Gluten, Wheat and Dairy Free Cookbook: Over 200 allergy-free recipes, from the ‘Sensitive Gourmet’. Antoinette Savill

      Alternatively, serve the salad on individual plates with slices of (GF) sourdough bread to mop up the juices.

      Tuna Fish Carpaccio with Mint and Caper Salad

       It has recently been claimed that eating fresh tuna twice a week has helped some people with stiff joints to feel more mobile. Tuna is an oily fish – which is no doubt why it might help ease stiff joints – but in this recipe the fat content is kept very low by serving it in wafer thin slices with an oil-free dressing. This dish must be ultra fresh otherwise it is not worth making.

       Serves 4

      2–4 wafer thin slices of fresh fillet of tuna per person

      85g/3oz/4 handfuls of fresh rocket (arugula) leaves

      Salt and freshly ground black pepper

      1 mild red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

      5 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and finely sliced

      4 small fresh plum tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped

      1 small cucumber, peeled, halved lengthways and seeded

      1 heaped teaspoon of (GF) Dijon mustard

      2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

      ½ clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

      A handful of chopped fresh mint leaves

      2 tablespoons of good quality capers (not in malt vinegar)

      Grated zest of 1 large lemon

      Juice of 1 large orange

      A small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

      Ask the fishmonger to slice the tuna into wafer thin slices for you or do it yourself using a very sharp knife.

      Arrange the rocket (arugula) leaves on four large plates. Place the tuna slices on the salad leaves and season it all with a little pepper.

      In a bowl, mix the chilli with the onions and tomatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper.

      Chop the cucumber into tiny pieces and add to the bowl of tomatoes. Stir in the mustard, followed by the vinegar and garlic. Now mix in the chopped mint, capers, lemon zest and orange juice and stir gently until it is blended.

      If you find the dressing too strong, then add a teaspoon of water at a time until the taste is to your liking.

      Spoon the salad and juices over the tuna carpaccio and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

      Serve with baby new potatoes.

      Fresh Tuna and Quails’ Egg Salad Niçoise

       A perfect main course for the summer, easy to prepare and to transport outside with a couple of cool bottles of wine and fresh (GF) bread to mop up the dressing.

       Serves 6 (or 12 as a starter)

      1kg/2.2lb/7 cups of baby new potatoes, scrubbed

      600g/21oz/7 cups of French dwarf (green) beans, topped and tailed

      24 baby tomatoes, wiped and halved

      1 small red onion, very finely sliced

      24 black olives, stoned (pitted)

      3 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

      Salt and freshly ground black pepper

      24 quails’ eggs, hard boiled for 3 minutes in boiling water, then transferred to cold water

      12 anchovy fillets, drained and halved

      3 tablespoons of virgin olive oil

      2 tablespoons of lemon juice

      1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

      6 large fresh tuna steaks or 12 small

      Extra olive oil

      Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until just soft. Drain and put in a large dish.

      Cook the beans, ensuring that they remain crunchy. Drain and refresh under cold water and mix with the potatoes.

      Now add the tomatoes, onion, olives, half the parsley, salt and pepper. Peel and halve the eggs and mix into the salad. Add the anchovies.

      Mix the oil, lemon juice and garlic together and sprinkle all over the salad.

      Finally, brush the tuna fish with a little oil and grill (broil) or char-grill until just cooked through.

      Place each steak on a bed of salad, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve or chill until needed.

      For a more economical alternative, cook 540g/18oz of fresh tuna then flake the flesh into the salad.

      Grilled Scallops with Sage and Capers

       In Italy, the caper is a delight; large, plump, mellow and juicy – quite unlike the minute offerings we get here in England. The very best capers are grown in Salina, an island off the coast of Sicily. Rather than being drowned in sharp vinegar, they are dried in high quality sea salt, which removes the bitterness and draws out the complex flavours.

       Serves 1–2

      255g/9oz/1¹/₃ cups of scallops with their corals

      6–8 fresh sage leaves, chopped

      1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

      Salt and freshly ground black pepper

      4 tablespoons of water

      2 heaped tablespoons of high quality capers (not in malt vinegar), drained

      4 tablespoons of Marsala

      1 heaped tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

      Place the scallops, sage, garlic, seasoning, water and capers in a non-stick frying pan (skillet) and cook for a 2–3 minutes. Add the Marsala and cook the scallops for another couple of minutes.

      Shake the pan from time to time so that the scallops are evenly cooked through.

      Remove the scallops from the pan and place on 2 warm plates.

      Quickly boil up the juices in the pan for 1–2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the scallops and decorate with a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley.

      Serve at once with warm fresh bread and a wonderful mixed green salad with fresh herbs.