Tag: time consuming

Lemon Meringue Pie


Serves 12
Time: 4 h
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients – Base

190 g Nuttelex Original
1/4 tsp vanilla essence (a)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp golden syrup (b)
215 g Orgran gluten free plain flour
1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients – Lemon curd

2 cups water
1/2 cup white sugar
5 tbsp gluten free cornflour (c)
5 gelatine leaves (d)
1 tbsp Nuttelex Original
3 egg yolks

Ingredients – Meringue

3 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar
pinch salt
1 tsp gluten free cornflour (c)

Foodnotes

(a) Vanilla essence should not contain any preservatives – Queen’s Natural Organic Vanilla Essence is one suitable product but the Queen’s Natural Vanilla Extract is NOT failsafe as it contains preservative 202. Vanilla essence is failsafe at 2 drops per day (Food Intolerance Network Website, 2018)
(b) Golden syrup is low FODMAP at 1/2 tbsp (7g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(c) Use gluten free cornflour, also known as cornstarch, which is a fine white flour. Corn flour from wheat contains wheat and gluten while yellow corn flour or maize flour is higher in salicylates.
(d) Use gelatine without preservatives or additives. If you are sensitive to gluten, choose a gelatine that is gluten free. I used Sliver Grade Bio-Organic edible leaf gelatine but other grades should work.

Instructions – Base
  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C
  2. Beat Nuttelex, vanilla essence, brown sugar, salt and golden syrup together
  3. Sift in Orgran gluten free flour
  4. Mix until uniform consistency
  5. Press mixture evenly onto base and sides of a large pie dish
  6. Bake the base for 20 mins at 180 deg C
Instructions – Lemon Curd
  1. Soak gelatine leaves in ice-cold water for 2 minutes
  2. Squeeze water out of the gelatine
  3. Separate the eggs into whites and yolks
  4. Combine 1 cup of water, white sugar and citric acid in saucepan and bring to the boil
  5. Make a slurry with 2 tbsp of water and cornflour
  6. Add cornflour slurry, remaining water (2 tbsp less than 1 cup) and gelatine to the water, sugar and citric acid mixture
  7. Stir the mixture continuously until it thickens
  8. Take the mixture off the heat and after a couple of minutes, stir in Nuttelex and egg yolks
  9. All the curd to cool slightly and then pour into cooked pie base
Instructions – Meringue
  1. Mix together caster sugar, salt and cornflour
  2. Beat egg whites to a soft peak with an electric mixer
  3. Add sugar mixture, one dessert spoon at a time, beating well after each addition to give glossy peaks
  4. Float dollops of meringue mixture onto lemon curd to cover the surface
  5. Using a spatula, spread the meringue over the surface and make small peaks
  6. Bake lemon meringue pie for 15 mins at 180 deg or until meringue is lightly browned
  7. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours to allow lemon curd to set
  8. Keep refrigerated before serving
Personal Notes

This recipe is adapted from the lemon meringue pie and butterscotch biscuits recipes from Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook. If you can tolerate more than 2 drops of vanilla a day, the pie goes well with So Good vanilla frozen dessert.

I have made lemon meringue pie twice – once for a New Years Eve party and once when going to a friend’s place for dinner, which was then finished off by work colleagues – it has been very well received every time! Most people seem quite amazed that there aren’t real lemons in it and that it is gluten free. It is very sweet though, so I’d recommend making it for an event where it can be shared.

My current conundrum with this dessert is that I want the crusty meringue that comes from keeping the meringue dry but the firm lemon curd that requires cooling in the fridge. I tried slowly cooling it in the oven which made the crusty meringue, but as soon as I put the pie in the fridge, the condensation made the meringue soften. In a chemistry lab this would be an easy fix – put the sample in a flame-dried piece of glassware under a nitrogen atmosphere before cooling it and then there is no water present in the air to condense! The kitchen is a bit more difficult. I would like to try allowing the pie to cool completely to room temperature in the oven and then putting it in an airtight container in the fridge but there may be too much liquid in the pie for that to work and I can’t try it as my largest container doesn’t fit the pie dish. A much easier solution would be to find a different setting agent (also low FODMAP and failsafe!) that sets at room temperature. For now a soft meringue and set lemon curd is tasty enough.

Chicken Stock


Makes 2.5 L
Time 1 hour 10 mins + cooling
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

1 chicken carcass (a)
1 leek (b)
1/2 bunch of dark green tips of spring onion (b)
2 sticks celery (c)
1 tsp salt

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat, and cooked that day (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Dark green tips of leek (1/2 cup) and spring onion are low FODMAP (The Monash University Low FODMAP App, Feb 2018). Tip: regrow your leeks and spring onions
(c) Celery is low FODMAP at 75g (FODMAP Friendly App, Feb 2018).

Instructions
  1. Cut off dark green tips of leek and dark green tips of spring onion, rinse and chop coarsley.
  2. To a large pot add the chicken carcass, with no skin or extra fatty bits, the dark green tips of leek and spring onions and salt
  3. Cover the chicken with warm water, about 2.5 L
  4. Bring the pot to the boil on the stove and then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
  5. Sieve the stock into tall jugs, leaving behind the chicken and large chunks of leek and spring onion.
  6. Place the tall jugs in the fridge until the fat separates out and solidifies on the top.
  7. Skim the fat off the surface of the stock.
  8. Portion the stock to use immediately or freeze for future use.
Personal notes

This recipe is based on Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook stock recipe. Cooking the stock for a long time increases the level of amines – if you use the stock in another meal, be careful how long you cook the next meal for. I find that I can tolerate the stock when used in small amounts and if cooked for not much longer, but I will react if I use the stock in another meal that requires simmering or baking for an hour. Consult with your dietician to make the right choice for you. Using a carcass without skin or fatty bits of chicken minimises the amount of fat in the stock that has to be skimmed off and helps minimse the amine level.

The Fed Up website suggests stock should last 5 days in the fridge or months in the freezer. I tend to be cautious and treat stock as I would freshly cooked meat – use immediately or freeze immediately.

I find the best time to make stock is immediately after making roast chicken – the chicken is fresh and usually I have already committed to a day of cooking with the roast, so I might as well make some decent stock at the same time. Some of my favourite recipes to use chicken stock are basic pasta sauce, Brigid’s cabbage rolls in Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook but made with failsafe, low FODMAP mince, and a rice noodle and chicken salad (recipe to come).

Roast Chicken

Serves about 5
Time 2 hours
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low or moderate amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

1 size 16 chicken (a)
1/2 bunch dark green tips of spring onions (b)
1 tsp salt
1 cup of cooked rice or 1/3 cup uncooked rice

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Tip: re-grow spring onions

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
  2. Rinse and cook rice, if not cooked already. I use a 3:4 ratio of long grain white rice and water, simmered on the stove for 10 minutes.
  3. Rinse dark green tips of spring onions and chop finely.
  4. Mix rice, dark green tips of spring onions and salt.
  5. Spoon the stuffing into the chicken and fold the skin over the opening.
  6. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and cook. For each 500 g of chicken, cook for 30 mins.
  7. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 mins.
  8. Pour out the fat (high in amines) and peel off the skin and discard.
  9. Carve the chicken and eat immediately or freeze immediately.

Personal notes

This recipe is based on the roast chicken from Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook, which has been adjusted to be low FODMAP, so I have assumed it to be failsafe. However, the levels of amines in stuffing and meat cooked over a long time may be too high for some people – please discuss with your dietician.

If you are not eating the chicken on the day it was cooked, it can be frozen in thin layers wrapped in alfoil. The chicken is then easy to break up to the desired size and defrost quickly. I have successfully used the frozen pieces of chicken in sandwiches and fried rice or reheated with roast vegetables. A sandwich in Well and Good bread with iceberg lettuce and a fried egg is really good after a soccer match or for a light lunch.

My favourite side with roast chicken is roast vegetables and steamed green beans as it is really easy to cook the roast vegetables at the same time – put the vegetables in when there is 40 mins left on the chicken. Another good combination is roast chicken with chips and coleslaw.

Roast chicken is a staple of my diet, but it is time consuming – it really has to be bought on the day you cook it, and it is useful to make chicken stock from the carcass when you are finished. I tend to roast a chicken about once a month and then enjoy making all the recipes that need chicken stock in the next couple of weeks. Roast chicken is also a really good failsafe, low FODMAP meal that can be shared with others and is familiar to “normal” people. The stuffing is easily tastier than commerical (or supermarket) stuffing and is much less dense. I have had a group of friends over for dinner and served roast chicken, and have also brought a roast chicken, chips and coleslaw to a party where everyone else was getting pizza. The chicken went down really well, and an option that catered for quite a few dietary requiremements at once was definitely appreciated.

Lamb, Lentil and Vegetable Pie

Serves 6
Time: ~ 1 hr 10 mins
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

300 g diced lamb (a)
1 leek (b)
70 g celery / 3 sticks (c)
1 swede
1 large white potato (d)
1 tin of lentils (e)
200 g green beans (f)
160 g green drumhead cabbage (g)
1 packet Genius gluten free shortcrust pastry (h)
Rice flour for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp citric acid
2 tbsp gluten free cornstarch
3 tbsp canola oil (i)
canola oil spray or rice bran oil spray (j)
1 egg
3 cups of low FODMAP, failsafe chicken stock, or water
marbles or 1 cup of rice (not eaten)

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Dark green tops of leeks are low FODMAP. They are also slightly higher in salicylates than the white part although suitable for failsafe elimination. Tip: re-grow the leeks.
(c) Celery is low FODMAP at 75g (FODMAP Friendly App, 2018).
(d) Use white brushed, coliban, sebago or kennebec potatoes. Check the colour before buying brushed potatoes because they can come in yellow.
(e) Tinned lentils, well rinsed, are low FODMAP at 1/2 cup (The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(f) Green beans are low FODMAP at 14 beans (75 g, FODMAP Friendly App, 2018). Frozen green beans can be substituted for fresh green beans and used in the same way.
(g) Green drumhead cabbage is low FODMAP at 1 cup (94 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(h) Available in some Coles supermarkets in Australia
(i) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321).
(j) Canola or rice bran oil spray should have no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321) or soy lecithin (moderate amines). Propellants such as propane, butane, isobutane are fine.

Instructions
  1. Take Genius shortcrust pastry out of the freezer the day or morning before and defrost in the fridge.
  2. Take Genius shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and warm to room temperature on the bench
  3. Cut off green tips of leek. Rinse the tips and then chop them finely.
  4. Rinse celery and chop finely.
  5. Thickly (double) peel large white potato and swede. Chop into small cubes.
  6. Drain and rinse tinned lentils.
  7. Top and tail and rinse green beans. Chop into small pieces, about 4 cm in length.
  8. Finely chop cabbage.
  9. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil in a large pot or saucepan on high heat.
  10. Add celery and cook for ~3 mins until soft
  11. Add green tips of leek, salt and citric acid and cook until soft.
  12. Remove celery and leek from the pot.
  13. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C
  14. Add 1 tbsp canola oil and turn heat down to medium.
  15. Add diced lamb to the pot and seal with frequent stirring. If the lamb starts to stick, add 1 tbsp water.
  16. Once lamb is sealed, add potato and swede and turn heat back up to medium-high. Cook for about 3 mins.
  17. Return leek and celery to the pot along with lentils.
  18. Cover the meat and vegetables with chicken stock, or water if you have no homemade low FODMAP failsafe stock.
  19. Simmer with lid on for 20 mins.
  20. Meanwhile, spray the inside of a 25 cm diameter pie dish with oil.
  21. Knead the pastry, divide in two and roll out to fit a base and lid the pie dish.
  22. Place the pastry base (and sides) into the pie dish, then line with baking paper and fill with marbles or rice.
  23. Cook the base pastry for 10 mins. Afterwards remove the marbles/rice and baking paper.
  24. Add green beans and cabbage to the pot and cook for a further 5 mins with the lid on.
  25. Mix the cornflour in a small amount of water so that it does not form lumps, and then add to the pot.
  26. Take the lid off the pot and evaporate the water (~ 10 mins) until a thick mixture is left (it should not resemble soup).
  27. Scoop the pie filling into the pie and cover with the pastry lid, pinching around the edges.
  28. Beat the egg and then brush it over the pastry lid.
  29. Cook the pie for 20 mins, until the lid is light brown.
  30. As the pie contains meat, serve immediately, or freeze immediately.
Personal notes

This pie taste much better with chicken stock rather than water, but water is a good backup if there is no stock on hand. The current recipe makes a very full pie, and it could be made without the swede and potato. I tend to chop the swede up very small because I don’t like the taste of it on it’s own but it’s good hidden in a meal. I recommend making the pie on a weekend rather than weekday as it is quite time consuming. I spread the pastry a bit thin, and it ended up cracking, as you can see below.

At Coles this week, I found a leek with the most green I have even seen in a shop. Very impressive!

Edit: I recently re-read the RPAH charts and discovered that the emulsifier soy lecithin that is often used in canola oil spray is actually moderate in amines. I have since switched to using rice bran oil without soy lecithin.