Countdown to Christmas Cookery 6: Gluten-free Stuffing and Sauce: Cranberry Sauce and Gluten-free Apricot Stuffing

These gluten-free stuffing balls make a great addition to your Christmas roast dinner

Whatever main course you decide to have at Christmas, it's nice to make it really special by having at least one accompaniment to it besides gravy or sauce, and "stuffing" is the ideal one for any kind of roast meal. This stuffing blends an unusual fruity element with pleasantly earthy and gluten-free buckwheat for a treat that everyone an have on their plate. (I have avoided nuts in this as there will likely be nuts in your main course and I was going for complimentary flavours and textures here; but if you want, some chopped hazelnuts would go well in this.) This recipe makes 16 balls- so you may want to scale it down.

200g whole buckwheat grains(dry weight)
100-150g semi-dried apricots, finely chopped
2 celery sticks
olive oil for saute-ing
1/2-1 tsp coarse black pepper
1 tab dried thyme
1/2 tp compound hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp seasalt

• Cook the buckwheat until really soft in about 400ml water, keep cooking until all the water is absorbed.
• Meawhile, finely slice and saute the celery in the oil. When it's cooked stir in the apricots and add to the cooked buckwheat. 
• Blitz half of the mixture in a blender/ food processor until smooth and sticky and recombine with the rest in a large mixing bowl.
• Now mix in the rest of the ingredients thoroughly and roll into balls.
• Place on an oiled baking sheet in an oven pre-heated to 200C and cook until nicely browned (but not crispy!) turning once. This should take around 20 minutes or so, a little less than a nut roast, so put them in the oven last.

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Another fruity offering for your Christmas table has to be cranberry sauce, and here I'm linking to the one I made last year. It's super-simple to make (cranberries are high in pectin so the sauce will set readily) and just that little bit tangy as a foil for all that other rich food on your plate! Click here  for the link.

Who doesn't love sweet, tangy and fruity cranberry sauce?