Stuffed turkey roast in honey
Can be wheat, gluten, corn, soya, nightshade, dairy, egg & nut free

Serves 8

1 capon or small turkey
the liver from the bird, chopped
25g butter or 2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped finely
large handful of parsley, chopped finely
1 tart eating apple or 1/2 a cooking apple, peeled and chopped small
75g plump raisins
rind and juice of 11/2 lemons
75g ground almonds or ground shelled hemp seeds
75g brown breadcrumbs or cooked rice
1 tsp each ground ginger and salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg (optional)
50g butter or 4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey

Remove the giblets from the bird, keep the liver and chop it; throw out the rest. Heat the butter or oil in a saucepan and gently cook the liver, onion and parsley until the liver is firm and the onion soft.
Take off the heat and add the apple, raisins, lemon rind and juice, almonds or hemp seeds, breadcrumbs or rice, seasoning and egg if you are using it.
Mix the whole lot well together and stuff the bird at both ends.
Secure it with skewers and put it in a roasting pan. Melt the honey and butter or oil together and spoon them over the bird; as it cools it will cling to the skin.
Leave the bird to marinate in the the honey, uncovered, in a fridge or larder, for 24 hours, spooning over any excess mixture whenever you are passing.
Roast the bird in a moderate oven (170C/ 325F/Gas mark 3) basting frequently with the honey and butter mixture for 20 minutes to each 450g. The skin will gradually turn black and shiny in contrast to the white meat below. Serve hot or cold.

Rice cranberry and almond stuffing
Gluten, wheat, dairy & egg free; can be nut free

If you are allergic to nuts you could substitute pine nuts for the almonds.

Enough for a large turkey

1 large onion, chopped fine
2 tsbp virgin sunflower oil
150g risotto rice
1 level tspn ginger
200ml soya milk
600ml water
75g ground almonds
100g flaked almonds
100g cranberries
salt & pepper

Sweat the onion in the oil for 10-15 minutes or till is is quite soft but not coloured. Add the rice, ginger and liquids, bring to the boil and cook briskly for 10- 15 minutes or till the liquid is all absorbed and the rice is soft. Add a little extra water if needed.
Add the ground and flaked almonds and the cranberries.
Mix all well together then season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow to cool before using.

Quinoa and cashew nut stuffing
Wheat, gluten, dairy & egg free

Enough for 1 medium turkey

2 tablespoons olive, sunflower or soya oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
1 large or 2 small sticks celery, chopped
100g quinoa
1/2 teaspoons dried or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
300ml & 150ml dry white wine
75g whole cashew nuts
a handful of parsley, chopped
salt, pepper & a dash of lemon juice

Heat the oil in a pan and gently cook the onion, garlic and celery till they are just soft.
Add the quinoa and the thyme, the water & the wine. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 - 20 minutes adding a little more liquid if the mixture is drying up.
When the quinoa is soft add the nuts, parsley and salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste then use it to stuff the turkey.

Brussel Sprout purée
Wheat, gluten, corn,soya, egg & nut free; can be dairy

700g Brussels sprouts, trimmed
700g Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed and trimmed
or 700g sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
25g butter, coconut oil or olive oil
salt, pepper and nutmeg

Serves 6

Steam the sprouts and the artichokes or sweet potatoes until they are soft.
Purée both vegetables in a food processor with the butter, coconut or olive oil, seasoning to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Serve at once or reheat to serve.
The purée also freezes well if you want to prepare it in advance.

Alternative bread sauce
Gluten, wheat, egg & nut free; can be corn, soya & cow's milk free

You can use gluten-free bread to make bread sauce in the normal way, substituting soya, oat or coconut milk for the cow's milk to make it dairy free. The recipe below gives you another option using rice or quinoa instead of bread.

100g white pudding rice, white polenta or quinoa
approx. 1 litre of whatever milk you can drink - animal, soya, oat or coconut
1 large onion, stuck with 10 - 12 whole cloves
(If you cannot eat onions, leave the onion out and put the cloves in a small muslin bag / single spoon tea maker)
salt & 8 - 10 pepper corns
1/2 -1 teaspoon sugar - depending on how sweet the milk you use

Put the rice, polenta or quinoa in a pan with the milk and the onion stuck with the cloves and the peppercorns.
Bring slowly to the boil and simmer very gently, taking care it does not stick or burn, for 20 - 30 minutes or till the grain is quite soft. If it becomes too thick and claggy add a little more milk.
Remove the cloves from the onions. If you like a strong oniony flavour, leave the onion in and purée the mixture in a food processor; if not remove and discard the onion first.
Season to taste.
Reheat gently in a pan or microwave before serving with your turkey.

Mr Pickwick's Christmas salad
Dairy, wheat, gluten, soya and egg free; can be nut free.

It is always difficult to unearth salad vegetables around Christmas time but of course Mr Pickwick managed to ferret them out !

100g finely sliced white cabbage
50g finely sliced fennel
100g finely sliced raw brussel sprouts
100g grated raw parsnip or celeriac
5 tablespoons egg-free mayonnaise (if you can eat eggs you can use home made or bought)
1 tablespoon chopped capers
1 bunch watercress
50g broken walnuts or, ifyou cannot eat nuts, pumpkin seeds

Mix all the vegetables except the watercress in a bowl.
Add the chopped capers to the mayonnaise which should be of a 'light coating consistency'. If it is too thick, thin it with a little boiling water. Toss the salad in the caper mayonnaise and turn it into a serving bowl. Just before serving cover the salad with the watercress and sprinkle over the chopped nuts or pumpkin seeds.

Christmas pudding

Wheat, gluten, soya & dairy free; can be corn, egg & nut free

Serves 6

40g raisins
30g sultanas
40g currants
20g glacé cherries, halved
20g ready to eat prunes, chopped
20g dried apricots, chopped
20g dried dates or figs, chopped
20g fresh or cranberries
grated rind and juice 1/2 large orange
grated rind and juice 1/2 large lemon
1/2 Bramley cooking apple, skin on,
chopped finely in a food processor
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
or grated or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon plus 1/4 tspn ground mace
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
20g flaked almonds or pine nuts (optional)
50g gram flour or polenta flour
1 egg (optional)
75ml (100ml if you are not using egg) brandy or extra
fruit juice, or a combination of the two
ladleful of brandy or whisky

Mix all the fruits with the spices and nuts, if you are using them, and flours. Mix in the egg, if you are using it, and brandy or fruit juices. Stir thoroughly.
Spoon into a bowl big enough to be able to leave approx 3 cm space at the top. Cover with a double thickness of greaseproof paper and secure with rubber bands or string. Put in a large saucepan with water 2/3 of the way up the bowl. Bring to a gentle boil, cover the pan and steam for 2-3 hours.
Remove from the pan, replace the greaseproof paper with fresh, and store in a cool place till needed.
To serve, either re-steam for 2 hours or heat in a micro-wave (good but not quite as good as steaming) for 2-3 minutes. Warm a ladleful of brandy over the heat, pour over the pudding and light!

Christmas pudding ice cream

Wheat, gluten, corn, egg & nut free; can be cow's milk or soya free

An alternative approach!
Serves 6

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
generous pinch ground cloves
3 tablespoons brandy or dark rum
350g assorted dried fruits - sultanas, raisins, currants, cherries, crystallised ginger (chopped), mixed peel, prunes (chopped), apricots (chopped), figs (chopped) or anything else that you fancy
300ml plain thick live sheep, goat or soya yogurt or creamed tofu
2 tablespoons honey or apple concentrate

Mix the spices into the brandy or rum and leave for 15 minutes, then pour the liquor over the mixed fruits and leave to soak for a couple of hours.
Purée the yogurt or tofu with the honey or apple concentrate in a processor or liquidiser and mix in the soaked fruits.
Spoon the mixture into an icecream maker and churn freeze for 15 - 20 minutes.
Remove it from the freezer and quash into a smallish pudding basin to freeze. To serve, wrap the basin in a hot cloth to loosen it and turn the pudding out on to a dish. Stick some holly in the top and, if you want, pour some warmed brandy round the bottom and light it.

NB. If you don't have an ice cream maker put the amalgamated ice cream into the freezer. Take it out every 10 minutes and beat it thoroughly with a wooden spoon until it is fairly frozen.

Mince pies
Wheat, gluten, dairy, corn, soya & nut free; can be egg free; no added sugar

This amount makes approximately 60 pies, depending on the size and how full you fill them. You can store any excess in tightly closed jars or in the freezer. It is better to make the mix a few days before you need it to give it a chance to mature. You can change the individual fruits to suit your own tastes and intolerances but keep the proportions the same.

Filling
200g raisins
200g currants
200g sultanas
100g dried apricots, chopped small
100g soft dried figs, chopped small
100g soft prunes, chopped small
50g dried blueberries (optional)
50g glace cherries, chopped small
1 scant tsp ground cloves
2 heaped tsp dried ginger
2 level tsp ground nutmeg
350g sharp eating or cooking apple, cored but not skinned
1 lemon
200ml brandy or whisky
400ml fruit juice - we used pomegranate but you could use orange or apple or juice of your choice

Pastry
(enough for 24 pies)
you can use your own favourite gluten free pastry mix - or
200g Doves Farm gluten-free strong bread flour
100g buckwheat flour
150g butter or dairy-free spread - we used Pure Organic
130ml water
1 egg (optional)

In a large bowl mix the raisins, currants, sultanas, apricots, figs, prunes, blueberries and cherries with the spices.
Chop the apple into very small pieces (but not to a mush) in a food processor and add to the mix.
Grate the peel off the lemon and add to the fruit mix. Cut it into small pieces, remove all the pips and then chop finely in the food processor.
Mix into the fruit along with the brandy or whisky and fruit juices. Mix well, cover and leave to stand for 24-48 hours.

To make the pies, heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Mix the flour and rub in the fat (by hand or in a food processor). Add the water (the buckwheat flour uses a lot) to make a soft dough.
Roll out and line your mince pie tins. Fill with the fruit mixture and top with pastry lids. Paint with beaten egg if you can eat it and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the tins when still warm and cool on a rack.

Seedy Christmas Cake
Dairy, wheat, gluten, corn, nut & soya free; can be egg free; no added sugar

For those who can eat nuts, the seeds can be replace by a similar quantity of your favourite nuts. The cake works perfectly well without the egg but is a little richer and moister with it.

100g dairy free spread (or butter if you can eat it)
1 medium, ripe bananas
100g soft dried dates, chopped roughly
rind & juice 2 lemons
75g each raisins and sultanas
150g soft dried apricots, chopped roughly
25g each sesame seeds and golden linseeds
50g each sunflower and pumpkin seeds
1 egg (optional)
75g rolled oats, lightly pulverised in a food processor
75g rice flour
3 tsp gluten & wheat free baking powder
2 tsp ground nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 25g piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or 1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp brandy / orange / apple juice

Heat oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3.
If the dates are hard, put them in a small pan with the lemon juice and gradually heat for 5 minutes to help soften them.
PurÈe the dairy free spread with the banana and lemon rind in a food processor. Turn into a bowl and stir in the dates and lemon juice, the dried fruits and seeds, followed by the egg (if you are using it), the flours, baking powder, spices and fresh ginger and, finally, the brandy or fruit juice. Mix well.
Line a 15cm (6 inch) cake tin with greased greaseproof paper and spoon in the mixture. Smooth out and bake for 1 hour or till a skewer comes out clean. Cool slightly in the tin then turn out and leave to get completely cold before cutting as it can be quite crumbly.
NB. For ëfamily sizeí cake double the ingredients and increase the cooking time by 40 minutes.

Pineapple & polenta alternative Christmas cake
Dairy, wheat, gluten & soya free; no added sugar

A really delicious fresh tasting cake.

200g dairy free spread/butter
100g each well plumped dried dates and pears, purÈed
3 eggs
100g coarse polenta
100g white rice or potato flour
2 heaped tsp wheat & gluten free baking powder
50g each sultanas, cherries and fresh/tinned pineapple
2 tbsp elderflower cordial

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
Beat the spread or butter with the puréed dates and pears till smooth and creamy.
Mix in the eggs then mix/fold in the polenta sieved with the rice/potato flour and the baking powder.
Cut the pineapple into small pieces and and stir it into the mixture along with the sultanas, cherries and elderflower cordial.
Spoon into a well oiled 200cm baking tin and bake for 30 minutes or until the cake is firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

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