After a dash to the fish co-op one afternoon we produced this delicious dinner of a Barbecued Snapper served with Spicy Mango and Avocado Salsa and accompanied it with the best friend of white fleshed fish - potatoes - simply steamed and tossed in butter. It was spectacularly simple and delicious ….
Inspired by my favourite, old, French cookbook, I prepared this mussel dish. It is very simple to make, the quality of the result relying upon the use of the very best produce you can lay your hands on. And aren’t we fortunate in Australia to have such ingredients to indulge our appetites and fantasies? ….
This is a recipe for XO Sauce with a difference. It is gluten-free, of course, which is the first difference. The next is that XO sauces usually include dried scallops and seafood but we use readily available bacon and mushroom to create the savoury complexity expected in an XO sauce ….
Versions of moussaka have been made in the Levant and the Balkans, in Egypt and Turkey and Greece for who knows how long. Proof of its popularity. But do we need another one? Well, this Mushroom and Lentil Moussaka has no gluten. It has no meat. It has no potato. The eggplant is grilled not fried ….
Deliciously succulent pasta tubes filled with aubergine, ricotta, spinach, parmesan and smoked Fior di Latte, topped and bottomed with home made tomato sauce ….. salivating yet? This week’s recipe is a home-cook’s dream as it can be prepared well ahead of time and gently reheated to serve topped with fresh basil leaves. It can be made in very large quantities for parties and freezes well ....
It’s winter in Australia and lockdown in Sydney is now in its fifth week. We can exercise outside without a mask and the sun does shine a lot in sunny Sydney, even in winter, but still the highlight of the day does seem to be dinner! And I’m delving deep to keep it interesting. Last night I made a Roast Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry and served it with Tofu in Chilli Sauce ….
We were heading off to spend a few days in Orange recently, and in the process of planning meals what should spring to mind but that cordon-bleu classic - Duck a l’Orange! Given the dish has been described by Gordon Ramsay as the culinary equivalent of flared trousers, the temptation to go there was impossible to resist. Somehow in the process, though, the duck became good old Aussie chook ….
Coming across hemp seeds in the supermarket recently, I had to take some home to try. They’re said to help with weight loss, improve skin, relieve joint pain and arthritis, aid in digestion, lower blood pressure and lots more. If you’re expecting to hate the medicine, though, the good news is that hemp seeds are quite delicious, even more so when they’re cooked. They add a rich nutty flavour and texture to baked goods, as in these thoroughly agreeable Gluten-free Hempcakes.
We like to think of our Gluten-free Mandarin Cake as the little black dress of the pantry. After all, it has been said that orange is the new black. This moist and scented cake is a good one to have on hand because you never know when you might just need it. Equally as delicious for afternoon tea as for a fancy dessert, you can leave it plain, dress it up or add some culinary bling to suit your taste ….
When I was a child my mother cooked. My father only ever did so when, decked out in one of Mum’s floral aprons and with tongs in hand, he’d hover over the barbecue blackening sausages and chops. They were the days. Despite this evidence to the contrary, Dad claimed to be a cook of quite some accomplishment, and he was always just on the cusp of creating for us his most famous dish – a Sea Pie ….
High Tea began as a mid-afternoon ‘meal’ for working men and was usually taken, along with a cuppa, sitting up on tall stools, thus the expression ‘high’ tea. High tea today seems to have become elevated to quite a special occasion affair and while our Almond and Poppy Seed Cakes would certainly hold their own on multi-tiered fine bone china, we’d like to think they’d be equally as happy at a picnic, in a lunchbox or any time you’re in need of a delicious, sweet treat ….
According to the old proverb: ‘the nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat.’ Leaving metaphorical meanings aside, when we’re talking about the long, slow cooking of meat on the bone, the culinary experts couldn’t agree with the ancients more. There’s not only the buttery bone marrow, they say, but the collagen in the bones themselves that melts to create gelatin. Both end up adding texture and body to carry and enrich the more complex meaty flavours ….
I can’t resist the flavour of coconut. For many westerners it reminds us of the exoticism of Asia. And whether it be in soups, curries, cakes or desserts; as a cream, a milk, desiccated, toasted, shredded or shaved it rewards us with a gorgeous tropical flavour. And what could be more tropically tantalising than the sweet scent of a coconut cake baking in the oven? Well … the combination of lime and coconut is pretty hard to beat …
Crêpes are lovely things to have as a lunch dish, a light supper or a family meal. They’re easy and fun to make and most people really like them. Especially children. With a delicious nutty flavour, soft texture and crisp edges, our Gluten-free Savoury Buckwheat Crepes could soon become a favourite dish in your household ….
For a slice of Italy at home, go no further than our Ricotta, Cavolo Nero and Salami Torta. Filled with classic Italian flavours and encased in our Revenge Gluten-free Cream Cheese Pastry it’s perfect with a salad for lunch or dinner and could even wing it for brunch, perhaps replacing the salami for bacon or speck ….
Break out the cakes plates and forks, choose your best linen, dust off the fine china teacups, invite some of your favourite people for afternoon tea and serve our luscious Carrot Cake with Ginger Cream Icing. It’s easy to make, especially when prepared in stages over a day or two. It’s flavoured with ginger, cinnamon and Dutch cocoa and is moist and delicious ….
I love to cook when I have leisurely time to enjoy it – a quiet Sunday afternoon for instance, when it’s nothing but pleasure to potter in the kitchen, particularly if I’m making small, sweet things. Indulgences. I also love the way that pleasure is amplified when I go to the cupboard some time later and find…Yay! Bikkies in the Tin …
As we know, making good bread without gluten isn’t easy. Even the best of the commercial bakers’ efforts - while we’re grateful they’re so much better than they used to be - aren’t, I imagine, like real bread.
I see the beautiful sourdough and artisanal breads that are around these days, and yes, drool. But enough of that. How about giving this Gluten-Free Fruit Loaf a go?
It was adapted from a recipe for hot cross buns (published in The Australian Coeliac). It’s the first time I’ve used yeast. Breakthrough! And I think it’s pretty fabulous.
It’s soft and stretchy, with sweet fruit and spice and smells pretty heavenly. And since we’re coming up to Easter, it could well hit the spot.
Mark it with a cross if you like. I give it a big tick!
Jan
Makes 1 large (1350gm) loaf
340 gm fine white rice flour, plus extra for dusting tin
90 gm tapioca flour
70 gm potato starch
85 gm full cream milk powder
100 gm raw sugar
1 tablespoon xanthan or guar gum
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons mixed spice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
14 gm dried yeast (2 sachets Tandaco Dry Yeast)
375 ml hot water
55 gm unsalted butter, diced
3 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
90 gm golden raisins
80 gm currants
80 gm mixed peel
4 tablespoons sugar syrup
Take a large loaf tin, 28 x 13 x 7cm. Grease it with butter and dust with rice flour, emptying out any excess.
Combine flours, potato starch, powdered milk, sugar, xanthan or guar gum, spices, salt and yeast in the large bowl of an electric mixer and, using dough hooks, whisk to combine.
Melt the butter in the hot water. Add to the dry ingredients along with the beaten eggs and mix well. The dough will be sticky and slightly warm.
Add the vinegar and beat at high speed for 2 minutes.
Stir in the dried fruit and mixed peel. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 1- 1½ hours. It should double in size.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 190°C.
When dough has risen, beat again for 3 minutes, then transfer to the tin, spreading it to the edges with a spatula and smoothing the top.
Brush with 2 tablespoons of sugar syrup to glaze the surface.
Bake for 20 minutes and turn the tin back to front. If the top is browning too much, reduce heat to 180°C and cover loaf with a sheet of foil. Cook for a further 20 minutes and remove from the oven when a skewer, inserted in the centre, comes out clean and dry.
Brush the top with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar syrup. Rest in the tin for 5-10 minutes before cooling completely on a rack.
Serve fresh, or toasted, with butter and honey or jam.
Sliced, packed in clip-lock bags and frozen, it will keep well for several weeks. Toast after bringing to room temperature.
Note: This recipe has also been tested using a hand-beater and dough hooks and it works just as well.
Madeleines and Proust? Yes, yes, we know it’s a cliché to mention the famous French novelist when talking about madeleines. However, in this instance we’re fairly sure that Proust would be a bit nonplussed by our version of the classic petite cake. You see, ours are not for dunking in tea. They are savoury ….
