Zizzi, Cambridge

My first taste of gluten-free pasta (not cooked by myself at home) happened at Zizzi in Cambridge as part of my friend's hen weekend. Zizzi is a large chain of Italian restaurants which you will find all over the UK and the great thing about them is they have their own allergen menu's.

They offer a vegetarian, nut free, gluten-free, vegan, soya free, alcohol free, fish free, egg free, and dairy free menu, all separate from the regular main menu - that's quite an impressive list of dietary requirements if you ask me!

I was keen to try their gluten-free pasta dishes as I have found it quite difficult to master the art of pasta cooking at home myself. I've noticed with gluten-free pasta if you overcook it even just by a few seconds sometimes you end up with a sticky mess of pasta all congealed together. Not good! Timing is definitely key.

If you ask for the allergen menu you will soon find the gluten-free section clearly labelled and it's easy to navigate your way down the list. Plus there is actually quite a lot of choice if you love Italian food. Zizzi very helpfully list all their pasta sauces from the main menu that are gluten-free which can all be served with gluten-free fusilli. They also do gluten-free pizza bases which I would love to try next time.

You can view their entire allergen menu online here

I went for the pesto rosso which was a spicy chicken dish with red pesto. Sadly when my pasta arrived it was a little bit undercooked but I blame this on the fact that it was a busy Saturday night and we were part of a hen party of 21 people! The staff were rushing around like mad things trying to get all our meals out at the same time and to be fair they didn't do a bad job. That said, I enjoyed the meal and the sauce was lovely and rich, full of flavour and it tasted pretty authentically Italian too.

So rather than being overcooked my pasta was undercooked which surprised me a little but I would definitely go back again on a quieter night and probably order the same thing to give Zizzi a second chance. Top marks to Zizzi for their allergen menu though!

The Foodamentalists' Gluten-Free Doughnut Mix

The Foodamentalists very kindly sent me a box of their doughnut mix and crumpet mix to sample and review. I wouldn't normally consider using a mix and usually prefer to make things from scratch. But these mixes are great if you are in a rush, plus it also means you don't have to stock several different types of flour in your kitchen cupboards because the flours are already mixed.

I've never made homemade doughnuts myself before but I was so surprised at how easy they were to make and even I couldn't mess these up!

To start with it's great to see that the boxes are clearly labelled gluten-free. I think a few other companies should take note of this. The mixes are also wheat and dairy free and suitable for vegans. All the ingredients are clearly labelled - there are no artificial ingredients - and there is an easy to follow recipe on the back of the box. 

Essentially the doughnut mix is a blend of corn, rice and tapioca flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and xantham gum with just a hint of cinnamon which smells wonderful as soon as you open the box. 

All you need to do is mix 100g yoghurt (I used Alpro soya yoghurt to make mine dairy free too), 12g oil and 2 tablespoons of beaten egg. You then add the doughnut mix and mix together well to form a dough.

I did find that my dough was too dry by adding just 2 tablespoons of beaten egg so I added the rest of the beaten egg. 

Tip - don't throw the rest of the egg away you might need it!

Once the batter is mixed leave it for 15 minutes. Then roll the dough out on to a floured worktop until it's about half an inch thick. 

Use a pastry cutter to cut doughnut shapes. I also used the lid of a coca cola bottle to make the holes for the middle.

Then fry the doughnuts in about 3 inches of very very hot oil (take care!). Fry until they are golden brown on both sides. This literally takes a few seconds on each side. Super quick!

To finish just toss your doughnuts in a bit of sugar and cinnamon. Or if you would prefer to ice them you can, although wait for them to cool first.

So easy to make and they tasted amazing! 

I would definitely recommend eating the doughnuts while they are still warm and the cinnamon really does add a lovely sweet flavour. They are definitely moreish and I'm not sure how long they will last in my house! I loved how fresh they tasted and they weren't too greasy. The dough itself was slightly crispy on the outside but nice and soft on the inside and the smell throughout my whole house was divine. It kind of reminded me of the smell you get when you walk past a doughnut van at a theme park or at the seaside. Mmmmmm.

I made 12 doughnuts from the mix which I thought was a pretty decent number. I think it might be a good idea if the label told you how many doughnuts a pack would make - but this really is my only suggestion. I just like to know what I am getting for my money but that's just me.

The mixes are £2.99 each which I think is very reasonable for the great quality product you are getting.

The award winning Foodamentalists have their very own shop at 47 Wheelock Street in Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 9AB (which I am yet to visit) and they sell a variety of gluten and wheat free fresh products such as bread, cakes and pastries and more, as well as their bread, pastry, yorkshire pudding, tortilla and crumpet mixes. Watch out for future blog posts on their tortilla and crumpet mixes which I am also enjoying trying at the moment. 

You can also buy their produce online here and they also appear at farmer's markets in the local area including Treacle Market in Macclesfield which takes place on the last Sunday of every month.

Simply delicious, fool-proof doughnuts - Thank You Foodamentalists!