Allergy-friendly Pumpkin Muffins

Bread, the staff of life or so the saying goes.  Not so true if you are intolerant or allergic to wheat.  In fact, bread, in all its many forms, can cause serious problems if you are avoiding gluten.  Not just because of a physical reaction to the grain, but because finding a gluten-free alternative that you like can seem like a holy quest.  If you add an intolerance to dairy, soy, eggs and yeast into the mix you may well find yourself severely, and a little depressingly, limited.  That being said, it’s not always the case that restriction is a negative.  Avoiding wheat and other allergens can lead you to experiment with new grains in a way that you might not have had necessity not led you there: rice flour, potato flour, quinoa, buckwheat, flax seed are wonders of the allergy-free world and brilliant in baking.

There are some wonderful allergy-free bakers out there making the most of those natural grains – ABO Artisan Bread being my absolute favourite – and you will find a number of quick, reliable and delicious allergy-free breads in my soon-to-be released book, The Intolerant Gourmet.  But in the meantime you might find yourself wanting to rustle up a little something up that’s simple, satisfying and perfect for lunch.  These muffins are a recent development of mine and I’ve become quite reliant on them.  They are so easy to make, have a great texture and are perfect for serving with a bowl of soup or salad for lunch or a light supper, so much so that you’ll be very glad you’ve made eight of them - they’ll keep for up to three days and you can easily warm them through in a low oven.  They also freeze marvellously, making them both practical and delicious - my favourite.

I’ve used butternut squash for this recipe but you can use whatever variety of squash or pumpkin you like, either way the results will be the same:  slightly caramelised chunks of squash bedded in a fluffy savoury muffins, swirled in places with an amber tinge and studded with crisp pumpkin seeds.

ALLERGY-FREE PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Makes 8 muffins

200g butternut squash, peeled weight

50g pumpkin seeds

125ml oat cream mixed with 1tbsp lemon juice

60ml olive oil + 1 tbsp for roasting

125ml rice milk

1 tsp runny honey

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

300g Doves Farm gluten free plain flour

4 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 200c.  Peel the butternut squash and scoop out any seeds or pith that may be there.  Cut into 1cm cubes and place in a roasting tray with 1 tbsp of olive oil.  Season well with sea salt and black pepper and roast in the oven for 40 minutes until golden and tender.

Place the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and stir together until combined.  Place the soured oat cream, flax mixture, olive oil, honey and rice milk into a large mixing bowl and gently whisk together.  Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and season well.  Fold the flour into the liquid mixture until combined.  Add the roast squash and pumpkin seeds and fold into until evenly mixed.

Lower the heat of the oven to 190c.  Spoon three heaped tablespoons of the muffin mixture into each muffin case and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until risen and golden.