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

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 10 Comments

Dish_of_spinach_tattie_scones_with_serving_suggestion_of_mango_chutney — 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.

Overhead_ image_of_rustic_dish_filled_iwth_spinach_tattie_scones — 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.

Colander_of_spinach_leaves_with_freshly_dug_home-grown_potatoes — 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.

Home-grown_Nicola_potatoes — 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.

Cooking_and_ricing_potatoes — 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.

Cooking_onion_with_spices — 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.

Cooking_spinach_for_spinach_and_potato_scones — 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.

Making_and_shaping_spinach_and_potato_scone_dough — 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.

Cooking_spinach_and_potato_scones — 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 🙂

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

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

Spiced chickpea, spinach and sorrel roll (dairy-free; vegan)

May 24, 2018 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 4 Comments

Slice_of_spiced_chickpea_spinach_and_sorrel_roll — Packed full of flavour, spiced chickpea, spinach and sorrel roll. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello everyone 🙂 Hope you’ve had a good week. The sun’s been shining a lot with me and everything in the garden has taken off, especially in the herb garden. Lots of fresh new growth and lush looking bright green leaves. Delicious.

I can find everyday uses for all of the herbs I grow, but the clump of sorrel often remains untouched. I pick off any little leaves to throw into a salad, but the larger leaves I admit, I seldom use. However, this week, as I was cooking up some spinach for my planned bake, I remembered to mix in a few of the larger leaves to add a slightly sharp and acidic tang to the filling.

Fresh_sorrel_growing_and freshly_picked_leaves — Spring greens – fresh garden sorrel. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I’ve turned to spelt flour to make the suet-crust pastry for my bake this week, although I have mixed it with some gram flour. I haven’t tried the recipe with all gluten-free flour; I can image it would work ok, but it would be more challenging to roll up. I have fond memories of sweet and savoury roly-poly puddings from my childhood and school cookery classes. Suet-crust is one of the easiest pastries to make, and it takes next to no time to put together. It is light and fluffy in textue, and when baked, has a crispy, crunchy outer shell.

The key to this recipe’s success is to make sure you dry the cooked spinach as much as possible. Cook it in only a minimum amount of water and then squeeze out the excess by pressing it against the side of the strainer as it drains, and then blot with kitchen paper. This will help keep the bake as crisp as possible. If you don’t have fresh sorrel, then just cook up a little bit more spinach. I hope you enjoy it.

Rinsing_cooking_and_staining_fresh_spinach — Preparing and cooking fresh spinach. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

For the filling:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 teasp ground cumin
1 teasp each of ground coriander and ground cinnamon
25g fresh garden sorrel leaves, well washed and stems removed
250g fresh spinach
100g cooked chickpeas
40g toasted pine nuts
40g sultanas
1 teasp salt
1 – 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (optional)

For the pastry:

150g spelt flour
50g gram flour
12g baking powder
100g vegetable suet
Approx. 150ml cold chickpea cooking water, canning water or plain water

First make the filling. Heat the oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and spices over a gentle heat, with a lid on, for 15 minutes until softened but not browned. If you’re using sorrel, rip up the leaves and once the onion is cooked, add to the mixture, cover and leave to wilt in the steam. Leave to cool completely.
Meanwhile, rinse the spinach, shake off the excess water and pack into a saucepan whilst still wet. Heat until steaming, cover, and cook over a medium heat, for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until wilted. Drain well, pressing out the excess water, and leave to cool. Chop and blot away the excess water using kitchen roll.
Put the cold onion mixture in a bowl, mix in the cooked spinach, chickpeas, pine nuts and sultanas. Season with salt. Cover and chill until required.
When ready to assemble, the roll, preheat the oven to 190°C/ 170°C fan oven/ gas 5. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Mix the flours in a bowl with the baking powder and suet. Pour in sufficient water to make a soft, scone-like dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to make a rectangle approx. 30 x 25cm.
Spread over the filling, right to the edge, and the roll up from one of the shorter sides. Carefully transfer to the prepared baking tray, seam-side down, and bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown.
Roly-poly preparation. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The pastry will probably crack during baking – I have rarely made one that hasn’t split slightly on one side. For extra richness, brush generously with extra virgin olive oil as soon as it comes out of the oven. Best served hot or warm.

Out of the oven, and ready to serve. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Delicous! Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Sweet potato, spinach and coconut stew (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

March 22, 2018March 22, 2018 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 1 Comment

A deliciously fragrant and comforting recipe for you this week. An old favourite of mine which works just as well with potatoes if you’re not a fan of the sweet variety. It makes a good side dish, but I usually serve it as a main course, spooned over rice.

Fresh_sweet_potatoes — Preparing sweet potatoes. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The stew is very easy to make. You can change the proportions of the individual spices to suit your taste. The overall flavour is reminiscent of a green Thai curry without the lemongrass or lime leaves. I’m not a huge chilli fan, I like a hint of heat rather than a major blast, so you may want to increase the chilli-factor for more of a spicy kick. If you have fresh green chillies, grind them up in the spice paste as an alternative to using the dried flakes.

If you have any leftover, the stew makes a good soup the next day. Just blend it up in a food processor with stock or more coconut milk. I hope you enjoy it 🙂

Collection_of_spices_to_make_a_spice_paste — Spice paste ingredients. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

6 cardamom pods
1 teasp each of coriander and mustard seeds
1 small red onion or shallot
2 garlic cloves
3cm piece root ginger
Dried chilli flakes, to taste
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
400ml canned coconut milk
650g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm thick chunky pieces
225g prepared spinach
1 teasp salt
A small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Remove the green casing from the cardamom pods and put the seeds in a pestle and mortar along with the coriander and mustard seeds. Lightly crush them, then toast them in a small frying pan, over a medium heat, for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and lightly toasted but not brown. Leave to cool.
Peel and roughly chop the onion, garlic and ginger and place in a food processor or blender. Add 1 tbsp. oil and the toasted spices and chilli flakes to taste. Blend for a few seconds to make a paste.
Toasting spices and making a spice paste. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Heat the remaining oil in a large, deep-sided frying pan or wok and gently fry the paste for about 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Pour over the coconut milk, bring to the boil, and stir in the sweet potato pieces. Bring back to the boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently for about an hour until tender.
Add the spinach in batches, stirring well to make sure it gets completely coated in the coconut liquor. Add the salt, cover and continue to cook gently for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until then spinach is wilted and the sauce is thick.
The 3 stages of stew. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
To serve, sprinkle the stew with a generous amount of chopped, fresh coriander, and extra chilli if liked. Serve immediately, spooned over rice.
Sweet potato stew, ready to serve. Image: Kathryn Hawkins