VEGETABLE MEDLEY ON SOURDOUGH

I don't like I could ever completely give up bread, as I love it so much! I have gotten myself to a place that when I eat bread I consider it a decadent treat, therefore I do not eat it often but when I do I enjoy the hell out of it. This simple sourdough was adapted from a vegetarian sourdough toast I had whilst out for breakfast a few weeks ago. I love the addition of hummus and basil, however you can go without if you do not have any. And what do you know, mushrooms made an appearance again (for those out there that do not know, I am trying my hardest to consume mushrooms and get over my dislike of them!). 

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 200g pumpkin, skin & seeds removed and thinly sliced
• 1 small red or green capsicum, thinly sliced 
• 100g mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 8 slim slices of sourdough bread, toasted to your liking
• 1 small avocado, halved
• the juice of 1 lemon
• 1 handful baby spinach
• Optional- a few basil leaves per slice of bread
• Optional - 4 teaspoons of hummus

Cooking 

1. Preheat a medium frying pan over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon oil. Once the pan is warm add 1 garlic clove and stir for 1 minute. Next add the pumpkin and cook for around 2 minutes per side or until just cooked. Remove the pumpkin and add the capsicum and cook for a few minutes or until lightly cooked. Remove the capsicum from the pan and place it with the cooked pumpkin. 

2. Pour the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and 1 garlic clove into the pan. Lower the heat if the garlic starts to burn. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly or until the mushrooms are cooked to your liking. Remove the mushrooms and place them with the capsicum and pumpkin. Mix the cooked vegetables.  

3. Spread 1/8 of the avocado onto each slice of sourdough. Lightly drizzle lemon juice on top. Top each slice with 1/8 of the baby spinach, 1/8 of the cooked vegetables, basil (if using), 1/2 teaspoon of hummus and another drizzle of lemon juice. Serve warm. 

Serves / 4 / 2 slices per serving 

Total Preparation time / around 12 minutes 

Total Cooking time / around 15 minutes (including assembling the slices)

x Emily 

TERESA CUTTER'S PUMPKIN BREAD

I stumbled across this recipe by the Healthy Chef, Teresa Cutter, while looking in a House & Garden magazine for renovation inspiration. I’ve come across Teresa in the past and have tried out some of her gluten-free, often dairy-free and health-conscious desserts and treats. I am sure we are all guilty of thinking of allergy free and low sugar sweets as dry, bland and uninteresting at one point in time, but the Healthy Chef blows this falsehood out of the water with her full flavoured, moist and easy-to-make cakes, muffins and breads (among other recipes). Here is her Pumpkin Bread, adapted very slightly. Even if you are not a fan of pumpkin I suggest making it- the warm bread is delightful with a dollop of butter, dunked in a steaming bowl of soup or eaten solo. 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 heaped cups (450-475g) grated raw pumpkin 
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 4 eggs, preferably free-range 
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1/6 - 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 3 cups (300g) almond meal
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free baking powder, sifted 

COOKING / BAKING

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a narrow but deep loaf tin with baking paper. 

2. In a large bowl place the grated pumpkin, syrup, eggs, salt, nutmeg and oil. Mix to combine and add almond meal and baking powder, stirring well. 

3. Pour/spoon the pumpkin mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer or knife inserted into the centre of the bread comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to rest for 1 hour before lifting out. 

Makes / 1 loaf

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes

Total Cooking time / 1 hour 10 minutes 

x Emily 

SPRING PANZANELLA

On of the fifth day of salad I really needed something substantial. The sun was beating down relentlessly and I was more than a little cranky because of this - who knew that endless sunshine could make you irritable? So I decided some toasted bread would be needed in my salad. Panzanella is a salad traditionally made from bread and tomatoes and originates in Florence, Italy. The bread is meant to be stale, however you can toast your bread like I did if it is not quite at this stage. Onions, basil, olive oil and vinegar are also commonly found in this salad, however I opted for eschallots, parsley and celery. Having been filled to the brim with tomatoes I chose to omit them from my summer Panzanella, which I am sure the Italians would have frowned upon!

INGREDIENTS

Salad 

• a generous handful of any type of lettuce, rinsed & drained
• 1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
• 1 large celery stalk, rinsed & finely chopped
• 1/2 a medium eschallot, finely chopped
• 2 slices gluten & dairy free bread, torn into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Dressing 

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 heaped tablespoon dijon mustard 
• pinch of sea salt 

COOKING

1. Preheat fan-forced oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Combine torn bread, parsley & 1 garlic clove in a small bowl, tossing well to combine. Scatter bread on tray in a single layer, then bake in the oven for 8 minutes or until bread pieces are lightly toasted and golden in colour. Remove from oven. 

2. Meanwhile, prepare dressing by mixing together all ingredients. Place lettuce, chickpeas, celery and eschallots in a large serving bowl and add dressing, tossing well to combine. Only add bread pieces right before serving the salad, or the bread will go soggy. Serve immediately after adding bread. 

Serves / 2-3 as a main / 4 as a side 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 10 minutes 

x Emily 

PUMPKIN WEDGES WITH HERBS

Yet another vegetarian recipe adapted from the genius Yotam Ottolenghi from his cookbook ‘Plenty’. The crust on these wedges is similar to stuffing and is therefore quite versatile. Other vegetables such as sweet potato, parsnips, eggplant and regular potato can be used as a base instead of pumpkin. As Ottolenghi suggests, these wedges would work nicely as a vegetable course at Christmas time. Feel free to get creative and change the herbs and spices in the topping.

INGREDIENTS

Pumpkin Wedges

• 600g pumpkin, sliced into 1cm thin slices (with skin left on)
• 40g gluten-free breadcrumbs (one can easily make by placing 2 slices of GF bread in a blender or food processor for 15-20 seconds)
• 25g sheep's pecorino cheese, finely grated (or if not dairy intolerant use finely grated parmesan cheese)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes 
• coconut oil 

Dipping Sauce (if dairy-intolerant omit dipping sauce)

• 100g extra light sour cream
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• sea salt 
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Lay the pumpkin slices down on the tray, trying not to overlap them. Brush the pumpkin lightly with coconut oil. 

2. To make the crust/topping, place breadcrumbs, parsley, basil, chilli flakes and cheese in a medium bowl, mixing well to combine. Sprinkle the pumpkin slices with this mixture, making sure each slice is covered. Pat the crust down gently. 

3. Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes or until pumpkin is tender but not mushy. If you find that the crust becomes quite dark during the roasting, gently place foil over the pumpkin. 

4. To make dipping sauce, combine the garlic and the parsley in a mortar & pestle and crush to combine. Add the sour cream, lime juice and a pinch of sea salt and combine well. Serve alongside the wedges. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 30-35 minutes 

x E

ALLERGY-FREE BANANA BREAD

Before I began allergy-free cooking, I adored baking at least once a week. I’d bake cakes, muffins, brownies, crumbles, even the occasional pie. I suppose that when the allergies hit I became a little scared to try baking again as I was worried that there was no gluten-free, dairy-free recipes out there that could possibly make sweets taste good (and healthy). How wrong I was. Thanks to a dear client at work who loves baking (and is mighty good at it!), I am no longer fearful of baking. After baking healthy cookies last weekend, I am unstoppable. Next sweet treat- Banana & Raspberry Bread (interestingly inspired from said friend). I took a Donna Hay recipe and changed several ingredients so the end result is gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 large bananas or 5 small ones)
• 1/4 maple syrup (preferably organic)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 1/4 cups gluten-free plain flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• Optional- 1 cup frozen raspberries 

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 160 degrees celsius. Grease a narrow baking tray with a small amount of coconut oil and then stick baking paper down. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the mashed banana, vanilla essence, maple syrup and coconut oil. Stir well to combine. Add the gluten-free plain flour (make sure to sift this!), baking powder and bicarb of soda, stirring well to combine. (Make sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl so that no flour remains visible). Add the frozen raspberries by gently stirring them into the mixture. 

3. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out of the middle of the cake clean. 

Serves / 6-8 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time /  minutes 

x E

VEGETARIAN OR NOT BREAKFAST BEANS

To me, a weekend breakfast should be original, hearty and sweet but savoury at the same time. Usually I take myself out to eat for breakfast on the weekend, as by Sunday morning I am too exhausted to use the creative part of my brain to cook or even prepare food. However, when I am feeling inspired on a Sunday morning I make breakfast.  The beans and maple syrup idea came from glancing at a few recipes in various cookbooks of mine. These recipes consisted of ½ cup of maple syrup as well as ample amounts of brown sugar. A little too much sweetness in the morning. I found that just 1 tablespoon of maple syrup was enough to flavour the beans. If you want to keep this breakfast vegetarian, omit the bacon and step 2. Instead, you could add a poached or soft boiled egg or a piece of wholemeal/mulitgrain/rye bread to bulk up the protein. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon rice bran oil / coconut oil 
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
• 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 small tomatoes (250g), cut into even cubes 
• 120g bacon, chopped into even sized pieces 
• Optional- fresh chives, 1/2 avocado, fresh lemon juice

COOKING 

1. Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat and swirl to coat pan. Add garlic and stir for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add beans and maple syrup and stir well to combine. Add tomatoes and 250ml (1 cup) water, bringing to the boil. When boiled, reduce to a simmer and cook for around 10-12 minutes, or until water is absorbed, stirring occasionally. 

2. Whilst the beans and tomatoes are simmering, cook the bacon. Warm up a small frying pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Stir for a few minutes or until bacon is cooked to your liking. (No need to add oil as the bacon should have enough!). 

3. When the beans have finished cooking, add the cooked bacon and a dash of ground black pepper. 

Serve beans alone or accompanied with 1/4 an avocado per serving and or fresh chives. I like to drizzle fresh lemon juice over the top as well. 

Serves / 2

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / maximum 25 minutes 

x Emily