I don’t think I can be enthusiastic enough about just how much I love this sublimely delicious curried apple soup! Â Who ever would have imagined that apples and curry would go so well together!? Â It was certainly a surprise for me the first time that I tried it.
Red apples are really the ideal type for this recipe. But as with any dish, you can play around and change things to suit your own personal preferences.
You can use either chicken or vegetable broth – it won’t matter much to the final taste. And if you want to make a slightly lighter (low calorie) version,  you can replace the double cream with single cream or milk and use oil rather than butter. But be warned: this will take away from the taste, at least a little.  After all, Indian food is meant to be a bit decadent!
This delicious and nutritious vegetable and legume soup is traditionally served to break the Muslim fast of Ramadam. It’s called harira and is usually accompanied by dates, but as I don’t really like them, I’ve left them out of my recipe.  However, feel free to include them if you want the truly authentic experience. I also recommend this Moroccan hummus!
These delicious, Â deep-fried onion “flowers” make for a very visually impressive appetiser with which to astound your friends! Â The best thing about them is that although they look very impressive and hard to make, they’re actually very easy and will be ready in less than 30 minutes! Serve them with a side of mustard sauce for dipping.
I also recommend these aloo bonda snacks, which are deep-fried potato balls.
Remove the skin from the onion and remove a ½ centimetre slice from the top of the onion.
Using a very sharp knife, cut down from the top through the center of the onion to within 1.5 centimetres from the bottom, leaving the root end intact.
Turn the onion 90 degrees, and slice through the centre of the onion, again to within 1.5 centimetres from the bottom.
You now have an onion with 4 vertical sections.
Keep rotating the onion 10 degrees at a time, cutting down through the center of the onion until you have made 16 slices.
Spread apart the layers of the onion slightly so the coating can reach the innermost parts of the onion "flower".
Repeat with the other onion.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cornflour,
garlic powder, salt, oregano, cayenne, thyme, cumin, and pepper. Set aside.
In a measuring cup, whisk together the egg and water until very foamy
and all the egg membrane has broken up.
Using a pastry brush, coat the onion layers with the egg mixture.
Place the flour mixture in a sieve and liberally dust the onions with the flour mixture.
Heat the canola oil to 175ºC in a deep fryer or a deep pot. There should be enough oil to completely cover the onions.
Carefully place the onions right side up in the oil and fry for 10 minutes, or until it they are browned.
Using a large slotted spatula or spoon, remove the onions from the
Mexican-style corn tortillas for making burritos, quesadillas or chicken fajitas. They’re surprisingly easy to make and taste so much better than the store-bought variety!
You Need:
500g cornflour
250ml to 300ml warm (45°C) water
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Steps:
Blend the cornflour and warm water with a food processor until a soft ball forms. Remove the dough from the food processor. You should be able to knead the dough in your hands without it sticking to your hands or falling apart. If it isn’t right, put the dough back in the food processor. If it is too sticky, blend in more flour, a tablespoon at a time; if it falls apart, add more warm water, a tablespoon at a time.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Cover tightly to prevent them from drying out.
Cut 24 pieces of baking paper, each about 7 inches square. Place one ball of dough between two pieces of baking paper, roll with a rolling pin to a 15cm diameter, and stack on a plate. Don’t remove the paper.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
To fry, heat a cast-iron frying pan over high heat until hot. Hold the tortilla in one hand and peel off the top layer of wax paper with the other hand (starting with side nearest your wrist) and pull the wax paper up toward the ceiling.
Carefully invert the tortilla onto the griddle. Wait 3 seconds and then peel off the remaining baking paper. (Do not leave the wax paper on the tortilla for longer than 3 seconds or it will permanently stick to the tortilla.)
Cook the tortilla about 2 minutes on each side until it looks dry and has golden flecks on it. Transfer the cooked tortilla to a plate to cool between clean sheets of baking paper.
Cook the remaining tortillas. These are best eaten right after they’re cooked, but if you have leftovers, let them cool, and refrigerate them between layers of parchment paper in a re-sealable plastic bag.
Reheat tortillas in the microwave on low 1 to 2 minutes.
Mashed potatoes and gravy, so yummy, and so many memories!  I’ve been trying to stay away from beef and chicken lately, and the ingredients list on most gravy mixes just make me shiver, so I decided to come up with a vegetarian version of this traditional favourite.  This mashed potatoes and onion gravy recipe is the result.
You can serve it as a side dish to accompany pretty much any meat if you want, or alternatively you could throw some bangers into the mix for a quick and easy bangers and mash. Â If you want to keep it vegetarian-friendly, just use veggie-bangers or serve alongside some seitan or veggie burgers. Â If you’re a vegan, substitute the butter for margarine or oil and replace the milk with soy or rice milk – just make sure you choose one that’s not too sweet as that can ruin the taste.
You need:
For the Gravy:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
500ml water
1 vegetable stock cube (gluten-free)
1 tsp dried thyme
3 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp olive oil
For the mash:
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
200 ml whole milk
50 grams butter
Steps:
For the gravy:
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
These coconut pancakes are made with coconut flour, which lends a delicious and intense coconut flavour and is also a great ingredient for gluten-free baking because of its high fibre, high protein, and low carbohydrate content. The addition of the shredded coconut and coconut-flavoured extract make the pancakes even more delicious and sweet.
It can be difficult to get these pancakes right the first time, so make sure you follow the instructions carefully, mix all the ingredients very well and don’t skip any steps, such as letting the batter set.  For best results, make sure you use a good non-stick frying pan whose surface isn’t scratched or worn. (For mini treats, try these mini pancakes with mozzarella, spinach and pine nuts.)
You Need:
65g sorghum flour
65g cornflour
50g tapioca flour
60g coconut flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
200ml to 250ml milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut-flavoured extract
65g sweetened shredded coconut
Additional butter or oil for frying
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Steps:
In a mixing bowl or large measuring cup, sift together the sorghum flour, cornflour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.
Gradually whisk in the milk, butter, egg, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix well until very smooth.
Mix in the shredded coconut. Let the batter stand 5 minutes and then add more milk, if necessary, just until the batter is thin enough to pour.
Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a large non-stick frying pan until hot but not smoking. Pour 65ml of the batter onto the frying pan and cook until bubbles appear on top of the pancake, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the pancake over and cook until it has browned on other side.
Repeat step 4 with the rest of the batter to make the rest of the pancakes.
Serve immediately, either plain or with maple syrup or your favourite pancake topping.
This raisin bread recipe may take a bit of work to get right, but it’ll make your morning breakfast oh-so-much better! If you are looking for something crispier, this Biscotti di Prato recipe might also do the trick.
Toast and butter it for best results.
You Need:
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
250ml warm (45°C) milk
55g dark brown sugar
White rice flour for dusting
2 large eggs, at room temperature
435g potato starch
90g sorghum flour
90g cornflour
70g tapioca flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
85ml canola oil
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
170g raisins tossed with 1 teaspoon of potato starch
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Steps:
In a small bowl, combine the yeast, warm milk, and 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar. Set aside to foam 5 minutes.
Generously grease a non-stick loaf pan. Dust the bottom and sides of the pan lightly with white rice flour.
In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat eggs until light and frothy, about 30 seconds. Add the potato starch, sorghum flour, cornflour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, oil, vinegar, and remaining brown sugar and beat on low speed until blended. Â Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
 Increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds, or until dough thickens slightly. Stir in the raisins. Dough will be slightly softer than most yeast breads.
Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula.
Cover the dough lightly with foil and let rise in a warm place (about 25ºC) until the dough is level with the top of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
With a sharp knife, make three diagonal slashes (1/3cm deep) in the  loaf so steam can escape during baking.
Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes or until temperature reaches 205°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into centre of loaf. Do not under bake. Cover with foil tent after 20 minutes of baking to reduce overbrowning.
Remove from the oven and cool in pan the 10 minutes on a wire rack.
Remove from the pan and let cool completely on the wire rack.
These lemon blueberry muffins are mouth-wateringly delicious and make a great snack or only slightly decadent breakfast. The crispy lemon and sugar topping is the icing on the cake, or in this case, the muffin! If you manage to not eat them all in one sitting, they will keep in the refrigerator for up to ten days. (I would also recommend these raspberry and cinnamon muffins.)
You Need:
LIQUID INGREDIENTS
2 large eggs, at room temperature
185ml milk
125ml canola oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
DRY INGREDIENTS
180g + 25g sorghum flour
180g + 20g cornflour
140g + 15g tapioca flour
150g granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
175g (1 cup) fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry
TOPPING
Cooking spray
100g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
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Steps:
Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 190ºC.
Generously grease the cups of a standard 12-cup non-stick muffin pan, or line with paper liners coated with cooking spray.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer on low speed until light yellow and frothy, about 30 seconds.
Add the milk, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat just until blended.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients except the blueberries. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients until the batter is smooth and slightly thickened.
Gently stir in the blueberries.
Divide the batter evenly in the muffin pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the muffin tops are firm and the edges start to pull away from the pan.
Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack.
Spray the tops with cooking spray.
Make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest.
Dip each muffin top into the sugar mixture and let stand on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
Fortunately, the original Turkish recipe only calls for one tablespoon of flour, so it was no problem whatsoever to substitute that for cornflour and make these gluten-free. Â They are traditionally eaten plain, as far as I know, but I like to eat them with a bit of sour cream or Greek yoghurt, as I find the tartness offsets the earthy flavour of the fritters quite nicely.
These creamy cheese blintzes are great for dessert or brunch. The sweet cherry topping is both colourful and tasty. For a saltier flavour, you could also try these crepes stuffed with ricotta and courgette.
You Need:
For the crepes:
190ml milk
30g sorghum flour
30g cornflour
25g tapioca flour
2 large eggs
6 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
1/8 teaspoon salt
Additional butter for frying
For the filling and topping:
230g ricotta cheese or firm silken tofu
90g cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons icing sugar + 125g for dusting
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 can (about 500ml) cherry pie filling
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Steps:
Make the crepes: In a blender, combine all the ingredients except the additional butter, and process until smooth. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 205°C.
Coat a glass baking dish with cooking spray.
Just before frying the crepes, blend again to reincorporate ingredients.
Heat a 20cm frying pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water dances on the surface.
Brush the surface of the pan with butter.
Pour 60ml of batter into the pan and immediately tilt and swirl the pan to coat the bottom evenly with the batter.
Cook until the underside of the crepe is crispy brown, then flip with a thin spatula and cook the other side for 20 to 30 seconds, or until the batter sets.
Repeat steps 4 to 6 with the remaining batter.
In a medium bowl, beat the ricotta cheese/tofu and cream cheese together on medium speed until smooth.
Gradually beat in the 3 tablespoons icing sugar, lemon zest, and egg until smooth.
Spoon 60ml of the cheese mixture in a line along the lower third of each crepe.
Fold the bottom to just cover the cheese filling and keep rolling, ending with the seam side down.
Place the blintzes in the baking dish and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until the egg is cooked and the cheese sets.
Dust with icing sugar, spoon cherry pie filling on top, and serve warm.