Helen's Delicious Pesach - Gluten-Free Cookbook Review

Until recently, there was this myth that a Passover recipe must either be bland  ("everything with flavor is forbidden") or the cardboard taste of matzoh is prevalent.  Neither are true in the slightest.   Such as the flavorful dishes Helen Goldrein provides in her Book Delicious Pesach (available now as an eBook).

Helen from family-friends-food provides many recipes that prove Passover recipes do not require  matzoh to be called a Passover recipe.  Her recipes are also 100% gluten-free.   If you have invited a guest with celiac disease who demurred due to the prevalence of gluten cooties in the usual Passover dishes, go ahead ... reinvite 'em.  They will certainly not starve at your Seder.  And neither will anyone else!
Since the author is British, the quantities are all in metric so have your grams to ounces app open.  But that slight inconvenience is worth overlooking, since once you get over that slight hump in the road, the recipes are easy to follow.   I tested three of them.


First are the banana pancakes.  For years I've come across recipes for banana pancakes that were tagged as gluten-free, but never bothered to read further since I assumed (and you know what happens when you assume) the ingredients would include "weird" gf flour and other additives.  This one being a passover-friendly  AND only 4 ingredients (not including the oil)  intrigued me enough to continue reading, then finally trying out a batch.

While the pancakes will never truly replace my standard flapjack, they were MUCH better than any other matzoh meal-laden pancakes I've ever had the "pleasure" of eating.  theHubs couldn't get past the pronounced banana flavor, but he was never a banana fan anyway so he doesn't count.  But this is a GREAT breakfast for fussy toddlers ... I have never met a child who refused bananas (a man child doesn't count).  Plus now, anyone who avoids gluten can enjoy a batch year-round.  And those who follow the more stricter non-gebrokts (no flour) rules of pesach, this recipe is perrrrfect.  Note -- I made a batch of my homemade pancake syrup to drizzle over them.  It is Passover-friendly as well.  Yum-o!


The second recipe tried was for the Garlic and Parmesan Roasted Vegetables.  I tried this dairy sidedish out with only carrots.  And loved it as well.  The nuttiness of the Parm cheese is offset by the sweet char coaed out by the short roast.  This would be great alongside fish.


The last recipe was for another root veggie:  beets (or beetroot as it is referred to in the cookbook).  Here, the earthiness of cumin is tamed by sweet orange juice.  I served this dish alongside steak, so the yogurt was omitted, dusting the beets with minced parsley instead.  Another keeper!  I totally recommend this book. 
*Note: I received a complimentary copy of the eCookbook from the author for the purpose of reviewing it. However, all opinions are completely my own.

 

Comments

  1. Thanks for the great review! So glad you enjoyed the book. Have a great Pesach đŸ˜€

    ReplyDelete

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