Ideas of what food to take

[EauRudolph]

I need to take a plate of something to my cousin's on Boxing day for the annual family shindig. Usually I make something but I am 30 weeks pregnant so I'm taking the year off

I need something suitable for vegetarians, a coeliac and me. I don't mind doing a bit of preparation, I was thinking maybe veggie sticks and a couple of home made dips? Any other bright ideas gratefully received especially since I am a bit clueless when it comes to gluten-free stuff.

TIA!

[thereisthesnowball]

A big dish of roast veg? Really easy and delicious. You can do wintry root veg (parsnips, carrots, onions, beetroot) or mediterranean veg (easier as less peeling: courgettes, onions, aubergines, garlic and tomatoes - add the toms in later or do in another dish). Not much effort. If you want to make them into more of a composed dish you can tip the wintry veg onto a plate of watercress and serve with lentils and chopped feta cheese; for the med veg I'd do a bowl of quinoa and maybe take some harissa or pesto along to dollop on top.

Or you could just do a tray of roast baby new potatoes: all they need are lots of lemon wedges, garlic cloves and fresh rosemary.

If you really don;t want to cook, then do a beetroot and goats cheese salad: you need beetroot that isn't coated in vinegar. Chop the beetroot, halve some cherry tomatoes, cut goats cheese into cubes, dress with balamic, and serve over rocket. YUM and very pretty.

[thereisthesnowball]

NB By lentils above I mean Puy lentils. They take 20 minutes to boil, in some water with a veg stock cube added.

[notasize10yetbutoneday]

I would do a quiche- can pastry be made suitable for coeliacs? [clueless]

Similar to what snowball suggested- rossted veg mixed with couscous and chickpeas makes a lovely salad and is also nice served warm.

[EauRudolph]

That beetroot and goats cheese salad sounds yummy! How would I go about getting non-pickled beetroot, would I have to buy and roast it myself? It's getting tough to bend over and get things out of the oven. I think a salad may be the way to go, I really ought to read up on coeliac stuff. My cousin's only recently been diagnosed.

[thereisthesnowball]

I think Waitrose do it. Worst case scenario you could get the pickled stuff and rinse thoroughly, then let it dry before you make the salad. NB that's also lovely with lentils in.

Pastry would need to be made with gluten-free flour, which is hard to find and doesn't behave like normal flour. I'd steer clear.

[thereisthesnowball]

Sainsburys does unpickled beetroot too. Generally comes vacuum-packed I think.

[thereisthesnowball]

And while you're at it, if you see any of this beetroot and apple juice buy it - it's fabulous.

[EauRudolph]

Brilliant, thanks so much for your help! :)