At last we’ve reached the end of term and the long summer break starts tomorrow. Six weeks without an alarm clock, trips to the park, fun in the paddling pool… I can’t wait! And if the weather stays like this it won’t matter (too much) that we’re not going away this year.
My parents came to visit at the weekend and I made a naughty Pimms trifle. I used a bit more Pimms than the recipe suggested but it was so good! There were a few strawberries left over so I decided to make a healthy chocolate sauce to dip them in and crushed up some toasted pistachios to finish them off. So simple but really delicious as a snack or to serve after a barbeque.
I bought the bamboo skewers at the start of summer but as we haven’t had a barbeque yet I thought I’d put them to good use. The chocolate sauce is made by mixing 100% cocoa powder with melted coconut oil and a little honey.
The sauce will be quite thin to start with and I found that the pistachios didn’t stick very well. Pop it into the fridge for 20 minutes and it will thicken up nicely.
And if you have any sauce and nuts left over, simply mix them together, pour into little moulds and chill for about 1/2 hour and voila, you have some healthy chocolates!!
- 20g (1/4 cup) 100% cocoa powder
- 40g (1/4 cup) coconut oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 20g (1/8 cup) shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts
- Punnet of strawberries
- Wash and hull the strawberries, dry them well and set to one side.
- In a small saucepan melt the coconut oil over a low heat.
- When melted, remove from the heat and add the honey and cocoa powder whisking well to combine until smooth. Allow to cool and then pour the sauce into a bowl and chill in the fridge for 10/15 minutes.
- Spread the pistachio nuts on a baking sheet and toast under a hot grill for 4-5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them - they can go from golden brown to burnt in a matter of seconds!
- Leave the toasted nuts for a few minutes to chill. You can either chop them with a knife or, as I did, put them into a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin!
- Place a cocktail stick or skewer into each strawberry and dip them first into the chocolate sauce and then into the crushed nuts. Lay each finished strawberry on a serving plate and put back in the fridge until you're ready to serve.
