Crispy Baked Mussels #glutenfree

With seafood being one of the favourites for Christmas lunch.in Australia, I thought I would give you a quick and easy recipe for mussels  that can be served as a starter or simply added to a buffet of all the beautiful food you have prepared for this special occasion. 

Ingredients:

1 kg Mussels
1 cup Napoli sauce
1 cup fresh gluten-free Breadcrumb*
2 tablespoons Chopped Parsley
1 tablespoon Lemon Zest
1/4 cup melted Butter
Salt and Pepper

Method:

*Process gluten-free bread slices in food processor. For best result, use leftover bread or if you only have fresh bread place the breadcrumb on a tray overnight to dry out.
Add mussels to pot of boiling water. 

Cook about 8 minutes or the mussels open shells. 

Drain and soak in iced water. 

Remove the top shell and de-beard. Preheat oven to 180C
Combined breadcrumb, butter, parsley and lemon zest together. 
Add little salt and pepper if necessary.
Place mussels on a tray with alfoil/ baking paper. 
Place half tablespoon of napoli sauce on each mussel. 
Top with breadcrumb mix. 
Place into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until the crumb is golden. 
Plate up and serve with lemon quarters. 

Add Napoli sauce & breadcrumb  to the mussels

Contact: lee.leehocklai@gmail.com

Mango Cheesecake #gluten-free #tropical

With the shops and roadside stalls full of mangoes at the moment, there cannot be a better time to make this beautiful tropical cheesecake. Packed with the wonderful sunshine of of golden mangoes, this cheesecake is a perfect dessert for your Christmas table.

 Base:

200g gluten free Ginger Nut Biscuits
30g Butter, melted
30g Strawberry/Apricot Jam


Method: 

Combine all ingredients in the food processor. 
Press into the base of a 22cm round springform tin with baking paper in the bottom. 
Refrigerate 1 hour.

Filling:

500g Cream Cheese
2/3 cup Caster Sugar*
1 cup Thickened Cream
1.5 cup Fresh Mango, diced
2.5 tablespoons Gelatin dissolved in 1/2  cup boiling water
 
Method:
 
Beat cream cheese, sugar, cream and half mango with an electric mixer until smooth. 
Add dissolved gelatin and beat another 3 minutes.
Add other half of diced mango into the mixture. 
Mix well using the plastic spatula. 
Pour into the tin and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.


Topping:

1 teaspoon Agar-Agar powder
1 cup Cold Water
1/3  cup Sugar
1-2 fresh Mango, sliced thinly. 

Method:
Add agar agar, sugar and water to a saucepan.
Stirring, bring to boil to dissolve. 
Remove from heat and allow to stand till temperature is warm. 
Decorate the cheesecake filling with mango slices 
Pour the agar agar liquid on the top to cover all the mango.
Refrigerate and serve after setting.

* Add extra sugar if the mango is not sweet enough.


Tips:

• Spread some whipped thickened cream around the cake and cover with roasted almond flakes.
• Normal ginger nut biscuits can be used in the base if you do not have the need to exclude gluten from your diet.

Contact: lee.leehocklai@gmail.com

Italian Vegetable Pickles

Why not make some of these beautiful bottled vegetables as Christmas gifts for family and friends. Place on the table as antipasto with your other Christmas fare for this special occasion.
Any vegetables are suitable, but the harder vegetables such as cauliflower and carrot keep longer, and develop a richness of taste after several weeks giving you that full bodied, pickle flavour we know and love with antipasto. The pickles will keep up to 6 months in the fridge.

Ingredients:

Vegetables:
3-5 bottles/ jars with lids (screw top)
Cauliflower Florets
Carrot, sliced
Green/Red Capsicum, diced into large squares

Brown Onion, quartered
Beans, halved
1 Lemon, sliced
6-10 Garlic Cloves
6-10 Bay Leaves

Vinaigrette:

8 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup White Sugar
1.5 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Pickling Spice
2 tablespoons Pepper Mix

Method:
 
Place all vinaigrette ingredients together into a boiler and bring to the boil. Cool to the side.
Boil all bottles/jars and lids in a large boiler for 20 minutes, dry with a clean towel.
Place the raw vegetables into the jars with random selection.
Add 2 lemon slices, garlic and bay leaf to each bottle.
Press down with plastic or silicon spatula.
Pour the vinaigrette into the bottle and cover all vegetables with liquid.
Screw lids on tight - store in cool spot for at least 3 weeks for flavour of the vinaigrette to absorb into the vegetables. 
Refrigerate 

Contact: lee.leehocklai@gmailcom