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After talking about my gluten-free fails the past few months (I am still looking for my full breakfast and pancakes), I wanted to share with you two gluten-free wins.
My main squeeze recently felt a hankering for a fish and chips so off we went on Food.je looking for one to order.
Before you ask: yes, I am still very much a hermit and the recent rise in covid cases hadn't helped my case. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the company of others and sitting in sunny terraces sipping on my cider - that was until I started worrying about how many germs they were carrying and that took the fun out of it.
But back to our fish.
My main squeeze got reeled in by Seafish Café in St. Helier and, whilst I was fully prepared to order a portion of cheesy chips and call it a day, much to my surprise I discovered their Battered Cod and Battered Haddock were available in a gluten-free version.
Obviously, I had to give it a try, it would have been rude not to.
Pictured: Not bad for £6.95
I was not disappointed. The batter was crispy, buttery and full of flavour – heavenly!
It was my first gluten-free battered cod so I have nothing to compare it with, but it definitely could have held its own in front of a gluten batter.
As I've previously discussed, some gluten-free items can sometimes feel dry or sandy but there was none of that - you could literally hear the crunch!
The cod itself was cooked to perfection and equally flavoursome. It melted in the mouth like all good fish should do.
As for the chips, they were chunky and not too oily, but felt like they could have used a little more time in the frier.
Pictured: Chunky as they should be!
They were a little bit on the soft side to my taste but that might be a side effect of delivery – chips tend not to travel well, no matter how well they were cooked in the first place.
The onion rings were really tasty too but again, they lacked on the crunchy side.
For £6.95, the fish portion was really big – I had plenty left over for my lunch the following day, and it was still as tasty, although not as crunchy.
Pictured: Could have been crunchier!
I also want to note that there was no extra to pay for the gluten-free version, which is all a credit to Seafish Café when most places charge £1.50 to £2.00 extra for a gluten-free meal.
My gluten-free wins do not stop there.
During a recent visit to Mange Tout, I recently discovered that all their brownies – I repeat: ALL their brownies – are gluten-free.
I previously thought only their chocolate brownie had been blessed by a gluten-free existence but upon enquiring I found out how wrong I was. Again, it would have been rude not to give one of them a nibble, so I sampled the peanut butter one. One word review: delicious.
Pictured: This is what brownie dreams are made of!
The consistency of the Mange Tout brownies is always on point, and they have nailed the perfect amount of chocolate to make them feel scrumptious without being sickly. The addition of the peanut butter was a genius idea that added to the decadence of it all and I would be damned if anyone could guess they are gluten-free.
All this to say, there is hope out there for good quality and tasty gluten-free meals and treats that do not break the bank and I, your humble servant, will keep on sampling them for you.
