the following locations: Fridays Loughlinstown, Whelehans Wine Shop Market

Saturdays Market near Red Stables, St Anne’s Park, Raheny Temple Bar, Curved Street

Sundays Ballsbridge. Herbert Park Market Dun Laoghaire Market, People’s Park Certified organic produce from our farm in Talbotstown Wicklow, since 1983. We also supply a selection of produce from local Irish growers.