In the midst of Covid19, meet the Melbourne woman who is the Florence Nightingale of the food world and a beacon of hope to the jobless, the frightened and the tearful in an industry once overflowing with joy, frivolity and a dash of controversy.
As an example of Dani Valent’s tireless campaign for connecting people in this crisis, she writes on Facebook: “Lots of people have been asking me how they can support temporary visa workers who aren’t entitled to any government support. This is one way. Social enterprise StreetSmart Australia have formed SmartMeals. This is how it works. Funding is given to current charity partners such as St Mary’s House of Welcome who have multiple challenges right now – volunteers aren’t able to help them as they normally would, and food donations are down at a time of increased demand. The charity partner pays restaurants / cafes such as Ladro Prahran Fitzroy and EARL Canteen who employ visa workers to produce meals for the charity. It’s a really clever chain of need. Any money donated through this donorbox goes directly to this program.” #savehospo #noworkerleftbehind
Dani Valent is an award-winning food writer, screenwriter and cookbook author. In 2007 she heard the word ‘Thermomix’ and had to find out more. All of a sudden she was on a ‘speed 10’ ride through Thermoland, bringing her special brand of empowered, tasty fun to Thermomix users around the world.
Her feature articles and restaurant reviews appear regularly in The Age. She fell in love with the Thermomix kitchen machine more than seven years ago while researching a story about chefs and the gadget they wanted next. This word ‘Thermomix’ kept coming up. Dani’s hunger for great Thermomix recipes led her to write two cookbooks, featuring the Thermomix recipes of chefs and cooks around the world, as well as her own family favourites. Sign up to her newsletter at danivalent.com to be the first to hear what she’s up to next.
This recipe was first published 8/4/2015.
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Dani Valent’s Green Smoothie
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 litre apprx 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Dani Valent is a dear friend, writer, eater and in an inspiration to many. She is a great connector, binding the restaurant industry together with her wisdom, words and well-maintained palate. She is the author of many books about the gadget that has it all, the Thermomix.
Ingredients
30 grams chlorophyll paste – see below recipe
1 orange, peeled and halved
1 pear, halved
200 grams watermelon, roughly chopped
a handful of parsley
a handful of lettuce, roughly chopped
100 grams ice
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in the TM bowl and slowly turn up to speed 9/45 seconds
- Pushing the mixture down with a spatula if necessary.
- Your smoothie will be thick and luscious.
- Add a dash of water if you want something you can manage through a straw.
- Mix and match fruits and greens as desired.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Smoothies
- Cuisine: Plant-based
Chlorophyll Paste
Ingredients
500 grams ice cubes
750 grams water
250 grams baby spinach (or greens of your choice)
100 grams mixed herbs
Instructions
- Place ice into mixing bowl and blitz 2 sec/Turbo until turned to ‘snow’. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Pour water into mixing bowl and heat 6 min/70º/speed 1.
Add the greens and herbs to mixing bowl, packing in as much as fits comfortably. Warm for 6 min/70º/speed 6. Pour liquid immediately into ice bath to halt the cooking process. Line your Varoma with a kitchen cloth or muslin and place Varoma on top of mixing bowl. - Strain chlorophyll mixture through the Varoma into mixing bowl, slowly and gently aiding the process with a spoon. Allow to strain for at least a few minutes but ideally in the refrigerator for several hours to allow it to become firm.
- Transfer Chlorophyll Paste from Varoma into a dish. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator, if not using immediately. The strained green liquid can be used for drinks and smoothies.
Notes
- I used spinach, parsley, coriander and mint but feel free to use any seasonal herbs and greens.
- Feel free to add more or less water to your smoothie to achieve your preferred consistency.
- For smoother Chlorophyll Paste, blend solution at step 3 for 1 min/speed 10 before pouring into ice bath.
- Store Chlorophyll Paste in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days, or freeze in ice cube trays to preserve its life.
- For a quick and easy boost, stir a tablespoon of Chlorophyll Paste into a glass of water.
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