Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: dairy free

Watercress Pesto

I luuurve pesto. Even more so when I discovered it it's super easy to make dairy free – you just don't add the cheese!

You can make pesto from pretty much any fresh green herb and nut combination. The basic idea is fresh herbs + nuts + oil + garlic. Watercress was on special at the supermarket and I had almonds in the cupboard hence this combination. Luckily it was delicious.

The quantities in this recipe are approximate as I was making this the fly without measuring anything.

Watercress Pesto

1 bunch watercress
1/2 cup dry roasted almonds
1 lemon, juiced
splash oil
4 garlic cloves

Grind almonds in a spice grinder. Set aside.

Wash and roughly chop the watetcress. Whizz in the blender.

Mince garlic in a garlic press or chop finely.

Add the ground almonds, oil, lemon juice and garlic cloves.

Whizz until nice and creamy.

Serve with pasta, as a dip, on toast or straight from the jar!

Other good herb & nut combinations: coriander & cashew; traditional basil & pine nut

September 3, 2018
Watercress Pesto

I luuurve pesto. Even more so when I discovered it it's super easy to make dairy free – you just don't add the cheese!

You can make pesto from pretty much any fresh green herb and nut combination. The basic idea is fresh herbs + nuts + oil + garlic. Watercress was on special at the supermarket and I had almonds in the cupboard hence this combination. Luckily it was delicious.

The quantities in this recipe are approximate as I was making this the fly without measuring anything.

Watercress Pesto

1 bunch watercress
1/2 cup dry roasted almonds
1 lemon, juiced
splash oil
4 garlic cloves

Grind almonds in a spice grinder. Set aside.

Wash and roughly chop the watetcress. Whizz in the blender.

Mince garlic in a garlic press or chop finely.

Add the ground almonds, oil, lemon juice and garlic cloves.

Whizz until nice and creamy.

Serve with pasta, as a dip, on toast or straight from the jar!

Other good herb & nut combinations: coriander & cashew; traditional basil & pine nut

September 3, 2018
Sauerkraut Recipe

I can't believe how easy this recipe is. And I've been paying $15 a jar for sauerkraut to heal my gut! I can't eat dairy so I need to get my probiotics somehow. Luckily I love sauerkraut, must be my German heritage. I used these recipes for inspiration. And a big shout-out to Kate for inspiring me with her homemade kim chi.

Sauerkraut Recipe

1 large savoy cabbage, cut into quarters

1 tbsp pink himalayan salt / quarter

1/2 – 1tsp caraway seeds / quarter

4 clean glass jars

Remove the outer, wilted leaves.

Set aside a couple of large leaves.

Cut your cabbage into quarters – cut out the thick, white ribs and discard.

Chop one quarter finely and place in a large bowl.

Sprinkle 1tbsp salt over the top.

With your hands, massage the salt into the cabbage for five minutes or until it reduces in size and produces liquid.

Spoon your cabbage and the liquid into the clean glass jar and press it firmly down.

Fold a piece of cabbage leaf on top and press down so the cut cabbage is beneath the liquid. This prevents it getting mouldy and makes sure it ferments.

Place the lid loosely on top so liquid can bubble out as it ferments.

Repeat for the remaining three quarters.

Put the jars on to a plate and leave somewhere warm. The top of the fridge is ideal.

Wait for up to six weeks – I lasted three days with this, my first batch!

FireKraut Recipe

as above plus:

2 cayenne peppers

To make firekraut add one small, whole cayenne pepper to your jar.

Make the kraut as above, chop the second cayenne pepper finely and add to the cabbage just before putting it in the jar.

I made these variations:

Black lids - 1 tbsp salt each, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds in one, none in the other

Silver lid – 1 tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds

Funny shape – 1 tbsp salt, 1 chopped cayenne pepper, 1 whole pepper, 1 tsp caraway seeds

My favourite is the sauerkraut with caraway seeds. I haven't been game to try the fire kraut – it smells really spicy!

June 3, 2018
Sauerkraut Recipe

I can't believe how easy this recipe is. And I've been paying $15 a jar for sauerkraut to heal my gut! I can't eat dairy so I need to get my probiotics somehow. Luckily I love sauerkraut, must be my German heritage. I used these recipes for inspiration. And a big shout-out to Kate for inspiring me with her homemade kim chi.

Sauerkraut Recipe

1 large savoy cabbage, cut into quarters

1 tbsp pink himalayan salt / quarter

1/2 – 1tsp caraway seeds / quarter

4 clean glass jars

Remove the outer, wilted leaves.

Set aside a couple of large leaves.

Cut your cabbage into quarters – cut out the thick, white ribs and discard.

Chop one quarter finely and place in a large bowl.

Sprinkle 1tbsp salt over the top.

With your hands, massage the salt into the cabbage for five minutes or until it reduces in size and produces liquid.

Spoon your cabbage and the liquid into the clean glass jar and press it firmly down.

Fold a piece of cabbage leaf on top and press down so the cut cabbage is beneath the liquid. This prevents it getting mouldy and makes sure it ferments.

Place the lid loosely on top so liquid can bubble out as it ferments.

Repeat for the remaining three quarters.

Put the jars on to a plate and leave somewhere warm. The top of the fridge is ideal.

Wait for up to six weeks – I lasted three days with this, my first batch!

FireKraut Recipe

as above plus:

2 cayenne peppers

To make firekraut add one small, whole cayenne pepper to your jar.

Make the kraut as above, chop the second cayenne pepper finely and add to the cabbage just before putting it in the jar.

I made these variations:

Black lids - 1 tbsp salt each, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds in one, none in the other

Silver lid – 1 tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds

Funny shape – 1 tbsp salt, 1 chopped cayenne pepper, 1 whole pepper, 1 tsp caraway seeds

My favourite is the sauerkraut with caraway seeds. I haven't been game to try the fire kraut – it smells really spicy!

June 3, 2018
Tapenade Recipe

I devour tapenade by the spoonful, straight from the jar. The kids love it too, spread on toast. With the amount of tapenade we consume in this house, it was high time we learnt to make it ourselves. Miss Twelve really wanted us to make it with olives we had pickled ourselves but unfortunately our pickling was a disaster so we had to resort to store bought olives for this recipe. One day we shall make tapenade with our own olives!

Tapenade Recipe

1 heaped cup of pitted black (kalamatta or nicoise) olives

2 anchovy fillets

2 tbsp capers

1 fat garlic glove

2 tsp fresh thyme

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1/2 lemon, juiced

3 tbsp olive oil

Throw everything except the oil into a food processor.

Pulse until coarsely chopped.

The slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending until a paste forms.

Spoon into jars and store in the fridge. It apparently keeps for ages but we don't have that problem around here – our first jar was eaten in one day!

Delicious on crackers, toast or by the spoonful straight from the jar!

February 4, 2018
Tapenade Recipe

I devour tapenade by the spoonful, straight from the jar. The kids love it too, spread on toast. With the amount of tapenade we consume in this house, it was high time we learnt to make it ourselves. Miss Twelve really wanted us to make it with olives we had pickled ourselves but unfortunately our pickling was a disaster so we had to resort to store bought olives for this recipe. One day we shall make tapenade with our own olives!

Tapenade Recipe

1 heaped cup of pitted black (kalamatta or nicoise) olives

2 anchovy fillets

2 tbsp capers

1 fat garlic glove

2 tsp fresh thyme

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1/2 lemon, juiced

3 tbsp olive oil

Throw everything except the oil into a food processor.

Pulse until coarsely chopped.

The slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending until a paste forms.

Spoon into jars and store in the fridge. It apparently keeps for ages but we don't have that problem around here – our first jar was eaten in one day!

Delicious on crackers, toast or by the spoonful straight from the jar!

February 4, 2018
Nut Loaf

This recipe is a current favourite and my go-to for when I need to bring a dish to share. It's vegetarian, gluten and dairy free which suits most diets and is very tasty.

I'm trying to eat less meat but still make sure I'm getting enough protein in my diet so I have energy for making and baking. This recipe is great because it has protein from the nuts, quinoa and eggs making it a great lunch or dinner.

Nut Loaf

1 cup quinoa

1 cup raw almonds

3 large eggs

1 tin cooked lentils

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1tsp turmeric

2 celery stalks

2 large zucchini (aka courgettes)

splash of olive oil

Line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

Cook the quinoa using the evaporation method. Put 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Boil until all the water has evaporated. Put the lid on and let sit for 10 minutes until the quinoa gets all fluffy.

While the quinoa is cooking, use a spice grinder to grind the almonds into almond meal.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs together. Add the almond meal and tin of lentils and stir well.

In a large frying pan gently fry the onion, garlic and turmeric until soft.

While the onion is frying, grate the zucchini and chop the celery into small pieces. Add the grated zucchini and celery to the pan and fry until soft.

Add the veggies, cooled quinoa and a splash of oil to the bowl with the almond mixture and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin.

Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Cool in the pan.

Tip out of the pan and cut into slices. It gets crumbly when it's warm but it's so yummy!

November 20, 2017
Nut Loaf

This recipe is a current favourite and my go-to for when I need to bring a dish to share. It's vegetarian, gluten and dairy free which suits most diets and is very tasty.

I'm trying to eat less meat but still make sure I'm getting enough protein in my diet so I have energy for making and baking. This recipe is great because it has protein from the nuts, quinoa and eggs making it a great lunch or dinner.

Nut Loaf

1 cup quinoa

1 cup raw almonds

3 large eggs

1 tin cooked lentils

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1tsp turmeric

2 celery stalks

2 large zucchini (aka courgettes)

splash of olive oil

Line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

Cook the quinoa using the evaporation method. Put 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Boil until all the water has evaporated. Put the lid on and let sit for 10 minutes until the quinoa gets all fluffy.

While the quinoa is cooking, use a spice grinder to grind the almonds into almond meal.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs together. Add the almond meal and tin of lentils and stir well.

In a large frying pan gently fry the onion, garlic and turmeric until soft.

While the onion is frying, grate the zucchini and chop the celery into small pieces. Add the grated zucchini and celery to the pan and fry until soft.

Add the veggies, cooled quinoa and a splash of oil to the bowl with the almond mixture and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin.

Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Cool in the pan.

Tip out of the pan and cut into slices. It gets crumbly when it's warm but it's so yummy!

November 20, 2017
Happy Winter Solstice!

It's hard to believe it's already the winter solstice again. It seems far too soon to be celebrating the longest night and shortest day. Especially with the gorgeous sunny weather we have been having recently. For me the solstice marks the beginning of winter and the dive headlong into the cold of July and August.

In the past I've dreaded the coming of winter and the fading of the light. I love the feeling of sun on my face and cloudy winter days leave me moody and downhearted. But I've recently realised winter also is the time when I am at my most creative. It's when I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to share my thoughts and ideas. It's also the time when I crave making things with my hands and always have a project on the go. At the moment it's finishing my arm warmers with a crochet beanie waiting in the wings. So this year I am embracing the positive aspects of the season and getting outdoors as much as possible in the times when I'm not making or writing.

Each year we celebrate the solstice with lots of warm, hearty and filling dishes. These recipes tend to be made just for the solstice so they are pretty special and eagerly looked forward to. My favourites are the tropical rice pudding and homemade hot chocolate. I also make pumpkin soup for the rest of the family and this year we also had homemade rye soda bread.

Solstice this year was extra special as we had the whole family in the kitchen together making food for our celebration. The girls loved making the bread and pudding. Licking the spoon never gets old! Gareth chopped up the onions and pumpkin for the soup. It was lovely to be able to include him in all our celebrations. He usually comes home after work, just in time for pudding.

We rug up warmly after dinner and take our homemade candle lanterns for a walk around the block, singing our solstice song as we go. Although I feel this tradition may not last for very much longer as even Phoebe who is now seven is starting to make noises about it being stupid (it's the most popular adjective around here and is used for just about, well, everything.)

Happy winter solstice friends!

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June 22, 2017
Cacao Chia Pudding

This has got to be the easiest dessert recipe ever. And it’s super tasty. Just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate over night. Serve next day topped with mango and/or berries. Yum!

I swear it tastes like chocolate mousse. Of course it has been a very long time since I’ve had that particular dessert so I could be wrong but I think it’s actually better. Super yum and no sugar at all. Yay!

Cacao Chia Pudding

1/4 cup chia seeds
I can coconut milk or cream
2 tbsp cacao
1/2 vanilla pod
2 tbsp cinnamon

To serve:
Mango or fresh berries
Few slivered almonds

Add chia seeds, coconut milk, cacao, cinnamon and seeds from the vanilla pod to a large bowl.

Refrigerate overnight.

Spoon into small bowls.

Top with fresh fruit (mango or fresh berries) and slivered almonds.

February 9, 2017