We love turmeric at the The Honor Oak Wellness Rooms, on a holistic level it provides wonderful health benefits, and on a spice level, it provides a natural tasty glow to any recipes. It is as Ottolenghi puts it 'the unsung hero of the spice rack'.
Turmeric contains anti-inflammatory curcumin – a natural anti-inflammatory compound which can help relieve arthritis, improve chronic back pain, lower cholesterol… and the list goes on and on… the nutrient and health benefit CV of turmeric is never ending. This is why we love this superfood and encourage our patients to try and introduce it in their weekly diet.
Now you know why you should consume turmeric, the next question is how? Both raw and powder form (high quality and organic) turmeric is recommended. A tip would be to consume it in recipes which include black pepper, which contains piperine and fatty oils (coconut oil/ olive oil/etc), which will help enhance the absorption of the curcumin properties (1).
Our lovely yoga teacher Suzie from Life in Full colour and resident wellness rooms yoga brunch and supper club virtuoso have put together this wonderful recipe for you to try out. Her next event is on bank holiday Monday (30th May) where she will host a fun and detoxing yoga supper club, a great event to chase away those post bank holidays blues.
TURMERIC GLUTEN-FREE CHICKPEA WRAPS WITH MUSHROOMS + AVOCADO
WRAPS
2 heaped tablespoons chickpea flour (about 30g)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chia seeds
Pinch of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil
MUSHROOMS
1 handful mushrooms chopped or sliced
1 small clove garlic finely grated/minced
1 handful kale and/or spinach
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
1 handful almonds
1 handful pumpkin seeds
SMASHED AVOCADO
1/4 lime juice
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
Start off with the wrap, mix all of the ingredients and then leave to sit for 10 minutes or so, just to let the chickpea flour and the chia seeds absorb the liquid.
Whilst this is doing its thing, heat the coconut oil in a pan and once hot add the garlic, seeds and almonds and lightly toast for a minute. Then add the mushrooms and greens and some seasoning too. Cook until the greens have wilted and the mushrooms are starting to look a little golden then remove from the heat and set to one side.
Meanwhile, make your avocado smash just by mixing all of those ingredients together and leave to wait in the fridge.
Now back to the wraps. Heat some coconut oil in another large frying pan and give your mixture a really good stir to make sure there are no lumps. It should be a thick-ish consistency, so add water or more chickpea flour accordingly. Once the pan is hot pour a ladelful or a couple of big spoons of your wrap mixture into the pan and allow to fry until the top starts to look a like it's starting to cook through (usually about 3-4 minutes, depending how hot your pan is). Carefully get underneath the wrap with a spatula and flip it over, cooking on the other side until golden on both sides and starting to go little crispy around the edges. Repeat until you've used up all of your mixture.
Once your wraps are ready pop them on a plate and the quickly re-heat the mushrooms and greens and then spoon over the wraps, adding a lovely big delicious dollop of avocado to the plate too.
You can either go for it with your hands, rolling everything up inside your nutritious wraps and feasting messy style - or enjoy nice and delicately with a knife and fork. I know which technique I'm choosing.
If you need more turmeric recipe inspiration Ottolenghi did a fabulous turmeric inspired recipe post in the Guardian recently. Find the recipes here.