The Intolerant Gourmet cook book has now been released and is available in all good book shops, and a few supermarkets too!  I’m very grateful for all of the help I’ve had along the way and can safely say that my mission is still the same: to produce delicious recipes free for all to eat.  The book itself is jam packed with over 120 delicious recipes, each one free from wheat, dairy, soy, eggs and yeast.  Broken up by season, it guides you through all of the natural foods available for you to eat, with beautiful illustrations by Petra Borner and inspirational photography by Jan Baldwin.  Throughout, abundance is key.  I want you all to feel indulged, inspired, satisfied and most importantly, well.  The recipes range from bright, zesty salads: Chicken, Watercress and Quinoa Salad, Chorizo, Chickpea and Spinach Salad, Prawn and Pineapple Red Rice Salad; to soothing soups: Roast Butternut Squash, Coconut and Chilli, Cream of Chicken and Mushroom.  There is an array of delicious mains: Spaghetti Carbonara, Roast Pork Boulangere, Lamb Stuffed Aubergine, Chicken and Sweet Potato Casserole; and plenty for vegetarians: Vegetable Lasagne, Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry, Summer Tomato and Pesto Tart.  Finally, puddings and sweet things are in abundance: Pancakes, Chocolate Brownies, Blueberry Shortcakes, Chocolate Ice Cream, Bakewell Tart, Flaxseed Bread, Sticky Toffee Pudding and Pecan Pie.  I offer you all the tips and tricks for adapting your favourite recipes and teach you the basics of replacing eggs, gluten and dairy in your cooking.  Most importantly, I try and share with you my passion for cooking so that together we can create delicious, allergy-free food for all of us to enjoy.

The book is available from Waterstone’s, Amazon, WhSmiths, Foyles, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and independent book shops.  You can also read more about it in my Press pages.  Happy Cooking!

‘It's a genuinely brilliant book - the recipes so clever and tasty, and the photography beautiful.’

Pip McCormack

Food Editor, Sunday Times Magazine

‘A triumph of taste over difficulty...the writing inspires confidence and there’s not a whiff of sanctimony.  Best of all, flavour is still king.’

Delicious Magazine

As I sit writing this I’m listening to the food programme on Radio 4.  The subject is comfort food and the increase in our love for it during times of personal strife, and, nationally, times of austerity.  Comfort food is accessible food; food that no one needs to teach us to love.  Sure, we grow to enjoy the salty tang of capers and anchovies and we can develop a passion for curly kale and smoked salmon, but true comfort food comes naturally to our palates, it makes us feel safe and reminds us of a time when all was well with the world.  Some of the best meals to share with friends and family are comfort based: a glorious Sunday roast with all the trimmings, a slow cooked casserole, a hearty soup with crusty bread, a celebratory cake, light and fluffy and rich with icing, even a ladleful of baked beans over crisp toast, they each bring pleasure and comfort equally.   With Valentine’s Day just around the corner thoughts of loved ones are hard to ignore.  I for one am not interested in the frills and fancies of Valentines, I’d rather show my love consistently instead of through the fuss and schmooze of plastic hearts and flowers.  That being said, I love to give gifts, to find or make the perfect card for someone and most of all, I love to cook for people. 

This Valentine’s I plan to cook for my loved one: Blood Orange Champagne Cocktails, a Chorizo and Prawn Tomato Stew with Homemade Olive Foccacia and, if we have room for it, a slice of sweet, indulgent and delicious Chocolate Brownie with a little shot of espresso to finish.  It’s a simple but indulgent menu and preparing and cooking it may well be my favourite part!  I say, take your pleasures where you can, and so this Valentine’s make something you love for the people you love and let bringing them pleasure be the ultimate treat.

I like to serve these brownies squares as they are with a cup of strong black coffee but you could easily up the pleasure levels and offer it with a creamy chocolate sauce.   Quite simply, melt 100g dark, dairy-free chocolate in a bain marie and, once smooth and melted, stir in 200ml of oat cream and mix gently until combined and warmed through.  Pour the sauce over the warm brownies and serve.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Makes 12 brownies

You will need an 8 inch square baking tin for this recipe

170g Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

170g soft light brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp ground flaxseed

230ml rice milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil

A very small pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180c and grease and line the baking tin.  Sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the brown sugar and flaxseed until evenly mixed.  Pour over the oil, vanilla extract and rice milk and stir together until smooth and glossy.  Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until just firm on top.  Remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes before serving or transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can also find this recipe at Cybele Pascal's Allergy - friendly Friday.

I’m a big fan of life’s little pleasures.  I try and take note of all the small, positive things that happen and keep them in mind, the day -to- day treats that are worth remembering and without which life would be a much more unfriendly place.  One of my ‘small things’ is a cup of tea.  It might sound a little lame, and I can think of sexier simple pleasures, but seriously, I couldn’t function without tea in my life.  I like a big cup of tea in the morning, topped with rice milk and drunk while sat in bed; it’s a ten minute lull before the day really begins where I can think ahead and pull myself together.  I’d go as far as to say that tea is therapy – warming, comforting, the mechanics of making the tea are a meditative process in themselves, especially if you make it with proper leaves, in a proper pot, like a proper person should do.  Yes, tea with rice milk is, for me, a simple, celebratory pleasure.  Black tea, on the other hand, makes me want to cry, which is why it’s very, very important that you always have some rice milk to hand.  That’s where this brilliant and revolutionary recipe comes in.

I got the concept from this excellent little video.  I know there are various suggested ‘best’ methods of making your own rice milk but I thought this actually seemed the most logical and is by far the easiest and quickest process.  I have varied the proportions and equipment a little but only in order to make the most of such a fortuitous find.  Apart from being wonderfully easy to make, it is also infinitely cheaper than buying a carton of rice milk.  Most importantly, it gives you a choice and that’s something that can make all the difference when living with food intolerances and allergies.  It will keep for a few days in the fridge and will need a good stir, shake or quick blitz in the blender before pouring, just to mix it up a bit again.

You will need a good blender or food processor, fine mesh sieve and large square of muslin for this recipe, but other than that, it’s a breeze.  You can find muslin squares in Lakeland Plastics and most kitchen shops.

HOMEMADE RICE MILK

175g white basmati rice

1 litre water

2 - 3 tbsp agave syrup

A very small pinch of sea salt

Place the rice and water in a bowl or jug, cover and leave to stand for 8 – 24 hours.  You don’t need to refrigerate it but you can if you wish.  Pour the rice and water into your food processor or blender.  Add the salt and agave syrup and then blitz continuously for 3 whole minutes – you will have a lovely, frothy white milk but it will have lots of small granules of rice in it, this is how it’s meant to be.

Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and line the sieve with the muslin cloth.  Pour in the rice milk, granules and all, and let it soak through the cloth and sieve into the bowl – the muslin is necessary as it is this that will strain out any very fine granules of rice so that you end up with a nice, smooth rice milk without any chalkiness.  Squeeze the remaining liquid through the muslin and sieve and then serve. 

Store the rice milk in a kilner jar or lidded jug in the fridge, giving it a good shake or stir before pouring.  If stored like this it will keep for up to 4 days.

With the temperature dropping outside the call for sustaining foods is at its height, and when the hours of daylight are at a minimum and the time in the day seems so short, week night suppers need to be simple, full of flavour and sustaining.  If I’ve been out and busy all day I often turn to my store cupboard to find the ingredients for that last meal of the day.  This dish is borne from one of those forays, pasta being a wonderful medium for flavour - it needing only a good smothering of something rich to turn it into a satisfying dish.  This recipe hit all the right notes for me: creamy, piquant and zesty, it had just the right balance of bright flavour and comforting, soul food elements.  It also has the benefit of being made up of readily available ingredients: a jar of artichokes in olive oil, a handful of capers and the body of good quality gluten free pasta so easy to purchase now in most supermarkets.  You could serve it as it is or stir in some green leafy vegetables – spinach, lightly steamed broccoli and peas all being a positive addition.  Simple, speedy and yummy, it will brighten up these wintry evenings.

ARTICHOKE AND LEMON SAUCE FOR SPAGHETTI AND PASTA

Serves 4

400g gluten free pasta or spaghetti

For the sauce

1 x 280g jar of artichoke hearts in olive oil

½ tbsp capers, rinsed

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ small red chilli, finely chopped and seeds discarded

50 - 75ml olive oil – use the oil from the artichoke hearts

A small bunch of parsley

Drain the artichoke hearts, reserving the olive oil to use in the puree.  Place the artichoke hearts, capers, lemon juice and chopped chilli into a blender or food processor and blitz until a coarse puree, stopping every now and then to scrape down the sides.  Pour in the olive oil bit by bit, blitzing as you go, allowing the puree to amalgamate and become smooth.  Season to taste and set aside.

Meanwhile, put your spaghetti or pasta onto cook.  Once al dente, drain and stir in the artichoke puree.  Add a dash more olive oil to loosen the sauce up if you think it needs it and then scatter over the chopped parsley and serve.

I’m not normally one to use a lot of citrus in my salads.  Apples are one thing – with a lovely crunch and their round sweetness I think they’re a great foil for the addition of meat or nuts in a big mixed salad.  Yet oranges have always seemed a little too overpowering for me.  I do love the combination of citrus and chicken – as my favourite dish of Chicken, Fennel and Orange with Olives will attest -, and certainly, given the right balance they can do  wonders for a dish, brightening them both to the eye and to taste.  Blood oranges though, seem a different matter.  They are, in fact, the most delicious and delicate of creatures: ruby and amber flesh and a tart sweetness that gives them a sophisticated edge over their rather more obvious cousins.  I spent a bit of time in Venice when I was younger where a popular drink amongst my group was a pouring of dark, deep rum followed by a juicy wedge of blood orange to take the edge off.  A sort of Veneto slammer and seriously one of my favourite things to do late at night (or early in the morning) in a wood panelled corner bar filled with swarthy Italians and friends.  Obviously.

So, blood oranges are clearly on my favourites list and this salad gives them an opportunity to stand proud.  I was inspired by this salad, with its lovely colour play and vibrant feel.  Bright citrus flavours, gently poached chicken, sweet steamed beetroot and the melodic tang of coriander.  It’s what my January needs: a little sparkle and pick me up and perhaps a little pouring of dark rum to follow.

BLOOD ORANGE, BEETROOT AND CHICKEN SALAD

Serves 2

2 skinless chicken breasts

The juice of 1 lemon

A small bunch of coriander 

500g beetroot

2 blood oranges

A pouring of extra virgin olive oil

Trim the stalks from the coriander and place in a large saucepan of water.  Add a large pinch of salt and the juice from the lemon, cover and bring to the boil.  Once the water is boiling, add the chicken breasts to the water, bring back to the boil and then cover and remove from the heat.  Leave the pan to sit for half an hour before draining the chicken breasts and patting dry.  This method allows the chicken to poach slowly, retaining the tenderness of the meat and adding a piquant flavour from the lemon and coriander. The chicken breasts will still be very hot when you remove them from the water so leave them to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220c.  Trim the leaves from the beetroot, place in a saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to the boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer and leave to cook for 45 minutes or until the beetroot are tender to a knife point.  Remove from the heat and drain, leave to cool for 10 minutes or so and then run under the tap while removing the skins – they should just slide off with ease. 

Peel the blood oranges and remove any excess pith and skin.  Slice the oranges and cooked beetroot into rounds approximately 1 cm thick.  Slice the cooked chicken diagonally giving into 1cm thick slices.  Layer the beetroot, blood oranges and chicken onto a large serving dish or bowl, scatter over the coriander leaves and drizzle generously with the oil.  Season well with sea salt and black pepper and serve.

It’s a food fact that if you want to find what’s best in season, head towards the markets.  Whether it’s an organic, bio-dynamic, re-mortgage your house to afford it style farmer’s market or just the local greengrocer and his striped awning.  If you shop from the markets, you will see the seasons as they change and develop, the colours of your purchases satisfyingly ebbing and flowing with the weather.  Right now, blood oranges are having their time again.  Or, as I was recently informed, blush oranges.  The connotation of blood clearly being too much for some shoppers!  Rich ruby red with swirls of amber, these tarter, more intense versions of an orange are utterly delicious and as pleasing to look at as they are to eat.  I’m currently favouring a simple salad made from cooked beetroot, poached chicken and slices of blood orange, lightly dressed in oil and scattered with fresh coriander.  It’s a great combination and one I hope to show you later in the month.  In the meantime, I made this cake from a whim.  I do so love a lemon drizzle and thought that the tartness of the blood oranges would suit the overall feel.  The ginger is a warming addition and a nod to the drop in temperature in recent days.  You’re left with a light and zesty cake, soaked in sweet/sharp nectar and topped with a fine gauze of scented sugar crust.  It’s a winner and a rather lovely treat on a cold afternoon.

To my mind, blood oranges are best.  But I’m sure that if you use regular oranges for this recipe, it will work just as well.  In fact, I’m positive it would be lovely.

BLOOD ORANGE AND GINGER DRIZZLE CAKE

You will need a 2lb loaf tin for this recipe

For the cake

225g/8oz butter replacement - Pure Sunflower Spread

225g/8oz golden caster sugar

4 eggs – 4 tsp Orgran Egg Replacer whisked together with 8 tbsp water

225g/8oz Doves Farm Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

1 heaped tsp ground ginger

1tbsp rice milk

1tsp xanthan gum

The zest of 2 blood oranges

For the drizzle

The juice of 1 blood orange

85g/3oz golden caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180c (160c Fan) and grease and line your loaf tin.  Cream together the butter replacement and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the egg replacement mixture, a bit at a time, slowly stirring them through until fully incorporated. 

Sift in the flour, ginger and xanthan gum then add the grated orange zest and rice milk, mix well until fully combined and then spoon in to the lined loaf tin, levelling the top of the cake with the back of your spoon.

Bake in the oven for 45 – 50 minutes until cooked through and a thin skewer or cocktail stick inserted in to the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool a little in its tin while you mix together the remaining caster sugar and orange juice.  Pierce the warm cake all over using the skewer or a fork and then pour over the drizzle – the juice will be absorbed into the cake and will dry to form a sugary crust on the cake’s surface.  Leave the cake in its tin until completely cool and then cut into slices and serve.

You can also find this recipe at Cybele Pascal's Allergy Free Cuisine

I was preparing to make a simple salad for the blog this week.  A combination of finely sliced sprouts, caramelised roasted sweet potato and lightly toasted pecans, all drizzled with a light lemony herb dressing.  Fresh, crisp, full of flavour, I thought it was just the thing to help boost the immune system and banish the January blues.  Then I looked out the window.  It’s freezing cold, wet and miserable here, the sky is grey and each time I venture out I have to wrap my hands in whatever wool is to hand (that will be a pair of gloves then) and pace to my destination, breathing puffs of frozen air into my scarf to keep my lower face warm.  Lovely as I know it will be – and I may well work on it a little later - I don’t want a salad to eat, I want something warming, nourishing and hot!  Curry is the answer, of course it is – who, after all, doesn’t love a curry?

This is the quickest and easiest of curries: with a little prep, a little more marinating and a blast of cooking you have a delicious, rich and fragrant dish which I think does more for body and soul in January than any raw salad or seaweed juice ever could.  I’ve chosen to use chicken thighs because I think they hold the best flavour, but feel free to use whatever cut or indeed meat that you like.  The spices are a simple blend and are in no way gospel.  Use whatever you have and miss out whatever you haven’t - that’s the beauty of making a curry; you can flavour it to whatever heights you like.  I like this combination of spices and I think the coconut milk is key, adding creaminess and a buttery note.  You could however use cashew nuts to thicken the sauce, as I’ve done here in this Lamb Korma.  Serve with white basmati rice and a handful of coriander leaves – it’ll keep the cold and blues at bay.

SIMPLE CHICKEN AND COCONUT CURRY

Serves 4

8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs

1 large white onion

2 cloves of garlic

½ tin coconut milk

2 tsp garam masala

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp ground coriander

½ - 1 tsp chilli powder – depending on how hot you like it

½ tsp black mustard seeds

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp mixed spice

2 tbsp tomato puree

Juice of half a lemon

2 tbsp groundnut oil

A bunch of fresh coriander

Stir together the coconut milk, lemon juice and all of the spices in a large mixing bowl until blended.  Make a few diagonal cuts, about 1cm deep, on each chicken thigh and then place them in the marinade, leave to marinate for 2 – 24 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 220c (200c Fan).  Finely slice the garlic and cut the onion into thin half moons.  Heat the oil in a large, shallow heavy based casserole, fry the onion and garlic until softened and just starting to colour.  Add the chicken thighs and sauce into the casserole, season well and then bake in the oven for 30 - 35 minutes.  Serve on a bed of basmati rice with a scattering of torn coriander leaves over the top.

Welcome to 2012!  With Christmas and New Year behind us for yet another year it’s time to look ahead to the beginning of a new cycle and a new chapter.  I’m a firm believer in the idea of renewal and beginning afresh.  Someone once said to me that ‘it’s never too late to begin the day again’.  That simple statement struck such a chord with me that I’ve kept it close ever since.  It’s such a liberating thought – however bad your day or misguided your behaviour, it’s never too late to just...start again.  Such simplicity.  Such logic. 

I love the festive time of year dearly but it can leave you feeling a little more sluggish than usual, what with the excess of food, drink and sedentary positions, there comes a point when a little bit of a clear out and kick start is just what your system needs.  This soup is my absolute favourite and a delicious way of packing in nutrients, energy and flavour.  I love the sweet and earthy combination of butternut squash and lentils with the warming note of honey and thyme.  Make it for a gentle and filling lunch, and then give yourself a lovely simple supper – Smoked Chicken, Kale and Cranberry Salad with brown rice or Sweet and Sour Quinoa with a little Hummus spring to mind.  Do that for a week and you’ll find it’s a great way to bring yourself back into balance and set yourself up for all the lovely treats that are on their way in 2012!

This recipe can also be seen at Cybele Pascal's Allergen - Free Cuisine

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, LENTIL, HONEY AND THYME SOUP

Serves 4

1 medium butternut squash

2½ tbsp olive oil

1 small onion

4 sticks of celery

100g red lentils

2 pints vegetable or chicken stock

A small bunch of thyme

1 heaped tsp runny honey

Preheat the oven to 200c.  Peel the butternut squash and scoop out any pith and seeds with a spoon.  Chop into 1 cm chunks and combine with 1 ½ tablespoons of the olive oil and the leaves from the thyme in a roasting pan.  Season well and roast in the oven for 35 minutes or until beginning to turn golden on the edges.  

Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and celery.  Heat the remaining olive oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion and celery until completely soft but not coloured.  Add the lentils stir together and then pour over the stock.  Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Once the squash is roasted, transfer to the rest of the soup, add the honey and use a hand held blender to blitz until smooth.  Season to taste and serve hot.

PRE-ORDER NOW!

THE INTOLERANT GOURMET, delicious allergy-friendly home cooking for everyone

And so it’s here (or very nearly so), my much longed for work of passion, The Intolerant Gourmet cook book.  Finally I can point you to it and show you the beauty that is my book.  I think I can say that, as immodest as it may sound, as this labour of love wasn’t created solely by me.  I’ve had an incredible team of people help me create it, the photography, styling and editing processes have been a joy to behold and it is such a pleasure to share it with you all.  I say that, because over the last year I’ve learnt an awful lot.  It’s been a brilliant and inspirational time and I hope that my book will convey that, as well as a serious amount of delicious recipes for all to eat!  I’ve spoken before about the process of feeling inspired, and if I could take only one thing from the past twelve months it is this: when you are surrounded (and indeed, surround yourself) with people that are incredibly talented and innovative at what they do, it can only lead to one thing - inspiration.  When those very same people are also lovely to boot then you know that they are truly doing what they love and it can propel you forward, driven by a want to equal and emulate, or put simply, it makes you want to be the best at what you do too.  Or, at the very least, try to be.

Now all this motivation can make a person hungry, and what better way to sustain you in times of productivity than a delicious sweet Bakewell Tart made perfectly and precisely just for you.  These individual treats are based on my original Bakewell Tart, the likes of which you can find in my book.  Here, I’ve used a good quality apricot jam for ease and flavour and the balance is just right: golden jam, light and fluffy topping and a delicate short pastry case.  It’s the sort of thing to celebrate with and give to all those people that you admire.

Merry Christmas and see you all in the New Year.

APRICOT BAKEWELL TARTS

Makes approximately 24 little tarts

You will need a 3 inch round cutter and two 12 holed tart tins for this recipe

For the pastry

230g/8oz Doves Farm gluten free plain flour

60g/2oz dairy-free margarine – I recommend Pure Sunflower Spread

60g/2oz vegetable shortening

½ tsp xanthan gum

2 – 3 tbsp cold water

For the filling

150g/5½oz dairy-free margarine -  I recommend Pure Sunflower Spread

150g/5½oz golden caster sugar

200g/7oz ground almonds

100g/3½ oz ground rice

2 eggs – 2 heaped tsp Orgran Egg Replacer whisked with 4 tbsp water

A few drops of almond extract

A handful of flaked almonds

8 tbsp apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 190c (170c Fan).  Place the flour, xantham gum, margarine and vegetable fat in the food processor and blitz until the mixture is of a breadcrumb like consistency.  Tip in the cold water, tablespoon by tablespoon, blending as you go, until the mixture begins to pull together.  Turn the mixture in to a large mixing bowl and, using the tips of your fingers, pull together into a ball of dough.  Knead for around 2 minutes, until smooth and elastic to your touch.  Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and set aside while you prepare the filling.

Use a wooden spoon to mix the margarine and sugar together until light and incorporated.  Add the egg replacement, bit by bit, stirring as you go until fully combined.  Stir in the ground rice, ground almonds and almond extract.

Remove the pastry from the fridge, shape with your hands in to an even ball and lay the pastry between two large layers of clingfilm.  Roll the pastry out– aim to get roll to about 4mm thickness- peel off the uppermost layer of clingfilm and use your cutter to cut out as many tart bases as you can, ball up any remaining dough, roll out again and repeat.  Gently press the pastry circles into the tart tin, gently filling in any cracks or gaps that may appear with extra pastry, patted flat with your fingertips.  Spread the base with a heaped teaspoon of apricot jam and then carefully cover the jam with the almond filling – I recommend spooning it onto the jam and gently pressing it together with the flat of your hand to fill any cracks or gaps.  Scatter over the flaked almonds and bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden and fragrant.  Tranfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.