Teff Pie Crust (sweet)

When I first came to Israel on my first round here, I was taken to an Ethopian restaurant. It was something totally new here and my friends thought it would be a blast. Although my friends were making more fun of the food (very childish, but then it is 15 years ago) but I really enjoyed the food and the whole experience. What stayed with me was the taste of the bread we were served - it had a very distinct flavour that I just couldn't place.

Flash foreward - turning gluten free has enhanced our lifes by exposing my family to many different flavours. My mother-in-law was very kind to send me this new type of flour, called Teff (or Tef), that comes from Ethopia and is GF. It has a sort of grey-brown color and a smell I really cannot place. Since I had no idea what to do with it I just looked online and found a few interesting ideas of what to do with it. I made a pie crust with an apple filling and teff crumbs on top. And what do you know it, the flavour was that of the bread I ate so many years ago. My kids really liked it, I thought it was nice, but I just need to get used to the Teff flavour, which really is unique. My hubby liked it too, but had more problems with the dominant Teff flavour. But it is a great alternative when turning GF. 

So, here the Teff Pie Crust recipe

2 cups Teff

1/2 cup Honey

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 175°C. Mix all ingredients together and fill into a pie form. Press down with your fingers and pull up slightly on the edges. Bake for about 10-15 min (depending on how thick you made the base). Fill in your filling and bake for another 10-15 min.

Tip: To make a crumble, reserve 1/2 -2/3 cup of the dough. After you filled the crust, crumble the reserved dough over the filling and continue as above. 

PS: Teff is supposed to be super healthy. It has a great balance of amino acids, it packs a punch of protein, calcium, iron and, unlike any other grain, Vitamin C! 

GF American Style Pancakes I

This morning I got really fed up of thinking about what to serve for breakfast. Since going GF the mornings have become VERY boaring. I am not a person who likes to eat the same thing over and over again. So I deceided to try out a GF pancake recipe that I had discovered in a book (201 Gluten-Free Recipes for Kid By C. S. Forbes). Obviously I had to play around with it - anyone who knows me knows that I NEVER stick to a recipe. First I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, and secondly, I wanted them sweeter... and this was the first time I used any of the GF flours available. My family LOVED them, I thought they had a bit of a floury taste, but were definately a nice change. 

1 cup sorghum flour

3⁄4 cup GF baking mix (in this country it is pure fine, white cornflour starch)

2 1⁄2 tsp baking powder

1 tbs sugar

Pinch of  salt

1⁄4 tsp xanthan gum (although optional, it helps thicken the batter)

2 tsp GF vanilla extract

1 cup milk or milk substitutes. I used rice milk

1 large egg

2 tablespoons canola oil

Oil for frying

Whisk together all ingredients until you have a thickened batter.

Heat some oil for frying in a frying pan, drop in a heaped tablespoon of batter in a skillet and spread it slightly (I used a large frying pan and was able to fry 4 pancakes in one go) Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop and the edges are slightly dry. Flip with a spatula and cook the opposite side for 1–2 minutes. 

Serve them hot with any sweet toping of your choice (my kids liked them sprinkeled with sugar). I got 13 pancakes out of the batter.

Egg Salad with Tahini

One advantage of studying with so many different people is that you get different ideas – also when it comes to cooking. This egg salad has a twist as it uses tahini instead of mayo.

Prep Time: 10 mins         Servings: 4

 

6 hard-boiled eggs, mashed

4 tablespoons tahini paste (raw – in Israel it is called “golmi”)

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Cumin, to taste (optional)

salt and pepper, to taste

 

1. Place tahini the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic and cumin in a blender and blend for a few moments. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the parsley and pulse again. What you get is called “green tahini”.

2. Transfer to a bowl and add the eggs. Stir gently until well mixed.

3. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.

Baked egg-in.a-hole

While trying to get the hang of the GF life I am going through some of my recipe books to figure out what I can still use - let me tell you, a lot of it is just not relevant. Sigh. Well, one of the recipes I found was an old Weight Watcher recipe that I think can be vey easily adapted. It is a spin on the "Egg in the hole" recipe. It is really easy to put together and because it sits in the oven for quite some time you can pop it in the oven before you get the kids ready. By the time they will want their breakfast it is already ready.

Per person you will need:

1 gluten free bread roll
1 egg
1 tsp chopped chives
1 tsp heavy cream
1 tsp parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Slice off the top of the dinner roll (reserve the top) and carefully remove some of the inside of the bread until there is a hole large enough for one egg. Put the roll on a prepared baking sheet. Crack an egg into the whole of the roll. Top the egg with the chives, cream and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake in a 175°C oven until the egg is set and the bread is toasted - about 20 min.Place bread top on baking sheet and bake until golden brown, another 5 min. Let sit 5 minutes. Place tops on rolls and serve warm.

VERY easy tomato salad

If you have been following my blog, you have realized that this is not just about GF and kosher, but that most of the recipes are frugal. We, like most people I know, are living on a budget. I also hate to throw away any food that is still good to be used. So, here is another tomato salad that is so simple to make that really, you have to try hard to srew this one up, and very versatile. It uses very basic ingredients you get in any shop (nothing needs to be special GF, except you have to be careful with the vinegar) and is a very tasty way to use up those left over tomatoes. It goes well with grilled meat or as a starter.

2 Tomatoes (per person)
Balsamic vinegar to taste (any other vinegar works too - I personally like the milder white Balsamic vinegar)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
some spring onions or chives (optional)

Cut tomatoes into slices about 1/2 cm thick. Spread slices out in a neat circle around the edge of a bowl, with a few in the middle. Sprinkle some olive oil onto the tomatoes; making sure that it covers all of them, then sprinkle the vinegar on top (easy on the vinegar). Season with salt and peppers. Slice up some green onions or chives into small pieces, and sprinkle them over the tomatoes. You can serve it straight away, but you can also refrigerate it. It is nice if served slightly chilled.

You could also mix the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl (best with a small whisk) until combined and then pour this over the tomatoes.

Variations: 
Add some mozzarella cheese and basil, but leave out the spring onions/chives
Or exchange the spring onions/chives for onions (half the onion then slice it thinly into half circles) and avocado.