Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 900 g carrots, finely diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 sticks celery, diced
• 1 liter fresh vegetable stock
• 3 medium size apples
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• ¼ large lemon
• salt and pepper
• celery leaves, washed and shredded, to garnish

1. Place the carrots, onion and celery in a large saucepan and add the stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, peel, core and dice 2 of the apples. Add the pieces of apple, tomato puree, bay leaf and caster sugar to the saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, half cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
3. Meanwhile, wash, core and cut the remaining apple into thin slices, leaving on the skin. Place the apple slices in a small saucepan and squeeze over the lemon juice. Heat gently and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
4. Place the carrot and apple mixture in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Alternatively, press the carrot and apple mixture through a sieve with the back of a wooden spoon.
5. Gently reheat the soup if necessary and season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and serve topped with the reserved apple slices and shredded celery leaves.

“Soaking light colored fruit in lemon juice helps to prevent it from turning brown.”

Healthy Cooking Recipe recently joined Great Cooks Blogroll. It’s where all the foodie and food loving people are. Healthy Cooking Recipe gets many visitors from Great Cooks Blogroll as well. We can also discover new food blogs, great recipes, learn how to prepare and cook properly and even make new friends. One of an excellent example listed on the blogroll is Cafe Fernando, which is maintain by a handsome Turkish food enthusiast. The recipes are great, the pictures are out of this world. So, if you own a recipe or food blog, we recommend that you join the Great Cooks Blogroll. Get discovered.

Everyone is always on the hunt for a dessert that is not only delicious but healthy as well. One that definitely fits into this category is the citrus meringue crush recipe. It only calls for low fat yogurt, grated lemon rind, orange liqueur, and a few other ingredients.

It is incredibly easy to make, and the best thing is that it can be served either casually at a family dinner or while entertaining when guests are over. It is truly a gourmet dessert, one that can be enjoyed any time of the day, and which is so easy to make that is sure to become a family staple.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 8 ready made meringue nests
• 300 ml low fat natural yogurt
• ½ tsp finely grated orange rind
• ½ tsp finely grated lemon rind
• ½ tsp finely grated lime rind
• 2 tbsp orange liqueur or unsweetened orange juice
• sliced kumquat and grated lime rind, to decorate

Sauce

• 60 g kumquats
• 8 tbsp unsweetened orange juice
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 to 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water

1. Place the meringues in a clean plastic bag, seal the bag and using a rolling pin, crush the meringues into small pieces. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
2. Stir the yogurt, grated citrus rinds and the liqueur into the crushed meringue. Spoon the mixture into 4 mini basins, smooth over the tops and freeze for 1½ to 2 hours until firm.
3. To make the sauce, thinly slice the kumquats and place them in a small pan with the fruit juices and water. Bring gently to the boil and then simmer over a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the kumquats have just softened.
4. Sweeten with sugar to taste, stir in the cornflour mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened. Pour into a small bowl, cover the surface with a layer of cling film and leave to cool. The film will help prevent a skin forming. Leave to chill.
5. To serve, dip the meringue basins in hot water for 5 seconds or until they loosen, and turn on to serving plates. Spoon over a little sauce, decorate with slices of kumquat and lime rind and serve immediately.