Peachy Quinoa Cobbler with Strawberry Sauce

To download a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Peachy Quinoa Cobbler with Strawberry Sauce, click HERE. [LINK] https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=AACAD5940EB17952!162&authkey=!AFHFpD-nc9EW5gs

Once you experience the unique flavor and nutritional qualities of quinoa, you’ll inevitably want to find other ways to add it to recipes. In last week’s post, we used whole quinoa in a delicious savory side dish salad ("Quinoa Salad with Tomato, Roasted Red Pepper,Pine Nuts and Cherries"). This week, we’ll use it to make flour that will be used in a baked dessert dish I couldn’t resist calling “Peachy Quinoa Cobbler with Strawberry Sauce.” It’s a delicious peach cobbler with a natural sweetness made even better by the addition of the savory quinoa, and topped with an easy-to-make strawberry sauce.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin.

• If you’re able to buy quinoa flour already made, go for it. Where I live it’s easy to find quinoa, but not quinoa flour, so this recipe describes the simple process of making your own.

• Whether you buy quinoa flour or make your own, use it similar to how you would use whole wheat flour in recipes. If you’ve got a recipe that uses all-purpose flour and want to use the quinoa flour, substitute the quinoa flour for up to half of the all-purpose flour. (Don’t substitute quinoa flour for the entire amount of all-purpose flour; the result will be a heavy-textured baked good that doesn’t rise properly and won’t taste right.) If  your recipe calls for whole wheat flour, you can substitute the entire amount with quinoa flour.

• It’s also possible to buy strawberry sauce to top the cobbler, but I recommend making the one described in this recipe. It’s easy to do and, frankly, tastes better than what you’ll get out of a jar. Aside from its use in this recipe, it’s a great topping to be able to make for a wide variety of desserts.

• Although I normally prefer to use as many fresh ingredients as possible, in this recipe I’ve used canned peaches instead of fresh. The reason for this is that canned peaches have a consistent taste and texture any time of year. Fresh peaches, depending on many factors, can vary from sweet and juicy to dry, overly firm and tasteless. If you do want to use fresh peaches, and find that yours are not the sweet and juicy kind, I’ve found you can make them a little better by soaking them in orange juice before using them.

• In general, fruit cobbler recipes take one of three approaches: putting the fruit in the baking dish and pouring the batter on top; mixing the fruit and the batter and putting them in the baking dish together; or pouring the batter into the baking dish and placing the fruit on top of that, letting the batter rise up around the fruit as the cobbler bakes. This recipe uses that last approach, which I’ve found is how most cobbler recipes are put together.

• As always whenever I use either of these wonderful ideas, a grateful nod to Chef Michael Chiarello for teaching us all the benefits of adding a bit of rosemary when cooking strawberries; and to Chef Alex Guarnaschelli for the simple brilliance of adding preserves when cooking a fruit filling.

This recipe makes a 13” x 9” cobbler.

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the peach filling: 4-1/2 cups sliced peaches; ½ cup peach or apricot preserves; ¾ cup brown sugar; ½ tsp ground nutmeg; ½ tsp vanilla; and 1 Tbsp lemon juice

For the batter: ½ cup AP flour; ½ cup quinoa flour; 1 cup sugar; 1 Tbsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt; 1 tsp cinnamon; 3/4 cup skim milk, room temperature; and 1 egg substitute egg.

For the strawberry sauce: ½ cup sugar; juice and zest of one lemon, less 1 Tbsp of juice used for the filling; 1 pound of strawberries, hulled and quartered; ¼ tsp dried rosemary; pinch salt.

Other ingredients: 3 Tbsp butter substitute; low fat vanilla ice cream for serving

First, let’s make the quinoa flour. (Skip this part if you were able to buy quinoa flour already made.)

Preheat the oven to 150 to 175 degrees.

Soak the quinoa in water for five minutes, then drain and rinse well under the faucet to remove the saponins, naturally occurring resins that can leave a bitter taste. (You’ll need ½ cup of quinoa for this recipe, but since you’re making the flour anyway it’s a good idea to make more and keep it on hand.)

Place the quinoa on paper towels to remove excess liquid.

Spread the quinoa out on a baking sheet and let air dry. To dry faster, place the baking sheet in the oven till dry. Be careful not to let the quinoa bake. (If necessary, take it out of the oven when it’s almost dry and let it air dry the rest of the way outside of the oven.)

Once the quinoa is dry, grind into flour using a spice grinder or coffee grinder and place in a sealed container until needed.

Now let’s get a few things ready and prepare the filling.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Juice and zest one lemon and set aside to use as called for in the rest of the recipe.

Combine filling ingredients in a saucepan and mix well.

Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat. Set aside till needed.

Next, we’ll prepare the baking dish and make the batter.

Put the butter substitute in a 13 x 9” baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Combine dry batter ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the middle, and put in the skim milk and egg. Mix the liquid ingredients till combined.

Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry until a smooth batter forms.

To prepare and bake the cobbler:

Pour the batter over the melted butter; do not stir.

Spoon the filling on top, then gently add a few spoons of the remaining liquid from the saucepan.

Bake for about 45 minutes, turning the baking dish half-way for more even baking, until the top is golden brown. (During baking, the batter will rise around the filling.)

While the cobbler is baking, prepare the strawberry sauce as follows:

With the heat off, place the sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and mix till combined. Turn the heat on low and heat until the sugar mixture has melted.

Add the strawberries, lemon zest, salt and rosemary, and stir to coat.

Increase heat to medium, and simmer uncovered to thick sauce consistency, about 25 minutes.

Set the sauce aside till needed.

When the cobbler has finished baking:

Let rest until warm. (If it’s necessary to let it rest overnight, cover with perforated foil to allow the steam to vent without condensing and making the cobbler soggy.)

To serve:

Slice the cobbler, and top each piece with strawberry sauce and vanilla ice cream.

To download a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Peachy Quinoa Cobbler with Strawberry Sauce, click HERE.

Easy to make, sweet and delicious to eat, and even just a bit healthy. Now that’s hard to beat!

Visit again next week for another easy, kitchen tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Chardonnay Chicken Crepes

To download a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Chardonnay Chicken Crepes, click HERE.

If crepes are not normally considered one of the basic essentials of cooking, they should be. They’re as versatile as anything we cook can be, working just as well with sweet breakfasts and desserts as they do with savory meat dinner dishes. They’re easy to make, and can transform almost anything into an all-new dish. (My wife made a marvelous dinner by cutting up some leftover roast beef, adding vegetables and gravy, and wrapping it up in some of the extra crepes that were left the day after we had this week’s Chardonnay Chicken Crepes recipe for dinner.)

The Chardonnay Chicken filling is simple to make as well. It was modeled after a classic Beef Burgundy, in which beef chunks are browned, then finished in a wine and broth blend that is cooked down and thickened into a gravy. (If you prefer not to serve it inside a crepe, Chardonnay Chicken or, for that matter, Beef Burgundy, is also great on top of noodles.)

This recipe makes about 6 servings. (It will also leave you with a few extra crepes. This is a good thing.)

Here’s what you’ll need before you begin:

For the Crepes: 1 cup all-purpose flour; ¼ tsp salt; 2 Tbsp melted butter substitute; 2 egg-substitute eggs; 1-1/2 cups skim milk; and  butter substitute or oil for cooking the crepes. (A non-stick crepe pan is also helpful.)

For the Chardonnay Chicken Crepe Filling: 1/3 cup all-purpose flour; ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper; ½ tsp garlic powder; 2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes; butter substitute or oil for cooking; 3 slices turkey bacon; 8 to 12 ounces sliced mushrooms; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1 cup dry white wine (chardonnay or similar); 2 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth; 1 cup pearl onions (the frozen ones are ok to use); ½ tsp dried thyme; ½ tsp dried rosemary; 1 bay leaf; 1 to 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (to desired gravy thickness); green or red bell pepper, fine-diced, for garnish.

To make the crepe batter:

Combine flour and salt in a bowl, and form a well.

Pour the egg-substitute eggs and ½ cup of the skim milk into the well. Add the melted butter substitute to the well and mix the liquids together.

Once the liquid ingredients in the well are combined, gradually mix in the dry ingredients. The result should be a thick batter.

Gradually add the remaining skim milk until the batter has the consistency of heavy cream. Take care doing this; making crepes is easy, but the texture of the batter is very, very important to getting them right.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. (This helps your crepes to have a smooth texture by allowing the air bubbles to clear from the batter after mixing.)

While the batter is resting, make the filling as follows.

In a bowl or large food storage bag, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add the chicken cubes and toss to coat.

Cook the turkey bacon in a skillet over medium heat. (You may need to add a little oil or butter substitute to start, since turkey bacon doesn’t render as much fat as regular bacon.) When the bacon is done, transfer it to a plate and set aside.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add a little oil or butter substitute to the skillet as needed, and sauté the mushrooms. Set the cooked mushrooms aside.

Increase the heat to high. Add a little oil or butter substitute to the skillet as needed. Add the chicken cubes and garlic clove, and cook until the chicken is browned. (Work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan; you want to brown the chicken, not steam it.)

Put all the chicken together into the skillet. Add the wine and broth to the skillet. Increase the heat to high till the liquid is boiling, then lower to a simmer.

Add the mushrooms and pearl onions and simmer for about ten minutes.

Add the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf.

Cook uncovered until reduced by about ¼ to 1/3. Add the flour near the end to thicken the gravy.

When done cooking, cut the bacon into pieces and add to the mixture. Remove the bay leaf.

Now let’s cook our crepes.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat; remove the pan from the heat and melt about 1 tsp of butter substitute. (Be careful with this; too much oil or butter substitute could damage your crepe!) To make an 8” crepe, remove the pan from the heat, add about ¼ cup of the batter, swirl around to cover the surface of the pan, and put it back on the heat.

When the crepe is lightly browned on the bottom and firm enough to be flipped (usually about a minute and a half, but keep an eye on it), turn or flip the crepe and cook on the opposite side (generally for a minute, or even a bit less) till it has the desired brownness. Stack the crepes on a plate, covered with a clean towel to keep from drying out.

Repeat the above steps for each crepe, rebuttering the pan for each.

To serve:

Place a crepe on the plate.

Use a slotted spoon to put filling along the center-line of the crepe.

Fold the crepe over.

Spread a little gravy from the pan on top of the crepe, and sprinkle some of the diced bell pepper to garnish.

Serve hot with a vegetable side dish, and a glass of the chardonnay.

To download a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Chardonnay Chicken Crepes, click HERE.

This savory recipe is, of course, just one example of a dish that takes advantage of the wonders of the crepe. There are countless others, and next week I hope you’ll visit again as we go the other way with a sweet crepe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)