Pasta with Garden Vegetables

This is one of my favorite pasta sauces: it's a tomato sauce laden with vegetables, and with just a little bit of cream for decadence (you can lose the cream if you want a vegan version). The original recipe is from a rather old Israeli vegetarian cookbook, by Naomi Lis-Mayberg, and it is rather complicated, involving a roux and various other steps. This is a simplified version.

The choice of veggies is kind of flexible. In the original recipe there are also radishes and zucchini, neither of which I like, so I removed them. You can add them in or swap out some of the existing veggies if you don't like them.

Pasta with Garden Vegetables 

Ingredients: (For 4-6 portions)

- 1 lb/500 grams pasta

- 1-2 tbsp olive oil 

- 3 carrots, thinly sliced 

- 1 large onion, chopped 

- a handful of parsley, finely chopped

- a handful of fresh basil, finely chopped 

- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced 

- 1 can crushed tomatoes (or 7 fresh tomatoes, peeled and sliced)

- 1 bell pepper (green or red), de-seeded and cubed. 

- 1 cup white wine 

- salt and pepper to taste 

- about 1/2 cup light cream or heavy cream (skip if making a vegan version) 

- Parmesan or mozzarella cheese, to garnish (optional)

Preparation: 

1. Add the oil to a large pot or saucepan and heat. Add the carrot, onion, parsley, basil and garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until the veggies turn golden (be careful not to burn them. If they start to brown, lower the heat). Cover the pot and cook on low heat another 15 minutes. 

2. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, salt, black pepper and wine, and cook on low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. 

3. Boil water for the pasta and cook according to directions. Just before serving, add the cream to the sauce and stir well. Check seasoning and correct it. Mix the sauce with the pasta and serve, topped with a  bit of cheese. 

Enjoy!

Krantz (yeast cake) with Nutella and Halva filling (with GF option)

This is a Krantz, which is a braided yeast cake (not to be confused with Frankfurter Kranz). You can fill the dough with any filling you like and braid it using the same technique. This particular version, made from a recipe from pastry chef Karin Goren is filled with Nutella and bits of halva - a middle-eastern treat made from sesame. However, if you can't get your hands on halva, just nutella will work as well.
The result is a firm, warm, fragrant cake, filled with gooey delicious chocolatey goodness.

For the gluten free version (which you see in the picture) I simply substituted the regular flour with the same weight of Cup4Cup gluten free flour, and it worked fabulously well. Easy to work with and delicious. I did have to add a tiny bit more milk to the dough to get it to mix, but other than that it was the same recipe. Since this is the third recipe I've published with this flour, I think I should make it clear that of course I am not an advertiser for the flour nor do I have any connections with C4C or its manufacturers. I've just been finding it a really great flour to work with. 

Krantz (yeast cake) with Nutella and Halva Filling 

Ingredients (for 2 cakes, each made in a small loaf pan or  "English cake" tin): 

For the dough:
- 500 grams/17 oz all purpose flour (or cup4cup gluten free flour)
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 100 grams/3.5 oz/6 tbsp butter
- 150 ml (a little over 1/2 cup) milk
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt

For the filling: 
- 1 cup nutella
- 100 grams/3.5 oz halva ( In the US, Joyva makes gluten free halva)

- 1 egg, whisked, for egg wash

Preparation: 

1. In a mixer with a dough hook, combine the flour with the yeast. Melt the butter, allow to chill a bit, and add to the flour together with the milk, eggs and sugar. Mix in medium speed until you get a dough (if necessary, add a bit more milk). Add the salt, and keep working the dough in the mixer for another five minutes, until you get a smooth, shiny and slightly sticky dough. (Note: you can do all this by hand if you don't have a mixer)

2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for a couple of hours, until doubled - or overnight in the fridge.

3. Divide the risen dough into two equal parts. Roll each dough into a rectangle about 1/2 cm/1/4 inch thick. Spread each rectangle with half of the Nutella spread and then sprinkle with half of the halva. Roll each rectangle into a roulade.

4. Slice one roulade down the middle, so that you get two lengths of dough layered with filling. Carefully turn the two pieces on their side, so that the part with the exposed filling is on top. Press one end of the two pieces together and then gently "braid" them (you can see the picture of this  here ). Do this for the other roulade, and gently transfer each one of them into a small loaf tin or long cake tin.

5. Allow the cakes to rise until about doubled. Gently brush with egg wash. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the cakes are fragrant and beautifully browned. If you gently knock on the dough, the cake will make a hollow sound. 

These are best served slightly warm, but are also delicious cold.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Lasagna

While this recipe may sound similar to the pumpkin and goat cheese lasagna I posted a few months ago, it actually has quite a different flavor and texture. It's less creamy and rich and more vibrant  - and just as delicious.

The picture does not quite do this justice (it's so hard to take a pretty picture of lasagna!) but it really is quite a nice recipe. Make sure you don't overdo the cheese, because the mascarpone already contributed a fair amount of far and cheesiness to the mix.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Lasagna 

 Ingredients (for 3-4 entree sized portions, or 1 lasagna dish 8'x8', 20x20 cm): 

- 1 pack of lasagna noodles, of the kind you don't need to precook (you may not need the whole pack, but better safe than sorry). 

- 1/2 medium butternut squash, cut into small cubes (You can replace this with some butternut squash puree)

- 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed (You can replace this with some sweet potato puree) 

- 12 oz/340 grams of mascarpone or ricotta cheese

- 3 tbsp (15 grams) butter

- 1 small onion, finely chopped

- 3 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan 

- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 

- salt, pepper to taste 

- a bit of olive oil for drizzling or olive oil spray 

 Preparation: 

1. Prepare the orange filling: Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C. Place the squash and potato cubes on a baking tin. Spray or drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat in the oil and seasoning. Bake in the oven for about 40-50 minutes, until the cubes are quite tender. Allow to cool and then mash with a fork or handheld blender into a smooth mash. (If you are using purees, combine the potato and squash purees with each other and season slightly). Leave the oven warm.

2. Prepare the mascarpone filling: Melt the butter in a small skillet over low-medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes, until they are soft and fragrant. In a bowl combine the mascarpone or ricotta, the butter/onion mixture and 3/4 cups of the parmesan until relatively smooth and spreadable. Season with salt and pepper. 

3. Build your lasagna: spray a small lasagna pan (see sizes above) with a bit of nonstick spray. Spread a few tablespoons of the squash filling onto the pan (not too much, just to wet it a bit) and cover with lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with half of the remaining squash puree and spread (you may need to use your fingers to get good coverage here). Top with half of the mascarpone mixture and spread. Make sure the noodles are well covered. Top with half of the remaining parmesan and half of the mozzarella. Cover this with another layer of lasagna noodles, then top with the remaining squash, remaining mascarpone, and remaining shredded cheeses. Again, make sure the noodles are fully covered, or they will be crunchy. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cheese on top is golden and bubbly. 

Enjoy!

 

Challah (with GF option)

Making challah is really one of things that I like doing when I'm feeling a bit homesick or want to really feel like it's Friday. There's nothing like having the whole house smell of baking, and then get that beautiful golden loaf out of the oven. And if there are any leftovers, they also make the best french toast.  My favorite challahs are the ones that aren't particularly sweet, so this recipe is for a not-very-sweet challah.

The joy of baking challah is something I've mostly given up since celiac entered our lives, because messing around with all that flour is not a great idea. There is the GF challah recipe I posted on Rosh Hashana. However, it's complicated and the results, while decent, are not quite satisfying enough. Then this week I saw that Cup4Cup flour (the new flour I mentioned in a recent post) published a recipe for bagels that looked really easy and convincing. I gave it a try and was pretty happy with the results. I therefore decided that it was time to put this flour to the ultimate test: would it really work when used, cup for cup, instead of regular flour, in a regular recipe, for bread?!?
Most gluten free flours would fail this test outright. However, C4C actually did pretty well. The challah you see in the picture is, in fact, entirely gluten free. The dough behaved almost exactly like gluteny dough and was easy to work with. The result is not quite as fluffy and wonderful as regular fresh challah, but it's pretty darn close as a substitute! Overall, C4C deserves outstanding marks as a GF flour that really works.

So here is the Challah recipe, in it's regular, non-GF version, which can also be made GF using Cup4Cup flour.NOTE that the recipe does require quite a long rising and baking time, so don't make this at the last minute.

Challah

Ingredients (for one large challah loaf): 

- 1.25 cup warm water 

- 1.5 tsp active dry yeast 

- 1/4 cup of honey 

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil 

- 1 egg + extra for eggwash

- 1.5 tsp salt

- 4 cups all purpose flour (or GF Cup4Cup flour) + extra for flouring

Preparation: 

1. Pour the warm water into a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Add the honey, oil, egg and salt. Mix well. Gradually add in the flour, mixing as you go along (you can also use a mixer with dough hook for this). When the flour is incorporated, knead until you get a smooth dough that no longer feels sticky (if you are making the GF version, there's not much point in a lot of kneading, since there is no gluten to develop. Just knead it a bit until it feels like a cohesive dough that isn't too sticky). Cover the bowl with a clean damp kitchen towel and allow to rise for 1.5 hours. 

2. Punch down the risen dough and put on a floured surface (for GF dough you may need a bit more flour, if it feels a bit stick). Knead the dough for about five minutes (again, if you are using GF, just knead it a bit until it is easy to work with). Divide the dough into three equal parts, shape each part into a long snake, attach the three snakes at one end and then braid them. Oil a baking tin or cover it with parchment paper, and put the challah on the tin. if your challah looks a bit bumpy - which can happen especially with the GF dough, moisten your hands a bit with water and gently rub the challah with moistened hands to smooth it up a bit.   Cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise for another hour. 

3. Preheat oven to 375 F/180 C. Brush the challah with egg. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the challah is golden-brown and makes a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom of it.  

Enjoy!

Mont Blanc (Meringue with chestnut cream)

This elegant dessert looks complicated, but it is actually quite simple to make. It consists of a meringue "bowl" topped with a rich yet fluffy chestnut cream. It is named, of course, after the mountain. I made it based on this recipe.

Mont Blanc

 


Ingredients (for six portions): 

For the Meringue: 
- 4 egg whites (I had trouble using boxed egg whites for this. They wouldn't fluff up.)
- 1 cup of sugar

For the cream:
- 150 grams (about 5-6 oz) peeled and cooked chestnuts (you can buy them in jars or vacuum sealed)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup milk
- 250 ml (about 8 oz) whipping/heavy cream

- Crushed nuts or cocoa nibs, to decorate (optional)

Preparation: 

1. Make the meringue: in  a mixer, beat the egg whites until they form a soft foam. While beating, gradually add the sugar and continue beating until you get a very stiff foam with a nice glossy sheen to it.

2. Heat oven to 120 C/220 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a piping tool or just a spoon, create at least six small meringue "bowls" on the baking sheet. (I found that the easiest way to do this was to dump a heaping spoonful of meringue on the sheet, and then carefully use clean fingers in order to push the meringue open to create a bowl-like shape).  Bake the meringue in the oven for at least two hours, or until the bowls easily separate from the bottom of the baking parchment. Turn off the oven, and leave the meringues to cool inside it (this will take a few hours). Set aside. (You can put them in an airtight container and keep them outside the fridge for a few days). You can also just create one large meringue bowl.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the cream. In a medium pot, place the chestnuts, sugar and milk. Bring to a low boil, turn the heat down to a low heat, and simmer for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit. Transfer to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. (You can try using an immersion/stick blender for this, but I couldn't get the desired smoothness that way).  Refrigerate until completely cool.

4. Whip the heavy cream until you get a stiff whipped cream. Gently fold the chestnut mixture into it. You will get a cream that has a slightly brownish color, but is mostly white. Chill until you are ready to serve.

5. Right before serving, place a meringue bowl on a each plate. Pipe or simply spoon the cream unto the bowl. Decorate with nuts or cocoa nibs and serve immediately.

Baked Creamy Tomato Gnocchi

With winter making an early appearance this year, I was craving something rich, creamy and soothing. I suddenly remembered a dish served in one of our local restaurants, which consists of gnocchi in a pink sauce, topped with mozzarella and then baked until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  This dish would be particularly great served to guests in individual serving dishes, but works well family style as well.

Because I was in a hurry, I used store-bought sugo rosa sauce for this, but I give here my usual recipe for pink sauce (which can also easily be used as regular tomato sauce by removing the cream). You can choose to use ready sauce if you want to save time.

Baked Creamy Tomato Gnocchi

Ingredients (for 3-4 portions): 

- 1/2 onion, finely diced. 

- 1-2 tsp of olive oil 

- 1 large can of crushed tomatoes (NOT tomato paste/tomato sauce/peeled tomatoes) 

- Seasoning: salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, chilli powder

- Herbs (optional): basil, oregano, parsley, fine chopped

- about 1/2 cup of light or heavy cream (or to taste) 

[You can replace all of the above with some prepared pink pasta sauce]

- 500 grams/1 lbs gnocchi - frozen or dry (you can use GF gnocchi for this).

- 1-2 handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation: 

1. Set a pot of water boiling for the gnocchi. Preheat oven to 425 F/220 C, or prepare the broiler.

2. In a separate pot or deep pan, heat the olive oil and sautee the onion until soft and golden. Add the the crushed tomatoes. Season to taste with the spices. When the tomatoes are warmed through, add the herbs (if you are using them), and then stir in the cream. Use as much or as little cream as you like to get the right color of sauce to your liking). Remove from heat. 

3. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water. Cook according to instructions until they are ready (usually the gnocchi will float). Drain. Put the gnocchi back in the pot. Slowly begin adding some of the pink sauce to the gnocchi. Add  just enough to make sure that they are fully coated + a bit extra (but you don't want the dish to be very liquid). If you have sauce left over, just store it in the fridge in a sealed container and use within a few days. 

4. Spread the saucy gnocchi into an oven safe dish (ideally, one that is broiler-safe would be best, but you can make due without it). Sprinkle shredded mozzarella (as much or as little as you want) over the top of the dish. If you are using a broiler safe dish, place the dish under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly. If you do not have a broiler or an appropriate dish, bake the dish in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly (it won't get as lovely a golden-brown shade without a broiler). 

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

These are absolutely delicious, rich and garlicky gluten free biscuits, made using Betty Crocker's GF Bisquick. You can probably make them just as easily using regular Bisquick or another biscuit mix for a non-GF version. The recipe is from here . After they are baked, the biscuits are topped with a garlic butter, that makes them moister and adds an extra garlicky oomph.

After baking, you can cool the biscuits off a bit and then freeze them. They then reheat very well.

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits 

Ingredients (for 10 large biscuits): 

- 2 cups Gluten Free Bisquick  
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, firm 
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 eggs

For topping: 
- 1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika (my addition)

Preparation: 

1. Heat oven to 425 F/ 220 C. Prepare a baking tin (if you like, you can line it with baking parchment, but make sure it is the kind that can withstand high heats). In a bowl  (or in the bowl of your food processor) combine the biscuit mix and the garlic. 

2. Using a food processor or a fork, "cut" the butter into the flour mix until you get coarse crumbs. Stir/process in the milk, cheese and eggs, until a soft dough forms.

3. Drop 10 heaping spoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

4. In a bowl combine the melted butter, the garlic and the paprika for the topping. When the biscuits are still warm, brush each biscuit with the butter. Serve warm.

Butternut Squash Ravioli (with GF option)

 Little ravioli pockets filled with a mixture of butternut squash (or pumpkin), cheeses and some onion and herbs. The filling is  vaguely based on this recipe from Epicurious. However, since I had no goat cheese and no sage, I  improvised.

GF matters: Ok, now I know the last recipe I posted was sort of similar to ravioli. However, on a recent trip to Williams-Sonoma we discovered a new gluten free flour called C4C. It's made by the people from the French Laundry restaurant. The flour is only available at Williams-Sonoma at the moment, and it costs about 20$ for a 3 lb bag, which means it's about the same price as King Arthur's GF flour, but pricier than some other brands, such as Gluten Free Pantry. However, the info on the bag promised it would be easier to work with than other flours, so we decided to give it a try.

Last night I went on their website look for recipes, and came up with a recipe for pasta dough. I haven't had much luck to date making fresh pasta from GF flour, and this seemed like a good opportunity to give it another try. I made half of the recipe quantity (using 6 yolks and 1 egg), and to my surprise I ended up with a reasonably elastic dough that was not too sticky. The dough proved a little bit finicky when I tried to run it through my mixer's trusty pasta-maker attachment, but once I realized the trick of  taking relatively small balls of dough and rolling them to a sheet about 1/2 inch thick before pushing them through the maker, the dough started to act decidedly like regular pasta dough. I managed to get it as far as the #5 setting on my maker, and I'm sure I could have kept going if I wanted to. Bottom line: the resulting ravioli were very easy to shape, and the dough was light and thin and tasted just like regular pasta dough. Now, it's possible you would get the same results using this recipe with a different flour mix, but all in all I was quite happy with this one

Butternut Squash Ravioli 

Ingredients (for about 20 ravioli): 

- Ravioli dough, prepared and rolled to a very thin sheet (You can use this regular recipe, or one half of this gluten free recipe, or you can use store-bought ravioli/wonton wrappers.

For the filling: 
- 1 butternut squash or small pumpkin, cut in half and deseeded (or some squash/pumpkin puree, or some frozen squash cubes).
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped.
- Some herbs, finely chopped (I used basil and mint, but use whatever you have, or skip)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp cream cheese or soft goat's cheese
- a few tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- a handful of grated mozzarella cheese (optional)
- Salt and pepper

Serving option (you can also use a sauce of your choice): 
- 2-4 tbsp olive oil.
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- red pepper flakes
- 2-3 tbsp grated parmesan

Preparation: 
1. Preheat oven to 425 F/ 200 C. Place the squash or pumpkin on a baking tin and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until soft. If you are using puree, skip this step and just put it in a bowl. If you are using frozen cubes, place them on a tin and roast them, but you will need less than 30 minutes to get them soft. 

2. While the squash is roasting, melt the butter in a small pan and fry the onion until soft and slightly browned. Add the herbs and fry a bit more. Set aside.

3. When the squash is cooked and slightly cooled, scoop the flesh of the squash into a bowl (or place the roasted cubes into it), and mash with a fork to make a relatively smooth puree. Add the onion mixture. Add the cheeses and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Make the ravioli: place scoops of the filling on half of the ravioli dough. Brush water or egg around the scoops (to help things stick), then top with the other half of the dough. Push the dough down around each of the scoops, so that you get dough with little round "hills" of filling. Using a large cookie-cutter or a knife, cut around the "hills" to make ravioli (make sure to leave a little bit of unfilled dough around each scoop, so the filling doesn't fall out). Carefully transfer the ravioli to a plate, making sure to tighten the edges of each one as you do.

5. Heat water in a large pot and slightly salt it. When it is boiling, carefully put the ravioli into it and cook, stirring gently, until the ravioli look cooked (the dough should be softened and turn whiter).

6. While the water is boiling, prepare the sauce (if you plan to use it): heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic softened and turns a bit golden. When the ravioli are ready, drain them and add them to the pan with the oil and garlic. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, stirring gently to coat the ravioli in the sauce.  Plate the ravioli and top with grated parmesan.

Kreplach (dumplings) GF/ Super-Easy non-GF way

Kreplach are little doughy dumplings stuffed with different fillings and usually served in a clear soup or broth. They are a traditional dish for Rosh Hashana and for the pre-fast meal on Yom Kippur.

This post contains two versions of kreplach: first, an easy trick (not really a recipe) for making regular kreplach very very quickly and with minimum hassle. Then a gluten free version, taken from here. 

For both versions I'm not including a recipe for filling, because there are various fillings you can try. My family usually uses one of those eggplant-based vegetarian  "chopped liver" spreads as the filling because it resembles the original meaty filling usually used in kreplach. You can also use sauteed mushrooms with onion. Since I'm a fan of neither mushrooms nor eggplants, I use mashed potatoes with golden fried onions as my fillings. Whichever filling you choose, you can use it for both the regular and the gluten free versions of this recipe.

One final word: Kreplach are a traditional dish, and a result it is perfectly ok if they look a bit "rustic". Don't worry about it if you don't get perfect, beautiful shapes, especially with the gluten free version. They will be just as delicious if the look a bit wonky.

Kreplach 

Above: Gluten Free version 

 Above: Regular (but easy) version

For regular kreplach: 

As I said, this is not so much a recipe as a "trick" for making them quickly and easily. Instead of working hard to prepare a dough, chill it, roll it thin and cut it... go to your local market and buy a pack of prepared and pre-cut wonton skins.

To make the kreplach, lay a wonton skin on your cook surface. Place about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling at its center. Take another skin and brush it with water place it (water side down) on the first skin and press down. To make a pretty envelope shape, fold two sides of the wrappers into the middle, sticking them down with water. If you prefer smaller, more delicate kreplach, use just one wrapper, put less filling, brush the sides with water and close it in on itself.

Boil some water in a pot, lightly salt them, then cook the kreplach in the water for just a few minutes, until they are soft and vaguely translucent.  You can prepare the kreplach in advance and freeze them.

For gluten free kreplach: 
Ingredients: 

- 150g (5 ½ oz ) Rice Flour
- plus a extra to help roll.
- 75g ( 3oz) Chickpea (garbanzo) flour
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- Pinch salt
- Kreplach filling

 Preparation: 


1. Combine the flours and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the eggs and water. Stir until a dough forms. If it is too dry, add a little bit more water. If too wet, a bit more flour. Cover and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. 


2. If after 30 minutes your dough seems relatively workable (a bit sticky, but not too much) follow this step. If it seems too sticky, go to #3. Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface and generously flour it with GF flour. place your dough on it, flour the top of it, and cover with another piece of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is quite thin (as thin as you can manage without the dough sticking completely to the paper. 


2b. Slice the dough into squares. Top each square with some filling, wet the sides with water or egg whites, and close it by folding it into a triangle, making sure to stick the edges. Repeat this for all of the dough.


3. If after 30 minutes the dough seems too sticky to roll out : generously flour the top of the dough, and also your hands. Take a little round of dough in your hand and pat it down until it is relatively thin (as thing as you can manage without it falling apart or sticking). Put a bit of filling in the center of the dough, and then using your hands close the dough over the filling. If necessary, add a bit more dough to close it over. 


4. Regardless of how you formed your kreplach, boil some water in a pot, slightly salt them, add a bit of oil to prevent sticking, and cook the kreplach for about five minutes, or until fully cooked. (If they came out relatively thick, you may need to cook a bit longer). 

Gluten Free Round Challah

It's the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) tonight, and round challah bread is a traditional holiday food. The roundness of the challah symbolizes the circular nature of time, the fact that one year ends and another begins.

Several years ago I was determined to serve a gluten free challah for Rosh Hashana. I tried five different recipes, all of which came out wrong. Some looked pretty but tasted awful, while others tasted reasonable but baked up completely flat and failed to resemble a challah at all. And then I found this recipe from Gluten Free Sox Fan. The dough it made was sufficiently workable that I could actually create a nice round shape and the resulting bread was a decent approximation of challah.
I won't lie to you - it's not as good as the real thing. The bread is denser and less fluffy than real challah bread. But, it was good enough that when I served it to a table full of non-GF people, they all ate it and asked for seconds. 

Shana Tova!

Gluten Free Round Challah 

Ingredients (for one medium sized challah): 

- 1 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1 tablespoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash (I used egg yolk, just because I had some left over from another recipe)

Preparation: 

1. Put the warm water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl and set aside until the yeast begins to rise and bubble (a few minutes).

2. In another small bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolks, oil and vinegar (the egg may take on a strange consistency. This is fine).

3. In a large mixer bowl combine the brown rice flour, white rice flour, corn starch, tapioca starch, potato starch, xanthan gum and salt. Mix for a minute or so just to combine. Add the egg mixture and the yeast mixture, and knead using your mixer's dough hook until a dough is formed. (If you don't have a mixer, you can do this using a spoon/hands).

4. Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper with GF flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and turn into a ball. Oil a bowl (I used the used mixer bowl) and put the dough in it, rolling it in the oil to coat. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rise about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

5. Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C. Line a baking tin with parchment paper. Gently take the oily dough out of the bowl and form into a rough circle. I found the dough was slightly difficult to work with, but sufficiently handable that it was possible to create a round shape, albeit not a very perfect one. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise again for about 20 minutes. 

6. Brush the challah with egg wash, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the challah looks ready and makes a slightly hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.

 

 

Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches

This amazing (and sinful) dessert appears in the most recent Food and Wine magazine.It's a delicious hazelnut cookie, topped with a crunchy mixture of nutella, white chocolate and ice cream cones, and filled with caramel ice cream. Store-bought ice cream will do fine, but of course if you really want to invest, make some of your own. In case it wasn't obvious from the description, these are very sweet, so cut them into small rectangles and be forewarned.

It looked so good that I just had to try making it, and it tasted even better than it looks, which is one reason for posting it. The other reason is that I made this entire thing gluten free.

Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches 

Ingredients (for 18 ice cream sandwiches): 

- 1 cup hazelnuts (The recipe calls for whole. I used chopped)

- 1 cup confectioner's sugar 

- 2 tbsp all purpose flour (gluten free all purpose also works) 

- 4 large egg whites

- Pinch of salt 

- 1/4 cup granulated sugar

- 4 oz (about 100 grams) white chocolate

- 1 cup nutella (I actually only had about 3/4 cup and it was fine)

- 6 ice cream "sugar cones" (gluten free cones work well), crushed

- 1 pint (a few scoops) caramel ice cream, soft enough to scoop 

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 F/180 C. If you are using whole hazelnuts, put them in a pan and roast in the oven for about 12 minutes, until the skins split. Put the nuts in a clean kitchen towel, cool, and then rub them together to remove the skins. If you are using chopped hazelnuts you can just roast them for a few minutes on a dry pan on a medium flame or in the oven. Either way, put the roasted nut in a food processor, add the confectioner's sugar and the flour, and process until the nuts are finely ground. 

2. In a large mixer bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until soft peaks form. Beat in the granulated sugar gradually, and keep beating until the whites are stiff. Gently fold in the nut mixture. Cover a baking tin with baking parchment paper and spread the batter on the parchment in a 9X2 inch (about 23X30 cm) rectangle. Bake in the still-hot oven for 20 minutes, until golden. Turn off the oven, open the oven door, and let the pastry cool in the oven with the door open for about an hour. 

3. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate in 30 second increments, stirring between each increment, until smooth. Add the nutella and the crushed ice cream cones and stir.

4. Invert the cooled pastry onto a surface, peel off the parchment, and spread evenly with the nutella filling. Cut the pastry rectangle in half, so that you have two smaller rectangles. freeze both until the filling is set (this doesn't take very long). Spread ice cream over one half of the pastry, then close the sandwich and freeze for at least 4 hours. Slice into smaller rectangles and serve. The sliced rectangles will also keep quite well in an airtight container in the freezer.

Rice-crust Tart with Tomato and Goat Cheese

First, apologies for the long delay since the last post. Things have been getting a bit busy lately, so I'll be posting a bit less, but I'm still here and cooking.

Now on to the food: Rice makes for a lovely, crispy, filling tart crust, without all the butter associated with proper pastry crust. Not to mention, it's naturally gluten free! I make all kinds of different tarts with rice, but this particular recipe is modified from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook.
The crispy rice crust is topped with freshly roasted tomatoes, garlic and goat cheese. For the version in the picture I used a bit too much rice, which made it difficult to fill and so less elegant to look at, but still delicious.

Rice-crust Tart with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Ingredients (for one 25cm/10 inch tart, serves 4-6): 

For the rice crust:

- 1 cup brown or white rice (uncooked)

- 1/2 cup (60 grams/2 oz) grated cheddar cheese or similar cheese 

- 1 egg, lightly beaten 

For the filling:

-5-6 small tomatoes or plum/roma tomatoes, cut into halves

-6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

- 1 tbsp olive oil or olive oil spray 

- fresh ground black pepper

- salt 

- fresh thyme and/or chives

- 50 grams/about 2 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled 

- 3 eggs, lightly beaten

- 1/4 cup of milk 

 Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400 F. Cook the rice in plenty of boiling water until tender (about 20 minutes for white rice, 30-40 minutes for brown). Drain and allow to cool slightly. 

2.  While the rice is cooking, place the tomato halves, cut-side up, on a baking tin. Also place the whole garlic cloves. Lightly brush/spray with olive oil and season with pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from the oven, and allow to cool somewhat. Peel the garlic.

3.  Add the cheese and egg from the crust recipe to the rice and mix well. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. 

4. Lightly grease/oil a pie or quiche tin, 25 cm/10 inch in diameter. Line the bottom and sides of the dish with the rice mixture, to create a crust. Bake the crust in the oven for 15 minutes, then take out.  

5. Reduce oven temperature to 180 C/350F. Arrange the tomato haves and garlic on the crust. Sprinkle the crumbles goat cheese over and between the tomatoes and garlic. 

6. In a bowl, combine the milk and the eggs. Finely chop the herbs and add to the mixture. Season with a bit of salt of and pepper, then pour the mixture over the tart filling. Don't worry if the egg mixture doesn't cover the tomatoes. The dish will still taste great. Bake in the oven for 45 minute to an hour, or until the egg mixture sets. 

Tofu Fajita

This is a simple recipe for a tofu fajita filling. You can eat it as is or with some rice (I made mexican rice for this version), or you can serve it with tortillas, sour cream, guacmole, salsa, cheese etc.You can also make this with seitan. In fact, in the version in the picture I used part tofu and part seitan, just because that's what I had on hand.

This is a vegetarianized version of a recipe from Jane Milton's mexican cookbook.

Tofu Fajita

Ingredients (for 4-6 portions): 

- 1 package of extra firm tofu  

- 2 limes or lemons

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 2 tsp dried oregano

- 1/2-1 tsp chili powder (depending how hot you like this)

- 1 tsp cinammon 

- 2 onions 

- 3 peppers (1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow or orange) 

- 3 tbsp vegetable oil 

- To serve tortilla, salsa, guacamole etc. (optional) 

Preparation: 

1. Slice the tofu into small strips. In a large bowl combine the juice from the limes/lemons, sugar, oregano, chili powder and cinnamon. Add the tofu into the bowl and mix well. Marinate for 20-30 minutes. 

2. Slice the onion and the peppers into strips. 

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the tofu and stir fry until the tofu is beginning to brown. Add the peppers and onions and stir for another 3-4 minutes. The vegetables should be fairly soft. 

4.Serve with rice, or on tortillas with toppings.

Veggie Burger - Soy and Peanut

In the realm of veggie burgers, I don't usually look for ones that try to replicate the flavor of meat, but rather ones that are tasty in and of themselves. I find the burger-eating experience is satisfied by the whole "patty in a bun with condiments" situation, without needing a meaty taste. As a result, I usually prefer bean or lentil based burgers to soy ones.

However, when I decided to make a veggie-burger this weekend, I really wanted to try something a little different, so I decided to go with a recipe for a veggie burger made from TVP (tiny soy chunks) and peanuts. Peanuts?!? Yes. Peanuts. I myself wasn't sure whether this burger would end up having a vaguely Asian flavor due to the peanuts and soy sauce, but to my surprise it didn't really have a peanut flavor. Rather, the peanuts just gave it a really pleasant richness. This was definitely one of the better veggie burgers I've had.

A note for the gluten free: The only thing in this recipe that is not easily replaceable with a gluten free version are the oats. There are gluten-free oats available on the market, which are free of the risk of cross-contamination. However, some celiac patients still react poorly to oats, because oats contain a protein that is similar to gluten. If you have celiac, you've probably already made a decision about gluten free oats, so it's your choice here. I'm labeling oat-containing recipes separately from regular GF recipes.

The credit for the recipe once again goes to Al-Haschulchan's veggie cookbook. 

Soy and Peanut Veggie Burger

 

Ingredients (for 10 burgers): 
 - 1 cup TVP (the shredded, very small kind)
- 1/2 cup peanuts, roasted and very finely chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsps soy sauce
- 3 tbsp ketchup or barbecue sauce
- 1/4 cup of canola oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced and fried to a dark golden-brown. (optional) 
- Salt and pepper
- Buns and condiments to serve 

Preparation: 
 1. Put the TVP chunks in very hot water for 2 minutes, then drain and squeeze the excess liquid out (you can allow them to cool a bit first).

2. Put the TVP in a large bowl and add all of the other ingredients (well, except the buns, of course). Mix together until you get a uniform mixture. Allow the mixture to rest for about 10 minutes.

3. Create patties. Cook them on a griddle or a skillet with no oil, until golden on both sides. Note that the patties are very delicate and may slightly fall apart, so be very careful when you turn them over. If you want to save some patties for later, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and freeze.

Savory Fresh Corn Pancakes

This recipe, based on the one here, makes delicious savory corn cakes. Here I served them as a main course, with fresh salsa and sour cream. However, you can also make them mini-sized and serve with various toppings as an elegant appetizer or cocktail food.

We like heat around here, so I made the batter with jalapenos and added them to the fresh salsa as well, but if you prefer a milder flavor, use green onions (as in the original recipe), or fresh herbs.

Savory Fresh Corn Pancakes 

Ingredients (for 2-4 main courses or about 16 mini cakes): 

For the cakes: 

 - kernels from 2 large ears of corn. 

- 1 medium jalapeno, chopped into large chunks

- about 4 tbsp canola oil, divided into two

- 2 large eggs, separated

- 1/4 all purpose flour (or gluten free all purpose flour, or white rice flour)

- 1/4 yellow corn meal or yellow corn flour (but not corn starch!)

- 1/2 tsp salt 

- 1/4 tsp black pepper 

For the salsa:

- 2 ripe tomatoes 

- 1 jalapeno 

- 1/4 red onion 

- lime or lemon juice

- finely chopped cilantro (optional) 

Preparation: 

1. In a blender or food processor process the corn and the jalapeno until slightly processed but still chunky (make sure the jalapeno is in small pieces throughout the corn and there are no large jalapeno bits). Place in a large bowl. 

2. Add the egg yolks and 2 tbsp of the oil into the corn and mix well. Then add the flour, corn flour, salt and pepper into the bowl and mix gently until thoroughly combined. 

3. Using an electric mixer or a whisk, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the corn mixture. The mixture will feel soft and a bit liquid. That's fine. 

4. Prepare the salsa: finely chop the tomatoes and onions and the jalapeno. If you like heat, leave the seeds and ribs of the jalapeno. If you don't, remove them, or part of them. Combine everything (including the cilantro, if using) in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and lime/lemon juice.  

5. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a skillet. Ladle a quantity of the mixture onto the hot pan (obviously measuring based on how large you want your pancakes. A large pancake would be about 1/4-1/3 cup). Fry on one side until bubbles form and you can just see browning at the bottom half of the side. Flip the pancake over and fry until it is golden-brown on the other side as well (the whole process should only take about 3 minutes). 

6. Repeat the process for the entire mixture, adding oil as necessary. Serve with the salsa and some sour cream to cut the heat. 

Sweet Potato, Red Lentil and Spinach Curry

This is a rich and filling dish, which still doesn't feel too "wintery", perhaps because of the vibrant orange colors. The lentils offer protein and the sweet potatoes are the starch, so this dish makes a complete meal by itself.

The original recipe is from Al-Haschulchan's vegetarian cookbook, but I felt the flavors needed a bit of adjusting.

Sweet Potato, Red Lentil and Spinach Curry

Ingredients (for 4 portions): 

- 1 cup red lentils
- about 4 small sweet potatoes (this adds up to about 700 grams), sliced into thin disks or small chunks.
- 1 tbsp canola oil
-  1 onion, sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 3 heaped tsp Thai red curry paste (make sure you use a vegetarian/vegan kind)
- 1 tbsp grainy mustard
- 1 can coconut milk (I used light)
- 1 large package (about 300 grams) baby spinach leaves
- handful of chopped cilantro (optional)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- juice from 1 lemon
 - salt and chili powder, to taste

Preparation: 

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the red lentils and a little bit of salt, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the lentils soften but still keep their shape. Drain.

2. Cook the sweet potato slices in water for 20 minutes or bake in an oven at 180 C/350F until softened.

3. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan. Stir fry the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion is golden.

4. Add the curry paste and mustard and stir until the curry begins to soften, then add the lentils, sweet potatoes and the coconut milk. Stir until the curry powder is fully melted into the sauce and it all looks like cohesive dish.

5. Correct seasoning: taste the dish and see whether it is to your liking. I found it helpful to add the brown sugar and a few good squeezes of lemon juice, as well as quite a bit of salt and chili powder. However, you may prefer the dish less seasoned.

6. Add the spinach and cilantro and continue heating until the spinach wilts into the dish, stirring. Serve warm.

Spinach and Spaghetti

I grew up with this recipe, which was known in our house simply as "spinach and spaghetti". More accurately it is a casserole of pasta, spinach, cheese and tomato sauce, that are baked together to perfection.


Like other recipes, this is pretty modular: you can use whatever cheeses you like and happen to have on hand, and you can choose if you want to skip the tomato sauce.

Spinach and Spaghetti 

Ingredients (for 2-3 portions): 

- 1/2 pack (about 8 oz/250 grams) spaghetti
- 1 pack (about 10 oz/ 250 grams) frozen chopped spinach
- About 1-2 cups of soft cheese: cream cheese, cottage cheese, goat's cheese, ricotta, whatever you have on hand (you can also use more than one kind).
- A few handfuls of grated hard cheese: parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella or whatever you like. 
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper, to taste
- A few cups of tomato sauce, home-made or store-bought 

Preparation: 

1. Boil water and prepare the spaghetti according to instructions. Drain and wash with cold water to prevent from sticking. Preheat oven to 400 F/180 C.

2. Defrost the spinach and drain it of excess liquid. The easiest way to do this is to place it in a fine-mesh sieve and just press on it until the juices stop running.

3. In a medium bowl mix together the spinach, the cheeses (but reserve some shredded cheese for the top) and the egg and season with salt and pepper. The mixture should be soft, but not liquid. If it's too dry, add another egg.

4. Lightly oil an oven proof casserole dish. On the bottom, layer half of the spaghetti. Top the spaghetti with the spinach and cheese mixture. Top the spinach with the rest of the spaghetti. Cover with tomato sauce (if desired) and top with some grated cheese.

5. Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. Serve hot.

Roasted red pepper and haloumi "schnitzels"

Schnitzels (usually made from chicken) are basically a national food in Israel. Vegetarian versions are usually made from soy or tofu, but this veggie version is quite delicious (if a little luxurious).

This doesn't really have an organized recipe with quantities, so I'll just give instructions. 

Roasted Pepper and Haloumi "Schnizels" 

Take 1-2 bell peppers per diner. Cut around the stem in order to remove the stem and most of the seeds without destroying the shape of the pepper.  Place the peppers on a baking tin and bake in a hot oven (400 F/180-190 C) for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers are beginning to blacken and look ready to peel.  Remove the peppers from the oven, wrap in a plastic bag or in foil and allow them to cool. When they are cool, peel each pepper, trying to keep the peppers themselves intact.

Take a block of halloumi cheese (you can also use a different kind of melty cheese) and slice it into thin slices (about 1 cm/ half an inch thick), that are just long enough to fit in the peppers. Fill each pepper with one slice of cheese. 

In a shallow wide bowl crack 1-2 eggs and whisk them with a bit of salt and pepper. Pile a large pile of breadcrumbs (I used seasoned ones) on a plate. Dip each filled pepper in the egg and then coat in the bread crumbs. 

Heat oil for deep frying in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, place the "schnitzels" (in batches, if you are making a large quantity) in the oil, and fry for about 2 minutes on each side. Monitor how quickly they are browning. You don't want the breadcrumbs to burn, so if they begin to brown very quickly, lower the heat a little. 

Fry all the schnitzels and serve hot. 

Yogurt and Pasta Salad

This cool tangy dish is ideal for crazy heat-wave days like the one we are having today.
It is filling but at the same time light and cool.

It is from the Israeli vegetarian cookbook I mentioned at an earlier post.
The original recipe flavors the salad with a little bit of sumac, a nice lemony spice. I didn't have any on hand, so I used another middle-eastern spice, Za'atar. But if you have neither, just skip them.

Yogurt and Pasta Salad

Ingredients (for 4-6 portions): 

- 1 package (1 lb/500 gram)  short pasta

- 400 grams (2 small containers, about 2 cups) plain yogurt

- Juice from 1/2-1 lemon 

-  2-3 scallions (green onions) finely chopped

- Zest from 1/2 lemon 

- Handful of fresh basil, chopped 

- Salt and pepper to taste 

- Pinch of sumac or zaatar, to taste (optional) 

Preparation: 

1. Make pasta according to instructions on the package. Drain and wash under cold water until the pasta is cool. 

2. Meanwhile in a bowl combine the yogurt, lemon juice, scallions and lemon zest. Season with about 1/2 tsp of salt.  

3. When the pasta is ready and cool, toss the pasta in the yogurt dressing. Check seasoning and season with black pepper and additional salt as needed. Plate the pasta and top with basil and sumac or zaatar. 

Baked Ricotta Dumplings on French Lentils

This is another one from The Flexitarian Table and it came out really really well. The dumplings were savory and filling, and the lentils added a great hearty flavor to the dish.

You can make the lentils and the dumpling mixture in advance (keeping them in the fridge) and then just bake them together, so it can actually really well for guests etc.

The original recipe adds carrots and celery to the mixture and I've left it in the version I'm typing up here, but I actually left them out when I made the recipe. It's up to you. I also left out the nutmeg, because I find it has quite a dominant flavor and I don't always like it. Again, I leave it to your discretion.

Note that the lentils need to be soaked for at least 2 hours before cooking in this recipe, so take that into account! 

Baked Ricotta Dumplings on French Lentils

Ingredients (for 2-3 servings): 

- A few tablespoons of olive oil 

- 1 medium onion, finely diced 

- 1/2 large celery stalk, finely chopped

-  1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

- 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

 - 1 tsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

- 1 cup of lentils (This recipe would work best on small french lentils. I used Roland's green lentils, but it would also work well with black lentils. Regular green lentils will also work, but I wouldn't try it with red).

- 3 sprigs of thyme

- 1 bay leaf

- a few leaves of fresh sage (optional) 

- about 2 cups of water

- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

- 1 tsp salt 

- Black pepper to taste

For the dumplings: 

- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (made by processing 2-3 slices of bread in a food processor) 

- 2/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

- 1 large egg

- 1 large egg yolk 

- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

- Freshly grated nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp salt

- black pepper to taste

- 2 tbsp olive oil 

- chopped bell pepper as garnish (optional) 

Preparation: 

1. Soak the lentils for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened. Add the celery, carrots, garlic and ginger, and stir for another 2 minutes. 

3. Stir in the lentils, thyme, sage, bay leaves and water . Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. As you cook, check the dish occasionally to make sure there is enough water. At the end you want the lentils to have just a little bit of extra water, but not a lot. When the lentils are cooked, discard the bay leaves and thyme. 

4. Season the lentils with lemon juice, salt and some black pepper. Check seasoning and adjust as necessary. Put the lentils in a small oven safe dish (1.5 quart).Preheat oven to 375F/180 C. 

5. Make the dumplings: in a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, ricotta, egg, egg yolk and parmesan. Mixwell. Season with nutmeg, salt and black pepper, to taste. Carefully form the ricotta mixture into six large dumplings (this may actually be easier if you let the mixture rest in the fridge for a bit). 

6. Place the dumplings in the baking dish with the lentils. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Bake until the dumplings are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serve warm. If you want, put some chopped bell pepper over the top after cooking, for garnish.

Gluten free Chocolate Cupcakes with Pecan-Coconut Filling

At someone's recommendation I recently got Elana Amsterdam's Gluten Free Cupcake Book.
Initially, the recipes looked really exciting and interesting, but then I realized that every single recipe in the book uses agave nectar instead of sugar, and it doesn't even offer a substitution for sugar.
Now, I don't really see much reason to use agave nectar, especially in something you only eat once in a long time like cupcakes (and especially since agave is somewhat controversial health-wise), so I decided to try and convert the recipes back to sugar, and I experimented with this recipe, which came out pretty great.

The cupcakes themselves came out a little bit on the dry side, but once they were filled and frosted they were moist and delicious. They were particularly lovely after they had spent the night in the fridge.

GF Chocolate Cupcakes with Pecan-Coconut Filling 

Ingredients (for 9 cupcakes): 

For the Batter:

- 1/4 cup coconut flour 

- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 4 large eggs

- 1/2 cup sugar syrup made by heating together 1 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of water, and juice from 1/2 lemon in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is melted (but not browned). 

- 1/4 cup canola oil 

For the Ganache: 

- 3/4 cup heavy cream

- 1 and 1/3 cup (8 oz) bittersweet chocolate, chopped.

- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

- a pinch of salt 

For Pecan-Coconut Frosting: 

- 2 egg yolks 

- 1 cup coconut milk

- 1/2 cup sugar syrup (see above) 

- 1/4 cup coconut oil

- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut 

- 1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped 

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 350f/175 C. Line a cupcake/muffin tin with 9 paper liners. 

2. In a large bowl combine the coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl whisk together the eggs, oil and sugar syrup. 

3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk vigorously until just mixed. Scoop 1/4 cup of the mixture into each of the 9 liners. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of a cupcake comes out with just a few crumbs. Let the cupcakes cool in a pan for 1 hour. 

4. Meanwhile, make the ganache: In a microwave safe bowl combine the cream and chocolate and heat for 1 minute in the microwave. Mix well to allow the chocolate to melt into the cream completely until they make a smooth chocolatey cream. If after 1 minute the chocolate isn't completely melted, heat it for another 30 seconds and melt again. When the chocolate it fully melted, add in the vanilla and salt, and refrigerate until the ganache is spreadable. 

5. Also make the frosting: in a saucepan combine the egg yolks, coconut milk, sugar syrup and coconut oil. Heat until just simmering while stirring vigorously the whole time, then continue cooking on a simmer (but not a boil!) for about 5 minutes. Using a fine sieve, sieve the mixture into a bowl, and mix in the pecans and coconut. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, and the refrigerate until it is relatively spreadable. 

6. Build the cupcakes: peel the cooled cupcakes out of their lines. Cut each cupcake in half horizontally. Spread the coconut-pecan frosting on the bottom part of each cupcake, then top with the top half of the cupcake. Spread the ganache around the sides of each cupcake, then top the cupcake with more of the coconut-pecan frosting. Refrigerate to allow the frosting to harden. 

Enjoy!

Baked "Ziti"

 We had some prepared tomato sauce in the house that we needed to use ASAP, so we decided to go with a baked ziti. Technically I didn't use ziti to make this, but rather penne (actually, GF penne). I can't honestly imagine that it makes any difference. I think you could also make it with rotini or shells if that's what you have in the house.

My husband isn't a fan of ricotta, so we I used this recipe as my basis, but made some changes based on convenience and what I had in the house. 

Oh, and if you're a fan of baked pasta but like a bit more veggies in there, I can give you a little teaser that my mom's recipe for baked pasta with spinach should make an appearance in the near future.

Baked "Ziti" 

Ingredients (for 6-8 portions): 

- 1 pound (about 500 grams) short pasta: ziti or penne is best, but other shapes can work. 

- about 3 cups of tomato sauce (I make a really simple one by taking a can of crushed tomatoes and seasoning it with salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano and garlic powder, but you can use store bought or make your favorite). 

- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 

- 1/4-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

- about 1/2 lbs (250 grams) fresh mozzarella (either a large chunk or little balls), diced. 

- Seasoning: salt, pepper, chili flakes. 

Preparation: 

- Preheat oven to 400 F/ 200 C. Prepare pasta according to instructions until just al dente, then drain and wash under cold water to cool down a little. 

- In a large bowl, mix the pasta with the tomato sauce, half of the parmesan, half of the shredded mozzarella and half of the fresh mozzarella cubes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and chili flakes. 

- Take a large baking dish (9X13 inches, 22X32 cm, more or less) and oil it with oil spray. Fill the dish with the pasta mixture. Sprinkle the mozzarella cubes over the top of the pasta, then top with the rest of the parmesan and the rest of the shredded mozzarella.

- Bake uncovered in the hot oven for about 30 minutes, until the top of the pasta is crispy and the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve piping hot. 

Asian Tofu Lettuce Salad

 A warm and flavorful tofu salad sitting on top of crisp fresh iceberg lettuce, topped with crispy rice noodles. Depending on the portion size, this can make a lovely appetizer, a snack or a complete meal.

This recipe was inspired by Chinese restaurant chain P.F Changs, which we go to because they have an extensive gluten free menu. One of our favorite dishes on their menu is the tofu (or chicken, for the meat eater) lettuce wraps. We found a recipe that looked very similar in Sheshet Asian, and decided to try using that recipe to make something similar to what we eat at the restaurant.

At the restaurant, they serve this with a side of "bowls" made from the lettuce, which you then use to wrap parts of the tofu mixture. But if the iceberg doesn't quite want to cooperate, you can just eat this as a regular salad, or you can use iceberg bits that aren't perfect bowls to use for the wraps.

Also, if you've been wanting to try tofu for the first time, this is a good recipe to use, because the strong flavors mask the blandness that tofu can sometimes have.

Asian Tofu Lettuce Salad

Ingredients (for 2-4 portions, depending if you eat it as an appetizer or full meal): 

- 1 pack extra firm tofu, cut into very very small cubes.
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon grass, very finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, very finely chopped or minced
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 small chili pepper, finely diced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or gluten free Tamari)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 scallions (green onions) finely sliced.
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- a handful of mint, finely chopped
- a handful of basil, finely chopped
- a handful of cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- Crispy rice noodles, to top (optional)

To serve: iceberg (round) lettuce leaves (ideally "bowl" shaped, but don't worry about it), washed and dried. 

Preparation: 

1. Prepare the tofu: Heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the lemon grass, garlic, ginger and chili until they start to turn golden. Add the tofu cubes (they should really be very small, almost like "ground tofu"), and keep frying while stirring for another 2-3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and the lemon and stir well. Taste to check flavoring and if necessary add more soy sauce or lemon.

2. Turn off heat, and add the scallion, the sprouts, the herbs and the sesame to the salad, and mix.

3. Arrange a few leaves of lettuce on a plate, and top each leaf with some of the salad. If desired, top with some crispy noodles.

4. You can eat this with a knife and fork, but the fun way to eat it is to lift up a lettuce leaf, wrap it around the salad, and eat them like a wrap.