Cauliflower pizza bases have been making the rounds on blogs, and in the news a lot in the past few months. I’m a little late at joining the party as I only made and tasted my first cauliflower base pizza a couple of weekends ago, when I met up with my sister. We like to get together every few months, catch up with each others news and cook something for lunch. Cauliflower pizza is something we have both been longing to try for some time so pizza it was to be!

The base is made of blitzed, lightly cooked cauliflower that is bound together with ground almonds and eggs before being prebaked to form a ‘crust’ on which to spread your pizza toppings. Its gluten free, dairy free, paleo, flourless and grainless so would suit a wide variety of diets. It’s lower carb, is fibre packed and higher in protein than your traditional bready pizza base. So far so good.

After cooking the cauliflower and squeezing out the excess water we were left with a mix that almost resembled a dough. We combined this with the other ingredients to create a thick paste which is then baked. It turned a lovely golden brown colour and smelt really good when baking. Slightly nutty, no sodden cauliflower aroma. You make a little rim around the edge to hold in your toppings and give it that risen crust appearance, which is a nice touch.

After adding our toppings - mushrooms, artichoke hearts, courgette, peppers, olives and a sprinkle of chilli for us - it had a final bake before we tucked in.

We had a slight issue with getting it off the baking parchment, it had stuck in some places and being a softer, not so sturdy veg base rather than a chewy bread dough it was hard to get it off without tearing it. Note to self, next time use a silicone baking sheet, nothing ever seems to stick to them!

Once plated we took our first bites. It was interesting…good interesting but different. It had the flavour of pizza, but without the right texture. The crust was more of a base than an actual crisp crust. It was softer and lighter, slightly coarse in texture and reminded me strongly of a thick oat pancake in texture. It carried the flavours of the pizza toppings well, but you didn’t get that same crunch or chew as you experience from a bread dough base. It was also quite fragile, definitely a knife and fork job, you couldn’t pick it up with your fingers.

I know it sounds like we didn’t enjoy it, but we did! The flavour was delicious and we both agreed if you wanted a change from regular pizza or had a diet that normally prohibited pizza then this would be a great alternative. The base was slightly sweet and nutty, and we didn’t detect any overcooked sodden-sock taste or aroma to the cauliflower, it was very neutral. Nor did it taste overly of almonds or taste like a dessert, something we were a little worried about as it was so almond packed.

It was definitely like eating pizza baked onto a large pancake. Only the very exposed edges had stayed crisp, the rest having softened under the moisture from the sauce and toppings. That aside, we loved it and both agreed that we felt energised all afternoon without that usual bloat or drowsiness that often follows a pizza fest.

I want to make it again but try and tweak the base recipe to make it more of a crispy crust. To me that’s part of what makes pizza so great. We used a recipe from BBC Good Food, but I’ve seen others that don’t use the ground almonds and just use cauliflower and egg for the base. I think they may work better at forming a lighter, crisper, less pancake-like crust. Experimentation ahead!

Have you tried cauliflower pizza? What did you think?

Cauliflower Pizza Base

(Recipe from BBC Good Food)

Base

1 head cauliflower (about 750g)

100g ground almonds

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp dried oregano

Salt & pepper

Oil for greasing

Tomato Sauce

2 tsp oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 x 220g can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato purée

½ tsp dried oregano

Small bunch basil leaves

Salt and pepper

Toppings of choice

1 x ball mozzarella

Courgette, mushrooms, olives, peppers, artichoke hearts, chilli etc

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. Line two baking trays with silicone sheets or baking parchment that is greased with oil.

Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and trim the stalk end. Cut into chunks and blitz in a food processor until finely chopped, like rice. (You may need to do this in two batches).

Tip the cauliflower in a bowl, cover with cling film and microwave on high for 5-6 minutes until softened. Tip onto a clean tea towel and leave to cool a little. Once cool enough to handle, scrunch up the tea towel, twist and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. It should feel dry and almost look like dough. Then transfer it into a clean bowl.

Stir in the ground almonds, egg, oregano and seasoning. Mound half the cauliflower mix into the centre of each tray, then cover with a layer of cling film and use the flat of your hand to smooth the mixture out into an 8-9inch round. Pat the edges in to make it a little thicker and create a ‘crust’.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp a little at the edges.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat a little oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic until softened. Pour in the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, oregano and a few leaves of basil. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 8-10 minutes until thick. Season to taste.

Once the cauliflower base is cooked, set aside to cool a little. Turn the oven up to 240C.

Prepare your toppings of choice. Spread the tomato sauce over the bases leaving a rim around the edge. Arrange your toppings of choice over the top and finish with some blobs of mozzarella. Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes, depending on how thick you’ve made your bases and how much topping you have piled on!

Once cooked, leave to stand for 3 minutes before using a fish slice or palette knife to remove the pizzas from the tray. Scatter over some more basil leaves before serving.

Makes 2 x 8-9 inch pizzas, or one massive one.

I can’t believe it’s Christmas day in 3 days time. Where has December gone? Every year I like to make something homemade to give away to family and friends along with their standard Christmas gifts. I think it adds a nice touch to get a handmade present, plus I enjoy the excuse to spend some time in the kitchen.

This year I decided to try making a pickle. I considered baking some cookies but my family always get so much to eat over Christmas that I wanted something they could enjoy later on without the fear of it spoiling. Pickles, jams and chutneys are the way to go.

My Dad has fond memories of his father making cucumber pickle aka Bread & Butter Pickle when he was growing up. I remember seeing jars of it in the cupboard, these odd looking jars of sliced cucumber with little flecks of red chilli and balls of mustard floating in it. My granddad is sadly no longer with us, so I thought it would be a nice idea to try and recreate a cucumber pickle for the festive season.

Pam Corbin of River Cottage fame came to the rescue with the perfect looking pickle. It looked and sounded just as I remember my grandfathers to be. I’ve never made a pickle before and was surprised to learn the ingredients require only the merest of cooking time, the majority of the time is spent brining the cucumbers before their soak in the pickling liquid. This also ensures the cucumber pickle retains a bit of crispness and bite, rather than being a mushy mess more in line with a chutney.

The pickling liquid a bit of raw onion and red chili to add a little extra kick. It’s not meant to be spicy, but lend a gentle background tongue tickle. Sugar is added for a touch of sweetness and to help balance out the sharp tang of vinegar. Ground turmeric also transform the pickle from a rather anemic looking green to a bright and exotic looking golden yellow (be carefully when handling it, turmeric stains are impossible to get out). I think it also makes it look wonderfully festive. The mustard seeds add little pops of flavour when eaten and I think there is something quite hypnotic watching they bob around in the pickle.

Cucumber pickle aka bread & butter pickle may sound an odd name as the pickle does not contain these ingredients. It gets its name from the fact it is a pickle traditionally eaten with your bread and butter. They got their name "bread & butter pickle" during the great depression when fresh cucumbers were grown by many households and so often eaten for lunch with bread and butter. Due to the lack of refrigeration, rather than let any surplus cucumbers go to waste, they were pickled to make them last all the rest of the year. Very frugal and a great way of ensuring nothing went to waste. I’m sure it would taste delicious with some leftover turkey, stuffing or cheese too!

To see Pam Corbin make the bread & butter pickle, click here for her video on River Cottage Food Tube.

Cucumber ‘Bread & Butter’ Pickle

(Recipe by Pam Corbin from River Cottage aka Pam The Jam)

Ingredients

1.5kg cucumber (5 large)
1 large onion
5tbsp salt
500ml cider vinegar (must be 5% proof or more*)
200g granulated sugar
1½ tsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp celery seeds
3 tbsp white mustard seeds
1-2 finely chopped red chilli, seeds removed

Method

Peel the cucumbers, cut off the ends, quarter lengthways and slice into 3-4mm thick slices.  Peel and chop the onion into fairly small pieces (no larger than the pieces of cucumber).  Mix the cucumber and onion pieces together in a non metallic bowl.

Sprinkle over the salt, gently toss through the cucumber and onion and leave for 2 hours.

Rinse the cucumber and onion well in icy water. Taste check the cucumber and rinse again if it is too salty (they will be naturally quite salty at this stage though). Leave them to drain in a large sieve or colander and pat dry with some kitchen paper.

Wash the jars well and place the lids and jars into the oven on baking tray. Heat the oven to 150C and leave the jars to heat and sterilize while you finish the chutney.

Place the vinegar into a saucepan that will be large enough to eventually take all the ingredients. Add the sugar, turmeric, celery seeds, white mustard seeds and chopped chilli.

Heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, stir to combine and bring to the boil.

Add the drained, rinsed cucumber and onion, stir and bring back to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes only! It needs this long to destroy any bacteria which could cause the pickle to deteriorate, but any longer and the pickle will be less crisp.

Remove the pan from the heat and the jars from the oven. Carefully distribute the cucumber pickle into the jars, filling almost to the very rim. Make sure all the cucumber is covered with some of the pickling liquid.

Using rubber gloves, quickly screw the lids tightly onto the jars while they are still hot. Leave them to cool on the side. You should hear the lids make a sudden ‘pop’ sound as they cool. This means the heat has created a vacuum and the jars are effectively sealed and airtight, meaning the pickle will keep safely until opened.

Label the jars and store in a cool place until required. Once opened, store in the fridge and eat within 4 weeks.

The pickle can be eaten immediately or kept for up at a year.

Makes 7 x 450g (1lb) jars

Note: The vinegar must be at least 5% proof in order to sufficiently pickle and preserve the cucumbers. The vinegars will state their proof % on the bottles.

Look at this rich, chocolaty, intense gooey chocolate torte. Doesn’t it look tempting. I bet you are wondering how much butter, cream and melted chocolate it contains, well the answer is none. This torte is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan, paleo friendly and raw! Sounds unbelievable? Yes it is unbelievable…unbelievably good!

The torte is made from pureed avocado, mixed with raw cocao, agave syrup and a little coconut oil. This is sat on a delicious nutty base of almonds and dates, topped with fresh raspberries and coconut shavings.

I have been reading a lot about new paleo diet friendly and raw food cafes and restaurants opening recently. A couple of weeks ago when I needed to create a vegan dessert for a friend, and decided to take it one step further and see if I could create a raw vegan dessert and as I was going to eat it too, this also meant it had to be gluten free too. The challenge was on.

After a hunt on the internet (there are some amazing raw food desserts on blogs out there) I settled on a chocolate mousse made with avocado and raw cocao. I wanted it to have a different texture and chose to set it on a base I’d seen used for a cheesecake of pureed dates and almonds.

The avocados need to be nice and ripe so they are soft and creamy to puree with the cocao to create a luscious creamy dreamy rich chocolate mousse. You need to add some maple syrup or agave to sweeten it and I also added some coconut oil to ensure it had a firmer set. I was a little dubious how it would turn out. Seeing the vibrant green of the pureed avocado was a little strange to think it would soon be a dessert, but once blended with the rich bitter cocoa it soon started to look much more inviting. I had to keep tasting to adjust the sweetness until I was happy with it.

I decided to make individual portions inside ring moulds for easy preparation. Once assembled I was really happy with how they turned out. I loved the nutty, sticky, sweet base. It was a lovely contrast to the rich and creamy bitter chocolate topping.

On the day I made it I could still detect a little raw avocado taste underneath the chocolate flavour, I was a little worried the dessert hadn’t quite worked, but I didn’t want to waste the dessert so decided to just go with it and hope for the best. The next day when my friend came for dinner, I found that after a night in the fridge the flavours had mellowed and mingled together and the only flavour with pure rich intense chocolate. Hurrah! My friend loved it and couldn’t believe it was made with avocado.

Being made with all natural and raw ingredients this dessert is actually surprisingly healthy. Avocados are quite high in calories and fat, but it’s the right kind of good monounsaturatedfat and packed with over 20 vitamins and minerals, much better than cream which is full of saturated fat and not a lot else. The almonds, dates and raw cocao also bring their own health benefits, so this is one dessert you can indulge in without feeling guilty.

If you need a show stopper of a dessert that caters for many allergies or just fancy trying something a bit different then this dessert is for you! I can’t wait to make it again, maybe flavouring the chocolate topping with mint, orange, coffee or almond liquor.

Sorry for the quality of the finished dessert, it was dark when we ate it.

Unbelievable Raw Chocolate Avocado Torte

For the crust

120g skin on almonds

100g pitted dates

Pinch of salt

20g coconut oil

2 tsp water

For the chocolate topping

2 large avocados, 300g flesh

40g raw cocao powder

60g agave syrup or maple syrup

15g coconut oil

Decoration

150g fresh raspberries

Fresh slices of coconut

Method

Wrap the base of 4 x 10cm/4inch round ring moulds with clingfilm and place onto a tray. Line the inside of each with a strip of greaseproof paper.

To make the crust, put the almonds and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Process until the nuts are ground down into a coarse texture, but not turning into a paste. Add the dates and process again until the dates and almonds are well combined. Add the coconut oil and water and pulse to create a thick sticky texture.

Divide the base mixture between the 4 ring moulds and press down well into an even layer. Chill in the fridge while you make the topping.

To make the chocolate topping, skin and stone the avocados and put the flesh in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. You may need to scrape down the sides every so often.

Sift the cocao powder over the top and add the agave syrup and coconut oil. Process to create a velvety thick puree. Taste and add more agave syrup to taste (don’t worry if you can still detect avocado at this stage, it mellows after a chill in the fridge overnight).

Once you have the sweetness and texture you are happy with, spoon the mixture over the top of the nutty bases and chill in the fridge overnight.

When ready to serve, peel the clingfilm from the base of the tarts and place onto a serving plate. Remove the outer ring and carefully peel away the greaseproof paper. Use a small pallet knife to smooth out the sides and top into an even layer.

Arrange fresh raspberries and thin shavings of fresh coconut over the top.

Eat and enjoy.

Makes 4 tortes

Eat within 3 days of making, best made the day before

It’s official, its cold dark, wet and wintery outside and Christmas is on the way. I’ve tried to avoid it for a few weeks, rolling my eyes in despair when advent calendars appeared in mid October, but on my last food shop I couldn’t resist picking up a stalk of brussel sprouts. I know they are the food of the devil for some people, but I love them. If you are not a fan then try turning them into bubble and squeak (mashed potato and cooked cabbage formed into patties and fired) or my personal favourite, cooked, cooled and eaten with houmous – delicious!

Anyway…I was feeling a little under the weather and wanted to make a fresh healthy salad to perk myself up. I’ve recently discovered that roasting brussel sprouts drizzled in lemon juice before putting them in the oven transforms them into the most delicious sticky, tangy, smoky, earthy sprouts you can imagine. The lemon keeps its zing, but looses its sourness becoming sweet and sticky.

To add an extra colour and wellbeing vitamins I also included some roasted beetroot and then shredded raw carrot. My brother gave me a very snazzy peeler on my last birthday, that instead of peeling off strips from veg, the blade has a row of sharp jagged teeth that shred your chosen veg into long thin strips. Very cool!

To mix with my melody of colourful veg I included brown rice and chickpeas and then finished everything off with a fresh tasting tahini yoghurt dressing which added a little nuttiness and creaminess.

The finished salad was delicious. Packed with a great assortment of textures, colours, flavours and of course cold fighting vitamins. I love combining a mix of roasted and raw veg together, it really changes their flavours and textures. The long thin shreds of carrot were almost like shreds of spaghetti that I could twirl round my fork and the zing of sweet lemon was lovely.

I know some people may not be happy with the idea of salad when feeling under the weather but I’ve eaten this for the past 3 days and I swear I’m the only healthy one left in the office! Plus, who says you can’t have your healthy salad and a bit of cake. Best of both worlds.

Lemon Roasted Sprout & Beetroot Brown Rice Salad with Tahini Dressing

Ingredients

300g brussel sprouts

300g cooked beetroot (not vinegared)

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp oil

Freshly ground black pepper

80g brown rice

2 large carrots

A few fresh mint leaves

200g canned chickpeas, drained

1 heaped tsp tahini

2 tbsp thick natural yoghurt

2-3 tsp milk, as needed

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a baking tray with foil.

Remove any dirty or damaged outer leaves from the brussel sprouts and cut them in half, through the stalk, so they remain intact. Arrange them cut side up on the baking tray. Slice the beetroot into wedges and place on the baking tray also.

Squeeze the juice from half a lemon into a small bowl and stir in the oil. Mix together and then drizzle the whole lot over the top of the sprouts and beetroot.

Grind over a little freshly grated pepper and place in the oven to roast for 15 minutes.

Then, rotate the tray and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the sprouts are lightly golden and tinged around the edges.

Meanwhile, cook the brown rice according to pack instructions, then drain under cold water and place into a large bowl.

Slice or peel the carrot into very fine long shreds. (I had a special peeler to do this, but you could grate it or use a food processor with a similar attachment)

Thinly slice the mint and add to the rice along with the carrot and chickpeas. When slightly cooled, add the sprouts, beetroot and a little extra lemon juice. Mix together well.

In a small bowl, mix the tahini into the natural yoghurt, thinning it down with a few teaspoons of milk until you have a mixture that will drizzle nicely off the end of a spoon.

Serve mounds of the salad and drizzle over some of the tahini dressing.

Eat and enjoy.

Keep the dressing and salad separately in the fridge and dress just before eating each time. Eat within 3 days

I can’t believe its Halloween today! This month has just flown by. I don’t usually celebrate Halloween, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy some autumnal pumpkin based baking.

Around this time of year cans of amazing pumpkin puree appear in the shops for a few fleeting weeks before disappearing again for the rest of the year (grrr). I spotted some a few weeks ago and grabbed a couple of cans while I could. I love the flavour of the canned puree, it is pure earthy, sweet intensely flavoured pumpkin goodness. And just look at the wonderful natural orange colour. Nothing like the dull watery, anemic pumpkins they sell for pumpkin carving. They really don’t taste good, so don’t bother trying to cook with them – believe me I’ve tried many times in the past, they are grown for carving out scary faces only! If you want to make your own puree, you’d have much more successful using a butternut squash.

I thought about making pumpkin cake, but I’ve done this before and wanted to try something different. Instead I decided to make pumpkin cookies. I found a simple recipe online, but tweaked it to suit my tastes, making it gluten free, adding chocolate chips and a few spices. It's also dairy free if you used a dairy free dark chocolate!

The recipe stated to use vegetable oil, but I didn’t have any so used some melted coconut oil instead. This was the first time I’ve baked with coconut oil and I love the subtle flavour it gave. Not obviously coconut, but definitely a slight exotic hint of something, it really worked well with the sweet earthy pumpkin.

The cookies baked to be thick soft cakey cookies. A sort of cake-cookie hybrid. They were firm enough to handle once cooled, and had a slight fudgy stickiness to them, reminiscent of a cookie, but the softness and light texture of cake. It made for a lovely texture. I loved their golden orange colour too.

The flavour was amazing. The pumpkin has a very unique earthy sweetness, that worked brilliantly with the freshly grated nutmeg I included. They really complimented each other and gave a wonderful autumnal flavour. The chocolate chips added little bits of rich bitter cocoa flavour, and they stayed nicely soft after baking too.

I ate most of them as cookies, but couldn’t resist sandwiching two together with a bit of cream cheese for a very indulgent, massive cookie sandwich. Biting into two thick soft cakey cookies and then hitting the tanginess of the smooth cream cheese was delicious.

My sister decided to have some traditional pumpkin fun by carving a pumpkin. She sent me some photos of her masterpiece and I think you’ll agree she did a wonderful job, really spooky! How do you prefer your pumpkins…carved or baked?

Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

200g canned pumpkin puree
200g caster sugar
100ml vegetable oil (I used melted coconut oil)
2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg
150g white rice flour

25g tapioca starch

25g cornflour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
100g dark chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 180C and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, vegetable oil (or coconut oil), vanilla and egg.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices. Add the flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and fold together with a spatula until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be very soft, so don’t worry.

Using an old fashioned ice cream scoop, or large tablespoon, take scoopfuls of dough and arrange on the baking trays, leaving a 2 inch gap between each one.

Gently press the tops down so they form thick discs of cookie batter.

Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes or until ever so slightly tinged brown around the edges and slightly puffed. They should still be soft to touch.

Allow the cookies to cool for 10-15 minutes on the baking tray to firm up, before using a pallet knife to transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Best eaten within 2 days. Can be frozen.

Makes 18 large cookies

I was recently sent a copy of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s new book: River Cottage Light & Easy. From the title it sounds like a regular, traditional style cookbook from a much loved chef – yes? However, there is a twist to this cookbook. Every recipe is both wheat and dairy free!

Now, from any other chef I would probably have rolled my eyes and mumbled something about jumping on the ‘special diet band-wagon’, but not from Hugh, instead I was intrigued and excited. Hugh has done a great deal to raise food awareness in recent years, both with battery farmed chickens and sustainable fish. He also did a recent series where he went veggie for a few months in order to highlight the gloriousness and versatility of vegetables. I have always loved his recipes and tv programmes which focus on local, seasonal, fresh produce and so was excited to see what his new book would bring to the table.

While every recipe in the book is wheat and dairy free, they are not always guaranteed to be gluten free, as quite a few of them do use rye flour, or ingredients containing gluten such as Worchester sauce. That said I should think 85-90% are also gluten free which is fantastic. The approach to the book is recipes that are ‘Light’ and ‘Easy.’ This by no means this is a low fat or weight loss book. Instead the term ‘light’ is used to represent food that is fresh and light on the digestion. You know if you eat a lunch of soup and salad compared to a heavy stodgy pie and mash, you feel more light, alert and full of energy. This is the premises behind this book, food that is delicious, fresh and energy boosting. Again, why wheat and dairy free? In the intro in the front of the book, Hugh reveals why he has chosen to go down this route. A few years ago he was diagnosed with high cholesterol and rather than go on statins, he decided to control his cholesterol through diet, by reducing the amount of dairy he ate. He still wanted to enjoy the wide range of foods and recipes he loved and so began experimenting with alternative non-dairy ingredients and found a whole new set of ingredients and flavours opened up to him, almond milk and rapeseed oil etc. At the same time he began looking more into ancient grains and alternative cereals to wheat which opened up ingredients such as buckwheat, quinoa and rye. He says he never excluded wheat and dairy from his diet and does not encourage people to do that either, merely to open your eyes and your tastes buds to the range of different alternatives out there, and discover some new delicious, nutritious recipes along the way. This is something I agree with wholeheartedly and was so excited to try out a few recipes!

The book is filled with recipes for all occasions, from breakfast, main meals including meats, fish, veggie and not forgetting desserts. Each recipe is beautifully laid out and is accompanied by a tempting looking photo. The recipe that caught my eye was for a savoury porridge with baked onions. Hugh described this as a lighter version of risotto and as porridge is one of my favourite comfort foods I was intrigued to try it myself. White rice is high on the glycemic index and quite low in fibre meaning you will have a quick rise in energy followed by a crash in energy soon afterwards. Oats on the other hand are high in fibre and low on the glycemic index meaning they will keep you feeling fuller for longer with more sustained energy. Oats have also been shown to help lower cholesterol so it’s a win-win.

As the weather last weekend was rather wet and dismal, I decided a big bowl of comforting savoury porridge was just what was called for. I didn’t have any large onions for roasting, but I did have plenty of mushrooms and so decided to use those instead.

I love the woodsy earthy flavour mushrooms bring, and they worked so well with the porridge/risotto. Both risotto rice and oats contain starch that are released during cooking, while help thicken up the surrounding liquid to create a thick, creamy and comforting dish. The other bonus with oats is that unlike rice, they are ready in just a few minutes meaning the whole recipe only took me about 15 minutes from start to finish. Perfect!

I fried the mushrooms off first, before adding the oats and giving them a gentle toast in the pan before adding veg stock. This created a fabulous dark earthy flavour and colour to the porridge. It looked so autumnal and comforting. I added garlic and thyme which always enhance the flavour of mushrooms.

I know lots of people serve risotto with a grating of parmesan, but of course that was off the menu here. Instead grate over a few toasted nuts (I chose almonds) for a nice visual appearance and subtle nutty undertone which went so brilliantly with the woodsy mushrooms. I also added a dried sage leaf at the end, which also enhanced the savoury comforting flavour of the oats and mushrooms.

This was such a delight of a meal. Warming, comforting, creamy, thick oaty risotto with a slight bite to the oats and intense woodsy mushrooms with their strong savoury umami flavour. It was fabulous. I enjoyed it so much I would have no qualms serving this up to friends and the fact it was ready in a mere 15 minutes means its perfect mid week meal food. Hugh calls it a savoury porridge, which it is, but I think Oat-otto sounds more fun.

Fresh, light, easy, comforting, nutritious and delicious. What more could you want from meal!? I enjoyed it so much I’m not sure I’ll ever make risotto with rice again. I can’t wait to try out some of the other recipes.

Giveaway!

Now if you weren’t excited enough to try the recipe below, then I am thrilled to be able to give you the chance to win a copy of the book for yourself! To enter just leave a comment below and tell me how you would flavour your own Oat-otto – keeping to the wheat and dairy free theme.

Only 1 entry per person. The giveaway will close at midnight Friday 17^th October with the winner picked at random. Entrants must be a UKresident and must leave me a way to contact you, within your comment, should you win. Best of luck.

I’ve given you my version of Hugh’s recipe below. For his Baked Onion version, you’ll have to buy the book (or win a copy)!

Mushroom Oat-otto: Savoury Porridge

(Recipe adapted from River Cottage Light & Easy by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

Ingredients

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

250g chestnut or white capped mushrooms

1 red onion

3 springs fresh thyme

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

350ml vegetable stock

80g porridge oats (I used gluten free oats)

10 skin on hazelnuts or almonds

Salt & pepper

Thyme or dried sage to serve (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Slice the mushrooms and red onion and add to the pan. Strip the thyme leaves off their stalk and sprinkle over the mushrooms along with the garlic. Cook until the mushrooms and softened and are a light golden brown colour around the edges.

Heat your stock in a jug and have close to hand.

Add the oats to the pan and stir to mix them through the mushrooms, allowing them to absorb any of the juices.

Add a third of the stock and allow to simmer, stirring often until the stock is absorbed. Pour over half the remaining stock and again cook until the liquid is absorbed. Add the rest of the stock and allow to simmer until the oats are softened and have broken down to create a thick creamy textured porridge/risotto. Season generously with freshly milled pepper and a pinch of salt to taste. (Add a little extra water if you want a thinner texture).

Set aside 2 of the nuts before chopping the rest and stirring into the oat-otto.

Spoon into warm bowls and grate the 2 reserved nuts over the top using a very fine grater, this gives a parmesan cheese appearance and provides a lovely nutty aroma and taste.

Garnish with some extra sprigs of thyme or sage leaves.

Eat and enjoy

Serves 2