Simple Smoked Mackerel Pate

Smoked mackerel is something we like to eat and is a good source of lots of vitamins and healthy oils.  As Sous Chef J is a big fan of dips, we thought we'd try to make a dip-like pate for a speedy lunch.
 
We started by gathering the ingredients we were going to use, which were:

• 1 pack/(about) 280g smoked mackerel fillets (we used plain but peppered could also be used)
• 200g cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp of creme fraiche
• juice of half a lemon
We also added (but these can be left out if you prefer):
• 1/2 tsp jarred horseradish (you can add more, to taste)
• black peppercorns (lightly crushed) if not using peppered fillets

We began by removing the skin from the mackerel fillets. Usually the skin peels straight off

but, if you need to, you can scrape any remaining skin off with a sharp knife or back of a spoon.
 
 

Next the fish was broken up and checked to make sure we removed any obvious bones.
 
 
 
Then we put the mackerel, cream cheese and creme fraiche (this is when you add any additional ingredients if you're using them) into our blender and whizzed until it was combined.  

 
At this point we added half of the lemon juice, whizzed again, checked the flavour and added the rest as we like 'zingy' foods.
 
Once we were happy with the taste, and it was fully mixed, some was spooned into serving bowl.  The remainder was placed in jam jars in the fridge for another day - the mixture was a little runny but soon firmed up in the fridge. 
 

It's speedy to make and we ate some of ours immediately.  The rest was kept the fridge and eaten within 3 days.
 
We served ours with ready salted crisps, but it is also tasty with crusty toast or toasted pitta breads.

Almond Red Pepper Dip from The Wheat Belly Cook Book

We were asked if we'd like to review the Wheat Belly Cookbook by Dr William Davis and jumped at the chance... it's always good to get a look at new recipes and were delighted, on the first flick through, to find 4 recipes we liked the look of.  This is the sign of 'our sort of book'... we are always keen to find new, simple, recipes.

The first recipe from the book we liked the sound of was Almond Red Pepper Dip.  For this we needed -
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained well
24g flaked almonds, toasted
40g parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove
Pinch of ground red pepper (we didn't have any)
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Putting the first five ingredients in our mini blender, they were whizzed together until smooth.





Seasoning was then added and the dip was served with lettuce leaves, celery sticks and cucumber slices.

This was a really easy-to-make and tasty recipe.  Sous Chef J enjoyed his dip with some spicy potato wedges.

The recipe was judged to be a "real hit" as it was super-tasty and was made using store cupboard ingredients.  It's definitely a dish that will be made more than once!

Looking more closely at Dr Davis's Wheat Belly Cookbook, it has two parts - Part One deals with Health, Weight and Life the Wheat Belly Way and Part Two is the Recipes.

In his introduction, a statement that caught our attention was ".. to help you recreate delicious foods without wheat and without the rice starch, cornflour, potato flour and tapioca starch of commercial gluten-free foods.  The recipes presented herein are tasty, don't screw with blood sugar, don't trigger appetite and are truly healthy - a novel concept!"  Seeing as we're all about cooking from scratch and finding simple, easy to prepare food, this sounds great. 

Reading, quite swiftly we admit, through part one we were provided with a good overview of what the Wheat Belly diet aims to address, why Dr Davis thinks this is necessary and how to assemble the goods/ingredients needed to follow the regime he recommends.  As was said at the start, when looking through part two, we found a number of recipes which caught our eye and were marked for making.  It's a book we'll enjoy reading and referring to and will definitely be trying out more recipes as we continue to 'cook from scratch'.

Disclosure - we were sent a free copy of the book but were not required to write a positive blogpost.  The opinions are our own.  We were not paid for this post.

Parma Ham, Cheese and Pea Tarts

Following a post-Christmas 'fridge audit' we discovered some Parma Ham that needed to be used up.  We also had double cream and yogurt that were nearing their use by dates.

The ingredients we needed to use were -
2 large eggs, beaten
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
One red onion, diced and lightly cooked
200ml live, natural yogurt
100ml double cream
6 slices Parma ham
Seasoning

Also - 100g frozen peas (could be replaced by asparagus spears or brocolli florets)

The onions were being lightly cooked in some sunflower oil until they became transparent.

Taking a muffin tin, each slice of ham was cut in half and used to line the tin.  This would form the 'case' for the tart/quiche filling.

Having mixed the yogurt, cream and beaten eggs, the Parmesan cheese was added and mixed through.






A dessertspoonful of the mix was added to the bottom of the 'case' and then some fried-off onions were laid on top.  Next, another layer of the mix was added until the 'cases' were filled.

Finally, a few frozen peas were added to each case.  The tarts were then ready to be cooked, at 170ºC (fan oven) for about 15 minutes.

We also cooked a 'large' pastryless tart/quiche by oiling a pyrex dish, and layering the mix, onions, mix in the same way.  This, larger, dish also had extra grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top before the frozen peas were added.  This was cooked for about 30 minutes, until it was lightly firm when the dish was moved.

The Parma Ham tarts were used, cold, for lunch on a day out before New Year's Eve with friends - they were much admired by our gluten-eating foodie pals.










We ate the large pastryless, vegetarian, quiche warm with chilli potatoes and a green salad.  It made a lovely change from the 'excesses' of the Festive Season.

Kabuto Gluten Free Noodles

When we heard about the gluten free pots of @KabutoNoodles on twitter and were offered some to try, we were keen to see what they were like.

The parcel arrived and there were three pots each of Miso and Chicken noodles. 

Sous Chef J decided we'd try the Miso pot first...

...opening the pot, there looked to be a small portion of rice noodles and we topped up the container as instructed.

After stirring well (we recommend using a fork for this), the foil lid was placed back over and the noodles were left to 'brew'...

...three minutes later, we decanted the now-much-bigger noodles into our bowls and gave them a try.

 As we're fond of saying here "actions speak louder than words..." so this pic of Sous Chef J's bowl (yes, he did use a fork!) shows what he thought of the noodles.  

There were plenty of noodles and the miso was very tasty.






 
A pot of Kabuto Noodles made a great take to work lunch for B... and as they're easy to store, they're a handy 'just in case' addition for us too.


At the moment, Ocado stock the gluten free noodles (£1.99 a pot), as do Whole Foods London.   Also, independent stores are stocking the noodles...

We did look for the noodles in the supermarket but our local Sainsburys only stocked the gluten-containing Kabuto Noodle pots (so beware when looking in stores)... but, perhaps one day soon, the Gluten Free pots will also be stocked?!

Disclosure - we were sent a box of noodle pots to try.  We were not required to write a blogpost and all the opinions are our own.

Spiced Apple and Squash Soup

Sous Chef J spotted this recipe in the Waitrose weekly paper and liked the sound of the 'spicy bit'.  As our veg box had left us with a squash, we decided to give it a go.

We started by gathering together the ingredients:-

1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
¼ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
Apple puree (we'd already made this from some Autumn windfalls but the recipe states 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced)
1 litre vegetable stock - we made this up using a Knorr stockpot

Having heated the oil in a large saucepan, the onion was fried for 3–4 minutes. Next the chilli flakes, cinnamon, squash and apple puree were added, mixed and cooked for a couple of minutes.

Finally, we added the stock, covered and brought to the boil before simmering for 20 minutes by which time the squash was tender.

Before serving, a stick blender was used to purée the soup. Seasoning was added to taste and it was served with some Genius Gluten Free Seeded bread and butter.

The recipe states it makes 4 servings but we had enough for 8 - I suppose it depends how big your appetite (and soup bowl) is!  Having made a panful, we decanted the excess soup into sterilised jars, cooled them and then stored in the fridge before heating up for further lunchtime loveliness.

Give it a go... it's a tasty, warming and simple seasonal soup!

Pastryless Cheese and Onion Quiche

OK, so this is a bit of a "make it up as we go along" recipe. When there are eggs that need using up, this is the recipe of choice for us. The principle is the same each time we make this but amounts and timings have to be adjusted depending on number and size of eggs being used, runniness of yoghurt and amount of cheese... It's definitely worth cooking but you need to keep an eye on what's going on in the oven.

The ingredients used this time were two onions, which had been sliced, two large eggs, beaten, about 400ml natural yoghurt and lots of grated mature cheddar cheese. Plus seasoning to taste and sunflower oil for cooking and oiling the dish. As mentioned above, this is a dish that is cooked when the eggs we have are about to go out of date... so we may use three medium eggs, two large eggs or more... depending on the supply situation!

First of all, the sliced onions were cooked in sunflower oil over a medium heat until they are starting to cook through (we usually use red onions).








Whilst the onions were cooking, we mixed together the eggs and yoghurt then added in the grated cheese - sous chef J seasoned well with freshly ground black pepper (using his own 'special' pepper mill). His next task was to oil the pyrex dish we cook the quiche in. Sunflower oil is used for this and he spreads it over the base and up the sides using a silcone 'brush' like utensil from Ikea.








After oiling the dish, a thin layer of the egg, cheese and yogurt mix was added... and spread out evenly. This was then covered with the onions.

Finally, the onions were covered with the remainder of the egg, cheese and yoghurt mix and the dish was placed in the preheated oven.
After cooking in the oven at 180ºC (for about 25 minutes with this amount) we ended up with this...

After allowing it a little time cooling in the dish, we carefully served (we use a fish slice). We enjoy our quiche with any/all of salad, potato wedges, steamed vegs... or you can try whatever takes your fancy!
The quiche can be cooled fully, stored in the fridge and sliced for picnics. It freezes well for a short time too.