Toad in the Hole

It was a lovely surprise to arrive home from holiday last week and find a pack of Isabel's Yorkshire Pudding Mix waiting for us in the post.  We had been lucky enough to test some of the mix before it had been finally packaged and prepared for sale.  So, we decided that a good dish to use it in would be Toad in the Hole. 

With this in mind, we bought some Gluten Free sausages from the Good Little Company and were ready to make the most of the oven space when we were baking Banana Bread on Friday.
The ingredients in Isabel's Yorkshire Pudding Mix are naturally gluten free...

.... and the instructions are clear and easy to follow.

So, we got 2 eggs and 320ml of milk and started to prepare the batter.

We whisked the eggs into the milk.

Then added the milk/egg mix to the flour and whisked it together.

Then, the batter was divided between two baking trays which had been placed in the pre-heated oven.  Instead of the oil suggested on the packet, we used a little beef dripping in the bottom of each tray.
One tray had just batter added and the other had some pre-cooked sausages added to the mix.  Both trays were then placed in the pre-heated oven (180ºC fan) and cooked for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes in the oven, this was the result.  Sous Chef J was most impressed with the 'plain' Yorkshire pudding as it had turned into a mountainous pud.

The Toad in the Hole was cooked well throughout although the sausages were rather 'well done'!

Sous Chef J didn't complain though, and his plate of tasty mouthfuls was demolished in record time.

Thanks, once more, to Isabel for yet another lovely Gluten Free mix that makes cooking simple and tasty.

Check out our earlier post about cooking with Isabel's Pizza Base mix here

Fish, Chips and Peas

It was a delight to be sent a packet of Isabel's Gluten Free Batter Mix by the lovely @Bels_Doughballs the other week.  Sous Chef J was keen to get testing and tasting and it was the perfect excuse to make our version of the Yorkshire classic - fish, chips and (not) mushy peas!

This is what we needed to make up batter with 125g of the mix - half a packet.  Yes, just 160ml of cold water.  The mix lists its ingredients as rice starch, cassava starch, brown rice flour, disodium biphosphate, sodium bicarbonate and salt).

Sous Chef J quickly got to work adding the water to the batter mix and attempted to be a speed hand mixer.  Having worked his magic, we had a lovely consistency of batter ready for action.  However, before we sorted out the fish, we put half of the batter mix into another bowl... more on that later!

The fish had been cut into thick fingers and these were coated in the batter.  Having heated some vegetable oil, the battered fish was added and cooking commenced.






After a few minutes, the batter turned an attractive caramel colour and the fish was removed and drained on a piece of kitchen paper.

After the addition of some steamed sugarsnap peas and our special spicy potato wedges it was time for Sous Chef J to taste test... whilst I got on with a little treat for pud.

Having split the batter mix into two, I decided to try to make deep fried bananas with the remaining half.  Admittedly, the bananas used were rather ripe but using the same technique as for the fish (albeit with fresh oil) the result was these... served with a dollop of home made crème fraiche and sprinkle of sesame seeds.

And, Sous Chef J's verdict?

We thoroughly enjoyed our take on fish, chips and peas and the pud was tasty too... but we will be using underripe bananas for deep frying in future!

Thank you @Bels_Doughballs for thinking of us and introducing another simple mix to our Gluten Free cooking options.

Cheese Dough Balls

Having enjoyed using Isabel's Pizza Base mixes, we decided to give their Dough Balls packet a try out.

 

Sous Chef J started by checking that the packet mix contained the amount it said it did!  Next he gathered the other ingredients - egg, water, oil and grated cheese.

He then added the ingredients to the mix and combined them by hand.  A food processor can be used but, as this is part of the therapy we carry out, we try to be as "hands on" as possible.   

Once the mixture had come together as a nice dough, small lumps were broken off and formed into individual balls.  These were placed on a non-stick baking sheet and baked in a preheated fan oven at 180ºC for 20-25 minutes.

The doughballs can be frozen, uncooked, and this is what we did with half of the mix.  For once, we even remembered to put the cooking instructions on the freezer bag!

Once the rolls were cooked, we cooled them on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sous chef J decided to turn his dough balls into cheese and tomato rolls... and very tasty they were too. Another naturally Gluten Free lunchtime option thanks to @Bels_Doughballs.

Proper Pizza

Having searched through the cupboard in readiness for a baking session this afternoon, we came across a packet of Isabel's 4 Pizza Base Mix... it told us that all that was required to make "4 delicious thin crust Italian style pizza bases" was the packet contents, 200ml cold water, 3 Tbsp olive oil and one large egg... all of which we had. So a plan was formulated and my son decided he wanted a "proper" pizza for tea. I was instructed to make the topping and he gathered together the required equipment and ingredients.

To make the topping, I sliced two small onions and fried them in a small amount of rapeseed oil until they were soft. To this was added a big dollop (about 350g) passata and the two were left to simmer and reduce over a low heat whilst the dough making began.

Having gathered all the required ingredients together, the dough making got underway... at this point my trusty sous chef decided he was not going to get his hands in the mix (under the guise of saving them for photos!) So, I was given the task of kneading the dough after he'd made a start on the mixing...



Once the dough was ready, it was spread out onto a non-stick baking sheet and rolled into a pirate island shape... this was then baked in the oven at 180C for 20 minutes, it was turned over half way through (per packet instructions), removed from the oven and the tomato and onion topping was added...



as was some grated cheese.

This was the result after another 10 minutes in the oven.


It was declared to be a perfect pizza and, sadly, we have no way of knowing how well it tastes when cold as it was eaten as soon as it was served up!



We made two other, smaller, bases which have been frozen for future use. If they work as well as the large one did then they won't last long, that's for sure.