Gluten Free

Gluten Free Thai Fish Pie

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(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free | Pescatarian & Paleo-Friendly) Happy New Year! Many of you may be trying to make healthier choices in 2017. Way to go you! Eating more fish is a great way to improve your diet. This article from Authority Nutrition outlines 11 Health Benefits of Eating Fish, if you want to know more! I am one of those people who isn’t entirely excited about fish unless it doesn’t taste too ‘fishy.’ The amazing flavour of this recipe makes it just the ticket to get all the benefits of fish without all the fishiness so enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2 medium- sized regular potatoes
  • 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1-2 fresh chillies, chopped (depending on how spicy you like)
  • 3-4 spring (green) onions, chopped
  • Thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, grated
  • 1-2 sticks of fresh lemongrass, optional (Use only the bottom 4 inches or so then peel off any dry/tough outer layers before finely chopping or mincing)
  • Salt, pepper and chilli powder to taste
  • Fish pie mix (a pre-made ¾ lb mix of fresh or frozen fish like smoked Pollock, haddock, white fish and salmon)
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 2 handfuls of spinach (or pak choi)
  • 2 Tbsp fish sauce

Directions 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C (350F).
  2. Peel sweet and regular potatoes (if you don’t like peels in your mash). Chop potatoes into quarters to reduce boiling time. Cover potatoes with water and boil until soft. Once cooked, remove potatoes from water and mash by hand.
  3. Add olive oil, chillies and onions to large frying pan and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add ginger, lemongrass and seasoning to taste. Cook until everything is softened.
  4. Add fish pie mix, coconut milk and tomatoes to frying pan. Cook on high heat until it starts to bubble and reduce.
  5. Add fish sauce.
  6. If the sauce needs to be thicker so that the potato mash can sit on top of it in a dish, add a tablespoon of gluten-free or corn flour to the sauce and mix in until thickened.
  7. Mix in two large handfuls of spinach (or pak choi) to the sauce. It should look something like this.thai-fish-pie-mix
  8. Put the sauce in a large baking dish (11×13 inch). Cover with mashed potatoes and spread so that potato mixture covers the baking dish.
  9. Bake the fish pie until the mash is browned and crispy on top with bubbling mixture underneath (about 20 minutes).

Thanks to Kate Craigie for sharing this gem of a recipe with me! 🙂 It is SO YUM! xx

gluten-free-thai-fish-pie

Creamy Leek and Cabbage Soup

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(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Meat-Free | Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) I’ve been looking for new ways to use my winter veggies from my Kent Veg Box. This recipe was a real find because the ingredients called for exactly what was in my veg box! Also, if you have roasted veg left from Christmas, this soup might help you find a new way to use the leftovers. I especially like the homemade cashew cream that this soup calls for. What a great substitute for normal cream! I ran out of vegetable broth when I made this so I decided to let my soup be a little thicker than originally called for, but you can do whatever you want!

FYI: You’ll have to soak your cashews for a few hours before you start making the soup. The recipe says to soak them for 3-4 hours. I soaked mine for almost 2, and it was fine!

Ingredients

  • 100g (3/4 cup) cashews
  • 400g leek (1 large leek)
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped (I added this to original recipe)
  • 1 small cabbage (about 1kg or 2lb)
  • 2 yellow onions
  • 4 tbsp rapeseed oil (or any other neutral tasting oil)
  • 2 litres (8 cups) vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram (I didn’t have this so I skipped)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Soak 100 g (3/4 cup) cashews in water for 3-4 hours or overnight.
  2. Cut off the hairy end of the leek (the root part) and also discard the dark green ends. Slice the leek lengthwise, fan it open and clean it under running water. Make sure to get rid of the dirt between the individual layers. Chop the leek.
  3. Wash the cabbage, cut it into quarters, and discard the core of each quarter. Chop the quarters finely.
  4. Peel the onions, chop them and sauté them in rapeseed oil (I used olive oil) until they are translucent. Add leek and cabbage to the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the vegetable broth and the marjoram. Cook with a lid on until the vegetables are soft (about 15-30 minutes).
  5. Rinse the soaked cashews and blend them with 200 ml (1 cup) of water until you get a smooth cream. Add the cream to the soup and puree it. Taste test and add salt if needed.

If you’d like to add some extra bits on top of the soup, you can boil beetroot (peel and cube it) and roast some cashews. Serve the soup hot topped with beet cubes and roasted cashew.

creamy-leek-cabbage

Enjoy and Happy Boxing Day! xxx

Source | Looking for Delights ‘Creamy Leek and Cabbage Soup with Cubed Beetroot and Roasted Cashews‘

Kale and Quinoa Salad

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(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Meat-Free | Paleo-Friendly) Christmas is right around the corner! We all know what happens when the holidays come around…maybe not the healthiest food choices? Yeah, me too. So before all of the holiday shenanigans I’m going to keep things light and healthy (or, at least try! #reallife). This salad was conspired by my sister’s mother-in-law, and it’s very flexible based on what you like! Don’t love kale? Cool, swap it for spinach! Feel free to make this salad into whatever you want it to be (or have in your pantry) and enjoy 🙂 Happy holidays! xx

kale-and-quinoa-salad

Ingredients

  • 1 x 250g (2 cups) quinoa (I cheated and used the pre-made quinoa because shortcuts are a must during this busy time of year!)
  • 1 x 200g bag (3 cups) of curly kale
  • Fruit of choice, chopped (my sister used blueberries and grapes; I tried apples and blueberries, but you could even use dried fruits if that’s what you have)
  • Handful of nuts and seeds of choice (I used walnut and sunflower seeds because they’re always in my cupboard)

Ingredients for Dressing 

  • 125 ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil
  • 75 ml (1/3 cup) red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 3 handfuls of fresh herbs (I used a handful each of parsley, coriander (cilantro) and basil)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Put all of dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until mixed. Add more of fresh herbs or salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Cook your quinoa according to directions (if you’re not a cheater and didn’t buy pre-made quinoa) and put warm quinoa into large bowl.
  3. Pour all of dressing over warm quinoa and stir.
  4. Add curly kale and fruit (I used a small pack of blueberries and three apples, chopped). Toss.
  5. Top with seeds and chopped nuts.

Look at this tasty treat! Thanks Nancy and Joy for the inspiration! xx

kale-quinoa-salad

Tip: Because of the toughness of kale, this salad can be made and eaten as leftovers for a few days after. We all know I love a packed kale salad for lunch. YUMMM.