Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Celebration of Austrian Desserts

We’ll start our tour of worldwide desserts in Austria. Many of the famous recipes we know today date back to before the 16th century probably the best known among tourists being the Apple Strudel. Up to the Renaissance, most desserts in Europe were made with honey as sugar was only affordable by the wealthy. Other famous Austrian desserts are the Sacher Torte first created at the Sacher Hotel, the Dobostorte named after European nobility and the Salzburg Nockerl said to celebrate the 3 small hills (or “Nockerln”) in the town of Salzburg near the Austrian border.

I’ll feature the Salzburger Nockerl because it is one of the most memorable desserts you can have in Austria, no one seems to ever forget the delicate 3 mounds of meringue on a bed of red raspberry sauce. Best of all, it is gluten free, low in sugar (only 4 tbsp) and easy to make. I use agave for most of my recipes whenever possible as it has one of the lowest glycemic values of the natural sugars without being chemically processed like Splenda. (More on agave on a future blog.) For this recipe, a little sugar must be used for the meringue to avoid weeping of the meringue after baking. The final result will have a soufflĂ© like texture and taste light and heavenly.

Prepare the Raspberry Jam
2 baskets of organic fresh raspberries
¼ cup agave nectar
2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup fresh orange juice
Mix half the raspberries, the agave nectar, lemon and orange juice in a pan. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes whisking to break apart berries. Remove from heat and add the remaining strawberries and coat. Set aside

Preheat overn to 400 degrees F.

Pour the warm jam into a baking dish. Oval, rectangular or square dishes are fine as long as they are large enough to fit 3 mounds of meringue.

For the Salzburger Nockerln
5 egg whites
3 egg yolks
4 tbsp powdered sugar or bakers sugar
1 tsp tapioca flour, sifted
2 tbsp Grand Marnier
Grated peel of 1 lemon

Mix together the 3 egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, tapioca flour, Grand Marnier and lemon peel in a bowl.
In a mixing bowl beat together the egg whites with 3 tbsp of the sugar until stiff but not dry.
Take 1/3 of the meringue mixture and fold into the egg yolk mixture till blended. Fold remaining meringue in mixture.
Spoon meringue in 3 even mounds over the raspberry jam.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and enjoy immediately. Top with sifted powder sugar if desired.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

In Search of A Decent Piece of Bread

One of the biggest frustrations with being GF is having decent bread. You know, bread that you can put in your toaster, top with jam or stuff with your favorite savory filling with mayo, lettuce and tomato. Gluten free store bought bread is often dry, crumbly and tasteless. All have the taste of compromise not quite meeting the gold standard of what bread should taste like. Wheat, with its complex DNA, gives bread that elasticity and depth that makes it comfort food for us. In these blogs, I will share with you tested recipes for artisan tasting bread as well as commercial products tried which come close. You can finally enjoy cutting into your own loaf of bread packed with nutritious gluten free flours.
Enjoy!



Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free Wonderful Bread






After trying several packaged bread products, this one is truly impressive. With only 2 grams of sugar and loaded with over 5 different gluten free flours, this bread is a snap to make. You only need to add eggs, oil, your favorite milk (soy, rice or cow) and vinegar. The package comes with a pack of yeast requiring only a 5 minute proofing. The rising time recommended is 30 minutes although I like to go a full hour. Dough rises beautifully. (I admit not smoothing the top of these loaves with a wet spatula to give it a flatter surface before baking).


Out of the oven, the bread browns beautifully, the crust is crunchy and the center is slightly porous and elastic.



The crumb is firm but moist with a somewhat sweetish taste similar to Portuguese sweet bread.














This bread is worth the wait and can be shared with even your non gluten sensitive friends. They would never guess it was gluten free!
Note: Bread can be stored in the freezer immediately after baking. Use it within a week, thaw for about 2 minutes in the microwave and toast. After a week in the freezer the bread will become noticeable crumbly and dry.








Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Gluten Free Traveler

Travel remains one of the most challenging aspects of being gluten free. We learn to pack our carefully prepared cookies and snacks for the long plane ride hoping that our goodies will last the one or two week trek across foreign soil. Our only wish upon arrival is that an overzealous immigration official doesn’t consider our neatly sealed baggie – contraband and disrespectfully tosses it in the food trash bin.

We don’t want to have to feel “special” traipsing through the globe. We want to work our meals seamlessly into our travel, without the slightest hint of hardship when considering what is safe to eat. The good news is that it shouldn’t be approached as a challenge but rather part of the travel experience. Think of it as an opportunity to expand your food horizons beyond the safety of what you already know. Imagine expanding or adjusting your food repertoire to be as diverse as the flours you use when you went gluten, lactose or sugar free.

Gluten free savory foods and main dishes are abundant in most places in the world but wheat dishes seem to be everywhere!! As a pastry chef, my focus will be on the more difficult conversions making traditional desserts healthful and gluten free. If you do discover an exotic dessert in your travels, perhaps we can share the knowledge on making these treats delectable at home!

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