National Pie Week: Cheese and onion (gf) pie

Look at 'em go!  There was no stopping them diving into today's cheese and onion pie - for day 1 of national pie week.  The pastry was gluten free so that, for once, we could all share the same dinner - the gluten intolerant, the veg dodger and the veggie … oops, we lactose intolerant decided we would "pay the price" rather than miss out on the cheese pie.

Baby roast potatoes
Steamed carrots and cabbage
Baked beans

… and cheese and onion pie

Pastry

Plain flour
Salt
Butter/ butter substitute
Greek yogurt
Cold water
Soya milk (or dairy milk)

The filling

Onions, sliced
Grated cheese

It's dead easy really.

1.  Make the pastry by rubbing the fat into the seasoned flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs.  If it's too floury, add more cold butter.  If it's too sticky add a little more flour.
2.  To the "breadcrumbs" add a spoonful of greek yogurt and a splash of cold water.  Form into a dough.  Don't handle too much, it makes it go really hard.
3.  Chill for half an hour.
4.  Cut potatoes into chunks, roast in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for 1 hour.
5.  Prep veg, put on top of a steamed.
6.  Slice onions, grate cheese.
7.  Roll out half the pastry to form the bottom of the pie.  With gf I find it easier to roll onto baking parchment, and then flip over onto the pie dish.  Often you have to neaten out the edges, and mend small breaks by smushing the pastry together.
8.  Spread a little flour in the bottom of the pie - just to stop melted cheese seeping into the bottom.
9.  Starting with a layer of cheese - layer up the pie filling cheese, onion, cheese, onion ending on cheese.
10.  Top with the other half of the pastry, rolled out.  Crimp the edges with a fork, slash the top a little to let the steam out, glaze with soya (or dairy) milk.  Bake for 30-40 minutes at 180.
11.  Turn the heat on under the vegetables and let them steam.
12.  Pop the beans into the oven to heat through.
13.  Serve, scoff … seconds all round.

Cheese and onion pie - gluten free! ta dah!

Once again we were in need of comfort food - and you can't beat pie, chips and beans … the pie needed to be gluten free, and the chips were baby roasties - the beans came out of a tin.  Altogether delicious - totally hit the spot!  The veg dodger didn't complain about lack of meat once.

Gluten free pastry is incredibly crumbly, so roll it out on greaseproof paper to transfer to pie dish and the top of the pie.  Also, be prepared to patch up cracks!

I am lactose intolerant, but know the price I have to pay for cheese … which is why I use soya milk to glaze and seal.

Gluten free flour
Soya spread (or butter)
Salt
Natural yogurt
Dijon mustard
Potatoes
Olive oil
Onions
Cheese (I used cheddar, but Cheshire and Lancashire or a mixture works well too)
Baked beans

1.  Rub the fat into the flour, with a pinch of salt, until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in a spoonful of natural yogurt, a teaspoonful of Dijon mustard and a splash of very cold water.  Mix until it starts coming together in a ball - add a drop more water if it needs it, more flour if it has got sticky.  When it comes together as a ball knead it gently until it is a convincing "ball".  Do not try to knead it much - the paste is very fragile, as it has no gluten which would normally give some elasticity.  Wrap with reusable sandwich wrap/cling film and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2.  Slice onions into half rings, toss them about so they separate.
3.  Grate the cheese.
4.  Cut potatoes into cubes and toss in olive oil, sprinkle with salt.  Roast for 1 hour.
5.  Roll half the pastry onto greaseproof paper, lightly dusted with flour.  Transfer pastry to a greased pie dish,  patch little broken bits where necessary.
6.  Spread a little flour in the bottom of the pastry case (to help prevent the soggy bottom) - add layers of cheese and onions.
7.  Roll out the lid onto greaseproof paper ducted lightly with flour.  Brush a little soya milk around the edge of the base pastry.  Transfer the lid onto the pie - I held it over the top and did a speedy flip over - patch up the gaps and neaten the edge.  Brush the top with soya milk.  Bake for about 40 minutes.
8.  Put beans in oven proof dish and pop in the oven with everything else, to heat through.
9.  Serve, scoff

Sea bass escovitch, with sweet potatoes

 Caribbean food week:  Day 5

Also Friday - so the tradition in our house is fish from Paul the fish.

The idea is that you pour hot, sweet, spicy sauce over simply cooked fish ... it certainly was hot - look at all that steam.

It was the first time I have cooked anything quite like this, but the overwhelming opinion was definitely - put it on the do again list.

Sweet potato
Olive oil

White balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Lime
Onion
Carrot
Red pepper
Red chili

Sea bass

Green beans

1.  Peel and chop sweet potato into chunks, roast, in olive oil for about 40 minutes.
2.  Thinly slice onion, julienne carrot and red pepper.  Very thinly slice chili.
3.  In a saucepan mix together half a cup of olive oil, and the same of vinegar.  Squirt in the juice of half a lime.  Chuck in vegetables and all ow to simmer for about 10 minutes until the veg are softish.  A bit of crunch from the carrots and peppers is fine, but you want the onion soft.
4.  Steam the green beans.
5.  Brush olive oil onto the sea bass fillets and fry for a few minutes on each side.
6.  Place fish on a serving plate, and cover with the sauce.
7.  Serve, scoff ....

Jewelled rice pilaf

My photography skills do not do this justice - but the spice mix is delicious, and it's actually very easy.

The recipe is a simplification of very sophisticated persian banquet rice.

I served it with grated carrot, roast chicken thighs and asparagus - but it could be served with all sorts of lovely things, or even, with a few extra nuts and veggies on its own as a starter.

Basmati rice - about 250g - enough for 4ish
Water
Olive oil
Onion
Jewelled rice mix (available from The Mediterranean Pantry)
Carrot, grated


If you, like me, are serving with roast chicken (whole or pieces) start with that - I put thighs in a baking dish with olive oil, crushed garlic and the juice of half a lemon.  Drizzle oil over the top - stick into the oven, and let it do its stuff.

1.  Cook your rice - I put it in a heavy pot, cover - plus 1 inch, with water - bring to the boil, lid on and in a lowish oven for 20 minutes.  This is a very forgiving method, but otherwise, just follow the packet instructions.
2.  Chop the onions and sweat down gently in the olive oil.

At this point you might want to start steaming any other veg, eg. asparagus, beans ...

3.  Keep the onions on a medium heat and add the spice mix.  Stir, then add a half cup of water.
4.  Cook through, gently, for a few minutes.
5.  Remove half of the rice to a serving dish, stir the rest of the rice into the spice mix.
6.  Combine the spiced rice, and the plain rice, to give a bit of a marbled effect - and serve.

Serve with grated carrot, salad ... or whatever else you fancy.

Baked hake with potato and fennel gratin

Well, I call it gratin but there is no cheese involved, so really it's just a bake.

This is a gorgeous meal, with every single item available from Todmorden market - every single one!

So, from The Mediterranean Pantry ...

olive oil
garlic
salt and pepper

from Paul the fish

Hake

from Gary the veg

Potatoes
Onions
Fennel
baby plum tomatoes

(If you haven't got roasting dishes or a sharp knife, they are also available from the iron mongers!)

1.  Wash and thinly slice potatoes.
2.  Thinly slice peeled onion and fennel.
3.  Splosh a little olive oil in 2 roasting dishes.
4.  Squish some garlic, mix into a few tablespoons of olive oil.
5.  Arrange the sliced potato, fennel and onion in one of the dishes - season each layer, and splash in a little of the garlic oil.
6.  Stick potatoes in microwave for 10 minutes, then transfer to a medium hot oven for 40 minutes.
7.  Meanwhile, in the other roasting dish, roast halved tomatoes.
8.  After 20 minutes (ie. 20 minutes to go) add the fish to the tomatoes.
9.  Serve, scoff, receive adoring praise.

Potato and pea curry

What can you do with some potatoes, green beans and some peas, and 20 minutes?  Well, this .... and it was truly delicious.

Olive oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Chili flakes
Turmeric
Diced potatoes
red onion, chopped
Garlic
Chopped green beans
Water
Frozen peas
Garam massala

1.  Sautee red onion, garlic and spices in olive oil.
2.  Add diced potatoes, turn over in oil and then add water.
3.  Simmer, add green beans.
4.  Simmer more, add frozen peas and a smidge of garam massala when nearly done.

Beware, you may need seconds, or thirds.

Onion bhaji; potato, turnip and pea curry; spinach thingy

There was spinach, and onion, in the fridge from the veg box.  There was a need for comfort food.  I happened upon a delightful asian/eastern european cornershop in Leeds this afternoon which had, in their very beautiful vegetable display, some very beautiful turnips.  So, with a tiny outlay I revamped our dinner.

To make this assortment of dishes, start with the potato curry, then chop and mix the bhaji mix - until adding the water stage.  Then, when you are about 10 minutes off, start the spinach - then, fry the bhajis, keep them warm while you fry them all off, and serve.

Potato, turnip and pea curry

Olive oil
Black mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Turmeric
Potatoes, peeled and cubed
Turnips, peeled and cubed (approx the same amount as potato)
Garlic, crushed
Stock
Frozen peas

1.  Heat oil in pan, add fry spices.   When they release their aroma chuck in potatoes and turnip.  Toss them all about so that every piece of veg is coated.
2.  Add crushed garlic, stir in.  Add a cup of stock - put a lid on a simmer gently.
3.  Keep simmering potato mixture, check every now and again, make sure there is enough liquid to help it cook through, but that it is a "dry" mixture. Adjust seasoning.
4.  Tip some frozen peas on top, put lid back on, turn flame off and keep cooking for 5 mins.

Onion bhajis

large onion, chopped into fine half moons
chili flakes
lemon juice
salt
dried herbs
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
gram flour
water
oil, for frying (I used a mixture of olive oil and peanut oil)

1.  In a bowl mix onion and seasonings.  Add salt and leave for at least 10 minutes.
2.  Add bicarb and garm flour, toss together.
3.  When about ready to fry, stir in a small amount of water.  Mix to form a batter around the onion mixture.
4.  Fry, in hot oil, in blobs.
5.  Drain, on kitchen roll, and keep warm.

Spinach thingy

Olive oil
Chopped onion (I used the extra bits which weren't in moons from the bhajis)
Crushed garlic
Spinach, washed, stalks removed and shredded
Black pepper

1.  Sweat off onion in olive oil, then add the garlic.
2. Add spinach and enough water (not much) to let it wilt down.
3. Season

Bring all dishes together and scoff.  I was going to do a raita type thing, but was fine without.

Gluten free crackers - onion and poppy seed

Tried a new combination of flavours for the gluten free savoury crackers ... and they were declared "absolutely, bloody, brilliant ... "  ... they were very, very good! Today we had gnomes, frogs, chicks, cats and crocodiles.

So, ...

Gluten free SR flour
Mustard powder
Butter / margarine
garlic
poppy seeds
dried fried onions
cold water

GF mixtures are gluten free ... dah dah! .. stating of the obvious!  This means that they are not elastic in the same way that wheat flours are - so think of this as a very "short" pastry.

So,  rub in the flour and fat as you normally would.  Add flavourings (bash hell out of the dried, fried onions in a pestle and mortar so that the tiny pieces can be distributed into the dough).  Mix gently, add water to bind.  Put the dough into plastic bags in the fridge to chill.

Turn oven to 180C.

Roll dough out between 2 sheets of floured baking parchment (it helps the mixture stick together and not split and crack).  Run a pallet knife gently under the pastry, lifting it from the paper.  Cut out shapes with a cutter, and transfer to a baking paper lined baking tray - I lifted them out of the mixture within the cutter squeezing the shape very gently together, rather than cutting out multiple shapes and then picking them out of the sheet. The lifting of the raw pastry means that you can move the fragile crackers - if you don't loosen them first you will not get them out of the shapes!

Bake for about 12 minutes - turning the tray around after about 8 minutes to get an even(ish) bake.

Cool on a rack (if you can wait) and then scoff!

Potato with peppers, egg and paneer

Potatoes
Turmeric
Olive oil
cumin
2 onions
Red peppers
garlic
stock
peas

Spring onions
eggs
paneer

1.  Boil peeled and chopped potato with turmeric.
2.  Sautee onion in olive oil, add cumin seeds, turmeric and garlic.  Add peppers.
3.  Drain potatoes and add to softenned onions.  Add stock and simmer for a while.
4.  Tip into gratin dish and stir in chopped paneer and peas.  Crack eggs on top.
5.  Bake, covered with foil for about 15 minutes, until egg whites are set.

Delicious.  Adapted from something I saw in the Observer.

red onion and mozarella tarte tatin

Was working at home today, and feeling a need to try gluten free pastry again, so I came up with this.  The pastry is OK ... I made it quite short, and it wasn't easy to handle - in that it broke easily - it's crisp and it tastes pretty good - but it's "different".  Wheat pastry, like wheat bread, has a toothsome give, which use the qualities of gluten to achieve - gluten free cannot replicate this without additives.  It was damn good though, and obvioulsy it could be made with gluten full pastry too!

olive oil
6 red onions
dried thyme
half a bottle of (cheap) red wine
gluten free flour
butter/ soya spread
natural yogurt
mozarlla
water

olive oil
potatoes

white cabbage
cavolo ner

OK - so there are 3 dishes - but break it down, none of them are too complicated.  Start with the onions, then make the pastry and put it in the fridge.  Put the potatoes on to boil. The cabbage takes 15 minutes to steam, so chop it when you have a gap.  This will take an hour and a half form walking in the door, but you can be doing stuff in between faffings.

This follows what I did tonight

1.  Peel and chop into wedges 6 red onions. Turn the oven on to 180C.
2.  Sautee the onion pieces in olive oil, keep stirring around for 10 minutes, add a good pinch of salt after a few minutes.
3.  Make pastry by rubbing in fat to seasoned flour, add a spoonful yogurt and cold water to form a dough.  Put in the fridge so that it's easier to handle.
4.  Chop potatoes into bite sized pieces and par boil (about 7ish minutes from boiling).  Put a baking tray with a few tbsp of olive oil in a hot oven ready to roast them.
5.  Add some red wine to the onions and simmer until soft.
6.    Shred the cabbage and put it into a steamer.
7.  Drain the potatoes, toss in the oil in the baking tray and put into the oven .. the count down in 50(ish) minutes form now.
8.  Scatter mozzerella pieces over the onions.
9.  Roll out the pastry, tuck onto the top of the onion and cheese mixture
10.  Bake - for about 30 mins.  After 10 minutes start step 11.
11.  Steam the cabbage for about 12 minutes.

Scoff.

Chapati sausage roll

I can't believe I haven't thought of this before!  I'm sure you have... but translate hotdog into something a bit lighter and homemade (but also quick).  3 ish portions...

2 onions
1 tbsp olive oil
6 sausages
1 tin of tomatoes
American mustard
Pea shoots - or shredded lettuce etc
4(ish) chapatis

1.  Fry sausages in olive oil, add sliced onion.
2.  Soften onions and cook sausages a bit, then add tin of chopped tomatoes and half a tin of water.
3.  Simmer until onions are soft, sausages are cooked through.
4.  Microwave chipatis for 45 seconds (ish)
5.  Well - obviously - put chapati on plate, put sausage and good spoonful of onion and tomato mixture on top, season, add mustard and green stuff.  Roll up.
6. Scoff

Potato, onion and bacon bake

No posts for a bit - largely due to work stress - we have been eating food, but just not taking pics of it - and not finding time to do fun based computer stuff - just work based computer stuff.  Busy again today, so nice comforting dinner - potato, onion and bacon bake with steamed veg.  Should you wish to give it a bash - peel potatoes - peel at least 3 more than you think are reasonable for gathered crowd (I peeled 8 for 2 of us! well 4 of us really as I know that leftovers are off to outlaws for supplies tomorrow).  Peel and chop into rings or half moons some onions (I used 3 tonight), and chop some rashers of bacon into bite sized yumminess (I used 4 rashers of back bacon as I just wanted enough of a hint for flavour, but not bacon as a major ingredient).  Also sliced 1 x beef tomato (totally optional, and you could chuck in mushrooms, courgettes or other veg which is about).  Drizzle olive oil in bottom of decent sized casserole dish - layer in potatoes, onion, seasoning, bacon (tomato... or...) drizzle again - start layers again with potato - continue - always finish with a layer of potato - pour over stock of choice (I used chicken) to just touch the top layer of potatoes.  Drizzle of oil on top and lots of black pepper.  In oven (hottish - about 180-200) for an hour or so - check with a sharp knife that potato is soft.  I also steamed some veg - but would be extra yumscrumptious with baked beans!  Victim loved 'tato stuff - but moaned about beans in veg.... sigh - what can you do?!  Enough leftovers for outlaws for lunch tomorrow (I already mentioned that).

Other news:  2 eggs - Rosemary still broody, but might be loosening grip a bit (let's hope) - and started 70 litres of elderflower champagne. (River Cottage recipe - more or less - http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/elderflower-champagne-recipe)