Pizza pizza pizza pizza…

SO, THIS just popped up on my Twitter feed:

And all I can think now is….

Top 10 allergy friendly places to eat (2014)

SO, here it is – my run-down of our top allergy friendly meals out in 2014. A bit late, but timely in the aftermath of the ‘100 chefs rant against EU allergy laws’ thing. I’ve been tweeting my thoughts on this for a week, and am frankly bored of the moaning. Compelling caterers to declare which allergens are in their dishes doesn’t make anywhere more able, or likely, to cater for us, but it’s a first step on the road to greater understanding. It means that at least we have the right to ask, and to be told. I think that’s fair enough.

Anyway, enough about that. From never having the confidence to allow anyone bar family to cook for Sidney, in this past year we’ve managed to find a clutch of places happy, willing and able to cater for his multiple allergies. They are living proof that it is possible and, for that, I love them longtime.

So, in no particular order, here we go:

Brave new world & breadsticks

NEWS that a posho West End restaurant has been forced to close its doors wouldn’t usually fill me with glumness. But, oh, how I am bemoaning the loss – temporary or not – of Locanda Locatelli.

The celebrated Portman Square hangout has been left homeless following a gas explosion in the five-star Hyatt Regency Churchill hotel that houses it.

And now its chef-patron, Giorgio Locatelli, says he may abandon the site and try to re-open elsewhere.

So why my gloom? Well, because a visit to Locanda Locatelli last year marked the beginning of a brave new world for us as a family. It’s where we ate our first meal out, fully catered for Sidney.

Allergy-friendly holiday: Higher Lank Farm (Part I)

WELL, IT’S taken us more than two years and I never thought we’d do it but… we did, we have, we found a holiday place that caters for food allergic children!

Welcome to Higher Lank Farm, a glorious working farm in the midst of the Cornish countryside where the wonderful Lucy Finnemore has taken it upon herself as a challenge to cater for the oddball needs of food allergic kids. What a lady.

We only heard about this place after a friend, whose own toddler has a similar raft of allergies to Sidney, stumbled across it while searching online for child friendly UK breaks. She saw the website, which mentions in passing – and in typical no-razzmatazz Lucy style – that they “enjoy catering for people with special diets and food allergies” and there you have it.

The perfect cheesecake (two ways)

YOU’LL BE hard pressed to find a shop or deli-bought cheesecake that doesn’t contain egg, let alone wheat or nuts. But it’s actually really simple to knock up an allergy-friendly alternative that tastes just as good… and maybe even better.

I first made this recipe, just before Sid was born, for my husband’s birthday. (I’m not a mental baker, but I was six months pregnant and we weren’t going out on the razzle so I decided a cake would be a substitute – albeit a poor one!). I’ve adapted it here for Sidney using Tru Free digestives, which are egg, nut, wheat and gluten free.

‘Life with my allergic toddler’

SO TODAY I have a small piece in The Times’ Weekend supplement, ‘Life With My Allergic Toddler’, about the pain in the arseness of trying to shop, cook and cater for a food allergy tot when everything you try to buy ‘may contain’ this that and the other. (Here’s the link. It’s a shorter piece than originally intended but I’ll post the full and unabridged soon…)

Meanwhile, this morning I headed out to the supermarket to buy ingredients for a Sid-friendly cheesecake (recipe also to come). And instantly proved my point.

Sainsbury’s Organic double cream? “Not suitable for nut allergy sufferers”. Silver Spoon icing sugar? “May contain traces of egg.” Sainsbury’s ‘Free From’ digestive biscuits? “May contain nuts”. Three separate shops later and I think we finally have what we need. Minus the cheery disposition I may or may not have had when we started…

Lovely beetroot & carrot fritters

Egg free, wheat free, nut free, gluten free (optional: dairy free)

A SHORT while ago I posted about the wonderful barbecue at my Mum’s house, where, for the first time ever, we were able to turn up with Sid in tow but NO FOOD.

This was huge. It never happens when you’re parent to a food allergy kid. But everything Mum made was suitable for Sidney to eat, and it was amazing. Amazing for us not to have to cart over our tupperwares of pre-prepared safe snacks, and amazing for Sid to pilfer from our plates for the first time in his little life.

These beetroot and carrot fritters went down well, and with the addition of a sprinkling of salt the adults tucked in happily, too.

A rare treat

FELLOW food allergy parents will know what a rare treat it is to go out without a sackful of pre-prepped meals for the tot. You get so used to it, it barely registers sometimes – until that moment when you don’t have to do it.

No, I’m afraid I can’t announce a miraculous new dining spot where allergy kids get to eat freely and safely… unless, that is, you come round to my parents’ house for a barbecue one weekend this summer.

Delicious salmon fishcakes

Egg free, nut free, wheat free, gluten free

These crispy fishcakes can be fashioned purely from salmon or with cod, haddock or whatever combination of flaky fish you fancy. I go for salmon just for a dose of omega-3 (especially given Sidney can’t eat other omega-3 rich stuff like nuts, seeds, beans etcetera).

I make them into flat patties and lightly fry them off for a lovely crispy golden brown coating. The following recipe makes a big batch of around 18 fishcakes, which I freeze for future use.

Basically, they’re another great finger food, delicious eaten hot or cold, and make a good hearty staple for a meal with some veg on the side.

Ingredients

2 fresh (de-boned) salmon fillets (around 460g)

Potatoes (3 or 4 medium-sized)

Whole organic milk

Dove’s Farm gluten free plain white flour

Black pepper to taste

Pure sunflower oil

Unsalted butter

Large saucepan

Frying pan

Bowl

Method

Place the salmon fillets in a single layer in a pan and just about cover them with cold milk. Heat gently and let simmer for 10 minutes, then take off the heat and let cool.

Lift the poached fish out of the saucepan, leaving the milk. Peel off and discard the skin, pop the fish in a bowl and flake it through very carefully with your fingers to ensure there are no bones.

In the meantime, boil the potatoes (around one third to half of the quantity of fish) and then mash using the remaining cooking milk. Add butter and more milk if necessary for nice stiff peaks of mash. Again, leave to cool.

In a bowl, add the potato to the fish and fork through gently, with a sprinkling of black pepper to taste.

Next, form small flattish patties from the mixture with your hands and dust lightly with Dove’s Farm gluten free flour – either sprinkle through a sieve or dip in a bowl of flour. Place in fridge to firm up.

When chilled, pop the fishcakes in a frying pan on a medium heat with enough sunflower oil to cover the bottom. Turn after three or four minutes and cook on both sides until golden. Remove from heat, place on kitchen towel to drain excess oil and serve.

To freeze for future use, fry only until a very pale golden colour, remove from heat, drain on paper then, when cooled, layer on baking paper in a foil tray and freeze. When needed, defrost overnight then fry in sunflower oil until piping hot. Drain, serve, bingo!

Juicy lamb sausages

Egg free, wheat free, gluten free, nut free, (optional: dairy free)

ALL THOUGHTS of raising a veggie child flew straight out of the window when Sid turned out to be allergic to virtually all of my staples (eggs, wheat, pulses, nuts, hummus), the little bugger.

In all honesty, I’d never seriously considered bringing him up a vegetarian as my husband’s a meat eater and I have to confess to very fond memories of all my childhood meaty meals. After all, I’m half Roman on my Dad’s side and Jewish with an Irish-English bent on my Mum’s so how could I not have happy recollections of everything from salami to salt beef, steak ‘n’ kidney pie, roast pork with all the crackling (non-practising Jewish, all right?), even, I’m afraid, a bit of the old vitello tonnato. My veggie ways are all about the animal thing, not the taste thing.

So while I’m squeamish about handling raw meat and leave most of the handiwork on that front to my husband, I’m very happy to introduce Sidney to as many tasty foods as we safely can.

These lamb sausages were pilfered and adapted from a baby-led weaning cookbook and they have a few bonuses: they’re stuffed with veg, they freeze well and can be steamed back to juicy life (I’m told) in no time; plus they make great portable finger food as well as a hearty complement to a traditional meat and two veg dinner.

The original recipe, if I remember rightly, includes peas but, since they’re out for us, I use courgette, leek and, depending what’s in the fridge, a little cheddar or parmesan for added oomph. They’re just as good dairy free, though.

Ingredients

250g minced lamb

1 medium leek, finely chopped

2 courgettes, finely chopped

Ground black pepper to taste

Fresh herbs to taste (optional)

Handful grated parmesan (check the ingredients label to ensure there is no egg – the similar Grana Padano cheeses tend to include it) or cheddar

Olive oil to grease pan

Baking tray

Mixing bowl

Method

Steam or sauté the courgettes and leeks in a little olive oil until soft (you could add some finely chopped garlic and onion, too). Plop the lamb mince in a bowl and mix well with the cooked veg. Season with black pepper, add chopped fresh herbs if you fancy – mint’s a good one – and stir again.

Let the veg cool down before taking small handfuls of the mixture and forming little sausages. You could turn them into meatballs, or flat patties, but a sausage is particularly good for younger babies to grip. If the mix is sticky, you could dust your hands first with some wheat free, gluten free flour, but I’ve never found this to be necessary.

Place the sausages on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Ideally, if you have the time, stick them in the fridge for an hour or so before baking – this lets them firm up nicely.

Bake in a 200˚C oven for around 25 minutes to half an hour. You’ll know they’re cooked when they’re browned on the outside and no longer pink when you cut through one.

Perfect served fresh and hot, or cold the next day. I always freeze a batch for future use. Let them cool before layering them between sheets of baking paper in a foil carton and freezing. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then steam in a colander over a pan for 30 to 45 minutes until piping hot. Yum (apparently).