Easy to make hazelnut milk and instant vegan Nutella

Now that I have a nutribullet I am trying all sort of experiments, and this is my first nut milk.

I used toasted hazelnut, but I guess that if you are into raw food you can use raw hazelnuts. I like toasted hazelnuts though, and a rinsed mine with water to remove as much as i could of the brown skin.

Then I added a bit of water, about twice the amount of the nuts. A quick blend and here is the result!

I passed the milk through a sieve, it tasted great but a bit grainy, so I passed it again using a fine cotton cloth (a clean handkerchief would work).

The ring from the nutribullet jag is ideal to keep the cotton in place while the milk is filtering though!

I got one glass, but where is the photo? Ops, Arantxa drunk it all at once! Max and I just had a taste. The hazelnut taste was great! Plus there was quite a bit of hazelnut paste left over. 

Instant Vegan Nutella

Place the hazelnut paste in a bowl or jug with a few block of dark chocolate, place into a saucepan with some water and bring to the boil to melt the chocolate. Stir. Done.

The resulting chocolate spread has a lovely gianduia flavour (cocoa and hazelnut) but it definitely feels low fat, and it is not too sweet either. Really lovely, and so easy to make!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Asparagus, spinach and onion weed soup

This soup is vegan and gluten free, and makes use of those onion weeds that grow everywhere in Auckland in spring. Forage the onion weeds from a safe and clean place and wash well. The bulbs are fat and delicious just like spring onions (plus they are free!) and you can also eat the stems, leaves and flowers. 

Chop the bulbs, stalks and leaves of a bunch of onion weed and one bunch of asparagus, sauté with a drop of olive oil until fragrant, then add 1 l of vegetable stock and one big potato, peeled and finely sliced. Simmer until the potato is mushy and then add one cup of baby spinach leaves. Blend with an immersion blender and bring back to the boil for one minute. Adjust with salt and pepper and serve, decorated with onion weed flowers.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©