Vegan coconut and blueberry puddings with lavender and nata de coco

 

 Ingredients: 

A cup of frozen blueberries 

a few cubes of nata de coco in syrup

lavender petals 

2 tbsp sugar

1x400ml can coconut cream +

same amount in boiling water to rinse the can

1 tsp agar agar

 

Place the blueberries and nata de coco in a bowl, add a few petals of lavender and let it defrost.

Place the coconut cream in a pot, fill the can with the same amount of boiling water to rinse it and add into the pot.  Add the sugar a tsp of agar agar and bring to the boil stirring constantly. When it boils add half of the blueberries (but not the nata de coco) and their juice. Fill 4 to 6 glasses and let it set. Then add the rest of the blueberries and nata de coco (it will have changed colour from translucent to purple) and decorate with lavender petals. refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Raw banana blossom and carrot salad

 

I usually just have the banana blossom 'heart' for salads, but this time I have included a few of the little flowers that are found under the Petals. Cut the banana blossom from the bunch of bananas (leave them on the tree if they are still green) and peel off the outer pink petals, collecting the little blossoms and dropping them in cold water and lemon juice (I added some to the sink). 

Prepare another bowl with water and lemon juice and cut the banana 'heart' into small slices, dropping them quickly into the lemon water so that they don't brown. If you want to add the flowers you will need to remove the style and stigma, and the papery outer part of the flower. This takes a long time and this is why I only do it for a few of the most tender flowers. The more central flowers, which are completely white (no pink) can be eaten whole.

Rinse well and drain, then place in a bowl and add lemon or lime juice, about 2 tbsp, soy sauce (tamari for gluten free), about 1 tbsp, and half a tsp of grated ginger. Press down with a plate or a second bowl and place a weigh on top (you can find an image in this recipe here). Leave overnight, or even a couple of days (like I did, it was perfectly fine!), then rinse under cold water, shake well and place in a clean bowl. Grate one large carrot and dress with lemon juice, salt and olive oil, then fold in the banana flowers. Mix well, taste for salt, and scoop into the banana petals for serving. I also decorated mine with Vietnamese mint flowers. 

It was very good, but next time, if I have the patience and time to clean all the little flowers, I'll tray to cook them. The 'heart' is definitely much nicer! 

 Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©