Tapas for tea!

Tapas for Tea platter

Good ol' tapas. The perfect meal for anyone with a gluten/wheat intolerance.


After a mid-week boozy visit to La Tasca (review on its way) I boldly announced to the Big Fella that I would assemble tapas for tea on Saturday night. He gave his trademark wry smile and mumbled something about digging out the takeaway menus instead. The cheek!


So, Saturday morning I headed to Cardiff Market to stock up on essential tapas ingredients - antipasto and potatoes!


The olives from the Market Deli were divine. They were also very reasonable priced and for a mere £3.60 I had a tub packed to bursting with black olives, green olives and feta stuffed olives. How I got them home on the bus without devouring them first is a testament to my strength of character! 


Needless to say, they were delicious. A mixture of juicy, spicy and bitter olives. Pickled garlic cloves are a particular favourite of mine and made a welcome appearance on the tapas platter.


It's simply unthinkable to serve tapas sin patatas bravas. The simplicity of potatoes in a spicy  tomato sauce is comfort food par excellence. I used this recipe from the BBC Good Food website which had maximum taste for minimum effort. The only thing I would change would be to make the potato chunks bigger. Mine were too small. Oh well, guess I'll have to make another batch now (I'm such a perfectionist)!


Next on the tapas for tea menu was leek and potato tortilla, again from the BBC Good Food website. Their recipe calls for 85g of cheese but I rarely eat cheese (unlike the Big Fella who can often be spotted nibbling a piece from the fridge) so I omitted it from the recipe and added a red onion. It still tasted wonderful! 

Leek and potato tortilla

Next up was garlic bread ciabatta. I discovered a gluten free Italian sun-dried tomato ciabatta on sale in Beanfreaks, a local health food store in Cardiff. The ciabatta was supplied by Tortoise Bakery, a local bakery based in Bridgend, and I have to say it was the best gluten free ciabatta loaf I have ever tasted! The texture was light and crispy and tasted wonderful baked in the oven and served with home made garlic and herb butter. Having devoured the entire loaf between us, the Big Fella and I both agreed that we would be seeking out more baked delights from Tortoise Bakery!

Italian sun-dried tomato ciabatta from Tortoise Bakery

Rarely do I let the Big Fella within a mile of the kitchen when I'm cooking ("Oh, I wouldn't do it that way") but this time I allowed the Big Fella to roll his sleaves up and assembly a green salad with balsamic vinegar and open the gluten free beer. Both of which complimented the above dishes perfectly. 


The entire meal really was quick and easy to prepare and tasted absolutely wonderful. The seal of approval came from the Big Fella who gave it two greasy thumbs. I am racking up the good boyfriend points at the moment - at this rate, I'll be putting my feet up all winter while he does the cooking and cleaning!


Do you have any vegetarian and gluten free tapas treats to share? Do let me know!

Macaroon cake GF recipe

I saw this on one of my favourite food blogs and given that it was for a gluten free macaroon cake, I thought I'd share it with you!  TTT Macaroon cake with raspberries


I haven't made it myself but I will do very soon! The recipe looks straightforward and the blogger says it was very tasty.


Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear what you think.

Reviewing ASK's gluten free summer menu

Eating out has never been so cheap affordable, thanks to the likes of Voucher Cloud and my own personal favourite, o2 Priority Moments. 


Nothing pleases me more than a 2-for-£10 offer or a buy-one-main-meal-get-another-for-£1. Don't mind if I do!


So, armed with a variety of printed coupons and mobile phone voucher codes, myself and the Big Fella decided to try the new summer menu at ASK.


Of course, living in good ol' Blighty, specifically Cardiff, summer is a season that happens to other countries. But nonetheless, the promise of a break in the clouds and a discount meal experience spurred us on.


We often eat at ASK. It is our our default restaurant when indecision threatens to fracture a 12 year relationship. Although, the main reason is they offer gluten free pasta. I've noticed a lot more chains offer this and as someone with a gluten/wheat intolerance, it is very welcome.


Like I say, I am very familiar with ASK and as soon as I heard of their new summer menu I knew just what to expect: asparagus, peas and courgette-based specials. Well, it is seasonal!


I always find the staff at Cardiff ASK particularly helpful and very friendly. It is a joy to be served by them. Chatty but not intrusive; attentive but not acting like you brought your personal  chambermaid to attend to your every wish. Perhaps it's because of my line of work but I place great importance on first impressions and customer experience.


The restaurant itself has a pleasant atmosphere. It's not a huge space but the light décor and large windows make the space feel roomy. I always opt for a table near the window so I can people watch as I sup my wine. 


Admittedly, I don't have a big appetite (unlike the Big Fella, who, bless his heart, loves his food) so I opt for olives as a starter. Much like the Hulk, these were big and green and bursting with flavour! I made these bad boys last the whole meal, such were their size!


For mains, I tried the Fettuccine con Verdure. ASK use Doves Farm Organic pasta which is one of the best GF pastas out there. I should point out, however, you have no choice on the shape of pasta. It's pasta tubes or lump it!


I've not tasted this dish before...and I am in no rush to again. In a word, bland. For me, there was simply too much pasta at the expense of any taste. The olive tapenade was dotted around but couldn't compete with an onslaught of pasta! The courgettes, green-beans and tomatoes were fresh and tasty but the flavours far too subtle for that amount of pasta. It wasn't particularly spicy so I had to add chilli oil to give it an extra kick.


We didn't have afters. The voucher offer didn't include discounted desserts. Shame. But we did have a bottle of the house wine. Their Montepulciano D'Abruzzo is delicious. Soft, medium bodied and bursting with a juicy cherry flavour. A great house wine.


I would most certainly return to ASK. I have had many of their dishes, including their risotto and salads, and they have always been full of flavour. Sadly, this was one dish that didn't excite my taste buds.


Friendly staff, great wine,  and a good gluten free menu. Just be sure to choose a pasta dish that is more flavoursome than the one I had.

Gluten free treats at Hereford Cathedral

On a spontaneous day trip to the gorgeous city of Hereford, I realised I hadn't researched café's or restaurants that could cater for my dietary requirements. And neither had I brought a gluten free packed lunch! Bad planning on my part...


Imagine my surprise (and delight) to discover a range of tasty gluten free cakes at Cloister Café, just outside the Mappa Mundi exhibition at Hereford Cathedral.  


After much umming and arhing, I decided on the spiced apple cake (see picture). It's fair to say the staff didn't skimp and I had a very large slice of what was a lovely cake. It was very crumbly, which can often happen with home-baked gluten free food. Although, having discovered xantham gum my home baked goodies are less crumbly! 


Nevertheless, the cake was tasty and the spiced apple and cinnamon flavours worked exceedingly well! It wasn't too dry and was the perfect accompaniment for their filter coffee.


There were two other choices; cherry shortbread or ginger shortbread. Three gluten free treats on the menu - talk about spoilt for choice! It was also all very reasonably prices and the staff were very friendly and helpful.


Hereford is a beautiful place and I most certainly will be returning to Cloister Café to sample their other gluten free cakes! Highly recommended!

Gluten free beer in the Co op!

My local branch of the Co op continues to extend their Free From range and are now selling Green's Premium Golden Ale gluten free beer.


As someone who hasn't had beer for ages, I am delighted that I can now easily buy gluten free beer with my weekly shop!


Is it any good? I really enjoyed it, although that could have been because I haven't had a beer for a while and I was salivating at the thought of finally rewarding my taste buds with a delicious ale! It wasn't particularly full bodied and real ale drinkers would possibly find it a bit bland. It tasted more like a lager but overall, I found it quite light and refreshing.  I have since been back and popped a few more bottles in my trolley, so obviously it ticked all the right boxes for me!


It had enough of a beer taste to satisfy my beer-starved taste buds and if you fancy a gluten free beer then this will most certainly quench your thirst.


To be drunk responsibly, of course!

La Tasca's new menu

La Tasca have launched a new menu which includes gluten free beer! The beer is really nice and goes very well with tapas.

It's great to be able to drink beer at a restaurant again!