I’ve been making lots of smoothies this year and the whole idea of combining ingredients and seeing how they transform in the blender has really caught my imagination. Some of the ones I’ve been enjoying recently have been very thick — too thick to suck through a straw in fact. This has led me to think of them as spoonies: they exist in a delicious place somewhere between a breakfast and a dessert.
This orange and hazelnut one is full of rich zesty flavour. Eating this I feel like I’m giving myself a real treat and I have to remind myself how pure the ingredients are — it seems almost too good to be true. This is a really great time of year for oranges, they’re packed with flavour and extra affordable. I prefer the New Zealand ones because they combine great sweetness with lots of fresh tang. In this breakfast I’ve used them in the blend as well as on top, for two different textures and to get a different perspective on the flavour by keeping the zest on in the blended part. In the same vein, adding some hazelnuts on top at the end lets them show their crunchy side. The sliced dates are sweet but also beautifully chewy, something to hunt out with your spoon as you make your way around the bowl. Whenever we have flaxseed oil in the fridge I love to add a bit to creations like this. It’s my favourite source of omega 3 oils and the flavour works well with sweet things.
Ingredients
| 1 large | Orange (Main) |
| ⅓ cup | Roasted hazelnuts, plus extra for topping (Main) |
| ⅓ cup | Soy milk |
| 1 | Banana, frozen, in bite sized pieces |
| 1 Tbsp | Flaxseed oil |
| 3 | Dates, chopped finely |
| 1 sprinkle | Ground cinnamon, for topping |
Directions
- Cut the orange in half, then cut one half (with skin still on) into chunks and put in your blender. Keep the other half to use as a topping.
- Add hazelnuts, soymilk, banana and flaxseed oil to blender and blend until nice and smooth. If too thick for your blender just add another little dash of soymilk.
- Use a spatula to help get the blended mix out into a bowl. It should be thick enough to sit up in a mound, making it perfect to eat with a spoon.
- Cut the skin from the remaining half orange and cut into small pieces. Arrange on top of mixture in bowl.
- Sprinkle dates on top with a few more roasted hazelnuts. Finally, dust with a little cinnamon.
