Gluten Free Beef and Fennel Curry

I first ate a similar version of this curry at the River Cottage Canteen in Axminster and it was delicious.  The only shame was that I could not eat the flat bread.  

When we came home from our trip, I wanted to try making this meal myself and I found the recipe in one of my River Cottage cook books.  It is a really easy curry to make and really cheap, especially when fennel is in season and you use more economical cut of beef, such as gravy beef or chuck steak.  Both are delicious in this recipe, but if you don’t want to be cooking the curry for hours, then try using rump, topside or round for a faster cooking time.

Try this curry - it is easy to make and there is lots of fennel about at the moment!

Beef and Fennel Curry
adapted from the River Cottage Veg Cook Book

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into matchsticks
1 large brown onion, diced
500g chuck steak, diced - you can use any stewing meat
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced or minced
a glug of olive oil
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp dried ground cumin
1 tsp dried ground coriander
1 small pinch of chilli flakes - you can use more if you prefer the heat
1 star anise
200g of diced tinned tomatoes - I use half a 400g tin
water, plain old Sydney water straight from the tap
salt and pepper
1 tsp of garam masala and a small handful of fresh coriander to finish

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot, I use a cast iron pan for this.

Add the onions and garlic, sauté for a five minutes and add the meat and fennel.  Cook until the meat is brown.

Add the dried herbs and cook for a further five minutes, stirring to coat everything in the herbs.

Add the tomatoes and their juice.  If you use whole peeled tomatoes, just break them up a bit at this point.

Add water, enough to cover the ingredients, I find that if I rinse the tomato tin out by filling it about three-quarters full I have enough.

Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for a least one and a half hours, preferrably two-three hours if you can, as this will cook the meat until it melts in the mouth.

Once cooked, check for seasoning.

Serve either with rice, gluten free cous cous or gluten free flat bread and a sprinkle of garam masala and fresh coriander.

Perfect for a cold winter’s evening.

Gluten Free Patty Cakes (or Cupcakes)

The weekend that has just passed us by here in Sydney, was the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend.  The weather was warm and sunny during the day with a gentle winter’s chill in the evening.  Whilst I would not launch into the statement that winter has arrived, it is at least attempting to.

If you were lucky enough to have all three days off work, as I was (utter bliss by the way!) I found that I relaxed the weekend away as well as catching up with some friends, which is a rare occurrence as Husband and I are never at home at the same time.

To celebrate this occasion and also as a sweet treat I made patty cakes as I knew them growing up, now more commonly known as cupcakes.  These little cakes, whatever you call them, are delicious little morsels that I recall devouring as a child.  My Nana always made us fresh patty cakes when we visited her, usually recruiting us to help her ice them and maybe sample some of the icing and cakes before lunch! 

As with all gluten free cooking I am driven by my childhood recollections of sweet treats and when I am able to find a recipe that works well with gluten free ingredients I am so pleased.  This recipe from Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess is one that works each time that I try it and with different brands of flour.  There are two tricks to these patty cakes:  ensure that the batter is not too thick by ensuring you add enough milk and they are cooked at a lower temperature for a little longer.  Do this and you will be gobbling down patty cakes and reminiscing your childhood.  

Fairy Cakes from Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess
(or as I call them patty cakes)

125g unsalted butter, soft
125g caster sugar - you can used white sugar and pulse it a few times in the processor
2 large eggs - I use 700g eggs at room temperature
125g self raising GF flour - I have used a few different brands here, all work well
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbs milk - possibly a pinch more if your mixture is too stiff

Preheat your oven to 150℃ fan-forced.

As Nigella writes:  “It couldn’t be easier to make fairy cakes” and she is right.  Put all dry ingredients plus the two eggs in the food processor and blitz until everything is combined and smooth.   Scrape down the sides and turn back on and slowly pour the milk in the top funnel.  The mixture needs to be a “soft, dropping consistency” as written by Miss Lawson.  If you are unsure, do not be tempted to add more milk, trust the recipe and continue on.

If you don’t have a food processor and will be making them by hand, you start with creaming the butter and the sugar, then add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time.  Then add the flour a spoonful at a time alternating with the milk.  Always finish off with the milk as it will ensure the flour is easily mixed in - at least this is what I remember from Grade 8 Home Ec Class with Mrs Walker. 

Spoon the mixture evenly between the patty cake cases, bearing in mind that patty cakes are smaller than the typical cupcake size these days.  I tend to get about 12 to 15 patty cakes out of the mixture, depending on how generous I am with my spoonfuls.

Place in the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes, checking them at 20 minutes as they may have already cooked in that time. 

Let the patty cakes cool slightly in the tin before tipping out onto a cake cooler.  Let them cool completely before icing and adding any other decoration your heart desires.

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia