Category: Gluten-Free

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Over the years I’ve seen so many Pinterest pins for spaghetti squash and have wanted to try it for so long. They are so called as their cooked flesh shreds into spaghetti-like strands and so are often used as an alternative to pasta. I’ve never seen one for sale in the UK so decided I would buy some seeds and grow my own (or in this case ask my mum to grow them at her allotment as I didn’t have enough garden space this year!).

So, the day has come for me to finally cook and eat one! I decided to go for a low carb mac and cheese (where the squash would replace the macaroni). These instructions will tell you how to roast one to achieve perfect stands of spaghetti squash.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 200c and put a small amount of water (50ml or so) in the base of a large lipped baking tray.

Step 2: Carefully cut the squash in half length ways and use a spoon to scrape out the seedy middle until you have a clean hollow.

Step 3: Place each half in the tray, flesh side up. Season with a little salt and pepper and then transfer to the oven.

Step 4: Cook for 50 minutes and then remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before you use a spoon to shred the flesh from the skins.

Serve with the accompaniment of your choice, such as a cheese sauce. One spaghetti squash will serve 2-4 people.

Spiced Potatoes

Serves 2

Having a busy day planned doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a home-cooked flavourful meal come the evening. Before heading out for the day I set some chicken legs marinating in a mixture of plain (Greek) yogurt and tandoori spices along with a dash of vinegar. I knew that I could transfer these to the oven in the evening (180c for about 45-60 minutes) and I could make accompaniments whilst they were cooking.

I decided a spiced potato dish would make a suitable pairing and I could freshen everything up with some minted yogurt and a crunchy mango salad, both of which could be made whilst the potatoes were cooking (see notes at the end for details).

• Ingredients:
• 1 heaped tsp coconut oil
• 300g white potatoes, cut into 1cm cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 2 small pieces of cassia bark
• 2 cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1/2 tsp crushed chilli flakes (optional, leave out if you don’t want the heat)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (whole or ground)
• 1 tsp coriander seeds (whole or ground)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
• Large pinch each of salt and pepper
• 

Step 1: Heat the oil in a (preferably non-stick) frying pan, over a medium heat. Add the potatoes and stir for a minute or two.

Step 2: Cover with a lid and lower the heat, allowing the potatoes to gently soften in the natural steam. If needed add a dash of water from time to time to create a little steam. Cook for about 15 minutes.

Step 3: Add the garlic and spices, along with the salt and pepper and continue to cook for a few minutes (lid on). Serve when the potatoes are tender, the garlic is softened and the spices have warmed.

If you want to recreate this meal but don’t have a tandoori spice mix, just using some garam masala mixed with the yogurt will suffice. To make the crunchy mango salad I diced up half a ripe mango, finely sliced half a head of little gem lettuce and a handful of finely sliced red cabbage and tossed it all in the juice of a lime. The minted yogurt is simply Greek yogurt with fresh mint chopped up and stirred through.

Broccoli Pasta with Lemon and Chilli

Serves 4

This is a 15 minute meal which is bursting with fresh flavours. A word of warning on the chilli though, do make sure you put in the right amount for your (and your guests’) tastes. I used 2 teaspoons which, whilst fine for me, was too hot for some of the other eaters. Oops.

I used orecchiette as the shape is perfect for this sauce and it is so pretty, but use one of your choice, spaghetti or linguine would both work well and are easy to get your hands on.

If you are making this as a vegan or dairy-free meal then omit the parmesan and if you are making this gluten-free then use a suitable pasta.

• Ingredients:
• 300g pasta
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 1-2 tsp chilli flakes

• 250g tenderstem broccoli, roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces

• 1 lemon (zest and juice)
• 50g Parmesan, grated

Step 1: Start by cooking the pasta according to the packet instructions.

Step 2: Heat the oil in a frying pan over a low heat and gently soften the garlic slices, ensuring they do not colour.

Step 3: Add the zest of the lemon along with the chilli flakes (remember to do this to taste).

Step 4: Two minutes before the pasta is ready, add the broccoli to the pasta water.

Step 5: Drain the pasta and broccoli (reserving a little of the cooking water) and add to the frying pan, along with half of the parmesan and the lemon juice. Add a little of the reserved cooking water and stir or toss together to create a light silky sauce that coats the pasta.

Serve with a green salad and the remaining parmesan to sprinkle on top.

Spicy Apple Chutney

Makes approximately 1 litre of chutney

With all the cooking apples available at the moment this chutney is the perfect recipe to use up your windfalls. It requires no skill and yet you create the most wonderfully spicy chutney.

This has a good kick from the homemade spice mix but you can always adjust this to taste. You do not have to use the combination of chillies I have suggested; by all means just use chilli flakes if you can’t get your hands on dried ancho chillies, for instance.

I used a spice grinder to blitz them all to a fine powder, but with a bit of hard work you could use a pestle and mortar.

• Ingredients:
• 400g caster sugar
• 400ml cider vinegar
• 2 white onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• Roughly 1kg apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
• 2 handfuls raisins or sultanas
• 1 inch ginger, peeled and finely chopped

• Spice mix:
• 1/2 dried ancho chilli, roughly torn
• 3 small pieces of cassia bark/cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp all spice

Step 1: Use a spice grinder to blitz all of the spice mix ingredients together into a smooth powder.

Step 2: Combine all ingredients (including the spice mix) in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Step 3: Bring to the boil, and then simmer, uncovered for about an hour and a half To two hours, until the mix stays separated for a coupled seconds when a spoon is dragged through it.

Step 4: Transfer into sterilised jars and keep in the fridge.

This chutney is wonderful with cheese or cold meats. Store in the fridge, especially once opened.

Sweet Pepper Sauce

Serves 4-6

Often in supermarkets you’ll find bumper bags of peppers, which are smaller or misshapen and so are sold in bulk at a much cheaper price. Usually there will be a plethora of green peppers in these bags, but the other day I found ones that were full of red and yellow peppers. I knew exactly what I was going to do with them; make a versatile sweet pepper sauce that would be the perfect accompaniment to pasta, or lamb, or a firm white fish.

Here is the recipe; it can be scaled up or down as necessary and it can be portioned up and frozen. We had it stirred through pasta and adorned with pieces of soft goats cheese and fresh basil. It was really delicious. I’m looking forward to the next time I find such a bag, as I’ll definitely be making this again!

• Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
• Approx. 700g peppers, halved, deseeded, cut into thin strips
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 3 tomatoes, cut into small dice
• 1 tin of tomatoes, chopped
• A pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Step 1: Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook gently for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2: Next add the peppers and continue to cook and stir for 20 minutes.

Step 3: Stir through the garlic, herbs and spices and cook for a further five minutes.

Step 4: Add both types of tomatoes, along with the vinegar, sugar and seasoning and cook for 10 more minutes.