I also found I was spending £££s more each week...my belly still felt empty, and so did my purse.
I turned to the internet for advice and found an abundance of blogs written by people, who, like me had found supermarket substitutes lacking. A stand-out article, for me, came from Shauna of 'Gluten-Free-Girl'. Her comments on 'New to Gluten-Free?' really opened up my eyes to the fact that going gluten free really wasn't about looking for alternatives on the shelves of the supermarket, but instead about creating alternatives at home. Fresh, healthy and naturally gluten-free food.
I have always loved cooking and decided to tackle the challenge head-on. So, instead of spending my money on GF substitutes I headed over to my local book store in search of a recipe book.
One of my first, and best, purchases was Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty More (and at only £12.00 on Amazon it is fantastic value!).
Plenty More is an ode to vegetables; what Ottolenghi calls a 'Vegi-Renaissance'. Packed full of nutritious, naturally gluten-free vegetarian recipes that are easy and practical for a busy household. This inspiring book, however, is so much more than a vegetarian cookbook - it boasts 284 pages of mouth watering meals - from salads to slaw this book has something for everybody.
The book is curated beautifully with the recipes divided into twelve sections: Tossed, Steamed, Blanched, Simmered, Braised, Grilled, Roasted, Fried, Mashed, Cracked, Baked and Sweetened. Here I will feature three of my favourite recipes and how I have enjoyed them:
1) Red Onions with Walnut Salsa - With a humble ingredient list and a simple method this has become one of my favourite dishes. The chilli cuts through the creamy goat's cheese with ease creating something subtle and sophisticated. We've been devouring this on summer nights with barbequed chicken, lamb kebabs and juicy steaks - who needs hot dogs?
2) Honey-Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yoghurt - I adore a recipe that transforms a humble vegetable like the carrot. This tasty dish is cheap to make and sends any Yorkshire Pudding based grief packing when you sit down to your Sunday lunch. We ate a pile of these sweet beauties last week alongside a juicy roast chicken. Even my carnivore boyfriend agreed - the carrots really were the main event. And if you're still not convinced, the recipe produces enough Tahini Yoghurt Sauce to last a week - I poured it onto my quinoa the next day for lunch and the result was very pleasing.
3) Meringue Roulade with Rose Petals and French Raspberries - 'Light, pretty, festive and special' - I couldn't have put it better myself Yotam. This dessert really is breath-taking. It does take a little more time, and a touch of skill, but it's intentional rustic appearance can hide a multitude of sins. It's really the flavours that make this dish so special. The only tweak I made was swapping the regular cornflour for GF cornflour (something I do still visit the free-from isle for). I think this dish is perfect for finishing up a summer garden party - your guests will be so in awe they won't even notice the lack of pastry or sponge!
I can't wait to spend the rest of the summer trying and testing some more of Yotam's delicious creations. Have you tried any new cookbooks recently? I'd love to hear your recommendations.
This looks like a fab book. I love vegetables and fancy trying a few new recipes. One for the Christmas list, I think. :-)
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