Last Chance Foods: Tips on Creating a Thanksgiving Menu for Every Dietary Restriction - a podcast by WNYC Studios

Gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, vegan and vegetarian — has your Thanksgiving menu being undermined by food allergies and ethical objections?Tell us about what you don’t eat in the comments below. Or share the extraordinary lengths you’ve gone to in catering to the dietary restrictions of your friends and family.

Here’s what three chefs and one caterer had to say about the subject.

“I grew up in Maryland and on our way to the beach every year, we would see the poultry farms, or some of them, and they just really disgusted me,” confessedJacques Gautier, the chef and owner of the Brooklyn restaurants Palo Santo and Fort Reno. “That was the one thing that led me as a teenager to become a vegetarian.”

He’s no longer a vegetarian, but he still makes it a point to stay away from brands like Perdue or Tyson — all because of that childhood memory. This year, he’s hosting Thanksgiving at his restaurants, where he’ll serve heritage turkeys raised on small farms.

When it comes to the sweet stuff, ChefPeter Berley, the author ofThe Flexitarian Table, draws the line at refined sugar.

“I avoid white sugar because it has disastrous effects on the body,” he said. “Really — it’s something that I’m pretty adamant about. And so I replace it with natural sweeteners that are loaded with minerals and also are whole foods, such as maple syrup. I like maple syrup a lot and one of the reasons I why love it is because of the Maillard reaction, which creates a synergized form of umami, which is the fifth taste, which is the experience of something yummy.”

Berley added that sweet potatoes are one of the few vegetables that have naturally occurring umami, so adding maple syrup to your sweet potato casserole will make it doubly delicious.

For those who avoid dairy,Aliya Leekong, a chef at the restaurant Junoon and author of the cookbookExotic Table, has several suggestions on how to replace the flavor of butter with other vegan ingredients.

“I think you could easily replace flavors like butter in your cooking using just great market vegetables, aromatics like shallots and garlic,” she said. “Nuts add depth of flavor and fat to a dish. And just bright herbs like parsley and mint and cilantro can really sort of round out a dish, and you don’t really need a butter.” Leekong says the only thing she tries to avoid are processed foods.

Liz Neumark, the CEO of the catering company Great Performances, has a longer list of foods she doesn’t eat. Neumark stays away from dairy, meat, and octopus. She took the octopus off of all of the menus at Great Performances after reading articles about how smart and sentient they are. This Thanksgiving, Neumark will be in Israel, where she’ll celebrate Hanukkah, too. The rare overlap of the two holidays won’t happen again until 2070. But there’s one vegan and vegetarian Hanukkah food that Neumark would like to see every Thanksgiving.

“There’s no reason to think that latke couldn’t be a part of Thanksgiving tradition in general because it’s a great seasonal vegetable that really complements everything else that you’re eating,’ she said. “And you can really have fun with them because you can make them out of potatoes, you can make them out of sweet potatoes, you can make them with carrots, zucchini. You can do them so many different ways.”

So sometimes it just takes a little creativity and merging of cultures to find foods that everyone can enjoy this Thanksgiving. And remember, if you have dietary restrictions, one great way to work around that is to bring a dish that everyone can eat. Who knows? You might just make a dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free convert out of your friends.

If you’re still scouting for a side dish for Thanksgiving, try chef Einat Admony’s award-winning latke recipe below. Or check out chef Peter Berley’s recipe forRoasted Pumpkin with Quinoa Stuffing.

Potato, Yam& Carrot Latke with Honey, Preserved Lemons& Yogurt Sauce
by Einat Admony, chef and owner of Balaboosta and Taïm

• 1 cup grated potato
• 1 cup grated yams
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 1/2 cup grated onion (after having the liquid squeezed out)
• 1/2 cup grated peeled granny smith apple
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs chopped thyme
• 4 tbs AP flour
• 1 tbs salt
• Pinch black pepper
• Pinch sugar
• Canola oil

Method:

Mix all in a mixing bowl.

Heat up sauté pan with 1/2" oil.

When the oil is hot, around 370 degrees, create a 2-inch patties and fried them on both sides until they are golden brown.

For the yogurt sauce:

Simply mix chopped preserved lemons with enough honey to balance out the bitterness. Gently fold in plain yogurt until you have a homogeneous mixture. You can add turmeric for color if you wish. Season with salt and pepper. Dollop on your lovely little latkes and let the holiday feasting begin!

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