Perfect rosti

Perfect Rosti

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and a cooked breakfast can comprise of so many different elements. This morning I enjoyed griddled tomatoes, fried eggs, fried sweetcorn, toast and rosti. Rosti is a great and quick way to enjoy potatoes in the morning as they do not take too long to prepare. Any they go so well with ketchup!

Ingredients:

2 potatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Peel and wash the potatoes. Grate the potatoes over a clean tea towel. Draw the tea towel up together and squeeze out the water from the grated potato into the sink. 

Open up the tea towel and sprinkle the salt and pepper over the potato. Using your fingers, toss the potato around so that the salt and pepper is evenly spread. 

Gather about 2 tablespoons of potato in your hands and clasp your hands together to form patties of potato. Place them on a chopping board/plate as you go along. 

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat. When the oil has heated up, carefully add the potato patties with a metal spatula, pressing down gently as you go along. The patties should sizzle. 

Fry each side until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes each side. 

Enjoy with your cooked breakfast.  

Chocolate fruit cake

Chocolate Fruit Cake

A fruit cake is a very versatile thing. It works well without gluten, eggs and lactose but is open to the addition of so many good things such as chocolate and spice! This is a very comforting cake yet so easy to make.  

Ingredients:

175g unsalted butter/dairy free margarine

140g dark chocolate

3 tablespoons potato starch

10 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

250g plain gluten free flour

130g soft brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

10 green cardamom pods

1 pinch salt

225 g mixed dried fruit

3 teaspoons cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 160C/fan 140C and grease and line the base of a 10 inch loose bottomed cake tin.

Pop the dark chocolate into the microwave for 2 minutes. Mix the potato starch and water in a bowl and set to one side.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter/margarine until softened. Grate the apple into the bowl including the skin. Add the sugar and beat until soft. Pour in the melted dark chocolate, potato starch mixture, oil and continue to beat.

In a small pan over a medium heat, add the fennel seeds and cardamom pods and warm for about a minute until the seeds begin to pop and are browned. Grind the fennel and cardamom in a pestle and mortar until the seeds are ground. Sieve the ground spices into the cake mixture and discard the cardamom skins. Next add the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, cocoa powder and salt and mix to combine. Add the mixed fruit and beat to combine. Pour into the prepared tin and level the surface.

Pop into the oven for about 90 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and remove the cake from the tin to cool on a wire rack. 

Baked beans

Baked Beans

Baked beans are one of those foods which is commonly associated with the convenience of a tin, such is the success of the companies who have built empires around serving us up tins of beans. However, it is always rewarding to break such assumptions by making your own. Even though it takes some time the convenience is in the fact that you can make enough to keep for later and at the same time saving some money. You can also decide which beans you wish to add!

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tin mixed beans

1 tin cannelloni beans

200 ml water

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

Pour the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and allow to cook for a couple of minutes until translucent and soft. Stir occasionally to prevent the onions browning. Then add the chopped tomatoes, water, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally and then lower the heat to allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the drained beans and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. At the end add the fresh oregano. 

The beans should be coated in a relatively thick sauce and will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. 

Gluten free pizza

Gluten Free Pizza

Anyone who has tried some gluten free pizza bases offered know what a disappointment they can be especially when they resemble dried cardboard! This recipe provides a quick and easy make at home pizza base together with an easy tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour

2/3 cup potato flour

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1 teaspoon fast action yeast

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon caster sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil
215 ml hand hot water

Cornflour for dusting

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 handful fresh oregano 
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Choice of toppings:
Lactose free cheese, prawns, roasted potatoes, olives, fresh tomatoes, chargrilled aubergine, chargrilled peppers, anchovies. 

Grease a baking tray or pizza tray. Dust a large surface/wooden board with cornflour.  

In a large food mixer with the dough paddle attached, combine the flours, yeast, xanthum gum, salt, sugar and olive oil. Turn on the mixer on the first setting and gradually pour in the water. Allow to mix for one minute whilst a dough forms. If there are sections which are not being mixed, feel free to scrape the sides and continue mixing. Alternatively this can easily be done by hand in a large mixing bowl. 

Roll the dough out onto the prepared surface, occasionally turning over until the dough is to the desired thickness between 3 to 5 millimetres. 

Carefully place the dough onto the prepared tin. Lay an oiled sheet of cling film over the dough. Place in a warm place and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes or until the dough puffs up slightly. If you are making this ahead you can place in the fridge after proving for 20 minutes. 

You can prepare the tomato base in advance as well by heating a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the finely chopped onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste along with a 1/4 can of water and the oregano. Leave to simmer for at least 30 minutes stirring every once and a while until the sauce is very thick. Add the salt and pepper and leave to one side. 

To make the pizza, preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C and simply spread some of the tomato sauce on top of the prepared pizza base being careful not to press down too much on the dough. Arrange your choice of toppings and drizzle with a little olive oil and pepper. 

Pop into the oven for 15-18 minutes and enjoy wonderful gluten free pizza that does not resemble cardboard! 

 

Here follows the birth of a pizza in pictures:

Banana, coconut and honey bread

Banana, coconut and honey bread

My new focus is to make my gluten-free cakes even more healthy and cost effective. This is even more important when moving to a new country where ingredients are different and more scarce than you are used to. Making the most of what you have and using cheaper alternatives are important. This recipe can double up as a breakfast bread which is delicious lightly toasted with a cup of tea or coffee. 

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

150g gluten free flour

70g buckwheat flour

10g baking powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

30g dessicated coconut

120ml olive oil

2 eggs

6 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and greasde and line the bottom of a loaf tin. 

Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add the flours, baking powder, coconut,cardamom and honey and mix lightly to combine.

Measure the olive oil in a measuring jug, add the eggs and mix to combine. Pour into the mixing bowl and fold together to incorporate air.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the top is firm to the touch and a knife comes out clean when poked in the middle. Place on a wire rack to cool. It will keep for a week and can be sliced like bread. If you are feeling naughty you can add your favourite topping or even just dairy-free margarine. This is a good breakfast alternative to expensive gluten-free bread. 

Fig and Custard Tart

Fig and Custard Tart

Fig and Custard Tart

Figs are in season at the moment and I wanted to make a tart that was relatively simple. This tart allows the figs to be the star of the show. 

Fresh ripe figs

Ingredients:

Pastry
220g plain gluten-free flour
140g dairy-free margarine
2 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp cold water

Custard
500 ml rice milk plus 100ml extra
8 tbsp custard powder
3 tbsp honey

6 ripe figs

Gluten-free pastry that works!

In a large mixing bowl add the flour and margarine (in that order) and rub in with your fingertips until you get fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and combine. Add the water and combine until you get a dough. Wrap the dough in some food wrap and pop into the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Thick rice milk custard

Preheat the oven to 180C. In a large saucepan, place 500ml rice milk over a low heat until it begins to steam but does not boil. In the meantime, mix the custard powder and honey and 100ml rice milk in a cup and carefully stir to remove any lumps. Reduce the heat to the lowest heat possible. Add the custard powder liquid and stir until you get a thick custard. Make sure that you do not overheat the milk as the mixture will be too watery. If the custard is not thickening, add some more custard powder mixed with water. Leave the custard to one side to cool.

Baked base

Take the pastry from the fridge and press into the base and sides of a 12” flan tin or dish. Pop into the oven for 30 minutes until cooked and dried out. Take out of the oven and leave to cool. 

So much colour!

Cut the figs into eighths. Once the custard and pastry case are cold, add the custard into the pastry base and arrange the figs on top of the custard. 

Thick and delicious!

So, would you caramelise the figs or enjoy them as nature intended?

Crispy potato, spinach and pecan salad

Crispy potato, spinach

Crispy potato, spinach and pecan salad

Salads are great for lunch and any left overs can be served with a main. This salad is simple but packed with taste. It involves a couple of cooking techniques which add a crispiness that lifts the taste sensation.

Ingredients:

400g salad potatoes
100g spinach
50g pecan nuts
Drizzle of honey
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
Seasoning

All the goodness of green

Put the grill on to a medium setting. Wash the spinach and leave to dry. 

Crispy potatoes

Boil the potatoes in a saucepan for about 10 minutes. Drain then leave to cool. Put some oil in a frying pan over a high heat and when the oil is hot, pop in the potatoes and fry for a few minutes until starts to brown and leave to one side. 

Honey pecans

Place the pecans on a baking tray and drizzle some honey evenly over the nuts. Pop into the oven under the grill for about 5 minutes until the honey has melted and pop the walnuts in a bowl to cool down. 

Mustard dressing

In a small bowl, add the oil, lemon, mustard and seasoning to taste and mix to combine. In a large bowl, add the spinach, potatoes and pecans, add the dressing and mix to combine. 

The finished article

So, what is your favourite salad ingredients?

Creamy baked vanilla cheesecake

To die for!

Creamy baked vanilla cheesecake

A good cheesecake is a thing of beauty combining soft decadence with a rich sweetness but not requiring too much sugar. This recipe is a favourite recipe but dependent on the availability of lactose-free cheese which is not always a given. It is deserving of a vanilla pod though as the flavour really does come through. 

Ingredients:

340g gluten free digestive biscuits
100g dairy free margarine
800g lactose-free cream cheese
75g light muscovado sugar
75g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
30g cornflour
1 vanilla pod

Preheat the oven to 170C. Measure the margarine in a bowl and melt for 30 seconds in a microwave. Pulse the digestives in a food processor until fine. Pour the margarine into the processor and pulse with the biscuits. Pour into a 10” loose-bottomed tin and press in with your fingers to ensure the base it evenly covered. Pop into the fridge whilst you prepare the filling. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugars together. Then add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the cornflour and vanilla pods seeds being careful not to overmix. Pour onto the biscuit base and pop into the oven for about 45-50 minutes until slightly golden on top. Don’t worry if a crack forms – this adds to the uniqueness of your creation and is perfectly normal!

Did an earthquake hit?

Leave the oven door slightly ajar and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour. Allow to cool before popping into the fridge for at least 1 hour. Serve with some cherry jam or any other flavour of your choice. Or simply have it naked and enjoy the creaminess and vanilla loveliness. 

Lovely and creamy!

So, which is your favourite cheesecake topping?

Crab and lemon thyme quiche

Crab quiche!

Crab and lemon thyme quiche

Fresh ingredients with no sign of a processed can are always preferable but sometimes location and circumstances dictate otherwise. Hence whilst I love crabs, this recipe makes use of tinned crab meat.

A quiche is essentially a frittata in a pastry case and can be a simple and quick way to feed more than two. 

This recipe also makes use of an underused ingredient, lemon thyme, to add a lovely burst of flavour to compliment the crab.

Lovely lemon thyme

Ingredients:

240g plain gluten-free flour

170g dairy-free margarine

3/4 tbsp cold water

1 onion

2 spring onions

3 eggs

handful of lemon thyme (washed and stalks discarded)

2 tins of white crab meat in brine (170g each and drained)

120ml dairy free single cream

Seasoning to taste

Preheat the oven to 190C and then prepare the gluten free shortcrust pastry. Pastry is always a problem to make since the gluten is not there to add the elasticity. 

In a large mixing bowl rub the cold margarine together with the flour with the tips of your fingers to produce a breadcrumb texture. Add the cold water and combine until the mixture comes together into a dough.

Press the dough into a loose-bottomed flan tin evenly covering the base and sides. Pop into the oven for 10 minutes to bake. 

Meanwhile for the quiche mix, chop the onion and spring onions and add to a large frying pan with some dairy free margarine and sauté until the onions start to brown. Leave to one side and check on the pastry and once it browns slightly, take out to cool and arrange the onions on the pastry.  

In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs together lightly then add the lemon thyme, crab meat, cream and seasoning to taste. Combine and pour carefully into the pastry case. Pop into the oven for 35 minutes or until it browns slightly. 

Enjoy for lunch or a light dinner with salad and sweetcorn! 

Enjoy!

So, do you ever use an ingredient even if it comes in a tin?

Gluten Free Sachertorte

Sachertorte

Gluten Free Sachertorte

Sachertorte is a cake which has intrigued me since my early days of baking as a teenager. This was a cake which I had never tried before and introduced to me the concept of adding ground almonds and stiff egg whites to a cake mix. It is also a cake which actually tastes better the next day and which has a rich and strong flavour. I always thought of it as a ‘male’ cake. One of my dreams was to visit the hotel in Austria where the recipe was invented. Some years later my dream was realised when I chanced upon Hotel Sacher whilst walking through the streets of Vienna. I was so delighted to have afternoon tea there although ironically I was disappointed by the sachertorte that was served up to me! I still enjoy this recipe though and think it is well suited to a gluten free diet given the small amounts of flour used. 

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate

150g dairy free margarine

80g caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

75g ground almonds

40g gluten free self raising flour

Topping

250 ml lactose free cream

250g dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 180C. In a bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave being careful not to burn. In a large mixing bowl, add the margarine and beat lightly. Add the sugar and mix until light and creamy. Add the cooled chocolate and essence and mix. Separate the eggs adding the yolk to the chocolate mix and beating. Add the almonds and flour and beat to combine. 

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into the other mix and pour carefully into the prepared tin. Pop into the oven for about 50 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Cracks are a good thing!

When the cake is cold, prepare the topping by pouring the cream with the chocolate into a large bowl and melting in a microwave.Mix together until smooth and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

As if by magic...

...turns into this!

Pour over the cake and leave to set whilst admiring its indulgent glossiness!

Glossy!

So, have you visited Hotel Sacher?

Golden Fruit Salad

Golden Fruit Salad

Golden Fruit Salad

This fruit salad is inspired by the golden lusciousness of pineapple, and combines more of the juicier fruits out there. I had originally wanted to use kiwi fruit but discovered upon cutting the fruit that it was not ripe so I made an executive decision not to use it. Which is a shame but did not distract from the juiciness.

Fruit galore!

Ingredients:

1/2 pineapple

1/2 cantaloupe melon

1/2 honeydew melon

2 plums

1 lime

Wash the plums and chop together with the other fruit into bite-sized pieces. Place in a large container and grate some lime peel over the fruit before squeezing the lime over. 

Lovely Lime

 Put the lid on and shake the fruit around. It tastes best after a few hours in the container.

Lusciously Golden

So, how do you test the ripeness of kiwi fruit?