Spiced Granola

Gluten free breakfast cereals here in Australia can cost an arm and a leg and quite frankly, many taste similar to cardboard so we spent last weekend experimenting with granola.

This recipe was a clear winner, made with ingredients I always have to hand and converting my eldest, six slices of toast gluten eating son to gluten free cereal was an added bonus!

Makes enough to fill a 2.8l airtight box.

Ingredients

280g honey

70g coconut oil

2-3 tablespoons vanilla extract

120g gluten free rice puffs

150g flaked almonds

50g LSA

60g pumpkin kernals

50g raw cashew nut, very roughly chopped

80g sultanas

100g desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

In a pan, combine the honey, coconut oil and vanilla, bring gently up to the boil and allow to simmer for three minutes.

Combine all of the other ingredients in a large bowl, once the honey mixture has cooked for three minutes, pour it over the dry ingredients and stir very well.

Spoon the granola onto the two prepared sheets, spread out as much as you can.

Pop the sheets into the preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, keeping a close eye on them in case they burn.

Once golden, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the trays.

Break the granola by hand into small pieces and store in an airtight container.

 

 

Cornbread With Fresh Corn, Jalapeños And Cheese

Perfect with a bowl of chilli or soup, this corn bread is easy to make and considering that it’s gluten free, pretty close to the real thing!

For the cheese I just use what hard cheese is needing used up in the fridge, a mixture is fine too, this one had cheddar and mozzarella!

Leftovers are great toasted under the grill with an egg on top for breakfast the next day!

Makes a 32x25cm loaf.

Ingredients

300g fresh corn kernels or frozen at room temperature

150g grated cheese

3 jalapeños, deseeded and diced finely

300g masa lista

160g gluten free plain flour

1 tablespoon gluten free baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

salt

2 eggs

500mls buttermilk

450mls milk

100mls vegetable oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade.

Pour the oil into a heavy duty, non stick roasting tin.

Once the oven is up to temperature, pop the roasting tin in to heat.

While that’s in the oven prepare the other ingredients.

In one bowl, combine the sweetcorn, cheese, jalapeños, masa lista, GF plain flour, baking power, bicarbonate and salt.

In a jug, whisk the egg and then add the buttermilk and milk, whisk well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir well.

Once the pan is very hot in the oven, take it out and pour the hot oil into the batter, mix well.

Pour the batter into the tin, spread out if needed and return the tin to the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to 200 degrees centigrade.

If the bread is browning too quickly, cover the it loosely with foil.

Bake for 30minutes.

Allow to cool a little in the tin before serving.

Brussel Sprouts With Chorizo And Red Onion

Brussel sprouts can be a bit of a challenge for some people, memories of squishy sprouts boiled for hours is a very common one, especially around Christmas time in the UK!

These sprouts have nothing in common with those bad memories and if you are trying to persuade kids to eat sprouts this is the recipe to start them on!

These sprouts are still on the crispy side, if you want them on the softer side just cook them a little longer.

We sometimes have these sprouts with a runny egg on top, absolutely delicious or as a warm salad!

Serves 6.

Ingredients

170g chorizo

600g Brussel sprouts, trimmed, outer leaves removed and halved

1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 1cm wedges

Method

Take the chorizo and remove the skin, then cut into quarters lengthwise. Next, slice each long quarter thinly at an angle to give you larger very thin slices.

Heat a large non stick pan over high heat, once hot add the chorizo and cook until crispy and the fat has rendered out of it.

Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon, try to keep as much of the chorizo fat in the pan. set the chorizo aside.

Add the sprouts and onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Now turn the heat down to medium to stop the onions burning. Continue cooking the sprouts and onions for a further 5 minutes, stirring frequently again.

Add the chorizo to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, serve immediately.

Chicken And Apple Casserole With Chive Dumplings

As the northern hemisphere basks in the heat it has turned rather chilly here in Western Australia so we are loving slow roasts and some serious comfort food.

This however isn’t slow cooking as I cheat and use left over cooked chook which saves on time and to be honest I usually make double as this freezes a treat for an elusive night off another time.

The dumplings are great for filling teenage boys up and they are gluten free too and sooooo tasty you wouldn’t even know!

Serves 8.

Ingredients

50g butter

1 medium onion, diced

3 medium carrots, diced finely

300g eating apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

600g cooked chicken, dark and white meat, roughly chopped

300mls cream

750mls chicken stock

salt and pepper

DUMPLINGS

300g gluten free self raising flour

100g butter, diced

20g chives, snipped

salt and pepper

200-250mls milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

In a large lidded oven proof frying pan, heat the butter over a medium heat, once melted add the onion, carrot and apple, stir well and cover. Allow to cook slowly for 15-20 minutes until the onion is soft.

Add the chicken to the pan followed by the cream and stock.

Season and bring gently up to a simmer.

Move the pan with the lid on into the oven.

Bake, covered for 25 minutes.

Towards the end of the 25 minutes, make the dumplings.

Weigh the flour into a large bowl, add the diced butter and gently rub it in. Once this resembles fine breadcrumbs add the chives, seasoning and finally the milk, you don’t want it too sticky to handle so try 200mls of milk and slowly increase if need be.

Take the pan from the oven and remove the lid.

Working fairly quickly, roll the dumpling mix into small walnut sized balls and pop onto the top of the casserole, repeat until all of the dumpling dough has been used.

Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, and bake for 35-40 minutes until the dumplings are golden.

Baked Eggs In Potato Skins With Chilli

This isn’t really a recipe, more of a suggestion for a gluten and dairy free breakfast or brunch.

As we now have two coeliacs in the house I like to try and vary the breakfast options over the weekend when we have a little more time to linger over breakfast.

I tend to bake the potatoes the night before while dinner is in the oven as they are easier to handle cold the following morning!

Obviously the egg size dictates the size of the skins that you need, I’m using my girls eggs and they are very large, smaller eggs, just use smaller potatoes.

To bake the potatoes, I wrap them in foil and bake in a preheated 200 degree Centigrade  oven for 1 hour.

Makes 4.

Ingredients

2 x 350g large baking potatoes, baked

4 eggs

1/4-1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

a couple of pinches, fresh chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Cut the potatoes in half so you have two thinner halves, this makes them easier to stand.

Scoop most of the potatoes out, leaving a thin layer that hasn’t broken through the skin.

Lay the potatoes skins on a baking sheet, carefully, crack an egg into each skin, sprinkle with chilli flakes and season well.

Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes, I tend to bake for around 8 minutes as I like my yolk runny!

Remove from the oven, sprinkle over the parsley and serve.

Cheats Salmon Tikka

I love all Indian cooking and sometimes it’s nice to mix it up a little as salmon wouldn’t usually be used for a tikka curry but for a quick dinner option this is fab and doesn’t have a huge long list of ingredients.

Serve with rice and dhal, on top of a crunchy salad or I sometimes make this for nibbles and just pop a little salmon onto baby cos lettuce leaves which works beautifully too

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

150g Greek yogurt

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons garam masala

3 teaspoons paprika powder

1/2-1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder

8 teaspoons chickpea flour

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper

600g skinless salmon fillets, around six small fillets

Method

Combine the yogurt, garlic, garam masala, paprika, chilli powder, chickpea flour, lime juice, salt and pepper in a zip lock bag and mix well.

Add the salmon, gently squish it around to make sure that it is all covered in  marinade and then pop back in the fridge for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven or BBQ to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment if using the oven.

Place the salmon onto the baking tray, spreading it out so the fillets aren’t touching and then top with the remaining marinade and bake for 10-12 minutes.