Coeliac Awareness Week: Cooking against the grain

Ahead of Coeliac Awareness Week, chef Anthony Demetre, who looked to superfood quinoa for inspiration when he was diagnosed with coeliac disease, tells Metro how gluten-free food can be both healthy and tasty.

Coeliac Awareness Week: Cooking against the grain
Balancing act: Anthony Demetre dreamed up tête de veau salad as a gluten-free treat (Pic: Daniel Lynch)

â’For me, quinoa should be up there in the top five superfoods. It contains all the essential amino acids for protein building. Itâs got more amino acids than a fillet of beef, itâs quite incredible,â enthuses Anthony Demetre.

IIt comes as something of a surprise to hear a chef whoâs made his reputation serving French classics such as bouillabaisse singing the praises of the seed of a plant (pronounced keen-wah) thatâs been cultivated in South America for 5,000 years. However, since being diagnosed with coeliac disease (an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine caused by an allergic reaction to the gluten protein found in grains including wheat, barley and rye) about four years ago, gluten-free ingredients have formed an essential part of Demetreâs diet.

âI was diagnosed by the best gastroenterologist in the country, who also happened to be a foodie. The day I went to see him he was dining at the Fat Duck â pretty ironic,â jokes Demetre. âI had feelings of lethargy and couldnât control my weight. As a nation, we eat far too much wheat. He told me the condition is so common there are as many as one in nine coeliacs undiagnosed.â

Anthony Demetre  at work in Les Deux Salons
Anthony Demetre at work in Les Deux Salons

At home, Demetre eats a lot of quinoa. âItâs very easy to cook, it takes about 12 minutes in plenty of boiling salted water, like you would do pasta. Itâs done when the centre still looks uncooked and the seeds looks like theyâre sprouting. You can see if it has been overcooked because it will double its volume and looks more translucent. You could use quinoa instead of couscous, bulgar wheat and even rice. It works well if you serve it with pigeon or pheasant in a lovely warm salad. Salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovy, any fish that contains oil works really well because the seeds take on the oiliness.â

Demetre even starts his day with a bowl of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, natural yoghurt, honey and quinoa flakes. âYou have to toast them first because theyâre raw,â he says.

In the basement kitchen of Les Deux Salons, Demetreâs bustling two-storey brasserie in Covent Garden, the chef prepares two starter dishes featuring the seed, beginning with a beetroot salad (seerecipe 1below). âI canât believe how many we sell. Itâs one of our biggest cold starters. I use Cheltenham beetroots â I love the flavour of them. Itâs the old heritage variety, which is really making a comeback.â

Demetre gets extra flavour into the pumpkin and sunflower seeds he adds to the salad for some crunch by toasting them in grilled rapeseed oil. âGrilling the seeds from the rape plant gives the oil an amazing flavour and itâs not expensive. Thereâs nothing better than that toasted, caramelised taste.â

Demetre famously never wastes a thing in his kitchen and, after adding the seeds to beetroot and broccoli, he dresses some sea purslane using the remaining oil from the pan, adding a squeeze of lemon juice. âOne thing all good cooks do is capture the flavours from the original pan. Whether youâre roasting a piece of meat or some vegetables, that pan contains all the flavours that have been released. Itâs like making a gravy when youâre roasting a chicken â you want all the caramelised bits from the bottom of the tray.â

The second dish (recipe 2) is a little more esoteric as it includes tÃªte de veau â braised calfâs head. âItâs cooked in court bouillon, boned, rolled, left overnight to set, then thinly sliced on a meat slicer â but you can use lamb breast instead,â says Demetre.

However, Demetre has kept his most surprising creation until last. Behind the bar in the ground-floor dining room is what the chef refers to as his Mr Whippy â a hopper-style soft ice cream machine. He serves me a glass bowl of a light beige concoction (recipe 3) that tastes deliciously caramelised. It makes for a delectable finale.

Coeliac Awareness Week starts on Monday, with a focus on gluten-free food. http://www.coeliac.orgAnthony Demetreâs gluten-free recipes

Recipe 1: Salad of beetroot, broccoli, quinoa, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate (serves four).

Warm 150g cooked beetroot (use traditional round red or add golden and candy striped chioggia for variety) and drizzle with 1tbsp olive oil, 1tsp red wine vinegar and caster sugar, and salt to taste for a sweet and sour effect.

Beetroot salad
Beetroot salad (Pic: Daniel Lynch)

In a pan, lightly colour 2tbsp pumpkin seeds and 2tbsp sunflower seeds in 50ml grilled rapeseed oil (use plain rapeseed oil if you canât get the grilled variety). Cook 80g broccoli in boiling salted water until tender and drain. Cook 50g quinoa as per packet instructions. Toss the broccoli, quinoa and 4tbsp pomegranate seeds in the toasted seeds and oil to coat, then season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Arrange the beetroot on the plate, and spoon over the broccoli and quinoa mixture. Scatter over 70g of mixed sweet and bitter salad leaves (such as lambs lettuce and endive) and serve.

Recipe 2: Warm, thinly sliced tÃªte de veau, salad of quinoa, lemon peel, goatâs curd and olives (serves four).

Tête de veau salad
Tête de veau salad

Arrange 500g cooked sliced tête de veau (or any cooked lamb cut; shoulder or breast work well) evenly between four plates.

In a bowl, mix 60g quinoa, cooked as per packet instructions, 80g green petit Lucques olives, 2tbsp sliced preserved lemon peel, 1tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, dilute 4tbsp goatâs curd cheese with 1tbsp of full-fat milk or enough so itâs the consistency of thick custard. Season with salt and pepper.

Gently warm the plated meat under a pre-heated grill until the fat starts to render, season with salt and pepper and quickly spoon over the goatâs curd. Arrange the quinoa mix over the curd. Scatter over 70g sea purslane lettuce or lambâs lettuce (mÃ¢che) dressed with 1tbsp olive oil and juice of Â¼ lemon. Drizzle the plates with a little olive oil and serve.

Recipe 3: Toasted quinoa and brown rice ice cream with brown rice syrup (serves four).

Toasted quinoa and brown rice ice cream
Toasted quinoa and brown rice ice cream

Heat 500ml full-fat milk in a pan. Split 1 vanilla pod, scrape all the seeds into the milk and add the pod. Bring the milk to the boil and pour over 6 egg yolks, lightly whipped, in a large bowl with 100g caster sugar.

Return the milk and egg mix to the pan then cook over a low heat, stirring all the time until the custard coats the back of a spoon.

In two separate frying pans, toast 100g brown rice and 150g quinoa until well coloured. Reserve 2tbsp quinoa and put the rest, along with the rice, into the custard. Whisk to disperse the rice and quinoa evenly and allow to cool completely.

Strain the custard into a clean bowl, pressing on the rice and quinoa to extract as much of the custard as possible. The custard should now have taken on a beautiful light caramel colour and should taste heavenly. Churn in an ice cream maker. When ready to serve, sprinkle on the reserved toasted quinoa and pour on the brown rice syrup.



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