Low FODMAP Country Style Chicken Casserole

I had bought some free range chicken lovely legs (skinless) on the weekend because I was in the mood for a casserole of sorts. The challenge I set for myself was to use ingredients that was already in the pantry, fridge or freezer. My taste buds didn't want a tomato based sauce but rather something a little bit lighter. I pondered all day about how I was going to cook this casserole when my mind reverted back to the days I shared an apartment with a very lovely French woman.
I noticed that the style and flavours of her meals were very much influenced by her native home land and this fascinated me. Lots of clear broths with delicate flavours and the use of herbs in almost all of her dishes. So I took some inspiration from her style of cooking and started using my basic cooking knowledge to prepare my dish.
In the pantry, fridge or freezer I had the staples and later on wished I had some speck, celery and peas to add to my casserole for an extra dimension. However the result was exactly what I wanted - light, aromatic and amazingly tasty. I hope enjoy this casserole as much as me.



Low FODMAP Country Style Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

Makes 3

6 free range chicken lovely legs, skinless

1/2 cup gluten free flour

Olive oil

1 carrot, diced

1 garlic, crushed

1 potato, sliced thinly

6 whole mushrooms

1/2 capsicum, sliced

2 cups salt reduced chicken stock

1 cup of white wine (remove if intolerant)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp seed mustard

6 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp rosemary

2 good handful of parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

Method


1. Coat the chicken lovely legs in gluten free flour. Heat a heavy base saucepan and add olive oil, When hot add the chicken lovely legs to the saucepan to seal and cook to a golden brown. This should roughly take about 5 minute on each side. Once completed, remove the chicken lovely legs from the saucepan and place in a bowl.
2. Add a little bit more olive oil into the saucepan then add the carrots and capsicum. Reduce the heat and cook until soften. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until the wine reduces wine.
3. Add poatoes, chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mustard,  thyme, oregano, bay leaf and rosemary to the saucepan ensuring that the chicken is submerged in the stock. Turn the heat up and bring to boil before reducing it again to low to simmer. Place the lid on and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, give it a good stir and add the mushrooms. Cook for a further 20 munites with the lid off.
5. Add parsley just before serving, and salt and pepper to your taste. I served my casserole with quinoa.

NOTE: If I had celery and speck I would add it at the same time as the carrots. I would also add the peas around 10 minutes before the complete cooking time.

 



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Low FODMAP Moussaka

I had planned to go to the Melbourne Museum's latest exhibition, The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia, on Sunday but the weather was terrible. I don’t mind if it’s cold outside but when you add wind and rain to the mix – count me out! Instead I decided to cook another one of Sue Shepherd’s recipe from Irresistible for the Irritable cookbook for my dinner and I set my sight on the moussaka recipe. A perfect meal for a stormy day.

*UPDATE: I have been surfing the web for a similar moussaka recipe to the one in the cookbook and found one on taste.com.au but don't forget to remove the onion from the recipe. Recipe below*

Once again I mingled with the recipe by adding a little bit of nutmeg and the classic moussaka flavour of all spice. To make the dish a bit lighter I also replaced half of the lamb mince quality with mushrooms. I also brushed the eggplant with olive oil infused with garlic oil (Cobram) for an additional garlic flavour.

You need a bit of time on your hands to make this recipe as it requires a number of stages but, thankfully, these stages are not that tricky.

I was pleased with the results and will be sharing leftovers with my Greek friend who will give their verdict on this allergy-friendly recipe.



Low FODMAP moussaka



CAUTION: The eggplant acts like a sponge and absorbs all of the oil and I felt that the dish was a little bit oily. So my preference next time would be to not brush the slices of eggplant prior to baking.  Also beware of the all spice, only 1 teaspoon for this recipe because it is quite strong.

TIP: I had left over lamb minced and eggplant from making this dish and wasn't prepared to waste it so I created another meal from these left overs.

I cooked quinoa in reduced salt chicken stock as per packet direction. In the meanwhile, chop up the eggplant, mix eggplant and lamb minced together then heat mixture in microwave.

When eggplant and lamb minced is heated mix with cooked quinoa. I had some parsley so I chopped that up and add to the meal.

I was so surprised how delicious this mash up meal was.

Eggplant and potato moussaka

Recipe from taste.com.au

Ingredients (serves 6)

4 (about 1kg) brushed potatoes

4 (about 1.5kg) eggplants

140ml olive oil (use olive oil infused with garlic oil to maintain galic flavour)

4 cloves garlic, crushed (remove if you have an intolerant to garlic)

1 large onion, finely chopped (remove from recipe)

500g minced beef or lamb

1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and allspice

100g tomato paste

125ml (1/2 cup) red wine (remove if you have an intolerant to wine)

400g can Italian chopped tomatoes

35g (1/3 cup) dried breadcrumbs

Bay leaves, to decorate

Olive oil combined with chopped lemon segments and mint, to serve

Sauce

100g butter, chopped (replace with margarine or non-dairy spread or olive oil)

75g (1/2 cup) plain flour (replace with gluten free flour)

1 litre milk (replace with lactose free milk)

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

150g kefalograviera (seenote), coarsely grated (remove cheese from recipe)

3 egg yolks

Method

1.      Preheat a chargrill over medium heat. Cut potatoes and eggplants into 7mm-thick rounds. Combine 100ml oil with 1 clove crushed garlic, brush over eggplants, then season. Chargrill eggplants, in batches, for 2 minutes each side or until tender.

2.      Heat remaining garlic and oil in a pan over medium heat and cook onion and 1 teaspoon salt for 8 minutes. Add beef and spices, and cook, stirring, until browned. Add paste and wine, and simmer until nearly evaporated. Add tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes or until very thick.

3.      Meanwhile, for sauce, melt butter in a pan, add flour and stir until grainy. Remove from heat and gradually stir in milk until smooth. Return pan to heat and stir until thick. Remove from heat, stir in nutmeg, cheese and egg yolks. Season. Cook potatoes in boiling water for 8 minutes or until just tender. Drain well.

4.      Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 16-cup, 23cm x 28cm baking dish. Line base with overlapping slices of half the eggplant and all the potato, then pour over 3/4 cup sauce. Scatter with half the breadcrumbs, top with beef mixture, remaining eggplant and crumbs, then remaining sauce. Top with bay leaves and bake for 35 minutes or until browned. Stand for 30 minutes, then serve drizzled with oil, lemon and mint mixture.

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Low FODMAP Osso Bucco

There is nothing like a wonderful hearty meal when it's cold and miserable outside. I struggled to find a casserole dish that didn't contain onions; the most consumed vegetable in the world.

Being a lover of food, I was determined to find something that would satisfy my winter food craving. I found Sue Shepherd’s cookbooks; Irresistible for the Irritable and Two Irresistible for the Irritable.

I was drawn to the recipe for Osso Bucco and became quite excited. Due to copyright reasons, I cannot publish the recipe but what I can say is – BUY THE BOOK, ITS WORTH EVERY PENNY!
*UPDATE: I have been surfing the web for a similar recipe and found one on taste.com.au but don't forget to remove the onion and white wine from the recipe, and use gluten free flour for coating the osso bucco.*

I added a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a zest of one lemon to the recipe and wrapped the onion with muslin cloth to ensure the onion skins didn’t escape. I simmered it for 1 hour with the lid on and then another 30 minutes without the lid. I served it with potato puree made with lactose free milk and margarine.

One mouthful and I was in heaven! I was extremely pleased with the meal and it ticked all the boxes for the perfect winter meal.

Next time I make this dish I’ll definitely add speck for an extra dimension. Enjoy!

Low FODMAP Osso Bucco
Recipe by Sue Shepherd

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