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I woke up early this morning (so much for my sleep in!), so decided to walk down to the shops to grab a coffee, the Sunday papers and some salt to have on my avocado on toast. On my way to the shops the idea of pancakes popped into my head - I have no idea why! Then I remembered making ricotta pancakes as a kid (I've always loved being in the kitchen), that were fluffy and moist. So many gluten free pancakes that I have had have been dry or rubbery and left me feeling like I had swallowed a brick! As I walked around the isles of Franklins I thought about how I could try and create a gluten free ricotta pancake, and must say I was pretty impressed with myself when it worked first go! So here's the recipe for you to try for yourself...
INGREDIENTS
1/3C rice flour
pinch salt1 tsp caster sugar
1 egg
1/4C ricotta
1/4C buttermilk
extra ricotta, frozen raspberries and maple syrup to serve
METHOD
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl with a fork until a smooth batter forms.
2. Heat a small, non-stick frypan over low/medium heat with a small piece of butter (you could use a vegetable oil). Once butter has melted, pour batter into frypan.
3. When bubbles form on the top side of the batter, flip the pancake over and keep on heat until cooked through - it should still be a bit moist inside though.
4. Serve with a dollop of ricotta, some thawed frozen raspberries and lashings of maple syrup.
Makes one pancake - which is enough to fill me up for breakfast. Multiply the mix by however many pancakes you want to make!
My dear friend, Viktor, from Slovakia produces an online food magazine, Delikatesy, and featured an article on my blog. For any of my Slovak readers it's definitely worth checking out this online magazine!
Back a couple of months ago at the Gluten Free Expo I picked up a pack of pasta from the Pasta @ Home stand. I'm not usually a fan of trying other brands of gluten free pasta, as unfortunately so many of them are horrible, but I thought I would give this one a go because it sounded interesting - not only is it gluten free, it's also grain free - and cooks in under 2 minutes! It's made from a mix of potato, tapioca, quinoa and amaranth flours. The cooking instructions said to place in boiling water for one minute then drain well and stand for 30 seconds - I found that mine wasn't cooked enough after this time, so extended the boiling time by a couple of minutes. I then mixed it up with some tuna, lemon juice, salt, pepper and parsley. It was really quite delicious, the pasta has a nice flavour and the texture was good - not the same as 'regular' pasta, but still good. And quite a quick way to whip up a healthy meal.
Their range includes spirals, shells and macaroni. You can order on their website and they also have a range of stockists.
About a month ago I was shopping in Harris Farm Markets and I came across a bigger range of gluten free breads than they used to stock. One in particular caught my eye - a baguette! There were two in a pack, and they were a decent size (especially for something that is gluten free!) and were just under $10. Having had so many bad-bread experiences in the past I am always hesitant about forking out the money to try a new brand. I put a pack in my trolley, walked around for a bit, then returned the pack to the shelf. The thought of the anticipation of biting through the crunchy crust of French baguette and it being an utter disappointment was too much to handle! The idea of the baguette however was hard to erase from my memory, and over the next few weeks it kept making an appearance in my mind. That initial crunch, then the soft, warm, fluffy bread inside... would I ever be able to experience this sensation in my gluten-free existence?!
I was driving home tonight with a container full of sliced ham left over from a Christmas photo shoot at work, trying to dream up a dinner I could make from it. The baguette popped back into my thoughts. I caved. I took a quick detour via Harris Farm Markets, picked up a pack of baguettes, an avocado and some vine ripened tomatoes. As soon as I got home I heated the oven to 200ºC, cut one of the baguettes in half, put it (impatiently) in the oven for 10 minutes while the house filled with the that wonderful bread aroma. Once my timer sounded I cautiously opened the oven and removed the baguette, nervous to touch it and it not feel crunchy. 'Tap, tap'... ooh, that is a good sound! I then cut into it with my bread knife, little flecks of crust flew off and the sound was just divine. I filled it with my ham, avocado and tomato and finished it off with a generous dose of ground pepper, took a quick snap of it, and then apprehensively bit in. YUM!! I don't know if it's because I have been deprived of gluten for so long that it tasted just like a 'normal' baguette, or if it was just really darn good! I will have to try it out on a non-GF soon and give you the verdict. In the mean time, if you are a baguette lover like me, find where your nearest Schar stockist is ASAP!!
A great new gluten free food find of mine is Dry-It, who do a range of products using dehydrated fruit and vegetables. Now don't let the word 'dehydrated' scare you away, stick with me here, what they do is pretty darn clever...
As fruit and vegetables are seasonal, this often means that there is a surplus when they are in season that goes to waste. This has many negative effects such as unnecessary packaging and transportation costs, disposal issues, loss of income for farmers and a pet hate of mine - food waste.
The clever souls at Dry-It came up with a solution to this problem. By using energy efficient low temperature dryers, they can dry surplus fruit and vegetables to create some wonderful products. This method of drying means that the nutritional value is reserved, and no chemicals, preservatives, colourings or additives are required. This is particularly good for those with sulphur allergies who usually have to avoid dried fruits.
Some of their products that I have tried are:
Banana wattle seed mix
All the dried banana that I've ever had has been hard and chip like. But this banana is still chewy, and a very good snack for a sweet-tooth like myself. Plus the pack has little wattle seeds, almonds, sultanas, hazelnuts and bits of chocolate in it - yum!
Dried apple
They come in different varieties of apple!
Quick meals
Simply add water (and maybe a little cream), and voila, you have a sweet potato soup. Or just add some oil and water and you have a mushroom and garlic risotto! Now, those who know me are aware that I'm not a real fan of pre-packaged meals, but these are really good - and I guess they should be, there's no nasties added.
Some other products include; a steak rub, stir fry mixes, other dried fruits and much more.
They are currently available at Thomas Dux stores and Norton Street Grocer.
Continuing with my obsession of The Pastry Pantry pastry, I decided to make a lemon meringue pie. It was delicious! I even fed it to five non-gluten free people (the ultimate trial!) and they loved it, commenting that the pastry was great.
I followed the instructions on the back of the sweet shortcrust pastry pack to cook the pastry. It will look a little soft when it comes out of the oven, but it firms right up once it cools, so don't be tempted to cook it for longer.
For the filling I used a lemon curd recipe from donna hay magazine that you can get here. Just ensure that the cornflour is made from corn and not wheat!
Once you have put the filling in the pastry shell and refrigerated for at least 2 hours, beat up 4 egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vinegar (gluten free - I used white wine vinegar) until the mixture is thick and stiff peaks form. Pile the mixture on top of the lemon curd then pop under a medium grill until the meringue is golden and has firmed up. Pop it back in the fridge for a while and then it's ready to serve.
I've been a bit busy lately and slack on updating the blog - I am working on new recipes though (I'm up to trial number seven of a light and fluffy sponge cake, hopefully number eight will be a winner so I can share it with you!), so keep checking back.
I thought I'd share with you a dish I made the other night. I'd been wanting to try The Pastry Pantry Rough Puff pastry, but didn't have time to create a recipe, so adapted one from donna hay magazine. You can get the recipe here.
I used gluten free plain flour in place of the regular plain flour, and made sure the stock was gluten free, and of course used The Pastry Pantry Rough Puff pastry. I didn't want one large pie, so separated the mixture into four ramekins and then placed 1/4 sheet of pastry over each pie, sealing the edges with the back of a fork. I brushed the pastry with a lightly beaten egg, and pierced a couple of holes in the top, then popped them in the oven at 200ºC for 25 minutes.
The pastry didn't 'puff' like regular puff pastry, it was kind of like a mix of puff pastry and savoury shortcrust - but it was crunchy and really tasty. I will definitely be making this again!
