The Recipe Room

I’ve always been a huge fan of beer, and it was probably one of the hardest things to give up when I first embarked on my gluten-free diet.  Luckily, these days it’s fairly easy to find gluten-free beer, and I’ve finally been able to add it back in to my diet (although I have to admit it wasn’t so lucky for my belly!).

Another of my all-time favourite foods is cheddar cheese, so I just knew that this beer and cheddar soup was going to turn into a new favourite even before I tried it.  It’s creamy and sweet, very satisfying, and frankly one of the most delicious soups I’ve ever tasted, if I do say so myself!  You can use strong cheddar if you prefer, but the mild cheddar seems to melt much better. Besides, the beer gives it plenty of kick anyway.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

For more creamy soups, have a go at this cream of asparagus soup, without the cream.

The first time I tried guacamole, I remember being intrigued by its green colour and greasy appearance.  After eyeing the bowl surreptitiously for at least half an hour, I finally got up the courage to give it a try.  I remember a smile instantly forming on my face as the first mouthful exploded in a rainbow of flavours and sensations on my unsuspecting tongue.  Spicy and smooth, tart and sweet, I had no idea such an incredible mixture of supposedly contrary tastes was even possible!

Ever since that mystical first time, I’ve been on an unending quest for the perfect guacamole recipe. This  version is definitely an excellent guacamole recipe, and I’ve even had more than a few compliments from my Mexican friends, so I must be on the right track.

One trick I’ve discovered along the way is how to keep the guacamole from turning brown as it tends to do not very long after making it.  The secret is to put the avocado pits into the finished mixture.  There seems to be some debate as to the effectiveness of this method. Some say it’s just an old wives’ tale, but I can attest to the fact that I’ve tried it repeatedly and it always seems to work just fine.  Clingfilm placed firmly against the guacamole works quite well too.

You need:

• 2 large, ripe avocados
• Juice from 1 lime (lemon may be substituted)
• 2 spring onions, very finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, very finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped very fine
• 1 plum tomato, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, very finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Mix together all the ingredients, except the avocado, pressing down on them as you mix to release the juices.
2. Let the mixture marinade in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
3. Add the avocados to the mix, mashing them well with a fork.
4. Make sure all the ingredients are well mixed.
5. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so that the flavours blend together.
6. Garnish with a bit of chopped coriander and tomato.
7. Serve with corn chips for dipping.

Ready In: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Difficulty: 2 out of 5

Note: Ever tried baked avocados? Just looking at the picture gets my mouth watering!

Back in my university days, there used to be a café near my school that served the most delicious Vegetarian Black Bean Soup every Friday, and at a price that even us struggling students could afford.  Ever since then I’ve tried to keep up the tradition at my home, where Fridays are still known as Black Bean Soup day.

The original version used smoked tofu, but I’ve substituted it for firm tofu, fried with paprika and cumin. Of course, if you’re a meat-eater, you could go ahead and substitute the tofu for ham; just make sure you remove it before puréeing. Another hearty broth is this bacon, carrot, butterbean and coriander soup.

You need:

• 500g dried black beans, soaked overnight in 5 litres of water
• 250g firm tofu, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1.25 litres water
• A pinch of baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, chopped fine
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 4 tbsp lime juice (lemon may be used)
• Fresh coriander, chopped

Steps:

1. Put the beans in a 5 litre pot with 1.25 litres of water, the bay leaves, half the salt and the baking soda.
2. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a slow simmer.
3. Cover and let it cook for 90 minutes, or until the beans are tender.
4. Remove from heat. Take out the bay leaves and set aside.
5. Heat olive oil in a large (at least 9 litres) stock pot on a medium-high heat until it’s hot, but not smoking.
6. Add the onions, celery, carrot, tofu and more salt.
7. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned and softened, stirring occasionally.
8. Reduce heat to medium and add the cumin, paprika and garlic, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
9. Add the beans and their cooking liquid back into the mix along with the vegetable stock, molasses and red pepper.
10. Bring to the boil; then reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Remove from heat and put half of the soup in a blender and purée until smooth.
12. Mix the purée back into the rest of the soup.
13. Add the lime juice and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
14. Serve with the chopped fresh coriander as garnish.

Ready In: 2 hours

Serves: 6

Difficulty: 4 out of 5

Is it a dessert?  Is it a main course?  It’s hard to classify precisely although the one thing that’s for sure is that it is 100% awesome yumminess!  I pulled this Baked Tofu in Peanut Butter Sauce recipe out of my hat last Sunday after a meat-loving friend bet me I couldn’t prepare tofu in a way that he would consider delicious or even edible, for that matter.  Since he is notorious for having a sweet tooth, I decided to mix things up a bit and go for something leaning towards dessert than your typical savoury tofu dish.  This was the result.

So, to make a long story short, I made the dish, he tried it, and he was absolutely blown away!  The saltiness of the tamari contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the peanut butter, and the ginger, chilli pepper and garlic seemed like a good idea to give it a bit of a Thai feel.  (Another Thai dish that can be made with tofu is Pad Thai.) It may be a bit rich for some tastes, but if you’ve got a sweet tooth or just love peanut butter, I definitely recommend you try this one right away!

You Need:

• 400g soft tofu
• 3 tbsps gluten-free Tamari Soy Sauce
• 6 tbsps smooth peanut butter
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tsp fresh chilli peppers, finely chopped (can substitute ½ tsp paprika)
• 200 ml boiling water.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.
2. Mix the peanut butter with the boiling water in a bowl.  Stir until all the peanut butter is dissolved.
3. Sauté the ginger, garlic and chilli peppers in a little oil for about 2 minutes or until the garlic starts to brown.
4. Add the spices to the peanut butter and tamari sauce and mix well.
5. Cut the tofu into ½ cm slices.
6. Lay the tofu slices along the bottom of a deep, non-stick baking pan or casserole dish.  If you don’t have a non-stick pan, grease the bottom with a little oil or butter before laying out the tofu.
7. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the tofu slices.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the peanut butter sauce solidifies and starts to bubble at the edges.
9. Serve on top of rice or alongside some steamed veggies.

Ready In:  30 minutes

Serves:  3

Difficulty:   2 out of 5

High in protein, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin-D, fresh salmon is a great addition to any diet, and just happens to be one of the only kinds of fish I actually like!  This broiled salmon with spicy bell pepper sauce makes for a fast and satisfying meal, especially if accompanied with whole-grain rice or even pasta.  The slightly spicy bell pepper sauce nicely offsets the rather subtle flavour of the salmon and definitely makes it more palatable if you are not much of a fish enthusiast, like me.

The latest scientific evidence seems to suggest that salmon from fish farms are much higher in dioxins and lower in omega-3 content, so try to get wild salmon if you can.  I’ve also tried the same recipe with trout, and it was pretty good too. (Here is another rather tasty fish and bell pepper recipe for tuna steaks with roast peppers.)

You Need:

For the salmon:

• 4 fresh salmon fillets (about 100g each)
• 1tsp salt
• ¼tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼tsp paprika
• ¼tsp ground cumin
• Cooking spray
• 1 fresh lemon, quartered, for garnish

For the sauce:

• 125g diced red onion
• 125g diced red bell pepper
• 125g diced yellow bell pepper
• 125g diced green bell pepper
• 125g diced plum tomato
• 60g chopped fresh coriander
• 2tbsps sherry or champagne vinegar
• 1tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2tsp paprika
• 1/2tsp ground cumin

Steps:

1. Sprinkle the salmon fillets with salt, pepper, paprika and ground cumin.
2. Let sit for 15 minutes so that the fish absorbs the flavours.
3. While the salmon sits, place a broiler rack about 15 centimetres away from the heat source.
4. Preheat the broiler while you prepare the sauce.
5. In a bowl, combine the red onion, bell peppers, plum tomato, coriander, vinegar, olive oil and spices.
6. Place in the refrigerator and let it marinate until the salmon is ready.
7. Coat broiler and salmon fillets with cooking spray.
8. Broil the salmon, skin side down, for about 8 to 10 minutes. The exact time will vary depending on the thickness of the fish. When the fish is just barely opaque when cut in the thickest part, or when it flakes easily with a fork, it’s done.
9. Pour the sauce over the broiled salmon fillets and serve immediately with the fresh lemon wedges.  The idea is to squeeze the lemon juice over the fish just before eating.

Ready In:  30 minutes

Serves:  4

Difficulty:   2 out of 5