Parkin' the Gluten

 Individuals' allergy to gluten is something that has come to the forefront of the art of meal preparation in recent years. Supermarkets worldwide are festooned with gluten free products as this medical condition has become more well-known. Today's article covers a recipe for a gluten free take on a traditional winter recipe.

Bonfire Night can often feel like a night of new starts spiritually as well as culturally and personally. On one hand the dark spooks of Halloween have been purged by the bright lights of bonfires and fireworks and on the other hand it traditionally has been a time for new beginnings. On bonfire night 1966, Patrick Troughton took over as the titular character in Dr Who. It was the first time the lead actor had changed in the show's history. This was one of the chief reasons why the show, love it or hate it, has had such longevity. 

Just before bonfire night in 2014, I commenced work at a job in the city nearest to me that allowed me to grow up personally and professionally. This year's bonfire night also marked the arrival of a new talent in my work team, and the glimpse of a bright new future, as well as the reaffirmation of a longstanding personal partnership. 

The best food to mark this time is Parkin and with the taste that makes it feel as if it has been extracted from the embers of every bonfire since 1606, it is ideal comfort food at this time of year. 

When making this gluten free version of it I had an old stager on the player in the form of Phil Collins' 1996 effort "Dance Into the Light". He is a man who, despite selling hundreds of millions of records, is much maligned. In the 1980s and early 90s he was ubiquitous, perhaps proving the saying familiarity breeds contempt. For my generation, thanks to castigation from such varied quarters as South Park, Noel Gallagher and the hipster indie kids at the local music bar, he was an irredeemable purveyor of bland Dad Rock. 

Time changes things. As we mature we give less of a toss about coolness and more about whether we like the music or not. Listening to his records now, which happily sit alongside Milles Davis, Mercury Rev, Suede, Joy Division and PIL to name but a few in my collection, one is struck by the boundless energy and catchiness of a lot of the material and so it stands the test of time. 

"Dance into the Light" was his first post Genesis album and is chock full of bongo bouncing world music, strong ballads and general brightness. In the 1980s and early 1990s that was fine. In a post Oasis, Suede and Blur world however, it was passé. Still it is an album worth owning to brighten a winter night. 

So to the ingredients of this recipe which are as follows:

200 grams of Unsalted Butter. 

4 tablespoons of Skimmed Milk. 

1 Large Egg Beaten thoroughly. 

285 grams of Treacle. 

85 grams of Demerara Sugar.

100 grams of Gluten Free Oats

4 tablespoons of Ground Ginger. 

250 grams of Gluten Free Self-Raising Flour. 

The way to make this one goes like this:

1. Melt the Butter in a saucepan. Then add the Sugar and stir that into the Butter. Then add the Treacle and stir it into the mixture. When thoroughly stirred in, turn off the heat and leave to one side. 

2. Take the Flour, Oats, Ginger and mix together in a dry bowl. 

3. Add the melted Butter, Sugar and Treacle to the mixture in the bowl and stir in. 

4. Add the Beaten Egg and mix it in well. 

5. Add the Milk and stir in. 

This should leave a thick, sweet paste that can then be placed into a greased baking tin. I recommend using a greased Pyrex dish, more normally used for a Shepherds' Pie or Lasagne, which was a trick I learned from an old work crush who used to make the most exquisite chocolate brownies during my Fat Elvis Years. 

The next step is to cook the mixture in the oven on Gas Mark 3, aka 160c, for around an hour. At the end of that you should have a mixture which is solid but moist, that a skewer comes out clean from when poked into it. The mixture can be cut into pieces and used for to five days, during that time it becomes more flavoursome and its smoky yet sweet taste is enhanced.