Dairy-Free – Page 4 – The Food Wife

Vietnamese-inspired Chicken Wings

30th January 2025
by thefoodwife

Serves 2-4

Salty, hot and sweet and bursting with fragrant flavours, these Vietnamese-inspired chicken wings are perfect served with steamed rice and your vegetable or salad of choice.

Ingredients:

600g chicken wings

4 tbsp fish sauce

2-3 tbsp sugar

1 inch ginger, grated

1 tsp chilli flakes or 1 chilli, finely chopped

1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic, minced

2 lime leaves, finely chopped (or zest of 1 lime)

2-3 lemongrass stalks, topped and tailed, course outer leaves removed, and finely chopped

Juice of one lime

Step 1: Carefully cut the chicken wings in half through their joint. Mix all ingredients, except the lime juice in a bag or bowl, and add the chicken wings. Leave to marinate for a few hours or overnight.

Step 2: Preheat an oven to 180c (fan) and prepare a baking sheet by spreading the wings carefully (they shouldnâ€™t overlap) and reserve the marinade in the bowl/bag for later. Remember the marinade has had raw chicken in it and must be cooked before eating.

Step 3: Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven. At this stage you can chill the wings until later before reheating in a wok. When you are ready, heat a wok. Add the reserved marinade, the lime juice, along with the cooked wings. Cook until the wings are hot and the marinade has reduced down to create a glaze on the wings.

Serve immediately.

Spooky â€œMummyâ€ Sausage Rolls

12th January 2025
by thefoodwife

Makes 12

A fun twist on sausage rolls for the Halloween season! Using chipolatas and shop-bought ready-rolled puff pastry makes these a super easy activity to make with the kids.

Ingredients:

12 chipolatas

1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry

American Mustard

1 egg, beaten

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 180c (fan) and line a baking tray with grease-proof paper.

Step 2: Un-roll the puff pastry and brush with a thin layer of the American mustard. Then using a sharp knife cut 24 strips roughly 5mm wide (you will probably have a little bit of pastry leftâ€¦cheese straws anyone??).

Step 3: For each chipolata you will need two strips. Press one end of each strip together to create one continuous strip of pastry. Begin winding it (mustard side in contact with the sausage) around the chipolata. Place them on the lined baking tray. Repeat until all sausages are wrapped.

Step 4: Brush the tops with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden.

Allow to cool slightly (or completely) before serving. You can also use some more mustard to dot on some little eyes onto one end of the sausage before serving!

Savoury Leek and Squash Crumble

12th January 202526th January 2025
by thefoodwife

Serves 2

These little pots of a savoury crumble are great as the centre part of a vegetarian (or vegan) meal. I made these gluten free too so theyâ€™re good for a variety of dietary requirements.

You can serve these in individual 250ml ramekins or in a baking dish to share.

Ingredients:

Oil

1 leek, trimmed, washed and sliced

1/2 a squash, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

200ml cream (dairy or non-dairy. I used oat single-style cream)

50g cheese, grated (I used a goat cheddar) (optional) if making this vegan you could replace this with a spoonful of nutritional yeast to taste

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and Pepper

2 tbsp Breadcrumbs (gluten-free if required)

1 tbsp roasted, chopped hazelnuts

25g grated cheese (optional)

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (or 1 tsp dried parsley)

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 180c (fan). Prepare a baking tray. Toss the squash, garlic and a little oil together and spread on the baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes. Check the pieces are soft and cook for a few more minutes if needed. Remove from the oven.

Step 2: In the meantime, heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add a little oil and the leeks. Sweat down until soft. Add the cream, the Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste and the cheese of using. Reduce the heat and stir occasionally.

Step 3: Add the cooked squash and taste to check the seasoning. Transfer into the serving dishes.

Step 4: Mix together the breadcrumbs, nuts, parsley and cheese (if using). Sprinkle over the crumble filling and put in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes and serve, with vegetables and potatoes of your liking.

Soft Sugar Thumb Cookies with a Jam Filling

9th October 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 20 cookies

Easily made dairy-free, these cookies are soft, sweet and jammy! Perfect!

You want a chilled, firm dough so start making these a few hours before you need them so the dough can chill in the fridge until ready to bake. Even better, make the dough the day before for a quick bake!

We made a batch of these and they made the perfect afterschool snack for the rest of the week.

Ingredients:

170g unsalted butter (dairy-free if required)

150g granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

280g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Jam (smooth/seedless)

Step 1: Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Next add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again until combined.

Step 2: Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat again until you have a smooth dough. This should not take long but you may need to scrape down the sides of the bow to incorporate everything.

Step 3: Take a large sheet of grease-proof paper and tip the dough out into the centre. Roll the dough into a thick sausage shape, about 20cm long and twist the ends tight. Store in the fridge to chill until firm.

Step 4: When ready to bake, prepare a large baking sheet with grease-proof paper and preheat the oven to 180c fan.

Step 5: Cut the chilled log into 20 pieces, and roll each into a ball, slightly smaller than a ping pong ball. Next place each onto the prepared baking sheets about 5cm apart. Use your thumb to press down into the centre of each ball. This will create a hollow (make sure itâ€™s central with a raised edge all around to avoid jam leakage!)

Step 6: Fill each indent with half a teaspoon of jam (I love using seedless raspberry jam). Bake for 12 minutes.

Step 7: Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Store in an airtight container.

Fruit and Coconut Flapjacks

9th October 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes 16 small pieces or 8 regular sized

I decided to do some baking ready for the afterschool demand for snacks. These turned out excellently. Just the right amount of chew, that hint of spice that youâ€™d notice if it wasnâ€™t there but canâ€™t quite put your finger on and then sticky sweetness from the dried fruit. The coconut adds an extra yum. I did a half and half mix of vegan butter and coconut oil, to complement the desiccated coconut.

Great for hungry kids (and adults!)

Ingredients:

165g butter/vegan butter/coconut oil (or combination of the following to make up 165g)

125g granulated sugar

60g golden syrup

Pinch of salt (leave out if butter is salted)

75g (mixed if you like) dried fruit

250g porridge oats (gluten-free if required)

50g unsweetened desiccated coconut

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

Step 1: Line an 8×8 inch tin with baking parchment. Preheat your oven to 180c (fan).

Step 2: Measure the fat, sugar, syrup and salt into a small saucepan. Place on a medium-low heat and stir occasionally until the butter has melted and everything is combined when stirred. Add the dried fruit and cook on low for a few minutes until they have plumped up a little.

Step 3: Measure the oats, coconut and spices into a large bowl and carefully add the molten mixture (avoid getting this on your skin as it will burn). Stir everything together.

Step 4: Pour into your lined tin, use the back of the spoon to delicately spread the mix into all the corners and level out the mix. Donâ€™t press too hard.

Step 5: Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool completely before cutting with a sharp knife into pieces.

Store in an airtight container.

Vietnamese-inspired Chicken Wings

Spooky â€œMummyâ€ Sausage Rolls

Savoury Leek and Squash Crumble

Soft Sugar Thumb Cookies with a Jam Filling

Fruit and Coconut Flapjacks

Spooky â€œMummyâ€ Sausage Rolls