A bake worth a million

This recipe has been much requested by both gluten-free and non gluten-free friends alike, and always goes down a treat when I have made it for parties! I cannot take 100% credit as my mum and I cobbled this recipe together from other recipes (see credited).

Gluten Free Millionaires Shortbread

This recipe is really simple to make, and it extremely addictive! The shortbread base is made of Polenta (cornmeal) and can be used as a biscuit base for most other things, such as cheesecake, but is equally nice on its' own! The recipe I use is from The More Than Occasional Blogger's recipe for Millionaires shortbread, I just use a slight variation for the caramel.

Ingredients:

(you may wish to halve as this makes a lot!)

• 200g ground almonds
• 250g ground polenta
• 225 softened Butter
• 225g caster sugar

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to about 170̊C
2. Mix together the almonds, polenta and caster sugar in a large bowl until throughly mixed
3. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients until it looks like fine breadcrumbs
4. Press into a baking tray evenly, make sure it is deep enough to hold the caramel/chocolate later on!
5. Using a fork, prick holes into the shortbread to stop it bubbling
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. I find it is best to keep an eye on it, as the first time I made it it was hard enough to break your teeth. Leave it so it is still slightly soft to touch, as it hardens further when cooled

For the caramel I use a tin of caramel, like The More than Occasional Baker does, but thicken it with a bit of help from Mary Berry. The following recipe for thicker caramel is taken from Mary Berrys recipe for Millionaires cheesecake, from her 'Mary Berry Cooks' recipe book.

Ingredients:

• 25g butter
• 50g light muscovado sugar. Soft brown works well too
• 1x397 can caramel condensed milk

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a medium pan
2. Stir in the sugar on a low heat until dissolved
3. Add the canned caramel and bring to the boil, stirring constantly
4. Once boiling, set a timer for 4 minutes. Keep it boiling whilst constantly stirring, until it has darkened/thickened slightly.
5. Stir vigorously, ensuring to catch any that is catching around the edge.
6. You will feel it begin to thicken slightly. When removed from the heat and the bubbles have subsided, you should be able to draw a path through the caramel and see the base of the pan easily.
7. Leave the caramel to cool for 5-10 minutes, after which you should be able to roll a small, soft ball out of it.
8. If it is too soft/runny, boil for another minute
9. Once the consistency is correct, spread it over the prepared shortbread. Keep in mind that if you leave it too long it will begin to set further in the pan!

Once the caramel has completely cooled, melt 200g (ish) of chocolate and pour over the caramel. You can choose any chocolate, but personally I think choosing anything other than Cadburys would be a let down! Once you've made this a couple of times, (believe me you'll want to) you will be able to figure out better whether you want to adjust the ratio of shortbread/caramel/chocolate.

Enjoy eating! x

Please sir, can I have some more?

Okay so it's not exactly 'Gruel', but the various soups I have been making the last few weeks have certainly left me begging for more, and made me addicted to making and experimenting with soups. Growing up my family have lived (and still do) off my Grandmothers or Mothers homemade soups. As the Scottish side of my family, it is safe to say that Scotch Broth runs through our veins! My Grandmother (called Ging by everyone) would use a Gammon to make a stock, then use broth mix and every vegetable under the sun to make the soup. When I say soup, forget any notions of feeble liquids that could be slurped with a straw, proper soup should be so thick with vegetables that the spoon practically stands up. To make a meal of it, we would have the gammon used for the stock with egg and chips (and baked beans if we were particularly hungry), and boy oh boy would this two course meal be the best comfort meal in the dark evenings of winter. What's great as well is the veggie soup is so filling and healthy it's a great meal if you're watching your weight. It is a little bit of heaven in a bowl, and is our families own personal answer to penicillin. In fact, it is one thing I desperately miss when I am at university, so I thought it was about time I taught myself how to make it!



Now you may remember my previous 'Aldi Haul' post; I bought 3 small Love Food recipe books then, one of which was dedicated to Soup (isbn; 1407581155). I didn't follow any of these recipes exactly, instead I used them more as a guideline for how to make a basic soup. I have to say I am dying to try the bacon and cheese soup recipe from this book.As I mentioned in my previous post I am currently being tested for Coeliac disease, and it is looking likely that I have it. For the most part soups are safe, although a lot of tinned 'cream of' soups have gluten in the form of wheat starch to thicken them. When making soup from scratch you are obviously in complete control over what you put in it. Traditional scotch broth has Pearl Barley in it, which sadly contains gluten in it. Most other soup ingredients like lentils and split peas don't contain Gluten, but their manufacturing processes means that there is a high risk of cross contamination; I have started buying mine from Holland & Barratt as they are safe (and cheap!), other whole food/health food stores are also a safer bet; just be sure to check the packet. Now you can't make soup without stock; either from a packet, a cube or homemade. If you don't want to faff about with making stock, you can usually get ready made fresh stock in the refrigerator section, or make it using stock cubes.One thing I have realised since obsessively checking labels for gluten is that a lot stock cubes sadly contain gluten, either in the form of a flavouring or thickening agent. Most Knorr stock pots are safe to use (their gravy pots are not) and provide a lovely rich flavour, they can also be used to make gravy; you will just need to mix in some cornflour to thicken it. If you prefer the traditional stock cubes I know Asda's own Beef stock cubes are gluten free, but I am yet to check their other stock cubes. Either way; make the stock following the instructions and add to the soup at the appropriate time. 

 

General Method

Overall the soups I make tend to be 'use whatever veg I have that needs eating up'. When I made soup for the first time I was using Spinach in every meal as I was (and still am) iron deficient due to the Coeliac and Spinach is a great source of iron. Generally I start out by making the stock up in a measuring jug and chopping up all my veg. The first thing that goes in the pot (forgot to mention; a decent soup pot is important!) is a bit of oil along with Onion and/or Leeks and Garlic should you choose to add it; I definitely recommend adding Garlic if you have a cold or are fighting off one. You should only sweat the Onions and Leeks i.e. let the juices run out but don't let the veg brown. This would also be the time to add meat, should you choose to. Next I would add the rest of my veg (usually Carrot and Parsnip), Green Lentils and the stock made earlier. The Green Lentils take longer to cook, but to reduce cooking time you can soak them in water for at least an hour or overnight. I find adding potato helps thicken the soup even more, and I also tend to 'half blend' the soup; I hold my hand blender over any particularly large chunks of veg, stir and repeat.

The most important thing to do is have fun experimenting with your own mixes of ingredients and spices, as well as trying out the tried and trusted combinations of course!

Have fun cooking,


Louise x

UPDATE: Ging would like me to add that it is v. important to wash any cereals before you add them to soup, as there is surface gunge that can upset your stomach if eaten. Happy soup making!

Thou shalt have a fishy in a curry dishy

Well. It has been faaar too long since I posted on here, especially as I promised you more foodie goodness over a month ago! Well, as I said last time my boyfriend came to visit for a week in February and I was planning on trying out lots of lovely new recipes on him (the way to a mans heart is through his stomach after all!). The recipe below is what I had planned to make for our valentines meal the night he was due to arrive, the day after valentines day. Anyway, I got a phone call midday on valentines day telling me to look out the window....turns out he'd planned all along to surprise me and arrive valentines day! Of course my reaction was "well I've not got anything in for dinner!", but alas he had already booked a table and sweeped me off my feet for one of the nicest 3 course meals i've ever had, and certainly the most romantic. So this is the meal I made as our second valentines! 

Fish Curry

This recipe is based from one in 'Step by Step Curries' by igloo books, one of my January sales purchases from The Works (I spend way too much in that place!). For anyone just starting out in making curries I defo recommend this book, it's easy to follow with step-by-step pictures, and from my experience I can say the curries are very tasty!
I halved the recipe as it serves 6.

ISBN: 978-0-85780-689-5

 
It's a simple but very tasty curry to make, and can be made as mild or as spicy as you like. I didn't just use shrimp, I also added a fish-pie mix of fish with some baby sweetcorn to give it a bit more substance. The mixed fish sort of disintegrated into the coconut milk as it cooked, making it thick enough to spread over some naan bread. For those who aren't a big fan of coconut you may still like this as the creaminess is offset by the curry spices and white wine. The recipe did say to add saffron and fish stock, however as I am a poor student I cannot afford saffron, and the fish I used made the fish stock a bit redundant really!

The thing about this recipe that I am most proud of myself for achieving is the part with the tomatoes. You're probably thinking what is the big deal. Trouble is....I HATE tomatoes! I love tomato soup, ketchup, tomatoes in sauces etc....but to me they are an ingredient that needs to be smothered in herbs and garlic and, more often than not, cheese. So the fact this recipe asks you to soak 2 in boiling water and peel/deseed them was a big ask of me, but alas, I did it! I instantly scrubbed my hands so I didn't get any tomatoey juice anywhere, but I did it, yay!
 

 So here's the finished meal, served with rice and naan bread. It was warming but not overly spicey, and very moreish! I defo recommend this. I can tell you me and my boyfriend were practically drooling over the smell of it cooking! I suppose if you're not a big fan of fish you could substitute in chicken or quorn/veg if you're a veggie lover.





I have some lovely new recipe kits from thespicery.com which I'm hoping to start using in the next month or so, and look out for my first restaurant review, exciting stuff!