Gluten Free Christmas Gravy

Cooking for a coeliac at Christmas is mostly about avoiding cross contamination rather than about clever substitutions. The gravy itself is easy: build the flavour exactly as you would, then thicken with cornflour at the end. It comes out shinier than a floury gravy, which is no bad thing. Just be careful about stock cubes and about which spoon has been in the stuffing.

Ingredients

Makes about 800ml, enough for eight plates

• 3 tbsp fat from the turkey tin
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 carrot finely chopped
• 150ml (5fl oz) dry white wine wine is gluten free, check the stock instead
• 800ml (1 1/2 pints) gluten free turkey or chicken stock check the label carefully
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 tbsp gluten free tamari or a gluten free Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tsp cornflour slaked in 4 tbsp cold water
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• sea salt and black pepper

Kit

• Roasting tin
• Small bowl
• Whisk
• Fine sieve

Method

1. Before you start, get a clean pan, a clean whisk and a clean sieve. If the same sieve strained something with flour in it earlier, wash it properly. This is the part that actually matters for a coeliac, more than the ingredients.

2. Rest the turkey and pour the fat off the tin down to three tablespoons. If your stuffing contained breadcrumbs and was cooked in the bird or in the same tin, do not use this tin. Start the gravy in a clean pan with butter or oil instead and accept a little less depth.

3. Set the tin over a medium heat and cook the onion and carrot in the fat for eight minutes until soft and browning. Without a roux to carry flavour, these vegetables are doing more work than usual, so let them properly caramelise.

4. Pour in the wine and scrape the base of the tin hard while it bubbles. Let it reduce by half, about three minutes. Wine and spirits are naturally gluten free, so there is nothing to worry about here, but beer and most ales are not.

5. Add the stock and thyme, bring to a simmer and cook for twelve minutes so it reduces slightly and takes on the flavour of the vegetables. Cornflour thickens but it does not add flavour the way a cooked roux does, so this reduction is doing that job instead.

6. Strain into a clean pan and bring it back to a simmer. Whisk the slaked cornflour again, because it settles within a minute, then pour it into the moving gravy in a thin stream while whisking. It thickens almost immediately.

7. Simmer for one to two minutes only. Cornflour reaches full thickness fast and then starts to thin again if you boil it hard for long. Add the tamari, the resting juices and the vinegar, bring back to a simmer for a minute, then season and serve.

Tips worth knowing

• Always slake cornflour in cold water first. Tipped in dry it forms lumps that will not whisk out, unlike flour, which at least stands a chance.
• Cornflour thickened gravy thins if it is held hot for a long time. Make it close to serving, or hold it at 63C rather than at a simmer and be ready with a little extra slurry.
• Check the stock, the tamari and the mustard. Stock cubes are the usual hidden source of wheat, and standard Worcestershire sauce contains malt vinegar made from barley.
• Use arrowroot instead of cornflour if you want the clearest possible gravy. It sets slightly softer and does not go cloudy on reheating.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge, cooled fast in a shallow container. Cornflour gravies do not freeze as well as floury ones and often come out watery, so if you want to freeze it, freeze the unthickened stock base and add a fresh slurry when you reheat. Bring to a rolling boil before serving.

Questions people ask