Handy Tips to Help with Food Intolerances

As food intolerances become more prevalent in our modern community, here are a few tips for substituting ingredients to get a similar result.

Gluten Free:

• Substitute plain flour with tapioca flour to create beautiful little puffs of gnocchi. Tapioca flour will give the dish a slightly more bouncy texture, not too dissimilar to Japanese mochi. Cook the gnocchi in boiling water and either serve straight away with your favourite sauce, or refresh the gnocchi in iced water and pan fry until golden.
• Enjoy a lightly golden crust on pan fried fish or salt & pepper squid by substituting regular flour with potato starch or rice flour or even a combination of the two.
• Try using baby cos or witlof leaves instead of croutons for canapes. For a gluten free wrap or burger use the large leaves from the outer part of an iceberg lettuce.

Dairy Free:

• Coconut milk and coconut cream are great dairy free substitutes for both sweet and savoury dishes. You can even make whipped coconut cream by placing a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight, then scraping off the solidified coconut cream and whipping as per regular cream.
• Create perfectly rich and creamy vegetable puree, substituting the cream and/or butter with olive oil or coconut oil.
• Make your very own nut cream as an alternative to mayonnaise by soaking your favourite nut variety in water overnight. Simply blitz until smooth, with a little of the soaking water, olive oil, lemon juice and any spices or other seasonings you like.

By: Chef Daniel Wilson.