Even Greek food can be gluten-free — and these finger-licking-good recipes from Australia-based cookbook author, food connoisseur and TV personality Helen Tzouganatos will have you rethinking your food table.
Tzouganatos has become affectionately known as Australia’s “gluten-free queen,” the first person people turn to when seeking the trick on how to turn their favorite recipes into foods that all can eat.
Originating from Sydney, Tzouganatos discovered she was a coeliac 13 years ago during IVF treatment, after which her doctor told her to eliminate gluten from her diet to heal inflammation in her body.
“There were not many gluten free offerings in the market at the time. You couldn’t even find a single loaf of gluten free bread in the supermarket and what was available in health food stores was horrible,” Tzouganatos said. “So I started experimenting with gluten-free ingredients at home.”
After more than a decade of trial-and-error Tzouganatos said she has now “mastered” the art of gluten-free cooking.
Before her culinary adventures, Tzouganatos she spent most of her career working as a marketing manager for some of the largest food companies in the world — including Nestle and Kellogg’s. But she said that her real passion always lay in “making beautiful food from scratch” in her home kitchen.
In 2015 she left the corporate world and launched her food blog “Hungry and Fussy” as a creative outlet and way of staying mentally stimulated with three young kids at home.
Fast forward four years and Tzouganatos has published her first hardcover cookbook, become a TV presenter and hosted Australia’s first gluten-free TV series, “Loving Gluten Free” for SBS Food.
See the ingredients and instructions for three of her very own gluten-free recipes below — and try bringing them into your own kitchen.
1. Gluten-free Spanakopita
Ingredients
** Serves 4 – 6
** NOTE: The spanakopita is made using Tzouganatos’ gluten free rough puff pastry. See the separate instructions and ingredients for this below.
Cheese & Spinach Filling
- 300g ricotta
- 200g Dodoni feta cheese
- 1 cup silverbeet or English spinach, chopped
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- Pinch of cracked pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil for brushing
- Sesame seeds (optional)
- GLUTEN FREE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY (Separate ingredients/instructions follow) **
Rough Puff Pastry
Tzouganatos’ golden rules for a perfect golden puff pastry are:
- All ingredients and utensils should be as cold as possible. Ensure your butter is very cold or even frozen. If you do freeze the butter ensure you cube it first otherwise you may lose some fingers. You need those!
- The initial dough should be rough looking like the picture above. Visible chunks of butter are a good thing in puff pastry. When the visible pieces of butter melt in a hot oven oven they help create a flaky texture so don’t overwork the butter into the pastry dough.
- Roll the dough as thinly as possible between two sheets of baking paper when ready to use to ensure your cooked pastry is crispy and not gluggy.
- Cook puff pastry at a high temperature of at least 400 F to achieve maximum lift.
Pastry Ingredients
- 1 cup or 120g cornflour
- ¾ cup or 120g potato starch
- ½ cup or 70g sorghum flour
- 2 tsp xantham gum
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- 250g very cold butter, cubed
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup chilled water
** NOTE: When ingredient shopping be careful not to confuse potato starch with potato flour, they are not the same thing. Potato starch is made from the dried starch component of potatoes and has no potato flavor. It creates a beautiful light fluffy texture in baked goods. Potato flour is a heavy cream flour made from whole potatoes and has a distinct potato flavor. Tzouganatos bakes exclusively with potato starch.
Pastry Instructions
Conventional Method
- Put the cornflour, potato starch, sorghum flour, xantham gum and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add the cold butter and egg and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the water and mix until the dough resembles rubble.
- Tip the rubble onto a sheet of baking paper and press together with your dusted hands into a rectangular shape. Place another baking sheet on top and roll out the dough, you still want to see butter streaks so don’t overwork the butter. Fold the top and bottom short edges to meet at the centre then fold pastry in half. Wrap pastry in cling wrap and rest in fridge for 30 min. Repeat the roll and fold 2 more times, if your dough is too sticky dust with some extra cornflour.
- When ready to use roll out pastry between two sheets of baking paper to produce a thin pastry sheet which will deliver a flakier texture.
Thermomix Method
- Put the cornflour, potato starch, sorghum flour, xantham gum and salt in Thermomix and combine 3 sec/speed 4.
- Add the cold butter and egg and mix 5 sec/speed 4 until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- With the motor running add chilled water and mix 5 sec/speed 3 until just combined.
- Tip the rubble onto a sheet of baking paper and press together with your dusted hands into a rectangular shape. Place another baking sheet on top and roll out the dough, you still want to see butter streaks so don’t overwork the butter. Fold the top and bottom short edges to meet at the centre then fold pastry in half. Wrap pastry in cling wrap and rest in fridge for 30 min. Repeat the roll and fold 2 more times, if your dough is too sticky dust with some extra cornflour.
- When ready to use roll out pastry between two sheets of baking paper to produce a thin pastry sheet which will deliver a flakier texture.
Spanakopita Instructions
Conventional Method
- Combine filling ingredients in bowl and mix thoroughly with hands.
- Remove gluten-free rough puff pastry from fridge and place on a dusted surface. Slice into three long strips and roll each strip out thinly between two sheets of baking paper. A thinner pastry will deliver a crispier texture.
- Place a strip of cheese filling along edge of pastry. Brush long pastry edges with beaten egg.
- Use a pastry scraper to gently lift the long edge of the pastry and roll it over the filling. Pinch each end to seal. Twist into a coil.
- Generously brush top of pastry coil with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Place coil on lined baking tray. Cook for 40-45 minutes on 400 F oven or until golden brown.
Thermomix Method
- For the filling add spinach and herbs to mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix 5 sec/speed 3.
- Remove pastry from fridge and place on a dusted surface. Slice pastry into three long strips and roll each strip out thinly between two sheets of baking paper. A thinner pastry will deliver a crispier texture.
- Place a strip of cheese filling along edge of pastry. Brush long pastry edges with beaten egg.
- Use a pastry scraper to gently lift the long edge of the pastry and roll it over the filling. Pinch each end to seal. Twist into a coil.
- Generously brush top of pastry coil with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Place coil on lined baking tray. Cook for 40-45 minutes in 400 F oven or until golden brown.
2. Gluten-free Moussaka
Ingredients
** Serves 6 – 8
- 2 large eggplants, thinly sliced
- 2 large sebago potatoes – peeled, sliced and steamed*
- Olive oil for frying
Lamb Bolognese
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 500g lamb mince
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbs rosemary, chopped
- 600g tin crushed tomato
- 2 tbs tomato paste
- Cinnamon quill
- Pinch of grated nutmeg
- Sea salt and cracked pepper to season
Bechamel
- 100g butter
- 100g gluten free plain flour
- 800mL full cream milk
- 100g kefalograviera cheese, grated
- 1 beaten egg
- Pinch of cinnamon
** NOTE: Potato slices can be steamed in the microwave or in a steam basket on the stovetop.
Instructions
Conventional Method
- For the lamb bolognese, heat olive oil in a medium sized pot, add onion and garlic and sauté until soft.
- Add mince, oregano, rosemary and brown.
- Add crushed tomato, tomato paste, cinnamon quill and nutmeg. Cover and simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper.
- Salt the eggplant slices. Drizzle olive oil in a frypan and pan fry the eggplant over medium – high heat in batches. Drain eggplant on a paper towel.
- For the béchamel melt butter over low heat in a saucepan. Stir in flour until a smooth paste is formed.
- Slowly pour in milk stirring simultaneously. Keep stirring until a thick consistency is achieved. Stir in cheese and cinnamon.
- Remove from heat and whisk in egg. Season to taste.
- To assemble the moussaka oil one rectangular casserole dish or 6 x mini baking dishes. Lay eggplant on base. Top eggplant layer with lamb bolognese. Place potato slices on top of lamb and cover with béchamel. Grate with extra kefalogaveria cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven at 400 F for 45 minutes or until golden.
Thermomix Method
- For the lamb bolognese chop onion, garlic and rosemary in mixing bowl 3 sec/speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Add oil sauté for 3 minutes/Varoma/speed 1.
- Add lamb mince and cook 10 min/215 F/reverse mode/speed 1.
- Add crushed tomato, tomato paste, oregano, cinnamon quill, nutmeg, salt, pepper and cook 15 – 20 min on 100C/reverse mode/speed 1. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Salt the eggplant slices. Drizzle olive oil in a frypan and pan fry the eggplant over medium – high heat in batches. Drain eggplant on a paper towel.
- For the béchamel, place cubed cheese in mixing bowl and grate 10 sec/speed 8. Add flour,milk and seasoning into mixing bowl and cook 9 min/200 F/speed 4, or until desired thickness is achieved. Add egg and mix 10 sec/speed 4.
- To assemble the moussaka oil one rectangular casserole dish or 6 x mini baking dishes. Lay eggplant on base. Top eggplant layer with lamb bolognese. Place potato slices on top of lamb and cover with béchamel. Grate with extra kefalogaveria cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven at 400 F for 45 minutes or until golden.
3. Gluten-free Koulouria
Ingredients
Cook time: 20 mins // Total time: 20 mins // Serves: 30 koulouria
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 220g or 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 2 tbs milk
- 2 tsp ouzo
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 455g or 3½ cups plain gluten free flour*
- 2½ tsp baking powder
To brush
- 1 egg, lightly whisked
- Optional – sesame seeds to sprinkle
**NOTE: Tzouganatos uses Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 plain gluten-free baking flour
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Preheat oven to 360 F.
- Beat butter and sugar in mixing bowl for 1 minute until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time and beat until fully incorporated.
- Add milk, ouzo, vanilla extract, both zests and beat to combine.
- Sift flour and baking powder together and add to dough, beat until combined. The dough is quite soft so chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour to make it easier to roll.
- Roll dough into thin 15 cm logs. If your dough is too sticky add more flour. Fold, twist or plait each log into desired shape.
- Place koulouria on lined baking tray and brush with egg wash. Optional – sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Thermomix Method
- Preheat oven to 360 F.
- Mix butter and sugar in Thermomix 30 sec/speed 5 until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time on speed 4 until fully incorporated.
- Add milk, ouzo, vanilla extract and both zests. Mix 10 sec/speed 4.
- Sift flour and baking powder together and add to Thermomix. Beat 10 sec/speed 4 until a soft dough forms. The dough is quite soft so chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour to make it easier to roll.
- Roll dough into thin 15 cm logs. If your dough is too sticky add more flour. Fold, twist or plait each log into desired shape.
- Place koulouria on lined baking tray and brush with egg wash. Optional – sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
About Helen Tzouganatos
Tzouganatos is a gluten-free cookbook author, TV presenter, food photographer and recipe developer — and she’s obsessed with making delicious gluten-free food from scratch for family and friends. She loves sharing her passion for food with others, so she taught herself to use a camera and started her gluten-free food blog “Hungry and Fussy” in 2015 as a creative outlet. Her latest cookbook “Hungry and Fussy” is available online and she currently hosts her show “Loving Gluten Free” on Australia’s SBS FOOD channel.
Click here to purchase her cookbook
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