We love Louisa’s innovative approach to spice up even the simplest dish.
Try it on eggs, soups, salads, yogurt, ice cream, even porridge…. go crazy with your crumbs!
BASIC ROASTED NUTS AND SEEDS
● Roast a large tray of mixed nuts and seeds at 180C (fan) for 10 minutes, checking and tossing a couple of times (remove as soon as they start to look golden and smell appealing). I like a simple mixture of cashews, almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds but any whole raw nuts and seeds will do.
● Split the nut and seed mix and use one half for your sweet recipe and the other for your savoury recipe.
VANILLA NUT AND SEED CRUMB WITH MACA AND ACAI
● In a mini food processor place your roasted nut and seed mix with a pinch of salt, a teaspoon or so of the following; coconut sugar, vanilla powder, maca root powder, freeze dried acai powder, ground cinnamon (the vanilla helps with the feeling of ‘sweetness’ and cinnamon helps regulate your blood sugar)
● Pulse in short bursts watching carefully to make sure you get a nice uneven rubbly texture (this has the most flavour and interest as well as being a pleasing texture).
● You can also use a ninja or nutribullet but as they are super powerful be really careful when pulsing as it can easily turn to a powder!
● Once you are happy with your rubble, taste and adjust the flavours to your liking – sharpness from the acai, sweetness from the coconut sugar, maltiness from the maca.
● Then to up the nutrition content I like to add a few more small seeds like hulled hemp and toasted black and white sesame seeds, as well as a couple of teaspoons of bee pollen. These also add to the wonderful texture of the crumb.
● Store in an airtight jar and pull out anytime you want to elevant a bowl of porridge, top a bircher, sprinkle over yogurt, icecream, fresh fruit (great in a crumble topping too!).
● Will last for a couple of months in your store cupboard if required.
SPICED NUT AND SEED CRUMB WITH REISHI AND SEAWEED
● In a mini food processor place your roasted nut and seed mix with a good pinch of salt, a grind of black pepper and a half teaspoon or so of the following; toasted cumin and coriander seeds, Aleppo chilli flakes, dried nori or other seaweed sheets, dried maca powder, dried medicinal mushroom powder (mine included reishi, maitake and shitake – go easy as they can be bitter).
● Pulse in short bursts watching carefully to make sure you get a nice uneven rubbly texture (this has the most flavour and interest as well as being a pleasing texture).
● You can also use a ninja or nutribullet but as they are super powerful be really careful when pulsing as it can easily turn to a powder!
● Once you are happy with your rubble, taste and adjust the flavours to your liking – this wants to have a lovely satisfying saltiness and a little heat from the chilli to bring out the other flavours.
● Store in an airtight jar and pull out anytime you want to elevant a savoury dish.
● Will last for a couple of months in your store cupboard if required.