Christmas dinner stress-buster; Tesco ready-made gf turkey gravy

When I catered for large parties with the full turkey, eight vegetables, two types of potatoes etc. I used to buy two turkeys.  I would cook one the previous week and use the bones to make stock so that the gravy would be a minimum effort activity once the main turkey was cooked- I'd just add the stock to the gooey brown mess at the bottom of the roasting dish, give it a quick stir on the stove, and that would be it.

 With a big kitchen and  large chest freezer this sort of catering was easy.  Now I live in a flat I am looking for space as well as effort saving techniques.  While I was shopping today I noticed an array of ready-made gravy, thickened with cornflour.  I decided to test this tonight with a roast chicken and vegetables.

cold gravy

Th gravy can be heated in the microwave or on the hob.  It ha a pleasant thickness without being cloying. The flavour is a little odd for me, as it has star anise as well as pepper.  I'm never sure about my views on star anise, but every time I buy this spice I end up not using it.  However this hint of star anise is just that, a hint, and I doubt people would be troubled by it as part of the meal.  Just remember to be able to tell them that is what the flavour is if they ask.

This gravy can also be frozen. The one I bought today (Dec 12) had a use by date of Dec 27.

Very Easy Turkey Noodle Soup - gluten-free

In the brief gap between when I stopped being a vegetarian and discovered I was gluten intolerant I enjoyed chicken noodle soup.  Yesterday I watched a programme about how Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup was made, so of course today for lunch we had Turkey Noodle Soup.

I am cooking the turkey carcass with lots of water to make a stock, so I simply ladled out two portions of this stock, using a sieve over the soup pan to make sure no bones or other unwanted solids were transferred.  I added a little salt and two slices of left-over turkey, chopped small.  When this was boiling I added some Ko-Lee Rice Vermicelli Noodles, which I crushed into smallish pieces. They are quite sharp so next time I think I would bash them with a rolling pin.

I cooked the soup until the noodles were soft, which took about six minutes.  The soup was very good and very easy.

Baked spring rolls

I have some packets of Rice Flour Pancakes for spring rolls by Blue Dragon.  I never deep fry anything, not knowing what to do with the oil afterwards, so have tried these uncooked and shallow fried.  I don't think much of them as uncooked wraps, and found that shallow frying them tended to make them fall apart.  Today I tried brushing them with a little oil and baking them.

I filled them with some shredded cooked turkey, slivers of ginger and bamboo shoot, garlic and some chili jam.  I then placed them on a greased baking sheet and baked them for fifteen minutes.  They held together very well, but the underneath surface was crisper than the top surface.  Next time I would turn them over half way through to improve the texture.

These are slightly fiddly to make as you have to dunk each pancake in hot water for twenty seconds before placing on a wet cloth, filling and folding.  However, all of these stages could be done ahead of time.  This would make them suitable for an occasion where you had guests and you weren't sure what time they would arrive.  If they were already on a baking sheet you could pop them in a hot oven when people arrived, and you could serve hot spring rolls with a spicy dipping sauce twenty minutes later.

We had these as a light and amusing Christmas lunch with a glass of champagne, and a rocket and red pepper salad.