Gluten-Free Main Course

My boyfriend is the baker in our house; he has the patience to try different flour combinations and also more creativity with the whole process of gluten-free baking than what I have.

This recipe is the result of one of his experiments and thus far my favourite gluten-free bread; the pros with this particular recipe is that it uses “whole flours” as in no starches like for example potato starch, it is easy to make, the taste is “earthy” and “dark” which I love - the darker the bread the more I like it- but it does mean that people whom like white breads will probably not be infatuated with the taste of it, the texture is nice and a bit fluffy even. The cons are that like many breads it collapses somewhat in the middle and it does not rise the way wheat raises.

The recipe and bread are not perfect, but I think good enough to be shared.

Gluten-free bread recipe, this is egg-free and dairy-free

Dry ingredients

-2,5 dl, 1 cup, buckwheat flour

-1,5 dl, 0,6 cup, almond flour (ground almonds)

-1 dl, 0,4 cup, quinoa flour

-1 tbls coconut flour

Mix all of these ingredients together.

Wet ingredients

-4 dl, 1,6 cups, warm water (the warmth is determined by the kind of yeast used)

-1 heaping tablespoon of psyllium husk powder

-50 grams of fresh yeast

- 2 tsp salt (use salt according to taste, 2 teaspoons will make a very salty bread)

- one small pinch of sugar (optional, this is used because I believe that the yeast needs a bit of sugar)

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Then take both of the wet mix and the dry mix and combine them. Add two tablespoons of olive oil after you have combined the ingredients; this is also optional.

Take a bread pan and oil it, place the dough in it. Let the bread dough sit for half an hour covered in a warm place.

Bake the bread for 45-60 minutes at 175 C or 350 F.

I usually cut the bread horizontally because it works better that way since it does not rise very high.

Baked Portobello mushrooms are something of a classic with vegetarians at least; they are so extremely meaty that they would pass for meat when placed between slices of bread.

Still, as an omnivore, I would prefer this over a beef sandwich - it is probably the extra earthiness that comes with the mushrooms combined with the flavourful satisfying butter that melts through the mushroom.

There are many options with these, but my personal pick would be the ones baked with chillies and garlic. Other options include Dijon mustard, herbs, just garlic and parmesan, the list goes on and with the variety of choices everyone will probably find their personal favourite, except for the mushroom haters, I know that such people do in fact exist, even though I find it strange.

I am sorry for not posting a picture of the actual sandwich, but when I had made the sandwich - I placed three mushrooms between two bread slices - I ate it all without having the patience to photograph it. That is why I had to use a picture of peeling the mushroom instead of the photo I had planned to use, but I can say that eating the hot, spicy and flavoursome sandwich straight away was worth it.

Baked Portobello mushrooms

Serves 4 and takes approximately half an hour to make

-8 slices of bread

-4 portobello mushrooms

-8 tablespoons of soft butter or dairy-free margarine

-1 red long chilli, you can leave the seeds if you want this to be hot

-2-3 garlic cloves

-salt according to taste

Preheat an oven to 200 C or 400 F.

Peel the mushrooms like in the first photo and remove the stems. I never wash any kind of mushrooms; it ruins the flavour and turns them into a slimy mess.

Put the butter, the washed and chopped chilli, and the garlic cloves into a blender with the salt and blend everything together.

Take a baking dish and place the mushrooms on it upside down and divide the butter between them.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until they are done.

Remove the mushrooms and take the bread slices placing them onto the baking dish so that they soak up all of the butter, then place a mushroom between two bread slices and enjoy.

Popularity: 10% [?]

I always associate prawns with summer; they are somewhat cooling and don’t require all that much cooking.

My absolute favourite prawn dish would be spaghetti with chilli and garlic flavoured prawns. Since I do like the taste of brown rice pasta, I have been making this dish so many times this summer that I have lost count already.

The best part with this is that it requires only 10 minutes of cooking time; therefore it is ready when the spaghetti is done. I also usually have the ingredients at home, so I can make this whenever I feel like it. Everything is also easily adjustable, you can substitute the prawns with some tofu for example and using some fresh herbs would also be a nice adjustment. I used some dried oregano in the recipe – it has a stronger taste than fresh oregano – since I think that almost everyone has dried oregano at home almost all the time? You can substitute the cherry tomatoes with some canned tomatoes too, although fresh summery cherry tomatoes do have a nice sweet taste to them, especially if they are organic.

Gluten-free spaghetti with prawns

Serves 2 as a main meal

-1 cup peeled and cooked prawns

-1 tbls olive oil and 1 tbls butter

-1 tsp dried red chilli flakes, this amount will make for a very hot dish, so reduce the amount if you would like a milder taste

-2 minced garlic cloves

-salt according to taste, I use 1 tsp and I do like a lot of salt in my foods

-enough cherry tomatoes to cover the pan

-2 tsp oregano

Start cooking the spaghetti.

Take a pan and place it on medium heat. Add one tablespoon butter and one tablespoon of olive oil on the pan. Mince the garlic and fry it for a small while on the pan, one minute is usually enough.

Using minced garlic produces a different flavour than pressed garlic.

Add the chilli flakes to the pan and fry them for about half a minute. Take the prawns and place them on the pan just so that they warm up and soak some of the flavoured of the pan. Place them on a plate and set aside.

Half the tomatoes and place them on the pan; press them slightly so that the juices run out of them. Sprinkle the oregano on them. They are done when they turn soft.

The spaghetti should be done by now so drain it. I usually add one tablespoon of butter to the spaghetti at this time for extra flavour.

Take the prawns and mix them with the tomatoes on the pan, scrape the bottom of the pan a bit so that you get the flavours from it.

Pour the spaghetti on to the pan and mix everything together.

I wanted to try steaming the rice rolls I made in this post. You can also see detailed information on how to use rice paper in that post.

It turned out really well and I will be steaming rice rolls in the future too; the texture is somewhat chewy and the filling stays deliciously moist. I was a bit worried that they would not hold together while steaming, but they did hold together nicely.

Steamed rice rolls with a thai flavoured prawn filling

Makes approximately 8 rice paper rolls

-rice paper

-1 cup shelled, cooked and minced prawns

- 2 egg whites

-1 minced spring onion

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp thai seven spice

- 2 minced kaffir lime leaves

Separate the egg whites and whip them until they are white and foamy. Mince the spring onion and kaffir lime leaves.

Mix everything together and start rolling the rice rolls. You can see how they are rolled from here.

Line the bottom of a bamboo steamer with some baking paper.

Steam the rice rolls for approximately 10 minutes.

Serve these with some sweet chilli sauce for example.

On a side note I will be leaving for a summer holiday which will last until the end of August; posting will continue when I get back.

My sister kindly promised to moderate any comments since I will not have access to a computer most of my holiday. For this reason I will also not be able to answer e-mails during this time.

I wish everyone a nice and hot (not too hot) August.

Popularity: 10% [?]