Gluten Free for the Holidays

With the holidays approaching and the feasts that accompany them, those with dietary restrictions may feel like they are on restriction. What fun is Thanksgiving without the turkey, the stuffing…the gravy! As someone who has been vegetarian for twenty plus years and was gluten free for two, I know a thing or two about this subject.

As a host to someone with gluten free (or other dietary) restriction, do your loved one a favor and make something special for them. Believe me, they will be incredibly grateful. It’s no fun to be invited to dinner and have nothing to eat! It doesn’t have to be time consuming, difficult or expensive to prepare delicious gluten free foods or vegetarian foods. City Market has offered several classes on the subject recently, which will continue over the next few months.

In the Vegetarian and Gluten Free Holidays Sides class led by Lisa Ruoff, participants made and feasted on Apple Quinoa Salad and baked potatoes smothered in Crimini Gravy. Both were delicious and fairly simple to make.

Crimini Mushroom Gravy

12 cups crimini mushrooms

4 Tablespoon "Better than Bouillon" vegan bouillon

2/3 cup nutritional yeast

½ cup tamari sauce / or soy sauce

1/3 cup diced chives or scallions

¾ cup olive oil

1 ½ cup cornstarch

Clean and slice mushrooms. Then bring the mushrooms and 12 cups of water to a boil, reduce to simmer and let simmer about 15 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked. Strain mushrooms and set aside.

Add broth back into pot. Then whisk in the bouillon, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, chives, and olive oil.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup of the broth mixture with one cup of cornstarch until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the broth mixture and let the gravy simmer on low, while stirring frequently, until thickened.

Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad

6 cups white quinoa

3 cups apple juice

1/3 cup olive oil

3 large red onions

1 head celery

3 cups toasted walnuts

4 bunches green onion or scallions

3 bunches parsley

2 cups dried cranberries (NOT sweetened)

4 crisp red apples (gala or pink ladies are good)

3 large lemons

Salt & pepper to taste

Toast the walnuts until aromatic and slightly golden, set aside.

Rinse the quinoa under cold water. Boil the water, juice, and salt together, then add quinoa. Bring to a boil again, then reduce to low and cook approximately 15 minutes.

In a separate pan, sauté the onions and celery in oil until opaque.

Rough chop the walnuts, apples and cranberries. Dice the green onions and parsley. Zest one of the lemons before squeezing all 3 for juice.

Add all together in big bowl and serve - either hot or cold.

Back in my gluten free days, I found that bread products were what I missed most. All the gluten free breads, cookies and muffins tasted like cardboard to me. However, in a recent Gluten Free Baking class led by Anna Mays, I learned that this doesn’t have to be the case! For dessert, why not use the incredibly delicious gluten free baking mix that Anna adapted from a recipe found in America’s Test Kitchen, The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook.

Gluten-Free Flour Blend

Makes 21 ounces (About 4 ½ cups)

Be sure to use potato starch, not potato flour, with this recipe. Tapioca starch is also sold as tapioca flour; they are interchangeable. I also recommend that you weigh your ingredients; if you measure by volume, spoon each ingredient into the measuring cup (do not pack or tap) and scrape off the excess.

340 grams / 12 ounces (2 cups plus 6 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons) rice flour

113 grams / 4 ounces (½ cup plus 1/3 cup) brown rice flour

100 grams / 3 ½ ounces (1 ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons) potato starch

42 grams / 1 ½ ounces (¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons) tapioca starch

14 grams / ½ ounce (1 ½ Tablespoons) nonfat dry milk powder

Whisk all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate or freeze for up to 3 months. Plastic yogurt containers, 1 gallon zip-lock bags and mason jars work well.

Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook

Through my own experience, one thing I have learned about restrictive diets is that it’s best to turn to whole foods, rather than over processed, packaged foods. Simple dishes like quinoa salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, and roasted root veggies can be enjoyed by everyone at your holiday table, dietary restrictions or not. These items will leave everyone feeling free to feast, rather than as if they are on restriction!

To learn more about gluten free cooking, attend one of our upcoming classes. In December, our Italian Holiday Baking Class with Adele Dienno will feature Florentine and Amoretti cookies, both of which are gluten free. In January, we will offer a  we will offer a Gluten Free Pizza Making Class.

City Market also has a Gluten Free Shopping Guide and an array of Gluten Free Recipes online.