Orange Panna Cotta

Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. I’m not sure where the family got this recipe from but it has become a firm favourite with friends and family and, of course, it is gluten free.

We especially like it in the winter served with oranges soaked in Cointreau, and shortbread wafers or in the summer, the vanilla one, with raspberries or strawberries and home-made macaroon fingers. It is lowish in fat (if low-fat yoghurt is used), but have not tried it with half fat cream or crème fraiche, as it is not an everyday pudding and a little cream every now and again is always good

Serves 6 people

Ingredients:
½pint/284ml Double cream
75ml/2½oz Caster sugar
1 tsp Vanilla paste
2 Leaves of gelatine (soaked in cold water)
350g/12½oz Plain yoghurt (can be Greek or low-fat)
Zest of 1 large orange
Require:
1 glass bowl

1. Put the gelatine leaves to soak in a bowl of cold water.

2. Put the vanilla paste into a saucepan with the cream, sugar and orange zest – bring gently to the boil.

3. Turn off the heat, squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and add to the cream mixture, whisk until dissolved.

4. Put the yoghurt into a large bowl and slowly pour the cream mixture on top and whisk together until well combined.

5. Pour into your chosen bowl and allow to chill for 3-4 hours or overnight.

NB This mixture will fill 6 ramekins or small bowls. If they are to be turned out line with cling-film.

Fresh fruit can be served with this and other flavours used such as rose water, (a few drops of pink colouring can be added if required), lemon or whatever your choice is.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Puddings, Vegetarian, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, gelatin, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, italian, orange, panna cotta, Piedmont, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Elderflower Cordial

As a child, elderflower cordial always seemed like a very grown-up drink – though we drank it with soda water or tap water. My family always loved foraging in the hedgerows to make a variety of home-made wines, which until I was much older I was not allowed to drink! It was always great fun to collect the elderflowers and always picked more than was needed just to get the best ones for the cordial. It is really refreshing on a hot sunny day and tastes great!

Ingredients:
20/25 Sprays of elderflower heads – picked on a fine day when the fragrance is intense and not near a road
Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon – both unwaxed
Lemon juice
Sugar – unrefined will give a darker cordial.

1. Snip the flower heads from the main stems and place in a large bowl.

2. Pour boiling water over them – just enough to cover and press them well down.

3. Cover and steep until cold or overnight.

4. Strain the liquid through muslin and squeeze all the liquid out.

5. Measure the liquid and put in a pan and for every 500ml (18fl oz) add 350g (12oz) of sugar and up to 50ml (2flozs) lemon juice.

6. Taste to make sure your cordial is neither too sharp nor too sweet by adjusting the lemon juice.

7. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar stirring occasionally and then bring to the boil, just to thicken the syrup – about 2 minutes at the most but every batch seems to be different.

8. Strain again through muslin to remove any scum and pour into clean sterilised bottles.

9. Seal with screw caps, or corks, and keep in the fridge. I like to use the mini wine bottles that are dark green.

10. Serve diluted with chilled fizzy or soda water.

The cordial can be used to flavour home-made ice-cream, mousses etc.

NB this recipe can be doubled, trebled, however much you want to make.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Drink, Gluten Free, Local Produce, elderflower cordial, lemon, orange, sugar

West Country Creams

I am not sure where this recipe came from but my Mum has been making these for over 30 years before teaching me. All I know is that the whole family absolutely love it, and we all have done since we were very small, and friends equally so. It is any easy dessert that looks as if it has taken some time to make.

Serves 8 people

Ingredients:
1 lb (450g) Raspberries
½ pint (275ml) Double Cream
½ pint (275ml) Plain Yoghurt – can be Greek or half-fat
Demerara or Muscavado Sugar
Ratafias to garnish

Use 8 ramekins or small glass dishes. It can also can be made in a large glass dish – it looks quite exotic.

1. Divide the raspberries between the dishes.

2. Put the cream into a dish and whip it until it comes to soft peaks – beware do NOT over-whip

3. Fold in the yoghurt, the mixture will thicken.

4. Spoon the mixture over the raspberries but leave a little space at the top of the dish.

5. Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the cream to cover it.

6. Chill the puddings for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

7. The sugar will melt to form a coat over the cream.

8. Serve with Ratafia biscuits.

I love raspberries for this dish best of all but any fruit will do even a mixture of one, two or three together.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Cakes & Biscuits, Gluten Free, Puddings, Vegetarian, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, demerara, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, muscavado, raspberries, ratafia, west country creams, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Baked Nectarines with Crushed Ratafia

This recipe came about when my mum found it in a magazine for baked peaches. The only trouble was that you had to skin the peaches (too much trouble!) and it used a Bakewell Tart mixture – so was totally useless for her gluten free diet. She looked it up as my younger brother had eaten it at a friend’s house and raved about it. A bit of thought later, she decided that she could cheat and came up with this recipe below, and this is even easier than having to make a Bakewell mixture. We all now prefer this recipe as the filling is lighter allowing us all to eat more than the allotted two!!

Ingredients:
1 Nectarine per person
Gluten free Ratafia or Amoretti biscuits – M&S do good ones!
Cream/Crème Fraiche
Clear Honey

1. Use at least 1 nectarine per person

2. Cut the nectarines in half and remove the stone.

3. Put them in an oven proof dish, cut side up.

4. Crush Ratafia or Amoretti biscuits into a bowl. Use 2 biscuits per nectarine.

5. Add enough Cream/Crème Fraiche to the crushed biscuits to make a thick paste.

6. Pile the paste on top of the nectarines, filling the hole where the stone was.

7. Then drizzle 2 teaspoons of Clear Honey over nectarines.

8. Put in oven for 15-20 mins @ 180°C until Nectarines are fairly soft, but not mushy.

9. Serve with extra cream or ice cream.

N.B. Peaches can be used instead of Nectarines.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Cakes & Biscuits, Gluten Free, Puddings, Vegetarian, amoretti, bakewell tart, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, honey, nectarines, ratafia, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Easy Lamb Koftas

When my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, they decided to hold a ‘Drinks & Nibbles’ party at their home for our family and special friends. We put up a pergola, as English weather can be temperamental, cleaned the house, sorted the garden and we were ready. As my Mum suffers from coeliac disease and likes to know the source of food, organic if possible, she decided to cook the nibbles herself. 40 guests needed at least 12/15 nibbles each, so she cooked, froze and made fresh on the day. The weather could have been kinder, but the showers didn’t seem to dampen anyones spirits, and the sun shone for some of the day. They had a great day – just what everyone wanted.

The recipe for ‘Easy Lamb Koftas’ came from a friend and they are delicious.

Ingredients:
400g Minced Lamb
1 Onion, chopped and cooked in a little oil
1½ slices of bread made into breadcrumbs (I used gluten-free bread)
2tblsps Aubergine pickle – chop small any large pieces
2tblsps Mango chutney - chop small any large pieces
Salt and Pepper

1. Using a food processor, or just your fingers, process the lamb until smooth.

2. In a large bowl put the lamb and add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

3. Add a little oil to your hands and shape into sausages – small ones for nibbles and large ones for the BBQ.

4. Cook in the oven at 180 Fan, 200C/400F, Gas 5. The nibbles are ready after 10/12minutes and the larger ones 15/18mins.

5. If making in advance cook until just done and then freeze. When required unfreeze and cook until nicely coloured.

Finally push sticks in one end and serve with a yoghurt dip.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Mains, Aubergine pickle, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, lamb, Lamb Koftas, Mango chutney, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Crispier Meringue (Gluten Free)

Should you want to make a crisper meringue to the blog post below then here is the recipe.

Again the ratio is 1 egg white to 2ozs/60g caster sugar

6 egg whites
12oz/360g Organic castor sugar

Pre-heat oven to 110C/215F; Gas ¼/½ or Fan oven 100/110C

Method:
1. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and dry

2. Slowly add the sugar continuing to whisk until the egg white is stiff.

3. On a baking tray covered in non-stick baking parchment, either use two dessert spoons to make wedges or pipe into rounds or swirls.

4. Bake in the oven for 2/3 hours until dry.

Chopped nuts can be added to the mixture and also the top of each meringue can be sprinkled with the nuts before baking

Tip egg whites volume up in a clean bowl. To make sure it is grease-free wipe around the bowl with some lemon juice.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Puddings, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, meringues, pudding, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Meringues (Gluten Free)

We have always loved meringues from small ones filled with cream or crushed to make Eton Mess to the bigger Pavlovas. They are gluten free and a much softer meringue than the white, hard shop-bought ones.

I can remember when I was very small, my Grandmother whipping up egg whites on a plate with a knife to make them stiff, then transferring them to a bowl and stirring in the sugar. She then either made meringues or topped a Lemon Meringue Pie. She obviously didn’t believe in hand-whisks and had never been brought up with a food mixer – no electricity when she was young!

These meringues are made with the Pavlova way of making meringues – crisp on the outside and softer in the middle. Of course it depends on how long you wish to cook the meringues or let them dry out in the oven.

The ratio is 2ozs (57g) of organic caster sugar to one organic egg white.

Chocolate or coffee meringues can be made by adding cocoa or coffee powder at the same time as the sugar.

Pre-heat oven to 120C/225F; Gas ¼/½ or Fan oven 110/120C

Method:
1. Whisk egg whites until thick and fluffy (so that they will stay in the bowl if it is turned upside down!) – do not over-whisk though.

2. Gradually add the sugar, whisking all the time until it is all combined and the mixture is stiff.

3. Then add one teaspoon each of white wine vinegar, real vanilla essence or paste and cornflour. Give a quick whisk to blend these ingredients into the meringue mixture.

4. On a baking tray covered in non-stick baking parchment, either use two dessert spoons to make wedges or pipe into rounds or swirls.

5. Bake for at least 30-40min, even 1 hour until the outside of the meringue is crisp to the touch.

6. They can now be removed from the oven or left inside with the heat off to dry out further. That is your preference.

7. Leave to cool; they will keep in an air-tight tin for 1 week.

8. If eating immediately fill two halves with cream and sandwich them together or eat singly with fresh fruit.

9. Suggestions; cream mixed with melted chocolate sandwiched together and chocolate drizzled over the top. Or cream mixed with coffee, again sandwiched together and caramel drizzled over the top.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Puddings, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, meringues, puddings, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Fantastic Fish Pie

It is about time to finish off a post I actually started a couple of months ago!

Anyone For Seconds? celebrated its first anniversary on the 1st September 2010 and with around 400 visitors a day at the moment, all the posts for foraged related recipes, written this time last year, are suddenly all the rage again and the top viewed posts on the blog. It’s been fun re-reading what I wrote a year ago.

With a promotion at work, only 6 months in after joining the company, life has been hectic to say the least, not giving me as much time to write up recipes I have cooked. I still love cooking, taking photos of dishes I have done and have 3 more posts already queued up to be finished off – it’s just been a case of finding the time to do it.

I thought of using this Jamie Oliver recipe for my return, as it is a massive family favourite and at parties it always get demolished before anything else!

This recipe is a variation of his Fish Pie dish from his book “The Return of the Naked Chef” as we use more seafood and different fish in our version.

As Jamie says and which I totally agree with, “The whole fish pie thing is one of the most homely, comforting and moreish dinners I can think of. This is a cracking recipe which does it for me.”

As my mum told me:

“My grandmother used to make a fish pie that I loved but couldn’t eat it any more as the white sauce was made with wheat flour. When I saw Jamie Oliver make his fish pie without a traditional white sauce, I thought this is for me. I adapt it sometimes by adding Salmon or smoked haddock and always use prawns and use Dijon mustard instead of English.”

(Printable Recipe)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
5 large Potatoes, peeled and diced into 2.5cm/1 inch squares
Salt and Ground Black Pepper
2 Free-range Eggs
2 large handfuls of Spinach
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Carrot, halved and finely chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
285ml/½ pint Double Cream
2 good handfuls of grated mature Cheddar or Parmesan cheese
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 heaped teaspoon Dijon Mustard (Dijon is Gluten Free)
1 large handful of Flat-Leaf Parsley, finely chopped
½lb Cod Fillet, skin removed and sliced into strips/chunks
½lb Salmon Fillet, skin removed and sliced into strips/chunks
1 large handful of frozen prawns, defrosted
Nutmeg (optional)

Pre-heat oven 210C, Fan 190C, Gas 7

1 Put the potatoes on to boil.

2 Boil the eggs for 8 minutes. Once cooked, remove the eggs from the heat, cover with cold water and set to one side.

3 In a non-stick saucepan, gently fry the onion and carrot in a little oil until softened.

4 Put the fish, eggs and prawns in a oven-proof dish and press the spinach in between the fish and eggs. If you wish to cook the spinach first, do so for one minute but squeeze out any moisture.

5 In the pan with the onion and carrot, add the double cream and bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat and then add the cheese, lemon juice, mustard and parsley. Pour the mixture evenly over the fish.

6 Drain the potatoes when cooked and mash them with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of nutmeg. Spread it on top of the fish very roughly.

7 Place in oven for about 20-30 mins until the potatoes are golden.

Serve with green vegetables.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Mains, anniversary, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, fantastic, first birthday, fish, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, jamie oliver, pie, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Homemade Beef Burgers

I make my own beefburgers as most bought ones contain rusk or breadcrumbs, which is fine if you don’t suffer from coeliac disease. Not only can you get your butcher to mince you some good quality free-range beef but you can get more for your money.

I always make mine the same way but was intrigued to read in the Sunday Times, in a cookery article by someone whose name I forget, that his stepson – William – made his beefburgers with the same ingredients that I use, only he added an egg to his basic mixture. He also gave the recipe for a ‘Ploughman’s burger’ this just had some added extras to the basic mixture. I had to try his recipe and they are very good indeed, and I’m sure he won’t mind if I share his recipe with you.

I also make a spicy burger just by adding sweet chilli sauce to the basic mixture, but if you like them really hot just chop an extra chilli into that mixture.

I imagine that any flavouring could be added to the basic mixture including a curry paste – though that is one flavour I have not tried yet!

I serve the plain beefburger in warm soft rolls with a tomato relish or a garlic mayonnaise. The Ploughman’s burger the same way. But I think would serve the chilli burger with some soy sauce, chopped spring onions and red peppers and the curry burger with mango chutney mixed into some plain yoghurt.

All of them go well with a salad, a glass of wine, a warm summer’s evening and family and friends.

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

Basic recipe:
2lbs/900g Good minced beef
1 Large onion very finely chopped
2 Cloves of garlic finely chopped
A good handful of chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper

Ploughman's version:
To the basic mixture add 3½-4 ozs/100g of grated mature cheddar cheese
3tblsps Dijon mustard
4 heaped tblsps Onion marmalade

1 In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together with your hands until well mixed.

2 Shape the mixture into burgers; they can be whatever size you wish to make them.

3 Place them in the fridge for an hour or two before using, as the chilling helps stop them falling apart when cooking.

4 They can be cooked medium-rare or well-done depending on taste, and a BBQ gives the best flavour.

NB The burgers can be made in advance and frozen, but they are best used within 2 weeks. Important defrost thoroughly before cooking.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Local Produce, Mains, beef, burgers, cheese, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, homemade beef burgers, mustard, onion, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Coronation Salad of Chicken, Mango and Avocado

Coronation chicken is the sort of British dish that makes the French laugh (it is after all, a mixture of meat and fruit, something they find alien). This recipe takes Coronation Chicken to a new level, making it into a respectable salad. The sauce is stronger than the traditional recipe and it is brought upt to date by a hit of chilli, the sweetness of mangoes and the avocado and lime.

(Printable Recipe)

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1kg/2lb 4oz Chicken breast fillets
2 tbsp Groundnut Oil
2 ripe Mangoes
2 ripe Avocados
1 bunch of Asparagus tips, baked in advance
Juice of 2 Limes
275g/10oz Watercress or Baby Spinach
1 Red Chilli, cut into shreds
2 tbsp Olive Oil
15g/½oz Flaked Almonds, toasted

For the dressing:
350g/12oz Mayonnaise
125ml/4fl oz Plain Greek Yogurt
3 tsp Curry Powder
½ tsp Ground Ginger
7 tbsp Mango Chutney
A little Milk
Leaves from 7 sprigs mint, chopped

1 Season the chicken and heat the oil in a large pan.

2 Saute the breasts until golden all over, then throw in 50ml/2fl oz water, cover and leave the chicken to cook in the steam.

3 Once cooked, leave the chicken to cool completely then use a fine-bladed sharp knife to cut it into neat slices. Season all over.

4 Gently mix together all the ingredients for the dressing except the mint. It should be the thickness of double cream. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Stir in the mint.

5 Peel the mongo and cut the ‘cheeks’ off each side; cut close to the stone so that you remove the plumpest bit of the mango. Cut the cheeks into neat slices.

6 Halve the avocadoes, remove the stones and cut into slices. Carefully peel off the skin. Spoon over some of the lime juice to keep them from discolouring. Season.

7 Gently toss the salad leaves with the mango and avocado, the chilli, the rest of the lime juice, the olive oil and some seasoning.

8 Arrange on a big platter or shallow bowl and add the chicken. Drizzle the dressing over the top and scatter on the almonds.

Serve the rest of the dressing in a jug and serve with a bowl of wild and brown rice, either warm or dressed with vinaigrette and left to cool to room temperature.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Mains, avocado, chicken, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, coronation, coronation chicken, curry recipe, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, mango, salad, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes