Gluten free bites

I'm often asked for gluten free platters so thought I'd share some of my favourite gluten free recipes.
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I cook a lot with oats and love Flahavan's; it has been milling oats at the family mill in Co. Waterford for over 200 years. My go-to for gluten free is Bob's Red Mill; it produces oats and oat flour too so it's useful for plenty of recipes.

Oat & Hazelnut tart
I've lost count of the number of times I've made this, it's like a giant nutty oatcake. The original recipe is by Henrietta Inman - I just mix up the toppings:
-Turkish spiced butternut squash by Rebecca Seal topped with courgette shavings and pistachio dukkah. I use the River Cottage recipe.
-Alternatively I smother it with ricotta, swirl in pesto and top with roasted peppers.

Chocolate and cherry energy balls
These are great as they last ages in the freezer. You can take one or two out to have with your mid morning coffee and they'll keep you going until lunch. I've adapted a few cacao and nut recipes I've tried to include my favourite flavours - pecan and cherry!

Recipe below - makes around 20 balls.

200g pecans
200g dates
90g cherries - I use Urban Fruit that have have no added sugar or preservatives.
1 teaspoon of almond butter
1 teaspoon of agave or brown rice syrup (or honey if they don't need to be vegan)

• Whizz up the nuts in a food processor to get them nice and fine. I love my Magimix and probably use it daily!
• Then add the dates, cherries, almond butter and syrup.
• Add a splash of water or teaspoon of melted coconut oil if mixture feels dry and doesn't come together easily.
• Sometimes I hold back a few of the cherries and then just pulse to give a bit of texture. You could do the same with a handful of cacao nibs too.
• Scoop a generous teaspoon and roll! If you want to make them look extra pretty try rolling in freeze dried raspberries, coconut or finely chopped pistachios.​

They last a good few days in the fridge and a couple of months at least in the freezer.
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Clementine and almond cake
I often add this to my dessert platters. As it is super moist and squidgy it feels more like a dessert than a slice of cake. Recipe is by Nigella. It uses ground almonds, just check the baking powder you are using is gluten free.

Sometimes I drizzle with raspberry icing or top with a spoon of lemon curd and toasted almonds. It freezes really well too so perfect if you need to prepare in advance.