Carrot and Chilli Soup
Spinach and Bean Curd Soup
Gazpacho
Lentil Soup with Garlic Croutons
Beetroot Soup with Fennel and Horseradish
Cream of Mushroom Soup with Coconut Milk
Yellow Split Pea Soup
Asparagus Soup with Wild Garlic
Celeriac Soup
Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Leek and Salmon Soup with Fresh Dill
Carrot, Tomato and Ginger Soup
Smoked Haddock Soup
Green Pea and Watercress Soup
Celery and Rice Soup with Lemongrass
Sardine Hummus
Aubergine and Nut Butter Pate
Sardine and Avocado Salad
Smoked Trout and Melon Salad
Crudités with Wasabi Dip
Cauliflower and Anchovy Salad
Potato and Celery au Gratin
Courgettes with Sun-dried Tomato Sauce
Grilled Pear with Watercress and Toasted Cheese
Grilled Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms
This is a lovely delicately flavoured soup, given a really smooth and creamy texture by the coconut milk. Most of the red chillies you buy in supermarkets are now quite mild, but take care you do not pick a Scotch bonnet, as two would overwhelm the soup! | Serves 6 | Picture page 21
1 tbsp | olive oil | 1 tbsp |
2 | fresh red chillies, de-seeded and finely sliced | 2 |
500g | carrots, scrubbed and diced | 1 ¼ lbs |
200g | approx sweet potato, peeled and diced | 7 oz |
600ml | wheat/gluten-free vegetable stock | 1 pint |
800ml | coconut milk | 1 ¼ pints |
juice 2 limes | ||
1 tsp approx | Tabasco | 1 tsp |
sea salt |
1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan and gently fry the chillies for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, sweet potato and stock and bring to the boil.
3. Cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until the carrots are cooked.
4. Purée in a food processor then return to the pan.
5. Add the coconut milk and lime juice, mix well then season to taste with the Tabasco and sea salt.
6. Reheat to serve.
Note: Be careful not to stand over the chillies as you are frying them as the oils that escape as they cook can really catch in your throat.
I devised this soup when working on a book of Festive Feasts for the British Museum – it could have been served as part of a banquet at the eighteenth century Emperor Qianlong’s court. It is quite light and delicately flavoured. | Serves 6
6 | dried Chinese mushrooms | 6 |
200g | young fresh spinach | 7 oz |
400g | firm soya bean curd (tofu) cut into bite-size cubes | 14 oz |
2 tbsp | sunflower oil | 2 tbsp |
100g | fresh field mushrooms, sliced thinly | 4 oz |
2 tbsp | wheat/gluten-free soya sauce or tamari | 2 tbsp |
2 tbsp | Shaoxing wine | 2 tbsp |
4 | level teaspoons cornflour, mixed with a little water | 4 |
1 litre | good wheat/gluten-free vegetable stock | 1 ¾ pints |
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste | ||
2 tsp | sesame oil | 2 tsp |
1. Soak the mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes then drain, remove the stems and slice very finely.
2. Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 1 minute then rinse in cold water, drain, squeeze dry then chop finely.
3. Blanch the bean curd in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain and leave to dry.
4. Heat the sunflower oil in a wok over high heat.
5. Add the dried and fresh mushrooms and cook for a minute, stirring.
6. Add the spinach, soya sauce and wine and stir for another minute.
7. Mix the cornflour to a smooth paste with a little of the stock.
8. Add the cornflour, stock, bean curd and salt and pepper to the soup.
9. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
10. Sprinkle with sesame oil and serve at once.
Note: Many Far Eastern dishes are naturally gluten, wheat and dairy free so it is worth trawling through some Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian cookbooks when your culinary inspiration is running low.
This is a lovely refreshing summer soup which, with the added vegetables, is quite substantial enough for lunch. If you want to make the soup more filling you can add 50g/2 oz finely chopped ham and 50g/2 oz finely chopped spicy sausage (but check the ingredients of the latter, especially for gluten) along with the chopped vegetables. | Serves 6-8
1 kg | ripe tomatoes, chopped roughly | 2 lbs |
3 | large cloves garlic | 3 |
1 | small onion, finely chopped | 1 |
6 tbsp | olive oil | 6 tbsp |
300 ml | dry white wine | 10 fl oz |
600 ml | chicken stock | 1 pint |
juice 1-2 lemons | ||
sea salt and pepper | ||
50g | each finely chopped celery, | 2 oz |
green or red pepper and cucumber |
1. Put the tomatoes in a large pan with the garlic, onion, oil, wine and stock.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Purée the soup in a food processor or liquidiser then put through a sieve to remove the tomato pips.
4. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste bearing in mind that flavours get dulled by chilling.
5. Chill the soup and just before serving add the chopped vegetables.
Note: The ‘gazpacho’ that is normally served in northern Europe is a chilled creamy tomato soup whereas a traditional Spanish gazpacho has a more vigorous flavour and no cream, so much better for those with a dairy problem.
You can use any coloured lentils for this soup although red lentils give it the best colour – and cook fastest. The spices give it a lovely North African flavour – the croutons a delicious crunch. Make sure that you cook the spices gently for a few minutes to bring out the flavour before you add the vegetables.
You can use the remains of any gluten or wheat-free bread that you have to make the croutons. | Serves 6
1. Put the oil in a deep pan with the cumin and coriander, stir well around and fry very gently for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the onion, garlic and celery and cook gently for 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are starting to soften.
3. Add the lentils and continue to cook for a few minutes more then add the liquid and a little seasoning.
4. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 45-60 minutes or until the lentils have all but disintegrated.
5. Purée in a food processor then return to the pan and adjust the seasoning to taste.
6. While the lentils are cooking make the croutons by heating the oil in a wide frying pan.
7. Add the garlic and cook gently for several minutes or until it is lightly cooked through but not burnt.
8. Increase the heat slightly and add the bread cubes.
9. Fry briskly for 5-6 minutes until the cubes are all well browned but not burnt.
Remove from the pan onto kitchen paper to drain off any excess oil.
Serve the soup hot with the warm croutons.
Note: If you are a real garlic fan you could also serve the soup with a garlic sauce. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, add 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed, and Vi tsp each ground cumin and coriander. Fry briskly until golden but not burnt and add sizzling spoonfuls to each serving.
Beetroot and horseradish are a great combination of flavours as the heat of the horseradish counters the sweetness of the beetroot - as anyone who has ever eaten the traditional Jewish dish of gefilte fish with chrain will tell you. | Serves 6
550g | fresh beetroots, topped, tailed, scrubbed and diced | 1¼ lbs |
1 | medium head fennel | 1 |
250g | sweet potatoes, peeled and diced | 9 oz |
1.2 litres | wheat and gluten-free vegetable stock | 2 pints |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper | ||
6 tsp | grated horseradish | 6 tsp |
4 tbsp | plain goat, sheep’s milk or soya yogurt | 4 tbsp |
1. Put the beetroot, fennel, sweet potato and stock into a large pan and bring slowly to the boil.
2. Simmer, with the lid on, for 30-35 minutes or until the beets are cooked, then purée in a food processor.
3. Season to taste and if too thick, add a little extra stock.
4. In a small bowl mix the yogurt into the horseradish until it forms a smooth paste, then season to taste.
5. Serve the soup in bowls with a large spoonful of the horseradish mix swirled into each bowl.
Note: Both beetroot and sweet potato are highly nutritious (as well as delicious) so this soup will also boost your intake of folate, and vitamins A and C.
The coconut milk gives a wonderfully creamy texture to this soup, while its flavour melds with, but does not overpower, the flavour of the mushrooms. | Serves 6
6 tbsp | olive oil | 6 tbsp |
6 | small leeks, trimmed and sliced finely | 6 |
350g | chestnut mushrooms, chopped small | 12 oz |
600ml | coconut milk | 1 pint |
600ml | gluten/wheat-free vegetable stock sea salt and freshly ground black pepper juice 1-2 lemons | 1 pint |
100g | oyster or shitake mushrooms, sliced | 4 oz |
extra 2 tbsp olive oil |
1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan and add the leeks.
2. Sauté gently for 2-3 minutes, then add the chopped chestnut mushrooms. Continue to cook gently, uncovered for a further 10 minutes.
3. Add the coconut milk and stock. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Purée in a liquidiser or food processor then return to the pan and season to taste with the salt, pepper and lemon juice.
5. When ready to serve, heat the extra oil in a pan and briskly fry the sliced oyster or shitake mushrooms.
6. Reheat the soup and serve with the extra mushrooms scattered over the top.
Note: You can use any combination of mushrooms that you like for this soup – varying it according to what is available seasonally.
The very excellent flavour of this soup depends on the really long, slow cooking of the onions - so be generous with your time if nothing else! | Serves 6
1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan and add the cumin and coriander.
2. Cook gently for 2-3 minutes then add the onions and carrot and continue to cook very gently, uncovered, stirring regularly, for 45-60 minutes. Make sure they do not burn.
3. Add the split peas and the stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, add extra stock if it is too thick, and serve.
Note: Pulse-based soups are great for those who cannot thicken their soup either with flour or with cream as they are smooth and filling - and nutritious.
This is very much a seasonal soup - to be made in May or June when the English asparagus has just arrived. If you can find some wild garlic (very easy to grow in a shady spot in your garden) it gives it a special flavour. If not, some homegrown chives in a pot will do very well. The simplicity of the ingredients allows the flavour of the asparagus to shine through.
You can serve the soup warm or at room temperature. | Serves 6
550g | fresh asparagus, English if possible | 1¼ lbs |
1.5 litres | gluten/wheat-free vegetable or chicken stock | 2½ pints |
200ml | dry white wine | 7 fl oz |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper | ||
large handful of wild garlic leaves with flowers if possible or, if you cannot find wild garlic, fresh chives with flowers |
1. Trim the tough ends off the asparagus and cut the spears into shortish pieces and put in a large pan with the stock and white wine.
2. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Purée in a food processor and season to taste.
4. When ready to serve, reheat the soup gently.
5. Remove the stems and chop garlic leaves quite small.
6. Stir into the soup before serving and scatter the flowers over the tureen or each bowl.
Note: It is so easy to grow herbs such as chives in pots on a balcony or window sill that it is really worth doing as freshly cut herbs are so much more delicious than even the best that you can buy in a shop.
Celeriac is a very undervalued vegetable which is a pity as it is delicious and enormously flexible. This has to be the simplest soup recipe ever – but the result is to die for. | Serves 6
675g | bulb of celeriac, trimmed and cut in large cubes | 1½ lbs |
1 | small bulb of garlic, the cloves peeled and halved | 1 |
1.8 litres | wheat/gluten-free vegetable stock | 3¼ pints |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
1. Put the celeriac with the garlic and stock in a large pan and bring to the boil.
2. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the celeriac is soft.
3. Purée in a food processor and season to taste. Serve.
Note: Celeriac is a variety of celery with a very developed root and only tiny stalks. It is sometimes known as turnip-rooted celery. It has a similar flavour to celery but gentler without the latter’s occasional bitterness. Although rare in the UK, allergy to plants in the celery family is not unusual in continental Europe.
This is a lovely creamy, warming soup - even though it does not contain any cream! If you want it to be spicier, you can use some gluten/wheat-free curry paste once the soup is cooked to ‘spice it up’ a bit more. Just add soup, little by little, to a teaspoon of curry paste in a small bowl then stir into the soup. | Serves 6
4 tbsp | olive oil | 4 tbsp |
1 | large leek, finely sliced | 1 |
3-6 heaped tsp | medium heat gluten/wheat-free curry | 3-6 heaped tsp |
powder depending on how hot you want your soup | ||
1 | medium-size butternut squash | 1 |
1 litre | gluten/wheat-free vegetable stock | 1¾ pints |
sea salt |
1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan, add the leeks and the curry powder and cook gently, stirring regularly, for 10-15 minutes or until the leeks are soft.
2. Peel the squash and remove the seeds.
3. Cut in cubes and add to the leeks.
4. Continue to cook for a further few minutes then add the stock.
5. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
6. Purée the soup in a food processor and season to taste before serving.
Note: Winter squashes, although long a staple in the USA, are relatively recent arrivals in the UK although we have long been familiar with their summer cousins, courgettes and marrows. Butternut squash, with its ability to keep for months and its beautiful golden colour and lovely rich taste, has become a particular favourite. They are also a good source of vitamin C and potassium.
A light and delicately flavoured soup - lovely for lunch with a freshly baked gluten-free loaf! If you cannot get fresh dill, use 1 heaped tsp of dried dill along with the salmon - but it is much nicer with fresh. | Serves 6
1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan, add the leeks and cook very slowly for 30-40 minutes or until they are soft.
2. Add the salmon, the stock and wine, salt and pepper and bring slowly to just below the boil, by which time the salmon pieces should be almost cooked. Add the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning to taste.
3. Chop in about half of the dill and mix very gently.
4. Reheat to serve, stirring gently and not allowing the soup to boil.
5. Serve in bowls sprinkled with extra dill.
Note: With their more delicate flavour I find that leeks work better with fish dishes than onions.
This is another of those wonderfully simple but tasty and filling soups. It works equally well hot or cold so is good for winter or summer.
You can just drop a sprig of mint or basil on the top of each bowl, or chop the leaves and stir them into the soup before serving. | Serves 6
550g | carrots | 1¼ lbs |
550g | fresh tomatoes (I used small plum tomatoes) | 1¼ lbs |
2 heaped tsp | powdered ginger | 2 heaped tsp |
1 litre | gluten and wheat-free vegetable stock | 1¾ pints |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper | ||
fresh basil or fresh mint |
1. Scrub or peel the carrots and cut in large dice.
2. Halve or quarter the tomatoes.
3. Put all into a pan with the ginger and stock and bring to the boil.
4. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
5. Purée in a food processor then return to the pan.
6. Reheat and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Serve decorated with a sprig of fresh basil or fresh mint.
Note: A great soup for boosting your intake of vitamins A and C.
This is a really substantial, ‘North Sea’ soup that would be ample for a meal on its own. | Serves 6
450g | smoked haddock (ideally the undyed) | 1 lb |
600ml | water | 1 pint |
1 | large onion, peeled and chopped roughly | 1 |
400g | celeriac or old potatoes | 14 oz |
900ml | plain soya or oat milk | 1½ pints |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper | ||
large handful of chopped fresh parsley (optional) |
1. Put the fish in a saucepan with the water and the onion.
2. Cover and bring slowly to the boil.
3. Turn down the heat and simmer very gently for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, peel and dice the celeriac or potato and put it in a pan with the soya or oat milk. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
5. If you would like your soup to include actual chunks of fish, remove half of the fish from the water, flake it and set aside.
6. Purée the rest of the fish with the water, the vegetables and the soya or oat milk until quite smooth. (If you want a totally smooth soup then purée all the fish with the vegetables and liquid.)
7. Reheat, add the flaked fish and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
8. Serve sprinkled with parsley, or not, as you choose.
Note: Oat milk, if you have not come across it, is just that - a milk made from oats. The easiest variety to find is called Oatly and comes from Sweden. It is smooth and pleasant and only tastes very faintly of oats. Oatly also make a long-life oat single ‘cream’ which is very smooth and creamy - really nice on fresh fruit or over a chocolate cake or dessert. Oats are now thought to be safe for all but the most severe coeliacs even though they contain a protein very similar to the wheat protein, gliadin, which causes problems for coeliacs. For more on oats see p18.
If you are making this soup in high summer you can make it with fresh peas – at any other time of the year use frozen petis pois. This recipe retains a good deal of the texture of the skin of the pea. If you prefer it to be totally smooth you need to run the pureed soup through a sieve to remove the pea skins.
The soup can be served hot or cold – although, in the summer, the vivid green colour of the chilled soup is very cooling. | Serves 6
750g | fresh or frozen petit pois | 1¾ lbs |
250g | fresh watercress plus a few extra | 9 oz |
leaves to decorate | ||
1.5 litres | wheat/gluten-free vegetable stock | 2½ pints |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
1. Put the peas in a large pan with all the watercress (stalks and all) apart from what you want to use for decoration.
2. Add the stock and bring slowly to the boil.
3. Simmer for only a few minutes as you want the peas to remaining fresh tasting.
4. Purée very thoroughly in a food processor or liquidiser and then rub through a sieve if you want it to be totally smooth.
5. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Chill thoroughly if it is to be served cold.
7. When ready to serve, stir well to re-amalgamate the soup as it will have separated. If it is to be served hot, reheat.
8. Pick off the smaller leaves from the remaining watercress, tearing in half any that are too big.
9. Serve in bowls or a tureen with the extra watercress leaves scattered over the top.
Note: The stalks of herbs such as watercress and parsley are often discarded but, in fact, they have an excellent flavour even if they are a bit tough.
Cook them in your soup or stew then either discard them or purée them as in this soup.
The very long slow cooking gives this soup great flavour and texture - not unlike your granny’s barley soup - but without the gluten. | Serves 6
2 tbsp | olive oil | 2 tbsp |
1 | large onion, finely chopped | 1 |
4 | sticks celery, cleaned and finely chopped | 4 |
1 | piece of lemongrass, cut in 4 pieces | 1 |
100g | wholegrain rice | 4 oz |
200ml | dry white wine | 7 fl oz |
1.75 litres | wheat/gluten-free vegetable stock | 3 pints |
25g | wild rice | 1 oz |
150g | fresh spinach, either young leaves or | 6 oz |
older ones, chopped (optional) | ||
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion and celery. Cover and sweat for 20-25 minutes or until they are soft.
2. Add the lemongrass and wholegrain rice and continue to cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the wine and stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
4. Add the wild rice and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, steam the spinach leaves, if you are using them.
6. Season the soup to taste and stir in the spinach just before serving.
Note: The long slow cooking of this soup is essential to release the starches from the rice. It is hard to believe, when you start the cooking, that it will end up as thick and unctuous as it does. But even when cooked, and provided you have used a wholegrain rice, it will retain the texture of the grains.
Hummus is incredibly easy to make and always popular. Adding sardines to the mix is really tasty, gives it a different slant and adds significant nutritional benefit in terms of both calcium and omega 3 fatty acids.
Many people like to include tahini in their hummus so feel free to add some if you wish to. | Serves 6
2 x 400g | tins chickpeas, drained | 2 x 14 oz |
3-4 | cloves garlic, peeled | 3-4 |
½ tsp | ground cumin | ½ tsp |
juice 2-3 lemons | ||
2 x 120g | tins whole sardines | 2 x 7 oz |
extra oil olive | ||
2 tbsp | tahini (optional) | 2 tbsp |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
1. Put the chickpeas, garlic, cumin, lemon juice and the sardines with their oil in a food processor and purée till the purée is as smooth as you want it – how smooth or bitty you make it is a matter of taste.
2. If it is too thick add a little extra oil and season to taste.
3. Add the tahini if you are using it and then season to taste.
4. Serve with crudités, gluten-free toast or crackers, rice cakes or whatever you can eat.
Note: This is a great recipe for non-dairy eaters worried about their calcium intake as the sardines, provided they still have their bones, are an excellent source of calcium, as are chickpeas which have almost as much calcium as milk. Other foods with significant levels of calcium include sesame seeds, almonds, tofu, other legumes apart from chickpeas and a number of green vegetables.
Aubergine pâtés on their own can be very sloppy - and nut and seed butters tend to be very solid - so combining them seemed the ideal answer. I used an almond and hazelnut butter but you could equally well use peanut, cashew, pumpkin seed or sesame, depending on your taste. | Serves 6
1 | large aubergine | 1 |
½ | head of fresh garlic | ½ |
3 tbsp | nut or seed butter of your choice | 3 tbsp |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
1. Wipe the aubergine and cut into large chunks. Peel the garlic cloves and halve. Put both into a steamer and steam for 10 minutes or until the aubergine is quite soft.
2. Transfer to a food processor and add the nut butter. Purée thoroughly and season to taste.
3. Serve with crudités or gluten-free bread or crackers.
Note: Despite the universal popularity of peanut butter, very few people know about the delicious ‘butters’ that you can make from other nuts and seeds. Because all nuts and seeds contain relatively high levels of fats they make good ‘butters’ - but are still very healthy as the fats they contain are mainly mono and polyunsaturated fats, not saturated.
Recipes always give you quantities for four or six – but what if you are looking for ideas just for yourself? So here is a suggestion for lunch or dinner for one – which can easily be multiplied up if you want to feed more than just yourself. | Serves 1 or 6
6 | thin slices of cucumber, halved or quartered | 6 |
a handful of sprouted seeds | ||
2 | spring onions, trimmed and chopped (optional) | 2 |
1 stick celery or ¼ head fennel, finely sliced/chopped | ||
⅛th | iceberg lettuce, chopped | ⅛th |
small handful parsley, chopped | ||
1 tbsp | each mayonnaise (check ingredients) and plain | 1 tbsp |
sheep, goat or soya yogurt | ||
1 tbsp | olive oil | 1 tbsp |
juice ½ lemon | ||
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper | ||
½ | avocado, peeled and sliced | ½ |
2 | tinned sardines | 2 |
1. Mix the cucumber, sprouts, spring onions, celery or fennel, lettuce and parsley together.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise and yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
3. Lay the vegetables out on a plate, lay the avocado and sardines out on top and spoon over the dressing to serve.
Note: Sprouted seeds are believed to be especially nutritious as they are still alive and growing, so full of the many growth enzymes which cannot survive the days of storage and long distance transport to which many shop-bought vegetables are subjected.
This is a very simple but lovely salad - ideal for a starter or a light lunch. If you are unable to get fresh dill, substitute with fresh chives or a few fresh basil leaves rather than using dried dill. | Serves 6
3 | whole smoked trout, filleted or 12 smoked trout fillets | 3 |
1½ | ogen or charentais melons, skinned and the flesh diced | 1½ |
3 | small lemons | 3 |
a couple of sprigs of fresh dill weed |
1. Lay out the trout fillets on four plates, one fillet down either side leaving room for the melon in the middle.
2. Put the melon flesh in a bowl.
3. Pour over the juice of 2 of the lemons and chop over the dill.
4. Mix the melon well and pile in the middle of each plate.
5. Slice the remaining lemon thinly, cut them half through and twist into butterflies.
6. Decorate each serving with a twisted slice of lemon and serve with thinly sliced gluten-free brown bread or gluten-free crackers.
Note: Dried herbs are fine, in fact sometimes better than fresh ones in cooked dishes (because their flavour is more concentrated) but do not work in uncooked dishes such as salads.
Crudités make a wonderfully flexible and healthy starter or lunch dish with any kind of dip. The vegetables can be chosen according to the season and be either raw or very lightly blanched.
Wasabi sauce is the green, extremely hot, horseradish sauce served with so many Japanese dishes. If you cannot find wasabi paste you could use finely grated fresh or bottled horseradish but not horseradish sauce as it often includes dairy products. | Serves 6 | Picture page 2
Any selection or combination of the following, washed or wiped and cut into matchsticks, bite-size dice or left whole as appropriate. | ||
3 | carrots | 3 |
2 | sticks celery | 2 |
1 | head fennel | 1 |
1 red and 1 green pepper | ||
12 | cherry tomatoes | 12 |
12 | button mushrooms | 12 |
1 | head chicory | 1 |
12 | small Brussels sprouts | 12 |
¼ | red cabbage | ¼ |
12 | spring onions | 12 |
½ | head of broccoli or cauliflower | ½ |
250g | goat, sheep or soya cream cheese | 9 oz |
1 tsp | wheat-free soya sauce or tamari | 1 tsp |
1 level tbsp | wasabi paste | 1 level tbsp |
1 tsp | lemon juice | 1 tsp |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
1. Prepare the vegetables.
2. Mix the cheese, tamari, wasabi paste and lemon juice together in a bowl then adjust seasoning to taste.
3. Serve with blanched or raw vegetables.
Note: This dip is especially delicious with fresh asparagus in season. Blanch the asparagus stalks in boiling water for just two minutes and then plunge into cold water. It should be quite crunchy but not totally raw.
This is a rather unusual salad - based on a Roman recipe! The combination of cauliflower, anchovies and lemon works really well. | Serves 6
6 | medium new potatoes, halved | 6 |
1 | medium head of cauliflower, broken into florets | 1 |
3 tbsp | olive oil | 3 tbsp |
6 | anchovies plus 2 tbsp oil from the tin | 6 |
2 | cloves garlic, crushed | 2 |
juice 2 lemons | ||
freshly ground black pepper |
1. Steam the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until just cooked.
2. At the same time, steam the cauliflower in a separate pan for 10-15 minutes, until just cooked but still slightly crunchy.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy, wide pan and add the anchovies, their oil and the garlic.
4. Cook for several minutes or until the anchovies have partially dissolved.
5. Add the lemon juice and pepper (you should not need any salt), then add the potatoes, cut into large dice, and the cauliflower florets.
6. Toss well in the sauce and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.
Note: Cauliflower originated in Asia Minor and was not known outside Italy until the 17th century - hence the Roman connection. It is also a good source of the photonutrient sulforaphane, vitamin C and folate.
Smells great and tastes even better. | Serves 6
750g | floury potatoes, scrubbed and halved crossways | 1¾ lbs |
4 tbsp | olive oil | 4 tbsp |
3 | large sticks celery, chopped small | 3 |
200g | field mushrooms, wiped and sliced | 7 oz |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper | ||
6-8 tbsp | plain goat, sheep’s milk or soya yogurt | 6-8 tbsp |
75g | Roquefort (blue sheep cheese) or hard soya cheese | 3 oz |
1. Steam the potatoes for 10-15 minutes or until they are cooked.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and add the celery.
3. Cook for 4-5 minutes then add the sliced mushrooms and continue to cook for a further 4-5 minutes.
4. Cut the potatoes into thin slices and lay half in the bottom of an ovenproof casserole.
5. Season lightly then cover with the celery and mushrooms, season again and top with the remaining potatoes.
6. Spoon the yogurt over the potatoes and sprinkle over the cheese.
7. Brown under a grill, grind over some more black pepper and serve piping hot.
Note: Although no hard soya cheese is ever going to taste as good as a mature cheddar or a cave-aged Roquefort (soft soya cheeses are a much better match for animal milk cheese) they are very much better than they used to be and work quite well in dishes such as this.
It is a bit of a fiddle grilling the courgettes - but well worth the effort! The sun-dried tomato dip could be used with crackers, crudités or as a dressing for any other salad. | Serves 6
10 | sun-dried tomato halves | 10 |
olive oil | ||
2 | leeks, sliced very finely | 2 |
8 | cherry tomatoes, quartered | 8 |
200ml | dry white wine | 7 fl oz |
12 | medium-size courgettes, wiped | 12 |
100ml | water | 3 fl oz |
pinch | pale muscovado sugar | pinch |
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
1. If the sun-dried tomatoes have been preserved in oil, remove from the oil (reserve it) and chop the tomatoes fairly small. If they were just dried, soak for 10 minutes in boiling water then drain and chop.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of the reserved or new oil in a heavy pan and add the sliced leeks; cook gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
3. Add sun-dried and cherry tomatoes and the white wine, stir well, bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes.
4. While the sauce is cooking, with a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler, cut the courgettes lengthways into slices as thin as you can manage.
5. Lay them out on a griddle, drizzle with a little oil and grind over some salt and black pepper.
6. Cook briskly under a hot grill until tanned, then turn and repeat the process. Continue until all the slices are cooked.
7. Remove the sauce from the heat and purée in a food processor.
8. Thin with the water (you may need a little extra) and add sugar to taste. You should not need any further seasoning as the courgette slices are already well seasoned.
9. Serve with the courgette slices.
Note: If you are thinking about growing a few of your own vegetables, courgettes are amongst the easiest and most rewarding to grow. A small grow-bag in a tiny patio or even a really large window box could reward you with a fine crop.
An excellent lunch dish to make for one - which can very easily be multiplied up for four or six. The combination of the cool pear with the spicy watercress and the flavoursome cheese works really well. | Serves 1 or 6
1 slice | wheat-free dark rye or wholemeal gluten-free bread | 1 slice |
4 | sprigs of watercress | 4 |
6 | walnut halves | 6 |
½ | fresh pear, peeled and sliced thickly lengthways | ½ |
2 slices (large enough to cover the pear) or 1 tbsp of Roquefort (blue sheep’s cheese), soft blue goat’s cheese or soft soya cheese | ||
freshly ground black pepper |
1. Toast the slice of bread.
2. Lay the slice of bread on a grill pan and cover with the watercress then the walnut halves.
3. Lay the pear on top and cover it with whichever cheese you are using.
4. Cook under a hot grill till the cheese melts and runs through to the pear.
5. Grind over some black pepper and serve at once.
Note: If you are wheat rather than gluten allergic/intolerant you will be able to eat any of the huge range of rye breads which range from sourdough pumpernickel (very popular in Germany, very sustaining and very addictive) to much lighter, yeast-raised rye breads. However, take care when buying these as many of them use a combination of wheat and rye flour.
You can use either the very large flat mushrooms (1 per person) for this dish or 2-3 smaller mushrooms for each person, depending on their size.
If you want to use them as a lunch dish you could serve each on a piece of toasted gluten and wheat-free bread – or a slice of wheat-free rye pumpernickel.
The mushrooms are particularly tasty hot, straight from the grill, but are also good cold as finger food or with a salad. | Serves 6 for lunch, a starter or as a cocktail snack
6 | very large flat mushrooms or an appropriate number of smaller flat mushrooms | 6 |
3 tbsp | olive oil | 3 tbsp |
2 | medium onions | 2 |
8 | rashers back bacon | 8 |
200g | hard goat, sheep or soya cheese | 7 oz |
freshly ground black pepper |
1. Drizzle a little oil over the mushrooms and put them under a hot grill, cup side up, for 3-4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, peel the onions and chop them very finely and cut the bacon rashers into small dice.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a small pan and add the onions and bacon. Cook fairly briskly for 5-8 minutes until the onions are lightly browned and the bacon crisped – but do not burn.
4. Grate the cheese.
5. Mix the cheese into the onion and bacon and pile into the mushroom cups.
6. Put the mushrooms back under the grill for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned – but not burnt. (The goat’s or sheep’s cheese will melt much faster than the soya cheese, which will become soft without melting in the same way.)
7. Remove from under the grill, grind over some black pepper and serve at once.
8. The mushrooms also taste good cold with a salad.
Note: Katherine Whitehorn famously declared that life was too short to stuff a mushroom – but she might have disagreed over these.