Gluten free Lasagne - Thermomix

I am going to share my recipe for gluten free, egg free lasagne.  I used my Thermomix for this and this recipe is one where the Thermomix really shines.  Lasagne is no longer a time consuming, messy recipe.  I can whip one up and have it in the oven cooking within about 45 minutes, with 2 jugs to wash up and both are dishwasher safe.  Happy days!!  But, if you're not lucky enough to own a Thermomix, you can just cook the bolognese sauce and bechamel sauce in the traditional way on the stove.

Ok, first up, we need a heap of veg and herbs:

 For the Sauce:
Bunch of fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley & oregano)
Couple of mushrooms
1 Zucchini
1 carrot
1 large onion
Couple of cloves of garlic
1 Stick of celery
(You can add some chilli or capsicum too)
15g olive oil
500g beef mince (or pork or a mixture of the two)
Couple of tablespoons of tomato paste
Can of diced tomatoes
Can of Heinz Big Red Tomato Soup (optional, could substitute with passata)
Dash of red wine

Sauce Method
Roughly chop the fresh veg and throw the whole lot into the Thermomix together with the herbs and garlic

Blitz on Speed 7 for 5 seconds

Add olive oil and mince (I break the mince up a little with the spatula when I put it in).
Set at 100 degrees, speed slow, 10 minutes - leave the measuring cup off and sit the rice basket on top to avoid splattering

Go do something else for 10 mins - I brought in my washing :)

Add tinned tomatoes, canned soup (or passata), about 50mls of red wine & tomato paste
Set at 100 degrees, speed slow, 20 minutes - again, leave the measuring cup off and sit the rice basket on top.

Grease a suitable baking tray and then go do something else for 18 minutes - I made the kids' lunches for the following day :)

Transfer sauce mixture to a jug or bowl

Don't bother cleaning the Thermomix jug - just get right into making the bechamel sauce:

Bechamel Sauce
50g cornflour 
50g butter
500g milk
pinch of nutmeg
salt & pepper

Throw all the ingredients into the thermomix.

Mix it all together - 7 seconds, speed 5
Set for 90 degrees, speed 4, 8 minutes

Start layering your lasagne: I used San Remo Gluten Free Lasagne sheets and layered as follows:
Layer of sauce,
Layer of pasta sheets,
Layer of sauce
Sprinkle of grated cheese

Layer of pasta sheets
Layer of sauce  - and so on until you run out of sauce and/or sheets

By the time you have layered the lasagne, your bechamel sauce should be ready

Pour the bechamel sauce in an even layer over the top of your lasagne

Sprinkle some more cheese over the top

Pop the whole thing into the oven and bake for 45 minutes at about 190 degrees.  I usually place my lasagne dish on top of a lined biscuit tray to catch any drips (I'm all for trying to minimise mess and therefore cleanup)

Voila: Beautiful lasagne and I tell you what, if you tried some and could tell that it was wheat free, I'd be surprised!  It's very very good!

Gluten free Apple & Mulberry Crumble: GF, Egg free, sugar free

I was reading some posts on www.wholefoodsimply.com and found this fabulous recipe for Apple Crumble  - http://www.wholefoodsimply.com/apple-crumble/

I decided it looked pretty great so decided to make it, with a few tweaks of my own.

I basically used the original recipe however:-

• I used almonds instead of walnuts because I just don't like walnuts.
• I added some rolled oats to the crumble mix (and an extra 10g of butter)
• I used a combination of granny smith, red delicious and pink lady apples. 
• I added a whole heap of mulberries to the mix
• I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the fruit mix for a little extra sweetness of the good kind.  
• I used normal dried, pitted dates as I didn't have medjool dates in the cupboard.
• I cooked the whole lot in one large dish.

I made some gorgeous custard to serve it with and I got the thumbs up from the whole family.  This was simply delicious and, aside from the butter in the crumble (which can be substituted with coconut oil), this was a very healthy and naturally sweet dessert (well, it was until I added the custard). lol

Thanks wholefoodsimply!

Meatloaf with Barbeque Sauce : Gluten free, Egg free, Dairy free, sugar free

Early last year, during a visit to my in law's farm, my mother-in-law made us a gorgeous meatloaf with barbeque sauce.  It was delicious.  It was an old family recipe that was a favourite amongst the kids when my husband was growing up.  My mother-in-law let me take a photo of the recipe, stains and all.

I wanted to recreate this old recipe. It needed to be wheat and egg free and, preferably a little healthier.  The original recipe called for such things as sausage mince, instant coffee and brown sugar. Furthermore, my mother in law is now eating a wheat free, dairy free, sugar free diet.  Here is my adapted recipe:

For the meatloaf:

Handful of fresh parsley

Couple of sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)

2 onions

1 clove of garlic

500g good quality pork mince

500g good quality beef mince

2 teaspoons of curry powder

1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs

1 cup of water

Salt & Pepper

Firstly, finely chop the herbs, onions and garlic - I used my Thermomix (herbs and garlic - speed 7, 5 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add onions, set lid to closed position and pulse 2 or 3 times).

In a large bowl, add to the onion and herb mixture: the gluten free breadcrumbs, curry powder, seasonings, water and minces.

Using your hands, mix together all the ingredients.  Get right into it and mix it all really well.

Transfer the mixture to a lined baking tray and shape the mixture into a loaf

Pop into a 200 degree oven (390F) for 1/2 hour

Now, let's get onto the Barbeque Sauce

I used dates as the sweetener in this sauce as I wanted to avoid using sugar.  The original recipe called for brown sugar and I wanted to keep the caramel colour and add some sweetness.  I also doubled the original recipe as I wanted loads of sauce, but that's not essential - feel free to halve it.

1/2 cup dried pitted dates (you can use 1/2 cup of brown sugar if you like)

1 cup water (200g)

1 cup tomato sauce (240g)

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce (120g)

4 tablespoons vinegar (50g)

Juice of 1 lemon

Firstly, you want to grind the dates down to mush.  I used my Thermomix - speed 9 - 45 seconds.  You could use a powerful blender/bamix or whatever suits.

For traditional cooking: Put the ground dates and all other ingredients into a saucepan, bring slowly to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

For Thermomix cooking: Add remaining ingredients to the ground dates - speed slow, 100 degrees, 8 minutes.

Barbeque sauce now done.  It will be a little runny, but don't worry, it thickens up nicely later. 

Back to the meatloaf

After the meatloaf has been cooking for 1/2 an hour, remove it from the oven.

Pour the barbeque sauce over and around it.

Place back into the oven for an additional 50 minutes.  You can remove it after 25 minutes, spoon the sauce back over the meat and continue cooking.  This is more important if you halved the sauce recipe.

After 50 minutes, remove the meatloaf from the oven.

Transfer the loaf to a slicing tray

You will be left with lovely thick and sweet barbeque sauce in the baking tray, ready to be spooned over your meatloaf slices.

Slice up the meatloaf

Serve with mash (I used mashed potato, pumpkin, carrot & sweet potato) and steamed greens and spoon the barbeque sauce over the sliced meatloaf.  Delicious!

Wheat Free & Yum!

GF Pasta with Creamy Tomato Vodka Sauce

I was wanting a quick and easy recipe for dinner, so I decided to try this and it turned out fabulous!  I used my Thermomix so this recipe is for a Thermomix.

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

Handful of fresh herbs - parsley, basil, oregano & thyme

35g butter

75g vodka

2 tins of diced tomatoes

dash of cream

Salt & Pepper

GF Pasta

First things first, boil the kettle and get it on the stove ready for the pasta.  I used this gorgeous amaranth and rice penne I get from my friends at Willowvale Organics.  Get that cooking in accordance with the packet instructions.

Chop the onion, garlic & herbs - Speed 7, 5 seconds.

Scrape down the bowl, add butter and saute with measuring cap off - Varoma, speed soft - 5 minutes

Add vodka and saute with measuring cap off - Varoma, speed soft, 5 minutes

Add tomatoes and seasonings - 100 degreees, speed soft, 10 minutes

Add cream - speed 3, 10 seconds

Serve over drained pasta and sprinkle with parmesan.  Yummy!

Bliss Balls

I found this recipe in my Health Fund's newsletter (HIF).  Sounds pretty yummy.  Will have to give it a whirl!

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

So, my first ever blog and I'm proud that its one of my own recipes and not something I stole from someone else! Yay! All credits to me. Mind you, nothing flash, just soup. But awesome soup. Just ask my friend Liz!

So, here goes.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

First, I checked the fridge for my veggie supplies. I pulled out 

1 carrot

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

A huge zucchini

1 head of cauliflower

2 large potatoes

2 big mushrooms

Couple of sticks of celery

I like to use as many veg as possible but the soup should be a creamy white colour, so not too much green and not too much orange. I would have thrown a leek into the mix, had I had one here.

So, I washed the veg and roughly chopped and threw the whole lot into my big stock pot with a large chunk of butter. Real butter. Maybe 50g.

Turned the heat up high and browned the veg - I cooked until the veg were just starting to turn soft. Maybe 10 mins - stirring regularly, getting it all moving around in the pot. Then I threw in about 200ml white wine - nothing fancy. I just used a clearskin Chardonnay. Kept the heat up high and let that reduce - get the flavour but burn off the alcohol. I also added some salt & pepper, but only a pinch of salt cause I'm using stock cubes in this one.

Add 1.5 litres of chicken stock. I cheated and used stock cubes (I use Massel brand cause they're gluten free and MSG free, and vegan, for those who prefer a vegan stock). So, I used 1.5 litres of water and 3 stock cubes. You could easily use homemade stock or vegetable stock but, personally, I like chicken stock in this soup as it adds a depth of flavour. I just didn't have time today to make my own stock.

I let the veggies simmer on low heat in the stock for ages. I just left mine in the stove (with a lid on) simmering while I went about doing homework with my son, bringing in washing blah blah blah. Probably simmered for a hour or more but it only really needs to simmer until the veg are all soft. 

Next: pull out the bamix and blend the lot until smooth.  

After it was all smooth I added a handful of grated Parmesan cheese and about 200ml thickened cream (both optional) and stirred it through. Voila

Cream of Cauliflower soup. Deliciously thick and creamy and just a little decadent. Perfect for a winter's night served with some crusty breadrolls and a sprinkle of parsley (both of which I forgot to get tonight). 

I did however serve the soup over pasta for my littlies: they think its pasta carbonara (wink wink). 

No pasta for the adults though. It's just perfect as is!