The Recipe Room

This classic green bean casserole is a delightfully rich and creamy main course and a great way to get your kids to eat their green beans.  It uses rice and cornflour rather than wheat flour, so it can very easily be converted into a gluten-free dish if necessary, simply by using gluten-free soy and Worcestershire sauce.

What you’re going to need:

For the topping:

• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced  in ¼-cm rings
• 125g cornflour
• Canola oil (or other light oil) for frying
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For the casserole:

• 60g sweet rice flour
• 315ml milk (or soy or other milk)
• 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon celery salt
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can (about 400g) cut green beans
• 1 can (about 200g) sliced mushrooms, drained

What you have to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC.
2. Generously grease an ovenproof casserole dish.
3. Make the onion topping: Dust the onions with cornflour or place both in paper bag and shake thoroughly.
4. Heat 1-inch of canola oil in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Fry a few onion rings at a time until they turn golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper immediately.
5. Stir the sweet rice flour into about 60ml of the milk until smooth. Place this mixture and the rest of the milk in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, celery salt, salt, garlic, and pepper.
6. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
7. Add the green beans, mushrooms, and half of the onion topping and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the greased casserole dish.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes on the middle rack of the preheated oven, or until the casserole is bubbling.
9. Top the casserole with the rest of the onion topping.
10. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until onions are hot.
11.  Serve immediately.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Serves:  4

Difficulty: Medium

Note: If getting kids to eat their veggies is a problem, there are tons of ways to “disguise” the flavour – like in this carrot halwa recipe. Why not make the green bean casserole as the main course and the carrot halwa for dessert? You just couldn’t get any healthier!

Although broccoli is considered to be one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet  due to its high content of calcium, vitamin C, folic acid and iron, it can be quite difficult at times to get your kids to eat it, regardless of how much you threaten them with chores or no dessert!

Luckily, almost all kids love Cheddar cheese, so this broccoli in cheddar cheese sauce may just be the perfect way to finally get them to eat something green and healthy for once.  I know it worked for me when I was a kid!

You can really use any kind of cheese you prefer for this dish, but I find the bright orange colour of the cheddar looks really nice with the dark green of the broccoli and helps make this into an attractive and delicious side dish. (If you prefer a main dish, I recommend this pasta salad with broccoli and bacon – without the bacon, of course!)

What you’re going to need:

• 315ml milk (or soy or other milk)
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 100g (1 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese or cheese alternative
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 500g broccoli, cut into 2 to 3 cm florets

What you have to do:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together about 65ml of the milk and the cornflour until smooth and lump-free.
2. Add the rest of the milk and the garlic and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens slightly.
3.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the cheese. Keep stirring until all the cheese melts.
4. Add salt and cayenne pepper and taste.  Add more if desired.
5. Stir in the lemon juice and reduce the heat as low as possible in order to keep the sauce warm while the broccoli is cooking.
6. Cook the broccoli in boiling salted water until just tender, about 4 to 6 minutes, depending on the size of the florets.
7. Remove the broccoli from the water, drain, and pat dry with kitchen towels.
8. Drizzle the cheese sauce over the cooked broccoli and serve immediately.

Preparation Time:  10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves:  4

Difficulty: Easy

Cheddar cheese, potatoes, cream, spinach and pine nuts, grilled to perfection au gratin, this spinach and potato gratin dish has quite literally every single one of my favourite comfort foods, all rolled together into one, big, brilliant recipe!  I make absolutely no claims as to the healthiness of this creation, but sometimes you just want to forget all about that and just eat something that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This dish definitely fits that bill!

Personally, I leave the skins on the potatoes, and since they’re supposed to be the healthy part anyway, I don’t feel too guilty about stuffing my face with this every once in a while. (Also try this potato au gratin with pesto and salmon steaks. Just take out the salmon to make it vegetarian, or perhaps you could replace it with tofu!)

This creamy and savoury asparagus and cheese pudding is a great way to make use of yesterday’s leftover bread and impress even the most demanding gourmands at the same time.  I usually use ciabatta, but any rustic style bread will work just as well. (Also try this Asparagus Risotto.)

What you’re going to need:

• 450g ciabatta bread, at least a day old, cut into 1cm thick slices
• 375ml milk
• 250ml double cream
• 6 large eggs
• 3/4tsp salt
• 1/4tsp pepper
• 450g asparagus, tough stems removed, cut into 5cm sticks
• 250g grated Manchego cheese
• 250g grated Parmesan cheese
• 1tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 1tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• 1tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

What you have to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC.
2. Lay the bread along the bottom of a large shallow dish and cover with the milk.
3. Set aside and let the bread absorb the milk, about 30 minutes.
4. Bring 3 litres of salted water to the boil in a large pot.
5. While you wait for the water to boil, butter a 2 litre baking dish and set aside.
6. Combine the double cream, eggs, salt and pepper in a medium size bowl and whisk together.  Set aside.
7. Place the asparagus in the boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes, until it just turns tender.
8. Drain and rinse under cold water then set aside to drain again.
9. Combine the cheeses in a small bowl.
10. Place a third of the milk-soaked bread on the bottom of the buttered baking dish.
11. Lay half of the asparagus over the bread, sprinkle with a third of the cheese mixture and half of the herbs.
12. Lay another third of the bread on top, cover with more asparagus, herbs and half of the remaining cheese.
13. Cover with the rest of the bread and the cheese, placing the remaining asparagus on top.
14. Pour the egg and cream mixture over the top.
15. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.
16. Use a knife to check if it’s done.  The egg and cream mixture should be set and the knife should come out clean when inserted into the centre of the pudding.
17. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Preparation Time:  35 minutes

Cooking Time: 60 minutes

Serves:  6-8

Difficulty: Difficult

They’re cheesy, chewy and delicious, and you’re going to love them.  What more can I say?! Prefer fruit over vegetables? Try these crepes suzette with oranges.

What you’re going to need:

For the crepes:

• 2 eggs
• 300ml milk
• 100g flour

For the filling:

• 2tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium-sized courgettes, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and diced
• 25g butter
• 25g flour
• 300ml milk, heated with 1 bay leaf, 1/2tsp ground nutmeg and 3tbsp diced onion
• 2tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 200g Ricotta cheese
• 50g Parmesan cheese
• 300ml vegetable broth
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Butter to grease the  baking dish

What you have to do:

For the crepes:

1. Beat together the eggs and milk with an electric blender for 30 seconds.
2. Add the flour and continue mixing for about a minute or until the mixture is smooth and thick.
3. Let set for 30 minutes.
4. Heat a bit of butter or oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
5. Drop about two tablespoons of batter onto the frying pan and fry for 1 minute, flip over and fry 1 minute more.
6. Repeat with the rest of the batter.  You should end up with around 10 crepes.

For the filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sauté the courgette and garlic for a few minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.
3. Drain off any excess oil with kitchen towel and set aside.
4. Heat the butter in a saucepot over low heat, add the flour and stir well to form a smooth paste.
5. Add about a third of the hot milk mixture, stirring constantly until the sauce is nice and smooth.
6. Add the rest of the milk mixture while continuing to stir; keep at it until smooth.
7. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
8. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
9. Add the courgette and garlic to the sauce along with the ricotta and half the Parmesan.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
10. Fill the crepes with the filling, using a spoon.
11. Roll them up and lay them out on a buttered baking sheet/dish.
12. Pour the vegetable broth over the top and sprinkle on the rest of the Parmesan.
13. Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes.
14. Serve hot.

Preparation Time:  30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves:  4-6

Difficulty: Hard