How to serve up a ‘free from’ Christmas feast: From nut-free turkey curry to gluten-free mince pies

Turkey, stuffing, mince pies and Christmas trifle – all scrumptious highlights of the festive season. However for the 2 million Britons who’re hypersensitive to staple components reminiscent of flour and milk, Christmas lunch will be like Russian roulette.

Nearly each deal with leaves you bloated, in ache – and maybe operating backwards and forwards to the bathroom.

The variety of Britons struggling allergy symptoms and intolerances has soared over the previous decade, with as much as a 3rd of consumers saying they need to keep away from sure meals.

Immediately, the annual marketplace for ‘free from’ options – often made with out wheat, dairy and egg – is price £3.17 billion, rising by about one-and-a-half per cent yearly.

All this implies making ready dinner this 12 months will, for a lot of, be a headache. However The Mail on Sunday can assist! We’ve crafted Christmas recipes for probably the most delicate of eaters. Whether or not your drawback is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gluten, dairy, eggs or meat – we’ve acquired your Christmas lunch lined.

Cooking instances and temperatures are based mostly on dishes put into the oven on their very own. If there’s a couple of dish within the oven, improve the temperature by 10C.

Lemongrass and Ginger Turkey Curry

NUT-FREE

Boxing Day turkey curries are a favorite in lots of households. However for the thousands and thousands who are suffering from nut allergy symptoms, they’re as a substitute a no-go as most recipes are made utilizing nut oils, cashew nuts or coconut, which may additionally set off signs in some victims.

This tasty turkey curry is flavoured with contemporary fragrant spices and makes use of butter as a substitute of oil.

Serves 6

• 2 medium-hot purple or inexperienced chillies
• 1 thumb contemporary ginger, peeled
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 thumb contemporary turmeric, peeled (or a teaspoon of powdered)
• 4 sticks of lemongrass (white half solely)
• 40g unsalted butter
• 3 massive purple onions, peeled and chopped
• Salt
• 300ml turkey or rooster inventory
• 300g frozen peas (elective)
• 600g leftover turkey, sliced or diced
• 1 degree tsp cornflour blended with 1 tbsp water
• 200g pure yogurt
• Lime wedges to serve

Carry a small pan of water to the boil and cook dinner the chillies in it for 1 minute, then drain and de-seed.

Finely chop the chillies, ginger, garlic, turmeric and lemongrass.

Soften the butter in a big pan over a medium-low warmth, add onions, season with salt and fry for 6-7 minutes till softened and translucent, stirring regularly.

Then stir within the aromatics and fry for an additional 3-4 minutes till beginning to color.

Puree all with the inventory in a blender, then return the sauce to the pan.

Add the peas, carry to a simmer, cowl and cook dinner over a really low warmth for 10 minutes. Stir within the turkey, cowl and cook dinner for an additional 5 minutes.

Mix the cornflour answer with the yogurt, stir into the curry and gently warmth via till a couple of bubbles break the floor. Serve with lime wedges.

Greens with Gherkins

VEGAN/IBS-FRIENDLY

Tender greens make an ideal various to sprouts for individuals who endure an irritable bowel, and spring onion greens and gherkins are used as a substitute of bacon and chestnuts to cater for vegetarians or vegans. You need to use any complete, leafy greens right here. 

Serves 6

• 400g spring greens
• 2 tbsp additional virgin olive oil
• Salt, black pepper
• 2 bunches of spring onions (inexperienced components solely), sliced 1 cm thick
• 30g cocktail gherkins, rinsed and thinly sliced

Carry a big pan of water to boil. Reduce central stem out of the leaves and slice them throughout about 5cm thick.

Add to the boiling water, cowl (leaving a niche for steam to flee) and cook dinner for 3 minutes, till virtually tender. Drain and press out extra water.

Warmth a tablespoon of oil in a big non-stick frying pan, add the greens, season and fry for a couple of minutes, turning, till heated via. Switch to a serving dish.

Add one other tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry onion and gherkin for about 3 minutes till onion is silky and beginning to color.

Unfold excessive of the greens and serve.

Chestnut and Olive Stuffing

GLUTEN-FREE/IBS-FRIENDLY/VEGAN

Stuffing will be tough for these avoiding gluten, as breadcrumbs typically function and wheat is widespread in sausage meat. Right here, white rice assumes that position.

It’s scrumptious when paired with punchy, IBS-friendly fennel, olives and chestnuts. If IBS isn’t a difficulty for you, you possibly can exchange fennel with celery.

Serves 6

• 3 bulbs fennel or 300g celery, diced
• 3 tbsp additional virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp finely chopped or dried rosemary
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus a squeeze of juice
• 150g cooked and peeled chestnuts, sliced
• 1 x 250g packet cooked lengthy grain white rice
• Salt and pepper
• 75g pitted inexperienced olives, sliced

Warmth 2 tablespoons of oil in a big non-stick frying pan over a medium-low warmth and fry fennel or celery for 8-10 minutes till softened and calmly colored, including the rosemary a couple of minutes earlier than the tip.

Stir within the lemon zest, chestnuts, rice and seasoning, then fry for a few minutes longer.

Stir within the olives and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Briefly pulse the stuffing in a meals processor, then unfold it over the bottom of a roasting dish to a depth of some centimetres.

Warmth the oven to 190C/170C fan/fuel 5, drizzle with oil and bake for 25-Half-hour till calmly golden.

Festive Peppers with Mushrooms

VEGAN/GLUTEN-FREE

These stuffed peppers are prone to please vegans and flexitarians alike. Any mixture of mushrooms shall be good right here. If there are many trimmings, only one pepper half is prone to be sufficient for every diner, however as a fundamental, permit a pair per particular person.

Serves 3 as a fundamental, 6 as a aspect

• ½ chestnut and olive stuffing (see recipe, above)
• 3 purple peppers
• 1 tsp mustard
• 2 tbsp additional virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
• Salt, black pepper
• 200g mushrooms, torn or sliced as essential
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Warmth oven to 190C/170C fan/ fuel 5.

Trim the pepper stalks, then halve the peppers via the stalk and minimize out the seeds.

Organize in a roasting dish spaced barely aside. Unfold the within with a little bit mustard, then drizzle over a little bit olive oil and season.

Fill with the stuffing, drizzle over a little bit extra oil, and bake for Half-hour.

Shortly earlier than serving, warmth a big non-stick frying pan over a excessive warmth, add the olive oil and mushrooms and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring till golden.

Season and stir in half the parsley and spoon on prime of the peppers. Scatter over the remainder of the parsley.

Chocolate Orange Trifle

VEGAN

Trifle is a star Christmas dessert, however the massive amount of cream can spark disagreeable abdomen cramps for the one in ten Britons who battle to digest lactose.

Right here, soya yogurt replaces the dairy, however because of the energy of the chocolate and orange flavour, you possibly can barely inform. In the meantime, malt loaf – free from dairy and eggs – replaces the sponge cake.

You need to use common chocolate if you need, as many people who find themselves lactose-intolerant can address a small quantity of milk in chocolate.

Serves 6

• 225g vegan darkish chocolate, damaged into items
• 2 medium oranges
• 8 x 1cm slices malt loaf, every torn into 3 or 4 items
• 2 tbsp chocolate or orange liqueur
• 600g soya yogurt
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• Cocoa for dusting
• Decorations, reminiscent of chocolate stars or timber and edible gold spray (elective)

Soften the chocolate gently in a big bowl set over a pan with a little bit simmering water in it, then set the bowl apart.

Zest one orange, minimize the pores and skin and pith off each oranges and take away the segments.

Organize the malt loaf and orange segments in a 20cm trifle bowl (or use particular person dishes) and drizzle the liqueur over.

Place the yogurt, zest and icing sugar in a meals processor and trickle within the melted chocolate.

When it’s all blended, clean the chocolate custard over the trifle base, cowl and chill for a number of hours or in a single day.

Liberally mud with cocoa and embellish shortly earlier than serving.

Banana Coconut Rum Custard

DAIRY-FREE/EGG-FREE

Custard is usually a nightmare for individuals who are delicate to dairy, as each home-made and shop-bought variations typically include lashings of complete milk or double cream.

Right here, coconut yogurt is used for creaminess whereas a pinch of turmeric provides the yellow color you’d in any other case get from egg yolk.

Serves 6

• 200g coconut yogurt
• 2 tbsp darkish rum
• 1 heaped tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• Pinch of floor turmeric
• 2 bananas, peeled and damaged into items

Whizz all of the components apart from the bananas in a blender till clean.

Solely add bananas to the combo simply earlier than consuming, and mix earlier than you serve.

Mince Pies with Lemon and Brandy

GLUTEN-FREE

These mince pies are appropriate for these with coeliac illness – the autoimmune situation that causes the physique to overreact to gluten, in addition to these with gluten sensitivities.

Pastry that accommodates gluten-free flour can typically be powerful to roll, however including a contact of cornflour makes the method far simpler.

Hardly ever, mincemeat accommodates wheat flour so be certain to test the label earlier than use.

Makes 12

• 200g gluten-free flour, plus additional for rolling
• 30g cornflour
• 70g caster sugar
• 130g unsalted butter, diced
• 1 medium egg yolk
• 3 tbsp milk (or water)
• Icing sugar for dusting
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp brandy (elective)
• ⅓ tsp floor cinnamon
• 150g mincemeat

To make the pastry, place the flour, cornflour, sugar and butter in a meals processor, and provides it a fast burst at excessive pace to cut back it to a crumb-like consistency.

Then add the egg yolk and about 3 tablespoons of milk or water to carry the dough collectively.

Wrap the pastry in baking paper or clingfilm, flattening it right into a patty, and chill for 1 hour or in a single day.

Warmth the oven to 190C/170C fan/fuel 5. Stir the lemon juice, zest, brandy and cinnamon into the mincemeat.

Knead the pastry till pliable, cut up in half and, on a calmly floured floor, roll the primary half to the thickness of a pound coin.

Then minimize out circles utilizing a 7cm cutter to suit a non-stick fairy cake tray. Place these within the tin and fill every with a teaspoon of mincemeat.

Roll out the remaining pastry and minimize out 12 lids the identical measurement – use a star cookie cutter to make them additional festive.

Brush the rim of the pies with milk or water, lay the lids on prime and gently press the perimeters collectively. Bake for about 25 minutes till the pastry is a really pale gold.

Serve heat about 20 minutes out of the oven, dusting them with icing sugar.

● Annie Bell’s new guide, More healthy Planet, More healthy You (Pan Macmillan), is out there from December 23, priced £18.99.