Latest

Baked Falafel

2012-05-24T10:11:02Z

Sunshine, jubilee holidays and hazy afternoons; it’s time for some alfresco eating. I’m beyond excited that picnic weather is finally upon us, I like nothing more than packing up a selection of goodies - quinoa salads, crisp lettuce, tubs of hummus and something baked for later - and disappearing for the day, a run to the coast or a wander round a woods and meadows, anywhere that gets you out into the green verdant lushness of nature. Failing that, an hour grabbed in the garden, a bowl of chicken salad in hand and a glass of chilled apple juice and sparkling water is good enough for me. As long as I can feel the sunshine on my face I’m a happy girl. Whatever your plans for the upcoming jubilee weekend, I imagine a bit of outdoor entertaining will play its part. These baked falafel are just perfect for picnic lunches, alfresco dining and drinks and nibbles. They are also incredibly easy to make, plus, they are baked rather than fried, making them healthier and doing away with any chance of greasy fingers – another reason why they’re so good as finger food. The recipe comes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s vegan cookbook, Appetite for Reduction, it’s a really nice and exciting cookbook and well worth a browse, whatever your food inclinations. I like to make a herb salsa to go with these: fresh coriander, chives, parsley, skinned and finely diced tomatoes, lots of lemon juice. I also love them with a hummus and carrot salad, you can never have enough chickpeas, apparently.

BAKED FALAFEL

Makes 12 falafel

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

2 cloves of garlic

½ a red onion

A small bunch of fresh parsley

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp of your favourite sauce: chilli sauce, tomato sauce, mango chutney all works

3-4 tbsp gram flour

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp sea salt

Preheat the oven to 200c and lightly grease a baking tray with oil.

Drain the chickpeas and place in a food processor. Add the onion, garlic, parsley, olive oil, sauce of choice and blitz until relatively smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure it all gets combined. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the gram flour, spices, baking powder and salt until evenly mixed.

Take heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture and shape into little patties, about 1 inch in diameter. Place on the baking tray and bake in the oven for 25- 30 minutes, turning them over half way through so that they’re browned on both sides. Serve while warm or leave to come to room temperature.

Apple and Spice Loaf

2012-05-16T17:45:11Z

There has been so little let up in the dismal – and highly changeable – weather of late that I’ve given up on any pretence of feeling spring like. Usually, by this stage I am being tempted by the fresh asparagus of the season, the golden and creamy Jersey Royal New Potatoes and the hefty kick of local watercress. Instead, I feel drawn to food that warms the bones; Rhubarb Crumble springs to mind, as does anything slow cooked and carb rich, this Three Green Pilaf for instance. Today, I ignored the list of bright and zesty salads that I have to recipe test and instead baked this very simple and very comforting Spiced Apple Loaf.

Packed full of stewed bramley apples and mingled with cinnamon and spice, this is the sort of cake to cheer up any rainy and cold afternoon. It also relies on a generous quantity of apple – no measly solo eating apple for us - this recipe requires two fat bramley apples. They are there for both flavour and texture; acting as a replacement for any eggs you would normally use. The result is a dense, sweet and appley loaf. The sweetness, I should add, comes from Xylitol, a natural sugar substitute made from the ground bark of the birch tree. It’s a brilliant substitute if you are avoiding sugar, and can be used in like-for-like quantities in most recipes, it is also handily available from all health food shops and a lot of the big supermarkets. If you are happy using ‘real’ sugar then I would simply use equal quantities of light soft brown sugar for a mellow caramel flavour. Either way, this is a lovely afternoon treat perfect for having with a cup of tea and a moments rest.

APPLE AND SPICE LOAF

You will need a 2lb loaf tin for this recipe

2 large bramley apples

100ml sunflower or rapeseed oil

140g xylitol plus 3 tbsp for the apples or equal quantities of light soft brown sugar

250g Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour

1 tsp mixed spice

½ tsp cinnamon

Peel and core the apples and chop into 1cm chunks. Place in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water and 3 tablespoons of xylitol (or sugar). Stew gently until soft. Set aside to cool down.

Preheat the oven to 160c and line the loaf tin.

Pour the oil and xylitol (or sugar) into a large mixing bowl and beat together until smooth and glossy. Stir in the stewed apples until mixed. Sift in the flour and spices and use a metal spoon to fold into the mixture until combined.

Spoon into the tin, level the top and bake in the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes – 1 hour 20 minutes until firm to the touch, golden and a cocktail stick comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Anzac Biscuits

2012-05-10T09:07:55Z

Anzac biscuits are one of those wonderful rare things: items born out of necessity and entirely successful. Forget beautiful and useful (thank you, William Morris); my new watchwords are practical and delicious! Anzac’s were created in Australasia, their function to feed the boys in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (hence, Anzac) fighting in Gallipoli in Turkey. Made by the mother’s and families of those men, the combination of oats, flour and desiccated coconut meant (and still means) that the biscuits keep really well - three months being the norm- I know! - without losing any of their texture and flavour over time. A combination of brown sugar and golden syrup means that they have a lovely mellow sweetness while the coconut adds bite and a nice back note of taste.

You’ll notice they are naturally egg-free which makes them incredibly easy to adapt; a little gluten flour here, some vegetable oil there and you have an anzac biscuit that tastes exactly as it should. If you cannot tolerate even gluten-free oats then I’ve heard it recommended that you replace them with cornflakes, lightly crushed – ingenious, I think. These biscuits are so simple to make, they’re the kind of thing children would enjoy making – all that squishing and shaping -, with supervision, of course. For me, they’re simply a lovely biscuit, packed full of flavour and just right for dunking into a cup of tea – as all good biscuits should be. Happy Baking!

ANZAC BISCUITS

Makes 12 biscuits

125g gluten-free plain flour

100g gluten-free oats

100g dark soft brown sugar

50g desiccated coconut

75ml sunflower oil

2 tbsp golden syrup

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp boiling water

Preheat the oven to 170c and line two baking sheets with parchment – if you only have one baking sheet, don’t panic. Just bake the biscuits in two batches.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and then stir in the oats, coconut and brown sugar until evenly mixed.

Place the bicarbonate of soda into a small bowl and add the boiling water. Tip this mixture into the dry ingredients along with the oil and golden syrup. Stir together as much as possible, the mixture will clump in places but still appear quite dry.

Take tablespoons of the biscuit mixture and squeeze together in the palm of your hands so that it binds into a ball – it will be a little crumbly – shape into a ball and press flat between your hands, then place on the baking trays, evenly spaced apart to allow them to spread a little. Bake in the oven for 15 - 18 minutes, rotating the two trays after ten minutes, until golden brown and fragrant.

Remove from the oven and leave for 10 minutes to firm up before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tuna, New Potato and Salsa Verde Salad

2012-05-02T13:52:52Z

I often get emails from people asking me what kind of food I would recommend for lunch. And by lunch I don’t mean a laid back spread for more than two, beginning at lunchtime and ending at some point in the afternoon. I, or rather, they, mean lunch at the office, sat at your desk, or out and about, sat on a patch of grass somewhere desperately pointing towards the sun, or in the car with half an hour to spare. Lunch can be tricky, with so few restaurants and shops catering to food sensitivities, it is often easier, and certainly safer, to make your own. I tend to keep lunch simple, unless I’m entertaining; salads, wraps, soups are all perfect lunchtime food. As are leftovers from the night before, revamped into an exciting new meal – though I know this is contentious, some people being averse to leftovers in any form, though I can’t think why, personally. You can find recipes for Corn Tortilla wraps or Flatbreads in my book, perfect for combining with Carrot and Fennel Salad and hummus, or cooked chicken and homemade pesto or avocado and smoked ham with alittle onion marmalade to add punch. The combinations are, at the least, generous and if you have such a dish, plus a bowl of warming soup, then I’d call it a lunchtime feast. Equally, a little something baked at the beginning of the week can offer you a treat for each day. As in all aspects of life, if you’re a little bit organised and pre-prepared, an allergy-free lunch can be a easy, nourishing and most importantly, delicious thing.

This gloriously simple salad is packed full of flavour and I think the perfect thing to take in a tub for your midday meal. Good quality tuna – and safely caught – new potatoes and the intense, fragrant piquancy of salsa verde are a sublime combination. Pair it with a handful of green leaves, rocket especially, and some finely sliced sundried tomatoes and I’d call it a triumph. At this time of year I would highly recommend Jersey Royles for your choice of potato, they’re the first in season and really delicious, although a little pricey. But as the good people at Eat the Seasons say ‘Look at it this way; Jersey Royals aren't cheap, but the potatoes you'll be eating for the other ten months of the year are, so treat yourself!’ They make a good point, I think.

TUNA, NEW POTATO AND SALSA VERDE SALAD

Serves 2 for lunch or 4 as part of a larger spread

For the salsa verde

A bunch of flat-leaf parsley

A bunch of chives

A small bunch of mint

3 tbsp capers, rinsed

The juice and zest of ½ a lemon

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

400g new potatoes

160g good quality tuna in spring water or olive oil, drained

Place the parsley, chives and mint leaves in a food processor. Add the capers, lemon juice and zest and olive oil. Blitz until you have a coarse pasted and then transfer to a bowl. Alternatively, finely chop the herbs and capers and mix together with the oil and lemon juice. Chill the salsa verde until ready to use.

Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on their size, you want them to be in small, bite size chunks. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the new potatoes – when cooking potatoes it’s a good rule to know that if they are old potatoes you should place them in cold water and then bring to the boil before timing, whereas, when cooking new potatoes, you should add them to already boiling water and then time.

Gently boil the potatoes until tender to a knife point – around 8-10 minutes - and then drain. Transfer the new potatoes to a large serving bowl, flake in the tuna and then spoon over the salsa verde. Fold together until evenly mixed and serve.

Spiced Apricot and Tahini Meatballs

2012-04-26T09:50:15Z

With this springtime deluge we seem to be having, thoughts of light salads, juices and all those other brightening, sun-filled dishes have gone out the window. When it’s unseasonably cold and wet, all I want to eat are heartening, fire in your belly, kind of foods. Rich pasta sauces, roasted vegetables and warming soups will all do, as will these Spiced Apricot and Tahini Meatballs. Don’t be misled by the ingredients, these are essentially Moroccan meatballs in all but name and just the thing to make your supper a comforting and bolstering affair.

Of course, I think meatballs are a welcome part of any weekly repertoire; whether you’re making traditional Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs, Swedish Meatballs in Mustard Sauce or these fragrant Moroccan Meatballs, they are such a simple and delicious option. Here, the meatballs are stuffed with finely diced onion and apricots and bound together with a little tahini, the sauce delicately spiced and fragrant. They also have the benefit of being dressed up or down; you can serve them as they are with a bowl of white basmati for a quick and easy supper, or scatter over sliced black olives and chopped parsley and serve with Taboulleh, flatbreads and hummus for a more elaborate spread. Alternatively, the meatballs and sauce piled high on a bowl of pasta, drizzled with olive oil and a scattering of toasted pine nuts would make an equally good offering.

SPICED APRICOT AND TAHINI MEATBALLS

Serves 4 / Makes about 20 meatballs

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

500g minced lamb

1 tbsp tahini

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

½ tsp black mustard seeds

½ tsp chilli flakes

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp dried mint

50g dried apricots

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp soft brown sugar

600g chopped tomatoes – that’s 1 ½ x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion until soft but not coloured. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down. Finely chop the apricots and place in a large mixing bowl, add the lamb mince, tahini and cooked onion. Season generously and mix and mash together with a fork until combined. Using your hands, shape the mixture into evenly sized balls approximately 1 inch in diameter.

Next, place the cumin, coriander and mustard seeds in a frying pan and dry fry until lightly toasted and fragrant – a couple of minutes over a medium heat. Remove from the heat, place in a pestle and mortar, add the cinnamon, chilli flakes, mint and ¼ tsp sea salt flakes, and grind until you have a fine powder.

Heat the remaining oil in a large heavy based pan, fry the meatballs over a medium – low heat, shaking the pan regularly, until browned all over – about 5-8 minutes. You will probably, depending on the size of your pan, have to do this in two batches as overcrowding the pan will mean that the meatballs won’t brown. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the meat balls and set aside.

Next, add the ground spices and garlic to the pan and fry gently for a minute or two. Pour over the chopped tomatoes, add the lemon juice and sugar then return the meatballs to the pan. Leave to simmer for a further 8 – 10 minutes before seasoning the sauce to taste.

Harvest Cake Slice

2012-04-19T12:48:56Z

I love the mix in this Harvest Slice, almost as much as I love the name. Harvest slice. It sounds so ripe and round and tempting. Orchard Slice does equally well, although is slightly less true to the ingredients. I may start work on an Orchard cake: apples, plums and greengages, it would make a beautiful myriad of flavours and is just the sort of thing I like to bake. In the meantime, these gorgeously spiced, moist and fruity Harvest Cake Slices will see you through. They’re made up of a combination of finely grated carrot (moisture), mellow mixed ground spice, plump raisins and apricots (texture, sweetness), ground rice (texture), soft brown sugar (sweetness) and topped with slices of crisp eating apple (texture, sweetness). It’s a wonderfully easy bit of baking – as traybakes so often are – and just the thing to go with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

Baking has long been considered a science; the rules and regulations clear – always follow a recipe to the exact letter, because in baking, numbers matter. I think there’s truth in it, but not being a particularly technical person and with my passion for flavour far outweighing any interest in science, I tend to go by my own rules when baking. For me there are three simple things you have to get right: moisture, texture and sweetness. Your baking has to be moist enough that it loosens on your tongue and yet light enough that it feels and looks airy, the balance of moisture to dry in tarts and pastries being especially important - the overall goal being a crisp, light, buttery base with velvety soft filling. Which leads me to texture. The crumb of your cake is key; they need to have spring to them, so that when pressed down on lightly with your fingertip, they will release back into their original shape. If they have that spring, then cutting into them will reveal clearly defined crumb, whether delicate and dense or voluminous and aerated. Finally, sweetness is all about balance of flavour. Sugary enough to feel indulgent, decadent and ultimately pudding like; but not too sweet that it becomes cheap and synthetic tasting. The balance here is all about taste to technique, this is because sugar in baking doesn’t just sweeten, it helps cakes to rise and adds a lightness to that all important crumb texture. With so many baking options: tarts, tartins, brownies, biscuits, breads, cakes, muffins, traybakes and endless others, there also comes a variation in requirements; sometimes you’ll need your baking to rise, others you’ll want it dense and gooey. Whatever the recipe, I still always find myself relying on that golden triptych: moisture, texture and sweetness, if you get that balance right (for you) then I think you can call it a success.

HARVEST CAKE SLICE

Makes 12 slices

You will need a 7 x 10 inch baking tin for this recipe

135g dairy-free margarine

85g soft dark brown sugar

4 tbsp ground flaxseed

55g Doves Farm gluten-free plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp mixed spice

100g ground rice

130g carrots

85g raisins

85g dried apricots

1 eating apple

1 tsp apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180c and line the baking tin with parchment, making it easy to lift out the cake at the end of baking.

Begin by making up the flaxseed mixture. Place the ground flaxseed in a small bowl with 6 tablespoons of water, stir together and set aside to thicken up – these will replace the eggs in your baking, helping the mixture to bind together. Next, peel and trim the carrots before coarsely grating – you’ll want to do this by hand as using a food processor to grate the carrots will leave them, and the cake, soggy. Peel and core the apple and then cut into slim slices. Finely chop the dried apricots.

Place the margarine in a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and cream together with a wooden spoon until, light, combined and incorporated. Stir in the flaxseed mixture until mixed through and then sift in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Add the ground rice, grated carrots, apricots and raisins to the mixture and fold in until well mixed.

Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and spread out, using the back of a spoon to level the top. Scatter the apple slices over the top of the traybake and then, using the flat of your hand, gently press them down slightly into the mixture. Bake in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until golden and fragrant. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin. While still warm, brush the top of the slices with the apricot jam and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When ready, cut into slices and serve.

Citrus Quinoa with Spiced Chicken and Chickpeas

2012-04-12T09:55:28Z

As I sit and write this post, rain spatters against the window panes of my study and a whoosh of wind makes it through my lovely – and completely un-eco – sash windows. Apparently, spring just taunted us with her effervescent presence in the form of a week of vitamin D laden sunshine, only to abandon us to a week of wind, rain and disappointing days out. Often, on rainy days like these, I want only to cook comfort food – simple flavours, often creamy, always heartening. Certainly, my Leek and Bacon Creamy Pasta Bake counts as such a dish, as does Creamy Chicken and Coconut Curry or Butter Beans with Sweet Potato and Chilli. All soul-soothing, simple and delicious. But today I was reminded of a phrase that I’ve long liked: ‘It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you handle it that counts’ – I paraphrase, obviously. And I thought to myself, in between trawling through sunny spa destinations on my laptop, if I can’t feel the warmth of sunshine on my face, then I shall just have to bring it to my kitchen. I’m not entirely sure that’s how the original phrase was meant to be interpreted, but I went with it anyway and made this vibrant, fragrant and delicious meal of Citrus Quinoa with Spiced Chicken and Chickpeas.

The spice is produced by a marinade of harissa, cumin, coriander, mint and garlic, the citrus by cooking the quinoa in a medley of orange and lemon juice. The textures and levels of flavour are really something lovely and I already know that this is going to be a firm favourite of mine. You can buy harissa in most supermarkets and specialist shops, though you must check the ingredients carefully. You can also make your own very easily; indeed, there is a recipe for a simple harissa paste in my book, The Intolerant Gourmet. Alternatively, here’s a quick version to crack on with: 4 dried red chillies, deseeded, 1 fat clove of garlic, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp coriander, 2 tbsp olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Soak the chillies for an hour in hot water, then place in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blitz until you have a paste. This will make about 2 tablespoons worth so you can store the remaining in the fridge, a little extra oil poured over to preserve it.

CITRUS QUINOA WITH SPICED CHICKEN AND CHICKPEAS

Serves 4

For the quinoa

175g quinoa

The juice of 1 lemon

The juice of 1 orange

A large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 chicken breasts

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tsp harissa

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried mint

1 tbsp olive oil

Score each chicken breast 3 times, making a ½ cm deep diagonal cut into each breast. Combine the spices, harissa, olive oil and crushed garlic into a sealable freezer bag; add a generous pinch of salt, the chicken breasts and the chickpeas. Squeeze out any excess air, seal the bag and then massage the marinade into the chicken and chickpeas. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180c. Squeeze the lemon and orange juice into a measuring jug and then top up with water until you reach 500ml. Place the quinoa into a saucepan, pour over the citrus water, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid. Fluff up with a fork and set aside.

Tip the chicken and chickpeas into a roasting tin, ensuring that the chicken is scored side up. Roast in the oven for 16 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Leave to rest for a few minutes before cutting the chicken breasts into ½ cm thick slices. Spoon the quinoa into a large serving bowl, stir through the chicken, chickpeas and parsley, season to taste and then serve.

Allergy-friendly Fruit Cake

2012-04-04T10:23:24Z

Fruit cake is one of those classic bits of baking: like a Victoria Sponge or Bakewell Tart, a fruit cake is a quintessentially English affair. Dense, moist and, most importantly, packed full of dried fruit, the basic fruit cake can be elaborated upon to produce a more seasonal variation – Christmas Cake and Simnel Cake both being pimped up fruit cakes in disguise, while a Tea Loaf and a Brack are more of a pared down affair. Like most baking, they are a tea-time treat, set off best by a pot of Darjeeling or Ceylon and a sit down with friends and family. Although, if you’re super keen, and I know that some really are, then fruit cake is pretty much a free for all, it having the benefit of lasting for quite some time and therefore being fair game whenever the mood takes you.

There are usually a few steps and processes involved in their making: creaming, folding, layering; and that’s where this cake varies – that, and the fact that it’s completely allergy-free! This particular fruit cake is incredibly simple to make and really takes little more than a simmer and a stir before you abandon it to the oven to do its work. By simmering the dried fruit in water, sugar and the necessary margarine, you plump up the fruit to all its sweet glory and allow the cake to stay moist when baked. I would also recommend that you make it the day before you want it, being left only adds to the flavour and allows the outer crust of the cake to soften slightly. Once ready, you then have a myriad of choices: dust with icing sugar (as seen here), drizzle over a Vanilla or Almond Icing or swathe in a layer of marzipan. The choice is yours but I highly recommend you make it for the Easter holiday, it’s just the thing to last you through the long-weekend and provide a little respite from the chocolate bombardment that you may be experiencing. Having said that, if you want chocolate, then I highly recommend these, or indeed, these.

FRUIT CAKE

You will need a 7 inch round cake tin with removable base for this recipe

350g mixed dried fruit – I used a combination of sultanas, raisins, cranberries and cherries

100g golden caster sugar

100g dairy-free margarine

4 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water and ¼ tsp baking powder

150ml water

225g gluten free self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 150c and lightly grease and line the cake tin.

Place the dried fruit, water, caster sugar and margarine in a saucepan and heat over a medium flame, while stirring, until the margarine has dissolved into the liquid. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ground flaxseed, water and baking powder in a small bowl, stir together and leave to thicken.

Once the fruit has cooked, remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Next, place the fruit and liquid into a large mixing bowl, stir in the flaxseed mixture until combined and then quickly stir in the flour until completely mixed through.

Spoon the cake mixture into the tin, level the top with the back of as spoon and then bake for 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, store in an airtight tin until ready to use.

Roast Cauliflower with Spiced Peanut Sauce

2012-03-30T12:27:19Z

Cauliflowers are totally in right now - seasonally and nutritionally - and I have here yet another delicious way of eating them. In younger years I tended to avoid such things – and by things, I mean cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts – like so many, school experiences of over cooked, watery veg put paid to any interest in them on my part. These days, I’m a genuine fan. Creamy, crisp – if cooked right – and sustaining, they lend themselves to rich, unctuous sauces – cauliflower cheese being a case in point. This Spiced Peanut Sauce is a complete mongrel interpretation of Gado Gado, the Indonesian Peanut sauce based on a collection of mild chilli spice, with garlic and ginger undertones, made rich a combination of peanuts and coconut. My sauce is a total cheat – using harissa and peanut butter, for shame - but no less delicious for it!

Mildly spiced, aromatic, slightly sweet, rich and creamy, I’ve been making a version of this sauce for years and it never tires. I always serve it with a mixture of vegetables: sweet potato, squash, peas, courgettes, beans, cauliflower, spinach, fennel; nearly everything works with it. Sometimes I cook the vegetables in the sauce and on other occasions, such as this, I’ll roast them first and then pour the sauce over, adding another layer of flavour to the dish. If you haven’t roasted cauliflower before, don’t panic, it’s completely delicious and transforms it from the watery mess of childhood nightmares to a mellow, velvety, grown-up affair. Serve with a bowl of brown basmati rice and the ubiquitous fresh coriander.

Normally I would make this using crunchy peanut butter, but if you have a nut allergy then you can make an alternative version using sunflower seed butter. Bev, creator of I Bake Without, has a brilliant recipe on her site – so quick, easy and delicious –you can also buy it from health food shops, though I will tell you that Bev’s version is by far the nicest.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND SWEET POTATO WITH SPICED PEANUT SAUCE

Serves 4

1 large head of cauliflower

1 sweet potato

2 large leeks

3 tbsp olive oil

For the Spiced Peanut Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 heaped tbsp harissa

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp peanut butter, preferably crunchy or Sunflower Seed Butter

Preheat oven to 180c. Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1 inch chunks. Trim the ends from the leeks, slice in half lengthways, rinse thoroughly under water to get rid of any grime and then slice into thin half moons. Trim the leaves and base from the cauliflower and cut into even sized florets.

Lay the leeks into the base of a large roasting dish or tin. Scatter the sweet potato and cauliflower over the top, pour over the oil, season well and roast for 40 – 45 minutes or until the potato is tender, the cauliflower golden and the leeks softened.

Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and crush the garlic. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and garlic, season well and fry gently until soft – about 10 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, add the harissa and peanut butter (or sunflower butter) and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Once the vegetables are roasted, lay out on a large platter or bowl and pour over the sauce.

Bacon and Leek Creamy Pasta Bake

2012-03-26T10:49:38Z

Sometimes there’s nothing for it but a generous dose of comfort food. It could be the weather, it could be the day, it could be a person, a place, a million things, the result is usually the same – a form of comfort is required. Seeing friends, family, people you love all helps, a glass of fizz, a walk on the beach, a much needed hug - they are all supports. If you can manage all of the above plus a portion of this cosy, consoling Bacon and Leek Pasta Bake then I guarantee light at the end of the tunnel. I would dare to call this recipe Macaroni Cheese, were it not for the fact that it contains crispy smoked bacon, softened leek, fusilli pasta and a noticeable lack of cheese. What it does have is a delicious, creamy, savoury sauce just close enough to the real deal to give this dish a warmth and body belonging to the cheering food of childhood – soul food, or as some might put it, nursery food. Whatever way you remember it, it’s a good thing when a wheat, dairy, egg, soy and yeast free dish gets as creamy as this. The base of the sauce is a simple roux, followed by a rice milk and stock combination and elevated by the inclusion of toasted and ground pine nuts. It’s a combination that I’ve explored in my book in order to create a familiar tasting Spaghetti Carbonara and an indulgent Lasagne. Here, it’s simply combined with leeks and smoked bacon – though you could swap the bacon for roasted peppers if you wanted a vegetarian version. I promise, this is comfort in a bowl and a lovely thing to share too.

BACON AND LEEK CREAMY PASTA BAKE

Serves 4

350g gluten free pasta

4 leeks

6 rashers smoked streaky bacon

2 tomatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce

150g pine nuts

300ml rice milk

300ml vegetable stock

50g dairy free margarine

50g Doves Farm gluten free plain flour

Preheat the oven to 200c. Scatter the pine nuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven, shaking the tray regurlarly to ensure they don’t catch, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down, once cool, place in a food processor and blitz until finely ground. Meanwhile, trim the ends from the leeks, slice in half lengthways and rinse thoroughly to remove any grime before slicing into thin half moons. Finely slice the bacon and cut the tomatoes into rounds about 1cm thick.

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the bacon and fry over a medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the leeks to the frying pan and fry until softened. Next make the sauce. Pour the milk and the stock into a saucepan and heat gently until warm but not simmering. Melt the margarine in another saucepan (the one you cooked the bacon and leeks in will do) over a low heat, add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a roux. Cook for a further 30 seconds, stirring continuously and then stir in the ground pine nuts. Begin to pour in the milk and stock in stages, stirring the liquid into the roux as you go, bit by bit, using all of the liquid until the sauce is smooth, thick and creamy. Season to taste and set aside.

Heat a large pan of salted water until boiling. Add in the pasta and cook until al dente – the time will vary depending on the brand so follow the packet or your own instincts. Drain the pasta and then combine the pasta, leeks, bacon and sauce together in one saucepan and mix well. Transfer to a baking dish, layer over the sliced tomatoes and then bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden and bubbling.