Chapter 11
In This Chapter
Making snack attack finger foods
Checking out different kinds of dips
Wrapping it up
Recipes in This Chapter
Spicy Corn Fritters
Zucchini and Haloumi Fritters
Rice Cake Melts
Quinoa Snacks
Artichoke and Spinach Dip
Guacamole
Mango Salsa
Vietnamese Rice Wraps
Spicy Chicken Rolls
Chicken Nori Rolls
Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps
E very great get-together begins with great-tasting appetisers, whether you're at a casual gathering of friends and family or a formal function. Not only do appetisers whet the appetite, but they also whet the imagination, setting the stage for the meal to come.
But appetiser anticipation can quickly turn to disappointment for someone on a gluten-free diet because, more often than not, appetisers mean gluten — in, under, over and around. And the challenge that faces a party planner is working out what to serve that's both delicious and gluten-free. If you find yourself paralysed with appetiser anxiety, never fear. You find ideas in this chapter for appetisers, as well as for snacks and nibbles to satisfy those between-meal hunger pangs. Just don't blame us if everyone's too full for the main course.
People love to eat with their fingers. And as long as you're wearing jeans so you can wipe your sticky fingers, what's the harm in dining with your digits? In this section, we give you great ideas for recipes that help get the party started with fun finger foods.
Spicy Corn Fritters
This delicious snack is made from polenta. Once considered a peasant food (like its cousin corn grits), polenta is an Italian cornmeal mush that's becoming more and more popular. You can find polenta at some supermarkets and at health food shops. For this appetiser, the polenta adds more than just flavour — it actually holds the corn balls together. (Use the leftover polenta as a side dish, mixed with grated tasty cheese.)
Prep time: 15 minutes • Cooking time: 50 minutes • Servings: 4
Ingredients
1 cup polenta
1 cup canned corn
2 fresh red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (about 2 cloves)
10 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped (found in Thai sections of Asian markets)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup finely sliced green beans
½ cup vegetable oil (for frying)
Directions
1 In a large saucepan, bring 1.2 litres (5 cups) salted water or gluten-free stock to the boil. Sprinkle the polenta into the water, stirring continuously. Cook for about 40 minutes on low heat, until polenta thickens, stirring frequently.
2 Put the corn, chilli, garlic, lime leaves, coriander, eggs and green beans into a large bowl. Add ½ cup cooked polenta and mix ingredients well. Use your hands to form balls about the size of golf balls. Set them on a plate.
3 Heat the oil in a wok, fry pan or deep-fryer to a high temperature. You know the oil is hot enough when you add a small drop of water to the oil and it pops. (Be careful, though. More than a drop and it may spit and burn you.)
4 Turning the fritters occasionally, cook them in the oil until they're brown and crispy on the outside (about 7 minutes). Remove the fritters from the wok, fry pan or deep-fryer with a slotted spoon and let them drain on paper towels.
Per serving: Kilojoules 1,230; Fat 17 g (Saturated 3 g); Sodium 226 mg; Carbohydrate 28 g (Dietary Fibre 4 g); Protein 7 g.
Zucchini and Haloumi Fritters
These delicious fritters are best eaten immediately after cooking or the haloumi becomes a little tough.
Prep time: 10 minutes • Cooking time: 30 minutes • Servings: 40 fritters
Ingredients
300 g zucchini, coarsely grated
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
200 g haloumi, coarsely grated
1 tablespoon chopped dill
2 eggs
30 g (¼ cup) plain gluten-free flour
Cracked black pepper
¼ cup oil
½ cup plain yoghurt
Extra dill for garnish
Directions
1 Squeeze the grated zucchini with your hands to remove as much moisture as possible.
2 Combine zucchini with spring onions, grated haloumi, dill, eggs and flour and season with black pepper.
3 Heat oil in a pan to medium hot. Shape mixture into fritters using a heaped teaspoonful each time and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes each side.
4 Remove fritters, let them drain on paper towel and keep warm.
5 Serve with yoghurt and a sprig of fresh dill.
Per serving (per fritter): 142 Kilojoules; Fat 2.5 g (Saturated 0.9 g); Sodium 162 mg; Carbohydrate 1.2 g (Dietary Fibre 0.1 g); Protein 1.6 g.
Rice Cake Melts
For a quick snack with a little more oomph than a plain rice cake, try this idea. But be warned — rice cakes are highly flammable and if you turn your back on the grill, your snack will go up in smoke! Top each rice cake with tomato paste and your choice of toppings, such as asparagus spears, chopped artichoke hearts, cooked chicken pieces with gluten-free mayonnaise, avocado, tuna, or finely sliced capsicum. These combinations work well — hummus, beetroot slices and cheese, or basil pesto instead of tomato paste, asparagus spears and cheese.
Prep time: 3–5 minutes • Cooking time: 1 minute (but don't look away!) • Servings: 2
Ingredients
Tomato paste
2 thick rice cakes
⅓ cup gluten-free ham, cut into narrow strips
1 tablespoon chopped, pitted olives
2 thin slices mozzarella or tasty cheese
Directions
1 Spread tomato paste right over the rice cakes.
2 Top with ham and olives. Cut the cheese to fit and place over the top.
3 Preheat grill and grill the rice cakes until the cheese starts to brown. Watch carefully because rice cakes burn very quickly and can ignite.
4 Serve immediately because the rice cakes cool rapidly.
Per serving: Kilojoules 647; Fat 8.8 g (Saturated 4.7 g); Sodium 516 mg; Carbohydrate 8.9 g (Dietary Fibre <1 g); Protein 9.4 g.
Quinoa Snacks
For a healthy snack at home, try mixing cooked quinoa with your favourite dip or salsa mix. (See Chapter 12 for a quick recipe). The crunchy, chewy consistency provided by the quinoa makes it a really satisfying snack. To prepare quinoa, follow instructions on the packet, or use leftover quinoa. Add grated carrot or finely chopped celery for added crunch.
Prep time: 3 minutes • Servings: 1
Ingredients
⅔ cup cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon of your favourite dip or salsa
Directions
1 Mix quinoa together with dip or salsa.
Per serving: 636 Kilojoules; Fat 0.03 g (Saturated 0 g); Sodium 104 mg; Carbohydrate 27.3 g (Dietary Fibre 3.7 g); Protein 5.7 g.
Vary It! You can use your imagination to invent delicious mixes. Try spicy dips or salsas, olive dip, a mix of low-fat cream cheese and sweet chilli sauce, or roast pumpkin mashed with basil. To make the snack more substantial, add chopped cucumber, chopped nuts or seeds, chopped olives, grated vegetables — or, really, whatever takes your fancy. For a hot snack, top with grated parmesan and pop in the microwave to heat.
Whether you're dipping veggies, corn chips or crisps, a few good dips go a long way, and you can vary your repertoire of basic recipes to create exciting gluten-free grazeables. Although many homemade dips are inherently gluten-free, others require just a few tweaks here and there to make them safe for anyone avoiding gluten.
Of course, dips aren't just for dipping. Use them as fillings for hollowed baked potatoes or halved hard-boiled eggs. Or put them on pancakes (you can find a recipe in Chapter 10) or corn tortillas — you can roll the filling into a wrap and then eat the whole thing as a tasty snack, or slice it into stylish roll-ups.
Artichoke and Spinach Dip
You won't find this one in Dieting For Dummies, but it is gluten-free! Use this cheesy dip with corn tortilla chips, rice crackers or vegetables. Or if you have a favourite gluten-free bread, slice it thinly, toast it and spread the dip on top.
Prep time: 20 minutes • Cooking time: 25 minutes • Servings: 12
Ingredients
250 g low-fat cream cheese
¼ cup gluten-free mayonnaise
½ teaspoon crushed garlic (about 1 clove)
1 teaspoon fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup grated romano cheese
¼ cup grated mozzarella cheese
440 g jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
½ cup spinach, drained and finely chopped
Non-stick spray
Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Let the cream cheese warm to room temperature.
2 In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, basil and salt and pepper. Setting aside a few teaspoons of each cheese to use as a topping, add the parmesan, romano and mozzarella cheeses. Mix until everything is well blended.
3 Add the artichoke hearts and spinach and mix again.
4 Spray a large ovenproof serving dish with non-stick spray, pour in the dip and top it with the cheese you set aside in step 2.
5 Bake the dip for about 25 minutes or until the top begins to brown and the cheese melts.
Per serving: Kilojoules 582; Fat 12 g (Saturated 6 g); Sodium 292 mg; Carbohydrate 3 g (Dietary Fibre 0 g); Protein 5 g.
Guacamole
Guacamole is an avocado-based dip that originated in Mexico. Most guacamole recipes start with fresh, peeled avocadoes and add lime (or lemon) juice, tomatoes, onions, coriander, garlic and spices. The juice actually keeps the guacamole from turning brown when you expose it to the air. Leaving the avocado pit in the guacamole until just before you serve it also decreases browning. For this guacamole, feel free to kick it up a notch with your favourite hot sauce.
Prep time: 15 minutes • Servings: 6
Ingredients
2 ripe avocadoes
1 small-to-medium ripe tomato, diced
½ small red onion, chopped
½ teaspoon finely chopped jalapeño chilli
4 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 teaspoons gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1 Peel the avocadoes, remove the flesh from the pits and cube the flesh. Save the pits.
2 In a medium bowl, combine the avocado flesh, tomato, onion, jalapeño, lime juice, coriander, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.
3 Mix all the ingredients well, keeping the guacamole lumpy. Place the avocado pit in the dip and remove the pit just before serving.
Per serving: Kilojoules 435; Fat 8 g (Saturated 2 g); Sodium 117 mg; Carbohydrate 8 g (Dietary Fibre 5 g); Protein 2 g.
Mango Salsa
Salsas come in endless forms and flavours. Fresh mango salsa is versatile and easy to make. You can serve it as a dip or use it to dress up main courses, putting it over grilled pork, chicken or salmon. You can also use it to make fish tacos — just spoon this salsa over cooked fish and wrap the mixture in a corn tortilla or in a gluten-free taco shell with chopped or grated salad vegetables and sour cream.
Prep time: 20 minutes • Servings: 6
Ingredients
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced finely (about 1 cup)
½ medium red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño chilli, minced
1 large tomato, diced
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
4 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1 Combine the mango, onion, jalapeño, tomato, coriander, lime juice and salt and pepper in a bowl; mix them until well blended. Don't mix so hard that you mash the mango — the salsa should contain chunks.
2 Chill the salsa for an hour or more to blend all the flavours.
Tip: Figure 11-1 shows how to dice a mango. With that big seed in the middle, they aren't easy to work with.
Per serving: Kilojoules 146; Fat 0 g (Saturated 0 g); Sodium 101 mg; Carbohydrate 9 g (Dietary Fibre 1 g); Protein 1 g.
Wraps are quite popular at the moment and they offer never-ending possibilities for gluten-free dishes. The only limits to what you can make into a wrap are your creativity and your sense of adventure. Use corn tortillas, gluten-free crêpes, rice wraps, Japanese nori seaweed sheets or lettuce for your wrapper, and then let your imagination run wild as you concoct tasty fillings depending on which type of wrapper you're using.
Rice rolls are a great type of wrap. Available in Asian markets and stores, rice paper wrappers come from a paste of ground rice and water, which are stamped into rounds and dried. When you moisten pieces of rice paper, the brittle sheets become flexible, making them perfect for wraps. Rice paper wrappers can be tricky to use, but they're well worth it after you get the hang of working with them.
Soak them.
To make the rice paper wrappers pliable for folding, you need to soak them one at a time for about 4 to 5 seconds until they're soft. Although some people simply use warm water for soaking, others believe the key to making a rice wrap that's pliable but doesn't fall apart is in the soaking. If your wrappers fall apart, try this for your soaking mixture:
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup cider vinegar
Drain the wrappers on a flat surface.
You can use your hands to take the wrappers out of the water and lay them flat on a cutting board or clean, damp tea towel. Don't put them on top of each other, though, or they'll stick together and you'll never get them apart. Pat them dry. Handling rice paper wrappers can be tough, because they tend to stick to themselves. Be patient. With a few attempts, you can get the hang of handling them.
Layer the ingredients in the wrapper.
Folding rice paper wrappers can be tricky: If they're not sticking to themselves, the wrappers seem to be ripping in all the wrong places. To avoid ripping, keep your fingers moistened and don't overfill the softened wrappers. The easiest way to prevent tearing is to layer the filling mixture. If your wrap tears, don't abandon it; simply wrap another rice paper around the outside.
Fold with finesse.
Figure 11-2 shows how to fold these wraps.
Vietnamese Rice Wraps or Summer Rolls (Goi Cuon)
Get on a summer roll. Goi cuon (pronounced goy koong) is a fresh counterpart to the spring roll, which is fried. Summer rolls are delicious, nutritious and gluten-free. You can make them with the rice paper wraps we cover in the preceding section and fill them with raw vegetables, such as cos lettuce, grated carrots, cucumber, spring onions, bean sprouts, radish sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, mint and basil. Some people add shiitake mushrooms and tofu. If using meat inside these rolls, you can choose between cooked chicken, pork, prawns, fish or fish cake. For a vegetarian summer roll, substitute tofu. In some Asian shops you can buy smaller rice paper wraps. If you use these, chop your fillings much more finely and use less than suggested in these recipe steps.
Prep time: 30 minutes • Servings: 1
Ingredients
1 sheet of rice paper wrapper
2 peeled and cooked prawns, cut lengthwise and sliced
3 pieces washed and dried lettuce, torn to about the size of a deck of cards
3 fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon radish sprouts
1 tablespoon bean sprouts
2 tablespoons rice vermicelli, soaked in warm water until soft
5 very thin slices of cooked pork
Directions
1 Soak a single rice wrapper in hot water or in a soaking mixture (see the ‘Rice rolls’ section earlier in this chapter) for 4 to 5 seconds. Drain the wrapper on a flat surface and pat it dry.
2 Layer the ingredients in the rice wrapper. For instance, spread the prawn pieces and then follow that with the lettuce, mint, radish and bean sprouts, vermicelli and pork.
3 Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper toward the centre, and then fold the short ends over the filling. Roll the wrapper gently — but firmly and tightly — until you've formed a neat, oblong bundle. Slice each roll in half at a slight diagonal. If a rice roll breaks, don't abandon it, simply wrap another square of rice paper around the outside.
Tip: This recipe makes one wrap. If you're going to make several wraps at once, you may want to gather the ingredients and separate them into bowls. You can refrigerate the ingredients for up to 3 hours before putting the wraps together.
Per serving: Kilojoules 640; Fat 3 g (Saturated 1 g); Sodium 118 mg; Carbohydrate 18 g (Dietary Fibre 1 g); Protein 17 g.
Spicy Chicken Rolls
This tasty chicken filling goes well with the blandness of the rice wrapper. You can vary your fillings by trying out different spices or sauces like tandoori sauce, hoisin sauce or sweet chilli sauce if you can find gluten-free versions. You can use some of the tomato mixes sold as gluten-free pasta sauce with chicken, fish or slivers of cooked beef.
Prep time: 35 minutes • Cooking time: 20 minutes • Servings: 4
Ingredients
70 g rice vermicelli
1 teaspoon each cumin, ginger and turmeric
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
400 g skinless chicken fillets, either thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
½ cup gluten-free Greek-style plain yoghurt
Rice paper sheets
Gluten-free mayonnaise
Directions
1 Break vermicelli into small pieces and put into a bowl of boiling water until soft (usually 8 to 10 minutes, but check the instructions on the pack). Drain well.
2 Combine spices, garlic, oil and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Mix in chicken pieces, coating well with the spices. Add yoghurt and mix well.
3 Line a tray with foil, spread out the chicken pieces and cook under a preheated grill for 5 to 10 minutes, turning a couple of times, until cooked through.
4 Soak a rice paper sheet in warm water until it is soft and spread on to a clean, dry tea towel. Place 2 teaspoons of vermicelli, some chicken pieces and a teaspoon of gluten-free mayonnaise on the rice paper, moisten hands and carefully roll it up. Cover the roll with a slightly damp tea towel and repeat with other rolls.
Per serving: Kilojoules 1,508; Fat 16.1 g (Saturated 4.3 g); Sodium 292 mg; Carbohydrate 27.7 g (Dietary Fibre <1 g); Protein 25.5 g.
You might know these tempting snacks better as sushi. Although they seem ideal for someone on a gluten-free diet, the problem with the commercial ones is finding out whether the fillings, particularly the ‘seafood’ and the mayonnaise, contain gluten, or if soy sauce has been added.
Whatever the name, homemade nori rolls are ideal for the gluten-free snacker and not too hard to make once you get your technique under control. Dried seaweed sheets are gluten-free and you can find them in large supermarkets or Asian shops. If you follow these simple tips, they're not too fiddly to make for yourself and then you can be sure the ingredients are totally gluten-free. Don't be put off by the preparation time — these are so much fun to make and very impressive to serve.
Chicken Nori Rolls
Prep time: 45 minutes • Cooking time: 20 minutes • Servings: 12 large rolls
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons gluten-free teriyaki, soy or tamari sauce
1¾ cups short-grain or sushi rice (uncooked)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup carrot peeled and grated into long strips with a vegetable peeler
1 small cucumber, seeded and cut into long, thin strips
Fresh baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
12 sushi sheets (roasted seaweed sheets)
Directions
1 Marinade chicken strips in teriyaki, soy or tamari sauce for at least an hour.
2 Stir chicken pieces in a frying pan over medium heat until cooked through.
3 Cook rice according to your usual method. Gently heat rice vinegar and sugar in a saucepan until sugar has dissolved, and stir a portion into hot rice, fanning away the steam. Add more rice vinegar if mix is too dry.
4 Assemble rolls as described in ‘Nori or sushi rolls’ earlier in this chapter.
5 Serve whole, cut in half, or in slices as finger food with dipping sauces, such as gluten-free soy or tamari sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger if desired.
Tip: You can vary the fillings to suit your taste or provide variety for a party. Try slices of thin omelette, black mushrooms, avocado strips, tofu, sandwich tuna, flavoured tuna and so on.
Per serving (per roll): Kilojoules 851; Fat 3.4 g (Saturated 1 g); Sodium 232 mg; Carbohydrate 26.6 g (Dietary Fibre 1.3 g); Protein 15.7 g.
You can fill lettuce wraps with any kind of meat, seafood, poultry, egg, vegetable and cheese combinations. Just avoid fillings that are too wet or your lettuce will go soggy instantly. Keep these tips in mind to ensure lettuce wraps are a success:
Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps
The variety of lettuce wraps you can make is endless. This recipe features minced pork and an array of Asian flavours. You can also substitute minced or ground chicken, or chopped tofu for the pork. Serve the wraps with individual containers of peanut sauce or any type of gluten-free Asian dipping sauce.
Prep time: 15 minutes • Cooking time: 2 minutes • Servings: 6
Ingredients
2 cups cooked minced pork
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
¼ cup chopped spring onions
¼ cup shredded carrot
1 cup cooked rice vermicelli
Salt and pepper to taste
8–10 chilled lettuce leaves
Coriander leaves
Directions
1 In a medium bowl, combine the cooked minced pork, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, spring onions, carrot and rice vermicelli. Season the ingredients with salt and pepper and mix them well.
2 Cover the mixture and heat it in the microwave on high for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is warm.
3 Serve the pork mixture in a serving bowl with a large serving spoon. On a separate platter, arrange a stack of chilled lettuce leaves and the coriander leaves. Let people fill their own wraps.
Per serving: Kilojoules 808; Fat 11 g (Saturated 4 g); Sodium 446 mg; Carbohydrate 8 g (Dietary Fibre 1 g); Protein 13 g.
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