Tag: food intolerance

Minted Boston runner beans

What on earth are Boston beans? I am, as many of you know, a down to earth Lancashire gal and labelling food with a new name to boost sales really doesn’t go down too well with me. Not impressed, however I am wrong, it seems – after a Google search – that Boston is a variety of bean which is a smaller variety and a plant which grows a good crop of French beans. A good crop – therefore these beans should not be expensive then, but they are a smaller bean, therefore exclusive? I also suspect that someone will label them a ‘super’ runner bean and a vegetable that you can’t possible live without. Anyhow, enough of me getting into a tizzy and being slightly cynical about the vagaries of available supermarket runner bean varieties. Some people might be very interested in the differences in crop variety, but it’s not for this blog, plus ordinary beans are just as super and will work just as well for this recipe. It’s mothering Sunday tomorrow and I will be cooking a chicken so this really simple runner bean recipe should go really well with it.

Ingredients

1 sprig of fresh mint

1 packet of runner beans

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 lemon sliced

Salt

Spray oil

1 teaspoon of sesame seeds

Method

Spray the beans with oil and pour over lemon juice. Chop the mint and mix into the beans, then add a small amount of salt, roast for 15 minutes till soft. Spray lemon slices with oil and roast them at the same time as the beans. Garnish the beans with roasted lemon slices and sesame seeds. Serve – simple!

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Spaghetti Bolognese – Low Fodmap

This is a family favourite, a classic dish that is the stalwart of many family meals so we should look at modifying it to make it suitable for ALL the family – even those with IBS. Whilst I would not advocate everyone following a low fodmap diet if they don’t need too, the occasional meal where everyone can participate without faffing around cooking some items separately is a bonus. This will make the meal slightly more expensive using gluten free pasta but is maybe worth it occasionally. It is not likely to be harmful for others to eat gluten free pasta occasionally as long as people do not go fully gluten free or low fodmap without good reason (a diagnosis of coeliac disease or a diagnosis of IBS when coeliac disease has been tested negative on a gluten containing diet.)

Passata

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1 jar of roasted peppers (or roast 3-4 of your own, then skin them)

4 tomatoes

a handful of basil

1-2 teaspoons of dried thyme and basil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Blend this with a hand blender till smooth – add some water if this is too thick.

Bolognese Sauce

1 dessert spoon of garlic infused oil

600g of lean minced beef*

Passata (above)

2 teaspoons of gluten free flour + water

method

Add the oil to the pan and fry the meat with 3 dessert spoons of the passata.

Add the remaining passata to a pan

Add two teaspoons of gluten free or corn flour and water mixed till smooth

Cook this till thickened and add to the meat.

Cook till tender.

Spaghetti

You do need to watch gluten free spaghetti and keep it moving when cooking to prevent it from sticking. Use the method advised on the packet and add to a large pan of boiling water. Keep testing it – it should be ready at the point it is still relatively firm but soft enough to eat, take care not to overcook it.

Add the spaghetti and bolognese to the dish to serve and top with a little grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6

*If you find that red meat causes symptoms of IBS choose lean and a small portion – or you could also use 1/2 beef and 1/2 turkey to reduce the amount of red meat contained in the dish.

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Baba Ganoush – Low Fodmap

This is a dip recipe that is suitable for the low fodmap diet, many people really struggle to find dips, particularly when many are made with onion or garlic as ingredients. Baba Ganoush is a middle eastern dish made from aubergine which often contains onion but it is so easy to make and tastes really delicious without onion so give it a try today!

Ingredients

1 Aubergine

1 tablespoon of light mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin powder

(you can add your own spices here to change the flavour)

A few toasted pine nuts

Lactose free yoghurt to serve.

Method

Roast the aubergine in an oven till soft and allow it to cool.

Remove the skin and add the flesh to a bowl with the mayonnaise and spices and a little salt to taste. Blend till smooth top with lactose free yoghurt and serve.

Simple!

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Kale and herb frittata with a cheese and pine nut topping – low fodmap

Wondering what to have for lunch? A frittata is a great option because not only can you eat it warm, it slices very well and can be eaten cold with a fresh green salad or even used as a sandwich filling. Very versatile and tasty for a lunch option and what’s more it is low fodmap.

Ingredients

4 eggs

handful of Kale

2-3 sprigs of thyme and a few rosemary leaves (you can also use dried)

1 oz of grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon of pine nuts

Salt & pepper to taste

Spray oil

Method

Boil the kale till a little soft and leave to cool then chop well.

Chop the herbs, grate the Parmesan.

Crack the eggs in a bowl and mix, season and split into two.

Add the kale and herbs to one bowl mix well.

Spay a little oil into a frying pan and add the egg and kale mix, flatten with w fork and cook for 1-2 minutes

Add the second half of eggs to the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Place the pan under a grill to continue cooking and when the eggs are risen and fluffy sprinkle on the cheese and pine nuts.

Grill until the cheese is melted and the pine nuts are toasted.

Serve – serves 2-3 people.

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Chapati and low fodmap curry – yum!

Chapati

150 g of gluten free plain flour

1 teaspoon of garlic infused oil

1/2 teaspoon of Xanthan gum

20 g of well chopped coriander

Salt to taste

Water to form a dough

Method

Weigh out the flour in a bowl and add the xanthan gum and mix well.

Add the oil, salt and coriander and water.

Add water slowly and bring the flour together to form a dough – the more you work this dough the better the results will be!

Roll the dough into a sausage shape and divide to make approximately 8 small disks

Roll these into a ball then roll out evenly as thin as possible.

Cook on a flat griddle till the flour turns a little opaque then hold the chapatti in a flame to finish the cooking add some spray oil to the pan if needed.

Serve immediately – they don’t keep well and are best eaten fresh.

Curry

2 aubergines

200g spinach

200g of potato

1 red chili chopped small

1 inch of ginger chopped

1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

1 teaspoon of cumin

3 cardamon pods, split

1 red pepper chopped

1 tablespoon of garlic infused oil

1/2 teaspoon of asafoetida

salt to taste

Method

Roast the aubergines till soft and remove the skin and chop.

Add the spices and chopped chili (you can omit this if it affects symptoms too much) to a pestle & mortar and grind.

Add the oil to a pan and fry the spice paste to release the aroma.

Add the aubergine, chopped potato to the pan and cooked till tender.

Add 4-5 pieces of frozen spinach and chopped red pepper at the end of the dish and cook for ten minutes.

Serve!

Turmeric potatoes

These small potatoes are easy to make, use 3-4 potatoes per portion of salad potatoes. I roasted them in the oven in their jackets till soft them sliced them and using 1/2 tablespoon of oil fried turmeric and coriander seeds to release the flavour and added this to the potato with salt to taste. You could use this recipe with older potatoes if you wished.

 

 

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Cinnamon and lemon thyme roast chicken

It is the first cold snap of the season today and what better to warm the cockles than a roast chicken? This is a very simple roast, sprinkled with cinnamon and thyme.

Ingredients

1/2 roast chicken

2 teaspoons cinnamon

5-6 springs of thyme

salt and pepper to taste.

Method

Do not wash the chicken before you use it.

Place the chicken in a roasting tin on a rack to drain the fat as it roasts and add the thyme and cinnamon plus seasoning.

Roast for 3/4 hour.

I added some carrots to the roasting tin to add colour to the dish.

Enjoy!

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