Sticky oven-baked Asian spare ribs

ribs

When it’s not quite BBQ weather, these oven-baked ribs are satisfyingly sticky and caramelized.

I use tamari soy sauce in this recipe, which is a gluten free, darker and more concentrated type of soy sauce. (Regular soy sauce typically contains wheat.) While I am not a fan of soy milk and other soya-based substitution products, I have no issue with soya-based condiments such as tamari sauce or miso, so long as they are well tolerated. Unfortunately some individuals with dairy or gluten intolerance find they are also intolerant to soy. Soy is not allowed on the GAPS diet, but if you are following a gluten free or GFCF diet and are not intolerant to soy, then tamari sauce is most definitely your friend.

Sticky oven-baked Asian spare ribs (adapted from a Bill Granger recipe in Waitrose magazine)

1.5 kg pork spare ribs

200 ml orange juice

60 ml tamari soy sauce

4 tablespoons honey

4 star anise

Serves 4-6

Preheat your oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.

Combine the orange juice, tamari sauce, honey and star anise in a roasting tray and mix well. Add the spare ribs and give it all a good stir before covering with tin foil. Bake for around two hours.

Increase the heat to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Remove the tin foil and cook for another 45 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the ribs are well-browned.

Slow-roasted duck legs

duck legs

These slow-roasted duck legs are a sort of faux duck confit. They are lighter than the real thing, but still very rich and satisfying. They are less time-consuming to prepare, though still not exactly fast food.

Whatever you do, make sure to save the vast quantities of rendered fat you will drain off during the cooking. You can use the rendered fat for all kinds of roasting and frying. My favorite use is for roasting chicken – simply rub a tablespoon or two of rendered duck fat all over the bird, sprinkle with sea salt, and be prepared for an amazingly moist roast chicken with fantastically crispy skin.

Slow-roasted duck legs (adapted from Simply Recipes)

1 duck leg per person

sea salt

Take the duck legs out of the refrigerator and arrange in a single layer in a roasting tin. Using a sharp knife, skewer or scissors, pierce the skin of each leg all over, in at least 10-12 places. (This will help the fat to render and will make the skin crispy.) Sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Leave the legs to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Without preheating the oven, put the roasting tin in the oven. Put the heat on to 150C°/300°F/gas mark 2 and cook for 2 and 1/2 hours. Drain the rendered fat into a bowl every 30 minutes or so.

Then increase the heat to 190C°/375°F/gas mark 5 and cook for another 20 minutes or until the skin is fully crispy.

Serve immediately. Any leftovers are nice shredded and added to a salad. Refrigerate the rendered fat and use within a week to cook vegetables or roast chicken.

 

Banana cake

cake

In my home, banana cake is a birthday favorite. This is the close cousin of banana bread but somehow a loaf cake does not seem as festive as a round one. This cake makes a lovely summer dessert served with some fresh mixed berries or a scoop of sorbet.

Gluten and dairy free banana cake (adapted from a Tom Kitchin article in The Scotsman)

4 medium bananas, peeled – about 300g

200g caster sugar

6 large eggs

200g ground almonds

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

Makes 8 proper servings

Preheat your oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.

On a plate or cutting board, mash up the bananas into chunks using a fork. Scrape into a bowl and blend in the sugar until smooth. I use my handheld mixer to do this; the texture should be less chunky than for banana bread.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy. Pour into to the banana mixture, and mix well.

Fold the ground almonds and baking powder into the batter, then pour the batter into a 23cm springform cake pan, lined and greased (I use ghee but you could also use a bit of oil).

Bake for one hour. Cool on a rack, then remove from the tin. Serve on its own or with some fresh raspberries. This cake tastes just as good the day after you bake it.

Coconut macaroons

marble

This gluten and dairy-free coconut macaroon recipe is a family favorite. The recipe scales up or down very easily to I simply adjust quantities depending on the occasion. Over the years I’ve made notes of the ratio of ingredients for different quantities, so I’m sharing that here as a table.

Coconut macaroons (adapted from a David Lebovitz recipe)

Yield: 20 macaroons Yield: 25 macaroons Yield: 30 macaroons Yield: 60 macaroons
3 large egg whites 4 large egg whites 5 large egg whites 10 large egg whites
210g caster sugar 285g caster sugar 350g caster sugar 700g caster sugar
165g dessicated coconut 225g dessicated coconut 280g dessicated coconut 560g dessicated coconut
30g rice flour 40g rice flour 50g rice flour 100g rice flour
1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon honey 2 tablespoons honey 4 tablespoons honey
pinch of salt pinch of salt pinch of salt large pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine the egg whites, caster sugar, dessicated coconut (make sure this is unsweetened), rice flour, honey and salt in a large skillet or pan and place on the hob over low heat. Allow the ingredients to melt together, stirring constantly, until the mixture has a porridge-like texture and begins to brown on the bottom. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla extract and allow to cool.

The batter should at least be cooled to room temperature but for best results refrigerate for several hours or overnight (the batter will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week, and according to David Lebovitz can also be frozen for up to two months).

Preheat your oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.

Using your hands, form the batter into balls, around the size of golf balls. Place on a non-stick baking tray (or two) in evenly spaced rows and press the sides with your fingers to make a slight pyramid shape. (This is a fun task for small helpers!)

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops of the macaroons have lightly browned.

In an airtight container, the macaroons will keep for up to one week.