Health & Wellbeing

Healthy Eating

Luis Luna – the healthy chef

Luis Luna is a professional chef who has many years of experience, having worked throughout Europe and South America.
Over the years Luis has worked for some of the best restaurants – notably Nobu, The Ivy, and Conran establishments – and has also given his time to work for charities and hospices, devising menus sfor those who have compromised immune systems and special dietary requirements. His indepth knowledge of the benefits of superfoods has led him to create dishes which are simultaneously experimental and life-enhancing.

He is available to hire for private functions through Lou y Luis. For more information, contact loubeegan@gmail.com.

Red Mullet Escabeche Serves 4

Ingrediants
Red mullet fillets 8
Shallots or small onions 4
Red and green pepper 1 each
Garlic 2 cloves
Carrot 1 med
Sweet potatoes 200 g
Vegetable oil for frying 100mll
Olive oil for marinade 100ml
Bay leaves 4
Peppercorns 5 g
White wine 100ml
Vinegar 100ml
Honey 1 tbls

Method
Make sure all ingredients are washed thoroughly.

Cut peppers in 1⁄2 cm long slices. Slice the carrots, garlic and sweet potatoes thin on the diagonal, and then cut the shallots in half (if you’re using small onions, quarter them).

Lay the fish skin side down, then score each fillet in a criss-cross style, so the marinade will soak through.

Lightly saute the garlic, peppers and carrots in some olive oil until they’re lightly browned.

Season the mullet fillets to taste, then lie them skin side up in an oiled frying pan, then leave to one side.

Next, make the marinade: mix the oil, honey, wine, vinegar, bay leaves and peppercorns. Add this to the vegetables, and simmer together until the carrots are tender. Once you’ve done this, drain the vegetables, keeping the hot marinade. Pour the marinade over the fish, then lightly simmer for 5 minutes. Once everything has cooled, layer a new bowl with the vegetables, then carefully add the fillets of fish. Cover with the marinade, and leave in your fridge – the flavours improve overnight.

Serve the escabeche on a bed of rice, so the marinade will be absorbed. You can accompany this with sweet potato chips.

Butter Bean Soup Serves 4

Ingrediants
Onions 200g
Butter Beans 250g
Garlic (crushed) 3 cloves
Caraway or Coriander Seeds 1 tbls
Single Cream 50ml
Olive Oil Drizzle
Alfalfa Sprout or Cress 20g
Tahini 1 tbs
Vegetable bouillon 1 pint
Single Cream 50ml
Black peppercorns To taste

Method
The butter beans will need to be soaked for 12 hours or overnight.
Boil the beans for 25 minutes in a large pan of salty water until they are tender, drain and leave to one side. Chop the onions and the garlic, and sweat gently in a small amount of olive oil until they become soft and transparent. Add the caraway or coriander seeds and a tablespoon of tahini and add the butterbeans. Mix all the ingredients together, and at this stage you could also add some lightly toasted almonds or grated parmesan cheese to enrich the flavour and consistency. Stir in the vegetable bouillon and simmer for fifteen minutes.

Blend or liquidise the soup until it reaches a smooth consistency. At the last stage, add the cream, season to taste and serve with a drizzle of olive oil or truffle oil. Garnish with slices of garlic toasted in a pan with a little oil, or slices of white grapes. Top with some alfalfa sprouts or cress. To finish crush the peppercorns and sprinkle on top.

Grilled Squid & Steamed Vegetables Ingrediants - Serves 4

4 Fresh Squid 1kg
Sweet Potatoes 300g
Butternut Squash 300g
Broccoli 300g
New Potatoes 300g
Spring Onions 1 bunch
Olive Oil Small drop

Method
Prepare the squid by cleaning out the insides and then removing the skin.

Remove the eyes and mouth, leaving only the head, tenticles and body tube. Using a very sharp knife, cut the tube following the natural line along the body of each squid, and open out to produce a flat triangular-shaped piece. With the knife just mark incisions (without cutting right through) in parallel lines about a centimetre apart, and again in the other direction to produce a diamond pattern. Marinade the squid steaks and tenticles in a little olive oil.

Clean and prepare the seasonal vegetables of your choice (e.g. sweet and new potatoes, butternut squash, broccoli, etc.) to be steamed ready for when the squid is cooked and ready to serve.

Heat a pan, preferably a grill pan. When it’s hot, add the squid steaks and the tenticles, and cook each side for five minutes, until golden in colour. Season to taste and plate it with the steamed vegetables (soy sauce accompanies this dish perfectly).