Ricotta Fritters with Mango & Beetroot Marinated Zoodles

I don't know about you but my appetite is hugely affected by the temperature outside. When it's hot I love light, fresh meals that don't take too long to prepare and that can be enjoyed outside under a tree on a blanket or on the side of the pool, or even at the beach. I take any opportunity to include summery flavours like mango, coconut, pineapple, watermelon, basil, coconut...oh wait I already said coconut. Yep I love coconut. I sneakily incorporated it into this dish, along with mango and a few other unusual ingredients. The combination might sound a bit strange, but this one is a winner! We had this on a balmy summers evening last month when there was no breeze when I quite frankly would've been quite happy to eat a bowl of watermelon (if I lived by myself). This was the next best thing...

Ingredients (makes 2 to 3 large serves):

2 zucchinis 1 fresh ripe mango 1 fresh whole beetroot 3 tablespoons shredded coconut 1 bunch fresh basil (roughly chopped) 400g form ricotta (IMPORTANT: ricotta must be firm otherwise the fritters won't hold shape) 1 egg Half a cup of flour (I used oat flour) 40g grated parmesan cheese Zest from one lemon

Method:

Marinated Zoodles - Using a julienne vegetable peeler, make "noodles" or "pasta" from the zucchini. If you are unsure of how to do this, here is a helpful video to help you and link of where you can buy the vegetable peeler:

Video - how to make zucchini noodles

Buy the vegetable peeler here

Combine fresh mango, whole beetroot, and coconut in a high speed blender until smooth. Cover the zoodles in the marinade, stir through half the basil and set aside.

Fritters - Combine the ricotta, egg, flour, parmesan, lemon zest, and the rest of the basil in a mixing bowl. Form into tablespoon sizes fritters and roll in extra flour if desired. Heat non-stick pan on medium heat and add a small amount of oil. Add the fritters to the pan and fry for 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden and crisp.

Arrange the marinated zoodles in the centre of a pasta bowl and top with the ricotta fritters. Enjoy!

Tropical Dream Ice Cream

This is a dream in a bowl. A TROPICAL dream! From the taste you'd never think it is 100% goodness and dairy free. No added sugar. Low in fat.

         

When you eat this it takes you to your summer happy place. Mine is lounging in a hammock on a picture perfect beach in the maldives with my toes dipped in the luke-warm tropical water, colourful fish swimming by, gentle breeze...it is a holiday in the form of food. So why wouldn't you want to try this?

Tropical Dream Ice Cream Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 frozen mangoes (cut into small cubes) 4 ice cubes of frozen coconut milk 8 small fresh strawberries

Method:

Place the frozen mangoes and coconut milk into a heavy-duty blender and blend, blend, blend until you get the creamy consistency of ice cream. Depending on the type of blender you use, you may need to stop the blender and scrape the contents off the side of the blender and then start again. Once you reach the consistency of ice cream, scoop into a bowl and stir through the chopped-up strawberries. Tadaaaa....a tropical summer dream in a bowl!