Today our gorgeous new pal Catie Gett from The Staple Store joins us again, sharing another luscious recipe that delivers on both flavour and nutrition!  Here, Catie offers up two OUTSTANDING ice-cream alternatives - lychee chia sorbet, and black sesame avocado icecream.  Both are dairy free, super easy to make, and taste so seriously decadent, you would never guess they're packed with so much superfood goodness! - Lucy.

Lychee Chia Sorbet and Black Sesame Avocado Ice Cream by Catie Gett of  The Staple Store. Teacup and Saucer by Sarah Schembri from Craft Vic and White Spoon from Cibi. Styling - Lucy Feagins, styling assistant - Nat Turnbull, photo - Eve Wilson for The Design Files.

I am a feeder. I am the product of a chef and a cook. Ever since I was a little girl I would sit by the door of my parents' dinner parties peeking through a crack; they always looked so glamorous. Given it was the eighties, there were a lot of dramatic shoulder pads, spun toffee, and croquembouche to be admired. I actually took a metre high croquembouche to school for my 8th birthday, I was the hero for a day in the teachers' lounge. But my Dad’s ice cream and sorbets made the biggest imprints in my little mind. So, ever since I was knee high to a grass hopper, I just dreamt of one day owning my very own ice-cream maker, and having epic dinner parties. Since then, these little dreams have been realised again and again and again.

One of my favourite things to do is to take a traditional dish and play with it until its nutrient density is 10 fold. This dessert is no exception. You will notice the recurrence of black sesame seeds over nearly all of my recipes. Firstly, it is just so beautifully dramatic and secondly, it has an impressive nutrient and phyto-chemical profile. The addition of chia seed jelly to the sorbet gives this dessert not only a great texture but also a nice dose of omega 3 and soluble fibre.

These are really easy ice creams to make. All you need is an ice crushing capable blender, a freezer, and to be able to prep 12 hours ahead.

The Black Sesame being mixed into the ingredients. Recipe by Catie Gett of  The Staple Store. White Bowl from Mud Australia.  Styling - Lucy Feagins, styling assistant - Nat Turnbull, photo - Eve Wilson for The Design Files.

Lychee and Lime Sorbet

Ingredients

1 tbsp of white chia seeds
1/3 of a glass ice cold water
The flesh of 1 young coconut
Lychees (14 fresh peeled and pitted or 12 canned with syrup drained)
The zest of 1/2 a lime

Method

Note: Please prepare this dish one day ahead of the intended serving time.

Scoop out the flesh of the young coconut and freeze in an airtight container.
Freeze the lychees also. If you don’t have a high power blender (i.e a Thermomix or a Vitamix) soak the chia seed in the water for 15 minutes before you start. If you have a high speed blender, just add the chia seeds and water into the blender first to make a paste.

Now put the coconut flesh, lychees and lime zest into the blender and blend until the sorbet forms. Pop it into an air tight container and straight into the freezer.

Lychee Chia Sorbet and Black Sesame Avocado Ice Cream Ingredients by Catie Gett of  The Staple Store. Small Dish by Joost and White Spoon from Cibi. Styling - Lucy Feagins, styling assistant - Nat Turnbull, photo - Eve Wilson for The Design Files.

Black Sesame Ice Cream

Ingredients

1.5 large or 2 small bananas
1/2 cup cup black tahini paste
1/2 a ripe avocado
1 cup of ice
1 tbsp of coconut sugar
2 tbsp of black sesame seeds or black sesame toffee chopped up (from asian grocers)

Method

Freeze the bananas 12 hours ahead (peeled and chopped up).

Now into a blender pop the frozen bananas, avocado, just 1/4 cup of the tahini, and blend until the ice cream is lump free.

Add the ice and blend until smooth.

Pour the ice cream into a container and drizzle over the rest of the tahini paste and swirl it through with a knife. Now scatter the toffee or sesame seeds and coconut sugar over the top.

These are now ready to serve immediately. But if you don’t finish them all you can freeze them and re-blend them until they reach the soft serve consistency to serve at another time.

HUGE THANKS to Catie for another delicious recipe!  Do check out Catie's website and instagram for more of her nutrition philosophies, wit and wisdom (and a healthy dose of Ryan Gosling, from time to time!).

Super cute Catie herself. Teacup by Sarah Schembri from Craft Vic and White Spoon from Cibi. Styling - Lucy Feagins, styling assistant - Nat Turnbull, photo - Eve Wilson for The Design Files.