I have recently been asked by the author Juliet Greenwood to develop 21st century versions of a number of recipes from World War One and connect with the characters in her new book.
Juliet’s new book ‘We That are left’ is set in Cornwall, Anglesey and France during the First World War. It is the story of Elin, a lonely and frustrated young wife, who in 1914 is living a privileged, conventional existence on the Cornish coast. Like many women of the time, Elin finds herself taking her husband’s place running the family estate during the war, gaining new skills and confidence and a sense of purpose as she uses her passion for baking to make the most of the fruit and vegetables in Hiram Hall’s kitchen garden to help local families and a nearby hospital for the wounded. But the horrors are never far away, and when a friend is in danger, Elin sets out on a desperate rescue mission through war-torn France, braving mortar fire and enemy soldiers along the way. When the war is finally over, Elin finds herself expected to return to being a dutiful, self-effacing wife. But her experiences have changed Elin forever, and her own battle for happiness and self-fulfilment have just begun…
I decided to focus the initial developments on the recipe for Old Welsh Gingerbread. I injected it with alchemy and developed both a sweet and savoury version to tickle all taste buds.
Today I will focus on the savoury version and look out for the sweet version being posted over the next couple of days. I wanted to develop a recipe that would work as a bread with a spread or dip or it could be eaten on it’s own.
Here’s the result:
Recipe for gingerbread bites – Makes ten hearts
1 grated carrot
2 tsp veg stock
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
½ cup brown rice flower
½ cup buckwheat flour
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup of water
Put the oven on to preheat at gas mark 5.5 or 200 degrees centigrade.
Start by grating the carrot in large bowl and then add in all of the dry ingredients and stir it all together.
Then add in the lemon juice and water and stir it all together. Once all of the ingredients have started to combine dive in with your hands and squish and combine it all together. Keep doing this until it combines into dough like substance.
Now grease a baking tray with coconut oil. Separate the mixture into 10 balls, then take one ball at a time and place inside the heart shaped mould on the baking tray.
Then squish the mixture down so it reaches all parts of the mould. Gently pull the mould up from the mixture and go onto the next heart.
Place the hearts in the oven for about 20 minutes. Once they start to dry out on top, flip them over; this will probably be about half way through the cooking time.
Once they have cooked place on a wire rack to cool.
Plant Based Alchemy Tip: Enjoy the hearts warm and fresh from the oven with some homemade hummus. ..Pure Alchemy!