VeganMofo: Gluten Free Rosemary Crackers

A while back, I went with my parents to a fabulous Italian restaurant. We were starving, and as we waited for our food, we stuffed our faces with these fabulous rosemary and olive oil flat bread crackers. They were super thin and super yummy.

Since then, I have been wanting to recreate these great crackers at home – both with and without the gluten.  Today, I am sharing with you a gluten free rosemary cracker, that while not as thin as the cracker from the restaurant, the rosemary flavor in these crackers, combined with the sea salt and olive oil, give me the flavor and crunch that I’m looking for.

Gluten Free Rosemary Crackers


Gluten Free Rosemary Crackers / Flatbread
Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour (plus more for rolling)
1 tsp. sea salt (plus more for sprinkling over)
2 tbsp. chopped rosemary (plus a bit extra for sprinkling)
1/4 cup olive oil (plus more for brushing)
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

In the bowl of a food processor, process the brown rice. It should be mushy. Slowly add in the rest of the ingredients while pulsing. Process until it forms a ball and moves away from the sides of the bowl.

Dust a flat surface with some more garbanzo flour. Knead a bit for a minute. The dough will be a bit sticky.

Place half of the dough on a piece of parchment paper that is sized to a baking sheet.

Roll out the dough as thin as possible on to the parchment paper. It’s important that you roll it thin so it can achieve ideal crispiness. Try for around 1/8 inch.

Gluten Free Rosemary Crackers

Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle on some sea salt and more rosemary sprigs.

Gluten Free Rosemary Crackers

Cut dough with a pizza cutter to preferred crackers shapes/sizes.

Gluten Free Rosemary Crackers

Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Bake in oven for around 25 minutes. Check periodically for browning. The crackers should be browner around the edges and browned a little on the bottom of the crackers. They will harden more once you let them cool down a bit.

Gluten Free Rosemary Crackers

Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

veganmofo

Meatless Monday: Socca with Mushroom and Tofu Saute

I love playing with new flavors and new techniques in the kitchen. For the past year or so, I have been experimenting with various gluten free flour options. I prefer to find ways to use the various flours in recipes that are made for them, rather than using the flours as substitutes for traditional wheat flour.

A while back, I bought a box of chickpea flour on Amazon. I bought it for a specific recipe, but was left with three additional bags of flour. The price for the bulk flour made it worth it.
Most of the chickpea flour recipes that I have played with have been Indian recipes. While perusing the NY Times one day, I was excited to see another option – the Socca. Socca is a traditional French flatbread. It is chewy, soft and crispy around the edges. It pairs well with many flavors. A recent dinner found us eating the socca with a simple mixture of crumbled tofu, onions and mushrooms. It really is versatile, so I encourage you to play with it.
Socca Flatbread
Ingredients:
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup warm water
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
1.5 tbsp olive oil plus more for brushing the pan
Directions:
Mix everything together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside for about 30 minutes or so.
Heat your broiler to high. Preheat your cast iron pan in the oven for a minute or two. 
Brush a thin layer of olive oil on your pan. Ladle a thin layer of the chickpea batter into the pan. I used around 1/2-3/4 cup of the batter for each flatbread. The process is similar to making a crepe.
Place the pan under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes. It will bubble and brown on top. 
Remove from oven and slice in to wedges.

We served ours with a sauteed mixture of tofu, onions, garlic mushrooms and herbs. Enjoy with any toppings you’d like. You could even make it sweet and serve for dessert!
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