It’s Pepper Time! A little about Peppers and a Pepper Smoothie recipe

Peppers are so underrated! I normally use the humble vegetable for toppings on pizzas or in curries but have realised that I have not been using them to their full potential. One fact I learned about peppers that shocked me is that they contain more vitamin C than oranges, kiwis and strawberries. Yes its true! They are so good for you.  They are also jam packed full of other vitamins such as E, B1, B2 and A!

Now it might sound a little crazy but peppers taste really good in smoothies and here is a recipe for a vitamin enriched smoothie courtesy of “It’s Pepper Time,” which is an initiative to promote the use of peppers and widen their scope in recipes.

Orange Vitamin Hit

In a blender or juicer, blitz together 2 celery stalks, 2 carrots, 2 apples, 2 orange bell peppers and for some zestiness, the juice of 1 lime.

That’s it and you get a glass full of an orange delicious smoothie which will make you feel good. It is perfect for summer and to spruce it up a little further you could add some crushed ice and perhaps some lemon grass for some extra zest.

Not only do peppers taste good on pizzas, in curries and smoothies, you could blitz peppers to make dips for crisps to snack on in the park on nice hot lazy summer days, or cut them in strips and dip them in a dip of your choice or even just eat them raw in a salad! They are sweet, crunchy and one of my favourite ingredients.

The best part is that peppers come in all shapes and sizes, as well as a rainbow of colours. My favourite are the orange peppers although when I am using them on pizzas I love using the yellow, red and green bell peppers.

Do you use peppers in your cooking? I would love to know in the comments section below.

For more information about the campaign “It’s Pepper Time” check out their Facebook page Colourful Taste.

 

An indulgent ChocolaTEA at The Montagu at Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill

A ChocolaTEA, which is a Chocolate themed afternoon tea, is literally the afternoon tea of dreams. Available from Friday 14 April at The Montagu at Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill in collaboration with Green and Blacks, there is an element of chocolate in each treat, savoury and sweet and is amazing! If you gave up chocolate for Lent there is no better way to indulge!

This was Sir Winston Churchill’s favourite dessert and it also happens to be Green and Black’s 25th Anniversary so what better way to celebrate than to launch London’s only entire chocolate afternoon tea! This plays homage to the cocoa bean, which traditionally has only been associated with sweet dishes. I personally only discovered that chocolate was used in savoury dishes when I visited St Lucia and went on a trip to see how chocolate was made!

We started off the afternoon tea session with a delicious Sir Winston’s Martini cocktail, which is a classic Martinez garnished with Green & Black’s Rich Dark 85% Chocolate, whilst real life “willy wonka” aka The Taste Specialist Brandt Maybury, from Green & Blacks, talked us through the concept of the afternoon tea, which will be available permanently at The Montagu at Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill.

First to arrive was a selection of savoury items which comprised of a Smoked Salmon Sushi sandwich with cucumber and dill cream cheese and garnished with Green & Black’s White Chocolate flakes, a Churchill Mini Burger with Chilli Chocolate-infused BBQ Sauce, a Venison and Milk Chocolate Pate with Fresh Raspberry braised with Green & Black’s Milk Chocolate, an Aubergine Mousse Éclair which is dusted with Green & Black’s Organic Cocoa Powder and a Coronation Chicken Sandwich in Homemade Green & Black’s Chocolate Bread.

Everyones clear favourite was the Churchill Mini burger. The theatrical award went to the Smoked Salmon Sushi sandwich which was smoking away and my second favourite savoury dish was the Aubergine Mousse Éclair . They were all really tasty and the one which surprised me the most was the Coronation Chicken Sandwich in chocolate bread. This combination totally worked as unusual as it sounds and I now am on the hunt for chocolate bread loaves!

As a palate cleanser we had a really refreshing Lime Sorbet served in a ginger Chocolate Dipped Cone. I absolutely loved the presentation of this!

Then followed a variety of sweet treats which included a Passion Fruit & White Chocolate Macarons, Dark Chocolate Cupcake with Buttercream & Salted Chocolate DIY garnish in the form of a syringe, Butterscotch Tea Cake with gold leaf garnish and Raspberry & Dark Chocolate layered mousse with fresh raspberries.

I absolutely loved all of them but if I had to pick a firm favourite it would be the Butterscotch Tea Cake with the gold leaf garnish.

To accompany the afternoon tea we had pots of Maya Gold Cocoa Nib Tea, which was infused with orange, cinnamon & nutmeg, which I am so going to try and recreate at home! Not only did it look really pretty in the tea pot, it tasted lush too.

The scones were divine too! It wouldn’t be an afternoon tea without scones and these included a Chocolate and Pistachio Scone with a Chocolate Curd, deliberately included as the colours symbolises the Green & Black’s name. Green stands for the brands commitment to ethically sourced cocoa while black for the high quality element as well as delicious taste of the chocolate.

If you love chocolate or want to try something unique and new, definitely get booking for the ChocolaTEA as it is a really good one!

The afternoon tea is available at The Montagu at Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill daily during the following time slots:

Monday to Friday: 1:00 – 5:30p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 3:30 – 5:30p.m.

It costs £38 per person or £47 including a glass of Champagne or Sir Winston’s Martini cocktail.

For more information or to book visit this website.

Disclaimer: I attended the media preview of the ChocolaTEA and all views and photos are my own.