Pomegranate, apricot and coconut konnyaku jelly

My family celebrates Christmas with a vegan and gluten free meal – it’s getting better every year too, as we discover and perfect great recipes. We also come out of the meal feeling satisfied but not overly stuffed as can often occur with the usual celebration.

This year I took charge of dessert. I made a stupendously good, brandy-soaked traditional pudding and surprised everyone, including myself, with this beautiful layered konnyaku jelly.

When I first discovered konnyaku jelly it was a revelation – it was so firm I could pick it up with my fingers, and when I bit into it, the jelly was light, refreshingly sweet and actually crunchy! I’d never had jelly you could chew before but it was delicious.

Konnyaku comes from pounded roots of a yam-like plant called konjac, and has little flavour of its own so can be used as a base for all sorts of interesting savoury and sweet jellies. I found it at a local Asian grocery store.

Christmas was the first time I had made the jelly myself and it was so good it’s worth sharing.

Pomegranate, apricot and coconut konnyaku jelly

One packet Happy Grass konnyaku jelly powder

1 litre water, plus another 100ml water

A handful of pomegranate seeds
2 tbs rice malt syrup

1 can coconut cream

1 can apricot nectar

The seeds of a vanilla bean (optional)

Boil the water. Put the packet of jelly powder in a pot and pour in the water, whisking to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to a simmer for three minutes, continuing to stir. Turn off the flame and stir in the malic acid sachet that comes with the powder.

Add the vanilla bean seeds and rice malt syrup, stir to combine, then separate the jelly into three portions. To the first portion add another 100ml of boiling water, stir well and pour enough into a metal bundt cake mould to fill the first third of the mould. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds into it and set aside for 10 minutes. To the second portion add 150ml apricot nectar and heat gently, stirring, until the two liquids combine. Gently pour this layer over the first. To the third portion add 150 ml coconut cream, using the same approach, and add this layer to the mould. Refrigerate the jelly overnight to set fully.

To remove the jelly from the mould just push gently on each side of the jelly to release it, then flip the mould onto the plate and lift – the jelly should slide right out. I served it with extra pomegranate seeds.

I poured the excess jelly into small silicon chocolate moulds. These jellies could be pushed out of their moulds and eaten after just 10 minutes.

Strawberry, coconut and praline trifle

As a gardener, I eagerly anticipate every season: apricot season, broccoli season, broad bean season, asparagus season and – hooray – strawberry season. Right now is the best strawberry season I’ve ever had, and I can only put it down to the incredible rain we had over winter. And the fact I let the runners from all of last year’s strawberry plants grow into a bajillion new plants.

Strawberries are super easy to grow. You can always buy a plant at your local nursery but if you have a friendly gardener and a bit of patience, wait until the end of strawberry season when the plants put out runners. This means they literally grow another strawberry plant, which they plant nearby, all by themselves. 

Give the new plant time to grow some roots then cut the stem that’s connecting it to the mother plant and transplant that baby to a sunny new home in rich soil that’s full of compost. Mulch around the plant and under the leaves to stop mud splashing up and damaging the fruit. Water regularly until the plant settles in and again when it’s flowering. Ease up on the water when the flowers turn into fruit as too much water can spoil strawberries. Pick them when they reach the most beautiful deep red, but before the slaters get to them or they go mushy. 

Like most berries, strawberries taste best when eaten within about 15 seconds of picking – the supermarket versions can’t even hope to compete. If you have too many to eat fresh, you can simply freeze them and use them in smoothies, or you can try this delicious strawberry, coconut and praline trifle. The brandy strawberries can be used within two days but will last much, much longer if you can hold out that long. If you’re not a fan of brandy, try white rum, vodka or even balsamic vinegar, or simply roughly chop fresh strawberries, add some finely chopped mint or basil, and use that as the berry layer. 

For the praline, I’ve used I Quit Sugar’s method but substituted the nuts for buckwheat, almonds and sunflower seeds – feel free to use which ever nuts or seeds you have available.

Strawberry, coconut and praline trifle

1 cup of strawberries

½ cup of brandy (see above note on alternatives)

1 can Ayam coconut cream

½ cup rice malt syrup

½ cup almonds

¼ cup buckwheat

¼ cup sunflower seeds

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp cinnamon

The zest of half an orange

Dark chocolate

3-7 days out

If using the alcohol/balsamic vinegar option, halve or roughly chop a cup of strawberries and loosely pack into a clean jar. Add brandy (or your preferred liquid) until the jar is approximately two thirds full of the liquid. Screw on the lid and stick the jar somewhere out of direct sunlight for at least a few days.

24 hours out

Refrigerate a can of good quality, pure (no guar gum) coconut cream – you need to do this at least several hours in advance.

On the day

To make the praline, preheat your oven’s grill to high. Gently warm the rice malt syrup in a small saucepan on the stove, stir through the nuts and seeds, pour onto a lined tray and stick under the grill for five minutes until the syrup is golden and bubbly (don’t let it or the nuts burn). Cool completely then pulse in a food processor or roughly chop. If making early, store in an airtight container.

Building your trifle

To make the whipped coconut cream, get the can from the fridge, open, and scoop out the cream, leaving behind any liquid left in the bottom. Don’t shake the can at all to ensure the cream and the liquid stay separate. Put the cream in a bowl with a drizzle of vanilla essence and a shake of cinnamon, and whip gently until smooth. 

In two small glasses, add a layer of strawberries and their brandy, a layer of coconut cream, a layer of praline, some finely grated chocolate and orange zest, a layer of coconut cream, a layer of strawberries and their brandy, and top with the praline, chocolate and zest. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve later.

How to create the perfect salad

I love a good salad as much as the next person – and by good salad I don’t mean one of the pre-packaged lettuce, tomato, cucumber and grated carrot variety.

A wonderful part of growing your own veg and eating with the seasons is that you can make a salad out of just about anything edible in the garden. For example, thanks to all the rain, my broccoli plants are super leafy monsters. These leaves are just as edible as the florets, so it seems almost criminal to waste them. There’s also chickweed wandering amongst the garlic, flowers galore on the borage, broccoli and Asian greens, and even a couple of dandelions worth picking. Growing wild beside the path are a couple of huge ancient carrots – way past eating but their ferny leaves aren’t.

For me, there are four elements to a seriously good salad:

Super fresh greens (or purples) – think lettuce, silverbeet, Asian greens, cabbage, purple cabbage, beetroot leaves, cucumber, parsley, celery, fennel or coriander

Protein and good fats – nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil – this balances the “greener” flavours and the fat increases absorption of vitamin K from the greens

Sweetness – try carrot, capsicum, apple, pear, grapes, tomatoes, strawberries, goji berries or roasted pumpkin

Acidity –a good dressing or vinegarette – it’s dead easy to make your own by combining olive oil and apple cider vinegar, like I have in the recipe below.

A great salad is just a matter of balancing the strong with the mild, mixing up the flavours and textures. Making it pretty and colourful honestly makes it taste better because of the messages good looking food sends to the brain, and all that colour also ensures you’re getting a wide variety of nutrients.

Use just a small amount of the bitter herbs and vegies like the dandelion, and finely shred the more robust leaves like the silverbeet. Include a good handful of nuts and seeds, and diced or sliced fruit. Smooth out the flavours with a good fat like avocado or olive oil, and a good dose of a decent vinegar for acidity.

Chickweed with dandelion flowers, carrot tops, borage flowers, broccoli and silverbeet

The below ingredients are simply what I had available in my community garden plot and in the pantry – substitute whatever you have handy in your garden or can pick up at the shops or the local farmers markets. Vegies that are freshly picked and in season are always best. If you want to save money but buy organic, I find my local farmers markets sell organic fruit and veg at half the price of the supermarkets.

I'd love to hear from you - what's your perfect salad combination?

My perfect salad with Spring flowers

Silverbeet (rainbow chard)

Broccoli leaves, florets and flowers

Tatsoi leaves and flowers

Borage flowers

Pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Chickweed

Leafy carrot tops

Goji berries

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar.

Put the oil and vinegar in a small jar, screw the lid on and shake well to create a vinaigrette. Finely chop the greens, add the vinaigrette and toss to coat – feel free to massage in the dressing using your hands to help tenderise the greens. Add the nuts, seeds and fruit and toss again. Decorate with the flowers and serve immediately. Really easy, really good.