Recipes for Health

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Chinese medicine concepts of diet is based on a good balance of different foods, but when ill health takes place the concept is about eating the right food for the individual to obtain health. Like the saying ' let your food be your medicine, and your medicine your food'.

Here are some recipies that are listed under specific chinese patterns of disharmony that takes food energetics into account to maintain health. Although these recipies can be eaten by all, to get your body into balance your consultant will provide you with a TCM diagnosis and inform you of foods that will bring your body into balance.

Nourishing food during the winter months.

Artichoke and Bacon Soup

Ingredients:

4 Slices Bacon
2 Onions
6-8 jerusalem artichokes
2 large leeks
2 teaspoons olive oil
Small knob of butter
2 pints of water
1 teaspoon of bouillon or stock cube ( or make up your own stock)
2 medium size potatoes
Salt and Pepper

Method: Chop the inions, leeks , artichokes and bacon into small pieces. Gently fry the oinions in the olive oil and butter, adding the leeks bacon and the artichokes when the onions are softened and sweet. Stir for a while and allow then to sweat together. Add the water, bouillon and potatoes and cook gently for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. This can be eaten either at a chunky soup or liquidise but leave a few chuncky bits. Add seasoning to flavour.

Great food when the weather is cold and damp.

Pumpkin and Chesnut Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup of fresh or dried chestnuts, soaked
2 onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
I medium pumkin
2 pints vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves
1 bayleaf
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
splash of cider vinegar
Parsley to garnish
Pinch paprika

Method

Presoak the dried chestnuts overnight. Chop the onions roughly and fry in the olive oil until softened. Chop the pumkin, removing the skin and seeds and sweat with the onions stiring occasionally until softened. Add the vegetable stock, chestnuts, garlic, bayleaf and rosemary and simmer for 40 minutes.

Remove the bayleaf and rosemary sprig and liquidise adding a splash of cider vinegar and season well. Serve with the garnish and a spinkle of paprika.

Food when your feeling cold and tired.

Lemon Chicken Tagine

Ingredients

3 medium size onions
2 lemons
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cinnamon stick
Pinch saffron
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Handful of fresh corriander, chopped
8 pieces of chicken ( or whole and cut into 6-8 peices )
2-3 cups of water
Handful of raisins
Handful of olives
Salt and Pepper

Method

Slice the onions and lemons. Lay half of them in a tagine or oven proof dish and sit 4 of the chicken pieces on top. Sprinkle with the herbs and spices and raisins. Repeat this process to make a two layered dish. Add the water and seasoning. Cover the dish and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 - 2 hours at 375/ Gas Mark 5. Five minutes to the end of the cooking scatter the olives on top. Serve with couscous and finsh off with a sprinkle of corriander.

Normandy Fish Stew or 'Marmite Dieppoise'

Great when your work long days and nights.

Ingredients:

500g mussels, cleaned and debearded (discard any that don't close when tapped on the sink)

300ml cider or white wine
large knob of butter
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
100g baby button mushrooms halved
150ml crème fraîche
4 fillets skin-on sustainable white fish (plaice would be perfect)
small bunch flat-leaf parsley , chopped

Method

Place mussels and cider or wine in a wide, shallow pan. Cover and place on a high heat for 3-4 mins, shaking pan a few times until mussels have opened. Tip into a colander over a bowl to catch the juices. Discard any that have not opened.

Place the pan back on the heat with a large knob of butter. Sizzle the leeks for 8 mins until soft, then add the mushrooms. Add the mussel cooking liquid and crème fraîche and bubble down for 5 mins to reduce by half. Turn down the heat and add the fish. Cover and gently poach for 10 mins until cooked, then carefully lift out. Stir through the mussels and parsley and heat through.

If you want, place the fish back in the pan to serve from the table or place a piece of fish in each serving bowl and spoon everything else around it. Delicious served with boiled waxy potatoes, such as Pink Fir Apple.

Spanish Mackerel Warm Salad

When your feeling tired and limbs feel heavy, try this Mackeral dish to help eliminate that muzzy head feeling and general heaviness.

Ingredients

Aubergine halved lengthways and cut into strips
courgette, cut into strips lengthways
2 red peppers , cut into strips lengthways
2 large tomatoes , cut into quarters
extra-virgin olive oil
½ lime, juiced
50g rocket
4 smoked mackerel fillets, broken into large pieces

Method

Heat a griddle (chargrill). Brush the vegetables lightly with oil and grill for 2 minutes each side until tender (do the tomatoes last as they will stick a little).

Put the vegetables into a large bowl, season and toss with the lime juice, a little more olive oil and the rocket. Divide between four plates and serve with the smoked mackerel.

Lamb Shank Tagine

For those cold winter days to warm and keep the cold out.

Method

Brown 4 lamb shanks all over in a little oil. Put in a large casserole with the onions, crushed cloves of garlic, saffron, ground ginger, cumin and cinnamon stick. Add the halved dates, tin cherry tomatoes and enough chicken stock to barely cover. Cover and simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours until meat is tender.

Serve with couscous mixed with toasted chopped almonds, pistachios and parsley.