Gluten-free

Clootie dumpling (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ Leave a comment
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Clootie dumpling. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. I hope you are keeping well and safe, and if you are in a cooler part of the world right now, I hope it’s not too cold at the moment. It’s certainly been chilly here in central Scotland. As I type, the garden is very snow-laden and there is not much sign of it melting for the time being.

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Snowy January 2021. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I am, therefore, still feeling the need for comfort food. My recipe post this week is a traditional Scottish pudding that definitely falls into the aforementioned category. This coming Monday marks the annual celebration of Burns Night on the calendar, when the birth of Scotland’s national poet, Robert (Rabbie) Burns, is remembered. Usually a chance to meet up with friends and family and enjoy a dram of whisky or two, this year will inevitably be a much quieter affair.

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The serving of the pudding. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The recipe gets its name from the way this pudding is cooked. The fruity, oaty mixture is wrapped in a floured cloth or cloot and boiled. The perfect dumpling should have a firm texture on the outside with a soft, fruity and mildly spiced interior, so when the pudding has been boiled, it is popped in the oven to dry out for a few minutes and thus a shiny coating or skin forms on the outside.

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Clootie dumpling with custard and a wee dram on the side. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Serve the dumpling with custard and enjoy it hot with a wee nip of whisky or ginger wine to wash it down. Delicious. Here’s the recipe if you fancy giving it a go.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • 125g gluten-free self raising flour (such as Doves Farm) + extra for dusting
  • 75g vegetable suet
  • 50g oatmeal (do check that this is certified gluten-free if you are Coeliac)
  • 50g dark soft brown sugar
  • ¾ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 125g mixed dried fruit (currants, sultanas and raisins)
  • 1 tbsp treacle
  • 1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 45ml cold water (flax egg)
  • 90ml dairy-free milk (I used oat milk)

1. First prepare the cloth. You’ll need a large square of cheesecloth or muslin for this – or you could use a clean tea towel. My cloth is 42cm square. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and scald the cloth in the water for a few seconds. Drain well – I use tongs and a colander to help with this – and when cool enough to handle, wring out the excess water.

2. Lay the damp cloth flat on a tray or directly on the work surface and lightly dust all over with flour – about 25g will be sufficient. Use a sieve to keep the flour evenly sprinkled in order to achieve a smooth finish on the dumpling. Cut a length of string to tie it up, and put to one side along with the prepared cloth.

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Preparing the cloth or cloot. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

3. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the suet, oatmeal, sugar, spices and salt, and mix together. Stir in the fruit and treacle, and then bind everything together with the flax egg and milk to make a softish batter mix.

4. Spoon the mixture on to the centre of the cloth. Draw up the sides and tie together securely with the string. Don’t tie the cloth too tightly around the mixture, keep it baggy to allow the dumpling to expand during cooking.

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Preparing and assembling the dumpling. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

5. Place an upturned saucer or trivet in the bottom of a saucepan – choose a pan that neatly fits the saucer or trivet so that the dumpling doesn’t move around too much during cooking. Sit the dumpling on top and fill the pan with boiling water to come about halfway up the sides of the dumpling. Bring to the boil, then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer gently for 2 horrs. You may need to top up the water during cooking.

6. Towards the end of the cooking time, half fill a bowl with cold water, and preheat the oven to 180°C, 160°C fan oven, gas 4. When the dumpling is cooked, carefully lift it out and dip in the cold water for 10 seconds – this helps you to remove the cloth more cleanly.

7. Drain the dumpling in a colander and open out the cloth. Put a heatproof dish over the bowl and carefully flip the dumpling on to the dish. Gently peel away the cloth, keeping the outer edge intact, and bake for 15 minutes to dry off. Serve the dumpling as soon as possible after cooking, and accompany with custard. You can reheat any leftovers in the microwave, or leave to cool and then wrap and freeze.

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Cooking the dumpling. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
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Clootie dumpling close-up. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

That’s me for another week. Until my next post, enjoy Burns Night if you are celebrating. Take care and keep safe 🙂

Oat and seed squares (gluten-free; dairy-free, vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 3 Comments
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Oaty, seedy and packed full of flavour. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Welcome to my first post of 2021. I hope you are all keeping well. Like so many, I have been doing quite a lot of baking over the past few months. I find it comforting and relaxing, as well as being rewarded with something delicious to eat at the end. This week I would like to share a favourite savoury bake with you. It’s my sugar-free version of a flapjack recipe I posted a few months ago – you can find that original recipe by clicking here. This version is also packed full of seeds and oats; it is wholesome as well as incredibly tasty. Good as a snack on its own or as an accompaniment to a bowl of soup.

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Crumbly and delicious. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

In a traditional flapjack recipe, the sugar and syrup help hold the mixture together by caramelising during baking; when the mixture cools the consistency of the bake becomes firm as the sugars set. My savoury version is much crumblier underneath but has a nice crunchy top. I bound the ingredients together using nut butter (I used peanut, but any nut butter will work) and flax egg.

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Making flax egg. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The combination of seeds and oats you use is up to personal taste. I used pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds, along with jumbo oats and regular porridge oats. Other combinations including chopped nuts and oatmeal will also work. Toast seeds and nuts lightly before adding to the mixture for extra flavour.

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Oats and seeds. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

And finally, the extra flavourings. You could add vegan or dairy-based grated cheese to the recipe to achieve a tangy flavour, but I opted for cooked leek (or use spring onion or softly cooked onion or shallot) and yeast flakes which give the bake that extra “umami” flavour. If you don’t have yeast flakes, you could use some yeast extract to taste. For a sweet and savoury bake, replace the leek with grated carrot and add a handful of sultanas or raisins.

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Yeast flakes. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

On with the recipe. There’s a little bit of prep to do before you put the mixture together ready for baking, but once that’s done, it’s all very straightforward.

Makes: 16 squares

Ingredients

  • 125g mixed seeds
  • 150g dairy-free margarine
  • 75g nut butter
  • 1 large leek, trimmed and shredded
  • 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 100g jumbo oats
  • 100g porridge oats
  • 50g gluten-free plain flour
  • 5 tbsp yeast flakes
  • 1 tsp salt (if you use yeast extract, you probably won’t need to add salt)
  • Toasted seeds to sprinkle, optional

1. Heat a small frying pan until hot. Add the seeds and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until starting to toast or lightly brown. Remove from the heat, turn on to a place and leave to cool. Put 125g margarine in a saucepan with the nut butter and heat gently, stirring, until melted and smooth. Leave to cool.

2. Melt the remaining margarine in a frying pan and and gently cook the leek, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until softened but not browned. Drain and leave to cool.

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Getting organised before baking. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

3. Preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C fan oven, gas 6. Line a 21cm square cake tin with baking parchment. Mix the flax seeds with 90ml cold water and set aside to thicken for 5 minutes.

4. Put the oats, flour, salt and seeds in a bowl. Add the leek and yeast flakes and mix together. Make a well in the centre and add the melted nut butter mixture. Mix everything together then add the flax egg and stir well until thoroughly combined.

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Assembling the oat and seed mixture. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

5. Spread evenly in the prepared tin and smooth the top. Stand the tin on a baking tray and cook for about 1 hour until golden and crunchy – cover the top with foil if the mixture begins to brown too quickly. Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

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Before and after baking. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

6. When cool, transfer to a board, and cut into 16 squares using a sharp knife. Store in a cool place, in a sealed container for 4-5 days, or freeze. For extra crunch, sprinkle with toasted seeds to serve.

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Out of the tin and cut into squares. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
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Savoury oat squares with seeds and leeks. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I hope you enjoy the recipe. I’ll be back posting in a couple of weeks or so, until then, keep well and stay safe 🙂

Almond-topped, spiced mince pies (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 5 Comments
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My almond-topped mince pies. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

So here we are, almost at the end of another year, and what a year! I hope you are all well and staying safe at this time. For my final post of the year, I thought it was high time for some festive cheer, and settled on a seasonal treat that I find utterly delicious and hope you will too.

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Sugar and spice and all things nice. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I love mince pies, and if you make your own pastry, they taste even better. I use readymade mincemeat but you can put your own spin on the recipe by using your own or just a selection of minced dried fruit – soak in some booze or fruit juice so that it stays juicy during cooking. I like to add a little mixed spice or pudding spice to the mincemeat to give it a really Christmassy flavour. This year I used some homemade chai masala – recipe here – which works very well. The topping is an old favourite of mine, almond frangipane, a rich, crumbly sponge flavoured with almond extract. Delicious 🙂

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Pastry snowflake decoration. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The pastry trimmings can be used to make a finishing touch decoration for the pies if you like, and my recipe allows for extra pastry to do this. If you want to make sufficient pastry to make the cases only, reduce the recipe by one third, or for convenience, use 300g readymade shortcrust pastry (450g if you want to make the decorations on top).

The pies will keep in a sealed container for 3-4 days (if you can leave them alone!), and they freeze well too.

Makes: 12

Ingredients

For the pastry:

  • 75g white vegetable fat, softened
  • 60g dairy-free margarine, softened
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 260g gluten-free plain flour blend such as Dove’s Farm
  • 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (not essential but it does make the pastry easier to work with and slightly crisper)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling and topping:

  • 200g vegan mincemeat
  • 1 tsp chai masala or mixed spice
  • 80g dairy-free margarine, softened
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 80g ground almonds
  • 15g gluten-free plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 15g ground linseeds
  • Icing sugar to dust
  1. First make the pastry. Beat together the fats until smooth and creamy, then whisk in the sugar until well blended. Add the remaining pastry ingredients and carefully stir everything together to make a crumbly mixture.
  2. Bring the crumble together with your hands and knead gently to make a smooth, firm ball of dough. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. This pastry doesn’t firm up very much but it is easier to handle if you do refrigerate it before rolling out.
  3. Lightly dust the work surface with more flour and roll out the pastry to a thickness of 1/2 cm – any thinner and the pastry tears easily. Cut out 12 x 8cm rounds, re-rolling the dough as necessary.
  4. Lightly grease a 12-cup jam tart tin (approx. 7cm x 2cm cups), and gently press a circle of pastry into each, remoulding if it cracks. Chill for 30 minutes whilst making the filling and topping.
  5. Gather up the trimmings if you want to make the decoration, and roll out to the same thickness as the pastry cases. Use a 7cm diameter snowflake or star cutter to stamp out 12 decorations. Arrange on a lined baking tray and chill for 30 minutes.
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Making the pastry, cases and decorations. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

6. Mix the mincemeat and spice together. In another bowl, mix the margarine, sugar, almonds, flour and almond extract together until well blended. Mix the linseeds with 45ml cold water and stand for 5-10 minutes until thickened, then mix into the almond mixture.

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Making the almond topping. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

7. Preheat the oven to 190°C, 170°C fan oven, gas 5. Divide the mincemeat between the pastry cases and top with the almond mixture. Smooth the topping to seal in the mincemeat and bake for about 40 minutes until lightly golden and firm to the touch. Bake the pastry decorations for about 15 minutes and leave to cool on the baking tray.

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Assembling the pies. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

8. Leave the pies to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then carefully loosen them. Leave them for a further 10-15 minutes to firm up before removing from the tins and placing on a wire rack to cool. Just before serving, dust with icing sugar and top with a sugar dusted pastry decoration.

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Crumbly and fruit-filled with a hint of spice. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Thank you for following my blog for another year and for all your lovely comments. I send you my best wishes for a happy, healthy and safe Christmas, and I look forward to returning to my blog in the new year.

Mixed root “stovies” (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 2 Comments
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Root veg cooked Stovie-style. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello everyone. I hope you are all well and keeping safe. It has turned cold here these past few days and I have hastened towards the kitchen. I’ve been cooking cosy, warming dishes to help keep the chills away.

Until I moved to Scotland, I had never heard of the dish called Stovies. Traditionally, it is made simply with potatoes which are cooked down to a melting tenderness in water or stock with some onion, sometimes with a little meat or bacon added for flavour, and then dotted with butter. The name derives from the French étouffée which means to stew in a closed pot. It is the perfect dish to serve if you’re out of doors, sitting around a bonfire; it is guaranteed to warm you up.

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Potatoes, turnip, onions and carrots for Stovies. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I like to use a selection of root vegetables. My stovie-selection consists of onion to flavour, then carrots, yellow turnip (Swede) and potatoes, but parsnip, white turnip, sweet potatoes and celeriac will also work well as part of the mix. The secret to success is to make sure everything is cooked thoroughly so that means cooking denser roots like carrot and turnip first before adding the potatoes. Also, use a potato that will cook very soft – a variety with a floury cooked texture works best or one suited for mashing.

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Freshly cooked Stovies. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

For extra flavour, I like to add a bundle of herbs tied up in some muslin. Using the muslin bag means that the coarser leaves don’t spoil the overall soft texture of the vegetables. Chopped chilli, garlic and curry spices can also be added if you fancy turning up the heat or adding more intense flavours.

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Fresh herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary and bay) tied in muslin. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

With one eye on waste, I am including a quick recipe using the potato and carrot peelings. Just make sure you wash the vegetables well before you start preparing the veg. The peelings make a lovely sprinkle to eat with the cooked vegetables, as does crispy kale – my recipe here.

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Preparing the veg and keeping the peelings. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 onions, peeled and sliced
  • 500g yellow turnip (swede), peeled and diced
  • 300g carrots, peeled (peelings reserved) and diced
  • A few herbs tied in muslin (I used bay, rosemary, thyme and sage)
  • 450g main crop potatoes such as Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled (peelings reserved) and diced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 300ml vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • Chopped parsley to sprinkle

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large lidded saucepan or flame-proof casserole until hot. Add the onions, turnip and carrot, and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes to coat in the oil.

2. Add the herbs, reduce the heat to low, cover and gently cook the vegetables in their own steam for 30 minutes.

3. Stir in the potatoes, season well and pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until everything is well cooked and tender. Discard the herb bag.

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Cooking the veg. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

4. While the roots are cooking, preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C fan oven, gas 6. Mix the carrot and potato peelings together with the remaining oil, and spread out over a lined baking tray. Season and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain well.

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Making potato and carrot peel crisps. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Serve the stovies sprinkled with chopped parsley and accompanied with the crispy peelings and baked kale crisps. If you have any stovies leftover, use in soup or mash, or as a topping for a vegetable pie.

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Stovies, ready to eat with kale chips and crispy root veg skins . Image: Kathryn Hawkins

That’s all from me this week. Not so far away from the end of the year now. My next post will be something a little more festive, so until then, keep warm, stay safe and take care 🙂

Spiced spinach tattie scones (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 10 Comments
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Lightly spiced spinach and potato scones served with mango chutney. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you this week. With tighter restrictions entering many of our lives for the foreseeable future, I have turned to another comforting recipe this week. I am revisiting a Scottish classic, and also the most popular recipe on my blog to date, the humble tattie (or potato) scone.

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Freshly cooked and ready to serve. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

You can read my original recipe here but this time I have given the basic ingredients a spicy twist, inspired by one of my favourite Indian dishes, Saag aloo.

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Classic combination, spinach and potatoes. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I have grown a lot of potatoes this year. At the beginning of lockdown back in March, I struggled to find any seed potatoes to buy, and ended up with a variety called Nicola which has turned out to be a very tasty and very high-yielding potato. I planted mostly in pots and the old barrel below. I am storing the leftover crop in dry soil in the greenhouse for winter use.

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Freshly dug Nicola potatoes. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The recipe is very simple, with just a few ingredients. I have a couple of tips for guaranteed success: use a dry-textured potato for good results and also drain and dry off the cooked spinach as much as possible to avoid soggy scones. When you cook the scones, only brush the pan with oil so that you give them a little colour without making them crispy.

I use a garam masala spice blend for a mild, fragrant spiciness, but try using your favourite curry powder if you prefer something more defined.

Makes: 8

Ingredients

  • 425g potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • Salt
  • 5 tsp vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
  • 4 tsp garam masala
  • 300g baby spinach
  • 60g gluten-free plain flour blend
  • 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder

1. Put the potatoes in a saucepan with a pinch of salt. Cover with water, bring to the boil and cook for 7-10 minutes until completely tender. Drain well; leave to air dry, then push through a ricer to make smooth. Leave to cool.

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Boiled potatoes put through a ricer. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and spices for 2-3 minutes. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat and leave to cook gently in its own steam for about 15 minutes until very soft. Leave to cool.

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Cooking down the onion and spices. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

3. Rinse the spinach and pack into a saucepan whilst wet. Heat until steaming, then cover with a lid, reduce the heat, and cook for about 5 minutes until wilted. Drain well, pressing against the sides of the colander or strainer to remove as much excess water as possible. Leave to cool.

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Preparing the spinach. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

4. Once the spinach is cold, chop it up and then blot well with kitchen paper to remove any excess water that remains in the mix.

5. To make the dough, put the potatoes, onion and spinach in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder and some salt. Mix together to form a ball, and roll out on a lightly floured work top to a thickness of about 1cm. Use an 8-9cm round cutter to make 8 scones, re-rolling the dough as necessary. Cover and chill until required.

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Making the scone dough. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

6. When you are ready to cook, brush a frying pan lightly with oil, heat until hot then cook the scones gently for about 3 minutes on each side until lightly golden. Drain and keep warm. If you want to store them, cool them on a wire rack, then cover and chill. They will keep for about 5 days in the fridge and also freeze well.

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Cooking spiced spinach tattie scones. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

To reheat, either give them a quick blast in the microwave for a few seconds, or gently toast on a dry frying pan for a a couple of minutes on each side.

They make a delicious accompaniment to a bowl of soup just as they are, or spread with butter or margarine and topped with mango chutney 🙂

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Buttered-up and ready to eat. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

That’s all from me this week. Until next time, take care and keep safe.

Toffee apple upside-down cake (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 4 Comments
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Toffee apple upside-down cake. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. How are you? All well I hope. It feels very autumnal now, and with the world seemingly facing a lot of uncertainty again, it feels the right time to publish a heart-warming slice of comfort with this week’s post.

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First main harvest of apples. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I’ve been picking a few cooking apples here and there from the tree in the garden for about a month now. This week, I decided it was time to gather as many as I could reach. The baskets above contain about half the amount the tree has produced this year – I need to call in the cavalry to get the rest!

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Solo apple. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

To be honest, the apple variety Lord Derby isn’t the greatest tasting apple out there, but the apples cook very well and reatian their texture if you want them too, so are ideal for baking. They also require little sugar, and can be eaten raw – they are similar to a Granny Smith eating apple.

This week’s recipe is a combination of a cake batter used for sticky toffee pudding along with the delicious sauce – you can find a festive version of the classic comfort pudding by clicking here – baked in a tin lined with fruit as you would for an upside-down cake.

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Apples, cake and toffee sauce. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I hope you enjoy the cake, it really is good, and it is just as delicious served hot as a pudding or cold as a slice to go with a cup of coffee 🙂

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Apple cake and apple leaves. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Serves: 10

Ingredients

  • 225g pitted dates, chopped
  • 25g golden or corn syrup
  • 450g cooking apples
  • 1 lemon
  • 150ml sunflower oil
  • 150g soft light brown sugar
  • 300g gluten-free self raising flour blend (such as Doves Farm)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 180ml dairy-free milk (I use oat milk)

For the sauce

  • 100g golden or corn syrup
  • 40g dairy-free margarine
  • 100g soft light brown sugar
  • 100ml single dairy-free cream (such as oat or soya)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Put the dates in a saucepan with 225ml cold water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5-6 minutes until soft and thick. Remove from the heat and beat until smooth – use a stick blender to obtain a very smooth paste. Leave to cool completely. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

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Making date paste. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

2. Grease and line a 23cm round spring-clip cake tin and drizzle the syrup over the base. Put to one side.

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Apple cake tin preparation. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

3. Next prepare the apples. Core the apples and peel them thinly. Extract the juice from the lemon, cut the juiced lemon in quarters and place both in a bowl with cold water. Slice the apples thinly into rings and submerge in the water to help prevent discoloration.

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Apple preparation. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 160°C, gas 4. Mix the oil and sugar into the date paste. Stir in the flour, vanilla and milk to make a thick batter.

5. Drain and pat dry the apple slices on kitchen paper, and arrange sufficient slices to cover the base of the tin. Spoon over half the cake batter. Smooth and then use the remaining apple slices to make a layer on top.

6. Cover with the remaining cake batter, smooth the top and stand the tin on a baking tray. Bake for about 1 1/4 hours until risen and firm to the touch – test with a wooden skewer inserted into the centre to make sure the cake is thoroughly cooked. Leave too cool for 15 minutes before releasing from the tin and turning out on to a serving plate, upside-down.

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Making the apple cake. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

7. While the cake is cooking, make the sauce. Put the syrup, margarine and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the margarine melts.

8. Raise the heat and bring to the boil. Stop stirring and simmer the mixture for 3-4 minutes until richly golden – take care not too over-boil as the mixture will soon over-caramelise and burn. Turn off the heat and gradually stir in the cream and vanilla. Stir until well blended and leave to cool. Serve hot or cold.

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How to make gluten-free and vegan toffee sauce. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

And that’s it, the cake is now ready to eat hot as a dessert with the warm sauce poured over, or let it go cold and drizzle over the sauce to serve.

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Inside the cake. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

All my best wishes to you for the days ahead. Take care and keep safe. I look forward to posting again in a few days time.

Runner bean and pesto fritters (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 4 Comments
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Runner bean fritters. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello everyone. I hope you have had a good few days. I can hardly believe that it is September already! We have had a fine few days of weather this last week, and the garden dried out enough to get gardening again. It felt good to be outside once again.

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Runner beans 2020. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

At the end of my last post I mentioned that I was about to tackle a glut of runner beans. It has been perfect conditions for a bumper harvest this summer: plenty of rain intermixed with sunshine and warmth. The bean vines are still looking very lush and healthy, and there has been a second flush of flowers which means, if the weather holds, I should be picking beans for a while longer.

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Fresh basil pesto. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Apart from enjoying runner beans as an accompaniment to meals, so far I have a couple of bags in the freezer for eating later on in the year. I seldom do anything else, although leftover cold beans make a great salad ingredient – click here for a delicious runner bean salad I posted last year. This week’s recipe gives runner beans a leading role. I hope you enjoy the fritters, they are crisp and delicious, and for a little extra effort, I would suggest making your own pesto. I am very proud of my basil plant. It is thriving in the greenhouse; the leaves have a strong, peppery bite. The quantity below will make enough for this recipe. If you double or triple it you can freeze the remainder in small batches. It will also keep for a couple of weeks sealed tight in a jar in the fridge.

Vegan pesto: put a peeled garlic clove in a small food processor with 15g basil leaves, 60g unsalted nuts such as pistachio, pine nuts or almonds (I used a combination of all 3), a pinch of salt, 50ml extra virgin olive oil and 30g grated hard vegan cheese. Blitz for a few seconds until smooth, and that’s it. Pesto perfecto! This combination makes a thick pesto which is perfect for this recipe, but add extra oil to taste for a looser pasta sauce.

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Preparing and cooking runner beans. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I have found that strips of bean work well in this recipe. The batter has a larger surface area to cling on to and cooks really crisply. Peel the sides of the beans using a vegetable peeler and remove the stalk end. If you have a bean slicer, push them through that, otherwise, slice them as thinly as you can. Steam them over simmering water for 5 minutes, then cool in cold water and drain well. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Now, let’s get on with the recipe.

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Fritters and pesto mayo. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Makes: 8

Ingredients

  • 50g polenta
  • 75g gluten-free plain flour
  • 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
  • 1 tbsp flax seeds, finely ground (I use a coffee grinder)
  • 3 tbsp pesto sauce – see recipe above
  • 120ml dairy-free milk
  • 75ml aqua fava (bean or chickpea canning water)
  • 225g cooked runner beans
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying
  • Vegan mayonnaise
  1. Put the polenta, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Mix together and make a well in the centre. 
  2. Mix the flax seeds with 3 tbsp cold water and leave to stand for about 5 minutes until thickened. Pour into the well.
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    Preparing fritter batter and flax egg. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
  3. Add the pesto sauce and milk and whisk together to make a smooth batter.
  4. In another bowl, whisk the aqua fava to a stiff foam and then gently fold into the batter. Finally, carefully stir in the beans, making sure they are well covered. Adding_homemade_pesto_and_whisked_aqua_fava_to_fritter_batter
    Folding_in_whisked_aqua_fava_and_runner_beans_into_fritter_batter
    Adding pesto, whisked aqua fava and the beans. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

    5. Pour sufficient oil into a large deep frying pan or wok to a depth of about 3cm and heat to 180ºC. Fry bundles of beans in batter in batches of 3 or 4, turning in the oil, for 4-5 minutes until crisp and golden. You should be able to make 8 fritters with this quantity. Drain well on kitchen paper and keep warm until ready to serve.

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    Cooking the fritters. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

    6. To serve, mix 1 part pesto to 2 parts vegan mayonnaise and serve with the fritters accompanied with fresh tomatoes. Scatter with fresh basil and runner bean flowers, if liked.

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    Fritters with homegrown tomatoes, fresh basil and homemade pesto mayo. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

    Use this batter with ribbons of courgette or carrot instead – lightly steam them first. Leave out the pesto if you prefer, or simply add grated vegan cheese to the batter and some chopped chives, shredded leek or spring onion.

    Until next time, take care and best wishes 🙂

Lemon and cucumber cake (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 7 Comments
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Lemon and cucumber cake. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello there. I hope you are well. I was having a look at the stats on my site last week and I noticed that the most frequently viewed recipe on my blog over the past 4 weeks has been a recipe I posted 3 years ago for a lemon-soaked cucumber cake. I am assuming that lots of readers have as many cucumbers as I do and are looking for different ways to use them up!

Time for a recipe review. Same combination of flavours, but this time an iced cake and a simple cake batter.

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Sliced and ready for eating. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I have had a bumper crop of cucumbers this year, from just 2 plants. I only had a couple of seeds left in a packet from the year before and, once sown, both have thrived. Mini Munch is a great variety to grow. The cucumbers are small, sweet and delicously refreshing and juicy. They ripen in next to no time once the vines get established.

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Greenhouse Mini Munch cucumbers. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

On with the recipe. This is a very easy to make cake, no special equipment necessary. I do advise you to add either the xanthan gum or arrowroot as this really does hold the ingredients together to give a firmer texture, but if you decide not to, you’ll still have a delicious cake, it will just be crumbly.

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Home-grown cucumber harvest. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Makes 1 x 18cm cake

Ingredients

  • 90g dairy-free margarine
  • 140g caster sugar
  • 100g plain dairy-free yogurt (I used coconut)
  • 150g gluten-free self-raising flour blend (I use Doves Farm)
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp xanthan gum or 10g ground arrowroot
  • 125g grated cucumber
  • Finely grated rind and juice 1 lemon
  • 125g icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 160°C fan oven, gas 4. Grease and line an 18cm square tin. Put the margarine and sugar in a bowl and whisk until creamy and well blended. Stir in the yogurt.

2. Add the remaining ingredients except the lemon juice and icing sugar, and mix together until well combined.

3. Pile into the tin, smooth the top and stand the tin on a baking tray. Bake for about 45 minutes until lightly golden and firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Lemon and cucumber cake preparation. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

4. To ice, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and mix in 3-4 tsp lemon juice to make a smooth, thick icing. Spread all over the top of the cake and allow it to run down the sides. Leave to set for about 30 minutes before decorating.

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Baked cake ready for icing. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
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Drizzling fresh lemon icing. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I decorated my cake with cucumber flowers (male ones – no little fruit attached), orange-scented geranium leaves and a few strips of blanched lemon rind.

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Decoration of cucumber flowers, orange scented geranium leaves and lemon rind. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

That’s all from me this week. I’m off to sort out my glut of runner beans! Until next time, my best wishes to you 🙂

My raspberry round-up plus recipe for Raspberry and pistachio cake (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 6 Comments

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Combination of fresh raspberries, pistachio nuts and marzipan. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello everyone. I hope you are keeping well. I’ve had a busy few days since my last post. There seems to be lots to do in the garden and kitchen at the moment. Plenty of tidying up (and weeding!) in the garden, and the much anticipated home-grown fruit and veg is ripe and ready so lots to cook up and freeze as well.

This week’s post is an homage to my Glen Ample raspberry canes which have produced a phenomenal 6.3kg of berries this year. Rather forlornly, I picked the last few berries this week.

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My 2020 raspberry haul. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The canes are now having a well-earned rest and enjoying some sunshine – they had been covered with fleece for over a month as the birds took a fancy to the berries early on.

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My exhausted raspberry canes. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

As you can imagine, I’ve had a lot of berries to play with but a combination of jam, vinegar, compote and a couple of large bags for the freezer has seen them all used up. By the way, compote makes the dish sound a bit grander, I literally cooked them with a bit of sugar to eat with my morning porridge!

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Raspberry compote, jam, freezer packs and vinegar. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Links to all my other raspberry recipes can be found by clicking on the key-words below:

On with this week’s recipe. Another reinvention of a crumble-topped cake – they are so easy to make, and taste delicious, I just can’t resist making them! Leave out the pistachios or replace with almonds or hazelnuts if you prefer, and the marzipan layer is optional (I realise it’s not to everyone’s taste) but you may want to add some sugar to the raspberry mixture if you don’t use it.

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Fruit and nut, a winning flavour combination. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

  • 180g dairy-free margarine, softened
  • 100g vanilla or plain caster sugar
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 260g gluten free plain flour blend (such as Doves Farm)
  • 50g unsalted pistachio nuts, finely chopped + extra pistachios to decorate
  • 150g marzipan, grated (optional)
  • 300g fresh raspberries
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • Icing sugar to dust
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 160°C fan oven, gas 4. Grease and line a deep 20cm round cake tin – I used a spring-clip tin for ease. In a mixing bowl, beat together the margarine and sugar until creamy, then stir in the almonds, flour and pistachios to make a crumbly mixture.
  2. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the tin, prick with a fork and put the in on a baking tray. Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly golden round the edge. Sprinkle the marzipan all over the cooked base if using and put to one side. Steps_1_to_6_in_the_making_of_raspberry_and_pistachio_crumble_cake

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    Making the crumble and assembling the cake. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
  3. Mash the raspberries with a fork and add the cornflour – if you are not using marzipan add 2 tbsp caster sugar to the raspberry mix as well. Spoon over the marzipan layer and spread out evenly.
  4. Sprinkle over the remaining crumble mixture, pat down lightly with the back of a spoon and bake for about 40 minutes until lightly golden. Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before releasing and transferring to a serving plate to serve warm, or leave to cool completely in the tin to serve cold.

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    Adding the raspberries and crumble top. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

    Serve this cake warm as a dessert with cream, yogurt or custard or cold as a delicious and indulgent slice to accompany a cup of coffee.

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    Melt-in-the-mouth crumble cake. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

    Until next time, thanks for stopping by. Take care. I will be posting again soon 🙂

No-churn berry nice vegan ice cream (gluten-free; dairy-free)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 4 Comments

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Homemade vegan ice cream. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I am very much hoping that by publishing this week’s recipe, the weather will become more appropriate for enjoying an icy dessert. It’s been much cooler here these past few days, but the forecast is hotting up again so hopefully my post will be quite timely.

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Vegan berry-flavoured ice cream with fresh strawberry sauce and wild strawberries. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

To be perfectly honest, I’m not a huge fan of frozen desserts, but when the heat is on, I can be persuaded by a scoop or two of a good non-dairy ice. I’ve been trying to perfect a recipe of my own for a while, and at last, I think I’ve cracked it.

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Cooling, creamy and delicious. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

My recipe is a combination of a thick vegan cream I made a posted a few weeks ago and an uncooked aquafaba meringue mixture. Once the two are combined, the resulting mixture doesn’t require any stirring, you just pop it in the freezer for a few hours until frozen. Easy-peasy.

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Homemade vegan cream. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

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Bean water (aquafaba) meringue. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

To flavour the ice cream, I added some freeze-dried fruit pieces and a little soft-set blueberry jam I’d made. If you want to experiment with other flavours, I would suggest using dry ingredients like chocolate chips, crushed caramel, small pieces of dried fruit, cocoa powder, etc. Adding anything too sloppy or saucy will water down the mixture; you will lose air, and the resulting ice cream will be solid and icy, rather than soft and creamy.

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Freeze-dried berry pieces and soft-set blueberry jam. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The recipe below makes a small quantity (around 350g) which is enough for 2-3 servings. I have a cute little ice cream scoop which dishes up a perfect 30g scoop. This is just right for me, and is why my bowl is piled high with scoops! You may want to double the quantities in the recipe for more hearty portions.

Serves: 2 to 3

Ingredients

For the cream:

  • 100ml readymade soya pouring cream
  • 40g solid white vegetable fat such as Trex or flavourless coconut oil (or use traditional coconut oil for a coconut flavoured ice cream)
  • ¼ tsp xanthan gum
  • A few drops vanilla extract or a pinch of salt

For the meringue:

  • 75ml canning liquid from beans or chickpeas (aquafaba)
  • ¼ tsp cream of tartar
  • 60g caster sugar
  • ¼ tsp xanthan gum

To flavour:

  • A few drops vanilla extract if liked
  • 5g freeze-dried fruit pieces
  • 25g soft-set jam
  1. First make the cream. Pour the soya cream into a small heatproof bowl and add the fat. Place on top of a small saucepan of barely simmering water and leave to melt, stirring occasionally.
  2. Remove from the heat, mix well, then stir in the xanthan gum until completely blended. Leave to cool, stirring occasionally. The mixture thickens on cooling.
  3. When cold, have a taste and see if you like the flavour as it is. Otherwise add a few drops  of vanilla extract or you might prefer a pinch of salt.  Whisk for about a minute with an electric whisk, then cover and chill the cream for at least 2 hours. After this time, the cream should be the consistency of thick, spoonable yogurt. It will keep covered in the fridge for up to a week.

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    Making thick vegan cream. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
  4. When the cream is thick and chilled, make the meringue. Pour the aquafaba into a large clean bowl, add the cream of tartar and whisk for a full 2 minutes.
  5. Whisk in the sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking well in between additions, and then continue whisking for another full minute.
  6. Add the xanthan gum and whisk for 1 more minute to make a thick meringue.
  7. Gently and gradually mix the meringue into the cream taking care not to lose too much air, then gently stir in more vanilla if liked along with the berries. Lightly stir in the jam to give a rippled effect.
  8. Scrape into a freezer container, seal and freeze for 3-4 hours until solid.

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    Frozen and ready to scoop. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

    To serve, stand the ice cream at room temperature for about 10 minutes until soft enough to scoop. I served my ice cream with a fresh strawberry sauce made from purée’d fruit sweetened with a little icing sugar, and a scattering of wild strawberries which I happened upon in the garden 🙂

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    Just one more scoop. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

    Until next time, I hope you have a good few days and may the warm weather be with us all.