It's an unusual combination in mac & cheese, I agree, but the flavors are delicious together.  Leeks have a unique flavor that blends so nicely with a sharp cheddar and bit of Parmesan. The fennel adds some extra oomph of flavor that I love.  All in all, it was a hit around this house. And it's the perfect cold weather type comfort food.  Enjoy! 

Had some baked sweet potato fries on the side. Yum!

Leek & Fennel Mac & Cheese

While you're preparing your sauce, you can boil your pasta as follows: 

Pasta:

Boil large pot of water + 1 Tbsp salt over high heat. 

Add and cook until desired tenderness: 

1 340g package GF macaroni (or noodle of your choice)

Drain, rinse and set aside until ready to mix into prepared sauce.  

Sauce:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat and cook the leeks are softened, but not mushy (~5-7 minutes): 

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

small leek, sliced (washed well)

1/4 - 1/2 fennel bulb & shoots

2 shallots, sliced

1 tsp garlic salt (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt)

1/2 tsp pepper

Cooking up the veggies.

Add and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally: 

2 cups milk

1 cup water + 1 tsp GF chicken bouillon paste 

Getting ready to thicken the sauce!

In a small bowl, whisk together: 

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Mix the cornstarch mixture into the bubbling sauce, stirring until thickens and returns to boil for one minute.  Remove from heat and add: 

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Nice and cheesy, and ready for the noodles. 

Add in the cooked, drained and rinsed pasta to the cheesy sauce.  Stir together well and serve!  Enjoy!

A tasty, rich mac and cheese. Yum!

Leek & Fennel Mac & Cheese Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Vietnamese-style Fried Spring Rolls - gluten-free with homemade dipping sauce

Fried spring rolls always seem like something to dream of eating, unless you can find ones made with rice wrappers and fried in a designated gluten-free fryer. I've only ever found them at a couple of Vietnamese restaurants and they are delicious!  However, sometimes I want to be able to make and eat them at home.   After many attempts, I finally figured out the trick!  They need to be wrapped tightly, but most importantly, they need to have time sitting and drying in the refrigerator.  Any damp spots on the outer edges of your rice wrapper will be weak and liable to break while frying.  This recipe takes some preparation, but mostly you need to make the filling and roll up your spring rolls well in advance, so they'll have time to dry thoroughly before you fry them up! Enjoy!!!!

Freshly wrapped spring rolls, ready for drying and then frying! 

Yes, these tasted like restaurant-style friend spring rolls! Yum! 

Fried Spring Rolls
Makes ~24 fried spring rolls (yes, you can halve the recipe!)

This recipe requires time for preparation, cooling, and drying.  Make sure you prepare the meat/vegetable filling early so it can cool.  Once you fill/wrap your spring rolls, you'll want them to dry in the the refrigerator ~2 hours before frying to alleviate stickiness upon cooking. 

Filling:
In a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, heat:
1 Tbsp avocado oil (or oil of your choice)

Add and cook 2-3 minutes:
2-3 leeks, thinly sliced and rinsed thoroughly
2 bunches green onions (~12 stalks), thinly sliced
salt & pepper (just enough to sprinkle/grind over the top)

Add, stirring until pork is cooked thoroughly (a few minutes):
3/4 lb ground pork

Add and cook 1 minute:
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
6-7 cloves garlic, minced

Add and cook 1 minute, then remove from heat:
2-3 Tbsp Bragg's soy seasoning (or GF soy sauce)
1 tsp agave or 1 tsp sugar

Put pork/vegetable mixture into refrigerator and allow to cool at least 1 hour.

Freshly made filling. 

Fill a large pot 1/4 - 1/2 with water and bring to a boil.
Boil 1/3 pkg of rice vermicelli noodles + 2 tsp salt for 5 minutes.  Drain and place noodles in a bowl.

Have a tea kettle of hot/boiling water readily available for preparing spring rolls.

Fill a plate with boiling water.  Quickly dip spring roll wrapper (rice wrapper) in hot/boiling water.   Place wrapper on a fresh plate, and quickly fill with a small handful of noodles and small spoonful of pork/vegetable filling.  Wrap the spring roll by tightly wrapping one half, folding in both sides, then fully rolling (like a burrito or egg roll).

A dollop of rice noodles and filling in the center of a dampened rice wrapper. 

Roll up one side, then tuck in the two outer edges.  Then you can roll it up the rest of the way.  

Place your freshly wrapped spring roll on a plastic-wrap lined pan or cutting board (one that will fit into the refrigerator).   Repeat with as many spring rolls as you like, changing out the water regularly so you are using very hot water.  You have filling to make ~25-30 - *the extra filling is great mixed with the noodles, or served atop noodles if you don't want to make a huge number of spring rolls.

Let spring rolls dry in the refrigerator 1 hour.  Flip them all over, and let them continue to dry on the other side for 1 hour (or longer).  *This is a key part of making these fried spring rolls.  If you don't let them dry, they'll break/burst during frying.

Spring rolls, partway through drying, being rolled over. 

Heat frying oil in deep-fryer to ~350-360 F.   Carefully place a spring roll into the oil.  Let it cook briefly, before rolling it over, to allow that side to cook briefly.  This will help remove the stickiness from the outer sides of the rice wrapper.  Carefully repeat, until you have 3 rolls cooking.   If the rolls touch before they have a chance to cook a little, they can stick together.  Not the end of the world, since they're still edible, but you don't end up with nice individual spring rolls.

Cook each roll approximately 3 minutes, until just browning.  The edges will be nice and crispy.  Remove to paper towel-lined pan or plate.

Serve hot, alongside dipping sauce of your choice, or the mix together the following dipping sauce:

Delicious fried spring roll dipping sauce: 

Mix together the following:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp Bragg's soy seasoning (or GF soy sauce)
1-2 tsp agave
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic-chili sauce

Enjoy!!!

Gluten-Free Leek Quiche

This was one of those recipes I initially whipped together using wonderful local produce while we were visiting Bruges, Belgium.  While travelling, it can be difficult locating usual gluten-free flours that you typically use, but the great thing about quiche is that you can throw together a mix of whatever flours are available to you (I was able to easily locate cornstarch and buckwheat flour, also called sarrasin flour, which I used here), chop in some butter and salt using two knives and press it into the pan.   Leeks are a wonderfully flavorful vegetable, and add a great depth of taste whenever used.  We love them in the tasty potato, zucchini and leek side dish - and you can use leftovers from that side dish in this recipe, as described below.  Enjoy!

Fresh gluten-free leek quiche - great hot, warm or cooled! 

Gluten-Free Leek Quiche
Serves 8

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Chop together using two knives or pastry cutter in a mixing bowl:
1 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix OR 1 cup blend of Gluten-Free flours available (the lack of xanthan gum will make the crust a little more crumbly than normal - it will still taste great)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil 

Press the pie crust pastry into a pie pan or similar sized baking dish.

Pie crust pressed into an oval ceramic baking dish - an attractive alternative to an ordinary pie pan.

Saute in a frying pan over medium-high heat:
3 Tbsp olive oil  
1-2 shallots, diced
3 cups leeks, sliced and well-rinsed/dried

Let cook 4-5 minutes, until the shallots and leeks are looking wilted, but not soft.
If you have any leftover potato, zucchini and leek side dish, you can toss that in and let it heat up 1 minute.

Beautiful sauteed leeks, with a little leftover potato, zucchini & leek side dish tossed in.

Spread leek mixture over your crust.

Whisk together the following and then pour over leeks:
6 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk (or cream for a richer quiche)
salt & pepper

Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes, until quiche is set in the middle.  Depending on your oven, it may need a few extra minutes to set in the middle, but I find mine is usually done between 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven to a cooling rack.  Let the quiche rest 5 minutes before serving.

Great served hot, warm or cooled.  Enjoy! 

Tasty Potato, Zucchini & Leek Side Dish

You can make this dish to serve more or less people, as desired, which makes it a nice and versatile side dish for any meal.  Wonderful with roasted ham and other side salads.  I whipped this together using lovely fresh vegetables from a local farmer's market while visiting Belgium.  Some potatoes are softer than others when cooked, so it's best to ask at your local grocer which potatoes would be best for boiling and then frying in a pan. Some potatoes start to break apart during frying (the taste is still great, but it won't end up as nice and crisp at the end).  The mix of butter, oil and leeks makes for a delicious and tasty dish.

Potato, Zucchini and Leek Side Dish frying over medium-high heat, a few minutes from being ready to serve!

Tasty Potato, Zucchini & Leek Side Dish
Serves 4-6

Wash well, then boil in water (usually takes about 10-12 minutes for small potatoes) & then slice:
6-10 baby potatoes (I aim for 2-3 large handfuls, you can also peel the potatoes, if desired)

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, place:
1-2 Tbsp butter
1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Add and let cook 3-5 minutes, until leeks are just starting to soften:
1 small zucchini, sliced and chopped
1 leek, thinly sliced and well-washed
1-2 shallots, finely chopped (optional)

Leeks and shallots cooking in butter

Add boiled, sliced potatoes and continue cooking over medium heat until vegetables are at your desired crispiness. You can let them brown a bit, or leave them just nice and hot but not browned/crispy.  Best served hot.  Enjoy!

Just crisped and ready to serve alongside some local roast ham. 

Leek & Potato Soup

 I fell in love with leek & potato soup while living in England.  (Leeks seemed to be plentiful over there).  It's a rich, creamy soup that is just perfect for chilly weather.  I find that locating leeks where I live can be hit or miss.  Luckily, our organic veggie CSA grew some lovely leeks this fall and we put them to use in a soup that was absolutely loved by everyone.  I had no idea it would be such a hit with the kids, but they inhaled it and asked for more.  I also love that while the soup is rich and creamy, it actually has no cream in it. Enjoy!

GF Leek & Potato Soup - My son inhaling his leek & potato soup

Leek & Potato Soup
Based on a recipe from Comfort Foods by Bridget Jones (this happens to be my favorite cookbook of all time)
Serves 6-8 

In a large pot over medium-high heat combine:
1/2 cup butter
~3 cups chopped potatoes (use thin-skinned, washed potatoes)
2 large leeks, sliced thinly & rinsed (don't use the very bottom or the dark green tops)
2-3 medium onions, chopped

Wait until the mixture is bubbling nicely.  Put on the lid, lower the heat to low and let the veggies steam for ~15 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high.  Remove lid and add:
6 cups chicken broth
2 tsp salt
3/4 - 1 tsp ground pepper

Bring soup to a boil.  Once the soup is boiling, cover and lower heat again.  Let simmer ~20 minutes.

Blend with a stick blender.  You don't want to over-blend or the soup can get a bit too thick.  There will be some smaller pieces of veggies in the soup, but this is okay.

Wonderful served with fresh GF cornbread, made on a cookie sheet so the pieces are nice and thin for dipping.  Enjoy!