Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Almost a Culinary Disaster

If you have been following my blogs, you will know that breakfast was a bit of a toughie when it came to my allergy free diet.

A few months ago, I had a brain wave - the brilliant idea to make a bacon, avo and sweet corn fritter stack for breakfast... Now this seems simple enough, right? Well, let me tell you that getting used to gluten free flours and ingredients is a totally interesting, funny, hair pulling, yet liberating experience, all at the same time. And if you had been a fly on the wall, I'm sure I would have provided you with a good chuckle or two.

But as they say practice makes perfect - and I kinda had to practice a lot ;-)

I started off by using corn starch as a replacement for flour, which didn't work very well. I think it had something to do with the fact that I was using sweet corn and corn starch, which sort of dissolved into each other, not creating the right consistency. After unsuccessfully trying to fry a few of these "fritters", which turned into congealed blobs - blaming it on everything from the frying pan to the spray and cook to the batter itself; for not working the way I had imagined - I finally decided to add some gluten free cake flour to the batter and yay, I got my fritters in the end!

Last night, I decided to make them again, to get the correct quantities - they made a pretty delish dinner too!

Gluten Free Bacon, Avo and Sweet Corn Fritter Stacks:
(Makes 2 Generous Stacks with some fritters left over)

Ingredients:

1 Tin Creamed Sweet Corn
3/4 Cup Nature's Choice Cake Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil Spray and Cook
1 Packet Bacon
1 - 2 Avos
A Squeeze of Lemon (Optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Sift flour and Xanthan Gum into creamed sweet corn and mix gently together
Add the salt and pepper to taste
Heat a pan and add the spray and cook (make sure the temperature is on a medium heat as you do not want to burn the fritters)
Add a small amount of mixture to the pan, trying to get the fritter as thin as possible so that it cooks evenly with no raw bits (you may need to do a practice one first to test the temperature of the pan)
Turn over after a few minutes (you may need to add some more Spray and Cook before putting the fritter raw side down in the pan, to prevent it sticking)
While you are frying the fritters put the bacon onto grill in the oven until crispy - making sure that you have placed a baking tray underneath the bacon to catch the fat - no oil is necessary when grilling the bacon
Slice the avo
Place a fritter on a plate and layer with bacon and avo and then another fritter until you have a good stack
I like to add a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper onto the avo before stacking


Chicken Mélange Topped Sweet Corn Fritters:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients for the Chicken Topping:

1 Leek, Finely Chopped
2 Chicken Breasts, Diced into Small Pieces
Half a Pepper, Finely Chopped
A Few Mange Toute, Chopped
Olive Oil
A Teaspoon Corn Starch
A Little Water
Squeeze Soya Sauce (Vital or Tamari)
Herbal Salt
Pepper
Dried Chilli Flakes
A Handful of Rocket

Directions:

Place the chopped leeks into a pan with a drop of oil and sprinkle of salt
When cooked add in the diced chicken and fry for a few minutes
Add the corn starch and water and cook for a few more minutes until the chicken has been coated and the corn starch and water have become a little thick
Add in the soya sauce, herbal salt, dried chilli flakes and pepper
Add the diced pepper and chopped mange toute and cook for a further few minutes
Just before serving mix through the handful of rocket so that it wilts with the heat
Top the chicken mélange onto a few fritters and serve while still hot


Quick Tip: I added a sprinkle of cinnamon to the batter for last night's dinner, which went wonderfully with the chicken. You can also sprinkle these fritters with cannamon and sugar (or Xylitol) for a sweet treat - leaving out the salt and pepper in the batter

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