GF Socca Pizza with Massaged Kale and Marinated Mushrooms

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socca pizzaSocca is a traditional dish from Nice, France. It is a flat bread browned or even blackened around the edges, and it has an almost custard like, tender texture inside. As with many traditional dishes, there are a dozen different ways you can make it – pan-frying, broiling, baking. It is pretty easy to make. All you need is equal parts chickpea flour and water, mixed with a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. You can use more water to make a thinner crêpe-like socca or less water to make it thicker. You can also add some herbs and spices in the batter to jazz it up.

Thanks to socca, I can have “pizza” which needs only a few ingredients and no brain. To me, it is too hard making GF pizza dough >.< It is totally gluten-free, perfect for GF pizza, wraps or flat bread. I made this socca pizza for my lunch today with some raw toppings to make it nice and fresh, but feel free to sauté the kale and mushrooms if you like.

Ingredients (single serve)

For socca
50g chickpea flour
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sumac
1 tsp nutritional yeast
a pinch of Himalayan salt
50g warm water
1 tbsp coconut oil + extra for frying

For topping
1 cup of kale leaves
1/2 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 tbsp coconut amino sauce or tamari
1 tsp coconut vinegar or white wine vinegar
a pinch of Himalayan salt
pepper to taste

To make socca, mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover and put in the fridge for 30 minutes until the mixture is set. In the mean time, clean the kale and mushrooms. Tear the kale leaves into bite size and massage with salt and vinegar until softened. Marinate sliced mushrooms in coconut amino sauce. Take the socca mixture out of the fridge. Heat coconut oil in a non-stick frying pan and pour the mixture into a pan. Spread evenly with a spatula and cook for a couple of minutes each side over medium heat or until golden. Transfer to a serving plate and top with massaged kale and marinated mushrooms. I also added caramelised beetroot and onion on top.

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Vegetarian

Savoury Oat Porridge

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Savoury OatsI’m sure a bowl of warming, filling and delicious oat porridge is a perfect breakfast in winter. What about savoury oats? It is a perfect comforting lunch or even dinner when you feel lazy to cook. All you need is a bag of rolled oats in your pantry and some left-over veggies in your fridge. Creamy oats are a great vehicle for toppings of your choice. I added cooked veggies with a hint of harrisa here but crunchy raw veggies, creamy avocado, grilled tofu, tamari roasted nuts and a soy sauce-sesame oil dressing would be nice, too. You can adjust cooking time and the amount of water depending on how you want your porridge to be. If you haven’t tried savoury oat porridge before, give it a go. It is perfect anytime of the day and surely warms you up 🙂

Ingredients

1/2 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of hot water
1 cup of chopped veggies (I used eggplant, corn, carrot, onion and celery)
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp harissa
Himalayan salt to taste
1 tsp nutritional yeast

Heat coconut oil in a pot over medium heat and add chopped veggies, tomato paste and harissa. Cook for about 10 minutes or until veggies are cooked for your liking. Season with Himalayan salt and set aside. For the porridge, add oats and hot water in another pot. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, keep stirring. Ladle porridge into a bowl, top with cooked vegetables and sprinkle nutritional yeast. Serve warm.

Posted in: Breakfast, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Vegetarian

Buckwheat Healing Soup

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Buckwheat soupThe temperatures have dropped down gradually. I like this time of the year when you can snuggle up with a bowl of warm soup and be cozy. When I make a soup, I always try to add whole grains as well as lots of veggies such as brown rice, quinoa, millet and buckwheat. They not only add a nutty flavour and texture but also provide numerous health benefits. Whole grains are a carbohydrate package rich in fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, plant enzymes, hormones, and hundreds of other phytochemicals. Soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol, and insoluble fiber helps move waste through the digestive tract. Phytoestrogens found in whole grains may protect against some cancers. So might essential minerals, such as magnesium, selenium, copper, and manganese. These minerals may also help reduce the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Buckwheat groats are gluten-free, high in protein and fibre and a great addition to a vegetarian meal. Its taste and texture is very similar feel to barley. You can find raw or roasted. I find roasted buckwheat groats provide a full-bodied, almost smoky flavor in the soup. Turmeric and saffron broth is great for healing and cleansing. Turmeric is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer. Saffron is rich in minerals, vitamins and cartoenoids, important antioxidants. It helps with a number of medical ailments such as depression, macular degeneration, weight loss, asthma and menstrual discomfort.
buckwheat soup1Ingredients (serves 2)

1/2 cup buckwheat groats, soaked
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup of diced pumpkin
1 cup of kale leaves, roughly chopped
1 cup of wild mushrooms, sliced
1 sprig of tarragon
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp turmeric
a pinch of saffron
2 cups of water or vegetable stock
1 tsp Himalayan salt
pepper to taste

Heat coconut oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, pumpkin, mushrooms, garlic and turmeric into a pot and stir for 5-10 minutes until softened. Add in mushrooms, tarragon, buckwheat groats, water or stock and saffron and simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes until the buckwheat is cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Add kale leaves and let it sit with a lid on for another 5-10 minutes. Stir, ladle into a soup bowl and garnish with more kales on top.

 

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Vegetarian

Quinoa Chickpea Cakes

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quinoa cakesWe hear a lot the dietary fiber is crucial for optimal elimination of toxins and regular bowel movements. But did you know that fiber also eliminates excess estrogen in your body? Insoluble fibre binds to excess estrogen in the digestive tract, which is then excreted by the body.

Estrogen balance is essential for achieving and maintaining fat loss. In men and pre-menopausal women, too much estrogen can cause toxic fat gain, water retention, bloating, and a host of other health and wellness issues. In fact, excess estrogen is as much a risk factor for obesity. Of course, there is a number of reasons why you get estrogen dominance – an exposure to estrogen-like compounds in foods that contain toxic pesticides, herbicides, and growth hormones, use of birth control pills and HRT, digestion issues, stress, poor diet and lifestyle. Symptoms of estrogen dominance is too much fat around your middle section and difficulty losing weight. It might even cause breast and prostate cancer.

So, you can see here how important your gut health is for a healthy body. Fibre is so crucial to remove all the waste out of your body. It is recommended that women from age 19-50 get 25 gram of fiber in a day. Good sources include wheat bran, corn bran, rice bran, the skins of fruits and vegetables (apples, pears, berries, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and carrots), nuts (especially almonds), seeds (particularly sunflower seeds), soybeans, dried beans, and whole-grain foods. Ask yourself at the end of the day, have I had enough fiber today?

This quinoa chickpea cake recipe is packed with gut loving fiber. Even better with fresh greens on the side. Delicious!
quinoa cakes1Ingredients (4 cakes)

50g quinoa
50g chickpeas, soaked overnight
a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp oat flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
a pinch of Himalayan salt
coconut oil for frying

Rinse thoroughly and cook quinoa in a boiling water for 20 minutes or until cooked. Drain and set aside. Cook soaked chickpeas in a boiling water until soft and blend in a food processor until you get a paste consistency. Add all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add a bit more flour if the mixture is too wet. Cover and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Take it out of the fridge and shape the mixture into little patties. Heat coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook the patties for 2-3 minutes each side or until golden brown. Be gentle when you flip. Drain on a paper towel if needed.

Posted in: Breakfast, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Vegetarian

Vegan Banh Mi Salad

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Banh Mi SaladHave you heard of Banh Mi sandwich before? I have, but never tried. The Banh Mi translates to bread of baguette in Vietnamese. It is a French-Vietnamese fusion food born during the French colonisation of Vietnam. It is a crisp baguette commonly filled with barbeque pork, pickled carrots, cucumbers, coriander, jalapeno and the occasional spread of pate with a drizzle of sriracha sauce. My version of Banh Mi is a deconstructed, gluten-free and vegan salad with a Korean Gochujang dressing. It is light, crisp, fresh, healthy and loaded with flavour. You wouldn’t miss the bread or meat. If you are on the go, you can use this salad as fillings for sandwich, wrap or spring rolls in your lunch box.
Banh Mi Salad1Ingredients

For the tempeh
100g plain tempeh
1 tsp coconut amino sauce or tamari
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic
a squeeze of lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of coconut oil for frying

For other fillings
1/2 cup chopped lettuce leaves
1/2 cup sliced and pickled carrot
1/2 cup sliced cucumber
chopped spring onion
a bunch of coriander

For dressing
1 tsp thick Greek natural yogurt
1/2 tsp Gochujang paste
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice tempeh and marinate in the sauce for 10 minutes. In the mean time, prepare vegetables and dressing. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan and add marinated tempeh. Cook for a couple of minutes each side. To assemble, put your salad veggies on a plate, top with the tempeh and a drizzle of the dressing.

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, salads, Vegetarian