Ham Hock, Bean and Vegetable Soup #glutenfree #winterwarmers

I don't know what the weather in your part of the world is like at the moment but it has been both cold and wet in Brisbane. This means for us, it is hot soup weather. I like to add the ham hock when making this soup to give it a rich, smoky flavour. This soup can be cooked in the pressure cooker if you are pressed for time or, cooked slowly on the cook top. What could possibly be better on a miserable cold afternoon than a kitchen filled with the fantastic, mouth watering smells of good food. 

Ingredients:

1 Ham Hock
2 cups Dry Bean Soup Mix (Make sure there is no barley in the soup mix as this is gluten-free meal.)
1 Onion - diced
1 large Carrot - diced
1-2 Celery Sticks - diced
2 Zucchini - diced
2 -3 Potatoes - peeled and diced
3 cloves Garlic - finely chopped
1 400g tin peeled,crushed Tomatoes  (If you prefer a deeper richer colour, add extra 1/2 - 1 tin of crushed tomatoes)
1/2 cup White Wine
3 Bay Leaves
Flat Parsley - chopped
Salt and Pepper

Method:
 
Add a little olive oil to the pressure cooker or large saucepan.  
Stir fry garlic, bay leaf, onion, carrot, and celery for 5 minutes on medium heat.
Add white wine and cook for another 2  minutes. 
Add ham hock and dry bean mix. 
Add water until the saucepan is half full or the ham hock is covered.
Cover with lid  and cook 45-60 minutes on medium heat (If using a normal saucepan, cook for 45-60 mins, then simmer for 2 hours.)
Remove the lid, add more water (I use approximately double the amount of water as the pressure cooker is unable to tolerate a large volume of liquid.)
Add tomatoes and potatoes, cook for another 45 minutes, 
Add zucchini and cook for another 30 minutes or until the ham hock is soft.
Add salt and pepper to taste. 
Place some chopped parsley over before serving. If you like, add a little Parmesan cheese. 

Tips:-

• ***Make sure the pressure cooker is not under pressure before removing the lid. Trying to remove the lid while it is under pressure will result in terrible burns.

• For a vegetarian soup cook without the ham hock.

• This soup becomes richer on storing. If too thick, add water when reheating 

Contact: lee.leehocklai@gmail.com 

Using a pressure cooker shortens the cooking time

Pea and Ham Soup #glutenfree #glutenfreerecipe #glutenfreecooking #winterwarmer

The combination of grains and legumes in the dried soup mix, along with the fresh vegetables and bacon give a hearty winter soup that is sure to warm your soul. Serve with gluten free croutons for that perfect winter meal.

Ingredients:

2 cups Dry Italian Soup Mix
6 Middle Bacon Rashers - diced
1 Onion - diced finely
1 Carrot - diced
2 Turnips - diced
2-3 Potatoes - diced
2 cloves Garlic - chopped
About 4 litre of water or home make vegetables stock, check our recipe
Salt and pepper

Method:

Heat the pressure cooker with 3 tablespoons olive oil. 

Saute the onion and garlic. 
Add all ingredients and half water/ vegetables stock to cover it. 
Close the lid, bring up to pressure and cook for 45 minutes.
Remove from heat and let the pressure come down. Do not open the lid until the pressure is down completely!  
Open the lid and add the remainder of the water/vegetables stock.
Slow cook about 1.5-2 hours.
Blend using stick blender if you prefer.
Serve with gluten free croutons*, crispy bacon, and chopped parsley.

*You can use a leftover gluten-free loaf. Remove the crusts, cut  into squares and slow bake in the oven until hard and crispy. Rub with a garlic clove for extra flavour. 

Tips:

• A smoked ham hock can be used to replace the bacon.

• Add the salt at the end to taste as the soup will already be reasonably salty with the slow cooked bacon or ham hock.

• If you not have a pressure cooker, you can soak the soup mix over night. Cook on stove top for  several hours.

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Osso Buco #glutenfree #glutenfreerecipe #glutenfreecooking #italianbraise

This Italian braise is a melt in your mouth winter warmer that is sure to be a favourite with your family. Fill your house with the gorgeous comforting aroma of hearty winter cooking. There is nothing that comes close to matching this welcome when you arrive home.

Osso Buco served with Potato Mash and Garlic Shoots

Ingredients:

Pan fry Osso Buco till brown

2kg Osso Buco
1 Onion, diced
1 Carrot, diced
2 Celery Sticks, diced
3 cloves Garlic
2/3 cup Red/White Wine
2 tins Whole Peeled Tomatos (2x400g) crush fine
1 cup water/vegetables stock if necessary*
2 Bay Leaves
Fresh Oregano,Thyme, Rosemary (chopped) or 1 teaspoon dry herbs mix
1 teaspoon Sugar
Salt and Pepper
3 tablespoons gluten-free Plain Flour

Method:

Stir fry vegetables

Preheat oven to 180C
Heat 3-4 tablespoons olive oil in a pan. 
Dust some flour on both side osso buco. 
Pan fry both sides until golden brown.
Remove the osso buco to the baking tray or casserole dish.
Stir fry all the diced vegetables and garlic. 
Add wine and bring to the boil.
Add all another ingredients and bring to the boil again.
Pour the sauce over the osso buco in the baking tray, cover with the aluminium foil and cook for 1 hour in the oven.
Turn over the osso buso and cook another 1 hour or until soft.
Serve with potato mash, or polenta, or gluten-free cous cous, or green vegetables.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Serves 3-4.

* I cook this meal in the oven so I do not add water/vegetables stock. If you cooking in pressure cooker or stock pot on the stove, you will need add some water/stock. If cooking in stock pot on stove make sure it is slow braised and stir well several times. 
Osso buco cooks very well in the oven. If you find there is a lot of oil/fat on the top after cooking, remove it with a spoon or paper towel before serving.

Zucchini Soup #glutenfree #glutenfreerecipe #glutenfreecooking #soup #winterwarmers

This easy to make soup  is a perfect starter on a winter's night. You may take to work for lunch or simply enjoy on a cold winter afternoon for a snack.

Zucchini Soup

Ingredients:

3-4 Zucchini. (about 1 kg) Diced
2 Potatoes - peeled and cut small.
1 medium Onion - diced.
2 cloves Garlic, chopped finely or crushed
3.5 cups Vegetable Stock
Salt and Pepper

Method:

Heat a large saucepan with a little olive oil. Saute onion and garlic until soft. 
Add zucchini and potato, stir well.
Pour in  vegetable stock and cook for  about 20-30 minutes or, until potato is soft.
Add salt and pepper. 
Process with stick blender until smooth. 
If too sticky, you can add little extra stock or water.
Add a little extra virgin olive oil or thickened cream before serving.

Tips: 

• Use homemade vegetable stock with our recipe in Shortcuts, Hints and Tips. 

• Freeze some extra soup in small containers. Heat in the microwave when you want a quick meal or snack.

Singapore Curry #glutenfree #glutenfreecooking #glutenfreerecipes

Another of our gorgeous winter warmers, to fill your belly and warm your soul. Our curries are a very individual thing and the paste can be made to your taste and heat tolerance. As the old saying goes - "Some like it Hot!"

Singapore Curry

Ingredients:

800g Beef - diced
2 Onions - sliced
5 Potatoes - peeled and cut into large pieces
2 Carrots - cut into approximately 2cm pieces
Curry Leaf
3 cm Cinnamon Stick
2 Anise Star
5 Cloves
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Salt, Pepper, Sugar to taste

Ingredients

Curry Paste:

5 shallots
4 cloves Garlic
2 cm Turmeric
1 Lemon Grass

Blend above ingredients till fine.  Add-

5 tablespoon curry powder 

1 tablespoon ground cumin  

1 tablespoon ground coriander 

The above blended mixture becomes curry paste. 

If too dry, add a little water.

Method:

Heat a heavy based saucepan with a little oil. 

Stir fry onion and curry leaf until little golden brown.
Pour all curry paste and spices into the saucepan. 

Cook for a few minutes until aromatic. 

Add beef, stir well.
Add water to approximately half way up the saucepan or all the beef is covered. 

Place the lid on the saucepan, cook on medium heat for 1 hour.
Add potato and carrot cook another 45 minutes without lid.
Add the cream and seasonings 15 minutes before removing from the heat.
Serve with steamed rice or roti and vegetable pickles.

Tips: 

• There are many ingredients and spices in curry paste. One hundred people may cook one hundred different types of beef curry.  Make your curry so that it pleases you and your tastes.

• Sour cream can be replaced with coconut cream, yoghurt, milk or fresh cream. Each one will give the curry different flavour.

•  More or less water can be added during cooking.. I prefer stronger, sticky sauce so I add less water during cooking.

• Stir well several times during the cooking so as to not burn the curry to the bottom of the pan.

• Most meat curries will have a fuller flavour if left overnight before serving.

Serve with steamed rice and pickled vegetables

Pumpkin Soup #glutenfree #glutenfreerecipes #glutenfreecooking

This creamy soup is very easy to cook. Use homemade vegetable stock when you cook this dish for a fuller and richer flavour. (See in our hints page how to make this beautiful stock from old left over vegetables and peelings.) 

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium Pumpkin
2 Potatoes
1 Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/3 cup White Wine
Vegetable Stock or Water - enough to cover all ingredients.
Salt and Pepper

Method:

Peel and cut the pumpkin and potato. 
Dice onion. 
Crush or finely chop garlic.
Heat saucepan with 2 tablespoon of olive oil.
Add above ingredients, stir well for about 5 minutes.
Add white wine, then water or vegetable stock and cook until all ingredients are soft.
Add salt pepper and nutmeg to taste.  
Blend with stick blender or food processor till smooth and creamy. If too thick, add extra water or vegetable stock.
Plate up and serve with a swirl of fresh cream.

Tips: 

If  using a food processor, allow the soup to cool before processing as the soup will leak out of the processor and may mess up your kitchen. 
May be frozen for up to 3 months. 
For something different, grill or pan fry some tiger prawns and/or scallops, plate onto the middle of the soup.. 
Wow! Luxury seafood pumpkin soup!!!

Serve as a Starter or a Main!

Slow-cooked Beef Sukiyaki #glutenfree #glutenfreecooking #glutenfreerecipe

This delicious slow cooked main is a one pot wonder on a Winter evening. It is a simple meal where the cheaper cuts of beef cook down to a beautiful gravy beef full of flavour and wholesome goodness.
Ingredients:
I kg diced beef (this is perfect dish for cheaper cuts of beef as they cook down to a beautifully moist, melt in your mouth goodness).
6 Eggs - boiled and shelled
8 Baby Potatoes - peeled
2 Carrots - cut into length strips
4 slices of ginger
5 Garlic Cloves - peeled and finely chopped or crushed
2 Spring Onions - diced
1 cup Japanese Soy Sauce
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Mirin ( or Rice Wine)
1 tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
1 packet of Chinese Glass Noodle, Rice Noodle or Bean Thread Noodle (whatever you call them, but must be gluten free) soaked in water

Method:

Place beef in pot, add water to cover, and boil for a few minutes. Drain and throw away the dirty water.  
Wash meat off, place back in pot and cover with new water.
Add garlic, ginger and spring onions and bring to boil lower heat and slow cook for about one to one and a half hours.
Add all other ingredients, except the rice noodles, and slow cook for a further 1 hour or until beef is tender and the sauce is reduced to a lovely mixture.  
Before serving drain noodles and stir into the pot and serve.

Tip:

This dish can also be done in the pressure cooker. After boiling the beef and discarding the water, place the washed beef into pressure cooker with all the ingredients. Stir through and put lid on cooker and bring up to pressure and cook for  20mins under pressure. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to come down. Stir and serve!

Enjoy!

Slow cooked Beef Sukiyaki

Pumpkin Apricot Chicken Curry #glutenfree

What would Winter be without the comfort of beautiful food aromas filling the house? This beautiful curry ticks all the boxes for Winter Comfort Food. It not only warms your belly but the soul as well - Yum!

Pumpkin Apricot Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

4 tabspoons Oil
I medium Chicken, cut into small pieces or 800 gm Boneless Thigh Fillet
2 Onions - sliced
Small piece of Balecan Shrimp Paste (optional)
Curry Leaf
I tablespoon Fenugreek Seed
3 Cloves
2 Star Anise
Cinnamon Stick
800 gm Pumpkin cut into large chunks
15 Dried Apricots
3 tablespoons Sour Cream
1 cup Water
1 tablespoon Kecap Manis or Sweet Soy Sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Curry Paste:  (to taste)  Add curry powder, lemon grass,garlic, spring onion, turmeric, ground coriander and cumin powder (Grind or blend whatever is your preference)
Method:

Heat 4 tabs of oil in a pan, add onion, curry leaf and cook until onion soft and little brown.  
Add chicken, curry paste, shrimp paste, fenugreek, star anise, cinnamon, pumpkin.
Stir till all pumpkin and chicken are covered with the other ingredients or till a nice smell develops. Add water - cook till 80% cooked.
Add apricots, cream, salt and pepper and cook until reduced and tender.

Serve with steam rice or roti 

You can simply pick the herbs for your curry from your garden