February 8th, 2013
This post is also available in: French
Dearest readers,
In the beginning of the week we asked for your help with recipe testing for our upcoming book. So far, we’ve received nearly 400 emails from volunteers offering their time and expertise. We can’t even begin to tell you how immensely grateful we are for all of the support that you’ve offered us in the last couple of days. We’ve read through every single email and very much enjoyed learning about you, our reader. It warmed our hearts to hear that you’ve cooked and enjoyed things from this little space on the internet. We wish we could give every one of you a chance to test a new recipe, if only that was possible. We’re still in the process of selecting volunteers – the hardest job ever. Once again, thank you so much.
Today, we want to share this simple recipe for fennel and apple flat bread pizza. Fennel has been very popular in our household this winter, we just can’t get enough. This gluten-free crust is easy and nutritious, but any one of your favourite pizza crusts will work well here.
Fennel and Apple Flatbread Pizza
makes 2 flat bread pizzas
for the crust
1 1/2 cups purified water
3/4 tablespoon sea salt
2 1/2 tablespoons coconut sugar – divided
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 1/4 cups buckwheat flour – preferably sprouted, plus more if needed and for dusting
1/4 cup quinoa flour – preferably sprouted
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 tablespoons olive oil- divided
for the topping
2 large fennel bulbs – sliced into 1/4-inch (6mm) thick slices, fronds reserved
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
about 4-5 small to medium sized apples, such as Pink Lady, Honey Crisp or Granny Smith
ground cinnamon – to taste
to make the crust
1. In a medium sized jar with a tight lid, combine the water, salt and 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar. Shake to dissolve and combine well. Add the vinegar and shake a little more to incorporate.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the flours and mix them well. In another bowl, measure 1 1/2 cups of the flour mixture. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar, baking soda and mix to combine. Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 cup of the liquid, then mix with a spoon into a liquid dough.
3. Begin adding in more of the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is no longer too sticky to be kneaded with your hands. Lightly dust your hands and the dough surface with the buckwheat flour. Knead the dough quickly, for about 2 minutes. It is important not to add too much of the flour, as it will be hard to fix. Usually, 3 cups of flour is what’s needed, but you can add a little more if necessary.
4. When the kneading is finished, divide the dough into 2 even portions, form each into a ball, and place them on separate pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten each with the palm of your hand and cover with more plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You can make the dough in advance and refrigerate it overnight.
to roast the fennel, assemble and bake the pizza
1. Preheat oven to 415 F (210 C). Brush both sides of the fennel slices with the oil and lay them on a parchment paper covered baking tray. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. Roast for 20-30 minutes, rotating and flipping the slices every 10-15 minutes, until soft. Lower the oven temperature to 395 F (200 C).
2. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, one portion at a time. Lightly dust your rolling pin with brown rice flour. Roll each portion on a separate piece of parchment paper into a 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick crust. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Bake one piece at a time for 10 minutes.
3. Top with fennel slices and then apple slices. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Make sure not to leave too wide of an uncovered border to prevent the crust from drying and hardening. You can add 1-2 oz of goat cheese at this step if you like. Bake for another 12 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing. Top with fennel fronds, microgreens and/or other fresh greens.
Tags: apple, fennel, flatbread, gluten free, pizza, recipe
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January 2nd, 2013
Happy 2013 everyone! Wishing you a year of health, peace and many delicious meals. We’re so grateful for yet another year of exchanging recipes and ideas in this space, let’s make it a very happy one.
I want to tell you about a small vegetable patch at our city’s community garden that we challenged ourselves to take care of last year (as strange as last year sounds). Even though it seems wild to all those experiencing the bite of winter frost, Florida is right in the middle of its growing season and we’re here to take full advantage.
I grew up in a community, where gardening was always on the summer agenda. My mother used to grow many of the fruit and vegetables that we ate, and canning the harvest was mandatory in preparation for the winter. I was very excited to finally test my own green thumb.
A few friends were regulars at this garden and offered some much needed planting help and advice. Certain things turned out to be easier to grow than I thought and others – (cucumbers!) – not so much. I was curious about the appearance of the garbanzo plant, so I sprouted and planted some garbanzo beans, ending up with a plant that blooms purple and sports small, individual garbanzo pods. We’ve also had success with sweet peas, green beans, tomatoes, broccoli, eggplants, and herbs (chocolate mint!).
But most abundant are radishes, all kinds of them. They take very little time to grow and are practically maintenance free. Every visit to the garden results in a nice bunch of fresh, bright radishes. Their leafy tops are so rich and green, that I’ve had a hard time tossing them. One of my fellow gardeners mentioned that some cultures grow radishes for their tops specifically, while feeding the bulbs to animals. I was intrigued and decided to give radish greens a try, sauteing them with Brussels sprout leaves until barely wilted. They contributed a slight bitterness and definite freshness to the dish. I’ve seen many other interesting recipes online, where radish greens are sauteed with onions or added to soups. Please let us know if you’ve had any tasty experience with them, we’d love to hear.
I also had some new potatoes from my gardening friends and decided to use them in this creamy parsnip soup from the beautiful cookbook Small Plates and Sweet Treats by Aran Goyoaga, which I want to talk about more in the next post. The soup is perfect for winter – warming, creamy, and very nourishing – and even better when topped with sauteed Brussel sprouts, radish greens, and pink peppercorn.
Roasted Parsnip and Apple Soup
(adapted from Small Plates and Sweet Treats)
1 lb parsnips – peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion – diced
2 cloves garlic – minced
1 celery stalk – diced
2 medium Pink Lady or Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and diced
2 medium or 3 small potatoes
5 cups broth (I used water, the original recipe calls for chicken stock)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
minced fresh radishes for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare a foil-covered baking tray. Toss the parsnips with 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Place the parsnip pieces on the tray and bake for 30 minutes, flipping the parsnips after 15 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and celery, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the roasted parsnips, apples, potatoes, broth or water, coriander, and the remaining salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 15 minutes, until vegetables the are tender.
4. Puree the soup in a blender and enjoy.
Tags: apple, parsnip, radish greens, recipe, soup, vegan
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