Ingredient: fresh thyme or parsley

Everything Gumbo

For the gluten-free eater, gumbo is one of those foods we will likely never enjoy in a restaurant. At the heart of this dish is the classic New Orleans-style roux — a mix of flour and oil cooked until it is a rich, deep brown. Roux is synonymous with gumbo.

But I love gumbo, and knew I could make an excellent dish using gluten-free flour, specifically, in my case, Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose GF flour. I also borrowed a trick from Alton Brown, using my oven to build my roux. This allowed me to do all my prep work while the roux turned a gorgeous shade of chocolate brown.

You can make chicken gumbo, shrimp gumbo, vegetarian gumbo, gumbo with okra, without okra. It’s your gumbo. This recipe has everything but the okra (which I prefer served on the side, lightly fried rather than in the stew itself). As a bonus, gumbo served over steamed rice makes an impressive they’ll-never-guess-it’s-GF party dish!

Basic Turkey or Chicken Gravy

One thing gluten-free eaters need to be wary of is gravy. So often it’s made with wheat flour, meaning we often eat our mashed potatoes, turkey, and other dishes dry. Yet making gluten-free gravy is so easy, it doesn’t need to be saved for holiday meals. This gravy tastes so good, you’ll be the only one who knows it’s gluten-free.

This recipe assumes you’re using a whole roasted bird, complete with giblets. If this isn’t the case for you, skip the steps involved with making a broth and just use a flavorful stock. Having made this for several Thanksgivings, the one thing I can say with certainty is that while it’s a lot of work in the beginning, it comes together quickly while the turkey is resting!