Celery, Ham And Spinach Gratin
This recipe from Lindsey Bareham was my supper last night and there is enough left for lunch today.
Celery, Ham And Spinach Gratin
Perhaps the most interesting thing is the topping. I just took two slices of Genius soft brown sliced loaf, took off the crusts and then blitzed them in my Little Chopper with a couple of table-spoonfuls of finely grated parmesan. Simple, efficient and perfect every time! I use the same topping in Cinty’s fish pie.
I said I would have it for lunch today. This is the cold gratin on my plate.
Cold Gratin For Lunch
It was very nice and the crust held-up well after a night in the fridge.
Gluten-Free Quiche At Romeo’s
This gluten-free quiche was delicious.
Gluten-Free Quiche At Romeo’s
I now seem to go most Friday’s for lunch.
Cod, Potatoes And Onions
This was a simple recipe of Lindsey Bareham’s that I did last night.
Cod, Potatoes And Onions
It was cooked in one saucepan and although it looks a bit anaemic, it was tasty. Lindsey cooked her’s with peas and I think that would be better.
I’ll be doing it again. But with peas!
Cauliflower Cheese Like My Mother Didn’t Use To Make!
I like cauliflower and as a child, my mother used to make cauliflower cheese quite often. So when I saw Lindsey Bareham’s recipe for a good cauliflower cheese, I just had to make it.
I started by cutting up a medium sized cauliflower into florets and grated about a 100 grams of cheddar cheese.
Cauliflower And Grated Cheese
I also took two sliced of Genius gluten-free bread, which after decrusting, I mixed with some grated parmesan in my Little Chopper.
Making Breadcrumbs
The cauliflower was cooked in boiling salted water and then drained and placed in one of my Le Creuset dishes.
Cooked Cauliflower
I then made a sauce by melting 25 grams of butter in a saucepan and adding 75 grams of gluten-free flour, a teaspoon of English mustard, about 100 grams of the water from the cauliflower and 200 ml. of milk. When it boiled, I simmered it for 5 mins and then stirred in the cheddar until it melted. It was then poured over the cauliflower.
Cauliflower In Cheese Sauce
Then the breadcrumb mix was added over the top, with a couple of knobs of butter.
Ready For The Oven
I then cooked it for 20 minutes in the oven at 220°C.
Cauliflower Cheese
I did make a mistake and cooked it at 240°C, so it was slightly over-cooked, but it was certainly very tasty. I’d also added slightly more mustard than recommended, but that was probably better to my taste.
It was very definitely, a good cauliflower cheese. I shall be cooking it again!
The East Beach Cafe At Littlehampton
On my way to Yeovil, I had lunch at the Thomas Heatherwick-designed East Beach Cafe at Littlehampton.
It was a good gluten-free lunch of fish and chips and a glass of wine.
The cafe was very busy too and I suspect on a lovely summer’s, it might be difficult to get a table.
It was also a fair walk to and from the station and as ever the signs could have been better.
I don’t know whether Thomas Heatherwick has ever been to Felixstowe, but the ceiling detail was very like the walls of Charlie Manning’s Amusements in the town.
Cinty’s French Fish Pie
Because this recipe from Lindsey Bareham is so good and very quick, I’m putting the pictures up from when I made two on Friday; one for my supper and one for the fridge and later.
I first took 400 g. of trimmed leeks, halved them lengthways and made an attempt to slice them into thin half moons, before I rinsed and drained them. Note that as with all Lindsey Bareham’s recipes it’s based on the standard sizes of packs you get in Waitrose. So it’s 400 g because that’s the size of their packs of trimmed leeks.
A friend has said that she has a problem with leeks. But no matter, as the original recipe also specified the use of fennel!
400 g Of Prepared Leeks
At this point I put my oven on to 200°C.
I then melted 20 g of butter in my Le Creuset shallow casserole and stirred in the leeks, seasoning with salt and pepper. I covered and cooked them for 8-15 minutes, giving the occasional stir, until they were tender or in my case looked like the algae you get on ponds.
Cooking The Leeks
I then added 75 ml of dry white wine and simmered briskly, uncovered, until it was just juicy and not wet.
Juicy Not Wet Leeks
The leeks were then put into two 0.6 litre Le Creuset dishes, which I find make the ideal size pies for one.
Leeks In Le Creuset Dishes
And a piece of haddock was carefully placed on top. A tip here is to go a fishmonger, who sells square fish! As I got mine in a packet from Waitrose, they were a bit fish-shaped and didn’t fit too well.
Fish On The Leeks
The fish was in turn covered with crème fraiche. I used about 150 ml per pie and just spread it with a trowel like you would Artex.
After Adding The Creme Fraiche
It was then covered with a mixture of breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan. I actually used a couple of slices of Genius bread, which I decrusted sand then pulverised with the parmesan in my Little Chopper. Here’s the one I kept for later, just before I wrapped it in clingfilm.
A Pie Ready For The Oven
The other was in the oven for thirty minutes and came out a lovely shade of brown, which I forgot to photograph at the time. This picture shows it on my plate, just before I ate it.
A Pie Ready For The Stomach
It was delicious and the great thing about this recipe, is that there is only a little washing up to do! So if like me, you have to do it yourself, It’s not too much of a problem.
Gluten Free Bread And Benecol Anybody?
At ten today, a Sunday, Romeo’s Gluten Free Bakery was busy and I bought a seeded loaf for my supper.
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- Accompanying My Supper
I’ve just eaten a crust and a slice with Benecol. Before I was diagnosed as a coeliac, I was always a bit of a glutton for nice bread, as was C.
I hope my bad habits don’t make me put on weight! But the bread was amazingly delicious!
My supper tonight was the second part of one of Lindsey Barham’s Sausage Stew With Apple And Spinach. The observant will notice that I forgot to add the soinach.
A Pleasant Surprise In Middlesbrough
I like nice cafes and it was only as I was leaving Middlesbrough, that I found the Traveller’s Rest in the station.
From a quick perusal of their menu, it would appear that there is something I could have eaten, which was a pity, as I didn’t get anything to eat until I got home about five hours later.
There’a positive review of the cafe here.
I did chat to the owner and he also indicated that Northern Rail had been very encouraging in his venture. Are they repeating the philosphy, which was obviously at play with the Overground at Crystal Palace station and South Eastern at Margate?
Let’s hope so, as all fair-sized stations need a distinctive and spacious cafe or restaurant for the passengers.
Romeo’s Gluten Free Bakery Opens
Romeo’s Gluten Free Bakery actually opened yesterday, but I only found out late last night from a waitress in Carluccio’s.
It was well worth a visit and I had a cup of tea, a chicken pie and a loaf of bread to take home for fourteen pounds.
The chicken pie was superb and was one of the best lunchtime snacks, I’ve ever had. The pastry was just how it should be and I’ve never had gluten-free pastry like it before.
If you want to go, the easiest way is to walk down Upper Street in Islington from either the Angel or Highbury and Islington stations. It’s virtually opposite Islington Town Hall.
A Great Way To Cook Cabbage
On Friday night, I cooked Lindsey Bareham’s recipe for Pork Chops With Braised Cabbage
A Great Way To Cook Cabbage
I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I doubt it would have been acceptable to life-long cabbage-haters like C.
The Anonymous Widower 