Vegan – Page 14 – Nat's Ladle

Vegan, Sugar Free, Paleo After Eight (Mint Chocolate Chip) Icecream

Published on December 15, 2013 by nathaliejasmin20193 Comments

It’s summer in Australia! And which foodstuff screams “summer” like no other? Icecreeeeeeeaaaaaam!!!! (Although I have it all year round…don’t judge). Well, I have mentioned before that I am a total icecream junkie – an obsession which was slightly compromised by the diagnosis of dairy intolerance. nevertheless, I have showed in the past that it is possible – and, in fact, delicious – to make healthy homemade dairy free (i.e. vegan) icecream.

I have become a little bit tired of coconut-based dairy-free icecreams, however. I have heard of avocado-based icecreams, but forgot about it, since I thought avocado in an icecream was pretty close to spinach in an icecream – it just doesn’t work. The other day, though, when I – after a long, avocado-less time – devoured a creamy, luscious, decadent Hass avocado, I just thought “there must be something to avocado icecream” – it is just soooo creamy and full-bodied, and it doesn’t have a strong flavour on its own, which makes it PERFECT for icecream. Most vegan icecreams are based on coconut and/or banana, but neither of these ingredients has a very neutral flavour. Avocado has. The only problem is – unlike banana and coconut, avocado has a VERY gaudy colour, so unfortunately, you ar epretty much confined to doing “green” icecream with it. This is not a problem though, as I have always been a huge fan of “after eight” or mint chocolate icecreams. I wanted to give it a try.

This is by far the best and creamiest icecream I have ever made, and the best thing is, this one really IS sugar free (just a bit of lovely honey). As the avocado is rather fatty, you don’t need any refined sugars to create this oh-so-good creamy icecream taste. It just tastes like your regular icecream from the shop! It also needs only five minutes of churning (you probably don’t even need an icecream maker), and you can serve it instantly or freeze it – it won’t affect the texture.

I was sceptical at first whether I should try creating an avocado-based icecream, as I didn’t want to waste my lovely avocados on a recipe which potentially wouldn’t work. Am I happy I did give it a shot! You cannot go wrong with this. Trust me.

I used regular chocolate chips for this (shhhh—-don’t tell anyone!), but you can buy paleo approved ones or make your own – so you can deffo make this a paleo icecream! Oh, and I call it an “After Eight” icecream, as that’s what “dinner mints” are called in Europe – you ought to have this cutie at any time of the day though! Hm…yum yum! Better get started right away!

Makes 1 small tub (500 ml) (for 2 gluttons like my hubbs and me or 4 normal people)

2 ripe Hass avocados (~200 g)
130 ml almond milk
3 tbsp raw honey
peppermint aroma/edible peppermint oil (to taste)
chocolate chips to taste (approx. 60-70 g)
optional: a few fresh peppermint leaves

Blend everything until well mixed. Refrigerate for at least six hours or overnight. Churn in icecream maker for approx. 5 minutes (not the usual 20 minutes). Enjoy chocolate peppermint bliss.

Enjoy!

No-Bake Homemade Gluten Free Granola aka World’s Yummiest Muesli

Published on December 13, 2013 by nathaliejasmin20191 Comment

Is your breakfast so delicious that you wish breakfast time would never end? No? Then it might be time for my homemade granola! This divine creation combines the right amount of crunchy with the right amount of chewy and a little bit of sin mixed in! The unique, unusual and super delicious taste stems from a dash of tahini (sesame paste) which also balances any excess sweetness. Hands down, you won’t want to stop sinking into this yummy goodness – if only it wasn’t so filling! This chocolate, sunflower, sesame and date granola doesn’t only taste awesome, it’s also awesome for you! Yummy goodness from healthy wholegrain rolled oats, magnesium and fibres from dates, and healthy fats from tahini and sunbutter – and it is easy, too! You don’t even need to rev up your oven!

200 g (certified gluten free) rolled oats (instant ones would probably work, too) (you can toast the oats before to get a crunchier granola, but it isn’t necessary)
100 g sunflower seed butter (sunbutter)
50 g tahini (sesame paste)
50 g dates, pitted, chopped
optional: chocolate chips, dried fruit, sunflower/pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds
100 g melted honey
pinch of salt

Mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a different bowl until well combined. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix (with your hands) until very well combined and a sticky, crumbly mass – this will be veeery sticky, but that’s the fun part – you are officially allowed to lick your fingers!

Delicious Homemade Date and Sesame Granola

Press the granola mass into a 20×20 cm baking dish and freeze for a couple of hours. Tale the “granola cake” out of the dish and break into lumps. Enjoy with cold milk, yogurt or just as a snack.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Yeast Free Wholegrain Pizza Base (Vegan)

Published on December 10, 2013 by nathaliejasmin20192 Comments

The good thing about experimenting is – even though it doesn’t always work, or, in fact, more often works NOT, you may stumble upon fantastic things you hadn’t imagined before. Take pita bread, for instance. I love falafel, just like anything else that belongs to Middle Eastern cuisine, and what is falafel without pita? So I tried to make pita – still working on it. My first tries were delicious enough, but they were not exactly pita, not enough pita to post a recipe on the web, anyway. However – my thought was “this would actually make quite a nice pizza”. Pita, pizza – the names are close enough, so I thought why not turn my pita experiment that didn’t work into a pizza experiment that works?

I must admit, pizza is one of the few things I genuinely miss being gluten free (having an Italian husband doesn’t help the cause!). Sometimes I would just like being lazy and grab one of these gluten-free pizza bases from the shop – a look at the ingredients (and nutrition facts) has so far been enough to deter me from wasting seven bucks on a processed gluten-free pizza base. Good on me!

It’s not that there is a lack of recipes for gluten free pizza out there, and I don’t doubt that they taste alright. But I just couldn’t find one that ticked all the boxes. Either they involved almond and/or coconut flour – and, as much as I like these two, almond and coconut just doesn’t belong on pizza! Or the recipes involved yeast and/or gums (a big no-no), or they seemed to be too complicated and involving too much time when you are hungry and impatient! I wanted a pizza recipe that doesn’t need proofing. I am not the biggest fan of a yeasty taste either, and I find it quite hard on the stomach which is not healthy.

This pizza is also WHOLEGRAIN – so it is really good for you. There is no complicated ingredients (you should have these when you have been baking gluten free), and if you get started right now, you could have a lovely healthy gluten free pizza that is delicious in less than 30 minutes. WTF? Exactly. My wholegrain pizza base ticks all the boxes. You can make this for your gluten-eating friends, and they won’t say “this is good for gluten free”, they will say “this is good”. In fact, I trust they will say “this is great”. Healthy? Tick. Easy? Tick. Yummy? You bet. And quicker than waiting for takeaway.

Makes one baking sheet of pizza (probably makes sense to double or triple using several sheets and freeze leftovers)

50 g buckwheat flour
50 g brown rice flour
30 g millet or oat flour
30 g ground flax seeds
1,5 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
a pinch of sugar (or honey)
225 ml warm water
garlic powder (optional)
tomato paste (optional)
oregano
olive oil to top (optional)
toppings to taste

Preheat oven to 220 ° C. As usual, mix the dry ingredients (flours, soda, salt, flax, sugar, garlic powder if using) until one colour. Add water, oil and vinegar and mix until you have a supple, uniform dough – a bit like a muffin batter, rather than the pizza doughs you might have made with gluten flour. Let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes before spreading it on a very well-greased or silicon baking sheet – the thinner you spread it the better. After all, we want a nice Italian-style thin crust pizza, not one of these American grease bombs which are as thick as a quilt! With a wet spatula or spoon (or using your wet/oiled hands), flatten the dough so that it becomes nice and even. We don’t want a pizza that is thin in one corner and thick and doughy in the other!

Bake the dough without toppings for roughly 15 minutes until dry and pizza-like. Now comes the fun part – the toppings. You will probably want to spread some tomato paste and oregano on the pizza as a classic, although this is not even necessary. For the pizza in the picture, I used a mix of different vegetables (kale, peas, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, capers) and some tempeh as vegan “ham”. Olives, sundried tomatoes and vegan cheese would also be a great additionI Just try whatever you fancy! I recommend sprinkling the top with a dash of olive oil, which works wonders for the flavour!

Now bake the pizza base with the toppings until they have reached the consistency you desire – probably another 10, 15 minutes. Devour.

Enjoy!

Homemade Apple Cinnamon Granola (Sugar Free, Nut Free, Wheat Free)

Published on December 8, 2013 by nathaliejasmin2019Leave a comment

Dear friends, Christmas is coming around veeeery fast – too fast if you ask me – but here in the Southern Hemisphere, the days are getting hotter, so the time for a big, steaming bowl of hot porridge are over – for now. It’s time t move on to a lighter breakfast snack, so I tried to make some homemade apple cinnamon granola – a light alternative to oatmeal without lacking a xmas-y touch.

Making granola is not as difficult as it sounds, and in fact, this granola is as HEY – healthy, easy, and yummy – as all my other recipes. You can make a big batch and store it in an open-mouth jar, where it will keep fresh for a while. My granola contains no sugar – only natural fruit sugars – and only a tiny pinch of healthy coconut oil, no other oils, especially not palm oil or other scary things! Besides, this one is nut-free (for a nutty granola see here), so even the nut allergy sufferers among you can enjoy their granola!

I love this as a healthy snack by itself, a nourishing breakfast with almond milk or natural yogurt, or to add some pizzazz to fruit salads and compôtes.

Makes 4 servings

200 g rolled oats
50 g dried apple (unsweetened), very finely chopped
2 tbsp raw honey , agave or maple syrup
15 g coconut oil, melted
generous pinch of cinnamon
generous pinch of sea salt
drop of vanilla

Preheat oven to 150 °C. Combine oats, fruit, cinnamon, and salt in a big bowl. Whisk honey, oil and vanilla in a separate bowl until well combined. Now pour the “wet” ingredients into the “dry” ingredients and mix well with your clean hands as if you prepare a shortbread dough. Be warned though, this is veeery sticky – but the good thing about making homemade things is, you get to lick your fingers legitimately! (And you will with this one, you will!)

Now spread (what’s left of) the mix (after finger-licking) onto a prepared baking sheet (i.e. silicon sheet or a lined baking sheet) and bake for 10-15 minutes until very lightly toasted. Let cool and refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Vegan Sugar Free Caramel Butterscotch Sauce

Published on December 4, 2013 by nathaliejasmin2019Leave a comment

Caramel Latte with Sugar Free Dairy Free Butterscotch Sauce

Okay, I apologise for that humungous title – but I am so excited to have come up with a caramel sauce that is thick and creamy and tastes just like butterscotch caramel, but is completely dairy and sugar free! Howzat? And if this was not enough, it is also extremely quick and easy to make! Yes, you can have your caramelatte (better than Starb*cks) in less than ten minutes – although the caramel thickens up nicely if you leave it in the fridge for a while. What to do with a caramel sauce, you ask? Well, there is caramel latte, obviously, and then there is icecream, pancakes, cakes – and if you just have it straight of the jar (as I like doing) – no harm done! This yummy decadent caramel sauce contains hardly any sugar and only very little fat! Have I mentioned that it is oh sooooo easy?

120 ml unsweetened almond milk
100 g erythritol
1 tbsp molasses
30 g vegan spread or butter (you can use any fat content you like, even light spread)
generous pinch of kosher salt
2 tsp vanilla

4 steps to yumminess
Place all ingredients bar the vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir vigorously until well combined. Bring to the boil, and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes, constantly stirring. depending how thick you want your sauce to be (it will firm up quite a bit more when chilled). Add vanilla and simmer for 30 seconds or so more, then pour caramel in a glass jar and let cool. Use immediately or transfer to fridge. If the sauce becomes too firm in the fridge, just microwave it for a minute or melt it in a bain-marie before pouring.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Vegan Crusty Soda Bread (yeast free, gum free)

Published on November 28, 2013 by nathaliejasmin20193 Comments

Gluten free bread sucks. Do you agree to this statement? I used to. No matter where in the world, and no matter whether from a breadmix, or a bakery – gluten free bread just sucked. And even if it tasted anywhere near something you would serve a human being, it was filled with crap. I know, I know what you are going to say – one doesn’t need bread, or any carbohydrates for that matter. There is absolutely nothing wrong with low-carb or paleo, ans, in fact, I believe many of the western world’s problems could be solved if people ate low(er) carb!

But, heck, I am German and married to an Italian – there is just no way I’m gonna give up bread forever, and even though I am gluten intolerant, there must be a way to make gluten free bread that doesn’t suck! Gluten free bread that doesn’t have a whole shelf of creepy ingredients in it. Gluten free bread that doesn’t have a dozen eggs in it (that’s not bread, that’s cake! And If I crave bread, I don’t want cake – sorry, Marie Antoinette!).

This was an experiment. One that turned out well. One that my (gluten eating) hubs couldn’t get enough of. One that reminded me very much of the texture of a good ol’ German sourdough – even though the taste is more in the tradition of the Irish soda bread. I didn’t have any dried yeast, so had to resort to soda. With an old trick I knew (putting a bowl of water in the oven), my bread got a lovely crust. And thanks to all-time favourite flax, this is egg free, but you won’t miss any eggs – the trick with the flax eggs worked! So this is not only gluten free, it is yeast free, gum free, egg free, and dairy free. And it doesn’t suck.

Gluten free? Check. Dairy free? Check. Yeast free? Check. Egg free? Check. Vegan? Check. Gum Free? Check. Soy free? Most naturally. Full of fibre and omega 3? Check. Sugar free? You have the option. Yummy? Check. Easy and quick to make? Check.

You can start now. You should have the ingredients. And it is really really easy. You don’t even need to preheat the oven – you really don’t!

Makes one loaf

150 g potato starch
100 g sorghum flour
50 g arrowroot
2 tbsp baking soda
2 tsp celtic sea salt
2 tsp sugar or honey
250 ml hot water (ca. 40 ° C)
3 tbsp ground flax seed, dissolved in 9 tbsp water (equals 3 flax eggs)
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

Mix the dry ingredients (potato starch, sorghum, arrowroot, soda, salt, sugar if using) in food processor with dough blade until one colour. Slowly add oil, flax eggs and honey, if using, with the blender running. Add vinegar and hot water and mix until you get a supple, uniform dough. There should not be any lumps in it whatsoever – it should be the smoothest thing ever. Turn off the processor, and with a silicon spatula, scoop dough into loaf pan. Sprinkle the loaf with sorghum or any other gluten free flour and notch several times with a sharp knife. Place on middle rack in an oven, and place another tray filled with water below the loaf pan. Turn the oven to 230 ° C and let bake for 35 minutes. Turn off the oven, and let the loaf cool on a wire rack.

Delicious Gluten Free bread with Olive Oil and Sea Salt or... — Delicious Gluten Free bread with Olive Oil and Sea Salt or…

Enjoy!

Super Power Breakfast {vg, gf}

Published on November 21, 2013 by nathaliejasmin2019Leave a comment

I have porridge oats pretty much every day. They are comforting, especially in the colder months, and they keep me going for four to five hours. Something, which eggs have never achieved. Furthermore, oats are cheap! I tolerate oats well, but I know that 20% of celiacs cannot tolerate oats. It definitely worth giving them a shot, however, as there is no breakfast coming anywhere near porridge! There should be certified gluten-free oats in the health aisle of your local supermarket or in health shops, so you might wanna go with them. Oats are indeed a super power breakfast.

I usually just fill a mug with 2/3 cup (approx. 50 g) of oats, top them up with boiling water from the kettle, stir, and then microwave them for 30 seconds – this works fine, even with rolled oats. I normally have them with flax, cinnamon, berries and/or banana. This is a really quick, really healthy, and really satisfying breakfast.

This is a more fancy version of my standard porridge, prepared on the stove top. It is still reasonably quick to make, and it makes a bigger batch of porridge even though you use just as much oats as for the microwave version. As you might have learned, I have kind of a fondness for coconut flour. I am so happy since I got my coconut flour from here, and I use it almost every day to make a quick snack or just to satisfy any carb cravings I might have without using up my carb credits hehe. It tastes so rich and coconutty, but is still virtually free of net carbs, as the carbs in coconut flour are almost all fibre! Isn’t that good? Oh yes, and it is a lot lower in fat than coconut, which is also good! Coconut flour absorbs HEAPS of water, and I just love how you add a little water or almond milk to coconut flour and get the loveliest mousse! But that’s a different story…

Back to my super power breakfast – one word of warning: DON’T have that when you have a lunch meeting on with your hubs/date/bestie/sister/mum/boss/whoever – you will NOT be hungry for lunch if you have this for breakfast! So if you are one of those who are magically drawn to the chocolate bar vending machine in your office at 11 am, have this for breakfast, and spare your wallet and your waistline the disgrace! Honestly, isn’t the prospect of being fully satisfied until the early afternoon worth getting up 2 minutes earlier? I think it definitely is. And that’s why we go straight to the point now:

Super Power Breakfast

Serves one

2/3 cup rolled oats (certified gluten-free)
600 ml (1 pint) boiling water
pinch of salt
2 tbsp (14 g) coconut flour
1 tbsp (10 g) flax
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
stevia to taste
toppings by choice (e.g. fruit, nuts, honey, maple syrup…)

Boil water in the kettle. While you are waiting, start dry roasting oats and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat while stirring continuously – don’t let them catch! When the water has finished boiling, pour into saucepan (watch out – there will be splashes when the water touches the hot pan), keep stirring while boiling for about one or two minutes. Reduce heat and add flax, whisking thoroughly as to prevent the flax from becoming a “flax egg”, then add the coconut flour and keep stirring. As coco flour absorbs so much moisture, you should soon have a thick and lovely porridge! Now transfer to a bowl (I love how it comes out really clean from the saucepan – must be the coconut flour), top with your favourite toppings and love the feeling of satiety.

Tip: If you want to be even fuller, you could try replacing (part of) the water with your favourite dairy free milk. I haven’t tried that though, as I found that using just water is sufficient for me and saves me money.

Enjoy!

The ultimate, perfect, low-carb, vegan whipped cream

Published on November 13, 2013 by nathaliejasmin20193 Comments

Vegan whipped cream that doesn't taste vegan — Vegan whipped cream that doesn’t taste vegan

I have two predicaments right now. One is, I spend too much on groceries – which is not a sin, but saving money is always preferable. The other is that I don’t seem to tolerate nuts very well, much as I like them. I felt it was time to move away from my original vegan cream recipe which used nuts on to a super creamy, super delicious whipped cream made purely of coconut which is ready in seconds, kind to the tummy, very very easy to make and not least quite a lot cheaper than the nut version – and as close to the real thing as you can get!

Honestly, if you don’t have dairy for whatever reason and you are craving whipped cream (or need it in a recipe) then look no further. I am yet to find a recipe for a healthier, cheaper and easier vegan whipped cream. It can’t get better than this. I am not one to dance around the kitchen, but this one made me do just that. Aaaah, this is soooo good!!!

200ml cold full-cream coconut milk – it has to be solidified and look like the coconut milk in this recipe
1 tsp vanilla (this is not mandatory, but it’s killer)
2 tsp of erythritol or other sugar

Whip up all ingredients in a cold bowl with cold beaters. ~~Scoop out of the bowl with your fingers and be in heaven~~ Serve with cake or icecream or use it for my vegan gluten free carrot cupcakes or ginger snaps. You can add some spices, such as ginger, cinnamon or even chocolate powder for a creative touch to your recipe.

Enjoy!

Instant, healthy, low carb (no carb), vegan, paleo chocolate mousse

Published on November 13, 2013 by nathaliejasmin20193 Comments

The yummyness, the fluffyness, the beauty - chocolate mousse can actually be good for you! — The yummyness, the fluffyness, the beauty – chocolate mousse can actually be good for you!

Marveling at the Wonders of Instant, Healthy, Low-carb, Vegan, Paleo Chocolate Mousse or I Want it All, Act I, Scene I

Test Eater: Wow, this looks great! You must have spent ages making this!
Chef: Not even a minute, dear.
Test Eater: Um. So it’s bought stuff, ay? I thought you make things from scratch!
Chef: All from scratch, darling. (Well, I didn’t harvest the coconut or the cocoa.)
Test Eater (tries some): This is heaven! Honestly, this is one of the best chocolate mousses I have tried, and I am picky you know…actually, I shouldn’t really have a treat like that… (becomes serious) It must be loaded with sugar and carbs!
Chef: Not a trace. This is virtually carb-free.
Test Eater: Yeah right. So it’s filled with bucket loads of artificial sweeteners and other poisonous stuff!
Chef: Just the sweetness of nature, honey. (Well, it doesn’t actually contain honey because it’s carb-free.)
Test Eater: Wow. So I can have as much as I want – but you can’t, since you can’t have dairy! And we can’t offer it to XXX – she’s a vegan!
Chef: In this dessert, there is not a cow in sight – nor any other animal.
Test Eater: OK, I give up. What IS this stuff, and how did you make it?
Chef: Scroll down to the recipe!

Common dilemmas and how to solve them. A practical guide.
Problem 1: You need your chocolate fix and you are extremely impatient and/or short of time.
Solution 1: Make this chocolate mousse.

Problem 2: You have an insatiable sweet tooth, but you are trying to eat more healthily.
Solution 2: Make this chocolate mousse.

Problem 3: You are on a low-carb and/or paleo diet, but you miss chocolate mousse.
Solution 3: Make this chocolate mousse.

Problem 4: You love chocolate, but you are worried about all the unhealthy ingredients in it.
Solution 4: Make this chocolate mousse.

Problem 5: You need/want to cut out dairy, but you need/want chocolate mousse.
Solution 5: Make this chocolate mousse.

Problem 6: You are a vegan, but you suddenly have an odd craving for chocolate mousse.
Solution 6: Make this chocolate mousse.

Problem 7: You need your chocolate fix, and you need it now.
Solution 7: MAKE. THIS. CHOCOLATE. MOUSSE. NOW.

It takes one minute to make. One minute! Doesn’t matter whether you are suffering from a very sudden, very intense chocolate craving that does NOT allow postponement or whether you need a goodie for a surprise guest or whether you just can’t be bothered spending hours making a great dessert – this is it. Got the in-laws over for Christmas? Why spend hours making dessert when you need/want the time for your beauty routine/yoga lesson/wrapping presents/unwrapping presents? You can make this in one minute. Or less. One minute, that’s 60 seconds. That’s how long it takes – maximum. And that’s a promise. (OK, your coconut milk must be refrigerated, but you should have a couple of tins in your fridge anyway – at least when you are trying my recipes ;-))

I know not everyone cares whether desserts are healthy, but this one is. Spot on. There is no more than three ingredients (four if you count the water): Coconut meal, coconut milk, raw cocoa. That’s it. No sugar, no grains, no dairy, no processed crap, no GMO, no thickener, MSG, emulsifier, colourant or flavouring. Just. Pure. Goodness. Straight from mother nature. It is real, it is paleo, it is nutritious.

It is low-carb, if not no-carb, it is absolutely sugar free, but without nasty sugar replacements that can spike your blood sugar. This is as low GI as it gets. And it is very filling!

It is absolutely dairy free, and it goes without saying that it is also gluten and soy free. It is vegan. It is a very allergy-friendly dessert as even many nut sufferers can have coconut.

Oh, and for those who are interested – it is also veeeeeery delicious. Not to mention divine.

Dear vegans, low-carbers and paleoists, here comes the one-minute-guide how to have your mousse and eat it, too. Thanks for reading, my friend, and if you can spare one more minute of your precious time, you better make this. NOW.

Note: This has quite a strong flavour. If you like your stuff very sweet, you should probably add some stevia or erythritol. Use honey to make it paleo. I don’t sweeten it, as I don’t like my things overly sweet, but then – I’m special. 😉

Serves 1 very hungry chocoholic or 2 normal people 😉

4 tbsp coconut flour
4 tbsp solidified coconut milk (should have been stored in the fridge overnight)
4 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp filtered water

The coconut milk should look like this:

Mix all ingredients bar the water in a small bowl, then slowly add the water while stirring until smooth.

Tip: Use less water to get chocolate halva!

Enjoy!

Spicy Pumpkin Basil and Chili Dip

Published on November 11, 2013 by nathaliejasmin20193 Comments

I admit I suffer from a serious and acute dip mania at the moment! After my harissa turned out beautifully, I was motivated to experiment a bit more. I have not tried baking gluten-free bread yet, – sorry, but I’m still pretty new on the gluten free journey – but once I have achieved the holy grail of gluten-free bread making, it’s good to know what to dip it into, don’t you think? (Update: I made gluten free bread! The results can be found here, here and here.)

Although unlike the Northern hemisphere, it’s not really pumpkin season in Oz right now, the delicious and versatile vitamin A bomb is omnipresent in this part of the world all year round – and since we happened to celebrate Halloween just over a week ago, I assume we all still have some leftover pumpkin in our freezer, and what better way than to turn it into a tasty dip?

Pumpkin has such a unique flavour, which makes it so different from your average dip or pesto. I decided to marry it off to some chickpea – must be my love for falafel coming through here – to give it a mysterious middle eastern touch. Of course, there had to be chili in it, as with most of my savoury dishes. I used hot chili powder from the middle eastern shop, as the naughty mint in our back yard killed my chili plant (*sniffle*), but it turned out alright nonetheless.

My first version didn’t feature any basil, as I didn’t have any and couldn’t be bothered going shopping. It was good, but trust me, you don’t want to leave out the basil! You might try parsley, too, though I haven’t tried that. The version featured here is pretty low in fat – pumpkin is already so luscious and creamy that unlike a traditional pesto, you just need to add a tablespoon of healthy olive oil to make it yummy. In my next version of this dip, I am going to put some cashews or almonds in it – I think this will be beautiful!

Makes approx. 200 g

100g roasted or char-grilled pumpkin, chopped
50g chickpeas from the tin, drained
1 tbsp good olive oil (try chili or lemon infused olive oil for that extra kick)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (you can use any vinegar – I just wanted to make this dip even more healthy!)
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional, but gives great flavour)
fresh basil, chili, salt, pepper, garlic and paprika to taste – you can always adjust the spices afterwards

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Serve immediately with crudités or gluten-free bread or keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days. Extra hot tip: Mix it with my harissa paste – you won’t regret it, it’s superb!

Enjoy!