Low FODMAP Lasagne (serves 4-6)

Lasagne

Lasagne

In my opinion, one of the best meals to come out of Italy is lasagne. There’s nothing quite like a hearty, beefy, cheesy pasta dish to fill the tummy. Its multi-layers allow for forkfulls of rich, tomatoey mince to meld with thick, unctious cheese sauce, with the occasional surprise of a nice piece of crispy toasted melted cheese. However, for all that lasagnes are traditionally very onion, garlic and cheese based, it’s actually very easy to make a low FODMAP lasagne which is just as tasty as a normal version.

Lasagnes are incredibly easy to make and the beauty of making your own instead of buying one is that you can alter the ingredients as you see fit, ensuring you have a pasta dish that suits your own taste.

I like my low FODMAP lasagne to have plenty of herbs in it and for the sauces to be thick enough for it to cut into slices without it completely falling apart, but other people prefer theirs to be much more liquid so that they can use good crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Either way, it’s a rewarding meal that will feed lots of people. It will also reap plenty of leftovers which will keep in the fridge for a couple of days and it’ll freeze beautifully too, leaving your freezer stocked with low FODMAP ready meals of the best (and tastiest) quality.

Ingredients:

500g beef mince

1 tsp asafoetida powder

2 tbsps olive oil

6-8 gluten-free lasagne sheets

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

100g oyster mushrooms (chopped)

50g pitted black olives (chopped)

360g of tinned chopped tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

100ml of water

Dairy-free cheese sauce mix (or normal, if tolerated)

1/2 a pint of rice milk

160g grated cheddar (or non-dairy version)

Method:

Put the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the mince and asafoetida powder. Fry until the meat is cooked through.

Add in the oregano, salt, olives and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft.

Add the chopped tomatoes, crumble the stock cube into the pan and stir through. If the mix is very thick then add a bit of water, but if you’re happy with the consistency then leave it as it is.

Cook the mix for a little while longer over a low heat.

In the meantime, prepare the cheese sauce as instructed on the packet.

To build the lasagne:

Put a layer of tomato mince in a square or rectangular casserole dish, followed by a thin layer of cheese sauce and place lasagne sheets on top.

Repeat until all of the ingredients are used up, reserving a bit of cheese sauce for the top.

Scatter grated cheese all over the top of the lasagne and grind black pepper over it.

Bake in the oven for 40-50 mins, or until the lasagne sheets are soft and the grated cheese is golden brown and bubbling.

Serve with crusty bread, baguettes or salad. Or all of the above, because why not?

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Broccoli and Parmesan Quiche (Serves 6)

Broccoli and Parmesan Quiche

Broccoli and Parmesan Quiche by The Fat Foodie

I made this broccoli and parmesan quiche a few days ago and I was incredibly happy with how it turned out. The parmesan pie crust is a variant of a Hairy Bikers recipe that I came across and, let me tell you, I’ll definitely be using it again.

This is a gluten-free recipe, so you might need to use some more butter because gluten-free flours are renowned for being really absorbent, but let me know if you do try it please. Also, I made this with standard butter, but you could easily use a non-dairy equivalent. You may need to chill the pastry for an hour in the fridge before you use it though, just to make it easier to roll out.

In this broccoli and parmesan quiche the combination of the parmesan, butter and gluten-free flour makes for a quiche crust that has the crisp texture and taste of a really good savoury cheese biscuit. It’s crunchy and crumbly with a nutty flavour, but it’s also delicate and enhances the eggy filling of the broccoli and parmesan quiche beautifully. It’s a lovely way to worship the humble vegetable that is broccoli.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

180g gluten-free flour (plus extra for dusting)

100g cold unsalted butter (or a non-dairy version)

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

50g grated Parmesan cheese (or a non-dairy version)

1 medium egg yolk

1 tsp ice-cold water

For the broccoli filling:

3 medium eggs & the egg whites left over from making the pastry (waste not, want not, right?)

200g of chopped broccoli heads (not the stalks though)

200g lactose-free soft cheese (or a non-dairy version)

150g grated cheddar cheese (or a non-dairy version)

Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

To make the pastry:

Put the flour into a large bowl and rub the butter in until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Add the chopped thyme and parmesan.

Add the egg yolk and cold water and mix until it forms a ball. (If you feel it’s too dry, add a little bit more water until it comes together).

Wrap your pastry in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for at least half an hour.

 

Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4.

Line your chosen pie tin with tinfoil.

Sprinkle some flour onto your work surface and roll out the pastry until it’s the right size for your pie tin.

Place your rolling pin on the edge of your pastry circle and roll the pastry onto the rolling pin (it makes it easier to transport it to the tin).

Roll the pastry back out onto the tin and push it down so it fits into the tin. (Bear in mind that the sides must be high enough to contain your quiche filling.)

This is quite a crumbly dough, so if it breaks apart don’t worry at all. Just take your pieces of dough and fill all the cracks until you’ve got a structurally sound pie case.

Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork about 8 times (this helps release any air that might get trapped underneath).

If you have them, fill the tin with baking beans, if not don’t worry about it.

Bake in the oven for about 15-20 mins, or until it’s golden brown. Baking the pie crust first will ensure your quiche won’t have a soggy bottom.

To make the quiche filling:

Mix all of the ingredients, with the exception of 50g of the cheddar cheese, together.

Pour into the pastry case and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the egg mixture no longer wobbles when shaken.

Serve with a nice green salad.

Broccoli and Parmesan Quiche by The Fat Foodie

Broccoli and Parmesan Quiche by The Fat Foodie

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Vegetable Coconut Curry (Serves 6)

Vegetable Coconut Curry

Vegetable Coconut Curry by The Fat Foodie

Yesterday, in a determined effort to eat a bit healthier, I made a cracking vegetable coconut curry. The main reason for making it was to use up some mangetout I’d had sitting in the fridge, but sadly I forgot to add them! Although the curry lacked a bit of greenery (hence its overall orange glow!) it was still packed to the gunnels with mixed vegetables and was held together with the addition of coconut, making it taste really creamy and decadent even though it was dairy-free.

Most curries rely on a base of fried onion and garlic to add that sweet, caramelised background note that’s so prevalent in Indian cooking, but they’re like napalm to my digestive system so there was no way I’d put them in my curry. However, I’ve recently discovered a fantastic spice called asafoetida powder which tastes exactly the same as onion (and has garlic flavoured tones through it too) and it genuinely adds the flavour of garlic and onion into my cooking without having any negative effects on my tummy. Try it, guys. Asafoetida is amazing!

I made quite a large pot of the vegetable coconut curry, so there were plenty of leftovers. I froze a couple of portions to take to work for lunch throughout the week, but I think we’ll also be having this for dinner tonight too. I’m really looking forward to it though, because the flavours and spices will have been marrying overnight so it’ll taste even better today. (I always think curries taste better the next day, don’t you?)

I’m also having a bash at making my own naan breads for the first time. The dough is rising in the kitchen as we speak (so to speak). I intend on making two types: a sesame seed one and one sprinkled with nigella seeds (aka black onion seeds). Sadly, as much as I’d love to give it a whirl, I think attempting a peshwari naan (a filled naan stuffed with a mixture of ground pistachios/almonds, raisins/coconut, and sugar) might be a little ambitious at this stage.

I’m sure you’ll hear in a future blog post how I get on, but in the meantime wish me luck!

Ingredients:

1 tsp of asafoetida powder

400g of tinned chopped tomatoes

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger (crushed/minced)

4 tbsps of oil

2 large potatoes (cubed)

200g sweet potato (cubed)

2 large carrots (cut into bite-sized pieces)

1/2 a chilli (seeds removed and diced finely)

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 1/2 tbsps curry powder (I used madras)

1 tsp of salt (add more to taste if necessary)

1/2 tsp black pepper

400g of coconut milk

60g of desiccated coconut

Method:

Put the oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat and add the asafoetida powder, ginger and chilli and continue to fry for 5 mins, stirring frequently.

(Have a good ol’ sniff at this stage because it smells fantastic!)

Add the tin of chopped tomatoes along with the turmeric, curry powder, desiccated coconut and salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 5 mins, stirring frequently.

Add all of your prepared vegetables followed by the tin of coconut milk. Gently simmer until the potatoes are soft to the touch and cooked through.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander and serve with rice, naan breads or poppadums.

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Coconut Chana Masala (serves 6)

Coconut Chana Masala by The Fat Foodie

Coconut Chana Masala by The Fat Foodie

Chana masala is traditionally a chickpea curry that is normally quite dry, spicy and flavoured with citrus. This variant of a Happy Pear recipe however, uses coconut milk as its base which creates a saucier curry, but with no loss of flavour. Although I made mine without meat, on reflection, the addition of beef to the mix and then cooking the dish in a slow cooker throughout the day would make for a really tasty carnivorous meal at dinnertime.

This isn’t a particularly hot curry, but that’s entirely in your hands and depends on the amount of chilli you choose to add. A pot of natural yoghurt or crème fraîche on the dining table to help cool the palate is always welcomed by my partner when we eat curry. I tend to use brown chickpeas  (also known as Desi or Kala Chana) in my cooking for two reasons. 1.) I can get four tins of them in the Indian section of my local supermarket for £1. And 2.) Although they have a brown coloured skin, they are still yellow inside and have a much deeper, nuttier flavour than their popular yellow brother.

Chickpeas are a high FODMAP food in large quantities, particularly if you use dried ones, but if you buy the tinned variety and drain and rinse them well before using them in your recipe their FODMAP content is considerably lowered. As always though, use your own judgement as to what your own body and digestive system can tolerate.

I served the curry with poppadums because I felt that with the amount of vegetables in the dish it was unnecessary to include bulky rice, but you could accompany the curry with pilau rice, naan breads, or chapatis. I know the ingredients list is long, but it’s worth it. And if you have leftovers they’re fantastic the next day because all of the flavours have been marinating together overnight making for a richer, more complex, curry.

Ingredients:

1 large common tomato (diced)

1 tsp of asafoetida powder

2 carrots (cut lengthways then into 1/2 cm thick half moons)

100g green bell pepper (chopped into bite-sized pieces)

1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger (finely chopped or grated)

1 red chilli (finely chopped)

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

1 tbsp of cumin seeds

1 & 1/2 tsps of ground turmeric

2 tsps of curry powder or garam masala

1 tsp of ground coriander

1 tsp of ground cumin

2 tsps of paprika

1/4 tsp of ground pepper

3 cardamom pods (crushed under a knife so the casing splits)

1 cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

A 400ml tin of coconut milk

A pint of vegetable stock

200g of tinned chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

Salt (to taste)

The juice of 1/2 a lime

To serve (optional):

Fresh coriander (chopped)

Natural lactose-free yoghurt (or non-dairy version)

Rice

Method:

Prepare your ingredients as per the directions.

Place all of your spices together in a small bowl.

Pour the oil into a large pot and then fry the chilli and ginger for 5 mins on a medium heat, stirring regularly.

Add the spice mix and some salt and cook for a couple of mins.

Add in the tomatoes, carrots, green pepper, coconut milk and chickpeas and simmer for 15 mins (or longer on a low heat, if preferred, to encourage the flavours to marry).

If you feel the curry is too thick add in some vegetable stock. Taste to see if it requires more salt (mine needed quite a bit).

When you’re ready to serve the curry place it in bowls, scatter with fresh coriander and sprinkle with the lime juice.


Coconut Chana Masala by The Fat Foodie

Coconut Chana Masala by The Fat Foodie

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