v8 CollageHi!

So this post today is a little different from usual, because it features three recipes, but they live somewhere else. All will become clear!

I partnered with V8 Juice UK to write three recipes for the new recipes section on their website. My mission? To make one dish using each of their three juice blends (V8 Original, V8 Fusion Raspberry & Beetroot, V8 Fusion Passionfruit, Mango & Carrot).

Four weeks, six cartons of juice later and… ta da!

The starter: Sticky Raspberry Beetroot Halloumi Fingers

Visit http://v8juice.co.uk/recipes/ for the full recipe

I really love the flavour of these halloumi fingers. Raspberry and beetroot work perfectly together in the juice, and layers over the salty, chewy halloumi. The result is sticky and intense, so it’s great served over a bed of rocket (arugula) to cut through the richness a little, if you’re so inclined. It was one of those ideas that sounded a little crazy, but I just knew it would work. Mr. Veggie tends to dislike experimental sweet/savoury combos, but he loved this. So it’s totally legit.

{Get the recipe on the V8 Juice UK website}

The Main Dish: Bloody Mary Lentil Bolognese with Courgetti

Visit http://v8juice.co.uk/recipes/ for the full recipe

Oh look, I appear to have done a creamy pasta dish. Gotta play to your strengths right? This is a lovely one, a classic pasta alla vodka but packed with tender, melty red lentils for extra texture and nutrition. Using V8 adds immediate depth of flavour that makes the sauce come together much more quickly. So this is a very practical midweek meal, but no one would know how easy it was or how few ingredients have gone in! And it’s made with courgetti (aka zoodles) to cram in as much healthy goodness as possible, and to make it gluten free.

{Get the recipe on the V8 Juice UK website}

The Dessert: Three Ingredient Tropical Mousse

Visit http://v8juice.co.uk/recipes/ for the full recipe

I saved the best for last! Oh my goodness. We loved this. I made three batches while I was testing out the ratios of ingredients, and we demolished every one in record time. I don’t even know what else to say. This is really easy to make, the mousse texture is perfectly light, airy and creamy. The V8 Passionfruit, Mango and Carrot had an amazing tropical flavour which again means that very little else is needed to make it so tasty. I think the word for this one is dreamy.

{Get the recipe on the V8 Juice UK website}

The other bloggers who contributed also had some great ideas- I’d love to try this Raspberry & Beetroot Swirl cake and I think the Sticky Mango Chicken would work beautifully with Quorn or paneer cheese to make it vegetarian!

I had so much fun with this project. It was great being given innovative flavour combinations as my starting point, and dreaming up ideas for how to turn them into recipes. So thanks to V8 for the opportunity!