Yes, we're all doing it. Wanting to catch up with everyone before Christmas as if there’ll never be another chance!
It makes a crazy time even more crazy but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
We love the idea of catching up over drinks with a few delicious bites, no matter whether it is a huge festive affair with all the friends and neighbours dropping in or something more intimate. Either way, we’ve got you covered.
As well as the couple of new recipes in this blog, we have posted a number of ‘small bite’ recipes over the year which are perfect for any festive occasion.
Most of the components in our recipes can be made ahead and simply assembled at the last minute.
Check out our ‘Small Bites’ category http://www.thecoeliacsrevenge.com/small-bites/ for all our recipes for delicious nibbles to have with drinks. And keep on reading here for our new ones.
Cheers,
Caren, Jan and Rosie
Our Taramasalata:
http://www.thecoeliacsrevenge.com/our-blog/2016/10/17/taramasalata
Witlof Leaves with Goats’ Milk Feta and Beetroot Chutney: http://www.thecoeliacsrevenge.com/our-blog/2016/6/14/the-good-the-sweet-and-the-salty
Cheesy Shortbreads:
http://www.thecoeliacsrevenge.com/our-blog/2017/2/10/cheesey-shortbread
Parmesan Pastries with Red Capsicum Puree, Olive and Basil: http://www.thecoeliacsrevenge.com/our-blog/2016/9/5/fitting-finger-food
Zoe’s Walnut Crispbread topped with Gravlax and Pickled Cucumber and Dill and Mustard Sauce and/or Goats’ Cheese and Tobiko:
http://www.thecoeliacsrevenge.com/our-blog/2017/2/4/zoes-walnut-knackebrod
Following are a couple of new recipes. The Creamed Fava with Caramalised Onions and Crudite can be made several days in advance and the vegetables prepared a couple of hours before serving. Choose your vegetables from whatever is fresh and in season. This is a surprisingly delicious and healthy addition to your repertoire and vegetarian to boot.
We've topped The Sticky Rice Cakes with rounds of radish and crosses of pickled rhubarb but you can use anything at all, Japanese pickled ginger; cucumber slices; pickled chillies; roasted capsicum; whatever is in your fridge or pantry. Do beware however. They are seriously addictive.
STICKY RICE CAKES WITH RADISH AND PICKLED RHUBARB
Makes 60
60 ml macadamia oil
20 gm fresh ginger, finely diced
60 gm Swiss brown mushrooms, finely diced
500 gm glutinous rice
650 ml water
75 ml gluten-free soy sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
25 ml Chinese black vinegar
50 ml gluten-free light soy sauce
70 ml gluten-free kecap manis - sweet soy sauce (see below for a recipe if it is hard to find)
Heat 30ml of the macadamia oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 3 minutes. When the vegetables are soft add the rice and stir for another 3 minutes.
Turn the heat to high and add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil, then cover the pan and bring the heat to a minimum. Cook the rice for 15 minutes, leave to stand for 10 minutes then fluff it up with a fork. It will be caramel-coloured and very sticky.
Line 25cm x 20cm tray with baking paper and spread with the rice. Flatten the surface, cover with plastic or paper and place a weight on top (I used a cookbook, perfect).
Refrigerate until chilled, then upturn the tray onto a board and cut the rice into 2.5cm squares. (For convenience, the rice-cakes can be prepared to this point several days earlier, or even weeks beforehand, because they freeze well. Defrost them in the fridge before frying.)
To Serve for 10
2 tablespoons macadamia oil
1-2 small radishes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons pickled rhubarb
30 rice cakes
Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot. Add the rice cakes, being mindful not to crowd the pan, depending on the number of rice cakes needed, you may have to cook them in batches.
Fry until crisp, turning once. Remove to a serving platter and top with radish slices and pickled rhubarb.
PICKLED RHUBARB
2 golden shallots, finely sliced
1 bunch rhubarb, cut into julienne then into 1cm lengths
50 gm fresh ginger, in fine julienne
300 ml Japanese rice vinegar
200 gm caster sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Toss shallots, rhubarb and ginger together in a heat proof bowl. Place the vinegar, caster sugar and salt in a small saucepan, allow the sugar to dissolve over a low heat then bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes then immediately pour over the rhubarb mix. Strain the liquid back into the saucepan and bring to the boil again. Pour over the rhubarb mix and allow to stand, tossing from time to time until cold. Transfer to a non-corrosive container and allow to stand for 4-6 hours unrefrigerated. Store in the fridge.
The Pickled Rhubarb will begin to lose its vibrant colour after a couple of weeks so eat it up quickly or serve it pale pink.
GLUTEN-FREE KECAP MANIS
125 ml water
250 gm palm sugar or dark brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic, pressed with the side of a knife
2 star anise
125 ml tamari or rich gluten-free soy sauce
Heat water and sugar in a saucepan, stirring till sugar dissolves.
Add garlic and star anise, bring to the boil and continue cooking for around 30 minutes to caramelise and reduce the sugar, watching carefully to make sure the bubbling lava doesn’t lift out of the pan, which it will try to do!
When the caramel is thick and syrupy, carefully add the soy sauce. Cook for a further 5 minutes, strain, cool and pour into a sterilised jar. This makes around 300ml of sauce which, refrigerated, keeps well for months.
CREAMED FAVA WITH CARAMELISED ONIONS AND CRUDITE
Serves 10
Creamed Fava
175 gm dried fava (lima) beans
1 large red onion, peeled and quartered
1 small potato, peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic, peeled
80 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced
50 gm marinated feta
40 gm almond meal
1 large red onion, extra, peeled and finely diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Sweet paprika, to serve
Soak fava beans overnight in plenty of water. Drain.
Place the fava beans in a saucepan along with the quartered onion, the potato and garlic. Simmer until the beans and vegetables are cooked through. Drain.
Allow to cool then place in a food processor and puree along with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon juice and rind, feta and almond meal.
Season to taste.
Finely dice the remaining onion and fry in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, stirring often, until nicely browned. Allow to cool. Fold through the fava puree.
To Serve
Spread the fava mixture onto a flat plate, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little sweet paprika.
Crudite
Use any vegetables that take your fancy and cut into manageable pieces. For guidance, for our pre-dinner drinks for 10, we used:
4 Orange Dutch carrots, peeled, cut into manageable lengths and widths
4 Purple Dutch carrots, peeled, cut into manageable lengths and widths
4-5 radishes, washed and halved or quartered
12 small okra, root ends trimmed off
1 yellow capsicum, cut into strips
6 mini cucumbers, halved lengthways, seeds scooped out
Arrange on a platter with the fava puree.