Some weeks back, I went to my favorite farmer’s market in Mountain View and came across some beautiful baby zucchini with the blossoms still attached. I was inspired, so they came home with me. Because I’m eating egg-free for Baby Yum, I knew I couldn’t make an egg batter for them, but I thought maybe club soda might provide some fizz for battered zucchini. I folded some gluten free flour and seasonings into club soda and dipped the baby zucchini and blossom into the batter and then fried them in a pan. A little salt sprinkled over the top was the finishing touch on some very special and unique appetizers. I’ve made these several times since in celebration of the bounty of farmer’s markets. This weekend I didn’t come across any zucchini blossoms, but I did bring home some little round zucchini that cried out for special treatment. I thinly sliced these zucchini, dried off the slices, dusted them with sorghum flour and then battered them and pan fried them. They were wonderful as appetizers served with Muir Glen organic pasta sauce, and were equally good as a main course served on buckwheat grit “polenta” drizzled with sauce.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have. Every time I make it, our meal becomes a special occasion, and this dish reminds me that fresh, local ingredients can be the best inspiration for a gluten-free and/or vegetarian diet.
1 package zucchini with blossoms or 2-3 fat, short farmer’s market zucchini, sliced with ends removed 2/3 cup sorghum flour or 1/3 cup sorghum, 1/3 cup buckwheat or other flavorful whole grain gluten-free flour 1/6 cup arrowroot starch 3/4 cup club soda 1 tsp. your favorite seasoning (Italian seasonings, pasta seasonings, whatever) 1/4 tsp. salt
extra gluten-free flour for dusting olive oil More salt for serving.
Directions
Sift together flour and whisk together with club soda. If you think the batter is too thin, add more of your main flour 1 tbsp. at a time until you like the texture. For zucchini and blossoms, slice in half. For zucchini, dry each slice with a paper towel and dust with flour. Heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a cast iron or nonstick pan on medium-high. Immerse zucchini in batter and place on hot griddle. Turn gently when golden brown and fry other side. Add a little extra oil to the pan if necessary. Remove to wire rack, sprinkle with additional salt and let cool slightly.
Serve zucchini with blossoms plain, Serve zucchini slices with marinara or your favorite pasta sauce on the side.
Rating:9
Original Source:The contents of my brain, please do not replicate without permission.
I think we might have to rename the Book of Yum to “the Book of Amaranth” if I keep this up. I can’t help it. I’m eating amaranth every four days, thanks to this crazy allergen-free, gluten-free diet that I’m on. I’ve gone through phases. There was the amaranth banana muffin phase, the “amaranth gruel baked into a cracker phase, the amaranth soda bread phase, the amaranth pizza phase… but lately I’ve been bored with all of these. My food fantasies turned towards the sweet, and I started having visions of raisins and cinnamon sugar. Sorghum recipes go with cinnamon and sugar like jam goes on toast, so that has been easy. But the other day it occurred to me that perhaps the earthy flavor of amaranth might be coaxed into submission by the assertive flavors of cinnamon and raisin. In fact, amaranth might start to function like teff in my favorite gluten-free graham cracker recipe by Rebecca Reilly, adding depth and an almost graham flour flavor. So, I decided to try. I used my amaranth soda bread recipe as the jumping off point to create a healthy, low in fat and low in sugar scone that you can have for an everyday breakfast without an obscene sugar rush. And you know what? I liked it. I liked it a lot. Oh, and if you don’t want to bother with forming individual scones, you can also just make a cinnamon raisin soda bread round and cut it to serve. It isn’t quite as cute, but it tastes every bit as good. Tell me what you think, and about your experiments with amaranth. Let’s dish amaranth!
1 cup raisins (i used jumbo assorted) soaked in warm water 2 tablespoons boiling water 3/4 teaspoon unbuffered vitamin C crystals 4 tablespoons coconut oil or other oil (grapeseed, canola, etc) 3/4 cup warm hemp milk (or other dairy-free milk) 2 tsp. vanilla 2 cup cups amaranth flour 1/2 cup sorghum flour 3/4 cup arrowroot starch 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon Penzey’s Baking Spice (or pumpkin pie blend, or cinnamon sugar) 2 teaspoons baking soda
Extra warm hemp milk (or other dairy-free milk) for basting cinnamon sugar Raw sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Cut a circle of parchment paper to cover the bottom of a round cake tin. Also cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put your raisins in a small bowl and pour warm or boiling water over them. Let sit.
Put your vitamin c in the boiling water. If it doesn’t dissolve, whisk it in.
Combine amaranth flour, sorghum flour, arrowroot starch, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and baking spice in a large bowl. Drain your raisins and add them to the dry mix. Next, add your water with vitamin C, hemp or other dairy-free milk, vanilla, and oil, and stir with a big wooden spoon. Begin to fold it all together. You can mistreat this dough a bit. Beat it up, fold it up until it seems thoroughly mixed and your arm feels tired. Plop the dough onto your cake pan and shape it into a circle about 1 inch high that doesn’t quite touch the edges. You can dampen your hands to shape it or use a cake frosting knife to smooth out the edges.
Remove dough round (along with parchment circle) from the cake pan and put on a cutting board. Use a damp or oiled bread knife to cut the round in half, then quarters, and finally into eighths as if you were cutting a pie. Use a thin spatula or pie server to remove the triangles of dough one by one and place them onto the cookie sheet’s parchment paper. Do not let their edges touch. Brush with warm hemp milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and raw sugar. Pop in the oven. Lower oven temperature to 325 and bake for 45 minutes or until scone has a nice texture. (Depends on your preference; I like my amaranth a little over-baked so it is not gummy.)
Remove from oven and serve! Would be good with soy-free margarine, coconut ice cream, or cashew cream if you do nuts.
Rating:8
Original Source:Inspired by an earlier recipe for irish soda bread, but my original creation. Do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Thanks!
Some weeks back, I went to my favorite farmer’s market in Mountain View and came across some beautiful baby zucchini with the blossoms still attached. I was inspired, so they came home with me. Because I’m eating egg-free for Baby Yum, I knew I couldn’t make an egg batter for them, but I thought maybe club soda might provide some fizz for battered zucchini. I folded some gluten free flour and seasonings into club soda and dipped the baby zucchini and blossom into the batter and then fried them in a pan. A little salt sprinkled over the top was the finishing touch on some very special and unique appetizers. I’ve made these several times since in celebration of the bounty of farmer’s markets. This weekend I didn’t come across any zucchini blossoms, but I did bring home some little round zucchini that cried out for special treatment. I thinly sliced these zucchini, dried off the slices, dusted them with sorghum flour and then battered them and pan fried them. They were wonderful as appetizers served with Muir Glen organic pasta sauce, and were equally good as a main course served on buckwheat grit “polenta” drizzled with sauce.
, adding depth and an almost graham flour flavor. So, I decided to try. I used my amaranth soda bread recipe as the jumping off point to create a healthy, low in fat and low in sugar scone that you can have for an everyday breakfast without an obscene sugar rush. And you know what? I liked it. I liked it a lot. Oh, and if you don’t want to bother with forming individual scones, you can also just make a cinnamon raisin soda bread round and cut it to serve. It isn’t quite as cute, but it tastes every bit as good. Tell me what you think, and about your experiments with amaranth. Let’s dish amaranth!
