These broccoli, spinach & apple muffins are speedy and packed with your five-a-day.
Here, apple is added for a touch of sweetness, as well as honey and Dijon mustard for a delicious flavour twist
Ingredients
For the vegetable filling:
• 1/2 leek
• 1/2 broccoli
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme or oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cooking apple, cored and cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1 large handful spinach, roughly chopped
For the dry ingredients:
• 160g buckwheat flour
• 100g rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
For the wet ingredients:
• 3 free-range eggs
• 160ml plain unsweetened yoghurt
• 120ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon good-quality honey
• 1 tablespoon wholegrain dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar
For the topping:
• pumpkin seeds
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, grease a large 12-hole muffin tin or two smaller 6-hole ones and line with parchment paper or paper cup liners. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin tin.
2 Wash and finely chop the leek, trim and finely chop the broccoli stalk and roughly chop the florets. Heat the oil for the filling in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the leek and broccoli stalk and sauté for 5 minutes.
3 Add the broccoli florets, along with the garlic, thyme and salt and pepper and sauté fora further 5 minutes.
4 Lastly, add the apple along with the spinach and sauté until the other vegetables have softened, the apple is tender and the spinach has wilted.
5 Stir occasionally, to prevent the vegetables and apple from burning. Remove from the heat and set aside while you prepare the dry ingredients.
6 Put all of the dry ingredients in a food processor and blend on a high speed until well combined and the oats resemble coarse flour.
7 Transfer to a large bowl, make a well in the centre and set aside while you prepare the wet ingredients.
8 Crack the eggs, add them to the food processor along with the rest of the wet ingredients and blend on a high speed until well combined.
9 Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and, using a spatula, start folding the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
10 Add the broccoli, spinach and apple filling and gently fold until just combined, making sure not to over-mix as this will make the muffins tough.
11 Divide the batter evenly between the cups of the muffin tin, sprinkle with some pumpkin seeds and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre of one of the muffins comes out clean.
12 Turn the tin around halfway through the cooking time to ensure that the muffins bake evenly.
13 Remove the muffins from the oven and set aside to cool slightly in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely or devouring them while still warm.
14 They can keep for a few days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They also freeze well.
Recipes courtesy of David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl Andersen.
Extracted from Green Kitchen At Home. © Hardie Grant
