Today was St David’s Day, which for those of you who don’t know, is a day of celebration for our Brothers and Sisters over on the other side of the bridge. It’s also the one day of the year on which we allow Welsh Neil to control the office playlist – something which rather predictably led to mass quantities of Tom Jones, several renditions of Bread Of Heaven and a one-man Charlotte Church sing-a-long. So whilst Neil continues with the festivities, we’ve decided to knock up this little blog post with a few of the best Gluten Free Welsh Recipes out there on the world wide web…

Welsh Cakes

Well it was always going to be these little beauties wasn’t it. These fabulous fluffy treats can be found on many-a-welsh market and make for the perfect post-lunch treat. Here’s what to do:

Ingredients

• 225g gluten free white flour
• 75g caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 110g butter
• 75g dried mixed fruit
• 1 small egg

Method

1. First, sift together the flour, caster sugar & nutmeg. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the dry mix, as you would for making pastry. When the mixture becomes crumbly add in the fruit. Beat the egg and then add this into the mixture, working it into a dough.
2. Move the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and roll out to ½ centimetre thick. Using a 6.5cm circular cookie cutter cut the dough into disks. Keep re-rolling the left-overs until all the dough is used up.
3. Using kitchen paper lightly smear the griddle pan all over with butter and warm over a medium heat. Cook the cakes in batches for 3 minutes each side until golden browned – making sure that they are cooked on the inside as well as the out.
4. Sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar and serve warm!

*Courtesy of Natural Kitchen Adventures*

Welsh Rarebit

So, hands up who actually knows what this is? No, weren’t sure either. If we’re being completely honest we thought it was a stew. Turns out it’s an incredible form of cheese on toast and 100% worth the effort…

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter, plus extra for toast
• 2 teaspoons brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon potato starch
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) gluten-free beer, such as Green’s Ale from Belgium, or other gluten-free beer of choice
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, such as Wan Ja Shan
• 2 cups (4 ounces) best-quality sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 slices soft whole-grain gluten-free sandwich bread, toasted and buttered

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Blend in the rice flour and starch, and let bubble until light golden-brown, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the mustard and cayenne.
3. Whisk in the beer and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat to low, add the cheese, and stir until smooth, 1 minute or less.
4. Remove from the heat. Spread thickly on the buttered toast, covering the crusts so they don’t scorch. Broil briefly until the sauce bubbles.

*Courtesy of Gluten Free Living*

Leek & Potato Soup

So we’re not sure if this counts as Welsh, but since the leek is a national emblem of Wales we’re going to go right ahead and say it does! A great little recipe for a chilly March afternoon.

Ingredients

• 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
• 6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1″ cubes
• 2 large leeks, sliced into rounds
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 6 cups veggie stock or 6 cups water + 1 veggie bouillon cube
• 2 tsp dried thyme, or 1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• ½ tsp dried dill, or 1 tsp chopped fresh dill (optional)
• 1-2 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp black pepper, and more to taste

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add leeks and potatoes, and sauté for about 5 mins, stirring constantly.
3. Add in carrots, thyme, salt, & pepper, and dill if using. Saute for another 5-10 minutes.
4. Add veggie stock and bring soup to a near boil. Reduce to low heat, cover pot, and simmer for about 45 minutes.
5. At the end of simmering, use a stainless steel immersion blender to puree of the soup in the pot until you reach the desired level of smoothness.
6. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
7. Garnish with fresh parsley or pumpkin seeds, and serve along side your favourite gluten-free toast.

*Courtesy of Naturopathic by Nature*

 

Mwynhau! (That means ‘enjoy’ in Welsh…)

 

Flippin’ eck, it’s Pancake Day already?! It really crêped up on us this year, but that’s not to say we’re not fully prepared for this, the most wondrous of occasions. Every Shrove Tuesday, the Too Good To Be staff battle it out for the title of Lord Pancake and this year the competition is stronger than ever. Will it be Marjorie ‘The Batter Queen’ Bills from down in the kitchen? Or perhaps 2018 will be the year of Phil ‘The Flip-King’ Foxton from over in accounts? There’s only ne way to find out.  So, whilst we start to get things in place here for the big flip off, we thought we’d share with you our all-encompassing guide to the perfect pancake…

 

The Pancake

• 500ml milk
• 250g gluten free plain flour
• 2 eggs
• Butter for frying

 

1. Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and make a hole in the centre. Crack one egg into the middle and pour in a quarter of the milk.
2. Combine the mixture. Once you have a paste, mix in another quarter of the milk and the other egg.
3. Whisk the mixture until it’s lump free and stir in the remaining milk. Pop some cling film over the top and leave the bowl to rest for 20 minutes. Remember, better comes to those who wait!
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan and throw in a blob of butter.
5. Pour a small amount of the mixture into the pan and swirl around to coat the base with a thin layer of batter.
6. Cook the pancake for a few minutes until it is golden brown on the bottom, then give it a good ol’ flip (See Section 2).

 

 

The Flip 

1. It is easier to make pancakes with a light pan, unless you’ve got guns of steel and can confidently use a cast iron pan with one arm. Pour a little bit of oil into the pan and swirl it around so it covers most, if not all, of the bottom of the pan.
2. Pour a dollop of the pancake mix into the pan, swirling it around to make a nice big thin pancake. You know the kind. 
3. After about a minute see if you can move the pancake by gently shaking the pan. If you can, you’re ready to get yo’ flip on.
4. Slide the pancake to the near edge of the round pan. Thrust this edge upwards in a smooth fast motion, so the pancake flies up in front of you.
5. Step back (if needed) and catch the bottom edge of the pancake on the near side of the pan. Make it fall backwards as it lands onto its uncooked side.
6. Finish cooking the pancake and repeat steps four and five if needed. Easy!

 

 

The Topping 

By now you’re all probably well acquainted with your pancake topping of choice, but how do you compare to the rest of the UK? Check out this recent poll regarded our fellow Brit’s toppings of choice, with ‘Don’t like pancakes’ and ‘nothing’ being the obvious causes for concern…

Have a great Pancake Day, everyone!

It’s been a few months since we conducted one of our little Spotlight interviews and we started to miss our little Continue reading “The Coeliac Spotlight – Jack Bleasedale”

We know what you’re all thinking. What a fantastic 2018 this has been so far, it couldn’t possibly get any better from here, right? Wrong. We’re about to release something so hot that Snoop Dogg himself is dropping it. The most hotly anticipated sequel since the second Shrek masterpiece. That’s right, people, It’s Gluten Free Mug Cakes 2. Will it be better than the first? Probably not, but we’ll give it a go.

 

 

Blueberry Banana Bread Mug Cake

We love blueberries, we love bananas, and we love bread. What could possibly go wrong with this one?

 

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp (14 g) coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp (4 g) coconut palm sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 medium, ripe banana)
• 1 large egg
• 25-30 g blueberries, fresh or frozen

 

Method 

1. Add coconut flour, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon to a microwave-safe mug or bowl, mixing until well combined.
2. Add milk and mashed banana, stirring until no clumps remain before adding in your egg. Use a fork to gently beat the egg into the batter, making sure that it gets fully incorporated. Gently fold in blueberries.
3. Microwave on high for 2½ to 3 minutes, depending on microwave strength and size of mug.
4. Remove from microwave, grab a spoon, and enjoy!

 

 

Sugar & Gluten Free Lemon Mug Cake 

This particular recipe comes courtesy of Sugar Free Londoner. If you get a chance do check out her blog and of course, give this incredible recipe a go…

 

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 4 tbsp almond flour
• 2 tbsp double (heavy) cream
• 1 1/2 tbsp sweetener
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp GF baking powder

 

For the glaze

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp double (heavy) cream
• squeeze of lemon juice (1 tsp)
• 1 tbsp powdered sweetener

 

Method 

1. Grease the inside of a ramekin/2 mugs or microwave-safe bowl with melted butter. I used a glass dessert bowl.
2. For the cake: Mix all dry ingredients – almond flour, sweetener and baking powder – in a separate bowl.
3. Add all wet ingredients and mix thoroughly with a fork.
4. Transfer batter into your ramekin/small bowl and level the top.
5. Microwave on high for ca 90 seconds. You can also bake the cake at 180 Celsius/360 Fahrenheit for ca 15 minutes.
6. Remove from microwave and turn upside down onto a plate.
7. For the glaze, melt the butter, then stir in the cream, lemon juice and sweetener.
8. Let it cool until the glaze begins to thicken but can still be poured. Then spoon/pour over cake and serve.

 

 

Gluten Free Carrot Mug Cake 

Carrot cake is one of those things that shouldn’t really work, but it really, really does. It’s fantastic, and this particular recipe is even fantasticer (yeah, we know that’s not a word) for it’s sheer simplicity and tastiness.

 

Ingredients

• 25ml Sunflower Oil
• 60ml Unsweetened almond milk
• 40g Gluten Free Plain Flour
• 1 tsp GF Baking Powder
• 20g Light Brown Sugar
• 2½g Mixed Spice Ground
• 30g Carrots finely grated
• 10g Sultanas
• Pecans x 6 (finely chopped)

 

 

Method 

1. Mix the oil and milk in a 300ml (1/2pt) microwave-proof mug. Add the remaining ingredients except 1 tsp pecan nuts and the decoration, and beat with a fork until thoroughly combined – make sure there are no floury lumps.
2. Cook in the microwave on High power (850 watt) for about 2 minutes until risen, just set on the top and springy to the touch. Or 750w for approx. 2 minutes 15 seconds. Stand for 1 minute. (Caution, mug will be hot) Then remove from the microwave and leave to cool for about 5 minutes.
3. To decorate, spoon a large portion of vegan ice cream on top of the mug cake. Sprinkle with the remaining pecan nuts and enjoy warm, straight from the mug.

 

 

Well, how was that? As sequels go it wasn’t too bad, right? If you get a chance to make any of the recipes above do send us pics of the results!

Right. We’re going to be totally honest with you here – this particular edition of Coeliac Cities was an absolute nightmare to curate. Don’t get us wrong, Bath is a lovely city, as equally lovely as the residents within, but wandering unfamiliar streets in freezing cold temps, whilst trudging ankle deep in snow is not our idea of an enjoyable afternoon. Luckily, Bath did the gluten-free community proud when it came to its offerings, leaving us in a much better mood than we arrived in. We also learnt a fairly interesting fact about the city that we thought we oughta’ share – the planet Uranus was discovered by William Herschel in his back garden on New King Street. Crazy! Anyway, let’s get on with it…

 

Lunch @ The Whole Bagel

The first place we visited was this fantastic little bagel joint aptly named ‘The Whole Bagel’, based on Bath’s Upper Borough Walls. Rather unpredictably we had a sandwich, but not just any sandwich. A French Brie & Pear Sandwich with Italian Prosciutto, Rocket, Roasted Walnuts & Balsamic Dressing, expertly layered between two slices of delicious gluten-free bread. Trust us when we say it was incredible as it sounds.

 

 

Dinner @ Dough 

After a stroll around the city walls and a couple of brief visits to Bath’s finest public houses (for heat the not the alcohol of course!) we stumbled upon Dough, considered to be Bath’s greatest Gluten Free Pizza. Now, we’re not entirely sure of the level of competition that exists for that particular title but we felt it was enough to warrant a visit. We went for the Gluten Free Calzone, our first one ever in fact, and boy was it good.

 

 

Dessert @ Rosarios Café

 Finally, the one you’ve all been waiting for. The most important meal of the day – dessert! When doing a little research for our visit to Bath we found this café mentioned in a few different places and upon seeing a pic of their GF Coffee & Walnut cake it was basically a done deal. Upon arrival we caught sight of their Gluten Free Sicilian Lemon Cake which left us in quite the predicament. Only joking, we had both, and they were both STUNNING. 5/5

 

 

So there you have it – three fabulous gluten free offerings from an equally fabulous city. The real question is, where do we head to next? Let us know over on Twitter @TooGoodToBeUK

Most people like to spend their Paddy’s Day out drinking Guinness in their local Irish bar with their pals. Not us. We see it as yet another excuse to rustle up a few mean dishes, followed shortly after by an all out gorge on the goodies we create. To be completely honest it’s how most days are spent here at TGTB HQ, but pretending there’s some kind of reasoning behind our food problem makes us feel a little bit better. Anyway, here are three of our Paddy’s Day faves. Enjoy…

 

Gluten Free Soda Bread

 If you’ve no Irish in your family there’s a chance you won’t have actually tried Soda bread. If you do then you probably can’t move for the stuff. They love it over the water and so will you…

 

Ingredients

• 175g gf sorghum flour blend plus extra for dusting
• 75g gf oat flour
• 1 level teaspoon xanthan gum
• 11/2 level teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon light soft brown sugar
• 200ml buttermilk about 75ml milk
• 2 teaspoons gluten free rolled oats for the top, or a dusting of gluten free wholegrain flour

 

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and dust liberally with flour.
2. In a large bowl, measure the flours, xanthan gum, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar, and mix well so they are evenly combined.
3. Pour the buttermilk over the dry ingredients and stir in enough milk to form a thick, sticky dough.
4. Tip the dough out onto the floured baking parchment; it will still break and crumble. Coat your hands in flour if the dough is sticky, and lift the dough and turn it to shape it into a ball, rather than kneading it. This will help to give the bread a soft, melting texture.
5. When you have a fairly smooth ball, pat the top with the oats or wholegrain flour, transfer to a baking tray and then flatten the top slightly. Leave in a warm place for 15 minutes to rise.
6. Use a sharp knife to score the bread into four, cutting almost through to the base, and taking care not to knock the air out.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown and cooked through: tap the bottom and it should sound ‘hollow’. Set aside to cool on a rack and enjoy warm and fresh on the same day, or freeze.

 

 

Gluten Free Irish Stew

 

So the title of this particular dish is a little misleading since it was already Gluten Free to begin with, but we’re trying to stick to a theme here so go easy on us. This stunning winter warmer is a great way to celebrate the emerald isle and the perfect accompaniment to that Soda Bread we just discussed.

 

Ingredients

• 750g floury potatoes (Estima, King Edward, Maris Piper or Desiree), scrubbed and thickly sliced
• 450g lamb chops or shoulder meat off the bone
• 1tsp sea salt
• plenty of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced thickly
• 2 turnips, scrubbed and sliced thickly
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 litres water
• large handful fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

 

Method 

1. Put half of the potatoes in the bottom of a large heavy saucepan. Cover the potatoes with the lamband season.
2. Cover the lamb with the vegetables and the rest of the potatoes then add the rest of the seasoning.
3. Add the thyme and the water (or stock). Bring slowly to the boil and skim off any scum that rises with a slotted spoon.
4. Cover and simmer very gently for 3-4 hours.
5. Allow to cool completely and then chill. Remove any excess fat from the top of the stew then reheat gently until piping hot.
6. Adjust the seasoning to taste and add the chopped parsley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irish Whiskey Cake 

 

We had to find a way to include Irish Whiskey somehow, right?! The country’s national drink combined with a gorgeous cake make for one hell of a pudding. Try it for yourself…

 

Ingredients 

• 55g butter
• 100ml water
• 225g dates, stoned and roughly chopped
• 100g caster sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 30ml Irish whiskey
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 50g walnuts
• 225g gluten-free self raising flour
• 1 tbsp Demerara sugar

 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 160˚C/150˚C fan/gas mark 3 and grease and line a 2lb/900g loaf tin. In a small saucepan, gently heat together the butter and water until the butter melts and the water is just boiling.
2. Place the dates, caster sugar, vanilla and bicarbonate of soda in a large mixing bowl and pour over the butter and water, then add the whiskey and mix together. Stir in the egg, walnuts and flour and spoon into the prepared tin, levelling the top.
3. Sprinkle over the Demerara sugar and bake until golden brown, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Check after an hour and then every 5 mins until it is done. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins before turning out onto a wire rack.

 

 

Happy St Paddy’s Day!