The Gluten Free Blog

If you’re a regular reader of this of this blog you’ll know we’re big fans of Genius gluten free bread.

Cheese and coleslaw gluten free sandwich from Starbucks

Starbucks have been using Genius bread for a while since they started selling the classic tuna mayo earlier this year. This week they launched a new sandwich: cheese and coleslaw made with mature cheddar and red Leicester cheese with crunchy cabbage, carrot and red onion coleslaw topped with mixed leaf salad. Perfect for summer.

“We take the health and wellbeing of our customers seriously and we’re committed to offering choice, including a great quality gluten free sandwich. We’ve received really positive feedback from our customers and this product has enabled us to provide more options for our coeliac customers but also for other customers too,” said Sarah Dunne, corporate communications manager at Starbucks UK and Ireland.

Free from artificial flavours and colours, Starbucks cheese and coleslaw sandwich using Genius brown bread is available from all UK Starbucks costs £2.95 for take away or £3.45 eat in.

Have you tried Starbucks’ cheese and coleslaw sandwich yet? What do you think?

Last weekend we visited the Real Food Market at London’s Southbank Centre.

The market consists of about 40 stalls selling quality, fresh produce and ingredients including cheeses; fresh pastas and sauces; chutneys and pickles; middle eastern delicacies; and artisan breads, cakes and pastries.

We enjoyed a glass of freshly pressed apple juice and a sip (or two) of organic brandy before I went on the hunt for gluten free goodies. And I came across the Arancici Brothers, who make delicious vegetarian and gluten free Arancini risotto balls, which look a bit like falafel, and are packed full of fresh herbs, cheeses, onion, garlic and a hint of citrus.

Arancini Brothers gluten free balls

The guys were serving them hot with a salad, in a chilli or garlic wrap, or just on their own with a little pickle on the side. And let me tell you, they were absolutely delicious. Very tasty. And very filling. Try and get your hands on some of these. They’re perfect for packed lunches and picnics.

You can find the Arancini Brothers at these markets.

We also chatted with the lovely Caroline of Sugargrain who makes gluten free cakes as well as award-winning confectionary such as elderflower marshmallows. Some of her cakes are dairy free, fat free and made without sugar; so there really is something for everyone.

Caroline of Sugargrain gluten free cakes

Of course, I had to try a chocolate nut brownie – for research purposes, you understand – and it was definitely one of my favourite chocolate brownies ever (and I’ve eaten lots). It was so moist it was almost creamy, and very chocolatey without being too sweet or sickly. Scrummy.

You can find Sugargrain at these markets and you can also follow Caroline on Twitter @sugargrain.

The Real Food Market at the Southbank takes place on the first weekend of every month. Dates are August 6th – 8th, September 3rd – 5th, November 5th – 7th and December 3rd – 5th. If you’re in the London, and you love food, it’s worth a visit.

Last weekend I made this seriously tasty chocolate cake from Phil Vickery’s Seriously Good! Gluten-Free Cooking book. Unfortunately, someone was unable to resist before I’d taken a pic! I couldn’t find honeycomb so I bought Crunchie bars and cut the chocolate off. It seemed to work ok. The mint, sugar and water syrup keeps this cake really moist. For the cake:

• 200g unsalted butter
• 200g gluten free dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
• 5 medium eggs
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 240g caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 200g ground almonds
• 50g chickpea (gram) flour

For the syrup:

• 100g caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

For the frosting:

• 500g mascarpone
• 50g honeycomb, chopped
• 100g cleat honey

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Line a 24cm round, 7cm deep, loose-bottomed cake tine with baking parchment. Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, take the pan off the heat but leave the bowl over the pan to keep the mixture warm.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl and whisk until thick and foamy, the add half the sugar, and whisk again until creamy and thick. Add the rest of the sugar and whisk until very stiff but still a creamy consistency. Stir the egg yolks, vanilla extract, almonds and chickpea flour into the warm chocolate and butter, then straight away add half the meringue, mixing well. Finally, add the rest of the meringue and fold in.

Spoon into the lined tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until well risen and firm.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly in the tin: it will collapse a little. Make several holes over the surface of the cake with a skewer.

Meanwhile, place the sugar, 100ml water and the mint in a small pan and boil until the sugar has dissolved, then strain. Spoon the syrup over the cake and leave to soak in and cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled, beat the mascarpone, honeycomb and honey together with a wooden spoon or spatula. Do not whisk of the mascarpone will be too soft and hot hold its shape on the cake.

Turn out the cake carefully on to a large, flat plate. As there is no gluten in the cake it will have quite a soft texture, so be careful. Cover the cake with the honey mascarpone. Eat straight away or chill for 1 hour. If you want to keep it for the next day, remove from the fridge 1 hour before eating.

If you’re looking for a fresh and filling lunch you might want to grab yourself a tasty veg pot from Innocent. Of course, Innocent are more famous for their smoothies, thickies and juices. But they’ve recently added veg pots to their range – and they’re absolutely delicious.

Which Innocent Veg Pots are gluten free?

There are eight in the range and I tried these two this week: Mexican sweet potato chilli with brown rice, jalapeno peppers and smoke paprika; and Indian daal curry with spicy cauliflower, chickpeas and fresh spinach. The ingredients are all fresh with no colourings, flavourings or nasty E numbers. And these two are gluten free, low in fat and contain three of my daily veg portions.

Not all the pots are gluten free so be sure to check the ingredients before you buy.

You can buy Innocent tasty veg pots at Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and Asda where they normally retail for about £3.50. But Asda currently have them for 2 for £5 which is a bargain!

Try out a few of the other flavours and let us know what you think.

Not sure which restaurants in your area serve gluten free foods? Or which ones have a good choice of vegan dishes? Or are nut-free? Wonder no more. Because we’ve recently come across LeaveItOut.co.uk, an all new specialist eating out online guide.

Whether you have a food allergy or intolerance, are vegetarian or vegan or even need to find a child-friendly venue or a place with disabled access, Leave It Out can help.

Simply enter your post code, click which intolerance you have and Leave It Out will show you your nearest restaurants.

You can even win dinner for two at a restaurant of your choice by writing a review or sending the site a new listing. Got a fantastic local restaurant you want to talk about? Just register here (it takes about 30 seconds) and write a review. Or if you want to see your favourite local restaurant listed just contact the Leave It Out team.

You’ll also find lots of informative articles on the site written by Medical Consultant Dr Adam Fox and Dietician Tanya Wright, such as Coeliac Disease And Malt Extract and When And How Can Wheat Allergy Occur?

We think this site is going to be a great resource. Remember to get your reviews and recommendations in. And you might be enjoying a gluten free pizza free of charge at the end of the month!