Friday, February 27, 2009

chickpea flat bread recipe

This is from the Millennium Cookbook, so it is g-f and dairy-free. The seasoning in the recipe works well; I have also tried curry/cilantro and pumpkin/chive (added in half a can of pumpkin, could be less...also baked for twice as long, but ended up very moist and delicious!)

2 c chickpea flour (I use Bob's Red Mill garbanzo flour)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t cumin seed, toasted and coarsely ground (or powder works)
1 t fresh rosemary (I have also used thyme)
1/3 t red pepper flakes
1 t sea salt
3-4 c water (I usually stop at 3)

in a lg bowl, combine the chickpea flour, garlic, cumin, rosemary, pepper flakes and salt. whisk in the water gradually til the consistency of heavy cream.

preheat oven to 400. grease and line with parchment an 8 x 10" sided baking sheet. pour in batter and bake 15 mins or until bread is brown on the edges and firm in the center. cool and cut into strips. store in airtight container. can be refrigerated and reheated successfully.

Enjoy with: baba ganoush, hummous, goat cheese, olive and caper tapenade, or all of the above. We enjoyed them recently as the injera for an ethiopian meal, tho' if you're hard core and can make real injera which takes days (and traditionally is baked on a clay plate over a fire), teff is gluten-free. unfortunately its price has gone up and most ethiopian restaurants use wheat flour or a combo.

More recipes soooooon. G-F tiramisu, anyone?

Thursday, February 12, 2009

beautiful and delicious g-f pear tart


Recipe from Brooke, pic by Mary...

i improvised the g/f part... but it was based on this Smitten Kitchen recipe:
Pear and Almond Tart

Pears
4 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 medium-size firm but ripe Bosc pears, (each about 7 ounces)

Almond Filling
2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 tablespoon brown rice flour
½ c maple syrup
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 sweet tart shell, baked (recipe: the crust was essentially 3/4 stick butter, 1.5 cups rice flour, handful of almonds finely ground, one egg yolk and some honey a pinch of salt, and some fresh ginger food processed.
i didn't roll the dough.. just mushed it into the tart pan. make the sides double thick. Prebake for 20-25 mins.)

For pears: Bring 4 cups water and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until pears are very tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool pears.

For almond filling: Finely grind almonds and flour in processor. Mix in maple syrup then butter and flavorings (if using). Blend until smooth. Mix in egg. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (resembled cake batter consistency... i think i added some of the pear cooking liquid to get it to look like the texture in the picture on the blog. mine was thicker.... i cheated and pre-cooked this in a sauce pan to thicken it up before assembling.)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spread almond filling evenly in baked tart crust. Stem pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores. Cut each half crosswise into thin slices. Gently press each pear half to fan slices but keep slices tightly overlapped. Slide spatula under pears and arrange atop filling like spokes of wheel with narrow ends in center.

Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.


Thanks, Brooke!