Madeira cake low fodmap gluten free

I haven’t posted anything to my blog for a long time but this recipe is perfect for a bank holiday weekend. This is a lovely cake for a treat. Its texture improves after a couple of days in a cake tin and is just about right. It is also a great base for a trifle but it might not last log enough to make it! Try it and see if you like it.

Ingredients

150g butter

150g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

1/2 grated lemon rind

1/2 teaspoon Xanthan gum

100g gluten free self raising flour mix

Butter for the baking tin

1 500g loaf style baking tin

Method

Heat the oven to 170°C, Fan150°C, 325°F or Gas mark 3

Butter the baking tin well

Add the butter and sugar to a bowl and cream till pale colour.

Sieve the flour in a separate bowl add the xanthan gum and mix well.

Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mix and beat well after each one. If the mix appears to be curdling add a tablespoon of the flour mix

Add the grated lemon rind

Add the rest of the flour mix slowly till it’s incorporated fully.

Mix well and add to the baking tin, smooth the top and cook for one hour or until a cocktail stick pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Enjoy! If you can leave it a couple of days before you eat it, do as the texture does become more moist.

Oatmeal and ginger crusted salmon -low fodmap

I have not posted anything on my blog for some time but hopefully I will be on here more often from now. This may surprise you considering we have all been locked in for 3 months but I have been working from home and with a new job my focus has been on that really. Anyway glad to be back. This recipe is a great summer evening meal – light and tasty just right for those long hot days.

Ingredients

  • 60g gluten free flour
  • 60g oatmeal (this does not need to be gluten free unless you have coeliac disease.)
  • 11/2 teaspoons ginger
  • Pinch of salt
  • Handful of chopped coriander
  • 1 egg
  • 4 salmon fillets
  • Spray oil

Method

  • Wash the salmon and remove the skin (you can ask the fishmonger to do this for you if you find it difficult)
  • Dust in flour.
  • Break the egg into a small dish and blend with a fork
  • Add the ginger to the oats, coriander and salt and place on a plate
  • Add the salmon to the egg wash coat and allow the excess to drain off.
  • Place the salmon fillets on the oats and coat well
  • Spray the top with spray oil
  • Cook in an oven at 204 degrees C/gas mark 6 for 15 minutes
  • Enjoy with a green salad and boiled salad potatoes

Staffordshire Oatcakes with a vegan filling

So, for those people following the low FODMAP UK method kidney beans are now allowed and I would advise you to use tinned and rinse them well prior to using them. Beans are an excellent source of iron and fibre for vegans. Plus I was very surprised at how well these pancakes turned out with no eggs or milk added – just oats and water. If you like a savoury breakfast these pancakes are just the ticket!

Ingredients

  • 85g Oats (use gluten-free for people with coeliac disease)
  • 85g gluten free plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon yeast
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • 350mls luke warm water
  • 250g tinned rinsed kidney beans
  • 250g chard or spinach works just as well
  • 1 teaspoon of Moroccan spice
  • 50g pumpkin seeds

Method

  • Toast the oats for 5 minutes in a non stick frying pan.
  • Add the oats to lukewarm water and mix with a hand blender for a few seconds, then add the salt.
  • Add the gluten-free flour sugar and yeast to the mix and leave to rise for 1 hour – or until you can see bubbles forming in the mix.the sugar is to feed the yeast and cannot be detected in the final mix.
  • Make pancakes with a small spray of oil and a hot pan. The amounts make approximately 5 pancakes.
  • Keep them warm.
  • Use another spray of oil in the pan and fry the dry spice mix. Then add rinsed kidney beans, chopped chard and pumpkin seeds and fry until cooked.
  • Add the beans mix to the pancake and serve.
  • Makes five servings.

Vegan nut roast Low FODMAP

We are nearly in Veganuary and what could me more perfect than a vegan nut roast? Some people miss meaty flavours when they venture into meat free eating and this roast is stuffed full of umami flavours meaning you won’t miss meat flavour at all! The dish also contains low FODMAP fibre and this is great for people with IBS-C, who need good gut friendly meals that have fibre to help the bowel keep moving. This dish is stunning enough to use at a dinner party – can I tempt you to a vegan New Years celebration lunch?

Ingredients

  • 10g of dried oyster mushrooms
  • 15g white miso
  • 1 tablespoon of golden linseed’s
  • 150g walnuts
  • 200mls of water
  • 2 sprigs of Thyme
  • Small handful of Thyme
  • 100g pureed chestnuts
  • 80g of chestnuts
  • 140g gluten free breadcrumbs (fibre based if possible)
  • Seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon of hazelnut oil.
  • 100g oyster mushrooms
  • 1 carrot to decorate

Method

Boil the water and add the dried mushrooms, miso and golden linseed’s and allow the mix to soak for 15 minutes – this is the stock for the dish. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired

Make the breadcrumbs and chop the nuts and herbs.

Fry the oyster mushrooms in the hazelnut oil then combine all the ingredients together.

Coat a loaf tin with oil and add the carrot (sliced length-ways) to the bottom of the tin (this will form the decoration on the top of the loaf.)

Heat and oven to gas mark 6, 200 degrees C and cook till the ingredients are well combined – this took approximately 1 hour. At the end of the cooking time turn the oven up to gas mark 7, 220 degrees C and remove the loaf from the tin and place it on the top shelf to brown the outside.

Enjoy – serves 6-8.

Pecan and maple syrup marzipan – low fodmap

Ok, so why do we need a marzipan based on pecans? Well, marzipan is based on almonds and these are limited on the low fodmap diet, it also contains honey – it would be very difficult to know how much FODMAP sugars are ingested with most Christmas marzipan containing dishes – so I thought I would see if I could make an option where amount consumed doesn’t matter (from a FODMAP content anyway!) Now, although Italians probably would balk at this statement but I think my version is actually better than the original. It is really tasty and a good treat for a Christmas winters evening whilst avoiding the winter weather. Or gift wrapped for friends or family – everyone likes a home made treat.

This dish is certainly not a healthy option – despite being high in nuts and containing a natural sugar – maple and ‘brown sugar’ – it is a sweet and should be treated as such. Too many people on Instagram post recipes for ‘energy balls’ and state they are healthy because they are based on natural ingredients – sugar is sugar – despite the source. Eat sparingly and Christmas is a good time to partake.

Ingredients

  • 200g finely ground pecans
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 100g soft brown sugar
  • 3 Medium egg yolks
  • 2 tsp liquid glucose
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp glycerine
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Grind the pecans in a food processor until smooth and place them in a bowl with the sieved icing sugar – then mix together.

In a saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar, egg yolks, glucose, maple syrup, glycerine and vanilla, then cook over a low heat whisking constantly until pale, light and boiling. Take care as this is HOT.

Pour the above liquid over the pecan mixture and stir well to make a smooth paste. Leave to cool, then wrap in cling film.

Makes 20 balls – I have coated them in gold and silver powder to make them great for a gift. They are just as nice eaten with a bit of hygge – curled up in front of a roaring fire with a good book . Enjoy.

Christmas Eve tear and share Low FODMAP

Christmas eve is a time to start the celebrations but it is often very busy wrapping presents, last minute gift purchasing and perishable food shopping. I would usually do my food shopping perhaps a day before Christmas Eve as the supermarkets can be just too busy for me. However, every year I plan to have it all finished by Christmas eve and I have never achieved my goals. So, if you are entertaining guests you perhaps might need a stunning dish that’s easy to prepare? The pastry can be made earlier and frozen and then all the preparation is in rolling out the pastry and decorating the top. Which means chopping vegetables and grating cheese – what could be easier?

Ingredients

  • 200g Plain flour
  • 150g Butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1 Teaspoon baking powder
  • 50mls water
  • Salt
  • Flour to roll out the pastry
  • 100g cheese
  • 2 Heritage carrots purple and orange (or standard ones will do just fine!)
  • 1 small parsnip
  • 30g pine nuts
  • Spray oil

Method

  • Sieve flour, Baking powder, xanthan gum and salt into a bowl, mix.
  • Weigh out the butter and divide into three.
  • Rub 1/3 of the butter into the flour and then add the water.
  • Bring the ingredients together and roll into a rectangle, mark out into three sections – to the bottom 2/3 and add blobs of butter to the dough.
  • Bring the bottom 1/3 of the pastry over the middle third and then fold over the top third. Rotate a quarter turn, roll and repeat the above at least three times.
  • Rest for 30 minutes before use. Or freeze at this stage if planning to use the pastry later.
  • Roll out the pastry into an oblong and score around the edges with a sharp knife taking care not to score through.
  • Where you are planning to place the vegetables prick the pastry with a fork.
  • Grate the cheese and sprinkle over the pastry.
  • Wash and slice the carrot and parsnips thinly.
  • Arrange the carrots on the pastry and spray with oil.
  • Cook in an oven at 220 degrees C or gas mark seven for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Five minutes before the end of the cooking time sprinkle the pastry with pine nuts.
  • Serve.