Moussaka

A delicious and easy-to-make dinner using beef or lamb mince. Substitute gluten-free flour and lactose-free milk for dietary needs.

You can also use turkey mince for this dish, just add 1/2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp soy sauce to boost the flavour.

Ingredients:

1 aubergine, sliced into 1cm slices

Olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 lb/500 g mince beef or lamb

1 tablespoon flour

1 beef stock cube

pinch cinnamon

Salt and pepper

1 tin tomatoes, chopped

1 pint milk

25g plain flour

25g butter

2 egg yolks

Method

Heat a frying pan and add enough olive oil to cover the base of the pan. Add the aubergine, don't panic it will soak up all the oil, but persevere and fry until golden brown, turn over and the oil will start to release as the other side browns. It is important that you fry off the aubergine until it has a golden brown colour on both sides. Remove the aubergine to a plate.

Fry the onion until soft, add the mince, continue to fry until browned. Add the flour, stir and fry until all the meat is coated. I add the stock cube, either crumble or melt into the mince, add about 1/2 cup of hot water until the meat is moistened. Drain the juice from the tinned tomatoes and add to mince, fry for a couple of minutes, season and add cinnamon.

Pour the mince mixture into the bottom of a lasagne dish.

Arrange tomatoes over the mince.

Arrange the aubergine over the tomatoes.

Put the milk, flour and butter into a pan and stir over a medium heat with a whisk. Continue stirring until the sauce is thickened. Cooke for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the sauce from the heat.

Separate the 2 eggs and add to the sauce, whisking in until thorough mixed. Keep the whites for some meringues, you can freeze them.
Pour sauce over the aubergine.

Bake in the oven gas 4 for 45 minutes until golden brown.

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Cauliflower, feta and sweet corn fritters

When you want a veggie lunch and can’t think what to cook, delve in the fridge and see what appears.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 small tin sweetcorn

2 large cauliflower florets

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1/2 pack feta

1 egg

100g self raising flour 

Milk

Ground black pepper

Olive oil

Method

Put the flour in a bowl, add the egg and milk and whisk until smooth. Chop the cauliflower into small pieces (same size as the sweet corn),  chop the feta into similar sized pieces. Add the sweetcorn, cauliflower, spring onions and feta to the batter, season with pepper (you don't need any salt due to the feta). Mix all the ingredients together.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add enough olive oil to cover the base. Drop large spoonfuls into the pan, spreading slightly. Cook until they start to show the odd bubble and flip over. Cook until golden brown.
You may want to cook one first, and test the seasoning.

I served with a salad and some chilli sauce.

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Chicken lasagne

If you are gluten free and don't eat red meat, it's difficult to find a lasagne that you can eat. We also eat lots of veg, so I decided it was time to get a decent lasagne dish, some gluten free lasagne sheets and bone and skinless chicken thighs. I made a large lasagne as the spare portions can either be frozen or taken to work for lunch.
This uses my "all-in-one" sauce method, so you will need a balloon whisk for this.
Ingredients (serves 6)
For the bolognese
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pack chicken thighs, skinless and boneless - minced in a food processor
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/4 nutmeg, freshly grated
1/4 pint milk
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 beef stock pot (trust me, it improves the flavour)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tin water
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 large chestnut mushrooms, halved and finely sliced.
For the white sauce
1 oz lacto free butter
1 oz plain gluten free flour
1 pint lacto free milk
Salt and pepper
Additional ingredients
12 sheets gluten free lasagne
1 tsp salt
1 large courgette, finely sliced lengthways
1/2 bag baby spinach leaves  (washed)
1 oz freshly grated parmesan

Method 
Bolognese
In a large pan, sauté the onion and celery in the olive oil over a gentle heat until the onion is translucent. Increase the heat and add the minced chicken, fry until all chicken has gone white, stir regularly. Add the carrots, nutmeg, milk and salt and pepper, cook for 1 minute,  then add the tomato puree, continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated.  Add the stockpot, oregano, tomatoes and the water, stir well, bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Sauce
Take one medium pan and put all the sauce ingredients in the pan together. Put the pan over a gently heat and then keep stirring using a balloon whisk until the sauce is smooth and has thickened. Season to taste.
Pasta (only if using gluten free lasagne sheets).
Fill a large pan with water, bring to the boil and add the salt. Pop in the lasagne sheets and cook until al-dente. (I've tried using the sheets without pre-cooking and it doesn't work for the gluten free as well). If using normal quick cook lasagne sheets, you can omit this stage.
Build the lasagne
Take a lasagne dish and rub a little olive oil over the surface to prevent sticking.
Take a couple of large spoonfuls of the mince and spread them over the bottom of the dish, then drizzle over some of the white sauce, then a layer of lasagne sheets, next a layer of mince, then a handful of spinach, followed by a layer of courgette, plus another drizzle of white sauce.
Keep building the layers. You want to end with some mince and white sauce over the final layer of pasta. If you think you are running out of the white sauce, you can always add some more milk and thin it down towards the end.
Sprinkle over the parmesan cheese and then pop into a moderately hot oven Gas 5 (Electric 190C) for 40 minutes. It should be bubbly and golden on the top.
Serve with salad.

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Moussaka

A great dinner that is easy to prepare and tastes scrummy. You can make with either beef or lamb mince. If you are gluten intolerant, substitute Dove's gluten free plain flour, if lactose intolerant, use lacto free milk.

You can also use turkey mince for this dish, just add 1/2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp soy sauce to boost the flavour.

Ingredients:

1 aubergine, sliced into 1cm slices

Olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 lb/500 g mince beef or lamb

1 tablespoon flour

1 beef stock cub pinch cinnamon

Salt and pepper

1 tin tomatoes, chopped

1 pint milk

25g plain flour

25g butter

2 egg yolks

Method

Heat a frying pan, add enough olive oil to cover the base of the pan. Add the aubergine, don't panic it will soak up all the oil, but persevere and fry until golden brown, turn over and the oil will start to release as the other side browns. It is important that you fry off the aubergine until it has a golden brown colour on both sides. Remove the aubergine to a plate.

Fry the onion until soft, add the mince, continue to fry until browned. Add the flour, stir and fry until all the meat is coated. I add the stock cube, either crumble or melt into the mince, add about 1/2 cup of hot water until the meat is moistened. Drain the juice from the tinned tomatoes and add to mince, fry for a couple of minutes, season and add cinnamon.

Pour the mince mixture into the bottom of a lasagne dish.

Arrange tomatoes over the mince.

Arrange the aubergine over the tomatoes.

Put the milk, flour and butter into a pan and stir over a medium heat with a whisk. Continue stirring until the sauce is thickened. Cooke for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the sauce from the heat.

Separate the 2 eggs and add to the sauce, whisking in until thorough mixed. Keep the whites for some meringues, you can freeze them.
Pour sauce over the aubergine.

Bake in the oven gas 4 for 45 minutes until golden brown.

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Jäger Schnitzel

For years I wouldn't eat veal as I didn't agree with how it was reared, then in 2012 I watched the Jimmy Doherty TV programme where he explained how rose veal production should increase as it is a by product of the dairy industry.
I now have no guilt and actively look for veal if it is available so that we help the UK farming industry.
We were lucky enough this weekend to spot a couple of veal escalopes at our favourite farm shop Danestream.
I found a brilliant recipe on the web for Jäger Schnitzel and as our daughter is currently on a gluten and lactose free diet, used gluten free breadcrumbs (whizzed a couple of slices in my food processor), gluten free flour, lacto free butter, cream and milk, plus fresh thyme from the garden.
It was very scrummy and will definitely cook again.

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White sauce

Ingredients
250ml/ 1/2pint milk
25g/1oz plain flour
25g/1oz butter/spread suitable for cooking
Salt and pepper

Method
Put all the ingredients in a small pan, grab a balloon whisk and put over a medium heat, keep stirring until the sauce has thickened. (don't leave it, just keep stirring, trust me it will look impossible to start with but it works)

When it has thickened and starts to bubble, allow to simmer for 3 minutes to "cook" the flour.

Season to taste.

Cheese sauce - simply stir in 1 tsp dijon mustard, add 75g/3oz grated cheese and heat gently until melted.

Parsley sauce - stir in 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

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