No one should have to forgo deep fried food. Here’s my hunt for perfect crispy gluten free batter #glutenfree #coeliac

No one should have to cut deep fried food out of their life, so the hunt for the perfect crispy gluten free batter. Deep Fried Fishy Supper

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Pão de Queijo aka. Cheesy delicious balls 

So, my obsession started February 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. When travelling in Brazil for 2 weeks I carried out some extensive gluten free option research which led me to tasting and falling in love with these. Pao de queijo’s are a Brazilian cheesy dough ball, they’re crisp on the outside and amazingly cheesy and soft on the inside. They’re found in street stalls, kiosks and supermarkets all over Brazil so it’s far too easy to pick up one, or two, or three when going for a stroll.

I then hunted them out around South America, learning the names for them in each country I went to – chipa in Argentina and cunape in Bolivia. It even helped with my Spanish as I got very good at the phrase “donde peudo comprar cunapes” – where can I buy cunapes!

As my friend and I ordered 8 each from the airport Starbucks on our way home, I vowed to learn how to make these. Now I’m instantly  transported straight back to 18 hour bus rides, beach trips and city tours with endless pao de queijo snacks.

So here we are, I have my recipe and its too good not to share. Gluten free or not, you have to give these a go. They’re made from naturally gluten free tapioca flour, it’s extracted from the root of the cassava plant found in northern Brazil. Now, it’s not the easiest of flours to get your hands on. The recipe is best done with sour cassava flour but I couldn’t find this anywhere. Normal tapioca flour works just as well but has a slightly less bitter taste. Most health food shops have it on their shelves.

– Ingredients –

1/2 pint semi-skimmed milk

150ml vegetable oil

280g tapioca flour

1tspn salt

2 eggs

Pepper to taste

– Instructions – 

Preheat the oven to 230º celsius, grease a baking tray and set aside.

Place the oil, milk and salt in a large pan and boil over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. This took me about 5-8 minutes. Take off the heat as soon as you see large bubbles appearing in the milk.

Add all of your tapioca flour to the milk and oil and stir in until there is no dry flour left. You will have a very gelatinous, lumpy mixture. Transfer the dough into a separate bowl to start cooling.

If you are a lucky enough person with a standing paddle mixer then great, add the dough to that and use a medium speed for the next few steps. If not, do not worry it can be done by hand – it’s hard work, but don’t get dispirited you do get there! I just chose not to do arms in the gym for this week after the dough ball work out.

Beat the dough with a wooden spoon until it becomes smooth and is cool enough to touch for a couple of seconds.

Whisk each egg and add separately, waiting until the 1st one has been completely combined. Again, work hard! Really beat the eggs in and you will see the dough change and become smoother. Repeat with the second egg.

Do the same again and add in your parmesan cheese and pepper. You will finish with a sticky, stretchy dough that can look a little lumpy – not to worry.

Time to make your balls. Pull out small 1-2″ sized balls and roll into shape in your hands. I made about 14 from this recipe mixture.

Place on your baking tray, pop in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 170º celsius.

Leave to bake for 20-25 minutes, they should rise and become golden brown.

You’re done, theres a lot of instructions but you’ll be surprised how easy it actually is to make!

They’re definitely best served hot, but equally are great the next day as rolls for your sandwiches. Dip in a spicy, tomato sauce like they do in Brazil, eat with a hot cup of coffee like in Bolivia or cover in butter like we did at the Airport!

Promise me you’ll try them, then book some flights to Rio – it’s truly an amazing City. I will be going back.

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Forever, The Awkward Dinner Guest

xx

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Figgy Oat Bars

Figs have got to be my favourite fruit around! Fresh figs, dried figs, fig salads, figgy pudding I love them all. Their season in the UK is normally from late June to October, luckily for me dried figs can be found all year round!

To save my bank balance slightly I needed to find a way of making my dried figs last longer, if not I tend to work through the bag in one or two days! I’ve started using this recipe to make oaty, figgy, crunchy, soft, delicious bars meaning I always have a fig supply in my cupboard.

Being high in potassium, iron, fibre and a great source of vitamin C and fibre they’re a brilliant raw food to add to your diet. I’ve paired them with oats for a perfect quick snack with a cup of tea, as part of your breakfast or heat up and top with Greek yoghurt as a desert!

Most of all, the recipe is crazy simple and takes no time at all to whip up!

– Ingredients –

The Filling 

150g dried figs

50g dried, pitted dates

100ml hot water

Juice of half a lemon

1 tspn. cinnamon

2 tblsp. honey

The Crust

200g gluten free oats (obviously normal oats work great as well!)

Pinch of salt

30g sugar

1 tspn. baking powder

1.5 tspn. cinnamon

1 banana mashed

100ml almond milk

Dash of vanilla essence

– Instructions –

Preheat your oven 180ºC

Cover your dried figs and dates with the hot water and leaved to soften in a separate bowl.

While they are soaking, mix all your dry ingredients together – the oats, salt, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon.

Aldi are stocking gluten free oats at the moment! I couldn’t be happier, for one they’re about half the price of other supermarkets. But also, I’ve really missed the rolled oats which I’ve found a lot harder to find. I much prefer to bake with these compared to the ground oats. So please aldi, keep these in the store!

In a jug whisk together your mashed banana, almond milk and vanilla essence, then add to the dry ingredients and mix together. Set this aside while you make the filling.

Drain the figs and dates and place in a food processor or blender. Add in your honey, lemon and cinnamon. Blitz up until smooth, you may need to add more water to get the consistency you want.

Now its time to make up your bars. Spread half the oaty mix on a greased baking tray. This mixture will make about 9 small sized bars so judged how much to spread the mixture out.

Cover this bottom layer with your figs and then layer up with the last of the oats on top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown. When warm press in lines which you will cut into when cool.

Its a healthy, nutritious match made in heaven – so get baking!

Forever, The Awkward Dinner Guest

xx