What a fantastic gluten free cookery day at Quince House Cookery School last week! Katharine (owner of the cookery school and our host for the day) and I started the day by going through the recipes that Katharine would be demonstrating that day. We then had a round the room introduction to give everyone the opportunity to share their reasons for coming to the day. Most were not able to eat gluten for health reasons and needed some inspiration. And inspired we were, Katharine started with breakfast ideas of granola, bircher muesli and granola bars. While the oat bread was mixed and put somewhere warm for proving these were all tried by the participants.
Next we made carrot pancakes using gram flour and roasted carrot hummus. Again everyone tried some with a garnish of feta, mint and orange.
Katharine demonstrated a huge variety of recipes in a short space of time. She also showed everyone how to cook a feta and leek crustless quiche, a chicken korma with cauliflower rice and a Tarte Paysanne. As some people had multiple intolerances alternative ingredients were suggested so that everyone could cook them. She is a very experienced and trained cook but I am certainly going to try some of the recipes, she made them look so easy! With the bread and pastries it is crucial to source the right ingredients and she was using Bob’s Red Mill products which are produced in the States but can be bought from the UK. I have always used Dove’s Farm but they are tricky to use for the more delicate bread and pastry recipes.
After all of the dishes were cooked the participants were able to eat of all of them for lunch. Some commented that it was such a joy to be able to have lunch where they were not asking what the ingredients were and being concerned with the effect the food might have on them.
After lunch I facilitated a session discussing the different gluten related health conditions, the alternatives to gluten and which nutrients they could be missing out on and how to replace them. This was a lively discussion and everyone was able to ask any questions that they had. The feedback has been very positive and we plan to organise another nutritional cookery day soon. Do contact me through the contact page if you would like to be notified when we run the next one.
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