Showing posts with label gluten-free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten-free. Show all posts

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Cauliflower Cheese Pie with Grated Potato Crust

A crispy potato crust is filled with all the comfort food goodness of cauliflower and cheese, making this the perfect pie for a still chilly February evening. Or anytime really.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite ways to eat cooked cauliflower was with a side of mayonnaise in which to dip it. I got some funny looks outside my home, where mayo and cauliflower was normal, a given. I thought everyone ate it that way. That winning combo was rivaled on my plate only by cauliflower with cheese sauce. I remember one special family occasion – not sure if it was Christmas or Thanksgiving or possibly even Easter – but there was a platter of cauliflower and broccoli arranged most artistically by my youngest aunt, all smothered in thick cheese sauce. I could have eaten the whole thing by myself but had to share. More’s the pity.

I discovered as I began to travel and learn about other cultures and traditional recipes that the British make a dish called cauliflower cheese for special occasions as well. The cauliflower is steamed or boiled whole then drained. A cheese sauce is created by making a béchamel or white sauce to which sharp cheddar is added, perhaps with a little dried mustard powder. This is poured over the whole cauliflower, some breadcrumbs are often sprinkled on top and then the whole thing is baked until golden brown and bubbling. Heaven, I tell you! It's one of my husband's favorite dishes so it's on regular rotation at our house.

Which brings me to today’s cauliflower cheese pie. It combines my love of cauliflower and cheese, with his baked British favorite and bonus, puts it all in a crunchy potato crust. Hope you love it as much as we do.

Make sure to scroll down to the bottom where my Sunday Supper friends are sharing All The Pies, sweet and savory, with many thanks to our host today, Erica of The Crumby Cupcake.

This recipe is adapted from "Moosewood Cookbook" by Mollie Katzen.

Ingredients
For the crust:
Drizzle olive oil for greasing 9in or 23cm pie plate and brushing crust during baking
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1lb 10oz or 740g potatoes
1 small onion (2 1/3 oz or 65g)
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling:
1 medium-sized cauliflower (Mine weighed about 2lbs 3oz or 980g.)
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion (about 3 oz or 85g)
3 cloves garlic
1 hot chili pepper - optional but recommended
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Several sprigs fresh thyme
1 1/4 cup (packed) or 100g cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Paprika or cayenne for the top

Method
Preheat the oven to 400°F 200°C. Grease a 9in or 23cm pie plate with a drizzle of olive oil.

Grate the cheese and set it aside. (I used my food processor but you can do it by hand, of course.)

Whisk your egg white with the salt and a good few grinds of fresh black pepper. Peel and grate your potatoes. (Once again, I used the food processor.) Squeeze the liquid out and stir the grated potatoes into the egg white immediately to stop them from discoloring.



Grate your onion and add it to the potato mixture, stirring well to combine.



Pour the grated potato mixture into the prepared pie plate and use your fingers to pat it down evenly to make a crust. It's going to seem quite wet, despite your squeezing the liquid out of the potatoes but don't worry. The moisture bakes away and the crust does get crunchy in the hot oven.



Bake the crust for 30 minutes in your preheated oven, then brush just up to the brown edge with a little olive oil (about 1 teaspoon) and bake for 10 more minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven and turn the temperature down to 375°F or 190°C.

While the crust is in the oven, you can get on with the filling. Remove the leaves and hard stem from the head of cauliflower and cut the florets into bite-sized pieces.



Chop your onion, mince the garlic and pepper and strip the leaves off of the fresh thyme sprigs. Save one sprig for garnish, if desired.



Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, chili pepper, salt and thyme with a few good grinds of fresh black pepper, and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes.



Add the cauliflower, stir, and cover. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally - about 8 to 10 minutes.



When the baked crust is ready, sprinkle half the grated cheese onto it.



Spoon the sautéed vegetables on top, then top with the remaining cheese.



Beat the eggs, egg yolk, milk and cornstarch together making sure the cornstarch has dissolved and pour this over the top.

Dust lightly with paprika or cayenne.



Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until set. If you feel the edges are getting too brown before the pie is cooked through, cover them with some foil.

Serve hot or warm.



Enjoy!


I've got a bunch of pies I'm sure you'll love here:
Elle's Fresh Blueberry Pie
Sausage Apple Onion Tart
Brown Sugar Nectarine Tart
and these special Portuguese custard tarts, baked in honor of our Sunday Supper leader, Isabel, just to name a few.

But make sure you don't miss this fabulous link list to the #SundaySupper Pies: Sweet & Savory!

Sweet As Pie
Mealtime Pie


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Posted by at 1:49:00 AM 0 comments
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Thursday, March 19, 2015

Trios (Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip-Oat) Bundt #BundtBakers


A tender Bundt cake recipe with oats, chocolate chips and peanut butter, made gluten-free, just like the new-this-year Trio Girl Scout cookies. 

I’ve had a long and happy relationship with the Girl Scouts for many, many years so I was delighted when this month’s Bundt Bakers host Kelly from Passion Kneaded suggested the theme of Girl Scout cookies, using either the actual cookies or the flavors for inspiration.

As I wrote here, joining a Girl Scout troop was one of the main reasons I solidified friendships and settled in at a new school, in a new country that was ostensibly my own. That supportive environment allowed me to grow and explore in a safe and creative way. I was a Girl Scout through elementary school and into high school and my fellow scouts have remained my lifelong friends.

My first real job after I graduated from university was at the Girl Scouts and I worked with a woman who taught me grace under pressure, how to cooperate with and motivate volunteers and how to comport and express myself articulately in meetings with financial backers. Among other valuable lessons. She gave me scary big responsibilities and made sure I had the support to fulfill them. She reminded me, in fact, very much of my former troop leader in that regard. 

Our volunteers and area coordinators came from every race, every socio-economic group, every religion. What they had in common was a staunch belief in the innate ability of girls to succeed, to grow, to become responsible, contributing members of society - a society that would be made greater by the educated and creative influence those girls would have, as the strong and capable women they would become, through participation in the Girl Scout program.

Years passed and I was blessed with girls of my own. At the first opportunity, I made sure they were able join Girl Scout troops and took turns being troop leader for one of the other throughout the years they were involved in scouting. I saw them learn resilience and perseverance, both leadership skills and how to be a supportive team member, and I saw their natural curiosity and creativity enriched by being part of the Girl Scouts.

Girl Scout cookies come in some wonderful flavor combinations, many new since I was involved with the program. My absolute favorite is the Thin Mint, closely followed by the peanut butter cookies, called either Do-Si-Do or Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies, depending on the bakery and region, but I decided, in the spirit of a true Girl Scout, to explore the new and base my cookie on the latest addition, called the Trio.

It tickled me to bake my Trio Bundt in a Nordic Ware Duet pan (<Amazon affiliate link) which has a 5-cup capacity but you can use a six-cup pan if you prefer. Or even full size pan but the Bundt will just be shorter.

Ingredients
3/4 cup or 70g five-minute oats (These are the step between quick cooked and rolled oats.)
1 1/4 cups or 125g gluten-free bread flour mix (I like this one from Dove Farm. <Amazon affiliate link)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 140g creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup 100g packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
3/4 cup or 150g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional for serving: A good sprinkling of powdered sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease and flour your Bundt pans or pan or use a gluten-free baking spray.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the oatmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.



In large bowl, beat the brown sugar and peanut butter with your electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and the two eggs.



Beat in flour mixture and then pour in the milk as it mixes till well blended, scraping the bowl occasionally.


Fold in the chocolate chips.



Pour the batter evenly in your prepared pans or pan and smooth out the top.



Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.



Leave the Bundts to cool for about 10 minutes and then turn them out on a wire rack to cool
completely.



Sprinkle with a little icing sugar before serving, if desired. Of course, Trio cookies don’t have icing sugar but I’m taking poetic license here because it looks pretty.


Enjoy!



Were you a Scout growing up? What's your favorite cookie? Perhaps it's been recreated as a Bundt cake in this fabulous list of Girl Scout Cookie inspired Bundts! Many thanks to Kelly from Passion Kneaded, our host this month's Bundt Bakers for this great theme.


BundtBakers


#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send me an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.





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Monday, March 9, 2015

White Chocolate Lemon Muffins #MuffinMonday

The third in my candy bar series, a white chocolate lemon bar from Movenpick was the inspiration for these fluffy, lemon muffins flavored with yogurt, lemon zest and said white chocolate lemon bar. 

I’ve been experimenting lately with some gluten-free baking because one of my friends here is gluten-intolerant. What I have found is that I can pretty much replace the normal flour with a gluten-free mix, (I like the Dove Farms White Bread Flour because it has a little added natural gum.) if I weigh the flour and use 125g per needed cup. It seems that the flours used to make up the gluten-free mix, in this case rice, potato and tapioca, must be lighter than wheat so a cup of the flour mix is just not enough flour. By weight, it's perfect.

One last change in the recipe involves method. In most muffin recipes, one adds the wet ingredients to the dry and folds until they are just combined. With gluten-free flour blend, you need to make sure no flour still shows. In other words, mix well.

I made these muffins with the gluten-free bread flour today and they were light and fluffy and, frankly, one of the best sweet muffins I’ve ever eaten.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour (If subbing gluten-free flour mix, please use the weight measurement.)
2/3 cup or 130g sugar
For creative minds only!
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 oz or 100g white chocolate (with lemon, if you can get it)
Grated zest one medium lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup or 185g yogurt
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil

Optional glaze
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
About 4-5 heaping tablespoons powdered sugar

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Butter your muffin pan or line it with paper liners.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl. Grate in the lemon zest and mix.

Juice your lemon.

Chop your white chocolate bar roughly with a knife. I separated out 12 pieces of white chocolate to poke in the top of each muffin before baking.  They turned brown while baking, which is not attractive, so never mind that step. Fortunately, the glaze covered them up mostly.



In another smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, yogurt, juice and canola oil.



Let your helper clean out the yogurt pot for recycling.


Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until just mixed through. Or mix thoroughly if you are using a gluten-free flour blend.



Fold in your chopped white chocolate/lemon bar.



Divide the mixture between the muffin cups in pan.



Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden.  Allow them to cool for a few minutes then remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.



Ignore the chocolate bits I put on top, as previously discussed. Those should be inside the muffins.

If you want to add glaze, put your tablespoon of lemon juice in a small bowl. Add powdered sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time and stir well, until the glaze is a good drizzling consistency.  When your muffins are cool, drizzle on the glaze.



Enjoy!





The Candy Bar Series



1. Dark Chocolate Toasted Sesame Muffins using Lindt Dark Chocolate Roasted Sesame


2. Pecan Caramel Chocolate Muffins using Frey Pecan & Caramel





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Monday, August 11, 2014

Blackberry Date Buckwheat Muffins #MuffinMonday #GlutenFree #Vegan

With dates for sweetness, coconut cream for richness and fresh blackberries mixed through, these blackberry date buckwheat muffins may not be the best looking on the block but they sure are tasty.

Food Lust People Love: With dates for sweetness, coconut cream for richness and fresh blackberries mixed through, these Blackberry Date Buckwheat Muffins may not be the best looking on the block but they sure are tasty.


We’ve raised our daughters to follow their hearts and find their own ways, while guiding them in what we think is right. But I tell you true, this learning thing goes both ways. I value their opinions and really do try to listen when they send me links or tell me about things I should know or reconsider. Both of them now eat mostly vegetarian fare, limiting their meat consumption to the rare burger (no pun intended) and special occasions.

They have friends who eat only vegetarian with a vegan or two in the mix. Add in a gluten-free friend or three, some my own, and all of this has made me more open to trying new dishes and new methods and even some substitutions that I would never have considered four or five years ago.

I’m still not a fan of most of the faux meats but, I've discovered, prepared properly, they can be delicious. (If you are ever in the Boston area, I can highly recommend a little Thai place called My Thai Vegan Cafe, where every dish we’ve tried is fabulous. My only complaint was that the curry “duck” didn’t have enough sauce, because it was that good.)

Our younger daughter is in London now for an eight-week internship and it has given her a chance to catch up with some old friends from our Kuala Lumpur years. She and her roommate took the train down to Brighton to see the sights, pick some blackberries and hang out. I understand there was a great deal of laughing over old photos as well. We were chatting yesterday and she told me about the wonderful vegan buckwheat pancakes that they had made for breakfast one morning, using dates, coconut milk and some of those blackberries. That was all the inspiration I needed for this morning’s muffins.

If you’ve never baked with buckwheat before, it’s pretty dark and, I must admit, doesn’t make the prettiest muffin. Even using half buckwheat and half white gluten-free flour, these guys are very dark, which I am sure was not helped along by the pureed dates and mashed blackberries. Maybe I’m blaming buckwheat flour when the dates are really more responsible! But the bottom line is that they weren’t heavy and actually have a light texture. If the color puts you off, just close your eyes and bite!

Blackberry Date Buckwheat Muffins


The recipe for these tasty muffins was adapted from this recipe for Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 355ml coconut cream (unsweetened)
1 cup or 145g dates, pitted (weight with pits = about 5 3/4 oz or 165g
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup or 150g fresh blackberries or berry of your choice
1 cup or 130g buckwheat flour
1 cup or 150g gluten-free white flour blend (I use Dove Farms.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Optional: 1-2 tablespoons pearl sugar for decorating before baking

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with paper muffin cups.

Pit your dates, if they haven’t come already pitted, by slicing them open with a sharp knife and pushing the pit out.

Process them in a blender or food processor with the coconut cream until they are reduced to mostly small pieces. The occasional larger bit is okay, in fact, possibly desirable for added texture and chewiness in the muffin. (This, according to my daughter. She suggested adding even more chopped dates but I decided that the blackberries were enough.)



In a large mixing bowl, combine your flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

That's the buckwheat flour on the right, peeking out from under the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Apparently buckwheat, despite its name, has no relation to wheat but comes from the rhubarb family. Who knew?!




In a small bowl, mash your blackberries lightly with a fork and cut any really large ones in half.

Add in the blended date/coconut cream mixture and mix well with the fork.



Pour the wet ingredients into your dry and stir until well blended.



Divide the batter between the muffin cups.



Top with pearl sugar to decorate, if desired.

I know, I know, it doesn't really help their looks but I was trying!

Bake for 15-20 minutes. You can’t really tell doneness by golden color with these, so test if an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Food Lust People Love: With dates for sweetness, coconut cream for richness and fresh blackberries mixed through, these Blackberry Date Buckwheat Muffins may not be the best looking on the block but they sure are tasty.


Remove from the pan to cool on a wire rack.

Food Lust People Love: With dates for sweetness, coconut cream for richness and fresh blackberries mixed through, these Blackberry Date Buckwheat Muffins may not be the best looking on the block but they sure are tasty.
Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: With dates for sweetness, coconut cream for richness and fresh blackberries mixed through, these Blackberry Date Buckwheat Muffins may not be the best looking on the block but they sure are tasty.
An inside shot! 

Posted by at 6:42:00 AM 0 comments
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