Cooking Allergen free Part I: Introducing Alice Sherwood

Piecrust

Egg and nut free

Prep time: 10 minutes plus chilling time

Serves 6 - 8

Generous 2 cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting

Pinch of salt

2/3 cup butter, chilled and cut into cubes

3 tbsp ice water or as needed

1. Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2. Using a fork or knife, mix with enough cold water to form a soft, but not sticky, dough. Bring the pastry together completely with your hands.

3. Transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until smooth and free from cracks. Wrap the pastry tightly in plastic wrap (to prevent the edges from drying out and cracking when the pastry is rolled out) and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Use as required. It can be frozen.

Courtesy of DK Publishing "Allergy-Free Cookbook"

See Part II: Enjoying the holidays allergen-free

Alice Sherwood is a writer and multimedia producer whose son has serious nut and egg allergies. She lives in London and spends vacations on the family farm in Wales, where her cooking is inspired by the delicious local produce.

Unhappy with the range of existing cookbooks for allergy sufferers, which mostly offered unappetizing concoctions, Alice decide to create her own. She is fascinated with the challenge of using different ingredients without compromising at all on taste. Her degree in chemistry is helping her find the best ways of compensating for the way gluten in flour, for example, gives bread its texture.

This book is the result of her years of searching for and devising recipes that her whole family could enjoy and that would fit in with her busy lifestyle.

All recipes appear courtesy of DK Publishing "Allergy-Free Cookbook"