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This recipe is a slight amendment to Phil Vickery's from his book Seriously Good Gluten Free Cooking.It's been a challenge helping my wife to adapt to her new diet, as well as find suitable recipes to keep things interesting. These little beauties aren't your 'dunking' biscuits, as they use rice flour and xantham gum combined with caramel and seeds to make a biscuit with the texture of brandy snap
So baby is growing fast and soon breast feeding has to be supplemented by pureed and foods. Sooner rather than later, the time for weaning comes and with that comes dramatic changes in food choices and eating patterns. New parents are always surprised by the rapid rate of change and complexity in the first year or two of a baby's life. Cooking and food preparation for babies and toddlers are
And so the gluten free challenge continues. This challenge entailed trying to make one of my favourite ever cakes without it having a dry, sandy texture, which baking with rice flour based gluten free flour can often do. I've cooked this cake many time before and I'm heavily indebted to Nigel Slater from Kitchen Diaries, a recipe I've tweaked once or twice but not to this extent.The kind people at
A soup that takes 30 minutes from slicing to serving. Fresh and vibrant with the addition of paprika and just a hint of chilli, the orange adds an unusual but welcome zesty kick.Carrot, Lentil and Orange SoupFeeds 41 tbsp olive oil1 onion, chopped4 carrots, peeled and grated1 tbsp tomato puree1 tsp paprikaA pinch of ground chilli4 large handfuls of red lentils750ml vegetable stock (fresh or from c
My wife has recently been diagnosed as gluten intolerant which has made us think closely about what we eat. So out has gone excess bread and pasta, in more fruit, veg and lentils.I have to say, I've embraced the new way of life and my waist is happier for it too. I feel less bloated and more energetic. But there are some classic ingredients that traditionally have wheat in that are missed, sausage
A lovely, citrusy Spanish style fish stew that celebrates the last of the season's samphire. Delicious with a glass of chilled white wine or a cold beer. Change the fish if you prefer oily fish such as salmon or trout, use clams instead of mussels and if you can't get any samphire, stir in chopped spinach right at the end.Fish, Potato and Samphire StewServes 41 tbsp olive oil1 onion, finely sliced
Do you want a dessert that is incredibly easy to make? Impressive enough to serve at a dinner party? Unbelievably delicious? And packed full of calories?Okay, I'm not exactly selling it with that last sentence. But this dessert qualifies for each and every one of them, including the last, and is all the more delicious for it. It takes hardly any time to make, no cooking, can be made in advance and
In these days of watching what I eat, I'm turning more to low fat proteins and using less oil in my cooking.The most important aspect to me as a food lover and cook is to ensure that the food never lacks in flavour. So far so good, especially with this flavour packed curry; a myriad of flavours from sweet tomato, nutty cumin and the aniseed of fennel seed which pairs so well with fish.I've used ch
This is a bit of a mix up of influences, using Asian style seasoning on the fish coupled with a south American salsa which contains lentils. Fish and a hot and sour salsa go so well together as does crunchy fennel. The simple fennel salad is simply the vegetable, thinly sliced, and tossed with lime juice and seasoning.The whole plate of food is what you would consider super healthy which, once tas
A lovely brunch, lunch or supper combines meaty Spanish chorizo, sweet peppers and lovely, crisp root vegetables or simply potatoes.This is a great meal to knock up for the morning after feel, when the senses need reviving, when punchy smoked paprika and chilli can knock you back into shape. Served with a fried egg, it takes some beating any time of day.Ensure that you look up a decent chorizo and
This is a lovely, simple summer salad that takes little time to knock up so that you can enjoy the sun - when it decides to appear.If you aren't a fish fan, replace with sliced ham, cooked chicken, anything really. Add some toasted almonds to give flavour and crunch.Salmon and Mint Cous CousServes 4250g Cous Cous250ml boiling waterCherry tomatoes, halvedHalf a cucumber, peeled and diced6 spring on
This is a really simple and delicious curry that can either be done in a slow cooker or left in a low oven. Packed with flavour, it's the kind of curry that makes you wonder why you bother with a take away.Make sure that you buy some decent lamb from your butcher (I use Gordons in East Boldon); they will recommend a good cut for slow braising. This uses lamb steaks from the leg but lamb shoulder c
A lovely parcel arrived for me last week; a whole box full of black and white puddings.It's a delivery I can safely say has never happened to me before but after sampling some of Clonakilty's black pudding in a risotto today, it is one of the finest. It is simply the best black pudding I have ever tasted, and I've tasted a lot. Clonakilty have been famous in Ireland for over 100 years. Based in We
This is an incredibly simple slow cook stew that celebrates the great flavours of south east Asia: hot, sweet, salty and sour.Use a cheap cut of pork such as the shoulder or steaks from the leg and the meat will just fall apart at the touch of the fork. The aubergine, vast in number at the start of the stew, absorbs and melts into the sauce making it rich and velvety.I can't really sell it enough
Okay, okay, I know that the word 'cake' and healthy should never be associated with each other. It's like no alcohol beer - it just doesn't seem right.However, after a whole month of excess and the need for cake in our staffroom, here is the solution. It's the easiest cake in the world. Just bung it all in the food processor, blitz, pour into a baking tin and bake.It's sweet, it's moist, it's frui
The new year brings all kinds of promises in the guise of resolutions as we moan about our swollen, festive food and booze attacked bodies. Me included.One promise I am making this year is to - no surprises here - get slimmer. Soups are a great way to fill you up with the right things without piling on the pounds and they are so easy to make.Broccoli and Stilton are a classic combo in a soup. Don'
These are great to make with the kids. Essentially a sponge base, it can be flavoured with fruit and spice before being topped with a delicious toffee sauce. 150g softened butter150g sugar2 eggs1tsp vanilla extract150g self raising flour120g sultanas, soaked in orange juiceJuice of one orange, satsuma or clementine1 - Preheat the oven to 180C/GM4.2 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and su
Clementines are beautiful at this time of the year and for me, synonymous with the Festive period.This is a simple yet impressive cake that is easy to make and just as easy to eat. Your house will be filled with the zesty aroma of this wonderful fruit meaning rumbling tummies for any lucky visitor.Ingredients3 whole clementines3 eggs200g caster sugar50g plain flour1tsp baking powder200g ground alm
The slow cooker has been dusted down and brought back out as a permanent fixture of the kitchen for the winter.It's that time of the year when slow cooking becomes the norm. Get a few ingredients together in the early hours, off to work then on your return, tea awaits. It almost mocks timely preparation and 'cheffy' techniques. Many memorable meals have been produced from my £7 slow cooker and it
This recipe is one of those I always keep handy in my little head of culinary delights for when a vegetable accompaniment for anything is required and time is against me. As long as you have some peppers, garlic and a few store cupboard ingredients, you can have some delicious sticky sweet and sour peppers on your plate by the time it takes to look through the Yellow Pages to find a decent takeawa
Hi allJust a note to say that I'm on the move. I need a fresh start and motivation as I have let my job consume me and haven't been food writing half as much as I would like.I'm still keeping the content and hopefully will be updating a lot more now. So please change your bookmarks to www.davidhall.co.uk and point your feeds etc towards that. Look me up on Twitter and keep the foody chit chat goin
It's potato-tastic down at the allotment at the moment. We have 5 different varieties blooming and I cannot wait for the shoots to die off so I can get digging for what is easily human being's most popular vegetable.I grew a few salad potatoes in a couple of large pots so that we had a few easy to hand. These were eagerly dug out by my daughter and then quickly boiled up ready for a quick and simp
A welcome view in the allotment today was a bush stuffed full of fat blackcurrants almost dropping off with the weight of their heady juice.I set my daughter and her friend straight off picking and within 30 minutes we had a pan full of them.Blackcurrants are a strange thing raw straight from the plant. You expect that unique flavour that you associate with this fine currant to whack you in the mo
These little dumplings are so easy to make and a real treat on a hot summer's day as an alternative to pasta.This is the kind of food that makes Italy great. Simple ingredients combined to perfection, no frills and no pretention.We served ours with a quick tomato sauce. Heat up a little olive oil in a pan, add a clove of sliced garlic and a pinch of dried chilli. Tip in a tin of tomatoes and a tab
The weeds are taking over at the allotment, none more so than the common nettle.I've grown to respect the nettle recently. Touch one and it has the power to numb a finger or two for several hours. But that isn't the reason for new-found respect; it is simply because I like eating them.Nettles are packed full of iron and minerals and treat carefully, they are a welcome replacement for spinach in a
Scottish cranachan is one of those quick fix creamy desserts that are a doddle to knock up when time is short.Traditionally made with whipped cream, honey, toasted oats and fresh raspberries, it is a car crash of a recipe, a bit like an Eton Mess which is neither here nor there but utterly delicious.This is a healthier version which uses seasonal rhubarb stewed in a little honey and omits the whis
With Easter comes much indulgence and on this most holy of days, there is one indulgence I can't do without - Simnel cake.Simnel cake is one of those traditional British foods that probably change recipe in every town. Eaten since medieval times, it is simply a spiced fruit cake layered with marzipan and topped with 11 little marzipan balls that represent the true disciples of Jesus.My version is
This weekend was a hark back to my old life as a cook and what a special day it was. For it wasn't just any old cooking job. Yesterday I was helping out fellow Masterchef finalist Stacie Stewart, cooking in the wonderful Durham Town Hall for a wedding party.Stacie had me whipping up some of her wonderful canape creations such as lemon tarts, rare beef and slow roast tomatoes, king prawns with mari
As Easter approaches, a food that seems synonymous with this time of the year is lamb. We like our lamb in the United Kingdom and most British families will have a good old leg on their plate over the long Easter weekend.Believe it or not, it isn't exactly the right time to be eating British lamb. Most of our lambs are born in February/March meaning that come April, they are still too young to giv
There's something a bit 1980s about food at the moment. When once it was considered tired, old hat and completely unacceptable, the likes of prawn cocktails, chicken Kiev and Black Forest Gateau are appearing on menus again and that's completely fine by me. In this ever-fickle world, it is easy to forget the things that made us what we are. I'm not asking for a nostalgic look at everything that we
It's been a while I have to admit. I could come up with a multitude of excuses as to why I haven't posted for so long but they would all be pathetic. So on with the food.One thing I have had to adapt to since becoming a full-time teacher is simply not spending enough time in the kitchen. We all have to eat of course so rather than spend hours at the stove concocting new recipes like I used to, it
Quince is an odd old fruit. Looking not quite like a pear or an apple, hard as a rock and almost inedible in its raw form, you would think it would sit in the 'pointless foods of the world' basket. But cook it like a jam and the fruit is transformed into a delicious paste/jelly that is simply sensational with good cheese, cold meats or a baste for a leg of lamb or even a fruity addition to a stock
Granola is one of those moreish cereals, all crunchy, nutty and oaty, that you usually eat straight out of the box as opposed to pouring it in a bowl like a conventional bowl of cereal. One of America's better food inventions, we love it with yoghurt and honey in the morning for a great kick start.Instead of buying some of the commercial products, it is actually really easy to make your own. Mix o
There are so many reasons that I love being a dad. I feel an overall sense of being lucky when I think about it too much. Cooking with Cerys has always been high on the list of 'why I love being a dad'. Ever since she was old enough to sit up straight without falling over, I have had her in the kitchen with me prodding, poking, tasting and smelling which have all evolved 5 years on to moulding, sh
It's snowing! And of course with that, it's freezing, and I need feeding when I'm cold.I love 'big' soups at this time of the year. None of your thin, texture-less efforts please. I want big chunks of meat and vegetables, a soup you can stand your spoon up in, almost like a meal in a bowl. Soups are simple to knock up and this spicy Cajun spiced one is no exception. Delicious, healthy, filling and
Alongside the potatoes, this year's debut allotment project has also produced bumper crops of beetroot.Beetroot are an acquired taste. Boiled to submission, they can retain all of the character of a Saturday night singing contest. However, roasted slowly to tease out the sugars makes for a unique vegetable that sits perfectly alongside your Sunday roast or simply diced and tossed into a cold pasta
