Gluten-Free Ricotta and Lemon Gnocchi

I wanted to make my ricotta gnocchi recipe gluten-free and add a bit more to it by using lemon, fresh mint, and pine nuts.

Ingredients:
250 g ricotta
2 eggs
1½ cups grated cheddar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1 cup gluten-free flour
1 lemon
water for boiling
butter for frying
herbs (I use parsley and mint)
pine nuts

Instructions:
1. Mix the ricotta, eggs, cheddar, and flour into a smooth dough.
2. Grate the lemon peel into the dough and add the juice from half the lemon.
3. Boil the water. Make little lumps out of the dough and drop them into the water. They are ready when they’ve floated to the top.
4. Fry the gnocchi in the butter and herbs. Add the pine nuts towards the end.
4. Serve with a little extra cheddar on top.

Broccoli, Courgette, and Tofu Tart

This was inspired by a recipe in Vegetarian Living. I made the pastry gluten-free and I added a bit of heat with curry paste.

Ingredients:
75 g butter
¾ cup flour (I used gluten-free)
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 dash salt
1 egg
1 onion
oil
1 courgette
½ package tofu
broccoli (I used tender-stem)
1 tbsp red curry paste (or chilli flakes)
½ cup yogurt
2 eggs
75 g blue cheese

Instructions:
1. Cube the butter and blend it with the flour until crumbly. Add the pumpkin seeds and salt and egg.
2. Chill the pastry for about 10 minutes then place it in an oven-safe dish (I just use my fingers to smooth it into all the corners and up the walls – it looks homey, which isn’t a bad thing). Bake it for about 7 minutes at 160 C.
3. Meanwhile, dice the onion and brown it in some oil. Slice the courgette into rounds and add it. Dice the tofu and chop the broccoli and add them as well.
4. Continue stir-frying, then add the curry paste and the yogurt and mix everything together.
5. In a bowl, beat the eggs and add some of the cheese.
6. Put the filling into the pastry and top with the rest of the cheese. Pour the eggs on top.
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 190 C.

Sweet, Gluten-Free Crepes, or Swedish Pancakes

It had been a rough day at work and I was not in a good mood. The only thing that would cheer me up would be a tasty dinner that also didn’t require too much effort. Pancakes it was, but not savoury pancakes. No, only sweet pancakes would do.

So I made a batch of gluten-free crepes, basing my recipe on the standard sort of thin pancakes often referred to as Swedish. M went to the store and got fresh strawberries and cream. I whipped the cream with a touch of vanilla and sugar and we topped the pancakes with layers of that delicious Dalfour strawberry jam (which has no added sugar, so it’s much healthier than other jams), fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. It was delightful and soothing and made me think of summer. It certainly helped my day end on a high note.

Ingredients:
1 cup gluten-free flour
half a teaspoon salt
2 ¼ cups milk or cream, or some combination of the two
3 eggs
vanilla to taste
sugar to taste
2 tbsp butter
butter or oil to fry in
jam, cream, and/or fruit to serve with it

Instructions:
1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add half the milk/cream and blend/whip until smooth. Add the rest of the milk/cream. Then whip in the eggs.
2. Add vanilla and sugar to taste.
3. Melt the butter and add it. Blend everything one last time.
4. Then, in the frying pan, melt a bit more butter or warm the oil to fry the pancakes in.
5. Pour in ¼ or so cup batter into the frying pan and spread it out.
6. Then make pancakes as usual, turning when they are firm and brown on the bottom side, etc.
7. Serve with jam, cream, and/or fruit.

Gluten-Free Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese

On a recent night, comfort food was what was on order. So I went for a simple vegetable and cheese dish, gluten-free in an attempt to help our health, and with a hint of mustard for extra kick.

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower
½ half broccoli
50 g butter
1/3 cup gluten-free flour
3 tsp mustard
½ cup cream
2 cups milk
120 g cheddar cheese, or other mature cheese, grated or chopped
1 tsp parsley
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Wash the cauliflower and broccoli, and break them into florets. Then boil them for about 10 minutes.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Stir until mixed.
3. Add the mustard, milk, and cream. Stir.
4. Add about 80 g of the cheese and stir until it is a thick sauce.
5. Season with parsley and pepper.
6. Place the cauliflower and broccoli in one layer at the bottom of an oven-safe dish. Pour the sauce over it.
7. Top with the rest of the cheese.
8. Bake for 30 minutes at 200.

Low-Gluten Olive Focaccia

In my effort to make dishes that are gluten-free or at least quite low in gluten, I am working on some new baking recipes. I tried to make my olive bread gluten-free but what I hadn’t taken into consideration was the role the gluten plays in the bread. So I ended up with a flat focaccia rather than a puffy loaf. I’ve since understood that xanthan gum helps compensate for the loss of the gluten, so playing around with that will be my next step.

But actually, this recipe turned out quite well and was tasty. We had it with soup, but it could easily be served with hummus or cottage cheese or another spread.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup of spelt flour and 1 cup of gluten-free flour but 2 cups of gluten-free flour would be fine too)
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp fast-action yeast
¾ cup warm water
5 tbsp olive oil
¾ cup olives
sea salt

Instructions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2. Add the water and the olive oil and blend until just mixed. Leave to rise for about 30 minutes, or until doubled.
3. Chop the olives.
4. Turn the bread out on a floured surface and knead. Add the olives. Sprinkle with sea salt.
5. Leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
6. Flatten the bread out so it is round and low. Bake at 200 C for 30 minutes.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Pancakes

Since we’ve been on a gluten-free kick lately (which does seem to have had a positive effect on my seemingly irritated skin), I’ve been trying to re-make some of my old recipes without the gluten. I like to make pancakes on the weekend; something about the act of putting batter together and frying up a stack of hot cakes signals a lazy weekend to me (never mind the fact that after eating the pancakes, I immediately head to work!).

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
¾ cup oatmeal
1½ cups yogurt
¾ cup gluten-free flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cardamom pods (or ½ tsp ground cardamom)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup raisins
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
oil

Instructions:
1. Melt the butter.
2. Mix the oatmeal, yogurt, spelt flour, baking powder, and baking soda together.
3. Crush the cardamom in a mortar and pestle and add it, the cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, and raisins, to the oatmeal mixture.
4. Lightly beat the egg. Mix it and the melted butter into the mixture. Stir until just blended.
5. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture in oil until golden on both sides.

Simple Gluten-free Pastry

I made two tarts one recent weekend. They were identical except for the pastry. One was gluten-free. M said the gluten-free one tasted slightly sweeter. I thought it was a bit grainier. They both worked well in the dish, so I was very pleased.

Ingredients:
1 cup gluten-free flour
125 g butter
1 egg

Instructions:
1. Mix the flour and butter until it looks like breadcrumbs, but still has some lumps in it.
2. Add in the egg and beat again.
3. Wrap in cling film and chill for about 30 minutes before using it.

Rice with Butternut Squash, Cashews, Raisins, and Pomegranate

This has a Middle Eastern flavour and is healthy and gluten-free. I loved the combination of spices and how they suited the vegetables.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
oil
rice (50 g per person; use brown basmati for a slightly more nutty flavour)
water
2 onions
1 tsp sugar
1 handful raisins
about 50 g cashews (or a handful)
2 cardamom pods
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mint
seeds from 1 pomegranate

Instructions:
1. Rub the squash in oil and roast it in the oven for about 50 minutes at 180 C. When it has cooled, peel it and dice it.
2. Boil the rice in the water. This will take 25-35 minutes.
3. Dice the onions and fry them lightly in some oil. Add the sugar so they caramelise.
4. Cover the raisins with boiling water and set aside for 20 minutes, until they plump up.
5. Crush the cashews and the cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle.
6. Add the squash to the onions and fry for a few more minutes, then add in the cashews, cardamom, cinnamon, and mint.
7. When the rice is ready, add it to the frying pan. Mix everything well.
8. Serve the rice topped with pomegranate seeds.

Flourless Chocolate Soufflés

A few years ago, I took a pottery course at a studio outside the city where I lived. Every week, we took turns bringing in treats that we had with tea halfway through the class. I noticed that one woman, who was gluten-intolerant, never got to partake in the desserts. So when it was my week to bring in the treats, I determined to bring something everything could eat.

I decided to make flourless dark chocolate muffins/cupcakes. So I created this recipe and brought the treats to class. The woman was shocked and touched that she could finally be part of our class snack. Frankly, I was surprised no one had bothered to consider her before (the same people had been taking the class for years together; I was the only new student, and I was also the youngest by about, oh, 30 years).

If you pour the batter into ramekins and bake them just before serving them, they puff up beautifully as soufflés, and this sight often impresses guests, which is why I made them last weekend when M and I had friends over for dinner. But, as I did a few years ago, you can also make them as muffins/cupcakes and bring them along to an event. Either way, people will be pleasantly surprised to learn that this treat is completely gluten-free.

Ingredients:
200 g dark chocolate (50-75% cacao)
130 g butter
¾ cup sugar
pinch of salt
4 eggs, room temperature
optional flavouring (almond, vanilla, cognac, chile, cinnamon, etc)
whipped cream to serve with it

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Break chocolate into pieces and melt it with the butter in the microwave or on the stove.
3. Add the sugar and salt to the melted mixture. Remove from the heat and let cool down.
4. While cooling, beat the eggs.
5. When the mixture is cool, add the eggs and blend.
6. Add any flavourings now or else in step 8 (if flavouring them individually).
7. Spoon the batter into ramekins or muffin papers or tins.
8. Add any flavourings desired individually.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
10. Serve warm. Whipped cream or other cream can go well.