The only gluten-free cookbook you'll ever need

Shakshuka is a North African dish, nowadays popular all over the Middle East, especially in Israel, where it was imported by Maghrebi Jews who immigrated to that country. The name of the dish comes from a Berber word that means "mixture". It can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but in Israel it is often breakfast served with warm crusty bread for dipping into the sauce. By tradition it is served straight out of the terra-cotta pan it is cooked in, placed in the center of the table.

1. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, four to five minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the capsicum and sauté until softened, about 12 minutes.

2. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, sugar, and salt and black pepper to taste. Stir and simmer over medium heat until it starts to reduce, about 10 minutes.

3. Crack the eggs into the tomato mixture, spreading them evenly. When you add the eggs will depend on if you want the eggs cooked soft, medium, or hard.

4. For hard-cooked eggs: Cover the pan and simmer until the eggs are fully cooked, 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the sauce to make sure it doesn't reduce too much, which can lead to burning.

5. For soft to medium eggs: Let the sauce reduce for a few minutes uncovered, before cracking the eggs on top. Cover the pan and cook for 7 minutes for medium eggs, 5 minutes for soft eggs with runny yolks.

6. Serve hot. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Serves 4.

This much-beloved avocado dip has its origins in ancient Mexico, dating back to the time of the Aztecs. Its name in the Aztec language of Nahuatl is ahuacamolli, which is a combination of ahuacatl, meaning "avocado" (aguacates in Spanish), and molli, meaning "sauce" (mole in Spanish). The traditional method of preparing guacamole is in a molcajete, a large mortar often made of basalt - and many modern-day Mexican restaurants still do this, sometimes tableside. The secret of a good guacamole is definitely the use of perfectly ripe avocados, which should be soft, but not too soft, when you squeeze them gently.

Method

Make the tortilla chips:

1. Line a baking tray with paper towels. In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Carefully drop a small piece of tortilla in the oil. If it sizzles it is the right temperature.

2. Working in batches, carefully add a handful of tortilla wedges to the hot oil, turning them with tongs or a slotted spoon. Increase the heat to high and fry until the tortilla chips just begin to turn golden and firm, about two minutes. Move the chips to the paper towels using a metal slotted spoon.

3. Line a second baking tray with paper towels. Reduce the heat under the frying pan to medium. Working in batches, cook the chips a second time until really crispy. Transfer the freshly fried chips to the fresh paper towels and sprinkle them with coarse salt.

Make the guacamole:

1. In a large mortar, combine the onion, serranos, coriander, and fine sea salt to taste. Grind with the pestle until you have a smooth paste. Scoop the avocado flesh into the mortar and grind until the mixture is still slightly chunky. Fold the tomatoes in with a fork. Add more sea salt to taste.

2. Serve the tortilla chips and guacamole in separate bowls, garnishing the guacamole with a little more serrano and tomato.

Note: You will get better results frying the tortilla chips if the tortillas are a bit dry and stale, so leave them out of their package overnight, exposed to air, or dry them out in the oven at 180C for five minutes. They don't need to be crisp, just dry.

Serves 4.

In the name of this dish, sake onigiri, the word sake actually refers to the salmon in the rice balls, not the rice wine - though coincidentally the recipe also has rice wine in it. When buying sake (the rice wine), be sure to buy a premium product, as the cheaper versions sometimes contain gluten. Typically onigiri is pyramid-shaped, with a strip of nori seaweed wrapped around the bottom.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Arrange the salmon in a baking pan and roast until just cooked through, about 20 minutes.

3. Break the fish into small pieces with a rubber spatula. Transfer to a bowl and add the sake, tamari, superfine sugar, and ginger and set aside.

4. Rinse the rice and drain it well. In a saucepan, combine the rice and boiling water. Cook over medium heat until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Spread the rice out in a bowl.

5. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, combine the vinegar, granulated sugar, and two teaspoons salt and heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.

6. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the bowl of rice and gently toss until all rice lumps break. Allow the rice to cool down. Occasionally flip it and stir the rice to speed the cooling process.

7. With wet hands to prevent the rice from sticking, roll three tablespoons of rice into a ball. Create a little cavity in the middle and fill it with a teaspoon of umeboshi or salmon. Top with a bit of rice. Reshape the rice into a pyramid shape. Wrap a strip of seaweed across the bottom and up the sides of the onigiri, pressing it lightly into the rice to adhere. Repeat until all the rice and fillings have been used.

8. To serve, place the onigiri on a plate. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. Serve immediately so the seaweed remains crisp.

Makes 40 rice balls.

An ancient Korean dish, bibimbap means "all-mixed", and appropriately is a mixture of ingredients stirred into rice. It is often served in a hot dolsot, which is a carved stone bowl. The ingredients are arranged in separate piles on top of the rice so that the neighboring colors complement each other and it is said that each has a symbolic meaning: the dark ones represent the North and the kidneys; the red the South and the heart; the green the East and the liver; the white the West and the lungs; and the yellow is the center and the stomach. The bowl will arrive at the table perfectly arranged, and then the diner mixes all the ingredients together, bibimbap style, before eating.

Method

1. In a pot of boiling salted water, blanch the spinach for 30 seconds. Drain and cut into strips. Set aside.

2. In a bowl, gently mix together the beef, one-third of the garlic, the tamari, and sugar and let it rest for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a heavy four litre pot, bring 900ml water to a boil. Add the rice and simmer, uncovered, without stirring, until the surface looks dry, five to six minutes. Cover the pot and simmer over very low heat until the water is fully absorbed, about 15 minutes more. Remove from the heat, cover, and let it rest for five minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and set aside.

4. In a large frying pan, heat two tablespoons of the oil over high heat. Add the meat, season with one teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring constantly, until browned, about five minutes. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.

5. In the same pan, toast one-third of the garlic over medium heat. Stir in the spinach and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and set aside.

6. In the same pan, heat two tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic, the bean sprouts, carrots, and zucchini. Season with salt and cook for one minute.

7. In a separate large frying pan, heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Fry the eggs until the whites are fully cooked and the yolks are still creamy.

8. Divide the rice among bowls, then arrange the meat, spinach mixture, and carrot/zucchini/sprout mixture in separate piles. Top each bowl with a fried egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and dollop with gochujang or serve on the side. Mix all just before eating.

Serves 6.