Rose & Lavender Honey Cordial

by Rosie Guest,

Michael from The Herball has shared his summer cordial recipe with Radiance. This light and bright blend is bound to freshen up you day and keep you cool. 

8x Fresh red rose heads

5x Fresh lavender flower spikes

20ml Rosa damascena aromatic water

500ml Light local honey

200ml Filtered water

You can use any unsprayed fresh rose but if you have access to fresh Rosa damascena then use this. Adding a little Rosa damascena aromatic water helps to intensify and brighten the flavour. It's best to pick the whole flower head because this helps with retaining the aromatics of the plant.

Place 7-8 freshly picked roses (save 1-2 flowers heads for next step) and the fresh lavender in a pan with 500ml of light local honey and 200ml of filtered water. Gently heat whilst stirring, be careful not to boil. Place the lid on the pan until it just starts to simmer (roughly around 6mins), turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool with the lid on for at least an hour. Once cool, strain off, stir in the aromatic water and decant into kilner jar over 1-2 fresh roses. Close the lid and macerate overnight, this adds a further fresh, fragrant dimension to the cordial.

The cordial will keep for around 14 days but must be kept airtight. The cordial is best served over ice with sparkling water, a squeeze of fresh lemon and a rose petal garnish. 

 


Radiance loves... Piña Colada Smoothies by the Hemsley Sisters

by Rosie Guest, , link

Here's a recipe to spruce up your weekend! We at Radiance can't get enough of this summery smoothie.

Piña Colada Smoothie

Ingredients - serves 2 (350ml each)

½ large pineapple, peeled and cut into blendable chunks

about 300g or 200ml full-fat coconut milk

½ large avocado, peeled, about 100g

 1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp ground turmeric

Optional

1½ tsp baobab powder

1½ tsp raw honey

1 egg yolk

coconut water, to replace the water if preferred

We love this for breakfast. Sunshine in a glass, this is an enzyme-rich meal thanks to papaya, and it is full of vitamin C. The delicious piña colada flavours of coconut and pineapple envelop the anti-inflammatory turmeric, so you don’t have to rely on curries to enjoy this spice.

Add a raw egg yolk if you need more oomph and a little honey if you have a sweet tooth. Full of antioxidants, baobab powder is also a great addition, adding a delicate sherbert flavour. Grate a little fresh nutmeg over for a true piña colada taste!

1. Blend everything together with 150 ml water or coconut water until smooth, adding more liquid if necessary.

2. Drink immediately or pour into a glass jar or stainless steel flask and keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

Source: The Art Of Eating Well by Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley (Ebury Press, £25) Photography by Nick Hopper ©Ebury Press.


Radiance loves... Flower Power Pizza by the Hemsley Sisters

by Rosie Guest, , link

The Hemsley Sisters have spruced up your average pizza and given us a healthy alternative. The light healthy cauliflower base is the perfect summer option!

This is not quite as simple as our Socca Pizza, but no pancake skills are required for this. We sneak some cauliflower (the flower!) into the pizza base and then use protein-rich ingredients like almonds, egg white and buckwheat – that’s the power part.

If you plan to cover your pizza with lots of protein in the form of meat, we recommend using more ground almonds rather than buckwheat flour for better food combining. 

Double the recipe to make two pizzas, then you can freeze one of the pizza bases or freeze a constructed pizza ready to pop in the oven later that week. Stick the leftover egg yolk in a smoothie, bake it on top of your pizza or make a mayo or tartare sauce.

Ingredients - 1 pizza

For the tomato sauce (make this up in advance or use passata if you're in a rush)

3 garlic cloves, or diced

1 tbsp ghee

12 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 tsp dried oregano or 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves

sea salt and black pepper

1 fresh or dried chilli, finely sliced or chopped (optional)

For the pizza base

140g cauliflower (about ¼ of a head without the stalk)

1 egg white, beaten

50g ground almonds

40g buckwheat flour

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1. Preheat the oven to fan 190°C/Gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lightly grease with butter, ghee or coconut oil.

2. Make the tomato sauce: gently heat the ghee in a pan over a medium heat and fry the garlic for 1 minute, then add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper and a little chilli, if you like.

3. Cook the tomatoes down to a thick sauce over a medium heat, lid off, which will take about 15 minutes, then mash the tomatoes with your spatula or blend to a paste if you like things less rustic.

4. While the sauce is cooking, grate the cauliflower into rice-sized pieces using a hand grater or food processor.

5. Put all of the pizza base ingredients into a bowl and mix well with a spoon, or add to the food processor and blend, to form a sticky dough.

6. Spread the dough out with the back of the spoon on the prepared tray, shaping it into a 30 cm-diameter.

7. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, flipping it over after 15 minutes to cook the underside.

8. Choose your pizza topping and cook as instrusted.

9 Serve the pizza with a big green salad and drizzle over some Brazil Nut Pesto if you like.

For a parma ham and rocket topping spread the tomato sauce over the base of the pizza with the back of a spoon. If you’ve made the sauce in advance and it’s cold, rebake the tomato-topped pizza for 5 minutes before adding your toppings. Top with 4 slices of Parma ham torn into small pieces, 2 handfuls of rocket and some Parmesan shavings. Add chilli flakes if you like.

For a tomato and mozzarella topping pull apart 1 medium mozzarella ball into small pieces and arrange over the base of the pizza. Slice 2 handfuls of fresh tomatoes into 1 cm-thick slices (a mixture of colours looks good) and arrange over the pizza. Add chilli flakes, if desired. Bake for 10 –15 minutes until the mozzarella is melted and bubbling.

Source: The Art Of Eating Well by Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley (Ebury Press, £25) Photography by Nick Hopper ©Ebury Press.



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