Summer Recipes

The following IBS-friendly recipes for this season, taken from The Food Intolerance Bible, feature a selection of quick and easy dishes which are all gluten free and wheat free, and some that are also lactose free or sugar free, which are indicated by symbols at the top of each recipe.

Chilled Courgette and Mint Soup

Cucumber is the traditional choice for chilled summer soup but courgettes are a great alternative and give a creamy but light soup, flecked with the dark green of the skin. Chill the soup for 3 to 4 hours for best results.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 500g/1lb 2oz medium-sized organic courgettes, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 750ml/3 cups strong allergy-free vegetable stock (bouillon)
• 1 large organic garlic clove, crushed
• 500ml/2 cups plain unsweetened goat’s yogurt
• 2 heaped tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2 heaped tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 trimmed spring onions, sliced
• 1 small garlic clove
• Sea salt (optional) and freshly ground black pepper

Optional

Crushed ice cubes (use filtered water) and chopped fresh organic mint leaves to serve.

Put the courgettes and stock (bouillon) in a pan. Bring to the boil and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave until the mixture is cold. Process the soup in a blender with the yogurt, mint, parsley, spring onions and garlic.

Transfer the soup to a serving bowl, season to taste and chill until needed. Just before serving, stir in crushed ice cubes and fresh mint.

Coconut and Berry Fool

Children and grown-ups alike enjoy this fool and it’s particularly good served with a large bowl of fresh berries for extra vitamins, colour and texture.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 500 g/1lb 2oz very ripe summer berries
• 200ml/3/4 cup chilled coconut cream
• 250ml/1 cup cold filtered water
• 2 rounded tablespoons agar flakes
• 250ml/1 cup chilled goat’s cream

Optional

Extra berries for decoration

Purée the berries with the coconut cream in a blender and transfer to an attractive serving bowl. Combine the leftover juices, if there are any, with water so that you have 250ml/1 cup of liquid. Transfer to a small pan, sprinkle with the agar flakes and place over a medium heat for about 3 minutes until dissolved – do not stir. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer the liquid, stirring from time to time, for about 3 minutes.

Set aside for 10-15 minutes until cool but not setting.

Quickly stir the mixture into the berry purée, wipe the side of the bowl if necessary, cover and chill in the refrigerator until set. Just before serving, decorate the top of the fool with a few extra berries. The fool is best eaten within 12 hours.

Roast Cod with Black Olive Crust

You can use any chunky white fish for this recipe. Serve this dish with a large salad of mixed leaves and herbs and a bowl of steamed wild and brown rice, sprinkled with plenty of chopped parsley.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• ½ small organic onion, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons cold pressed extra virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling
• 1 large organic garlic clove, crushed
• 170g/ 6oz stoned (pitted) black olives in oil, not vinegar, very finely chopped
• 55g/ ½ cup organic ground almonds
• Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt (optional)
• 6x170g/ 6oz cod or hoki fillets, boned and skinless

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.

Make the olive topping first. Cook the onion in 3 tablespoons of oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes but do not let the ingredients burn. Mix the olives with the ground and chopped almonds, stir in the onion mixture and season to taste.

Place the fish fillets on a greased tray or sheet and brush with the remaining oil. Spoon the olive mixture on top of each fillet and press lightly. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets, and then serve immediately.

Peach, Spinach and Pistachio Salad

A drizzle of nut oil can make virtually any salad special enough for a lunch or dinner party, so why not try different ones. You can make this salad using nectarines instead of peaches and, in winter, with ripe pears cut into quarters or thick slices.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 small handfuls trimmed fresh organic spinach leaves, washed and drained
• 4 small ripe organic peaches, peeled and cut into thick slices
• 55g/ a third of a cup of shelled pistachio nuts or more if you want
• 100-150g/ 3½- 5oz mild and creamy soft organics goat's cheese
• 1 tablespoon organic nut oil
• 2 tablespoons organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil or more if desired
• Sea salt (optional) and freshly ground black pepper
• About 16 fresh organic basil leaves, shredded
• 1 tablespoon Verjuice

Arrange the spinach leaves on each plate and place the peach slices on top. Scatter the salad with the nuts and little blobs of goat's cheese. Use a teaspoon and clean fingers for this.

In a small bowl, mix the oils together with the salt (optional), pepper, basil and Verjuice and whisk vigorously. Spoon the dressing over the peach salads and serve immediately.

Symbols

The symbols shown below are used throughout the recipes to enable you to judge their suitability. All the recipes are gluten free and therefore wheat free, so a wheatfree symbol is not included. Goat's products feature in a number of recipes but for most of these you can easily substitute rice or other suitable milks, cheeses or yogurts if you wish.

GF = Gluten free (which is wheat free)

LF = Lactose free (which is dairy free)

GO = Contains goat's products

V = Vegetarian (suitable for vegetarians but not vegans)

SF = Sugar free

SOF = Soya free

YF = Yeast free

NF = Nightshade free - i.e. no potatoes, tomatoes, aubergine (eggplant),sweet peppers (bell           peppers),chillies, blackcurrants

EF = Egg free

The best way to identify if you have any intolerance to certain foods is to keep a diary for a number of weeks to record the different foods you eat and monitor the effect of these foods on your symptoms. Your diet can then be modified to help keep your symptoms under control. It is advisable that you seek advice from a healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet.

Other Seasonal Recipes

Spring Recipes

Autumn Recipes

Winter Recipes