Category Archives: gluten-free

April 28, 2016

Spring Asparagus

April and May, the garden shoots up. Everything that over wintered and that we have picked and enjoyed for so long is bolting. The spinach, chard and kales are shooting for the sky. They’ve done their job and are going to seed. We have baby stand-ins ready to take their place, they’ve been very shy about growing with the cold weather but as soon as there’s a bit of heat they will spring into action.

The baby salad leaves and rocket are shooting up too and being greedily enjoyed.

It’s also asparagus season, not that we have asparagus in our garden any more. We tried to grow it but never succeeded in growing more than enough for one persons dinner at a time. It would shoot up like an alien overnight and stand alone in the veg patch. We eventually dug it up in frustration.

However the West Cork asparagus is arriving, you’ll find it in the farmers markets. The short growing season and limited supply means a premium price but it is worth it and if you are lucky enough to buy some you’ll enjoy the flavour so much that you’ll never be impressed by the well-travelled version again.

Asparagus is best cooked simply.

One of our favourite ways to eat it is to trim the asparagus – I do this with a sharp knife, lightly running the blade across the asparagus spear until there is no resistance and the knife cuts through. Discard the tough end of the stems and toss the spears with olive oil, salt and black pepper. We then cook them on a hot grill pan, turning every couple of minutes until lightly charred. The same method would work under a grill.

Eat them as they are, with a mound of salad or dunked in butter, vinaigrette or hollandaise, it’s always a treat.

We came in from work last night, hungry and not keen to cook but there was a bunch of asparagus winking at me on the counter so I cooked up pasta with asparagus. It didn’t take too much effort and I shared a glass of wine whilst cooking – one for me, and one for the pot!

The result was delicious so here’s the recipe and another quick way to use asparagus.

Put a large pot of water to boil when you begin cooking this recipe so that you can co-ordinate cooking the pasta. Read the pasta package for the cooking time as this differs with the different varieties. We used a corn, quinoa and rice linguine – gluten free and very tasty – just don’t overcook it.

Asparagus with Linguine

Serves 2

1 bunch asparagus

1 small onion

20g butter

20mls olive oil

a small glass white wine

200mls cream

250g linguine – you could use spaghetti or tagliatelle

freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve

Peel and finely chop the onion.

Heat a pan then add the butter, olive oil and onion. When the onions are sizzling season with a little salt then turn the heat to mediumWash the asparagus, shake off any excess water, and trim the ends of each spear by gently running a sharp knife across until there is no resistance and the knife cuts through. Do this to each spear and discard the tough bits. Chop the stems into 1cm pieces but keep roughly 10cm at the tip. Cook the 1cm pieces in with the onion for a few minutes then add the tips.

Increase the heat and cook quickly for a minute or two but don’t allow it to burn. Add the white wine and allow the alcohol to bubble off then stir in the cream.

Bring to the boil then cook without boiling over for a few minutes to thicken. Take off the heat and toss together with the pasta. If the sauce is ready before the pasta don’t keep cooking, just leave it aside until you are ready otherwise the asparagus will overcook.

Leave a comment | posted in General foodie news, gluten-free, One pot wonders, vegetarian

April 3, 2016

Spring Stinging Nettle Frittata

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Spring is here and the nettles are back!

Like most edibles that grow we are most enthusiastic when they first arrive. One minute we’re scrabbling around searching for the baby plants, the next there is a veritable jungle standing three feet high.

They are a bonus in the kitchen but a curse for gardeners. In my case it’s a perk to be able to use something so pesky.

Young nettles are tasty and tender. The part of the plant that needs to be picked is the tip – a bit like picking tea. If you are careful they won’t sting you but if you’re in a hurry or in doubt wear a pair of gloves. Either way use a pair of scissors to snip the tips from the plants.

Nettles are a specialty of the Northern hemisphere, they don’t grow in Australia nor anywhere that isn’t fertile and wet which rules out quite a lot of the world. Their prolific growth in Ireland proves they are very happy in this climate. If you have a nettle patch that bugs you or is getting out of control just keep cutting it back and it’ll eventually get exhausted and give up.

Before you do that, and whilst they are young and tender you might enjoy this months recipe. Each year we seem to have some kind of nettle culinary craze. We’ve made pestos, herby Greek pies, smoothies and soups and this year we’re on nettle and herb frittata with local buffalo ricotta cheese. I put in fennel weed, parsley and chives, which are growing in our garden. Use whatever herbs you can get your hands on, soft green ones are best – parsley, chervil, basil, mint or chives…… Wild garlic would be good too if you could make it down to the woods.

Nettle, Herb and Ricotta Frittata

1 onion

25mls olive oil

6 eggs

1litre of young nettle tips

a big handful of any herbs – fennel, parsley, basil, chives etc

150g buffalo ricotta

salt and pepper

Peel and chop the onion. Heat a small non-stick pan and add enough olive oil to barely cover the bottom and then add the chopped onion. Turn the heat to medium and gently cook the onion until it softens. Season with a little salt. Stir in the nettles, keep the heat on medium and cook gently until the nettles wilt and soften.

Chop any green herbs that you are using.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, season with a little salt and pepper whisk them to mix then stir in the chopped herbs and wilted nettles. Break the ricotta into clumps and gently stir in, don’t over mix, you need a little lumpiness.

Put the pan back on the heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. When the pan is hot pour in the nettle and egg mix then turn the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook gently for three to four minutes. The frittata should be setting. Put the grill on hot and pop the frittata under to finish. Don’t leave it to go too golden, just a little. It’s better a little soft than overdone as it’ll continue cooking off the heat the heat.

2 Comments | tags: nettles | posted in General foodie news, gluten-free, One pot wonders, vegetarian, Vegetarian Recipes

November 29, 2015

Potato Pizza

By lettercollumkitchenproject

I have been thinking about this making recipe for a long time – a cauliflower based pizza with potato on top. It’s kind of opposite from a normal pizza, no dough, no tomato sauce but this doesn’t make it in any way inferior, in fact it’s probably nutritionally superior and it’s quicker to make. Total comfort food. It definitely got the thumbs up as it was eaten in a flash.

Here’s the recipe

1 small cauliflower

2 eggs

3 tbs polenta

1 tsp dried oregano

1 level tsp salt

4-5 potatoes

100ml olive oil

100g cheese – I used cheddar

3 cloves garlic

a few sprigs thyme

Pre-heat the oven 200c

Rinse the cauliflower and break into florets. Blitz in a food processor until the consistency of breadcrumbs.

Tip the cauliflower into a bowl and mix in the eggs. Stir in the salt, oregano and polenta. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and tip the mix onto the tray. Press down and smooth out with your hands to form a rectangle about 1cm thick- you could make it round if you prefer . Tidy up the sides and bake for 15 minutes or until the base becomes firm and lightly golden around the edge.

Peel the potatoes and garlic and slice very thinly. Put them into a bowl and drizzle over enough olive oil to coat them. Add some salt and crumble in the thyme. Toss well together. Finely grate the cheese and toss again.

Arrange the potatoes in a thin layer, overlapping on top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and slightly crispy at the edge

2 Comments | tags: cauliflower, gluten-free, pizza, potato, vegetarian | posted in General foodie news, gluten-free, vegetarian, Vegetarian Recipes

October 16, 2015

Crispy Noodle Fish Cakes

By lettercollumkitchenproject

The most challenging aspect of these Thai inspired crispy noodle fish cakes is getting the noodles out of the packet and into the bowl!

Mung bean vermicelli, also known as glass noodles are like bailer twine, almost impossible to break. I use scissors but they still ping all over the place

Once the noodles have been soaked the rest of the ingredients only have to be whacked into the food processor to make a paste. They are truly delicious and guaranteed to get the ummm of approval.

Crispy Noodle Fish Cakes

600g white fish such as hake or haddock

75g glass noodles/mung bean vermicelli

2 stems lemongrass

2 cloves garlic

2cm piece fresh ginger

3-4 spring onions,

a handful fresh coriander

2tbs Thai fish sauce

1 egg

Put the noodles into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes

Drain the noodles and snip into small pled pieces with a pair of scissors.

Chop the lemongrass, peel and chop the ginger and garlic then put them into a food processor and buzz to a puree. Keep the motor running, chop the fish into chunks and post down the chute into the processor then add 2tbs fish sauce. This should all buzz to a thick paste. Add the egg then tip into a bowl.

Chop the spring onions and coriander.

Mix the noodles, spring onions and coriander through the fish paste.

Wet your hands and form the paste into small balls.

Heat a large frying pan, add enough oil to just cover the bottom. Put the fish balls into the pan and gently flatten a little. Don’t overcrowd the pan, you’ll probably have to cook 2 or 3 batches. Leave to cook for 3-4 minutes each side on medium high heat. Don’t fiddle about with them, wait until there is a good crust before turning and cooking the other side.

Serve with dipping sauce or sweet chill sauce

makes approx 15 fish cakes.

Dipping Sauce

3tbs lime juice

2tbs fish sauce

2-3 chillies

2 cloves garlic

1dsp sugar

Pell and chop the garlic, chop the chillies then mix together with the other ingredients.

2 Comments | tags: fish, gluten-free, Thai | posted in Fish dishes, General foodie news, gluten-free, Thai

August 31, 2015

borlotti and tomatoes

By lettercollumkitchenproject

I had this notion to make a tomato and mascarpone risotto. We had one last year amidst our bounty of delicious tomatoes and it’s an enjoyable memory. Memory didn’t help much though when it came to finding the recipe. I searched in my books then resorted to google – tomato, risotto, mascarpone – google came up with all sorts but not the recipe I remembered, then I thought River Cafe, tomato, risotto etc and hey presto there it was – Rosemary Risotto. Funny that. My predominate memory was tomato.

I thought it would be delicious to eat this risotto with borlotti beans heaped on top.

We’ve an interesting harvest of beans in the garden, I’m particularly fond of the cannelini and borlotti beans which we grow in our tunnel. They are such a treat, the lovely velvet texture of these fresh beans are definitely a notch above dried beans in consistency and flavour.

I have discovered a new way to cook them this year. First I heat a few tablespoons of olive oil, then gently cook a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and then add the beans. Give them a good bathe in the olive oil then add stock and cook for about twenty minutes.As soon as they are tender drain the beans, reserve the liquid to use as stock, and tip the beans back into the pot. Dress with a little olive oil, salt and black pepper.

It’s my tastiest method yet. The beans can be used in anything- soups, salads, under grilled prawns,the possibilities are endless.
They were delicious on the tomato risotto with a drizzle of extra reserve balsamic snaking over the top.

Leave a comment | tags: borlotti beans, risotto, rosemary, tomatoes | posted in General foodie news, gluten-free, One pot wonders, vegetarian, Vegetarian Recipes

July 21, 2015

Beetroot Scoffins

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Our beetroots loved the July rain, revelled in the humidity, didn’t care when the wind was cold and now they are ready to eat. Soldiers, everyone of them and they certainly cheer things up on a rainy day.The beetroot and chia seed muffins I made today were luminous pink. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face whatever the weather and very easy to make.

I buzzed some cooked beetroot to a puree, mixed it with yoghurt eggs and coconut oil

then folded it into the dry ingredients.

Spooned the mix into a muffin tin and hey presto, thirty minutes later – Pink muffins!!!
They weren’t only good looking, they were delicious.

I took some to the shop and they flew out the door.

Here’s the recipe if you fancy trying it. It’s gluten free and could be dairy free if you wanted, just swop the yoghurt for soy yoghurt

Beetroot and Chia Seed Scoffins

200g cooked and peeled beetroot
250mls natural yoghurt
140g rice flour
170g coconut flour
1tbs chia seeds
1 and a half tsp baking powder
half tsp baking soda
half tsp salt
2 eggs
150g caster sugar
120mls coconut oil

Pre heat the oven 180c

Put the beetroot into a food processor and puree to a smooth paste.
Add the yoghurt, eggs and coconut oil to the beetroot then buzz everything together.
Put the rice flour, coconut flour, baking powder, bread soda, salt sugar and chia seeds into a large bowl. Pour the beetroot mix on top then mix everything together. Put a paper muffin case in each hole in the muffin tin. Spoon a generous tablespoon of the mix into each muffin case then divi up any left overs.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Stick a sharp clean dry knife into the centre of one of the muffins to test for doneness. If it comes out clean it’s ready.
Cool before eating.

Leave a comment | tags: beetroot, general foodie news, gluten free muffins beetroot chia seeds, gluten-free, muffins | posted in beetroot, General foodie news, gluten-free, Sweet Things, vegetarian

May 16, 2015

Syros – Herb Central

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Walking around Syros is like tramping through a herb garden. We have been exploring the island, driving to the north of island as far as the road goes and then heading off on foot. It’s not only beautiful but smells delicious too. We’re sure all the goats that graze are self marinating!.

There are swathes of thyme, rosemary, fennel and sage and carpets of camomile with lots of bees buzzing happily about their business. There are plenty of hives dotted around the countryside and the honey is delicious.

The paths lead down to hidden beaches, it can a bit of a clamber but the destination makes it worth it.Lots of hidden coves that are deserted and clean blue sea. The sea is cold. Too cold for me to enjoy swimming but I keep trying!

Capers are growing on the rocks. This is all news to me – I have to admit I had never considered where capers did grow, but there you go – little bushes sprout out of craggy rocks with capers on the end of the branches and very funky flowers. Apparently June is the real caper picking and pickling season but they are beginning now. No wonder so many dishes are served with capers here.

We had delicious basil and caper pesto the other day, drizzled over goats cheese.
Very simple and very delicious. It’s certainly worth a try and I’d say it’s equally delicious served with fish.
Here’s the recipe

Basil and Caper Pesto

1 cup basil
1 cup parsley
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1tsp Dijon mustard
2dsp capers
approx 150mls olive oil

Put everything except the olive oil into a food processor or blender and buzz to a paste then drizzle in the olive oil. Don’t add salt , the capers are salty enough

Eat with whatever you fancy – cheese, pasta, fish……

Leave a comment | tags: gluten free, Greek, herbs, vegetarian | posted in General foodie news, gluten-free, Greek, preserves, vegan, vegetarian

May 12, 2015

Feta, Feta, Everywhere!

By lettercollumkitchenproject

If Ireland’s the land of green grass, butter and Guinness then Greece has to be the land of feta and ouzo.
We arrived in Athens yesterday evening and took a ferry to the island of Syros this morning. We’re kind of travelling blind – not really knowing very much about Syros – but it came highly recommended by some friends who introduced us to some people that wanted to do a house swop.This was an irresistible idea. The last time I was in Greece was more than thirty years ago and I remember delicious grilled octopus – probably my first -and having to learn how to say coffee without sugar as all the coffee was made in the traditional way with heaps of sugar. It’s the only Greek that I remember – kafé sketo!
The ferries that go between the islands are huge but they’re not crowded in May. It’s a nearly four hour trip, with lots of rough sea which which could hardly feel, as the ferries are so big. At one point it lashed rain but as the boat approached land the sun appeared and we could see the town hugging the harbour with pastel coloured houses climbing up the hill behind.

Kostas, our host was waiting on the square as pre arranged and we climbed the steps through the town to where we are staying. The house is stunning. Built in 1870 and recently renovated by our new friends. It has everything that we need and a sunny terrace which is where I am sitting whilst I write this.
We dumped our bags and wandered back down the steps in search of lunch – we have been given several recommendations- a very big plus of house exchanging – and soon found ourselves sitting in a little street on a comfortable terrace. It was a little bit tricky establishing whether we had arrived at the correct taverna as everything is written in Greek – naturally enough – and we can’t read Greek but Con dragged out some morsels of knowledge from his youth and we figured we were in the right place so we sat down and looked at the blackboard menu. It was Greek!

The waitress soon appeared with a bi-lingual menu.
Somehow each dish we chose had an element of feta. All completely different dishes but lots of feta. This is not a complaint, more an observation!
We started off with Greek salad. Very traditional but irresistible when in the land of sun ripened tomatoes and fresh feta. It arrived to the table, a mound of tomatoes, cucumber, onion and olives with slab of feta and capers on top.

The olive oil and vinegar is on the table so you dress the salad yourself. We polished the salad off then the Giant beans baked in tomato sauce arrived – with feta. These were delicious, the tomato sauce was made with fresh oregano, bay leaves and whole allspice

And the final course was a stuffed calamari – stuffed with tomato, wild fennel and feta.
After the beans this was bit over the top and it didn’t get as many brownie points but maybe that was because we were already quite full.

We washed everything down with a carafe of the local white wine and felt very happy sitting there in the sun!

1 Comment | tags: fish, gluten free, Greek, salads, vegetarian | posted in Fish dishes, General foodie news, gluten-free, Greek, Salads, vegetarian

February 18, 2015

Banh Xeo – Sizzling Pancakes

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Banh Xeo are the most delicious Vietnamese savoury pancakes. They are fried until crispy then rolled up in salad leaves with mint and dunked in dipping sauce before popping into your mouth
Guaranteed to make you swoon. Our family thought they’d died and gone to heaven when I made them for dinner. Just silence and appreciative grunts coming from the dinner table.
The pancake is made with rice flour, or a combo of rice and wheat flour mixed together with coconut milk, spring onion, egg and turmeric. This is whisked to a smooth batter. I made them with prawns, mushrooms and beansprouts but the filling is fairly free lance. Whatever you fancy but don’t put too much in as the pancake will be unmanageable when you flip it.
The inclusion of regular flour makes them more manageable for non coeliacs but the recipe works well both ways
Here’s the recipe

200g rice flour or combo of rice and regular flour
2tbs cornflour
1 egg
half tsp turmeric
a handful of chopped spring onion greens
150mls coconut milk
about 100mls water
half tsp salt

Put the dry ingredients into a bowl, make a well in the middle then crack in the egg and add the coconut milk.
Whisk everything together and thin with water until you have medium pouring consistency – like melted chocolate. Stir in the spring onions.
Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes

For the filling
20 raw prawns – 2 for each pancake
250g mushrooms
250g bean sprouts
a little butter or oil to cook the mushrooms

Salad leaves – washed and spun
a big bunch of mint leaves

Heat a frying pan. Slice the mushrooms, drop a knob of butter or a glut of oil into the frying pan and add the mushrooms. Toss them well and cook on a high heat until they are cooked the way you like them. Season with a little salt and pepper and put aside.
To make the pancakes heat a small to medium size frying pan. Add a little oil and a couple of prawns, cook them for a couple of minutes – until they are pink- then add a few mushrooms. Drag the mushrooms and prawns to one side and pour in a small ladle of batter.

The pancake should be thin like a crepe. Cook on a medium high heat for a couple of minutes then add a small pile if bean sprouts to the pancake and flip in half. Increase the heat to high and cook each side until crispy. You might want to add a little more oil.

To serve the pancakes make a little dipping sauce

Dipping Sauce

3tbs Lime juice
2tbs Fish sauce/Nam Pla
1tbs water
2-3 Chillies
2 cloves garlic
1 dsp Sugar

Peel and chop the garlic and chop the chillies then mix together with all the other ingredients.

Put the pancakes onto plates and break or cut a piece off and wrap it in a salad leaf with a couple of pieces of mint tucked in. Dunk in the dipping sauce and pop it in your mouth.

Yum!

3 Comments | tags: fish, gluten free, vietnamese | posted in Fish dishes, General foodie news, gluten-free, Vietnamese

February 10, 2015

Cinnamon Noodles

By lettercollumkitchenproject

This is a very surprising recipe that I learnt in Bangkok with May Kaidee. Cinnamon with noodles didn’t sound attractive to me so I was very impressed with the result
It’s just the business for a cold day and a very warming and a fast lunch

It’s a very simple recipe and it’s also quite flexible – I’ve already changed it as I didn’t have all the original ingredients – and it still tastes just as good.
Here’s my ‘Irished’ home version. The original recipe used mushroom sauce and soya bean sauce – this keeps it vegetarian – but I didn’t have either in the house so I used a mix of sweet soya, tamari and a little bit of shrimp paste to give it some body.

This is my take on the dish but feel free to play around!

1tbs coriander seeds bashed up in the mortar and pestle
3 fatty cloves garlic
1 hot red chilli
1 stem lemongrass
all roughly chopped then added to the mortar and pestle and ground to a paste.

1 tsp ground black pepper
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
stirred into the paste

1 carrot, sliced thinly.
a little chopped cabbage
a handful of chopped mushrooms
the centre of a head of celery – the fronds bit, chopped
a handful of chopped spring onions
700mls vegetable stock

1tbs sweet soya sauce
1tbs tamari sauce
1 tsp shrimp paste

a handful of rice stick noodles soaked in tepid water for five minutes

Heat a table spoon on oil in the wok then stir in the spice mix and cook on medium heat for a few minutes.
Stir in the vegetable stock, add the carrots, mushroom and tofu and bring to the boil.
Cook for 3-4 minutes then stir sweet soya sauce, tamari and shrimp paste. Next add the cabbage followed by the noodles. Cook for a couple of minutes more, take off the heat and stir in the chopped celery and spring onions.

Ladle into bowls and serve with crushed roasted peanuts and wedges of lime on the side.

2 Comments | tags: gluten free, one pot wonders, Thai, vegetarian | posted in General foodie news, gluten-free, One pot wonders, Thai, vegetarian, Vegetarian Recipes

Lettercollum Kitchen Project

Category Archives: gluten-free

Spring Asparagus

Spring Stinging Nettle Frittata

Potato Pizza

Crispy Noodle Fish Cakes

borlotti and tomatoes

Beetroot Scoffins

Syros – Herb Central

Feta, Feta, Everywhere!

Banh Xeo – Sizzling Pancakes

Cinnamon Noodles

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