Zucchini Slice

School has finally gone back in Western Australia for the start of the new school year. I am tempted to do a little happy dance!!!

As ever, I have been on the hunt for a gluten free savoury to go into the lunch boxes and this one has been voted by the boys as a winner!

For a vegetarian option, omit the bacon and add grated sweet potato or just increase the zucchini, carrot and capsicum.

You can serve this warm or cold and it easily cuts into 8-10 pieces.

Ingredients

420g zucchini/courgette grated

200g carrot, peeled and grated

6 large spring onions, finely sliced

20g chives, chopped

180g capsicum/ bell pepper, diced

300g sliced bacon, diced

180g cheese, Cheddar, grated

110g Parmesan, grated

150g chickpea flour, also called besan

2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder

4 eggs, beaten

125mls milk

salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade. Line the base and sides of a small roasting tin, roughly 20cm x 32cm.

Whisk the egg and milk.

Combine the chickpea flour and baking powder in a large bowl, slowly whisk in the egg and milk mix.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix, season well with salt and pepper.

Spoon into the prepared tin, level out with the back of the spoon and bake for 40 minutes until golden.

Allow to cool a little before cutting.

 

Baked Sausages With Veggies

Some nights, time or ingredients are limited and in order to get meat and three veg on the table I need to take some shortcuts! Tonight was one of those nights.

What was supposed to be gluten free toad in the hole, quickly morphed into sausages and veggies to save on dishes and make sure the boys did eat some vegetables on a busy night.

The better your sausages the less likely you are to need any gravy, I serve this with some hot English mustard.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

12 large fat, gluten free, pork sausages, around 1kg

12 rashers of streaky bacon

a little olive oil

2 red onions sliced

4-6 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped into large chunks

750-1000g tiny baby potatoes

1-2 large heads of broccoli, florets and a little stalk

pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

In a large roasting tin, lay out the onion slices, carrot chunks and potatoes.

Wrap each sausage with a bacon rasher and place on top of the vegetables.

Drizzle with a little olive oil. Season with pepper.

Pop the roasting tin into the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

Turn the sausages and return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Now, place the broccoli on top, tucking it into the other ingredients a little and bake for 15 minutes.

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.

White Chocolate, Cherry and Almond Slice

These are such a treat!

I’m now trying to come up with homemade gluten free goodies for my youngest son who was recently diagnosed with coeliacs, these were a huge hit in the school lunch box and with the rest of the family.

If you are making these as gluten free you will need to check the labelling on your rice puffs as many of them contain barley.

Makes 24 pieces.

Ingredients

200g flaked almonds

200g glacé cherries, washed, dried and halved

100g sultanas

150g rice puffs

400g white chocolate

Method

Line the base and sides of a 22x30cm roasting tin with baking parchment.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the almonds and toast gently until just colouring a little, tip into a large bowl.

Add the halved cherries, sultanas and rice puffs, stir well.

Melt the white chocolate, pour over the puff mix and stir very well.

Tip into the prepared tin and gently push down into the corners edges.

Allow to cool a little and then pop into the fridge for an hour or two until set.

Remove from the fridge, peel off the paper and cut into slices.