Now no-one is going to chance upon these recipes and think ‘Good Lord! I can finally have pasta again!’. These days even the dingiest supermarket will have some kind of gluten free pasta on their shelves (the best is Salute from Waitrose, in case you’re wondering). But still, if you’re thinking of making your own ravioli, lasagne or even just for a special occasion, it’s a good recipe to have in the arsenal.

Rather than start from scratch, I thought I’d try out two very different recipes. The first is from Shauna James Ahern of glutenfreegirl.com, which has the rare benefit of being an American recipe that gives the ingredients by weight, rather than volume.  The second is from Michela Chiappa, a Welsh-Italian (or perhaps Italian-Welsh) cook who presented the show Simply Italian on Channel 4.

GLUTEN FREE FRESH PASTA – THE RECIPES

1. Gluten Free American Girl

Find the recipe here, about a third of the way down the page. Marvel at the pretty pictures as you scroll.

You may get stuck with the first ingredient here, but soldier on. Contrary to what you might think, ‘Garbanzo-Fava’ is not the owner of an Italian circus but a type of flour made from Chickpeas and Broad Beans (to us Brits). You can try Gram flour, available at most large supermarkets, or you can buy the real thing from Amazon here. I used Sorghum flour instead of Millet because this is what I had in the cupboard – it is very similar to Millet flour, so use whichever you can get. Shauna’s recipe uses psyllium husk powder because she is intolerant to xantham gum; 2tsp of xantham gum would be a fine substitute.

2. Gluten Free Italian-Welsh Girl

The recipe is here, or if Channel 4 remove it try here instead. It is a much simpler affair than the one above, both for technique and ingredients. I used potato starch rather than potato flour – you would think there wouldn’t be a difference, but gluten free aficionados go all wide eyed and gapey mouthed when you tell them you’ve substituted one with the other. Happily it turned out fine (and particularly stretchy), as you’ll see below. I don’t think I dusted it with Polenta either, shame on me.

GLUTEN FREE FRESH PASTA - THE PROCESS

I had planned to use a pasta machine for both of these, but it was not to be. Recipe 1 wouldn’t work at all in the pasta machine, while Recipe 2 went down to a certain thickness then started developing lace-like holes all over it:

So I put the machine away (and considered consigning it to the charity shop), and got to work with a rolling pin. You may find that the dough actually benefits from rolling a few times and folding over before you start rolling it as thin as you can; it seems to make the mixture a little more flexible. And make sure you really do roll it thin – I made a second batch paying less attention to how thin it was, forgetting that the pasta almost doubles in thickness when boiled. Fat white worms, that’s all I’m saying.

GLUTEN FREE FRESH PASTA – THE RESULTS

 

Both were relatively easy to make, though I found Michela Chiappa’s recipe generally easier, both for the ease of sourcing ingredients and also the dough was better to work with; it took more effort to get Shauna’s dough as thin as it needed to be.

The tastes were unique; Recipe 2 was a more neutral taste that picked up a simple black pepper and olive oil dressing very well. I think it would go well with light recipes, seafood and the like. Shauna’s had more flavour and was more robust, it would stand up well to a strong tomato sauce or a fiery Arrabbiata.

My preference? I’d probably go for Michela Chiappa’s recipe. It was the quickest and easiest, and although I quite liked the flavour of Shauna’s, I think this a more versatile option. I might try to tailor the recipe in future, at the very least to try and give it a little more colour.

Twitter:

Gluten Free Fresh Pasta – A Tale of Two Pastas posted on A Life In Food

I’ve had to rush this recipe out in time for pancake day, so there is hardly any time for the usual babbling (which I’m sure most people will be thankful for). Although I usually just cover gluten free stuff on the site, I though gluten free pancakes were so simple that anyone could manage them, and a vegan, gluten free, egg free and dairy free pancake recipe that everyone could enjoy would be more useful on a day which should be about people coming together and enjoying fun food together.

These pancakes are very thin and crispy on the outside, almost like crepes. If you’re not used to cooking with ingredients that sound fairly weird, have faith; avocado and apple are common substitutes for egg, and they help bind the mixture along with the xantham gum. For anyone who wants more of the same, I took a lot of inspiration from Erin Mckenna’s book Babycakes Covers the Classics which offers vegan and gluten free sweet treats along with covering a few other allergies.

Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free Pancakes

130g (4.5 oz) gluten free flour (*Doves Farm or my blend here)
1 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb of soda
pinch of salt
2 tbsp apple sauce
2 tbsp pureed avocado
2 tbsp golden syrup
250 ml (1 cup) almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp vegetable/sunflower oil (plus more for frying)

Ground cinnamon and caster sugar to serve

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and xantham gum in a medium bowl.
2. You can make the apple sauce by zapping half a peeled, cored and sliced apple in the microwave until soft. Puree this with the avocado to make a smooth paste, then set aside to cool.
3. Add the golden syrup, almond milk, vanilla extract and oil to the apple/avocado blend and mix well.
4. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, then add the liquid mixture to this slowly, stirring well.
5. Continue mixing until the ingredients are well combined. The mixture should be the consistency of a very thick cream; add more almond milk if it is too thick.
6. The pancakes need to be cooked more slowly than a gluten/egg/dairy equivalent (avocado will brown a little too readily), so set a non-stick pan on a medium-low heat and add a small amount of oil.
7. Add a spoon full of the mix and rotate the pan to spread it well into a thin layer. When the edges are lightly browning and there are lots of bubbles, start lifting the pancake up at the edges and peering under to see if it is golden brown yet.
8. Sadly you probably won’t be able to flip the pancake, instead you’ll need to work around the edges slowly, then pick up the whole pancake with a fish slice and flip it over.
9. When browned on both sizes, put on a plate in a low oven to keep warm while you cook the others.
10. To serve, mix ground cinnamon and caster sugar in a 1:4 ratio (so 1 tbsp cinnamon to 4 tbsp) and scatter over delicately and mysteriously. All the usual toppings will go well too, lemon and sugar, cointreau, gallons of melted chocolate etc.

For anyone interested, the box at the top is made from cinnamon bark, I keep sugar and cinnamon sticks together in there, which gives the sugar a delicious cinnamon flavour.

Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free Pancakes – Suitable for all, yet still delicious posted on A Life In Food

But make no mistake, we’re not settling for some half baked (‘scuse the pun) gluten free knock off of the wheatier brownie cousin. Serve this up to your gluteny friends with impunity – it is as fine as any gluten filled brownie they will ever taste. It almost seems like cheating to call this ‘gluten free’, after all flour is such a minor ingredient that you could probably swap it for sand or shredded paper without anyone noticing.

Gluten Free Chocolate Brownie

200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) – make sure it’s gluten free
250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa powder
70g gluten free flour (e.g. *Doves Farm or my recipe here)
1 tsp baking powder
360g caster sugar
4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 180° C/350° F/gas mark 4.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate together – this is best done gently using a ‘bain marie’, a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water, or you can try it in the microwave if you’re so inclined.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the butter chocolate mix, stirring well.
4. Beat the eggs and add to the mixture – stir until well mixed THEN STOP STIRRING!
5. Line a *25cm / 10 inch baking tin (make sure it’s deep) with baking parchment, pour in the chocolate mix, then place in the oven.
6. Check after 25 minutes – you want them sticky in the middle, so don’t expect a clean skewer, but the top needs to be relatively firm for it to stay together when you cut it.
7. Allow to cool (if you have the patience), then chop into about 16 squares. Serve them as they are or go crazy and dollop some ice cream on them. I served mine with orange mascarpone ice cream, and I make no apologies for it.

Gluten Free Chocolate Brownie – One Brownie to Rule Them All posted on A Life In Food

Most store bought gluten free flour blends centre around three main ingredients; rice flour (base),  potato starch (stretchy) and tapioca flour (more stretchy). Xantham gum is added for yet more stretchyness.

This flour blend is a good general base for cakes, breads, pancakes, and cookies. It doesn’t have an especially complex flavour, but this can be useful when you are adding other flavouring ingredients. It’s the base for a lot of the recipes on the site, including five minute gluten free flatbread, quick gluten free pizza, gluten free lemon tart and probably many more to come.

You should be able to get all the ingredients at a health food / whole food shop or even larger supermarkets, or you can order them online from Amazon at the links below. Doves Farm and Bob’s Red Mill both produce high quality stoneground flours, so aim for these where you can. If you know any other good brands, please leave a comment below!

UK
*Doves Farm Gluten Free Rice Flour
*Bob’s Red Mill Potato Starch
*Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour

US
*Bob’s Red Mill White Rice Flour
*Bob’s Red Mill Potato Starch
*Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour

Tapioca flour is usually the most difficult and expensive to find, I’ve never done it but I’m assured that you can grind tapioca pearls into flour relatively easily. Worth a try as tapioca pearls seem to be much cheaper.

I’ve given the blends below by volume and by weight; if possible, I’d go for weight as flours can settle and take up greater or smaller volumes.

Gluten Free Flour Blend

Directions: Stir ingredients together with a whisk or fork until well mixed. Keep in a sealed airtight container.

By Weight (metric):

Makes 450g
300g white rice flour
110g potato starch
40g tapioca flour
1 tsp xantham gum

By Weight (imperial):

Makes 22.5oz
15oz white rice flour
5.5oz potato starch
2oz tapioca flour
1.5 tsp xantham gum

By Volume:

Makes 3 cups
2 cups white rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp xantham gum

Basic Gluten Free Flour Blend posted on A Life In Food

Vietnamese Spring Rolls posted on A Life In Food

I’m reading a book called ‘The Undercover Economist’ by Tim Harford. It’s very much in the gist of books like Freakonomics, brimming with anecdotes that cause one eyebrow to raise, beard stroking to commence and the reader to emit tuneful humming noises. The book recounts the never-ending ambition of big corporations to find new and inventive ways of drilling more money out of consumers when they least expect it. It makes some points that are almost terrifyingly obvious, and yet that most of us get duped by every day. I work with businesses accounts, finances, revenue, profit margins and other thrilling conversation-killers on a regular basis and yet I was genuinely shocked to realise that it doesn’t actually cost a cafe an extra 50 pence to pile squirty cream and marshmallows on to my hot chocolate.

As corporations go, supermarkets are a particularly wiley bunch, happily embracing organic, fair trade and high welfare food as they can jack up the price well beyond what the genuine additional cost is. When you pick up one of these ‘ethical’ choices, you’re telling them that you are happy to pay more, not just the actual extra cost, but much more.

And they are happy to oblige. 

In fairness, they also use card schemes and vouchers to artificially reduce the cost of other items for those not willing to pay as much, but this is no selfless Robin Hood redistribution of wealth, the crucial word here is ‘willing’. They’re not directing these specifically at people with lower income, they’re just selecting those who their data shows only go for discounted goods or cheaper products.

It is this kind of logic that has been applied to whole chickens and their respective portions. If you are willing to buy chicken breasts alone in a packet, then you have money to burn, and they want it. It is not unusual to see a pair of chicken breasts that cost almost as much as an entire chicken. And I don’t mean by comparing free range breasts with whole broiler chickens – I mean like-for-like. It’s the equivalent of going into a piano shop and being told you can buy the keys for £400, or the whole piano for £450.

Are they hoping that people don’t realise that chicken breasts have come of the actual chicken?

Of course not.

They know that we’ll pay for convenience, and pay we do, day after day.

So, with this in mind, here is a quick and easy way to stick it to the man, put two fingers up to the corporate giants, and have your chuck and eat it.

How to Portion a Chicken Using Kitchen Scissors

Portioning a chicken with kitchen scissors is quick and easy, it requires no special skills and you’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing it all along.

1. Set your chuck down on a firm board, and cut the funny bit of elastic string that holds its legs together. Ptwiiiing! Avoid said string as it flies across kitchen.

 

The breast portions are still on the bone, and I’d encourage you to cook them this way as it can be more forgiving than a breast fillet. If you’d prefer the breast deboned, however, this can easily be done by slicing where the breast meets the bone with a sharp knife, sliding the knife repeatedly between the meat and bone until it eventually all pulls away.

Twitter: @TimHarford

How to Portion a Chicken in Five Minutes Using Only Kitchen Scissors posted on A Life In Food

When I was a wee foodie, home cooked Indian food was becoming very fashionable in the UK, and my mother embraced the trend with great fervour and enthusiasm. Several Indian cookbooks were added to her already mountainous collection and the kitchen became a smoke filled den of pungent spicy aromas, with mother furiously chopping and stirring amid the chaos. At the time I had just discovered Indian food, having realised that a Korma from the local takeaway meant that I could enjoy rich and creamy eastern flavours without the scorched lips, and I was very supportive of her attempts to replicate such fineries in our own home.

Sadly these efforts were always thwarted; the cookbooks had the unsporting habit of presenting you with a recipe that initally seemed simple, but then suddenly demanded the inclusion of some obscure ingredient. These could be a strange and mysterious spice, the root of an expensive herb, a flower that must be plucked at midnight from the east side of Mount Sinai, or even, God forbid, Okra.

There also seemed to be a suspicious level of consistency in the recipes, which would involve the same process whether the dish was Korma, Rogan Josh, Bengal fish curry or Jalfrezi. Regardless of which of these was being attempted, we would triumphantly be presented with a pale brown mass which had the unmistakeable aroma of curry, but without the authentic day glow colours and the creamy richness I had come to expect of an Indian meal. The table would be filled with distracting side dishes including sliced bananas, yoghurt raita with cucumber and mint, pilau rice with raisins (assuming there weren’t already raisins in the curry) and mango chutney, but I eyed these with suspicion, assuming they were just an attempt to smuggle more fruit and vegetables into me.

The death rattle on this chapter came when my mother left my father instructions to make a korma with a jar of sauce (she had lost her initial enthusiasm for fresh concoctions) and he made use of that terrible culinary technique known as ‘initiative’, padding out the dish with a can of kidney beans in chilli sauce to make a meal that tasted entirely of kidney beans in chilli sauce. Now most of the curry that enters my parent’s home comes out of the back of a Ford Orion and includes a handy ‘salad in a bag’.

There is, however, one dish from this period that I remember fondly. It was the simplest of recipes, and I think was my mothers own invention, though she now tells a tale of it being passed on to her by an ancient Indian lady, which I think is just to give it an air of mystery and authenticity. The yogurt in the marinade helps the flavours fully penetrate the chicken, and cooking it under a grill aims to replicate the heat of a Tandoor oven, resulting in crispy golden skin and tender meat.

Grilled Turmeric Chicken

Serves 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes prep, Overnight Marinade, 20-30 minutes to cook

4 portions of free range chicken, on the bone (breasts, thighs and drumsticks are all fine)
250ml (1 cup) of natural yoghurt
2 tsbps of sunflower oil
1 tbsp turmeric
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsps garam masala or curry powder (home made and recently ground will make all the difference)

Chilli powder (heat and amount to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
Coriander to garnish

1. Score the chicken with fairly deep cuts all round – this will help the marinade to penetrate and also speed up the cooking process.
2. Mix together all the other ingredients except the salt and pepper and coriander.
3. Put the chicken and marinade into a bowl with a firm fitting lid, and shake to coat
4. Refrigerate overnight (and I really mean overnight – yoghurt based marinades will continue to penetrate the meat for up to 24 hours)
5. Take the chicken out of the fridge around 30 minutes before you plan to cook it to bring up to room temperature
6. Season then cook under a medium-hot grill for 20-30 minutes until crispy and cooked through (use a thermometer or cut into a piece to check), it will cook quickly because of the scores.
7. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with pilau rice; I like to cook with vegetables like peppers, onions and peas, paella style. Sliced bananas optional…

Grilled Turmeric Chicken posted on A Life In Food

Look at the two fish above.  Fairly similar size and weight, both caught within the last 24 hours, so about as fresh as you can get. But the price difference between the two is huge – the bream at the bottom cost £6.51 ($10.22), while the wrasse was £1.34 ($2.10)!  And bream isn’t really an expensive fish – if we were comparing Monkfish, it would be around 10 times more expensive per kg than the wrasse.

So why the difference?  Bad reputation, essentially. Wrasse is an unpopular fish with both consumers and fisherman in the UK, known as a bony fish with a thick skin, nasty texture and unpleasant taste. Nothing could be further from the truth. Wrasse takes relatively little effort to fillet if you know where to cut – there is no need to remove the scales (it’s easier to skin with them on), and the bones come away easily. When fresh it makes beautiful sashimi, and has a light delicate flavour when cooked. It’s also an essential ingredient in the French dish, Bouillabaisse.

 Filleting Wrasse

1. After gutting the fish, at the same angle as the edge of the head, cut about 1 inch back, almost at the edge of the pectoral fin

2. Holding the tail firmly, cut as close to the bone as you can, slicing down as far as the original cut.

3. Start an incision at the tail end between the skin and the fillet, then holding the skin tightly (use a cloth, paper towel or even pliers) continue cutting as close to the skin as you can. Remove any remaining pin bones with tweezers if you prefer.

You’ll end up with two reasonably sized fillets; slice finely with the grain to make sashimi, or grill for just a minute each side, season and drizzle with some good olive oil.

 Living near the sea, I really should be catching my own fish.  But after reading the following sentence in my fishing magazine:

“This is as simple as a swivel and bead hook snood connection on a mono paternoster, being secured not with a crimp but via a power gum stop knot or a rubber stop (slipping snood).”

I think I’ll leave it to the professionals…

Filleting Wrasse – Knowing this could save you a lot of money posted on A Life In Food

A friend who makes chilli sauces once gave me a jar full of various exotic dried chillies, then gave me a concerned look and said ”You do know how to use dried chillies, don’t you?”. I snorted and rolled my eyes a few times to imply that, yes, of course I did, how could anyone not know, but then sheepishly admitted, “No”.

And to be fair, most people would probably look at a dried chilli and make very little connection between this and a finished meal, but using dried chillies in cooking gives you a great resouce that unlike fresh chillies is always available.  Some chillies such as Chipotle (dried and smoked jalapeno chillies) can just be thrown in the pot whole with other ingredients and removed at the end, but traditional Spanish chillies such as the Guindilla and Nora from Brindisa Spanish Foods in the photo above require some simple preparation before use, as follows:

Using Dried Chillies

1. Open up the chillies fully with a knife, and remove as many seeds as you can.

2. Flatten out each chilli, then toast it in a dry pan (ideally cast iron), pressing the chillies into the pan until the skin starts to bubble slightly, go a slightly pale red colour and become more pliable (taking care not to burn them).

3. When you have toasted a few chillies, put them in a bowl then add boiling water until they are well covered.

4. Leave for 15-20 minutes, after which the chillies should be soft and can be pureed into a sauce or chopped up as you would fresh chillies.

An alternative to the above is to follow steps 1 and 2 then grind your chillies in a spice grinder – hot paprika is made from Guindilla chillies using this process, and there’s no better flavour to add to a meal than your own freshly made paprika. These chillies are also used in my previous recipes for quick pesto.

Twitter: @Brindisa

Using Dried Chillies posted on A Life In Food

You can also use these as instant dressings to liven up vegetables or rice, or defrost a cube in advance to mix into oil and vinegar for a full flavoured salad dressing. Try the following combinations:

Wild Garlic Pesto – equal weights of wild garlic, basil, toasted pine nuts (in a dry pan until lightly browned), parmesan cheese (or any hard cheese), blitz together with olive oil until the mixture is a smooth paste.

Basil Pesto – as above, but use double the quantity of basil to everything else and add 2 cloves of garlic.

Chilli & Rosemary Pesto – not sure we can still call this pesto, but anyhow… 2-3 dried guindilla chillies (rehydrated in hot water), olive oil, white wine vinegar, 2 garlic cloves and a few sprigs of rosemary (see the picture above).

Salsa Verde - parsley, garlic, anchovies, capers, white wine vinegar, olive oil. Go nuts, mostly parsley, equal quantities of the rest.

Tapenade - similar to above, lots of olives, anchovies, capers, lemon juice, olive oil and a clove of garlic if you fancy it.

Quick and Convenient Fresh Pesto Cubes posted on A Life In Food