Bean Burgers

Over the years we have tried a lot of variations with this recipe but I think this is the best.

Full of hidden green vegies, gluten free, dairy free and still full of flavour these are often chosen by the boys when we have a vegetarian meal.

The vegetable of choice is always edamame in their shells, these are found in your local Asian food stores freezer and they are yummy, as ever, eaten with your fingers makes them taste so much better according to the boys!

Makes 12-14 burgers.

Ingredients

2 x 400g tins of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

6 spring onions, topped and tailed, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 piece of lemongrass, white part only, sliced

150g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks

150g fresh baby spinach

1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons salt

freshly ground pepper

80g besan/chickpea flour

150g fresh gluten free breadcrumbs

oil to fry in

Method

Process the spring onions, garlic, lemongrass and chilli.

Add the beans, fresh coriander and spinach, process to a paste, scraping down the sides as needed.

Add the ground coriander, ground cumin, besan and salt and pepper, process again.

Tip the mixture into a large bowl and add the breadcrumbs, mix well.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, once heated fry the burgers until brown and crispy on the outside.

Set aside on kitchen towel to absorb the oil.

Serve with rolls or pittas, salad, edamame and yogurt dressing.

 

 

 

Prawn Poppers

Possibly the yummiest way to cook a prawn! I use really large prawns for this and they need to be raw, cooked prawns would go too rubbery. I also tend to buy the prawns in the shell as they tend to be a bit cheaper and it takes no time to peel them.

The boys love them, possibly because they are served on a stick! We have these sometimes on a Friday night when we are doing the home made fast food challenge, gluten free and dairy free these beat the fish and chip shop by miles!

Ingredients

12 large prawns, peeled and deveined

200g cornflour

2 egg whites

salt and pepper to taste

oil to fry in

Method

Put your oil on to heat.

In a large bowl place the egg whites.

On a flat plate spread the cornflour and season with salt and pepper.

Take each peeled and deveined prawn and stick a wooden skewer up through the middle of the body coming out at the head end.

Once the oil is hot, around 180 degrees Centigrade prepare the prawns.

Whisk the egg whites until forming stiff peaks.

Dip each prawn in the egg white, turning the skewer as you go.

Now dip into the cornflour, again, turning as you go.

Immediately place into the hot oil and allow around 1min to cook turning half way, ensure that the prawn is fully cooked.

Serve with some dill mayonnaise, recipe on the blog.

Rice with Caramelised Onion

This is continued on from my Caramelised Onion recipe. I like to think that is saves on washing up! If you use my onion recipe you need around 2 heaped tablespoons of the onions in the pan you cooked them in, there is no need for more butter. Warm the onions in the pan, add the spices and continue with the recipe from there.

Inspired from Middle Eastern recipes this goes beautifully with most Middle Eastern dishes as it has a lovely subtle flavour.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

2 onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced

50g butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

380g basmati rice

750mls water

small bunch of parsley, leaves removed and chopped.

Method.

Heat the butter in a heavy based pan with a well fitting lid over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook until soft and  golden brown.

Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, stir well.

Once fragrant add the rice and stir to cover in butter, turn up to high.

Add the water, stir and cover.

Once boiling, turn the heat down to low, do not remove the lid.

Cook for 15mins, turn off the heat and leave to rest for 5 mins without removing the lid.

After 5 mins, stir rice gently, mix in the parsley and serve.

 

Fudge Block

OK, not the healthiest of treats but oh, so delicious!

Unfortunately, they don’t last long so I use the quantities below which are actually double the original recipe but with hungry boys in the house it’s sometimes to use the more is less mantra!

If you really want a sugar hit, melt 250g milk chocolate and pour this over the cooled fudge block.

Makes 48 fingers.

Ingredients

200g butter

200g caster sugar

450g crushed digestive biscuits

60mls golden syrup

2 x 395g tins of condensed milk

Method

Line a 22x30cm roasting tin with baking parchment.

Weigh the biscuits into a large plastic bag.

Seal the bag and smash the biscuits with a rolling pin, young boys/men are very good at this!

In a large pan warm the butter, sugar, syrup and condensed milk. Stir constantly.

Bring this mixture up to bubbling and stir continuously for 10-15 mins until caramelised.

Add the crushed biscuits and mix well.

Spoon mixture into the prepared tin, smooth out with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.

Set aside to cool.

Once cool cut into fingers.

 

 

 

Caramelised Onions

One of the most versatile jars of pre prepared food you can have in the fridge. A brilliant cheat’s ingredient when you don’t have long to get dinner on the table.

When a recipe calls for onion I often pop a dollop of this in the pan, excellent base for French Onion Soup,  also great as a tart or quiche ingredient or risotto, the list could go on!

This recipe is for 1kg of onions as that’s all I had in the cupboard today but if you are making this do consider upping your quantities, it’s so handy!

Ingredients

1kg brown onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced

80g butter

Method

In a large pan melt the butter over a medium heat?

Add the onions, stir well and cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally until softened.

Turn the heat down to low and continue cooking the onions, stirring occasionally and scraping any goo off the base of the pan as you go.

The onions are ready when they are a little darker than golden brown and completely soft, this stage can take an hour.

I remove most of the onion to a jar and keep in the fridge, what’s left is used for dinner, see my Rice with Caramelised Onion recipe, published after this.

Shepherd’s Pie

This is where leftovers get elevated to another delicious dinner.

I have used the leftovers from the Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic.

Once we had the roast lamb I stripped the meat and froze it, boiled water in the roasting pan to get all the gooey brown juice off the base and added this to the bones in a pressure cooker, cooked it under pressure for 30 mins, drained the stock and froze it to use with the lamb for this pie.

However, this tastes just as good using stock powder so feel free to save time and get the stock cubes out!

If you have any left over cooked vegetables these can go in to the pie too.

Today I topped the pie with sliced potatoes but to save time you can use left over mashed potatoes, the mash will soak up a little of the juice and will taste delicious.

If you choose to top with the sliced potatoes, you can peel them if you want to be fancy but I don’t, there’s never enough time!

Ingredients

50mls olive oil

2 onions, finely diced

3 carrots, finely diced

400-600g leftover roast lamb

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

600mls stock

80mls Worcestershire sauce, gluten free

80mls tomato ketchup

4 medium potatoes, finely sliced

100mls cream

salt and pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.

Add the onions and carrot and slow cook until the onion is translucent.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the meat and cook over medium heat until the meat is beginning to get crispy bits all over as you stir it regularly.

Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce,tomato ketchup, salt and pepper,  mix well and leave to bubble until the sauce has reduced to a minimal amount.

Pour the meat mix into a casserole, set aside.

Bring a large pan of salted water and bring to the boil.

Add the potatoes, bring back up to the boil.

Boil for 3 mins, drain and refresh with cold water.

Layer the potatoes over the pie mix until they are all used.

Pour over the cream and season well.

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade.

Bake the pie for 45-50 mins until bubbling and golden brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gluten Free Potato Scones

Tattie scones, as they are called in Scotland.

I have a soft spot for these! Delicious for breakfast with an egg, served with soup or  use as a gluten free base for canapés.

The scones have a very mild flavour but you can zip them up a bit, fresh chopped chilli or some smoked paprika both work well.

Makes 6 10cm diameter scones.

Ingredients

400g mashed, cooked potatoes

80g glutinous rice flour

40g butter, melted

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

pinch of salt

Method

In a large bowl mash the potatoes.

Add the flour and baking powder, using a fork mix through, mashing as you go.

Add the butter and salt and mix to form a dough.

Heat a large non stick frying pan over a medium heat.

Line the work surface with a piece of baking parchment.

Sprinkle the parchment with a little rice flour.

Gently, using your hand, flatten the dough to around 1cm thickness.

Use a cookie cutter to cut circles in the dough.

Cook the scones in the dry pan until golden brown.

Keep warm and serve or allow to cool on a cooling rack.

 

Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar and Lemon

The combination of sumac, Za’atar and lemon really gets the taste buds tingling!

I serve this with crusty bread and a green salad, simple and delicious.

Ingredients

1.5kg chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces

2 lemons

1 onion, peeled and finely sliced

1 tablespoon sumac

2 tablespoons Za’atar

60mls olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large bowl, pour the juice of 1 lemon.

Take the second lemon, slice finely and add to the bowl.

Add the finely sliced onion, sumac, 1 tablespoon of Za’atar, olive oil and salt and pepper, combine well.

Add the chicken to the bowl and mix really well.

Set aside to marinade for 2-24 hours in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Centigrade.

Place the chicken skin side up in a roasting tin, top with the onion and lemon slices.

Place in the oven and roast for 40mins basting regularly.

Serve warm or at room temperature with a light sprinkling of sumac, lemon wedges and bread to soak up the juices.

Gluten Free Shortbread

It took a fair bit of trial and error to make my favourite shortbread taste like the wheat version.

Normally, egg yolks are not used in shortbread but with the flours here you really need the yolk both to bring the dough together and to add a little colour to the very white flours.

Glutinous rice can be found at Asian food stores and just double check your cornflour is wheat free!

I use salted butter as I would for wheat shortbread.

Makes 24

Ingredients

220g butter, salted, at room temperature

110g caster sugar

200g glutinous rice flour

120g cornflour

2 egg yolks

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Centigrade.

Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy.

Sieve the flours over the butter mix and mix well to form a dough.

Roll into walnut sized balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Using a fork, gently press down a little.

Bake in the oven for 30mins.

Allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet, then gently move to a baking rack to cool completely.

Bean and Cheese Chowder

This was one of the first soups that the boys would eat,  nothing beats the flavour of baked beans and cheese.

Check that your ingredients are gluten free if cooking for a coeliac, Worcestershire sauce is often not gluten free.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

50g butter

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 x 400g tins baked beans in tomato sauce

500mls chicken stock

250mls full cream milk

250g Cheddar, grated

60mls Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper

Method

In a large pan, melt the butter and add the onions.

Cook the onions until soft, add garlic and cook gently for 1 minute.

Add the baked beans and chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins.

Remove from the heat.

Using a stick blender, liquidize the soup.

Return the pan to the heat, add the milk, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

Heat gently, stirring the cheese until melted.

Check seasoning and serve.

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