Gluten Free

salmon gravlax and Te Amo pinot gris
Canape, Gluten Free, Lunch, Meal, Salad, Seafood

Salmon Gravlax and Te Amo Wines Pinot Gris

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This weekend I shared a day with my friend Ruth from Te Amo wines, matching food with her beautiful Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir wines.  It was also Ruths birthday and I was lucky to also be able to share food and wine with her amazing friends and family. The story of Ruth and her wine is all about the special relationship with family, friends, food and wine, and all of this was embodied in the spirit of the day I spent with her.  See the bottle in the picture above and her story is there – the drawing by her amazing daughter, a speech bubble with the name Te Amo,  meaning I love you, and on the back of the bottle a brief description of the wine giving you a feeling for the wine but allowing you to draw your own conclusions For this special occasion, and to match her Pinot Gris, I prepared  Scandinavian Salmon Gravadlax. This is a simple preparation that can happen slowly in the refrigerator over a few days. There are many variations on this traditional recipe that are also amazing, but for me I am happy to keep with the original simple recipe – no added spirits or beetroot today.  Most times I will eat gravlax as a pre prandial, canape or tapa, but today I wanted to make a seasonal salad to share as part of a birthday lunch, hoping to embrace fresh spring flavours for the party.  I have served the Gravadlax […]

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simple and sophisticated bean sallad
Gluten Free, Lunch, Salad, Summer, Vegetable

Simple and Sophisticated Summer Green Bean Salad

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Summers on its way and this simple salad is sophisticated enough to have with your Christmas turkey, a beautiful lemony roast Bostok organic chicken or your weekend barbecue leg of lamb.  Tarragon is one of my favourite herbs, it reminds me of amazing traditional French cooking and it matches fantastically with the beans, the hazelnuts and the blueberries in this salad. Tarragon is not often seen in todays cooking but it is a beautiful and under used summer herb and not difficult to grow. If you have left over tarragon from this salad or a glut of it in your garden pop it in a sterilised  jar or bottle with some white wine vinegar and you will have tarragon vinegar for your next salad.  Leave the tarragon in the bottle with the vinegar for several weeks and then strain it off for delicious tarragon vinegar that will keep in a cool dark place for at least a year.  There are definitely more sophisticated methods for making tarragon vinegar but this has worked for me. Tarragon works well with eggs, potatoes, seafood,  poultry, and is great in creamy or lemony sauces, think about delicious hollandaise or bernaise sauces or a butter, white wine, caper and tarragon pan reduction over fish  ….. My favourite salad at work recently used tarragon vinegar, brown rice and a mix finely sliced and grated different coloured beetroot that I marinated in tarragon vinegar and then olive oil mustard and lots of seeds chervil and chives.  So […]

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chickpea and broccoli curry
Gluten Free, Lunch, quick meals, Vegetable

Chickpea and Broccoli Curry

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This isn’t rocket science and it isn’t fancy but it has been on the menu at home this week and I have really enjoyed it and so wanted to share it with you.  It is another quick midweek meal requiring little in the way of forethought or planning and better still few dishes to clean up. In full disclosure I did soak and cook the chickpeas for this meal as I definitely prefer them this way, but having said that I know most people would simply prefer to use the tinned variety and that is great – no judgement either way. I have made this to feed two people but as always adjust the quantities to the number of people you want to serve or make more so you can have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The Curry paste I used was a home made one gifted  to me by the lovely Angela, but I would happily have used any prepared curry paste.  Be prepared to taste for spiciness but the coconut milk and the broccoli help to soak up the spice so don’t fear if it seems a little to spicy. CHICKPEA AND BROCCOLI CURRY Quantities to feed two people Warm a large pan with a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil. Saute your onion until starting to brown. Add the chilli, ginger, garlic, curry paste or powder and kafir lime leave and saute carefully for a minute or so until aromatic taking care not to burn. Add your chickpeas and […]

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scrambled tofu
Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten Free, Spring

Cafe Style Scrambled Tofu Breakfast

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Today I feel like I am trying to channel my inner Yotam Ottolenghi – my flavour, food styling, all round food hero! I am collaborating with a friend on a project which involves a gluten free dairy free breakfast.  I have added my own challenge to this by deciding it was time to make friends again with tofu and hopefully make some new converts along the way.  I have definitely spent the week pondering my breakfast, wanting it to be something I would want to eat – and eat again – and be good enough to share with you… I am also hoping for my breakfast tofu to be a contemporary adaptation, not a fringe dwelling remnant of the sixties or a meal more reflective of other cuisines and cultures. So I sit here eating my breakfast at 1 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon in food heaven – (disclaimer -I did have a first breakfast so that is not just a matter of pure hunger!) This is a great cafe style comfort food combo which – I think – doesn’t involve quirky ingredients or time consuming procedures. It is simple to make for one person or easily extended to cater for a crowd. Like similar egg dishes – seasoning is the key, so think about and taste the tofu while adding the salt and pepper.  The asparagus and tomatoes are both umami rich vegetables and worked amazingly to bring this together, and when teamed with my seedy nutty daily bread, […]

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miso mustard salad dressing
Condiments, Gluten Free, Lunch, Meal, Salad, Seafood, Vegetable

Miso Mustard Dressing and Black Bean Noodle Salad

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Todays recipe forms the base for a simple weeknight meal for one, or a crowd, but can also be a delicious salad in its own right.  Miso meets mustard and comes together in this surprising and delicious dressing/sauce. Miso it seems is a very versatile ingredient which can be used in surprising and different ways apart from all the wonderful Japanese recipes we know and love.  With its strong umami flavour, its fermented gut health qualities and its very long shelf life, it is a great addition to the refrigerator.  Its longevity works really well for me – with my impulsive food buying nature, I like to know I don’t have to use it all now, and risk my family becoming thoroughly sick of one particular ingredient. No chance of that today though as I ended up making supper for one on this occasion as flight plans were unexpectedly rescheduled.  Luckily this is one of those meal plans that can easily fit around the needs of the moment for the masses or the few. I have been working on extending my repetoire for simple meal plans for weeknights. We have been making some amazing ready meals at work and I like the idea of extending this idea to some of my home meal prep.  I haven’t made this “one pan” – but still the dishes are not onerous with a blender or jar for the dressing, a pot for the noodles and vegetables and a pan or sheet tray for […]

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carrot top pesto
Condiments, Gluten Free, Snack

Carrot Top Pesto

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Todays pesto combines the mild flavoured, fresh green goodness of carrot tops, with some punchy flavoured Peccorino cheese, garlic, chilli, lemon juice, olive oil and toasted cashew nuts. Carrot top pesto was not my intention for the blog today, but having bought the lovely baby carrots to go in a salad it was immediately apparent that the tops were almost more vibrant than the carrots.  This reminded me of my frustration in seeing people throwing carrot tops like these in the rubbish bin and so here I am making peace with my own carrot tops and making pesto today.  I could just have easily have used these lovely greens to made a herb dressing, a salsa verde, or used then in another batch of last weeks sassy salsa / ravigote sauce. Carrot tops have a mild  slightly parsley / spinach like flavour making them ideal for my pesto today.  You can, of coarse, use this method and list of ingredients to make what ever pesto you like – basil, parsley, rocket …  This loose recipe offers another quick and tasty option to use up those spare ‘herb’ greens  that you have either taken the trouble to grow or purchased. I have used cashew nuts in my pesto as in this part of the world they offer a more cost effective option than the more expensive pinenuts.  The cashews will still give the same buttery texture, but as always you should feel free to use what you prefer. This pesto, or […]

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chunky ravigote sauce
Condiments, Gluten Free

My Chunky Ravigote Sauce

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I am ready for spring eating and entertaining with this super simple little sauce in the refrigerator now.  The 1st of September marks the first day of spring for us so we aren’t quite there yet, but having had a mild winter it is not far off. I have read this sauce / salsa described as “wake up sauce”, which is the perfect description of this sassy little salsa.  Just what is needed to perk up last weeks “fish-in-chips” or a butter basted piece of fresh fish, steak or schnitzel or jazz up a burger. Don’t feel that meat is the only match for this sauce either – it will work just as well as a dressing for – a potato, bean and tomato, or egg salad, on the side of your  Spicy Pumpkin and Possibly Feta, Fritters …or fish fritters such as my New Zealand Green lip Mussel Fritters and these are just a start on for ideas for my Ravigote sauce.  Think fresh asparagus with minced hard boiled egg dressed with this sauce spooned artistically over…….   For the ravigote sauce fresh herbs are combined with a punchy mustard, some red onion and gherkins then brought together with a gentle extra virgin olive oil.  No gadgets needed just a little chopping and mixing and you have the perfect sauce which will stay stable in the refrigerator for a good ten days.  Whats better you can use what herbs you have on hand at the time, and at the end of winter […]

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polenta fish in chips
Brunch, Canape, Gluten Free, Lunch, Meal, Snack

Smoked Fish in Polenta Chips

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Today I have a new take Polenta – an old staple with a surprising new twist.  Inspired by a recipe in The Guardian by one of my great food hero’s Yottam Ottolinghi.  This is the real deal in comfort food – smokey, fishy, spicey  (if thats what you want – I do! ), a little cheesey and to finish  some fresh herby goodness.  It involves infusing milk with aromatics from your pantry and garden, then gently poaching smoked fish in this before straining and adding the polenta to cook, then once thickened returning the flaked smoked fish cheese and herbs to the thickened polenta. Cooking like this for me allows moments to step away from the busyness of life and focus on simpler things, to take it a little slowly – be patent and let the milk infuse – go outside and find a few simple herbs tucked in the corner or sheltering from the winter under the weeds – this is not about the perfect ingredient list, just taking time to bring it together with what you have to hand.  In the end you will have something that can wait until you are ready to enjoy on your own or share with the few or the many. This recipe can be halved , doubled or tripled to suit – make it an put a slab in the freezer for later or make a great big batch for hearty snacks or dinner for a crowd. Polenta has always been a […]

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carrot and white bean falafel
Canape, Gluten Free, Lunch, Meal, Snack

Carrot and White bean Falafel

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Spicy little “falafel’ that hold together well and can be made to what ever size suits in the moment – pan fry them bake them or waffle them.  Make them into little snack size balls and serve canape style with chilli sauce and or a citrus tahini, wrap them in a tortilla, a lettuce burger or on top of a salad,  waffle them for a power breakfast, or maybe even try them with a curry sauce or dahl and some naan breads or chapati and a cucumber raita…. I am of course waiting to be struck down by the middle  eastern food gods for calling these falafel – no chickpeas? carrots? …madness!  In my defence – I do feel that these capture the feeling of the falafel I know and love and offer something a little bit same but different to try. As I was making these and thinking about flavours, I got a little distracted, wanting to share my thoughts on caramelising onions.  The humble onion is the perfect, affordable, accessible, non seasonal vegetable for creating unbeatable umami flavour.  Herbs and spices hit the high notes of flavour but the caramelised onion base in anything you cook with onions gives a balanced, comforting, deep flavour base.  It gives what ever you cook – soup, meat sauce/ragu, frittata… the unmistakable feel of something cooked with patience, skill and an understanding of flavour. I’m not talking about anything tricky or requiring great skill – all the caramelising of onions requires is […]

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chocolate breakfast cereal
Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten Free, Sweet

Chocolate Breakfast Cereal

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Todays story is about a chocolate laden, seed, coconut and nut filled – not so sweet –  breakfast cereal. This same cereal might just as easily be an afternoon snack or a sprinkle for ice-cream.  Sometimes in the depth of winter (and possibly even on a bright summer morning) we need the comfort of something that seems richer, brighter and a little naughtier. it maybe brings reminders of childhood coco pops, but just as importantly, something that will sustain us through the morning.  Knowing we all start the day with different food needs and rituals, in recent times I have become a fan of something with loads of seeds and nuts (aka My Daily Bread). This cereal offers a chance for me to change it up but still enjoy that nutty goodness. In the process of experimenting with this, I was excited to finally tried and have success with the crazy concoction called aquafaba.  This is chickpea water beaten to form a foam similar to that of beaten egg whites.  I have seen it using canned chickpeas but as I love to cook my own chickpeas I hadn’t been sure if the technique would transfer, happily it did. My method, as always, was to soak my chickpeas overnight and rinse and drain them. I then cooked the chickpeas in lightly salted water – making sure that by the end of the cooking they were just covered in water.  I drained the chickpeas and cooled the liquid before beating.  I managed to get […]

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