Barry’s Gluten Free Muffins
Barry, the chef in my local pub, the Northgate Arms in Southgate Road, is a coeliac, so he knows his gluten-free well.
As today, it was raining when I got my paper from next door to the pub, I popped in for a drink. They were offering a Brunch Menu, which contained Eggs Royale, which is a poached egg on top of smoked salmon and a muffin.
I decided to have one, whilst I read the paper with a drink.
For me, instead of a muffin, Barry grilled a slice of aubergine, added a slice of a large tomato and some spinach to the top as a delicious substitute.
Asparagus Egg Dippers with Smoked Salmon
I’ve eaten in some very good restaurants in my time, although these days I tend to like to cook myself, as I like the thrill of creating something. But I’ve never eaten in Heston Blumenthal ‘s, Fat Duck, as I feel that his eclectic taste and ideas may not fit with being a coeliac.
So today, as I had some spare asparagus and I was going to Waitrose, I made sure that I had the basics for this recipe of Heston Blumenthal’s that the supermarket is promoting.
It was very simple and all it required was :-
- 250g of asparagus
- 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil – I’m not as posh as Heston thinks he is, so I used some good olive oil.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- 100g of smoked salmon – I used some from Pinney’s of Orford.
- 2 medium eggs although I think mine were large ones – Interestingly, I buy them in fours from Waitrose, which is a very sensible number for someone living alone.
The method is as follows.
- Remove the woody part of the asparagus stems by gently snapping off the ends (they should break naturally) – I’d never have thought of snapping them, so at least it saved a knife from the washing up.
- Coat the bottom of a frying pan with the oil then add the asparagus, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cover with a lid. Place the pan over a medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, or until the asparagus spears are cooked but still a vibrant green. Remove the pan from the heat and place the asparagus on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil – I actually tasted some after thy had been cooked and they were good.
- Cover a chopping board with a layer of clingfilm. Put the salmon slices on top in a single layer, then lay another layer of clingfilm over the top. Using a rolling pin, flatten the salmon so it becomes uniform in thickness. Remove the clingfilm, cut the salmon into strips and use to wrap each spear, leaving the top sticking out, and a few centimetres showing at the base – This was far too complicated and I can’t separate clingfilm with my hands, so I just separaed the smoked salmon and cut it into strips. It wasn’t too difficult and I’ll do it better next time.
- Using the smallest possible pan, just cover the eggs in cold water, and cover the pan. Bring to the boil quickly, over a high heat. Once boiling, remove from heat and leave to stand, still covered, for 6 minutes – I’d never have thought of boiling eggs in this way.
- After 6 minutes, remove the eggs from the pan and place them in egg cups. Crack the top of each egg with a spoon and remove the top. To serve, dip the salmon-wrapped asparagus spears into the soft egg yolk.
I actually opened the eggs as I always have by battering them with the bowl of a teaspoon and then peeling off the shell with the handle of the spoon.
I also put a hole in the bottom of the shell, so that witches can’t use them to sail away on the sea.
They were very good and a wonderful combination of three of my favourite foods; asparagus, eggs and smoked salmon.
They’re gluten-free too!
It gave me a lot of satisfaction to do this recipe. I also learned several simple techniques, that work well.
So perhaps the success of his cooking is lots of simple ideas, brilliantly executed.
Dr. Rosemary Says It’s OK To Eat Eggs
Rosemary Leonard has just been recommending that we eat more eggs, saying that they have proteins that are good for your eyes and vitamins D and B12.
An interesting thing she said was that Mexicans eat the most eggs per person. Someone said, this was because Mexico is a poor country, but it would be interesting to know why.
For the Royal Wedding, a friend and his Mexican wife stayed. On knowing that I was a coeliac, she said that Mexicans don’t eat much bread. But they do eat maize-based tortillas.
Does anybody have any information on the numbers of coeliacs in Mexico and how they get on? I suppose that their diet will be ruined by their neighbour to the north.
Eggs Florentine
This recipe came from the BBC’s web site and is by James Tanner.
It isn’t that good for cholesterol, but it’s quick and easy.
This is what you’ll need for one.
- 25g/1oz butter
- 75g/2¾oz spinach
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 free-range eggs
- 100ml/3½fl oz double cream – I use St. Helen’s Farm Goats cream
And this is the method that I use.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. I use the bottom of the top over in the AGA.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the spinach and sauté for three minutes, or until wilted.
- Place the spinach into a small ovenproof dish and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Crack the eggs into the dish and pour over the cream, then place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until golden and bubbling.
- Serve in the ovenproof dish.
It’s good and fills a hole!
The Anonymous Widower 