> Features

Cooking for a crowd

Cooking for a crowd

by Great British Chefs 23 November 2015

Feeding large groups of people can be tricky – especially if some of your guests have dietary requirements. But there are plenty of products on the shelves that mean you can still serve your favourite food.

As we roll on towards Christmas, the number of parties, reunions, dinners and gatherings start mounting up. If you’re going to be hosting your own soiree, working out what to cook can be a bit stressful. Serving something that everyone will enjoy is tough enough, but guests can be vegetarian, gluten intolerant, struggle with dairy or be allergic to specific ingredients. You might think this seriously limits the number of dishes you can serve, but don’t feel like you have to play it safe; the number of free from and alternative products has expanded massively over the past few years. With a few substitutions, versions of recipes normally containing wheat, milk or eggs can still be served to large crowds of people.

It’s always a good idea to offer a vegetarian dish of some kind, but instead of sticking to the classics (many of which most vegetarians will be fed up of being served time and time again) try something a bit more adventurous. Fabrizio Marino’s Gourmet pizza looks absolutely stunning and will make most people forget about any carnivorous offerings entirely. For vegetarian canapés and party food you’re spoilt for choice; try Bruno Loubet’s seasonal Roquefort and cranberry endives or Deena Kakaya’s spring rolls and puff pastry plait.

With the number of people following a gluten-free diet constantly on the increase, it’s important to find out if any of your guests are intolerant or allergic. If they are, don’t automatically think your planned pies, pastries, sauces or batters are off limits – the majority of them can still be made with gluten-free flours. While they might not have the exact same texture as their wheat-filled counterparts, gluten-free baking is incredibly popular, and a thriving online community has helped create alternative recipes for everything from bread sauce to chocolate fudge cake. Victoria Glass’ recipe for sausage rolls uses a mix of potato and rice flour with xantham gum to create the pastry, and they’re every bit as delicious as the traditional kind.

Beetroot, lentil, squash and paneer spring rolls
by Deena Kakaya
Rose harissa, parsnip and paneer puff pastry plait
by Deena Kakaya

Milking it

Dairy plays a pretty important role in a lot of recipes – particularly baking. Lots of people aren’t lactose-intolerant, but simply avoid milk because they find it hard to digest or it makes them feel bloated – something you definitely don’t want at a party. This can be due to the A1 protein found in most cows’ milk, which is harder for our bodies to digest. Try cooking with a2 Milk, a 2015 Taste Awards winner. a2 Milk doesn’t contain that particular protein and tastes exactly the same as standard milk. You might just make your guests realise they could have been enjoying milk all along, and can now tuck into creamy soups, ice cream, hot chocolate and all sorts of baked treats.

Once you know of any dietary requirements your guests have, don’t let yourself be restricted to recipes that avoid things like gluten or dairy. A lot of the time, it’s possible to still serve your favourite party food by substituting one or two ingredients without affecting the flavour whatsoever.

Please note: a2 Milk is not suitable for anyone medically diagnosed with galactosaemia, lactose intolerance or a milk allergy.

Flour power

If you want to substitute flour for gluten-free flour, it's not always as simple as replacing it with the same amount. If you're making things like muffins or cookies, where you don't want a lot of gluten, then it's usually fine. However, with breads and cakes, you will usually have to add a binder, which can be anything from a few extra eggs to some xantham gum.

The resulting mixture before it goes into the oven will usually be more liquid than traditional gluten bakes, too, so don't be tempted to add more flour, otherwise you'll end up with something dense and brittle.

Comments ()

Cooking for a crowd

 

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Change your username in user settings to something more personal.

 

(Editing)

>

This comment was edited

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Reply | | Edit | Delete Report

This comment has been deleted

Report this comment

Please state your report in the space below

Please enter text

Reports must be less than 750 characters

loading

>

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

(Editing)

>

This comment was edited

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Reply | | Edit | Delete Report

This comment has been deleted

Report this comment

Please state your report in the space below

Please enter text

Reports must be less than 750 characters

loading

>

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Be the first to leave a comment on this page...
...   ...
 

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Change your username in user settings to something more personal.

 

You may also like

Cooking for a crowd
Beetroot, lentil, squash and paneer spring rolls
by Deena Kakaya
Breakfast
Recipe Collection
7 of our favourite breakfast recipes
by Great British Chefs
Mincemeat and custard pies
by Helen Jessup
Rose harissa, parsnip and paneer puff pastry plait
by Deena Kakaya
Brunch
Recipe Collection
Celebration trifle
by Karen Burns-Booth
Christmas morning breakfast bake
by Karen Burns-Booth
Indian-spiced coconut rice pudding with aromatic poached pears
by Deena Kakaya
Super subs: alternative ingredients for traditional baking
by Great British Chefs
Healthy eating
Great British Bake Off – inspiration for Alternative Ingredients Week
by Great British Chefs
Dairy-free
Recipe Collection
Challenge yourself to go dairy-free
by Great British Chefs
The best dairy alternatives for a vegan diet
by David and Charlotte Bailey
Gluten-free baking
Recipe Collection
Eggs Florentine
by Sally Abé
Gluten-free cake
Recipe Collection
Gluten-free Christmas
Recipe Collection
Gluten-free
Recipe Collection
Crab eggs Benedict
by Marcus Wareing
Baked eggs, potato and leek
by Rosana McPhee
Egg rougaille
by Selina Periampillai
Baked eggs with ham and tomato
by Galvin brothers
Plum tomato bruschetta with poached eggs
by Marcus Wareing
Cheesy baked eggs with Marmite soldiers
by Alyn Williams
Fried duck egg with asparagus and truffle
by Josh Eggleton
Bacon, egg, tomato and cheddar-garlic mayo club sandwich
by Nathan Outlaw
Cured salmon with scrambled duck eggs
by Dominic Chapman
Bacon and pea omelette with cheese glaze
by Nathan Outlaw
Grilled asparagus, soft cheese and mint frittata
by Bruno Loubet
Ham and eggs with potato pancakes
by Mark Dodson
Brunch Mary
by Bruno Loubet
Pancakes with roast ham and maple syrup
by Adam Gray
American pancakes
by Shaun Rankin
French Toast and Vanilla Raspberry Compote
by Karen Burns-Booth
Spiced banana French toast, smoked bacon, chilli labne, tamarind caramel
by Peter Gordon
Grilled kippers, brown butter and parsley
by Will Holland
Cinnamon French toast with wimberries
by Shaun Hill
Omelette Arnold Bennett
by Dominic Chapman
Creme Egg pancake stack
by Jacqueline Meldrum
Smoked salmon with chard and dill pancakes
by Shaun Hill
Poached duck egg with English asparagus, cured ham and grain mustard dressing
by Matthew Tomkinson
Smoked bacon hash with a fried duck egg
by Adam Gray
Turkish menemen with sumac yoghurt
by Anna Hansen
Turkish eggs
by Peter Gordon
Tea-smoked salmon, poached eggs, spinach and yuzu hollandaise, English muffin
by Anna Hansen
How to make almond milk
Gluten-free
Recipe Collection

NAVIGATE

© Great British Chefs 2018