Tag Archives: food

Grilled Courgettes with Pomegranate and Pesto

Courgette, pomegranate and pine nut salad Middle Eastern food is a real treasure trove of gluten and dairy free recipes, with delicious flavours. We love exploring Lebanese and Morrocon cuisines in particular, and this is inspired by the tastes of the region.

Ingredients

  • 2 large courgettes, sliced
  • Za’atar powder
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Pomegranate seeds
  • Toasted pine nuts
  • Coconut oil for frying
  • Olive oil
  • Sumac powder (for garnishing)

For the pesto

  • Large handful of mint
  • Large handful of basil
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • Handful of toasted pine nuts
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil

Directions

  1. Combine all of the pesto ingredients in a blender and blend well until a smooth but thick consistency.
  2. Brush the courgettes with a little coconut oil and sprinkle with a generous amount of za’atar and black pepper. Grill on a hot grill pan until grill marks show up on both sides.
  3. When done arrange on a big plate, top with basil leaves and pomegranate seeds.
  4. Top with some of the pesto, and sprinkle with a little olive oil and a little sumac powder to garnish.

About Za’atar Za’atar is the generic name for the herbs oregano, thyme, and marjoram. As a spice mix it is usually based on these dried herbs, combined with sesame seeds, salt, and sometimes sumac and other spices. Used widely in Arab cuisine, both the herb and spice mixture are popular throughout the Middle East.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: The Belt – In the Valley Below

 

 

The Whole Food Philosophy

Over the last year, we have both experienced a positive influence from changing our lives, and taking control of our own health journey. We want to do everything we can to improve our well-being, and that means eating better, exercising more, and lowering our stress levels.

We have decided to go on a journey where we eat consciously and are mindful about how we use the earth’s precious resources. To go on a journey where we eat whole, nutrient dense foods, and where we avoid processed foods and sugars.

So let’s get the freaky stuff out of the way
Do we believe that our ancestors ate according to the Modern Paleo diet? No, not really. But they probably ate a diet that was focused on meat and vegetables, and that did not have processed food or refined sugars.

Do we believe that eating a certain kind of food will decrease the chances of Alzheimer’s by say 75% or that drinking a few litres of carrot juice a day will cure you from cancer? No. We are just as confused as you are by all the claims that we see when we are reading about food.

These days there are so many experts, guru’s, diets and trends, that you can probably follow something or somebody new every week for a whole year. What they want you to believe might be true, or it might not be. Most of the time, we just don’t know. Most of what we think to know about food and diet is not always scientifically proven. And that can make things difficult, complicated or frustrating.

So what do we think?
Well, we think a lot, and sometimes maybe even a little too much.

We believe that a lot that is being claimed and written about food is not yet scientifically proven, so we won’t be making any claims. We recognize that people are different and what might work for us, might work in a slightly modified way for you. So we won’t be telling you what to do.

What we will be doing though is providing you with ideas and inspiration to take control of your own personal health journey, just like we are doing with ours.

What do we eat?
We eat a very low saturated fat diet, we eat as many vegetables as we can per day, and consciously choose meat and fish that comes from sustainable farming and where they are well looked after animals. Where possible, we try to eat local and organic.

But we don’t want to eat boring. We have lived around the world (in Amsterdam, New Delhi, Singapore and Auckland) and we love exploring the flavours of Europe and Asia. Our food is “East meets West”.

Let’s get cooking!
In the Whole Food section of Garlic and Lime you will find recipes to inspire you on your health journey. We will share our favourite creations, across Breakfast, Lunch, Light meals and snacks, Dinner, Condiments and Dips, Treats and Drinks.

You can get back to the recipes now!