Caribbean Rice

This gluten-free recipe is so simple that it's almost embarrassing to print.  Honestly, it goes together in just a few minutes and is such a crowd pleaser.  It tastes like you spent a lot more time on it than you did.  And I like that! :)

Such pretty colors!  It really is a festival on your table!

You can use any kind of rice you like here, so go ahead and experiment.  When you're gluten-free, you tend to eat a lot more rice.  Rice can be bland, as you know, and this really kicks it up several notches.  With the beans added, a "complete" protein is formed, although they tell us we don't need to worry about that these days.  Still, I like the idea.  But I also need spice.  I NEED flavor.  I want something that excites my taste buds and gets me coming back for more!  So, let's get started.

 

Place 2/3 cup of uncooked rice in a pan and prepare with water according to package directions.  Set aside.  You can do this ahead several hours so you have the rice available when you want it.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, chili powder, ground cumin, and red pepper flakes.  Chop the garlic, celery, green pepper, and onion.  I love to see them lined up pretty like this. ;)

I like to use a wok here, but use whatever you like.  Make sure it's a good-sized pan.  Add a tablespoon or two of lard (how to render lard) or your choice of oil.  Then add the garlic, celery, green pepper, and onion and fry on medium heat until soft (about 5 minutes).

Add the spices and cut up tomato and fry for a couple of minutes.  Then add the beans, rice, and cilantro and fry just until warmed thoroughly.

And . . . *gulp* . . . that's it!  If you have your rice prepared ahead of time, this dish takes only about 10 minutes of cooking, if that.  But the flavors!  The flavors are outstanding!  Everyone will think you're a genius, and I promise I won't tell anyone how easy it was to make. :)

2/3 cup uncooked rice

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup (or so) of celery

1/2 cup (or so) of green pepper

1 medium-sized onion

1 medium-sized tomato

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 good-sized handful of chopped cilantro

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of chili powder

1/2 tsp of ground cumin

1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes

1-2 tbs of lard (how to render lard) or oil for frying

Cook the rice according to package directions and set aside.  You can do this several hours earlier.  Chop the garlic, celery, green pepper, and onion.  In a small bowl, combine the salt, chili powder, ground cumin, and pepper flakes.  Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of lard (how to render lard) or oil to a wok or large pan.  Fry the garlic, celery, green pepper, and onion until soft (about 5 minutes).  While you're waiting, rinse and drain the beans and chop the tomato.  When ready, add the tomato and small bowl of spices to the mixture in the wok and fry another couple of minutes.  Chop the cilantro then add it, the beans, and the rice.  Fry just until warmed completely through.  Delicious!

This recipe couldn't be simpler, and it is just packed with flavor!

Winter

Winter in Maine.  Silent.  Mysterious.  So enchanting, but so harsh and unforgiving.  There are no excuses in winter, nothing to fall back upon.  You have either prepared . . . or you have not.  Mother Nature is merciless, as always.  But she is beautiful.

There is a secret about winter that not many people know, and those who do not know it will never know it.  It is a knowledge that comes from within, and no amount of words will convey its understanding.  There is no studying, no reading, no learning about this secret.

 

I stumbled upon it by accident.  I was cold and wet and hungry.  I was in darkness.  I was abandoned, and I had long since given up on the light.  I was dead.

 

I felt a presence, a silent pact, a wordless agreement.  There was a stirring.  Deep within the earth, a tiny seed--a universe unto itself--lay sleeping, dreaming.  Frozen and dead.  Like me.

 

And it occurred to me, I can’t say why, that this motionless seed would somehow burst forth with a mysterious energy I knew it could not possibly possess.  Yet.

 

I stood there in the dead of winter, pondering. And I knew the secret.

 

 

Fabulous Gluten-Free Felafels!

Oh, my.  Don't you just love felafels?  I know I do.  There are some recipes out there that include wheat flour in them, presumably to thicken up the mixture and bind it together.  Because of that, many gluten-free people have given up eating felafels as they simply don't want to take a chance.  But what if I told you that you could eat the most delectable gluten-free felafels EVER?  Would you be interested? :)

Like if this plate were put in front of you, would you dive into it? :)

 

If you saw this crispy deliciousness loaded with tahini sauce, could you resist devouring it? :)

Anyway, I know I can never resist a plate of felafels, lol!  For those of you who might never have had a felafel, it is a Middle-Eastern snack/meal made from ground chickpeas highly spiced with onions, garlic, cilantro, and various other spices.  Sometimes other beans are used, but in most recipes and in this one too, we'll be using chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans.  The chickpea is a bean that is very high in protein, and it is one of the earliest cultivated legumes.  Remains of chickpeas that are older than 7,000 years have been found in the Middle East.  And with good reason!  Not only are chickpeas high in protein, but they also contain calcium and have a surprising amount of iron.  Combined with a tahini sauce (made from sesame seeds), their nutritional value increases even further.

 

But forget all of that!  We eat felafels because they are DELICIOUS.  Yes, they are!  And if you have never had them before, you will be completely hooked on them.  Imagine that:  Being hopelessly hooked on something so healthy and good for you!  So let's get started.  I'll go through the recipe with pictures and then put the entire written recipe below that as always.  Please note that these pictures were taken of the recipe halved.  I only made half of the recipe because that was all I needed, and you can see that there is still enough for three people to have a nice plate of felafels.  So plan accordingly.

Here you see 1 cup of dried chickpeas on the left and how they look after soaking in water for 24 hours.  You can see that they really expand a lot and change color a bit.  Remember, I only made half the recipe written below, and that's why you see only 1 cup here.

Mince the onions and garlic in a food processor.  Add the chickpeas and grind again.  Add the cilantro, baking powder, coriander, cumin, red pepper, salt, and black pepper.  Grind again.  You may have to scrape the sides down with a spatula a few times and grind again.  You're aiming for a paste that should still be grainy--tiny grains.  My close up could be better, but I think you can see what I mean.  (If you are making the full recipe, you may have to divide all the ingredients into two batches unless you have a large food processor.)

I tried to take this photo under a different light so you can see how it is a pale green grainy paste now.  Place it in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 45 minutes to firm it up a bit.  It will already smell delicious, but if you taste it, it will still have that "raw bean" taste.  Cooking will transform this!

While your felafel mixture is cooling, make the tahini sauce.  There are many different sauces you can use, but I always prefer a traditional tahini sauce so that is what I have made here.  Combine the sesame tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in a blender and blend until very smooth.  See how thick that is?  The tahini paste is thinner than this, and you would think that adding the water and lemon juice would made it downright watery.  But it doesn't!  The blender and the magic of the acid thickens it right up.  By the way, you can use this tahini sauce on any salad for a fabulous experience--yum!  Try to get roasted sesame tahini if you can.  Alas, raw is usually what you will find, but this will still be delicious!

Now that your felafel mixture has sat in the refrigerator for 45 minutes, it is time to shape it into patties.  Traditionally, it is usually shaped into round balls and deep-fried, but I find that if I make a somewhat flattened ball, I can pan fry it and save a tremendous amount of oil.  So grab about a ping-pong ball's worth of mixture and shape it.  It will feel very wet and you might think it won't stick together, but it will.  Don't expect this to feel like a meatball mixture, however.  I tried to take a picture of the side view of the patties.  They are about 1/2 an inch to 3/4 inch high.  Now place them back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes so they can firm up again.

Heat 1/4 inch of oil to 350 degrees.  I have a large rectangular nonstick electric frying pan here.  It makes it easier to regulate the temperature.  Gently slide the patties into the oil.  Let them fry until they are a medium-brown color on the bottom.  Then, using thongs, carefully flip them over to fry the other side.  It doesn't take long to fry them, maybe three to five minutes per side.  Check after three minutes.  You don't want them a tan color.  You want them a nice medium-brown color.  Of course, you don't want to burn them either, lol.

Drain the felafels briefly on paper towels.  I tried to get a closeup of the inside of one.  My camera was being stubborn, but I think you can still see how the inside is still green but the outside is brown and crispy.  Don't fear that the inside is still raw; it isn't.  It is thoroughly cooked and the "raw bean" flavor is gone and transformed into deliciousness!

Traditionally, felafels are served with various vegetables and tahini sauce in a pita.  I won't be using the pita here because of the gluten content, although you certainly can if gluten doesn't bother you.  Or you could use a gluten-free wrap or just do what I have done here:  Place the felafels and vegetables on a plate and then smother them with tahini sauce!!  Doesn't that look good??  OMG, it's fabulous!!  I just know you're going to love it!

FELAFELS

2 cups of dried chickpeas soaked in water for 24 hours

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 cup of fresh cilantro

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbs salt

1/2 tsp pepper

oil for frying

Soak the beans for a full 24 hours in plenty of water.  Mince the onion and garlic in a food processor, then add the drained chickpeas and process again.  Add the remainder of the ingredients (except the oil) and process until you have a pale green paste.  It should still be grainy--tiny grains.  You may have to scrape the food processor down a few times with a spatula and continue processing until you get a nice grainy paste.  If you're doing the full recipe, you'll need a large food processor or you'll have to divide all the ingredients in half and do it in two batches.  Refrigerate the paste for 45 minutes to firm it up.  Shape into small patties about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch tall.  Refrigerate again for 15 minutes to firm up.  Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a pan to 350 degrees.  Gently slide the patties into the oil and fry until medium-brown in color, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Gently turn over with thongs and fry the other side.  Drain on paper towels and serve with vegetables and tahini sauce.

TAHINI SAUCE

1 cup of sesame tahini (roasted if you can find it)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of lemon juice

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp of salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

NOTES:

1.  Be sure to soak the chickpeas for a full 24 hours as they are very hard and dry beans.

2.  Don't substitute parsley for cilantro as that would not give you the proper traditional taste.

3.  Try to get roasted sesame tahini if you can, although raw is usually all that is available in a regular supermarket.

4.  Felafels are best consumed fresh.  You can refrigerate them and reheat them in a toaster oven if you have leftovers.  Don't microwave them because they come out wimpy and gross.

5.  Remember that I only made half a batch in the photos.  It made 18 felafel patties, so if that's all you need, only make half a batch.  On the other hand, if you really want to chow down, go for the full batch! :)

6.  I found this recipe a long time ago on the internet, and I do NOT know who it belongs to.  It is not mine.  If you know, please let me know and I'll give full credit here.

Chicken (Turkey) Curry

What to do with all that leftover chicken or turkey?  There always seems to be leftover chicken or turkey.  Why not turn it into a completely different experience?  Why not turn it into a whole new dish?  "Leftovers?"  What's that?  With this recipe, you'll take your leftover chicken or turkey and turn it into something fabulous--and no one will ever guess that you used "leftovers."

Chicken (turkey) transformed!  A completely new dish has been born.

We're going to use a basic reduction sauce here.  A reduction sauce reduces the amount of liquids in your recipe while cooking the other ingredients.  In this case, some of those ingredients will break down over an extended cooking period and help to thicken the sauce.  A little bit of sweet rice flour furthers this cause, and you will end up with a deliciously thick and spicy sauce.  Irresistible!

In a small bowl, add the curry powder, sweet rice flour, ground fenugreek seeds, and cayenne powder.  Set this aside.  The picture on the right shows the tamarind concentrate I use.  There are many brands out there.  If you can't find it in your supermarket, try a health store or Indian food store.

In the bowl of your food processor fitted with the blade, add the onions, garlic, and sliced ginger.  Whir this up into a fine paste as you see on the right.

There it is again!  You know how much I LOVE ghee.  Add a few tablespoons of ghee to a saute pan.  Here's my recipe on how to make ghee.

Fry the onion mixture on medium heat, adding more ghee if necessary, until lightly browned.

Add the curry powder mixture and fry for half a minute.  Then add some water and stir.  You want to add enough to make a fluid but not too runny mixture.  Turn the heat to medium low and cook this down, stirring every few minutes, until the mixture gets thick again and threatens to stick to the bottom of the pan.  Then add more water and do the same thing again.  Do this a total of five times:  adding water and cooking down.

You can see on the left how the paste has cooked down after five additions of water, stirring, and cooking.  Now add the tamarind concentrate, honey, garam masala, salt, and pepper.  Add more water for a fluid paste.  Taste and adjust for seasoning.  If you want more heat, add more cayenne powder.  Simmer this for 10 minutes, adding or boiling off water as necessary to achieve the thickness you like.  The picture on the right shows the finished sauce.

Now add the chicken (turkey) and heat through.  You can see that the sauce has really browned up a lot from the addition of the final spices.

Serve with rice or gluten-free naan.  This is absolutely delicious!  You will find yourself going out of your way to get leftover chicken or turkey just to make this dish!

1.5 lb of chicken (turkey) cut into bite-sized chunks

3 tbs of ghee

2 large onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 inch of peeled and sliced ginger

2.5 tbs of curry powder

1 tbs of sweet rice flour

1 tsp of ground fenugreek seeds

1/4 tsp of cayenne powder

1 tsp of tamarind concentrate

1 tbs of honey

2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of garam masala

1/2 tsp of pepper

water as needed

Finely chop the onions, garlic, and ginger in a food processor fitted with the blade.  In a small bowl, combine the curry powder, sweet rice flour, ground fenugreek seeds, and cayenne powder.  Heat the ghee on medium heat and saute the onion mixture until lightly browned.  Add the curry powder mixture and saute for another half minute.  Add enough water to make a fluid but not too watery sauce.  Lower the heat to medium low and cook the sauce down until thickened and beginning to stick to the pan, stirring every few minutes.  Add more water and do the same again, for a total of five times:  adding water and cooking down.  Then add the tamarind concentrate, honey, salt, garam masala, and pepper along with enough water to make a fluid sauce again.  Cook this down once more, adding or boiling off water as needed, until you achieve the desired thickness.  Add the chicken (turkey) and heat through.  Serve with rice or gluten-free naan.

TIPS:

1.  Tamarind concentrate is a specialty item but worth going out of your way for, so check health stores and Indian stores for it.

2.  Fenugreek seeds are not sold powdered.  I powder mine in a coffee grinder that I have set aside just for powdering spices.  Fenugreek really adds that "Indian" taste, so again, it's worth going out of your way for it.

3.  If you can't get ghee and don't want to make it, just use oil here and not regular butter because butter will burn with all the frying.

Gluten-Free Pizza!

There are two things that gluten-free people miss the most:  bread and pizza.  Pizza is actually kind of an extension of bread, really, but it does seem to be one of those indispensable American foods.  When you can't have pizza, you feel like you've been left out in the cold and abandoned.  Pizza is even more important than sandwiches!  There are many foods people can do without, but pizza "ain't" one of them.

Here you see a nice gluten-free pizza, and as you can see, I am not "doing without."

Gluten-free bread and gluten-free pizza do not remotely taste like their gluten counterparts.  There are many things we can duplicate in the gluten-free world--almost everything, actually--but bread and pizza cannot be duplicated.  So when new gluten-free people try gluten-free bread or pizza, they are often disappointed because it doesn't "taste the same."  Some of that is just confusion and getting used to a gluten-free diet.  Some of it is what I have termed wheat prejudice.  In any event, my pizza will not taste like your favorite restaurant pizza . . . BUT for a gluten-free pizza (and I have eaten many of them), it's pretty darn good.

Mix all your dry ingredients together in the bowl of your mixer.  Use a whisk for this to make sure the xanthan gum is fully incorporated.  In another bowl, beat the egg and then add the oil.  Beat again and add 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 tsp of vinegar.  Have your sauce ready.  Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and begin to mix on low.  NOW, slowly add some water (probably 2-3 tbs) and mix at level 2 for about a minute.  You are aiming for a mixture that is very sticky and somewhere between mashed potatoes and play doh.  This is not a dough, but it isn't quite a batter either.

Use a rubber spatula and scoop the "dough" out onto a greased 12" pizza pan.  It will be too sticky to do this with your hands.  Have a small bowl of olive oil next to you.  Dip a couple of fingers in, rub the fingers of your hands together, and begin flattening out the dough.  You will probably only be able to press once or twice before your fingers get sticky and you need more oil.  If you get too much dough on your hands, rinse and dry them and then continue.  Keep oiling and spreading the dough.

As you oil and spread the dough, the surface will get more and more oil on it, and then you won't need as much oil.  Keep spreading the dough and go right up the lip of the pan to form the edge of your crust.  Make sure there are no holes in the dough anywhere on the crust bottom.

Bake the crust at 400 degrees for 7 minutes.  The picture on the left shows the crust after baking.  Don't worry if you see a small crack here or there as it's only superficial and won't go through to the bottom of the pan.  Then put your sauce on and bake for another 3 minutes.  The picture on the right shows the crust after baking.  Can you see that it has begun to pull just a little bit away from the sides?  That's perfectly fine.  Now add your favorite toppings and broil on high for 5 minutes two rungs beneath the broiler.  Turn the oven off and leave the pizza inside for another 5 minutes.

Because the crust pulls slightly away from the side of the pan, it's easy to slip a spatula underneath the pizza and quickly move the whole thing to some wax paper to cool.  The pizza on the left just came out of the oven.  The pizza on the right has cooled for 10 minutes and has then been sliced.

This pizza has mozzarella cheese, green peppers, onions, and pepperoni.  I like it blackened just a bit.  You will be amazed at how well this crust holds up!  Yes, you can pick it up just like "regular" pizza, and the crust edge gets nice and crispy.  It reheats beautifully the next day in a toaster oven.  There now, that wasn't so hard, was it?  :)

1/2 cup (97 g) of potato starch (not the same as potato flour)

1/2 cup (68 g) of tapioca starch

1/2 cup (59 g) of sorghum flour

1/4 cup (43 g) of buckwheat flour

1/4 cup (41 g) of white rice flour

1 tbs of sugar

1.5 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of xanthan gum

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 cup of water + 2-3 tbs

1 egg

2 tbs (25 g) of olive oil

1/4 tsp of vinegar

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 12-inch pizza pan.  Mix the dry ingredients together in your mixer bowl.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg and then add the oil and beat again.  Add 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 tsp of vinegar and mix well.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix on low for about 30 seconds.  Then mix on level two while adding water 1 tbs at a time.  Your goal is for a sticky mixture that is in between play doh and mashed potatoes.  This is not a "dough" you can pick up with your hands.  Using a rubber spatula, scoop the dough onto the greased pan.  Oil your fingers and begin to spread the dough out, oiling your fingers frequently.  Go right up the lip of the pan to form the edge of the crust.  Bake for seven minutes.  Add sauce and bake for 3 minutes.  Add toppings and broil on high for 5 minutes.  Turn off the oven and let the pizza stay in it (unopened) for 5 more minutes.  Remove from the oven, slip a spatula under the pizza, and remove it to wax paper.  Let cool for 10 minutes and then cut.  Makes one 12-inch pizza.

TIPS:

1.  I cannot stress enough how important a digital scale is in gluten-free baking.  You can pick one up at Target for about $25, and it is worth its weight in gold.  When you bake by weight instead of by volume, your results are much more exact and can be repeated every time.  If you insist on baking by volume, some recipes may turn out great and some may be a huge disappointment.

2.  If your fingers become full of dough while pressing it out, rinse them, dry them, and oil them again.  Once your fingers get "doughy," they won't spread the dough very well, oil or not.

3. If your dough seems very hard to spread, you did not add enough water.  Add more water next time.  It should be kind of mushy.

Country Neighbors

If you ever plan on living in the country, you've got to get used to some peculiarities amongst your neighbors (myself excepted, of course).  If you already do live in the country, then this post will come as no surprise, and perhaps you have some stories you could share with me yourself.

Country neighbors are a special kind of neighbor.  Here in Maine it is considered quite odd to close your curtains or shades--ever.  In fact, in some places I've lived in, there were many rooms that didn't even have curtains, just a valance up top.  Closing your house off is considered suspicious (what have you got to hide?), and it marks you as being "from away."  That's the worse insult you could ever get here:  "He's from away."  That's always responded to with a narrowing of the eyes, a slow nod of the head, and an "Oh, I see."

As if the person didn't already know that he was from away.  Country people know everything about one another, usually because people don't have curtains around here.  Odd custom, that.  Not that anyone would stare into anyone else's windows.  Well, not too much anyways.  And certainly never in a conspicuous way.  Of course, the farther out you live, the further the houses are from each other and your news won't be broadcast quite as easily.  In that case, it takes a little creative initiative, but rest assured that your neighbors will still know everything about you.

Take Lilyette, for example.  She lives about half a mile up the road.  There's no such thing as a short visit when Lilyette comes around.  It doesn't matter if you tell her you have somewhere to go.  She'll stay as long as she intended.  Of course, she didn't intend anything as she was "just out for a walk."  You can keep on working when she comes by, though.  She sure does like to talk, and being as isolated as we are around here, I never mind listening.  She'll talk about her whole family, including fifth cousins four times removed, by first name only as if I know them.  But no matter.  Eventually she'll get around to asking me what I'm doing and what it's for, etc.  Very often, she knows a lot about it already anyhow.  I posted an article a couple of weeks ago here about a fisher that had commandeered my hoop house.  Damned if Lilyette didn't know about it not even half an hour after it happened.  Seems in her travels she'd run into someone on the road who told her, who had heard it from someone else.  So when I went to tell her, she already knew and asked me if I had a name for the fisher.

But she's really nice, Lilyette is, and she's just a treasure trove of knowledge about local people, customs, and areas.  You can learn a lot from someone like her.  I genuinely like her, and I think she likes me too.  Which is a good thing, because Lilyette never has a problem speaking her mind to anyone (about anyone).  So she talks and I talk and by the time we finish, I know how much the local landfill charged her for some garbage metal she had lying around and how mad her husband was about that, I know who's planting what and where and who would have liked that (even though they're now dead), and I know who's fallen out of favor.  It's always a good visit when Lilyette comes by.

Old Howard stopped by a few days ago.  He always stacks his wood better than mine and noticed that these two-year-old cords of wood were well seasoned and should be used this year.  I had every intention of doing so but I didn't say as much.  Even if I had, he wouldn't have heard it because Old Howard is going deaf and you have to yell everything at him.  But this visit wasn't really about the wood.  It was about the carrots.  He wanted to know if I had any left in my garden that he could "borrow."  I told him I didn't have any left because I'd pulled up all the beds and got them ready for the winter.  He figured he'd go check anyway just to make sure, though, and sure enough he found out that I'd pulled up all the beds.  That's how he noticed the wood, which was a considerable distance from the garden.  "Oh, so you've pulled up all the beds then, have you?"  The thing about Old Howard is, he'd give you the shirt off his back if you asked for it.  Literally.  He would do that.  If he heard you asking, that is.  Old Howard's a good guy.

Of course, there's some strange ones too.  Take old neighbor Bob, for example.  Bob's just plain off his nut.  He lost his mind a long time ago, if he ever had it.  He's quite the recluse, but when he does come out, he usually kindly offers to kill someone's pet.  He's just trying to help and be neighborly, I guess, but none of us really need our pets killed so his talents appear to be wasted.  He does have another talent, and that's carpentry, at which he's quite good.  I wonder if he'll build a guillotine.  I wouldn't be surprised.

And there are others.  There's Greg who loves to play with his tractor.  Man, he'll dig anything up and bury it again in no time flat.  Jules builds wonderful things but has a dog who will tear your head off.  Tim and Jay have nose rings, which isn't that unusual, but they're in their 60s.  Jackie does a fine hokey pokey, and she is very fond of my orange marmalade.  And so on.

Last but not least, there's me.  The height of normalcy.  My neighbors sure are lucky to have me.  :)

Gluten-Free Fish 'n Chips

There are some staple foods that you simply can't give up.  Going gluten-free makes many people think they have to give up everything they used to love.  But it simply isn't so.  I will never--I repeat NEVER--give up my fish 'n chips!  Fortunately, this gluten-free recipe of fish 'n chips is so delicious, I won't have to.  I might even venture to say that it's even better than gluten-filled recipes.  Now that's saying something.

Does that look like something you might want to sink your teeth into?  It's just oozing "crispy," isn't it?

And how about these steak fries, or "chips," hmmm?  Think you might want to gobble some of those down?

So now that I have your attention, lol.  Fish 'n chips are just part of the American lifestyle, and at this point, so is being gluten-free.  Get yourself some nice mild fish.  Haddock is my favorite, but I couldn't get any today so what you see in the pictures is cod.  Cod fillets are very large, much larger than haddock.  I've got a little over 2 lb worth, and I've cut the two fillets down into six pieces.  Next you want to get yourself two russet potatoes, and they must be russet.  Other kinds of potatoes simply won't do for what we're trying to accomplish here.  So let's get started!

We're going to start with the potatoes first because they take longer to cook than the fish does.  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Clockwise from top left:  two russet potatoes; then cut them in half; then cut each half in half, making quarters; then cut each quarter in half, slicing downward at a 45 degree angle.  You now have 16 pieces.

Now rinse all the pieces in water, both sides completely.  This is important.  There's a lot of starch in potatoes, and you want to rinse it away.  If you don't, they'll stick like mad to your pan and give you a gummy taste.  After you rinse the pieces, place them on a towel and put another towel on top.  Press down and dry each piece.  Put a good amount of oil (I never measure, maybe 1/2 cup) on a baking sheet.  Don't worry about using too much oil as the potatoes won't absorb that much.  Place all your slices on the oiled pan, and then turn them over so that all sides are well oiled.  Season your potatoes with your favorite seasonings.  (A prepared mix; salt and pepper; different herbs, etc.)  Put the potatoes in the oven.

Ta-da!!  What's this, you ask?  This, my dear readers, is the SECRET ingredient.  THIS is what will give you the most delicious, delightful, delectable fried coating on your fish--EVER.  A drum roll please . . . potato flakes.  Ha!  Yep.  You know those boxes of dried potato flakes they sell in the supermarkets?  The ones that make awful reconstituted mashed potatoes?  The ones you would never be caught using?  Well, they become a whole new product when you use them this way.  They redeem themselves!  As a coating, they fry up crisp and delicious with a sort of potato-chip crunchy taste.  And, of course, they're gluten-free.  :)

Set up your workstation like this:  Fish to the left, potato flakes in the middle, cutting board or platter to the right.  Place an eggwash in a bowl above.  It's one egg beaten with about 3/4-to-1 cup of milk (I never measure).  Slide each piece of fish into the egg wash and let it drain for a few seconds over the bowl.  Place it on the potato flakes and scoop up a bunch of flakes and dump them on top.  Press the flakes in well, adding and scooping up as you go until the fish is completely coated.  Set it aside on the board and do the same to all the other pieces.  

At this point, it may be time to check your potatoes.  If 10 minutes have passed, remove the potatoes from the oven and using thongs, turn each piece over.  Season them again and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Put about 1/4 inch of oil in a large nonstick electric frying pan and heat to 375 degrees.  (You can let it heat up while you're coating the fish.)  Place the fish in the hot oil and season with your favorite seasonings.  After 8-10 minutes, I turned over four of the pieces.  They were thinner pieces and they were cooking quicker.  I'll remove them from the pan sooner than the other pieces.  When you turn your fish, season it again.

At this point, it may be time to check your potatoes.  If 10 minutes have passed, remove the potatoes from the oven and using thongs, turn each piece over.  No need to season them again, just return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

 

Here are the potatoes after a total of 30 minutes.  Turn them one more time and place them in the oven for a final 10 minutes.  

At some point, while you are waiting for your potatoes to finish baking, the fish will be done.  Remove it to a serving platter.

Here you see the fried fish on the left and the finished potatoes on the right.  I placed them on some absorbent paper towels to remove any excess oil.

This looks ready to eat to me!  A nice coleslaw would be good with this and a lemon wedge to squeeze over the fish.

Here's a closeup.  Can you see how impossibly crispy that fish gets with the potato flake coating?  Each tiny piece makes it a personal mission to go "crunch" in your mouth!  And what about those fries, or "chips"?  Nice, huh?

2 lbs of fish (haddock or cod is good)

2 russet potatoes

dried potato flakes

1 egg and milk for an eggwash

oil for frying

POTATOES:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut each potato into eight wedges.  Rinse each wedge in water and dry on towels.  Place on a baking sheet with plenty of oil and coat each side of the wedges with oil.  Season and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn each wedge over.  Season and bake for another 10 minutes.  Turn the wedges again and bake for another 10 minutes.  Turn them one more time and bake for another 10 minutes, for a total of 40 minutes of baking.  Remove to a plate.

FISH:  Preheat a large electric frying pan to 375 degrees.  Add about 1/4 inch of oil.  Dip each piece of fish in the eggwash and then dredge in the potato flakes, pressing in well to make sure that each piece is completely coated with potato flakes.  Season the fish and then fry until browned (8-10 minutes).  Turn each piece over and season again.  Fry until brown and crispy.  Remove to a platter.

TIPS:

1.  Be certain any seasonings you use are gluten-free.

2.  Ovens vary dramatically in temperature.  I've given times for my oven.  If you notice your potatoes getting way too brown, you may have to remove them sooner than the allotted 40 minutes.