In the GI News Kitchen

Family Baking, Anneka Manning, author of Bake Eat Love. Learn to Bake in 3 Simple Steps and founder of Sydney’s BakeClub, shares her delicious ‘better-for-you’ recipes for snacks, desserts and treats the whole family will love. Through both her writing and cooking school, Anneka teaches home cooks to bake in practical and approachable yet inspiring ways that assure success in the kitchen. She is running her popular Healthy Kids’ Lunch Box class on February 3 in Sydney. Just click the link to sign up.

 
Nectarine and raspberry crumble 
This summery fruit crumble plays on the heavenly aroma and flavour of ripe nectarines alongside the refreshing tang of juicy raspberries, all topped off with a deliciously nutty crumble mix. Remember, the tablespoon I use is the 20ml Australian tablespoon (equals 4 teaspoons). Serves: 8

800g (just under 2lb) ripe, white nectarines, cut into eighths
300g/10oz frozen raspberries
1 tbsp honey

Crumble topping 
½ cup rolled oats
¼ cup (lightly packed) brown sugar
2 tbsp LSA (ground linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
½ tsp ground ginger
40g/1½ oz butter or margarine cut into 1cm/½in pieces
¼ cup natural almonds, coarsely chopped

Honey yoghurt 
1 cup reduced fat Greek-style yoghurt, to serve
1 tbsp honey

Photo: Georgie Esdaile

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350F. Line an oven tray with non-stick baking paper.
To make the crumble topping, place oats, sugar, LSA, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and ground ginger in a bowl, mix to combine. Add the margarine and use your fingertips to rub in until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the almonds.
Place the nectarines and raspberries in a bowl, drizzle with the honey and mix gently to combine. Divide the fruit among eight ¾ cup ramekins or ovenproof dishes and place on the oven tray. Sprinkle each evenly with the Crumble Topping.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the crumble is crisp and golden and the fruit is tender when tested with a skewer. Meanwhile …
To make the honey yoghurt, combine the yoghurt and honey in a small bowl and stir until evenly combined. Serve with the crumble.

Baker’s tips

• Store any leftover crumble in the ramekins covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
• Serve cold or reheat in an oven preheated to 180C/350f for 10-15 minutes. 
• This crumble can also be baked in a 2-litre (8-cup) ovenproof dish at 180C/350F for 30-35 minutes. 

Baking tins
You may have noticed that traditional enamel bakeware is making a comeback. Available in a variety of sizes I find it is perfect for making crumbles, vegetable bakes and roasts or even to serve from – salads in particular. If you love the dish I have used here, the brand is Wiltshire and it is available in Australia through Woolworths and David Jones. There are various sizes. I used the individual dishes for the crumble.

Per serve 
1075 kJ/ 255 calories; 6 g protein; 12 g fat (includes 3.3 g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.28); 28 g available carbs; 6 g fibre

American dietitian and author of Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Johanna Burani, shares favourite recipes with a low or moderate GI from her Italian kitchen. For more information, check out Johanna’s website. The photographs are by Sergio Burani. His food, travel and wine photography website is photosbysergio.com.

Baked winter pears with fresh grape juice sauce 
Here is a wholesome, no-sugar-added, naturally sweet dessert coming to you from Mother Nature herself while on one of her trips to Italy! Serves 6 (a pear per person)

Grape sauce 
4 lb (1.8 kg) red or black grapes with or without seeds
1 cup red wine such as Cabernet, Merlot, etc.

Baked pears
6 large, firm pears (Bosc), halved, peeled and cored
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

To make the grape sauce Remove the stems from the grapes, wash and pat dry. Add the grapes in batches to a food processor and finely chop • Place the chopped grapes in a container with a lid and refrigerate for 2–3 days • Strain the grapes through a sieve into a large pot – be sure to press out as much liquid as possible and to scrape off the pulp from the bottom of the sieve and add to the liquid • Cook the grape juice, uncovered, over medium-high heat for approximately 30 minutes. The liquid should reduce down to about ¾ cup. • Add the wine and boil for 1–2 minutes. Set aside.

To make the baked pearsPreheat the oven to 375F (190C) • Place pear halves, cut side down in an 11-inch (20cm) round baking dish. Sprinkle the cardamom on the pear tops • Bake until a knife easily pierces through, approximately 40–60 minutes (depending on ripeness). Baste 3–4 times with the grape sauce. When the pears are done, remove from the oven.

To serveThere are two serving options with this dessert • You can simply pour the grape sauce and pan juices into a gravy boat and serve with the warm (or room temperature) pears • Alternatively, you can transfer the grape syrup and pan juices into a small saucepan and rapidly boil it down until it thickens and starts to caramelize (3–5 minutes). Quickly pour the reduction over the pears, forming a type of glaze.

Per serve 
1000kJ/240 calories; 2g protein; 2g fat (includes 0g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0);  49g available carbs; 7g fibre

Vino cotto 
If you slowly reduce unfermented grape juice, you end up with a velvety, sweet condiment that compliments desserts and savory dishes. If you don’t have time to make your own, look for vino cotto in larger supermarkets and gourmet stores. It tends to be an artisanal product, but more brands are appearing on the shelves. We tried Il Baronello (with quince) drizzled over plain yoghurt, and also in a rocket, pear, walnut and parmesan salad. Angela Galtieri, whose family who started Il Baronello, says: ‘Encouraged by interest from adventurous home cooks, we began producing vino cotto. We had also noticed that older generations of Italians no longer made their own (it’s very hard work), and preferred to buy it when they needed it for their traditional sweets.’ Vino cotto itself has not been GI tested, but Chateau Barossa grape syrup (essentially the same thing) has a GI of 52. Make sure the ingredient list simply says ‘100% grape must’ plus any other additional fruit flavouring.

Summer barbecue for easy meals and entertaining 
Barbecued prawns with avocado and mango salsa
Here at GI News, we always enjoy Luke Mangan’s recipes, and have published several over the years as he has lovely ideas for using low GI ingredients like lentils and corn. This recipe is from his new book, Salt Grill: Fine dining for the whole family (Murdoch Books). With mangoes in season here in Australia, we couldn’t resist. Serves 4.

16 fresh king prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined, tails left intact
A little extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
¼ iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
Vietnamese mint leaves, to garnish

Mango salsa 
2 small ripe mangoes
¼ red onion, very finely diced
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp roughly chopped Vietnamese mint
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
1½ tbsp chardonnay vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Peel the mangoes, then cut off the cheeks and as much flesh off the stones as possible. Dice the mango flesh and place in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining salsa ingredients, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix lightly.
Place the prawns on a tray. Season and drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat the prawns. Place the prawns on a hot barbecue or frying pan and cook for 2 minutes on one side. Turn the prawns over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove and rest on a plate for another 2 minutes.
Add the lettuce to the mango salsa and place on a platter. Scatter the prawns and avocado on top. Garnish with Vietnamese mint.

Per serve
925 kJ/220 calories; 17.5 g protein; 10 g fat (includes 2 g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.2); g available carbs; g fibre

Produce pic

Pic Ian Hoffstetter, The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook (Hachette Australia)
In now Peaches
What’s in them? Delicious, chin-dripping-juicy peaches (GI 42) are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and fibre.
What to make? Poach in a light syrup or wine (or champagne) with a vanilla pod and serve with Greek yogurt; or halve (remove stone), fill with a nutty crumble, and grill. Check out the summery fruit desserts in The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook (in bookshops and online) including Poached peaches with vanilla yogurt and marinated raspberries and Ameretti-baked nectarines.