Creamy truffle cauliflower soup - dairy free, gluten free, vegan
Posted by Blender Recipes, Degustation/Fine dining, Featured, Recipes, Southern Forests, Vegan, Vegetarian | Categories:Recovery from a disc injury can be a roller-coaster ride of good days and bad days. After an optimistic fortnight of steady improvement, I was faced with a horrid day of crippling pain and depression. I forced myself through the morning’s torture in the hope that it would ease as the day progressed but the short drive to work was enough to push me over the edge. I am normally an energetic and bubbly person and I hate that I’m reduced to a crumpled heap on the floor of our staff room. To add to the pain, I feel racked with the guilt of leaving my colleagues with all my work for the afternoon. I battled through a couple of consults before pathetically limping back to my car for the dreaded drive home. Pain has a way of warping your perspective on life and I can sense how short tempered and grumpy I am but with every moment hurting I cannot stop myself.
Upon arriving home I drugged and heat-packed the hell out of that wretched spine of mine before laying back in bed with a glass wine in hand. Before long I was smothered in cats and started to appreciate that tommorow would be a brand new day. With new-found gratitude I reminded myself to be thankful I still have many wonderful things in my life; I have my sanity, my internal health, a loving husband and two of the most handsome cats in the world.
One of my treasured winter creature comforts in Perth is our locally grown fresh black truffles. I go absolutely bonkers for these little black fungi and our winter is filled with back to back truffle dinner events. This season has already kicked off and yet I’m in no good shape to sit down for a lazy degustation. So, in an act of kindness the Boy suggested that instead of going to the truffle, get the truffle brought to me. My first creation of the season is this luscious creamy truffle cauliflower soup. This is a vegan cauliflower soup that is also gluten free and dairy free, and rich in flavour and umami deliciousness.
- 1 clove garlic
- 30 grams Nuttelex or preferred dairy free, vegan spread
- 1 tablespoon vegetable stock concentrate (from Thermomix EDC, if you are not using a Thermomix, use 1 stock cube. Ensure it is onion and gluten free)
- 40 grams fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 40 grams raw blanched almonds, soaked for 1-2 hours and drained
- 250 grams cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 200 grams potato, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon savoury yeast
- 600 grams filtered water, room temperature
- 10-20 grams of fresh black truffle, depending on preference
- salt and pepper to taste
- 100 grams cauliflower florets, broken into small florets
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
- 10 grams fresh black truffle
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Toss 100 grams of small cauliflower florets in olive oil season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 20-25 mins until browned. Reserve for garnishing the soup
- Place garlic clove in the mixing bowl and chop for 5 sec | Speed 5 MC. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Add 30 grams Nuttelex and saute for 2 mins | 100C | Speed 1.
- Add vegetable stock concentrate, potato, shiitake mushrooms, cauliflower, drained almonds, savoury yeast, water and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 20 min | 100C | Speed 1. Put the simmer basket on top instead of the MC
- Blend for 1 minute | Speed 9, gradually increasing from Speed 1-9 until a smooth consistency is achieved.
- Shave 10-20 grams of fresh truffle into the mixing bowl ensuring to leave enough to garnish. Mix for 20 seconds | Speed 3.
- Serve immediately and garnish with roasted cauliflower, sliced almonds and fresh black truffle
- Finely chop garlic clove. Saute with 30 grams Nuttelex in a medium sized saucepan on medium heat.
- Add vegetable stock concentrate, potato, shiitake mushrooms, cauliflower, drained almonds, savoury yeast and water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 min or until vegetables are soft . Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Blend using a stick blender until a smooth consistency is achieved.
- Shave 10-20 grams of fresh truffle into the mixing bowl ensuring to leave enough to garnish. Stir to mix through
- Serve immediately and garnish with roasted cauliflower, sliced almonds and fresh black truffle
Catering for all diets at CNR Kitchen, Northbridge Piazza
Posted by Featured, Food and Wine Festivals, Paleo, Perth, Raw Food, Restaurants, Vegan, Vegetarian | Categories:It is a known fact, I don’t know how to relax. I almost always have at least 101 things on the go at any one point and this can be both extremely exciting and stressful. Although I have no one to blame for being so busy but myself, yet I cannot help but look upon my feline fur-kids with envy as they happily laze entire days away sleeping, cuddling and lounging about. They are true experts in relaxation. After years of recurrent illness and always being “sickly”, I have finally learnt that to keep up this crazy pace without falling apart it is crucial to take time to nourish my body with excellent nutrition.
Part of this commitment to myself has included switching to eating a more plant-based diet, and whilst I would never claim to be a true vegetarian, we certainly do find ourselves eating less and less meat as the years go on. And for once in my life I can honestly say I don’t really miss it.
A couple of weeks ago I had some surgery to remove a suspicious looking mole from the sole of my foot. While I waited for the pathology results to come back, I madly ticked over in my mind nearly all perceivable potential outcomes, both good and bad. I decided to start to mentally prepare myself in case they needed to perform a much more invasive repeat surgery to take wider margins. All the while my carefree alter-ego sat on my shoulder saying “Settle down woman, it’s just a weird looking mole!”.
And thankfully that imaginary brazen smart-arse was right, there was no evidence of any cancer in my biopsy. Relieved, elated and very grateful, I immediately proceeded to plans with the Boy to head out that evening and celebrate together. Having recently attended a few too many boozy events lately, we both wanted a meat free dinner. I chose CNR Kitchen as I knew they had a lot of vegan, vego and gluten free options on their menu.
We started with the raw vegan tasting plate. It came with a collection of items including Moroccan savoury cakes, dolmades with cashew mint aioli and a serve of raw vegan Pad Thai. It also had a small serve of their house-made dehydrated corn chip crackers with fresh guacamole and pineapple salsa to dunk them in.
The tasting plate was a simple but satisfying dish and would be a great option to order for those who haven’t eaten raw food before. I will have to remember that when on my next pub crawl with my meat-eating friends. The Moroccan savoury cakes contained a careful balance of spices and were my favourite part of the tasting plate despite there being one slight problem. They didn’t hold together very well at all and combined with my usual level of clumsiness, my cakes crumbled apart after the first bite making them very messy to eat.
As I dunked the last half of my Moroccan cake into the cashew mint aioli it crumbled into numerous pieces and fell into the bowl of dip. The Boy could barely stifle his chortle as he grinned and watched my useless attempts to scoop out my crumbs. They still tasted just as good!
Thankfully I managed to eat my raw nachos much more elegantly as my house made corn chips had enough strength and substance to withstand a decent amount of toppings. The added sweetness of the pineapple into the salsa was a winning element and you would have never guessed the cashew sour cream was actually dairy free.
In the dim lighting of the evening I struggled to get a good shot of the eggplant lasagne. This was a vegan version of the Boy’s favourite meal and yet wasn’t missing any flavour despite the lack of any meat. I was actually inspired a few days later to make my own grain free, dairy free lasagne at home.
The lasagne was packed full of veggie goodness with layers of pumpkin, eggplant, mushroom and zucchini flavoured with a rich tomato and black olive marinara and house made macadamia ricotta. I loved the sweet potato crunchy curls tumbled on top.
For dessert we ordered a small selection of the raw desserts. One of the slices I ordered was the chilli chocolate slice but I nearly got in trouble for ordering it by the Boy. He is not a fan of chilli at all and cannot handle anything more than the most mildest of mild heat; lucky for us this slice had just a subtle hint of oomph in it and so thankfully there were no complaints.
The banana cream cake was decadently indulgent and for once I was happy it was only a small serve. Raw desserts can be very rich and even someone with a huge an appetite like me can be easily satisfied with smaller portions.
For someone who must eat gluten free, CNR Kitchen is a welcoming reprieve from all the gluten ladened dude food and Asian eateries located around in Northbridge. I will definitely be reminding myself of their presence next time I’m out partying and become tempted to risk eating a taco or burger. I know that my body will thank me in the morning.
CNR Kitchen are active participants in Eat Drink Perth festivities and hosted a raw dessert teaching class a couple of weeks ago when the Festival began. Attendees were taught how to make a number of delicious sugar free, dairy free and gluten free raw desserts. Of course this was accompanied by taste testing everything.
CNR’s second raw food class is held this week on Tuesday April 7th and for this session they will making dairy free cheese, milk, cream and ice cream using nuts. To find out more head to the Eat Drink Perth website.
Disclaimer: Chompchomp is an official blogger for Eat Drink Perth ’15. Whilst the Eat Drink Perth blogging team are kindly each gifted a number of event tickets from the City of Perth, Chompchomp just cannot help but get into the Perth City mood and attend more than just what she is given. I mean who doesn’t love food festivals! Consequently, she paid for this meal in full.
CNR Kitchen
Northbridge Piazza, 44 Lake Street, Northbridge WA 6003 | (08) 9228 8861 | cnr.net.au
Blogger's Brunch at The Wolf The Bean The Walnut
Posted by Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Paleo, Perth, Raw Food, Restaurants, Vegan, Vegetarian | Categories:For those who work from home or perhaps don’t work at all, it is easy to labour with love in the kitchen preparing all your food from scratch. When I have time to do this myself, I gain great satisfaction knowing every ingredient I put in my food. However for those like myself who work long hours and often in places where there are no hip cafes with raw, vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options, it is easy to resort to eating less healthy meals. I was recently invited to a blogger’s brunch at The Wolf The Bean The Walnut which is a new café that has opened up on Wolf Lane in Perth City offering healthy food whilst accommodating for us with specific dietary requirements.
Over the course of the morning, we were taken on a journey through their menu with tasters of their signature dishes.
I started off with a “Flu Tonic” juice; it was the fructose friendly option made with lemon, ginger and spinach. It is a relief to find somewhere I can get a take away juice without having to ask for the apple to be omitted! Guests were given some breakfast bars made with oats, pistachio, cranberry and buckwheat however due to the inclusion of oats they were not gluten free.
The Wolf The Bean The Walnut offer both toasted and gluten free options for their granola which is then topped with dairy free coconut yoghurt. Although I have not excluded dairy from my diet completely, I do try to avoid it as it flares up my eczema quite severely so that I scratch my fingers until they are red raw. It was comforting to see there are a number of dairy free alternatives on their breakfast menu for allergic intolerants like me.
Our second dish to sample was their chia pudding. This is normally made with toasted granola on the bottom layer which is not gluten free so the Chef made me one using their gluten free granola instead. The chia seeds were soaked in almond coconut milk to set into a pudding and topped with a fruit coulis. It wasn’t overly sweet and I could imagine a normal serve would be quite filling.
Next up was a taster of their signature turmeric custard. This was an interesting and colourful dish served cold with fresh mango, pistachios, pepitas and coconut. The custard had a delicate, mild flavour with a lovely hint of sweet fragrant spice.
Our final dish was one of their “superbowls” and by this point I was feeling pretty stuffed. Chia pudding, coconut yoghurt, seeds and nuts; these are all foods that can leave one feeling very satisfied without being overly full. I wasn’t sure if I would have any room left for this next morsel.
But after cutting into my poached egg and witnessing its egg porn in full glory I cast away any fears of fullness and tucked in. Buried underneath the perfectly poached egg was some pieces of crispy salmon, lima beans and red and white quinoa. Flavoursome dukkah was sprinkled on top to give some extra texture.
Sadly I couldn’t stay until the end of the blogger’s brunch as I had a test drive booked for a new car that the Boy was considering to buy for my birthday present….(more on THIS later!)…. On my way out I was handed a luscious looking raw treat to eat on the drive home. Suffice to say it didn’t last long!
I am so chuffed to know that there is somewhere I can stop into in the CBD to get a bite for lunch that will be safe for my belly and won’t set my allergies off into a storm.
Disclaimer: Chompchomp would like to thank The Wolf The Bean The Walnut for their invitation to dine with them. All opinions on this post are Chompchomp’s own.
The Wolf The Bean The Walnut
Arcade 800, 800 Hay Street, Perth WA 6000 | (08) 9481 6315 | Facebook
Going vegan for a week at Loving Hut, Victoria Park
Posted by Breakfast/Brunch, Fast Food, Featured, Perth, Raw Food, Restaurants, Vegan, Vegetarian | Categories:Whenever I am feeling overindulged, a fail safe way of getting my gut and body to recover is for me to eat a plant based vegan diet for a few days. After the incredibleness of our weekend away in Margaret River for their annual food festival Gourmet Escape, my body was crying out for some gentle eating. We burned all the candles at every end for the full weekend attending multiple degustations, an international Cabernet tasting and rubbing shoulder with some celebrity chefs. I will not deny it was all worth it.
For the following week I had time off work which gave me a chance to catch up on my long to-do list without any distractions. Wanting to pledge to adhere to a vegan, or at least vegetarian diet for most of the week I kick-started it all off with a visit to Loving Hut on Albany Highway in Victoria Park.
Loving Hut are an international vegan restaurant chain with over 200 locations around the world. They were created with the vision that all beings on this Earth can live in peace, love and harmony with each other.
Each Loving Hut restaurant is individually owned allowing them to have their own influence on the dishes on their menus with just one thing being in common; all their food is made only with wholesome plant based ingredients.
For the course of the next week, I returned almost every day to grab myself a healthy and easy vegan lunch and was impressed to see that they changed most of their dishes daily.
There are a bunch of different gluten free options including gluten free quiche and raw sandwiches along with some other non-gluten free options for those more “normal” people. Loving Hut are open 7 days so once we hit the weekend I dragged the Boy along to show him what I had been raving about all week. It didn’t take long to convert him and we ended up eating lunch there on both days of that weekend.
He loved the mock meat pies with their homemade Gourmet pie being his favourite. Filled with loads of roasted vegetables in additional to chunks of mock meat, he wants to return and grab a bunch of them to put in the freezer for him to eat later.
I am so delighted to have found a restaurant within walking distance of my home that can supply us with healthy, gluten free vegan options for lunch. More so their ingredients were fresh and predominately organic. The Loving Hut staff are super friendly and were happy to talk me through all the ingredients so I could pick the fructose friendly options too. Being kind to my body and all our creatures on this Earth has never been so easy!
Disclosure: Chompchomp’s repeated visits to the Loving Hut were entirely at her own expense. Loving Hut Shop 19, 366 Albany Highway, Victoria Park, WA 6100 | (08) 9470 3969 | lovinghutperth.comRaw Peppermint Slice (vegan, gluten free, fructose friendly, dairy free, TMX)
Posted by Blender Recipes, Chocolate, Desserts, Featured, Paleo, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian | Categories:Chocolate is an addiction of mine that I’m certain I can blame on my genetics. Both Mum and Dad love their chocolate and I have been coerced into a number of chocolate binges with Mum over the years. I figure that there is no point fighting nature and assure myself that chocolate IS a nourishing super food after all. In fact, I am actually doing my body a favour giving it a daily dose. The best type of chocolate, in my humble opinion, is raw chocolate. sumptuous and silky, it has a melt in your mouth texture that will certainly have you going back for more.
On our last visit to the The Raw Kitchen in Fremantle, the Boy and I shared an uber-delicious raw peppermint slice. Unfortunately it was full of fructose and while I certainly enjoyed it at the time, the aftermath wasn’t pleasant. Wanting to relive the good parts of that moment without all the abdominal pain, I was inspired to create a fructose friendly raw peppermint slice. Whilst I realise that my version does not resemble The Raw Kitchen’s with respect to its symmetry and perfection, I can assure you they still taste just as good, if not better. Try them for yourself.
- 1 cup (100 grams) almond meal
- 4 tablespoons (85 grams) rice malt syrup (use more if you prefer it sweeter)
- 1 cup (100 grams) shredded coconut
- ½ cup (55 grams) raw extra virgin coconut oil, melted
- 4 tablespoons chia seeds
- 4 heaped tablespoons of raw cacao powder (use more if you prefer your chocolate rich)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
- 1 pinch of Himalayan sea salt
- 1 large sized avocado (or 1 & ½ small)
- ¼ cup (85 grams) maple syrup
- ⅓ cup (75 grams) raw extra virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1 & ½ cup (150 grams) shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract depending on preference
- 1 pinch of Himalayan sea salt
- ¼ cup (30 grams) raw extra virgin coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup (30 grams) raw cacao powder
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of Himalayan sea salt
- Line a 20cmx20cm baking dish with foil.
- Mix the almond meal, rice malt syrup, coconut, melted coconut oil, chia seeds, cocoa and vanilla.
- Press the mix using the back of a spoon firmly into the tray, sprinkle with salt and place in the freezer to set for 5 – 10 minutes.
- Place all ingredients in high powered blender and blend until smooth. For those with a Thermomix place ingredients in mixing bowl and mix for 60 sec/Speed 5-9 increasing gradually. Scrape the sides of the bowl with the spatula and repeat. Smooth mixture into prepared dish and stick back into the freezer for another 10 minutes.
- Gently warm coconut oil until it is melted and combine with maple syrup. Stir well.
- Pour over chilled bottom layer and return to the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the chocolate layer is hardened.
- Once set, remove from the tin and chop into little squares. Keep in a container in the fridge or freezer depending on preferences.
Disclaimer: This is an original recipe created by Chompchomp for Belmont Forum‘s recipes cards of the 12 Days of Blogger’s Christmas. All ingredients were purchased and paid for by Belmont Forum. Belmont Forum had no influence on the content of this recipe.
Trying a new way to cleanse with Raw by Chris
Posted by Featured, Paleo, Perth, Raw Food, Vegan, Vegetarian | Categories:For as long as I can remember, I have always felt like I never have enough time. I struggle to relax and seem to thrive on fast paced hyperactivity. It wasn’t until I hit my thirties that this lifestyle started to take its toll prompting me to seek medical advice when I could no longer even run without collapsing on the couch. As a direct result I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anaemia which then led onto discovering my gluten and fructose issues.
I stick to my gluten free diet religiously and find this is easy to do as there are life threatening risks for me if I don’t. Coeilacs who eat gluten raise their risks of intestinal cancer significantly along with risking developing a bunch of other horrible diseases. In contrast, I find following my fructose friendly diet much, much more difficult to adhere to. Whilst eating fructose does cause some unpleasant effects, it doesn’t causing any permanent damage to my body. I consequently wax and wane from being vigilantly fructose friendly to chancing the risk of a gut ache for something tasty to eat.
To mitigate this ongoing strain I place on my gut, once a month I will set aside a few days to concentrate purely on nourishment and digestive health. Some months I will do a strict 3 day juice only cleanse, and on other months if my work load is high, I will add in some raw, vegan food to supplement my caloric intake. Working full-time and running a business means finding the time to prepare healthy and balanced raw meals can be tricky and I am forever searching for like-minded small businesses that are willing to cater not just for this need, but to adapt these meals to be fructose friendly.
Some time ago, I was lucky enough to receive a gifted Raw by Chris basket containing a collection of fabulous raw goodies adapted to be fructose friendly that she wanted me to taste test. I was so delighted by my gift that I returned her favour by blogging about it.
After a few more months of perfecting dishes in her kitchen, Raw by Chris launched a more comprehensive option to the people of Perth of one, two and three day raw baskets containing all the food you need to give your digestive system a well-deserved rest. She offers these baskets with a fructose friendly option on request. Perfect!
I chose to try the two day Raw by Chris Nourish basket, here’s what it included.
Day one:
Morning: • Chia pudding with coconut milk and seasonal berries. Chris subbed the honey to maple syrup. I loved the creamy texture of this pudding, much better than what I tend to make myself! • Inner Ego cold pressed juice which I saved for my morning tea. Lunch • Kale, avocado and grape salad served with salad dressing and raw bread crackers. Everything is labelled clearly and numbered so it is easy to know what goes with what. • Inner Ego pressed juice Afternoon snack • Kale chips – these were so light and crispy with just a hint of sea salt Dinner • Mixed raw noodles bowl (kelp, zucchini, and carrot). This was the first dish the Boy saw me eat and he started to regret not joining me in the cleanse. Subsequently he will be joining me on my next cleanse next week 😉 • Inner Ego pressed juice Dessert • Chocolate coconut maca cup. Chris replaced the Medjool date goo that she normally puts in the centre of these cups with fresh banana. This was a wonderful treat to savour at the end of the day.Day two
Morning • Chia pudding with coconut milk and seasonal berries. • Inner Ego cold pressed juice Lunch • Kale, orange and sprouts salad with carrot, tomatoes, sprouts, and almonds and served with a salad dressing and raw bread crackers. Both the salad were filling yet refreshing leaving me sufficiently energised for my afternoon. • Inner Ego pressed juice Afternoon snack • Kale chips Dinner • Falafel plate; carrot falafel, capsicum hummus, and spinach, cherry tomato salad. Served with a tahini dressing and raw bread crackers. • Inner Ego pressed juice Dessert •Another AH-MAZING chocolate coconut maca cup to finishThis was a cleanse that didn’t leave me constantly hungry and is certainly one that I would recommend for those people who have struggled with adhering to a straight juice fast. Eating raw and vegan is a wonderful way to ease your body into the whole concept of fasting without actually missing out on food. It also has the added benefit of meaning no animal is harmed in the making of your meals!
Personally I have no difficult sticking to a three day juice fast most of the time as I have been doing them every month for nearly a year now. But when the heat is on at work and I’m faced with those dreaded long 12 hour days without time to sit and rest, I find that drinking juice only can leave me short of my usual oomph and sparkle. This raw food cleanse was the perfect compromise for those busy times. I have already booked in my next cleanse for next week, getting myself ready for the Christmas time silly season and all the potential hidden fructose that this time of year may bring!
Chompchomp paid Raw by Chris in full for this Nourish Raw basket and didn’t receive any payment for this review. She has been a convert for the benefits of raw food and juice fasts for some time, and was delighted to let someone else do the hard work for her while she was busy working in her own day job! Raw by Chris | http://rawbychris.com/ | FacebookZucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce
Posted by Blender Recipes, Featured, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian | Categories:Last year I ran a weekly series for six weeks inspired by the Meatless Monday movement. At that point in time the Boy wasn’t a vegetarian and I wanted to show him that this lifestyle change didn’t have to mean just eating boring lettuce and tomato salads. Since then we have both changed a lot about our eating habits; eating mostly local produce, organic where we can and definitely with a much lower focus on meat.
I was recently approached by Belmont Forum to help them create a couple of recipe cards to put in their new Fresh Food Mall in the centre. After visiting the centre to check out what was on offer, I was impressed with the amount of gluten free and organic food available in their health food store and was inspired to recreate this zucchini noodle dish from my Meatless Monday series. It is so easy to make, surprisingly satisfying and full of nutrients.
- 1 cucumber, peeled and spiralized
- 1 zucchini, peeled and spiralized
- ¼ cup almond butter
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- pinch of sea salt
- 3 tbsp water
- ¼ cup puffed amarinth
- 1 tbsp sliced almonds
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbsp goji berries
- pinch of sea salt
- Peel the cucumber and zucchini and run them through a spiraliser (or julienne them if you prefer).
- Place the noodles in a colander and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Set aside while you make the sauce and topper.
- To make the almond sauce, whisk together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- To make the topper, combine all topper ingredients in a small bowl.
- To serve, place the noodles in a clean bowl, mix in the sauce and add a handful of garnish. Serve immediately.
Recipe adapted from www.adashofcompassion.com
Chompchomp was asked alongside fellow blogger Perth Munchkin to provide content to Belmont Forum for them to to create recipes cards for customer promoting the wide range of products available in their centre. She was provided with the ingredients for this dish free of change in return.
Creamy vegan mushroom sauce (gluten free, dairy free)
Posted by Featured, Perth, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian | Categories:Following a gluten free diet has become second nature to me. Ingesting just a tiny crumb of gluten has such a profound effect that there is simply no point me risking a reaction. Our whole household is gluten free to avoid any contamination and the Boy is more than happy to eat a gluten free diet with me.
In contrast, my sensitivity to eating dairy products is not so black and white and I can tolerate small amounts. Being able to eat a little bit now and then leads me into a false sense of confidence as it isn’t something I have to avoid totally like gluten, I just try to minimise my intake. I have never been good at minimisation and generally prefer to take the all-or-nothing approach with most things in life, especially food. Progressive day to day carelessness in restricting my dairy intake is generally brought to a grinding halt after one of my hedonistic cheese binges. These joyous cheesy evenings always result in my skin becoming so inflamed and sore that I can barely stretch my fingers fully open. Consequently I have learnt to try to only eat dairy on special occasions.
Being a massive lover of mushrooms, one of my favourite types of pasta sauces to prepare at home is a thick creamy mushroom sauce. I use as many different types of mushrooms as possible and add in some fresh herbs from the garden. It doesn’t take me forever to prepare and is packed full of all the amazing nutrition that mushrooms provide.
I decided to try to create the creamy goodness of a classic mushroom sauce but without all the lashings of dairy cream. I wanted to make it more allergy friendly and was curious to know if a vegan mushroom sauce could live up to its traditional dairy counterpart.
I recommend that you try to get the freshest mushrooms possible to maximise flavour and get as many types of mushrooms as you can. I got these beauties from the new fresh food section at Belmont Forum. They have an impressive multitude of different mushrooms varieties including enoki, oyster, shiitake, shimeji, button, and Swiss brown.
- 450 grams mixed mushrooms roughly chopped (e.g. Swiss brown, Portobello, button, shiitake, oyster, enoki)
- 1 tablespoon of fresh sage
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
- 1 clove garlic
- Olive oil
- Fresh herbs (thyme, basil) to garnish
- 350 gm gluten free pasta
- Cook gluten free pasta according to the directions on the packet.
- Cook garlic in olive oil in a deep fry pan over medium heat until the garlic just starts to brown.
- Add all the mushrooms (except for the enoki mushrooms) and the wine and cook until the liquid is released from the mushrooms.
- Stir in sage and enoki mushrooms.
- Add milk and cook stirring until thickened
- Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with some fresh herbs.