Viva Pancake Day

It's Shrove Tuesday. This recipe is gluten free and makes 8 pancakes.

• 100 g gluten free plain white flour
  
• 2 eggs
• 300 ml milk

Mix together the flour, eggs and milk.

Heat a little oil in a heavy frying pan and as it starts to smoke, pour in just enough batter to thinly coat the base of the pan. Cook until golden, then turn the pancake over and cook other side until golden.
Stack the cooked pancakes on a plate and, if you’re not eating them straightaway, cover with foil to stop them from drying out. Serve with sugar and lemon.

Homemade Gluten Free Gnocchi

I wanted to surprise my gluten intolerant man and make the food he enjoyed the most back in the days when he didn't have a bad reaction to wheat. Found this recipe for homemade gnocchi. Regardless of the fact that afterwards the kitchen looked like Randy Marsh had cooked in it, it was so totally worth it. I cleaned the mess and enjoyed looking at the glow on his face.
1 kilo waxy potatoes, scrubbed
1 tbs sea salt
240g gluten-free flour
2 tbs butter
Place the un-peeled potatoes in a large pot of salted water, Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart. Drain, and peel the potatoes as soon as possible, while they are still hot.
On a work surface spread out a layer of flour. Mash the potatoes with a hand masher directly onto the flour. You can also use a food mill or ricer if you have those. Sprinkle the top of the potatoes with about half of the remaining flour and mix lightly. Begin to knead the dough, drawing in more flour as you knead. Keep doing this until the dough is light to the touch, no longer sticky or moist, and can be rolled easily. Do not overwork the dough, or the gnocchi will become too heavy.
Divide the dough into 4 parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a snake about ¾ inch thick, and cut the dough into ¾ inch long pieces. Hold an ordinary table fork, with long tines sideways. Once by one press and roll the gnocchi onto your thumb, making ridges on one side and a depression from your thumb on the other side.
Bring large pan of salted water to boil. Then drop about ½ the gnocchi in. When the gnocchi rise to the top, after about 3-4 minutes they are done. Scoop them out, allow them to drain and place in a serving bowl. Dot them with butter. Keep warm while remaining gnocchi are cooking. As soon as they are done, stir in with other gnocchi and more butter. Then serve with extra butter and Parmesan cheese, tomato sauce or any other sauce you wish.

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Today I had one of those 'panic moments'. Had to think of something quick and easy and also delicious to cook, without having the chance to go shopping. I used whatever we had in the fridge. It worked!

• 300g chopped broccoli
• 250g easy cook rice
• 500g good quality cream of mushroom soup
• 250ml water (veggie stock cube can be used)
• 200g cheddar cheese, cubed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 bunch celery, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• salt and pepper

Steam broccoli and cook rice according to package directions. Preheat oven 175 degrees C, gas mark 4.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, mix cream of mushroom soup and water. Gradually stir in cheese until melted. Be careful that the cheese doesn't burn.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and saute celery and onion until soft.
In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, rice, soup and cheese mixture, celery and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, until bubbly and lightly brown.

Blog Envy

When Steve Albini is not making noise, he is cooking. Here is his food blog.
It is ace!

http://mariobatalivoice.blogspot.com/

Turkish Zucchini Pancakes

Eating out and about at Turkish restaurants in Stoke Newington can be very inspiring sometimes. This recipe makes about 20.
Serve with tomato sauce and a white sauce, which you can make by mixing together in a small bowl, yogurt, garlic, dill, and salt.
4-5 big zucchini, trimmed, coarsely grated
2-3 chopped spring onions
4 eggs, beaten to blend
100g all-purpose flour
chopped fresh dill
chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon or 2 tsp. dried
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
100g crumbled feta cheese
2/3 c. chopped walnuts, optional
1 c. Greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced dill
1/2 tsp. salt
Sprinkle zucchini with salt and let stand in colander for 30 minutes to drain. Squeeze zucchini between hands, then squeeze dry in paper towels.
In a bowl, combine zucchini, flour, chopped green onions, eggs, herbs, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Fold in crumbled feta cheese. Mix again. Then fold chopped walnuts if using into the mixture.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place baking sheet in oven. Cover bottom of large nonstick skillet with olive oil. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, drop zucchini mixture into skillet by heaping tablespoonfuls. Fry until pancakes are golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer each batch of pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm. Serve pancakes hot with tomato and /or yogurt sauce.