GF Pastry (and Pie) recipe

As a follow up from my Pie Pastry recipe of a couple of weeks ago here is a gluten free version that we have been enjoying.  I got it from Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne’s Allergy Cookbook which has been lurking in my book shelf unused until recently and is now lurking in a friend’s bookshelf after a bit of de-cluttering.

All ready to be baked.

The recipe was pretty painless and user friendly which, as you all know by now, is just my kind of recipe! I did of course make a few modifications so that it fitted with what I had on hand however I think it still turned out pretty great for a GF pastry and even the gluten gobblers amongst the family agreed.  I completely forgot to take a photo when it came out as we were all so eager to taste 🙂 …. luckily I remembered just before we ate so that you can see what it looks like baked.

Our vegetable pie ready to eat.

GF Pastry and Pie – as modified from Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne’s Allergy Cookbook

3/4 Cup Brown Rice Flour

3/4 Cup Masa de Maiz

115 gm cold diced butter

2 beaten eggs mixed with 2 Tbsp of Water.

• Mix the dry ingredients and then rub the butter in until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Using a table knife stir in the egg until the mixture comes together.
• Bring the dough together and knead lightly on a surface with rice flour.
• Put ‘ball’ of dough into a plastic bag or clingfilm and chill for 30 mins.
• Once chilled, cut in half (one half for the top and one for the bottom) and put one half back into the fridge.  Roll one half between to sheets of baking paper.  Don’t roll too thinly however ensure that it is bigger enough for you pie dish.
• Peel one sheet off and then put into the pie dish with the other sheet of baking paper on the bottom.  This helps the pastry to bake and become crisp on the bottom once the topping is in. Gently press into the pastry into shape and trim both paper and pastry around the edges.  Use any extra pastry to mend rips or holes in the base.
• Fill with your desired inner, making sure that it is cooled before doing so.
• Roll out the other half as you did the first and place on top, removing both sheets of baking paper this time.  Press edges lightly together and make ‘breathing’ holes in the top so everything stays where it is meant to.
• Bake in a hot oven (I used 220 C fanbake) until it is golden on top.
• Enjoy!!

I have made this recipe without the baking paper or pre-baking the base and it turned out fine however in using the baking paper and in another instance using the baking paper and pre-baking the base the pie was a lot firmer and easier to dish up.

Well that is it for the pastry and from me for the next couple of weeks as the family and I take some time off together without our laptops 🙂 …. hope you enjoy your GF pie as much as I did and catch you back here soon.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Simple Summer Salad

I’m sitting here in my lounge, kids happily playing in the shade, and I’m feeling less than enthused about having to do anything more than sit! The weather here has been amazing and the kinds of temperatures where I just want to relax and do nothing least of all cook tea!  It is times like this when I want to eat something quick, simple and ….. well cold!

I had planned to be sharing another recipe here however as it isn’t quite right – I’ve almost got the recipe tasting good enough to share but at the moment we are a bit too chocolate cup-caked out to keep perfecting it in time for this post 🙂 – I thought I would share one of my quick and easy Summer Salads with you.  Himself actually created the original of Summer Salad after tasting something at a restaurant and then me being me …. I have swiped his recipe and adapted it to my liking 🙂

Not the cheapest GF pasta but the best I’ve tried by far!

This can be adapted however you like really by adding or deleting whatever takes your fancy. The sky is the limit!! The recipe below is what I do which is a gluten free, diary free version. I’m also currently leaving out the sun-dried tomatoes (see last week’s post for details) and it is still yum.  This feeds a family of 4 with extras.

Simple Summer Salad

Ingredients:

• Ceres Quinoa Rice pasta (See image above)
• Onion and garlic if you wish
• Mushrooms
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Courgettes
• Shrimp
• Goats Feta
• Olives

– Slice up and fry the onion, mushrooms, courgettes and shrimp until they are how you like them – lightly fried or fried until soft- and allow to cool.

-Boil the pasta and either leave to cool or rinse under cold water to cool.

-Slice up the sun-dried tomatoes along with dicing the Goat’s Feta and add to the cold pasta with the olives

-Once the fried vegetables and shrimp are cool enough that it won’t melt the feta to pieces add everything together. Then pop into the fridge until ready to serve.

-When you are ready to serve lightly drizzle some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes or olive oil onto the salad and mix around to ‘freshen’ it up.

-Enjoy 🙂

Hope this finds you enjoying a relaxing evening with simple yet wholesome fare or at least planning to.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz