Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook: A Seasonal, Vegetarian Cookbook (21 page)

¼ cup honey

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

2 tablespoons cacao nibs

1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

Put the hazelnuts in a food processor and grind to a
coarse meal
. Add the dates, coconut, honey, vanilla, and salt and blend until well mixed.

Sprinkle the cacao nibs and cacao powder onto a large plate. Shape the hazelnut mixture into walnut-size balls, and roll the balls around on the plate until evenly coated. Arrange the balls on a platter and serve immediately, or store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This recipe is a good example of how to use your creativity and preferences to create new variations. When I was dreaming up how to do a gluten-free take on the classic combination of lemon and poppy seeds, I thought almonds and coconut would be a delicious complement. The result is a cake that’s moist and scrumptious, with a fun interplay of flavors and textures. Zest the lemon before you squeeze the juice; it works so much better that way.

Serves 6 to 8

2 eggs

1 cup apple or peach juice

¼ cup melted extra-virgin coconut oil

½ cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon lemon zest

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¾ cup finely ground raw almonds or almond
flour

½ cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup poppy seeds

1/3 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Generously oil a standard loaf pan or 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Millet is a naturally sweet grain, and after cooking, it sets up and is sliceable. My daughter Emily loved this cake as a child—still does twenty years later. Not only is it quick and easy to make, it’s extremely healthful. In fact, you need not enjoy it just for dessert; instead of pouring it into a pan to set up, you can eat it hot, as a porridge. And as you can see from the variations below, it’s also a very versatile dish. Experiment and tweak it to your liking!

Serves about 6

1 cup millet, rinsed

3 cups apple juice

1 cup raisins

Pinch of sea salt

Combine the millet, juice, raisins, and salt in a medium-size saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until all of the juice is absorbed and the millet is tender. Give it a stir, and then taste it; if the millet is still crunchy, add more juice, cover, and simmer for about 3 minutes, then check the tenderness again.

Pour the mixture into a standard loaf pan and let it cool for about 1 hour, until set. Slice and serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Variations

Use a combination of other fresh or dried fruits, such as pears, apples, or apricots. Small fruits are fine as is, but you may want to chop fruits that come in larger pieces.

Try different fruit juices.

Stir in about 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon or vanilla extract before pouring the batter into the loaf pan.

Use corn grits in place of some or all of the millet.

To use a pressure cooker, just put all of the ingredients in the pressure cooker and lock the lid. Bring up to pressure over high heat, then adjust the heat to maintain pressure and cook for 15 minutes.

Chocolate and hazelnuts are a classic combination and one of my favorites. Here, the sweet hazelnuts form the perfect backdrop for a silky mousse that tastes much richer and more decadent than it really is. That said, feel free to have delicious fun pairing this filling with other piecrust recipes in this chapter. Although silken tofu so often comes in aseptic packages, it’s best to avoid these, as the packaging contains aluminum and, in many communities, isn’t recyclable. Look for silken tofu in the refrigerator case, and if you can’t find it, use soft regular tofu instead (in which case you may want to add more water or sweetener to the filling). Cacao powder is simply cocoa powder that wasn’t subjected to high heat during processing, so it qualifies as a raw food. Cacao powder has more vitamins and antioxidants than cocoa, because cocoa is heated, which gives it that familiar hot cocoa aroma. Both are very delicious, and you can substitute one for the other.

Variations

Substitute butter, light olive oil, light sesame oil, or canola oil for the hazelnut oil.

Swap carob powder for the cocoa.

For a delicious raw pie crust, forgo baking it and just add the filling after you press it into the pan.

Serves 6 to 8

Crust

1½ cups raw hazelnuts (skins on)

2 tablespoons hazelnut oil or melted extra-virgin coconut oil

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Filling

16 ounces silken tofu

¼ cup cocoa powder or raw cacao powder

1/3 cup maple sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly oil a 9-inch pie pan.

To make the crust, put the hazelnuts in a food processor and grind into a
flour
. Add the hazelnut oil, maple syrup, and salt, and pulse to form a soft dough.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pie pan and use your fingers to press it out in an even layer over the bottom and sides of the pan. Poke a few holes in the dough with a fork. Bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Let the crust cool and set up for about 15 minutes, until cool enough to touch.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the tofu, cocoa powder, maple sugar, and vanilla in the food processor (no need to clean it, really) and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add more cocoa or maple sugar if desired.

Pour the filling into the crust, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the coconut. Serve immediately or, if you prefer it cold, refrigerate the pie for at least 2 hours before serving. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Peanut butter and hazelnut butter are both great partners for chocolate, so why not team all of them up? The result is a pie so rich and satisfying that it’s hard to believe it’s this easy to make. This crust is quite different from the one used for
Chocolate Mousse Pie in a Hazelnut Crust
, but the two are similar in one important regard: Both are vegan, and so much less fussy than a traditional pie crust. As explained in the recipe for Chocolate Mousse Pie in a Hazelnut Crust, you can substitute soft regular tofu for the silken tofu, but if you do so, you may want to add a bit more sweetener to the filling.

Chocolate Peanut Pudding:
Although the teff crust couldn’t be easier to make, if you’re strapped for time, or if you simply prefer pudding, skip making the crust and serve the filling as is, hopefully in pudding cups.

Serves 6 to 8

Crust

2 cups teff flour

½ cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons
hazelnut butter

5 teaspoons melted extra-virgin coconut oil

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Filling

1½ cups dark chocolate chips

1 pound silken tofu

3 tablespoons
peanut butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate chips for decorating (optional)

Preheat oven to 375° F degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch pie pan.

To make the crust, put the teff flour, maple syrup, hazelnut butter, oil, and salt in a medium-size bowl and stir until well combined.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pie pan and use your fingers to press it out in an even layer over the bottom and sides of the pan. Poke a few holes in the dough with a fork. Bake for about 10 minutes, until it loses its shine. Let the crust cool while you make the filling. (Leave the oven on.)

To make the filling, start by melting the chocolate. You can use a double boiler if you like, but I find that it works just fine to melt it in a heavy 9-inch frying pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Transfer the melted chocolate to a food processor. Add the tofu, peanut butter, and vanilla and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add more melted chocolate if desired.

Pour the filling into the crust and smooth the top, then decorate the top with chocolate chips if you like. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the edges of the filling darken slightly. You can serve the pie as soon as it’s cool enough to handle or let it cool to room temperature. Or if you prefer it cold, refrigerate the pie for at least 2 hours before serving. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

This delicious pie is perfect for winter holiday fare. And because it’s so easy to make, it’s a nice way to lighten your load when you’ll be doing a lot of other cooking. In the unlikely event that you have any leftovers, it’s also great for breakfast, served topped with a dollop of yogurt. Dates balance the tartness of Granny Smith apples beautifully, but you can make endless variations on this pie by choosing almost any fruit that’s in season and pairing it with whatever dried fruit seems appealing.

Serves 6 to 8

Crust

2 cups teff flour

½ cup melted extra-virgin coconut oil or butter

½ cup maple syrup

½ teaspoon sea salt

Filling

¼ cup water

3 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced

¾ cup pitted dates

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly oil a 9-inch pie pan.

To make the crust, combine the teff flour, oil, maple syrup, and salt in a medium-size bowl and stir until well combined. Reserve ½ cup of the mixture to use as a crumb topping.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pie pan and use your fingers to press it out in an even layer over the bottom and sides of the pan. Poke a few holes in the dough with a fork. Bake for about 10 minutes, until it loses its shine.