Showing posts with label vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetarian. Show all posts

Monday, 2 April 2012

Foodamentalists - Gluten & Wheat Free Vegan Pastry Mix

When the fantastic Foodamentalists sent me some of their Gluten & Wheat Free Vegan Pastry Mix to try, I was rather intrigued.  I'm a dyed-in-the-wool, all-butter-pastry kinda girl so I was interested to see how this would turn out.

The instructions on the packet surprised me as you melt the vegetable shortening  before adding it and I am used to rubbing the fat into the flour, in addition - the pastry dough was very soft before chilling and I wondered how easy to roll it would be.  Actually, the method meant that the whole process was very simple and less messy than usual and I was happily surprised by the result!  The pastry was smooth and pliable, rolled well and caused no problems when I lifted it to line the tin.  You do need to dust your rolling pin and work surface well with flour - I used arrowroot flour - to stop the dough from sticking, and work quickly as the fat seemed to soften faster than butter, but that might have been due to the temperature of my kitchen!

Apple and Coriander Tart

The packet makes enough pastry for a large pie and if you are making a tart, as I did, you'll have plenty dough left over - I made 12 mini quiches in a shallow bun tray and still had some left, which I have frozen. The final result is excellent; a crisp, slightly chewy pastry that is perfect for both sweet and savoury dishes.  I would definitely buy this mix myself, and at £2.99 per pack I think it's good value for money, especially when you consider how much pastry it makes!  It is an incredibly versatile mix and I would like to try to make rough-puff and suet pastry with it as I think I would get great results for them, too.

Mini Mushroom Quiches

Mini Mushroom Quiches
I know that these aren't vegan, but I came up with this recipe as a way of using up the leftover scraps of pastry.  It is vegetarian and can be easily made dairy free.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
125g mushrooms, cut into 1cm pieces
a handful of fresh herbs (I used thyme and parsley), chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Foodamentalists' Gluten & Wheat Free Vegan Pastry Mix, made up according to packet - you'll need about 1/3 of it
2 medium eggs
150ml double cream (for dairy free, try Sojasun Organic Soya Cream)

  • In a shallow pan, heat the oil and add the red onion, sautĂ© oven a medium heat until soft (about 2 minutes).  Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and continue to gently fry for about 4 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated.  Stir in the herbs and set aside to cool.
  • On a well dusted surface, roll out the pastry to about the size of your (12 cup) bun tray - if the tray is not non-stick, you should oil the cups for easy quiche-removal later!  Cut out rounds of pastry to fit each cup and gently place the pastry into the bun cups.  Chill for about 30 minutes in the fridge.
  • Break the eggs into a measuring jug, and top up with cream to make 250ml (you might not use the full 150ml), season and beat together until well mixed.
  • Once the pastry cases have chilled, remove from the fridge and place heaped teaspoons of the mushroom mixture into each case.  Pour the egg and cream mixture into the cases, leaving about 1/2cm room at the top.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes at 190°C, until golden brown.  Transfer cooked quiches to a cooling rack and serve warm or at room temperature.



Thursday, 15 December 2011

Free From & Festive! - Day 4


If there's anything more difficult than being a Coeliac at Christmas, it's being a vegetarian Coeliac at Christmas.  I do not envy all you gluten free veggies out there; most vegetarian options are pastry or pasta based and Christmas dinner has the potential to be just a gravy-less plate of sprouts if you're not careful.  On this day when turkey gravy is consumed and the oven is filled with that big bird, what is a vegetarian to eat?  Assuming  you don't cook goose-fat potatoes, or put pancetta through your sprouts, all you really need is a good centrepiece.

On day 4 of our Free From & Festive we are here to help!  Ruby over at Rubelle's Moon has been inspired by a vegetarian friend and has come up with a great suggestion for a gluten free vegetarian main.  If you fancy a colourful nut roast on your plate this Christmas, head over for the recipe.

I took on this challenge too, I'm guilty of a complete lack of imagination where meat-free is involved and I thought this was a good time to remedy it!

Mushroom and Kale Suet Pudding
This steamed pudding solves the lack-of-oven-space issue, and the individual puddings cook while the turkey is resting.  This recipe serves two.

1tbsp light olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced
175g mushrooms, thickly sliced
50g kale, roughly chopped
1tsp thyme leaves
100g gluten free self raising mix  (plus extra for dusting)
50g vegetable suet (Atora make a gluten free one, or try your local health food shop)

  • Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and mushrooms. Gently fry for about 5 minutes to soften then add the kale and thyme and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes - you want to cook it so that the liquid mostly cooks away or you'll have a stodgy pudding!  Remove from the heat, season and leave to cool.
  • Sift the self raising mix into a bowl with the suet. Slowly add cold water, mixing gently to form a soft dough. Cover and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes to rest.
  • Dust your worktop and rolling pin with flour and roll out 2/3 of the dough to 2-4mm thick and line two individual pudding basins with it.  Fill this with the mushroom and kale mix.
  • Roll out the last third of pastry and top your puddings. Cover the puddings with a piece of greaseproof paper then with foil and secure with string. (If you fold a crease into both, then you'll make space for the pastry to rise) 
  • For a better description of how to do this, have a look here.
  • Steam the puddings for 45 minutes.  I just put them in a covered saucepan of simmering water, on top of an upturned plate.
  • Once cooked, remove the string, foil and greaseproof paper and turn the puddings out.
(If you want to be prepared, this will freeze well, uncooked, for up to 3 months.)