An Edible Savoury WLS-Friendly Gift

Old-timers to the website will know that I have featured a sweet biscotti recipe before (see here) and it makes a great gift to give to a friend regardless of whether they have had WLS or not. It’s inexpensive compared to those you buy, easy to make, and looks divine if you package up festively, but more importantly if you’re making the sweet version it’s WLS-friendly without a huge amount of added sugar.

But it did get me thinking that I have plenty of sweet temptations at Christmas and would probably prefer personally to receive a savoury one. So voila! here’s a savoury biscotti recipe where the biscuits/crackers are made with olives and sun-dried tomatoes. They make a great foodie gift; great contribution to a buffet table (I shall be taking a batch literally everywhere I go this holiday) and perfect for nibbling with cheese or just on their own. One or two might find themselves in my bag for a sustaining bite during busy Christmas shopping trips.

Do remember to use sun-dried tomatoes from a pack rather than those soaked in oil for this recipe. The dough cuts into 14 typically-thick slices but you can cut them thinner if liked but the cooking time may well be shorter.

You can make up to 1 week ahead and store in an airtight tin and then package up to 2 days before giving, but not really any further in advance for great eating and freshness – but a week ahead is a good time span in my opinion to allow you to get ahead at a time of much hustle and bustle.

SAVOURY OLIVE, TOMATO AND PARMESAN BISCOTTI

Ingredients

METRIC/US

150 g/1½ cups self-raising/all-purpose flour sifted with 1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp dried oregano

30 g/1 oz sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), finely chopped

1 tsp granulated brown sugar sweetener (optional)

50 g/1/3 cup stoned/pitted green olives, roughly chopped

40 g/1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas 4.
Mix the flour (and baking powder if using all-purpose flour) with the oregano, sun-dried tomatoes, sweetener if used, olives and three-quarters of the cheese.
Whisk the oil with salt and pepper to taste and the egg, add to the dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough.
Transfer to a line baking tray and shape into a log measuring 25 cm/10 inches by 7 cm/2¾ inches. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 C/325 F/gas 3. Cut into 14 thick slices, then return to the tray, cut-sides up and spaced well apart and bake for a further 20 minutes until tinged golden.
Remove and cool on the tray until hardened then store in an airtight tin for up to 1 week. Package in a box, bag or tin up to 2 days before giving.

MAKES 14 SLICES

WLS PORTION: ½-1 SLICE

V suitable for Vegetarians

CALORIES PER SLICE: 99

PROTEIN: 3 g

CARBOHYDRATE: 8.1 g

FAT: 6.2 g

Image courtesy of http://www.tesco.com