Megan Rossi’s Prebiotic Rocky Road
A traybake that’s actually good for your gut and tastes like a treat? Look no further than this clever recipe from the gut health expert’s new book.
With the combination of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate, crunchy nuts, chewy fruit and fluffy popcorn, this gut-loving treat trumps your standard rocky road on flavour. Your gut microbes will get quite the feast of phytochemicals, prebiotics and 5g of fibre per slice, using just store-cupboard ingredients. Plus, the cocoa flavanols in dark chocolate could even boost your brain power!
(Makes 15 slices)
Prep 15 mins, plus setting time
Cook 5 mins
Ingredients:
300g dark chocolate (min. 70%)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for popping corn
30g corn kernels, or natural popcorn
100g hazelnuts, chopped in half
50g brazil nuts, roughly chopped
2 tbsp mixed seeds
50g goji berries
30g coconut flakes
90g dried mango, chopped
90g dried figs, chopped
Toast the hazelnuts. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6 and place the nuts on a baking tray. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.
To pop the corn, heat a splash of virgin olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the corn kernels and shake gently to cover them in the oil. Put the lid on and the corn will start popping after a couple of minutes. Shake the saucepan occasionally to prevent burning. The corn should have finished popping after approx. 3–5 minutes.
Pour the popcorn into a large bowl and mix with all the ingredients apart from the chocolate, reserving a handful of the goji berries, mango, nuts and coconut flakes to decorate the top of the rocky road.
Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof mixing bowl. Either place over a simmering pan of boiling water to melt or heat in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring in between. Stir in the 1 tbsp of olive oil, before pouring over the dry ingredients and mixing everything together well.
Line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with non-stick baking paper, pour the mixture into the tin. Scatter the reserved dry ingredients on top and press down. Place in the fridge to set (approx. 4 hours).
Once set, pull the rocky road out of the tin using the baking paper, and with a sharp knife cut into 15 slices and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Storage: Keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge in a sealed container.
Tip: If you love ginger, add ¼–½ tsp of fresh grated ginger to the mix.
Switch: Already had the listed dried fruits and nuts this week? Swap in any others you fancy.
Eat More, Live Well by Megan Rossi was published on 30 Dec by Penguin Books.