To celebrate International Tea Day, we have more than just your regular cup of tea! From wonderful flavours, a flavoured green tea and even a three course meal with tea in each course!
A three course meal with tea
Tea has always been able to solve a multitude of problems, from a bad day at work to a fall out with friends, and its herbal relatives have reached similar heights in the last few years. Not only is the ‘tea’ supermarket aisle filled with a wide variety of blends, green tea is now being added to beauty products and we’re even cooking with it.
The reasons for this come down to the many health benefits that these little bags of leaves offer. The natural, and sometimes organic, ingredients, ranging from lavender and peppermint to ginseng and lemongrass, provide benefits to both the mind and body that can’t be denied. Some blends help with fat burning, while others lower your risk of infection and some more relaxing blends help us to unwind after a stressful day.
Although the most common way to receive the benefits of tea is through drinking it, cooking and baking with it is something that’s becoming increasingly popular.
In celebration of our love of tea, Eli Cohen, Founder of online health and wellbeing retailer Nutrient Wise, shares a three course meal with recipes that include tea – one including TeaGuru, Eli’s natural and organic teatox
Starter: Pea and mint tea soup
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove
850ml vegetable stock
900g young peas in the pod (to give about 250g/9oz shelled peas)
4 mint green tea bags
Large pinch caster sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
150ml soured cream
Method:
Put the spring onions into a large pan with the mint green tea bags, potato, garlic and stock. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato is very soft
For the garnish, blanch 3 tbsp of the shelled peas in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain, put in a bowl of cold water and set aside
Add the remaining peas to the soup base and simmer for 5 minutes – no longer, or you will lose the lovely fresh flavour of the peas
Stir in the sugar and lemon or lime juice, cool slightly then remove the mint tea bags
Pour into a food processor or liquidiser and whizz until as smooth as you like. Stir in half the buttermilk or soured cream, taste and season with salt and pepper
When ready to serve, return the soup to the rinsed-out pan and reheat without boiling
Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with the remaining soured cream and the drained peas
Main course: Lemon green tea poached salmon
5 bags TeaGuru daytime infusion
2 salmon fillets
2 cups boiling water
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt/pepper
1 lemon
Method:
Steep TeaGuru daytime infusion tea bags in water for 2-4 minutes
Remove the tea bags from the water and add the garlic, ginger and sesame oil to the tea
In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and once hot add the salmon
If the salmon still has its skin on, place it skin side up and sear the other side
Sear for 2-3 minutes and then turn the salmon over and add the tea mixture
Bring the tea and salmon to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and poach for 6-9 minutes
When ready, the salmon should flake easily
Once plated, squeeze lemon and sprinkle with salt and pepper
Desert: Ginger spice cupcakes
(Makes 12 cupcakes)
225g unsalted butter
160ml milk
6 ginger teabags
160g caster sugar
3 large eggs
1½ tsp cinnamon
210g plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
120-160g icing sugar
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4
Line a 12-hold cupcake tin with paper cupcake cases
Place the butter, milk and teabags in a small saucepan and set over a low heat
Let the butter completely melt and then simmer for two minutes
Set the mixture aside for ten minutes to cool and then strain out the tea, collecting the melted, ginger infused mixture in a bowl
Once the mixture is completely strained you should have roughly 220-250g of the butter and milk mixture remaining
Beat 160g of the butter and milk mixture with the sugar. Add the eggs and cinnamon. Stir in the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined
Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake cases and bake for 17-22 minutes (or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean)
While the cupcakes are in the oven, make the buttercream
Beat 60-80g of the remaining ginger infused butter and milk mixture until smooth
Gradually add icing sugar to the mixture until the buttercream is thick and smooth
Once the cupcakes have baked and cooled, spread buttercream on each
The 8 Teas Collection
£18.00
Whatever your favourite, there is always a tea to suit the moment. A must for all tea lovers, this colourful line up, of one of each of the excellent teas, makes a practical and appealing gift. Each box contains 25 individually wrapped string & tag tea bags, and the whole collection is attractively presented with a raffia tie
The Collection includes Peppermint, Green, Camomile, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Breakfast, Rooibos, Decaff teas
Organic Green Tea & Cinnamon
£2.99
Whilst the potential health benefits of green tea and cinnamon are well documented, ranging from aiding weight loss to helping protect brain cells, Natur Boutique believe it will be the taste of their new Organic Cinnamon & Green Tea that will make it a hit with herbal tea fans.
The result is a delicate and subtle green tea with a rare purity of flavour. Added to this is the natural sweetness of organic cinnamon, making a tea which is usually quite difficult to digest, a delicious drinkable tea!
The Ritz London Book Of Afternoon Tea
£6.99
Taking tea is one of the quintessentially English occasions, and who is a greater authority on the subject than the sumptuous Ritz London Hotel?
The Ritz London Book Of Afternoon Tea, a charming Edwardian-style book captures the essence of this traditional British pastime, and provides us with all the expertise on the ceremony as well as the recipes.
Stories about the legendary afternoon teas at The Ritz and fascinating details about the history of tea drinking are complemented with passages from such diverse writers as Charles Dickens to Oscar Wilde.
Over fifty recipes are included for different kinds of afternoon tea specialities, from delicate sandwiches, strawberry shortcake and rose petal jam, to crumpets and muffins for hearty teas in front of a roaring fire. The author gives an infallible guide to the many blends of tea and their suitability to particular occasions.
Beautifully presented and delightfully illustrated, The Ritz London Book Of Afternoon Tea is the perfect gift for tea drinkers everywhere
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