Sharon Greenaway

Gluten Free Ham Roll – A different brekkie or Sunday night tea idea.

Preheat your oven to a hot temp of around 220 C or so (the same temperature that you would cook your scones in.)

Making a basic scone dough:

Sift together into a large bowl:
2 ½ cups of SR gluten free flour, a tblspn of Xanthan Gum (can be found at the local supermarket in the gluten free/ health food area) and a pinch of salt.

Add a pinch of pepper or any herb that you may fancy such as oregano or basil and mix through with a fork.

Mix through 3 -4 tblspns of olive oil (instead of rubbing butter through) and then mix to a firm, semi-moist dough with enough milk – you will need probably at least a cup of milk, but just add a little at a time until you get the right consistency, using a knife to mix this through is easier than a spoon. (Gluten free flour requires a lot more moisture than wheat flour).

Roll out onto lightly gluten free floured board or better still a sheet of baking paper, into a rough rectangle shape, to about 2 cm thick.

Brush tomato sauce all over,sprinkle 1/2 cup or less of grated cheese evenly over, sprinkle roughly chopped ham or your favourite pizza type meat over, but do not make the layer too thick, in this recipe less is better than more.

Roll up like a Swiss roll; you might find it easier if you are using the baking paper to lift this to start the rolling. Roll slowly and tuck in food if it should escape the sides.

Slice into 2.5 cm thick rings and place onto baking paper, allowing about a finger width between each one.

Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until the base is golden.

Serve with your favourite tomato sauce or chutney or serve it with a homemade gluten free vegie soup.

Serves four.
Note: don’t forget to ask at your deli which ham is Gluten Free as many are not!

Mums best food

This time of the year brings back memories of all sorts and for many it is the food we ate as kids.

The food that springs to my mind was my Mum’s specialty – her ‘Port Wine Trifle.’ It always tasted so good.

The history of the Trifle in Australia dates back to at least around 1920 (according to Kraft Australia. ) I think the creation of the trifle was due to the housewife’s need for frugality when times were hard and the trifle was a dessert created out of leftovers, such as day-old sponge cake that was turned into a layered dessert that everyone enjoyed, (a bit like the reason for lamingtons I think, correct me if I am wrong.)

Here is my own version of it, GF style.

You will need:

1 small plain GF cake or leftover cake from a few days ago. (Either homemade or shop bought. If you want to be very decadent, T’Hooft in Lyttleton Terrace, Bendigo, makes a chocolate mud cake (GF) that is to die for! Or simply and more cheaply make a GF butter cake from GF flour, eggs, skim milk, sugar, butter.)

I packet of jelly crystals –Port wine or Strawberry flavour.

½ cup of Port wine (if serving only to adults) or Fruit juice if there are children present.
GF Custard powder.

Small tin of fruit salad or your favourite summer fruit.

Cream for whipping.

GF Chocolate for grating over the top. (For those who are new in the search for GF food, many of the chocolate that is available in supermarkets etc. are not GF, so you need to check the labels carefully).

Method:

This is best commenced in the morning if you plan to serve it at night, or the night before if it is for Christmas lunch.

Make up the jelly according to directions and place in the fridge two to three hours before you plan to put the trifle together. Check the jelly every hour and when it starts to set, break it up with a fork so that the jelly doesn’t set into one solid mass.

Once the jelly is ready, make up 2 cups of custard according to the pack directions. Allow the custard to cool for 15 minutes. Take the cake and roughly cut it up into 2cm cubes. Cover the bottom of a glass serving dish with the cake. Evenly sprinkle over the cake the port or fruit juice. Follow with the custard, then the tinned fruit or a layer of fresh fruit, end with the jelly. Cover with lid or plastic film and refrigerate until 10 minutes before serving time. Whip the cream and spread a layer over the jelly, sprinkle the chocolate over the cream and you are ready to serve the trifle.

Be warned, your guests will probably come back for seconds, and they will never guess it is Gluten Free!