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.

 
 
Whole Orange and Walnut Cake. 
A simple, no fuss recipe made in the food processor and a perfect Mother’s Day treat. Walnuts, wholemeal flour, olive oil and a whole orange all add to the goodness of this cake. It is best to use a thin-skinned navel orange that is around in winter and spring, as it has no seeds and very little bitter pith.

• Serves 10 
• Preparation time: 15 minutes 
• Baking time: 30–35 minutes 

1 orange, quartered, core and seeds removed
1 cup raw caster sugar
100ml (3½fl.oz.) olive oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup wholemeal (wholewheat) plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
100g (3½oz) walnuts, toasted and ground
icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 20cm/8in round cake tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper.
Place the whole orange, sugar, olive oil and eggs in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the orange is finely chopped. Add the flour, baking powder and ground walnuts and process until just combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
Serve dusted with icing sugar if you wish. This cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days

Per serve
1245 kJ/ 297 calories; 5 g protein; 17 g fat (includes 2 g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.13); 31 g available carbs (includes 22 g sugars and 9 g starch); 2.5 g fibre

Meal planning made easy with Taste Planner. 
Taste Planner provides personalised meal plans you can access on your mobile (cell), laptop, desktop or tablet. To date, Diabetes Australia has partnered with Taste Planner to give users access to over 550 diabetes-friendly recipes. Subscribers also get access to 25 other dietary and allergy filters including gluten-free and heart-healthy that can be used to build a meal plan from the 27,000 recipes they have available. They are offering GI News readers a 28-day free trial of Taste Planner plus 24 weeks with 50% off. This means that after your free trial subscription period, you would pay $3.98 every 28 days for personalised meal plans that come with nutritional information and a shopping list. Simply enter coupon code GINEWS on the payment details page to redeem your 50% discount. Get a taste of Taste Planner with Chrissy Freer’s Salmon with White Bean Mash. 

Chrissy Freer’s Salmon with White Bean Mash.
This delicious meal will be on the table in 25 minutes. It’s rich in the good omega-3 fats and cholesterol-fighting legumes. Recipe and photo courtesy www.taste.com.au. Serves 4.

1 tbsp (20ml) olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
2 x 400g (14oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
1 tbsp (20ml) fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh continental parsley leaves
1 small red onion, halved, thinly sliced
1 tbsp (20ml) baby capers, rinsed, drained
 olive oil spray
 4 (about 125g/4oz each) skinless salmon fillets
steamed green round beans, to serve

Photo: Steve Brown

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, cumin and lemon rind and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Add the cannellini beans and lemon juice, and cook for 2 minutes. Use a fork to coarsely crush. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
Combine the parsley, onion and capers in a small bowl.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Spray with oil. Cook the salmon for 3-4 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking.
Divide the bean mixture among serving plates. Top with the salmon and the parsley mixture. Serve with green beans.

Per serve 
1863kJ/ 443 calories; 40g protein; 19g fat (includes 4g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.27); 27g available carbs; 9g fibre

Local Is Lovely. 
Sophie Hansen lives on a farm four hours west of Sydney with her husband Tim and their two children. In her new book, Local Is Lovely (Hachette Australia, $35), she takes us on a seasonal journey introducing us to the fresh food she loves to cook with and the farmers who produce it.

Braised Cannellini Beans with Garlic and Rosemary. 
“A humble dish, this one,” she says, “but this recipe sums up exactly how I like to cook and eat: just a few ingredients prepared very simply.” Serves 6.

1½ cups dried cannellini beans
¼ cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
⅓ cup fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup stock or water (optional) salt and pepper, to taste

Soak the beans overnight in a big pot of cold water.
Drain them, then return them to the pot and cover once again with cold water. Place over a medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat a little and cook until the beans are tender. (This can take up to 45 minutes but check after 30 minutes). Drain the beans, then heat your olive oil in a large, deep frying pan. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for a minute or so, until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the beans and cook, stirring gently and often for a few minutes. The idea is to just warm the beans through.
Add the stock or water if you feel it’s getting too dry, then stir gently and season generously.
—www.local-lovely.com

Per serve 
1660 kJ/ 396 calories; 11 g protein; 30 g fat (includes 4 g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.15); 20 g available carbs (16 g starch, 2 g maltodextrin and 2 g sugars); 10g fibre

Johanna’s Kitchen. 
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.

Rotini with Artichoke Heart Sauce. 
This is a light sauce, informing the palate that the thick, steaming sauces of winter are no longer on the menu. It’s spring in Italy! No fresh tomatoes or basil yet, but it won’t be long! Servings: 10
1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1–2 large cloves garlic, minced
4–6 oz (120–180 g) frozen artichoke hearts, thinly sliced
3 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
zest 1 lemon
2 x 14oz (400g) cans Italian crushed tomatoes
½ cup water
salt and pepper to taste
20oz (600g) rotini pasta
grated parmigiano-reggiano, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the artichoke hearts, parsley, bay leaf and lemon zest and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile …
Bring a large pot of water to a boil (adding salt to the cooking water if you wish). Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain the cooked pasta, return it to the saucepan and add the sauce, mixing together well. Serve immediately with parmigiano-reggiano on the side.

Per serve
Energy: 1000kJ/ 240 cals; Protein 8g; Fat 4g (includes less than 1g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 44g; Fibre 4g