Gluten-Free Recipes

A special taste of what’s to come at the Expo!

The following recipes were graciously shared with us by Rebecca Reilly, author of the cookbook Gluten Free Baking.

Ms. Reilly will be making several presentations at the 2008 Gluten Free Cooking Expo.

Brownie Cheesecake
Serves 12

Brownie

Cheesecake

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9" spring form pan. Set aside.

Prepare the brownie: Melt butter and chocolate in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and cool mixture to lukewarm. Add the sugar. Stir, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Stir in combined flour and salt, until blended. Remove ¼ cup of the batter. Reserve. Spoon the remaining batter into prepared spring-form pan, spreading evenly. Bake 20- 25 minutes. Let the cake cool while you prepare the topping.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla at medium speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the heavy cream. Mix ½ cup batter into the reserved brownie batter.

Pour ½ the cheesecake batter over brownie bottom. Drop a few spoonfuls of the chocolate batter over the cheesecake batter. Gently pour the remaining batter over this (filling will almost come to top of pan). Drop some more spoonfuls of the remaining chocolate batter over the top. Using a sharp paring knife, swirl the chocolate batter. Bake the cake on the middle rack for 55 to 60 minutes or until center is almost set.

After 5 minutes of cooling on a rack, run a paring knife or metal spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Let cake stand 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

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Caldo Verde
Serves 6-8

This Portuguese soup is very healthy and inexpensive. If kale is not available, then use collards or white Swiss chard.

Heat the oil in a 2 ½ quart pot. Sauté the onion until it just begins to brown. Add the potatoes, kale, water and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. Taste. Squeeze some lemon juice into the soup just before serving.

Variation

½ pound linguica or chorizo sausage-thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic-minced

Sauté the sausage with the garlic. Make the Caldo Verde. Add the sausage and garlic to the finished soup and simmer for another 5 minutes.

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Cream of Vidalia Soup
Serves 6-8
Vegan recipe

The slow cooking of the onions is what gives this soup its rich flavor.

I prefer this soup when first made. The flavor of the tofu is more pronounced when reheated.

Sauté the onions in the oil over medium low heat. Cook until they caramelize but do not burn—this will take a bit of time about 30-45 minutes.

Heat the broth and pour it over the onions. Simmer together for 15 minutes. Puree the tofu and stir into the soup, or for a very creamy, smooth soup puree the soup and tofu together.

Taste for salt and pepper. Just before serving stir in the Madeira and the parsley or thyme.

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Moroccan Quinoa
Makes about 5 cups

This can be served hot as a side dish for grilled meats or fish or chilled for a summer salad. For a salad, add some diced red onion, diced colored peppers, chopped dried apricots, chopped dates and raisins or dried cherries or cranberries.

Mix the lemon and orange rind and juices together. Whisk in the spice blend and salt. Blend in the oil. Toss the dressing, quinoa, scallions, parsley and mint together. Taste. Just before serving sprinkle with the pine nuts.

*Spice Blend

Mix together.

**How to cook quinoa:

Rinse one cup of quinoa under cold running water. Drain. Cook in a pot of boiling salted water (like for pasta) for 10 minutes. Drain. Stream the quinoa simmering water for 15 minutes. The steaming will fluff the quinoa.

Quinoa Handling Tips

Preparation

Saponin, a bitter compound believed to repel insects, coats the outside of quinoa. Although processing removes saponin, it is a good idea to rinse quinoa thoroughly under running water to remove any residue before cooking. Remove any black grains from quinoa before preparation, as they will not become tender.

For a richer flavor, toast quinoa until lightly golden in a dry sauté pan. Use as you would untoasted quinoa.

The simplest way to prepare quinoa is to cook it like rice. Use two cups liquid—water, vegetable stock or juice—to one cup quince and simmer for 15 to 25 minutes. One cup dry quinoa yields four cups cooked.

Nutrition

Quinoa has attracted much attention over the last decade because of its impressive nutritional value. One cup of quinoa provides 4.7 milligrams (mg) of iron; 60mg of calcium; 9 grams (g) of protein; 420mg potassium and 5g of fiber.

Although higher in fat than other grains at 3g per cup, one cup of steamed quinoa has only 200 calories. Quinoa is gluten-free and thus far less allergenic than wheat.

Storage

Because of its fat content, quinoa can become rancid. Purchase it in small quantities and store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator.

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