Recipe – Gluten Free Lemon Polenta Cakes May 7, 2013

I’ve been experimenting with polenta cakes for a few weeks now, and think I have finally cracked it, with the help of recipes from the Telegraph and Waitrose… I think a blend of the two works best – and you should give it a go to see what you think too!

A yummy treat, with the most delicious icing you’ll ever taste!

Ingredients (Makes 12)

For the cakes:

• 7oz/200g ground almonds
• 3 medium eggs
• Zest of 4 whole lemons and juice of 2
• 4oz/115g polenta
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt

For the icing:

• 300 ml double cream
• 8 tbsp lemon curd

To decorate:

• 50ml water
• 2 tbsp caster or granulated sugar
• Rind of 1 lemon, sliced finely

Method

For the cakes:

• Preheat the oven to 150C. Line a muffin tray with 12 fairy cake cases.
• Put all the cake ingredients in a food processor and whizz to a smooth batter.
• Spoon into the lined tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out with no uncooked batter on it.
• Remove the cakes carefully and stand on a rack to cool. DO NOT ICE UNTIL CAKES ARE COMPLETELY COOL.

For the icing:

• Lightly whip the cream until only just holding its shape.
• Spoon the lemon curd over the cream and stir together lightly until the cream is streaked with lemon curd.
• When the cakes are completely cooled, spoon onto the tarts.

For the decorations:

• Pare strips of rind from the lemon and cut them into fine shreds.
• Put in a small saucepan with 50ml cold water and the 2 tablespoons sugar and cook gently for 5 minutes until slightly softened. Leave to cool in the syrup.
• Drain the lemon shreds and use to decorate the cakes.

TIP: Use 2 slightly warm table spoons to decorate with the cream icing. Also you should have enough icing left for some lucky person to have a yummy bowl-licking treat post-baking!  :)

And that’s it! Delicious, gluten free cakes that are really simple to make, look beautiful and are absolutely scrumptious too!

Happy baking!

Recipe – Indian Chickpea Curry (Chole) January 30, 2011

This is another recipe that I found online to use up some of the many tins of chickpeas that we have in our store cupboard. It’s so good that it’s become a dinner favourite! Enjoy!

Chole is a North Indian chick pea dish. The base is a tomato gravy and to this you add either canned chick peas or if you prefer dried ones which you have soaked overnight. In this recipe we will be using canned chick peas. Like most Indian curries you can adjust the spice so that the dish is spicy or mild depending on your taste. This recipe will make the Chole on the milder side.

Ingredients

1 can chick peas
2 medium sized tomatoes diced
1 tsp tomato paste
1 medium sized onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp sugar
¾ tbsp salt
½ tsp ginger paste
½ tsp turmeric powder
pinch asafetida powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp garam masala
3 tbsp oil
1 cup water
** Please note: In this recipe I am using a pressure cooker. If you do not have one, you may also just use a pot.

Directions

In your pressure cooker/pot heat 3 tablespoons of oil.

Once the oil is sufficiently heated, add ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds.

Allow the cumin seeds to sizzle in the oil. Once they have turned golden brown, add a pinch of asafetida powder. Follow this by adding ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder.

Add the onions and sauté until they have turned golden brown. Follow by adding the garlic. You do not need to sauté the garlic, as overcooked garlic tends to loose its flavour.

Add the tomatoes in and allow the mixture to simmer on medium heat until the tomatoes have melted and the mixture is fairly uniform. Follow by adding 1 teaspoon of tomato paste and mixing.

Add in the chick peas.

At this point we can add all the spices – salt, ginger paste, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and a pinch of sugar. Mix thoroughly.

Add in 1 cup of water.

At this point – If you are using a pressure cooker put the lid on securely and turn the stove on high. Different pressure cookers behave differently in terms of how they release steam. In my pressure cooker, the pressure is released in the form of a “whistle” (steam shooting out), intermittently. In some pressure cookers, when the pressure is at maximum, the steam is continuously released – so basically the “whistle” does not stop. To simplify things, just cook the Chole in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes.
If you are using a pot, leave the stove on medium heat and put the lid half on (if you put the lid on securely, it will boil over). Allow the Chole to simmer for 20 minutes.

At this point if you are using a pressure cooker make sure you wait until all the pressure is released before opening. This is very important. If you have some chopped cilantro (coriander), you may add it as a garnish. Serve with basmati rice, naan, roti… whatever you desire!

Recipe – Low Fat Banana Bread August 21, 2010

I’m not a huge fan of cake, but this recipe makes a beautiful cake-like bread which is perfect with a nice cup of tea in the late morning or early afternoon. I also add in 250g of sultanas soaked in rum, which make it even more indulgent. Enjoy!

This no-guilt treat is surprising moist and has a wonderful flavour. It’s also a great way to use up over-ripe bananas. For a little variation, you can add nuts or sultanas.

Ingredients

200g (7 oz) plain flour
140g (5 oz) caster sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
3 bananas, mashed
4 tablespoons apple purée or sauce (OR some sort of homemade jam – I use rhubarb jam and it’s delicious!)
OPTIONAL ADDITION: 250g sultanas and 2 shots of dark rum

Preparation method

1. OPTIONAL: Put the sultanas in a small pan and add the rum. Bring to the boil, then turn off and allow to stand for at least one hour, or preferably over night (to allow the fruit to absorb the rum).

2. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 20x10cm (8×4 in) loaf tin.

2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon. Add egg whites, bananas and apple purée; stir just until combined. Stir in the sultanas. Pour batter into prepared tin.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, until a skewer inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean. Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool before slicing.

Tip:

If your bananas are already black but you can’t make a cake right away, simply pop them in the freezer. Defrost the bananas whenever you’re ready to bake!

Recipe – Fiery Lamb / Goat Curry August 15, 2010

I stole this recipe from a friend (thanks Nick!) but it’s so delicious that I wanted to share it. It’s actually not that hot, in that you can still enjoy the taste. I used extra hot dried chillies and still managed – although I would suggest going for the 25 chilli version to start with, just in case! So anyway, here’s the recipe – enjoy!

Not for the faint hearted...

As the name suggests, this is a very hot dish, not for people with a weak constitution. This is one of the few Indian dishes that contains heat in every sense – both ‘chilli hot’ and ‘spice hot’. You can decide the amount of heat you’d like. Discard most of the seeds from the chillies if you want to reduce the heat, or keep them in if you want it really hot.

Serves 3 or 4
25-35 dried red chillies, stalks removed
11/2 tsp cloves
150g ghee or vegetable oil
250g plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
2 tsp cumin seeds, roasted
20g ground coriander
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp salt
3 cinnamon leaves or bay leaves
6 green cardamom pods
5 black cardamom pods
75g garlic cloves, finely chopped
250g onions, finely chopped
1kg leg of lamb or goat with bone chopped into 2.5cm cubes
750ml lamb stock or water
30g coriander leaves, finely chopped

Set aside 3 or 4 of the dried chillies to use later; put the remainder to soak in 125ml water. Also put aside 4-6 of the cloves and 1 tbs of the ghee. Mix the yogurt with the cumin seeds, ground coriander, chilli powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat the rest of the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the remaining cloves, the cinnamon leaves and the green and black cardamoms. When they begin to crackle and change colour, add the garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes or until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring constantly. Stir in the meat and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain the red chillies and add to the pan.

Continue cooking for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated and the meat starts to brown. Now add the spiced yogurt and cook for another 10-12 minutes or until the liquid from the yogurt has evaporated. Add the stock or water and bring to the boil, then cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is tender. Check the seasoning. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

To prepare the tadka, or tempering, which boosts the flavours, heat up the reserved ghee or oil in a large ladle over a flame (or in a small pan) and add the reserved cloves and dried red chillies. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the ghee changes colour and the spice flavours are released. Pour the contents of the ladle over the lamb curry, sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve.

Recipe – Homemade Egg Pasta January 3, 2010

In March of last year I visited my Mum and Dad in Florida. Whilst there, we tend to do quite a bit of shopping and one of our favourite haunts is Bed, Bath & Beyond – since both Mum and I are kitchen freaks and love looking at all the cookery gadgets that we absolutely don’t need and which are overpriced anyway. However, on this occasion I managed to find an absolute BARGAIN in this pasta machine – which I think cost me around $20, reduced from $35.

Since it’s not the least bulky item known to man, I had a few problems getting it to fit into my suitcase, but in the end we got it in and it made the long journey back to London with me, where I found it a lovely place at the back of one of our kitchen cupboards. Five months later we moved house and, on clearing out the kitchen, I found my beloved and totally unused pasta machine – and promised myself that I would use it once we were settled in. Five months later and I find myself in January 2010 having not even got it out of its box… So, since we’re now in a brand new year, I thought I’d try it out – and the results were surprisingly delicious!

Before I started out, I did a bit of research into various pasta recipes online, and this Jamie Oliver recipe was by far the best one that I came across. I have therefore used it as the basis for my recipe, which I have adapted slightly to make even tastier pasta! So, if you have a pasta machine gathering dust at the back of a cupboard, or if you spot one in the January sales, why not get it and give it a whirl? I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients (per person, for a small serving)

1. 100g plain flour (preferably “tipo 00″, which means extra fine, but normal plain flour works great)
2. 1 large free-range egg (some recipes say you can substitute this for two egg yolks, but I tried this and wasn’t able to get the same result)
3. A pinch of salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon of mixed dried herbs (optional but I highly recommend it!)

Method

1. First sieve your flour into a bowl (some recipes say that you can do this on a work-top, but I did this my first time and had a slight disaster when I added the eggs…), and add a pinch of salt. If you are using herbs, this is the time to add them – I advise scattering equally over the flour/salt mountain. Make a well in the centre of the flour, big enough to hold the total number of eggs that you are adding.

2. Add the eggs to the well in the flour and beat them using a fork. Once they are beaten, start to mix the flour in a little at a time by moving your fork in slightly larger circles with each “mix”. Do this until your mixture begins to come together, or until it becomes difficult to mix.

TIP: If at any point your mixture is too dry, add a few drops of water or olive oil. Similarly, if it is too wet don’t be afraid to sieve a little more flour into the mixture.

3. Now comes the fun part – make sure your hands are clean and then get in there and mix, squidge and generally pound the mixture into a dough. At this point, you may find it easier to work with the dough on a cutting board. Once you have a dough, continue to knead, bash and squish it until it becomes soft, fairly smooth and pliable.

4. Now, take your ball of pasta dough and wrap tightly in cling film – making sure no air can get in, or else you’ll have crusty bits in your pasta! Then pop it into the fridge for at least 30 mins before you start working with the pasta machine.

5. Clean down a long work surface – I used our big kitchen table for this, which was perfect. Then clamp your pasta machine into place at one end and make sure it’s very secure. Then retrieve your pasta dough from the fridge and again knead for 2 or 3 mins, to ensure that it is workable.

TIP: At this point I would advise dividing up into manageable portions – I work with one person’s portion at a time and leave the remaining dough back in the cling film, in the fridge until I’m ready to work on it.

6. Set your pasta machine to the widest setting. Squash your pasta dough into a fairly flat lump on your cutting board / work surface, and then pass it through the machine. Move your pasta machine down one setting and pass the pasta dough back through the rollers. Once through, fold the sheet in half twice and turn it 90 degrees. Then move the pasta machine back up to the widest setting, and repeat this step 4 or 5 times.

7. Once you are happy with your dough (which should now have formed a fairly uniform rectangle) pass it through the pasta machine on the widest setting, followed by the next widest setting, and continue right the way down through the settings to the thinnest one.

TIP: If your pasta starts to crack at the edges, or breaks up in the rollers, give it a knead and repeat step 6 a few more times before you continue. It may also be worth adding a few drops of water to the dough to make it a bit “stickier”.

8. Now, fold the sheet of pasta back up into a fairly small rectangle and repeat step 7, rolling through the pasta machine settings for the final time.

TIP: You may need help with rolling it down through the settings, as the sheet will become really long and will need someone to catch it and lay it out, whilst someone else feeds it through the machine. Once you’ve had a bit of practise, you should be able to do this on your own though, so don’t worry!

9. You should now have a very long piece of pasta, which you can cut to the desired length (I cut mine in half). You will then need to switch to the cutting attachment of your pasta machine – which in my case is on the other side of the rollers. Decide which type of pasta you want to make, and then feed each sheet through the cutters – remembering to catch the end result as it passes through the cutters!

10. Et voila! Your very own, homemade, fresh pasta! You can now either cook this in boiling water and a touch of olive oil (fresh pasta will take literally a couple of minutes to cook, depending on the type of pasta that you have made), or you can freeze it to use at a later date.

TIP: Fresh pasta will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months! Remember to label your bag / container with the type of pasta, “made on” date and a “use by” date.

Happy pasta making!