GF-Zing! logo

Baking

White Hakurei Turnip Gratin

0 · · 6 Comments

The first turnips of the spring have arrived, courtesy of a local CSA.  We have learned to love the strong umami of white hakurei turnip prepared with cream and seasonings.  In many recently issued cookbooks there is a complete dearth of recipes for turnip, but if you turn to the older books, notably the 1961 New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, or the stellar 1979  From Market to Kitchen Cookbook by Perla Meyers, you will find many recipes for this neglected vegetable.  The well-cooked turnip will take you on a time-travel journey back to the days when real vegetables, packed with flavor, made people grateful for every meal.

An excellent recipe for a gratin of white turnip appeared in Gourmet magazine 2007 but that recipe called for a whole cup of heavy cream and a matching cup of grated parmesan.  It was hard on the arteries and on the wallet, and required both top of the stove and oven baking. So, Gf-Zing! has modified it slightly for recession and health reasons.  Serve the turnips with a small steak, and a salad.  You will want to obtain more fresh spring turnips, once you try them this way.

Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a non-stick 12 inch skillet (make sure you have a top to fit the pan.)

Wash one bunch of white hakurei turnips well, top and tail them, and slice them in 1/4 inch slices.  Save the turnip greens for another recipe. You don’t need to peel the turnips.  Layer the slices in the pan.  Sprinkle the sliced turnips with 1 teaspoon dry thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper, and 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Cook for 3 minutes over medium heat, then pour 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup gluten-free chicken stock over the top.  Cover and cook the turnips over medium heat for 20 minutes.  The turnips will be completely cooked through, but there will be considerable liquid left in the pan.  Remove the cover and cook to reduce the liquid.  When most of the liquid has reduced (about 5-10 minutes), and the sauce is thickened, grate finely 1/2 cup of fresh parmesan cheese evenly over the top.  Watch closely as the cheese melts and make sure that the liquid does not entirely cook away. Recipe credit: www.gfzing.com

Serve the turnips hot.  The recipe is supposed to serve 6, but maybe realistically it would only serve 4, once they discover that they love turnips!

If you should happen to have a cup or so of the finished dish left over, by all means add it to a lentil dish like Mujaddara.

Make sure all your ingredients, including the spices, are gluten-free.

Salad for two, with fried eggs

0 · · Leave a Comment

We are all excited that the first food share has arrived from a local CSA – a local community agriculture program.  The first share of the year included beautiful red lettuce, spinach, radishes, white turnips, and bok choy.

For this salad, we chose to use what was in the cupboard to approximate a recipe from the Hamersley’s cookbook – Bistro Cooking at Home.  This is a great spring meal after a hard day’s work.  It makes you realize how a few simple things are all that are needed for a truly fine meal!

Make a whole red lettuce ready for a salad dressing (clean and tear the salad).  Fry a couple of slices of gluten-free bacon until crispy, then drain the fat and reserve the bacon and a tablespoon of the melted fat. Toast up some regular wheat bread for the wheatavores, and a couple of slices of Glutino bread for the celiacs.  Set out some butter, the bacon pieces, and a couple of glasses of Riserva Ducale Chianti, 2005.

Next, make the dressing:

Mix: 1 teaspoon gluten-free Dijon mustard

1/2 a medium shallot, chopped fine

1/2 a clove of garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

salt

fresh pepper

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 a Tablespoon sherry wine vinegar (that’s 1 1/2 teaspoons)

1 Tablespoon reserved bacon fat

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Dress the lettuce, then fry 4 eggs, over easy, in the remaining bacon fat.  Season them with salt and pepper.  Serve the dressed salad with fried eggs, bacon pieces, toast and butter on the side, and a glass of chianti!

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten-free!

Dal

0 · · 1 Comment

We love dal – it is an Indian lentil dish which is very useful for gluten-free households containing vegetarians!

This is an easy and delicious dal with homemade spice mixtures, so you can use known gluten-free spices from companies that guarantee the gluten-free status of their products.

In a large casserole that can go in the oven (we don’t like the term “flame-proof” and refuse to use it), put all of these ingredients:

3 Tablespoons ghee (a clarified browned butter, or use unsalted butter)

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1 teaspoon ground turmeric (this spice stains clothes – be careful!)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg (optional)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or one dried cayenne pepper)

1/2 teaspoon garam masala (make your own, using a recipe by Madhur Jaffrey or Julie Sahni)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh grated orange zest (orange part of the orange peel)

Juice of one orange

1 onion, sliced

1 1/2 cups masoor dal (red lentils) washed (see note below)

1/2 cup moong dal (split, yellow in color and elongated in shape) washed (see note below)

4 cups hot water

2 teaspoons salt

Notes: Make sure to wash the dals carefully, removing any small stones. Put the dals in lots of water, stir around and remove the water. Repeat several times until the water runs clear. It does not really matter what proportions of red lentils and masoor dal are used. The original recipe this is based on called for 2 cups red lentils.
Ghee gives a better flavor than butter, and butter is better than other alternatives. If you use margarine or oil instead of the butter, the depth of flavor will be compromised. If you can use the ghee or butter, by all means do!

Stir everything together, cover and bake in a 300 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove the top and bake for 15 more minutes. Check to make sure it doesn’t get too dry.

Serve with basmati rice, chutney (homemade!), and yogurt.

This recipe includes the vegetarian aspects of a recipe for Capon from the cookbook called “Braise” by Daniel Boulud.

Carrot Quick Bread

0 · · Leave a Comment

This is an excellent loaf cake, mostly made of fruits and nuts, with a little gluten free flour to bind it together. It is delicious and has a great texture. We used the white rice flour that you get in asian grocery stores, and the tapioca starch made by Yoki, a brazilian brand (Harina De Mandioca).
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon orange or lime juice
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (gluten free)
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (break up the walnuts by hand or chop them)
1 cup golden raisins (golden raisins are really better than brown for this bread)
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrots
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour mix – (mix 2 cups white rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca starch and 1 teaspoon xantham gum, stir together and use 1 1/4 cups of it, store the rest) – alternatively, use Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend plus 1 teaspoon Xantham Gum.
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a pyrex measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave. Remove and let cool slightly, then stir in the eggs and orange juice.
In one bowl, mix the spices, gluten free flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, shredded coconut and chopped walnuts. Add the raisins and carrots. Stir to make sure everything is evenly mixed up.
Stir the wet ingredients from the pyrex measuring cup in to the dry mixture that contains the fruits. Stir everything until well mixed.
The finished batter will have the consistency of a muffin batter.
Spoon the batter immediately into the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top, and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool in pan for ten minutes, then turn out to cool. Slice with a bread knife.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

1 · · Leave a Comment

This is going to seem surprising, but it is possible to make an excellent gluten-free lasagna by replacing the noodles with sliced butternut squash, following a method described in Donna Hay magazine. This lasagna has no tomato ingredients. The sweet squash combines perfectly with the cheeses and fresh basil to make a gourmet main course.
Butternut squash is an elongated winter storage squash. For this recipe, you need one large butternut squash, and you peel it and slice the neck into 1/4 inch thick slices – these will be circular slices.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, and sliced in to 1/4 inch thick slices

1/2 pound large curd cottage cheese

1 pound full-fat ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese (buy the hunk of cheese and grate it yourself, to be sure there is no gluten)

5 eggs

1/2 pound spinach (if fresh, steam it briefly in the microwave, if frozen, thaw and drain)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (or a few tablespoons of frozen pesto sauce)

12 thin slices of pancetta (an Italian ham) chopped coarsely

salt, pepper

full-fat mozzarella – 1/2 pound, grated (grate it yourself)

Oven at 325. Grease a porcelain or ceramic 9 x 13″ pan. Mix the cottage cheese, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, prepared spinach, basil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir well.

Cover the bottom of the prepared pan with half of the slices of squash, sprinkle the squash with half of the chopped pancetta , then distribute half the ricotta mixture. Repeat this layering once. On the very top, sprinkle the mozzarella.

Bake for 50 minutes, until the top is golden and the dish is cooked through.

Make sure all of the ingredients are gluten free!