Sausage and watercress conchiglie pasta – gluten free and low fodmap

This dish is really easy to make and can be incorporated into your low fodmap recipes for working week nights, plus you don’t need to use fresh herbs – dried are just as good but maybe use a little less as the flavour is more concentrated in dried herbs. I don’t eat sausages often, and I do find gluten free ones generally have a higher level of meat so you tend to get what you pay for. Pricking and grilling them does remove some of the fat but they are still relatively high in fat – although 1 1/4 sausages for each serving is not too much! Check the sausages are gluten free but also free of onion – sometimes local butchers are the best option to buy.

Ingredients

300g of dried gluten free pasta

1 pack of watercress

6 gluten free sausages

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

2 sprigs of fresh oregano

drizzle of oil

Seasoning

2.5cm block of grated parmesan

fresh oregano flowers to decorate

Method

Prick the sausages with a fork and grill for 15 minutes till cooked

Put a pan of water to boil add a small amount of seasoning and add the dried pasta

In a pan add a small drizzle of oil and add the herbs and fry to release the flavour, then add the watercress and heat till wilted

Slice the sausage, drain the pasta

Add all the ingredients to the pasta and stir well

Serve

Add a sprinkle of parmesan to each dish

Decorate

Serves 4 with a green salad!

Aubergine stuffed with lamb and pine nuts

This recipe is another Ottolenghi recipe which I have modified to make it low fodmap and is quite simply delicious the original version can be found in his Jerusalem recipe book. It was very easy to modify really- just don’t add any onion to the recipe! Cinnamon is low fodmap and one of my favourite spices. It does take time to prepare so it is probably a recipe for a Sunday evening meal – slow food and great for fodmaper’s with IBS. Serve with wholegrain rice for a complimentary starchy carbohydrate.

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Ingredients

4 aubergines

6 tablespoons of oil

11/2 teaspoons of ground cumin

11/2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

500g mince lean lamb

50g pine nuts

20g flat leafed parsley

2 teaspoons tomato puree

3 teaspoons of sugar

150 ml water

1 teaspoon of tamarind

4 cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

seasoning

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Method

Slice the aubergine length-ways and place skin side down in a roasting tin. Brush with 1 tablespoon of oil and season. Cook at 220 degrees C, gas mark 7 for about 20 minutes.

Whilst the aubergines are cooking make the sauce. Add the remaining olive oil to a pan and add half the dry spices and cook for 2 minutes to release the flavour of the spices. Add the lamb, pine nuts, parsley, 1 teaspoon of the tomato purée, 1 teaspoon of sugar and seasoning. Cook for about 10 minutes till the meat is browned.

Place the remaining spices in a bowl and add water, lemon juice, tamarind, remaining sugar, 1 teaspoon of tomato purée, cinnamon sticks and season well. Remove the aubergines from the oven and top each with a quarter of the mince. Pour the sauce into the bottom of the roasting tin. Place the dish back in the oven cover with foil or a lid, reduce the temperature to 195 degrees C or gas mark 5 and cook for another one and a half hours. Serve with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Serves 4

lactose free labneh dip – low fodmap

What is labneh? It is a middle eastern strained yoghurt that removes some of the whey component – some individuals can tolerate yoghurt when they have lactose intolerance however it is unclear if the draining of the whey will concentrate the lactose sugar or remove some of it. Unfortunately Wikipedia has a very unhelpful ‘reference’ in this regard suggesting that it is lower in lactose – the magazine that published the article (not a scientific reference) had to retract the statement although no actual testing appears to have been completed. It would be interesting to have Labneh made from standard yoghurt tested before and after making it, to see what the lactose content is. I however, knowing about how difficult it can be for people with lactose intolerance to be confident in what they eat, have chosen to make labneh with lactose free Greek yoghurt. This was purchased from Tesco, which do appear to have a good range of refrigerated lactose/dairy free products available. The other issue I have with some of the free from products is that they can be high in fat and the Tesco product is classed as moderate total fat (10.3 percent) this will be a high component of saturated fat – draining the whey will increase the fat percentage of the dish by a small amount. labneh is thicker than standard yoghurt and sometimes it is called a cheese, some recipes call for 48 hours straining which results in a product that can be rolled into balls and coated with delights such as seeds and nuts. I couldn’t wait that long 😄 so my version was just very thick, rich and tasty. Some recipes call for the addition of salt but my version worked just as well without adding any.

Ingredients

1 tub of Greek style lactose free yoghurt

Drizzle of oil

1-2 chopped walnuts

1/2 Teaspoon of Lebanese 7 spice mix

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Drizzle of olive oil

Sprinkling of sunflower seeds

A few edible rose petals to decorate

Serve with strips of toasted gluten free pitta breads

Equipment

1 muslin cloth or bag

1 bowl

Wooden doweling or a chopstick to hold the muslin over the bowl

1 elastic band

Method

Wash the muslin before using it and allow it to dry

Add the yoghurt to the muslin held over the bowl

Bring up the edges of the muslin to make a bag and using an elastic band secure the top.

Tie the top to the doweling and balance the doweling and bag over the bowl

Allow the whey to drain off over 24-48 hours in the fridge.

Serve in a dish and sprinkle over the other ingredients

ENJOY 😋

serves 4 as a starter

No funding was provided or free samples were used to make this recipe.

Fennel leaf and mint cream cheese dressing – low Fodmap

Just the ticket to dress thinly sliced cucumber for a fresh salad or sandwich filler. The cream cheese is lactose free but not cows milk protein free. If you have a small amount (less than two tablespoons) you could use standard cream cheese dressing as this is entirely suitable in that portion size for the low fodmap diet – this dressing is also gluten free.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of low lactose cream cheese

2 shoots of Fennel leaves

2-3 mint leaves

Grated lemon rind

1/2 grated cucumber

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Method

Chop the fennel and mint leaves finely

Grate the rind of 1 lemon

Mix with the low lactose cream cheese

If the dressing is too thick you can add a little water to thin down the dressing, if needed.

Serve as a sandwich filler with cucumber or as a dressing on half a finely sliced cucumber as a salad. Serves 1-2 depending on it’s use.

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A word about the flowers: these have not been fodmap tested but fodmap and food intolerance is all about the portion size you have and very small amounts are not likely to be an issue, however if you do wish to avoid using them that is also OK – they are not integral to the dish. These flowers used to dress the dish are borage and calendula (pot marigold) flowers, which are edible – (only use calendula petals in small amounts). There are lots of anecdotal reports of the benefits of these flowers – I have used them simply because they are pretty. If you do forage for these ensure you know what you are looking for, take care about where you are gathering – some flowers may have been treated with insecticide so it is best to avoid those – and do wash them thoroughly before use.

Hot radish salad

Do you want a side salad with some heat but avoiding chilli and spices? Then radish is your choice. Here I have used three coloured radish but this works just as well with the basic red variety that is common in most supermarkets. This is a salad to accompany other dishes, it is not a good source of carbohydrate or protein so cannot form the only part of a balanced meal. I have also added some nasturtium petals – these can be omitted if you are strictly following the low fodmap diet, they can also add to the heat of the dish.

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Ingredients

1 bag of radish

A bag of green salad leaves (I used mixed chard and red lettuce.)

One or two edible washed nasturtium flowers

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Method

Wash then prepare the radishes three ways. – thinly slice, slice in two and prepare radish flowers.

Radish flowers are made by cutting a zigzag pattern with a knife half way along the radish then separating it in half – makes two flowers, then slice the base to provide a flat surface for it to sit on.

Add the washed salad leaves and radish to the dish with some nasturtium petals and chopped chard  stems for colour.

Serve as a side salad, you could add some dressing – but do check for those fodmaps!

 

Maple and muscat grape no bake cheesecake – Low fodmap

Love cheesecake and having problems with lactose intolerance? Then look no further – this recipe is for you! It is a simple recipe and other grape varieties can be used – but for a special dinner party then these muscat grapes do taste a little bit special and really marry with the flavour of the maple syrup used to sweeten this dish. The recipe is for occasional consumption as it is high in calories but as you will know from the other recipes on this website a small amount of the cheesecake can be consumed occasionally. Cheesecake is a wonderful flavour and dessert for a treat. Your dinner party guests will not suspect that you follow a lactose free or low fodmap diet.

Ingredients

2 tubs of lactose free cream cheese

50g maple syrup

1 packet of gluten free biscuits.

40g butter

2 sheets of gelatine

warm water

1 pack of grapes

Method

Crush the biscuits to a consistently sized small crumb

Melt the butter and add the biscuit crumb and mix well

Add to the bottom of a flan dish and flatten to form the base

Chill

Place the lactose free cream cheese in a dish and add the maple syrup (ensure that the maple syrup is free of added fructose syrup.)

Add the gelatin to cold water till soft

Remove and pour on some just boiled water 100ml – just enough to dissolve the gelatin.

Add the dissolved gelatin to the cream cheese mixture

Mix well

Add the cream cheese mixture to the top of the biscuit base and chill

Decorate with grapes and maple syrup drizzle.

Serves 8-10