baking · cooking · Dinner

Book Review: 500 Best Quinoa Recipes Cookbook (plus recipes!)

I recently received a review copy of 500 Best Quinoa Recipes: 100% Gluten-Free Super-Easy Superfood by Camilla V. Saulsbury, and  had to try recipes out right away. Her gluten-free pizza crust, especially considering it is yeast-free! I contemplated grinding my quinoa flour (the author covers it in her book), feeling not that inspired I picked up a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Organic Quinoa Flour instead. This cookbook is fun. A lot of fun. And big. No skimping on recipes, 500 is quite a bit! There is something for everyone and every recipe is gluten-free as well. The bread and muffin recipe section alone is worth the book. I was happy to see that she has a number of yeast-free sandwich breads that pull together quickly.

Quinoa flour is interesting to bake with. The texture reminds me of brown rice flour, rather sandy in texture. It is vitamin rich, high in protein and fiber. If you like quinoa, you will like the flour. If you haven’t eaten a lot of quinoa though you may not be ready. It is an acquired taste. I find it earthy and delicious but I wasn’t always a fan of quinoa. It took me awhile to appreciate it. Play with it, you may find you grow to love it.

The book has a range of recipes – some are vegan, some vegetarian, others have meat. It is though easily adaptable to make many of the recipes vegan, what is a steady focus is not using highly processed foods. It is a “cook or bake from scratch” book, I appreciate that!

Quinoa Pizza Crust (From page 442)

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°, oil a large baking sheet with olive oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together quinoa flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the water and oil with a sturdy spoon until a dough forms.

Turn dough out on a work surface lightly floured with quinoa flour. Knead for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth (a bench scraper is handy).

Place the dough on the prepared sheet. Lightly oil your hands and pat the dough out to fill the pan.

Spread pizza sauce on top (a little goes a long way) and top as desired. We had sautéed bell peppers and mushrooms, chopped olives, fresh mozzarella and a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, till bubbly and golden. Let rest for 5 minutes, slice up, using a thin offset spatula to remove slices.

Makes 1 large thin crust pizza.

While the toddler ate lunch and the baby slept (for a whopping 15 minutes), I made a batch of red sauce to tuck into the refrigerator. A little effort and I had 2 quarts of delicious thick sauce. This was a recipe I came up with in my head, adding ingredients as I went along. Thankfully I remembered what I put in!

It makes a great pizza sauce or for pasta, the recipe makes 2 quarts, it provides at least 2 meals worth. I needed only about a pint for one large pizza.

Handmade Red Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 sweet onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 28-ounce cans whole unsalted tomatoes
  • 1 bunch basil, leaves only
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 1 Tbsp garlic, diced or granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbsp fresh
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • ½ tsp raw honey

Directions:

Heat a tall saucepan over medium heat, add the oil, carrots and onion. Saute until onion is turning golden. Add tomatoes (with liquid), basil, wine, garlic, oregano and pepper. Bring to a simmer, turn to medium-low and simmer gently mostly covered for about an hour, stirring once in a while.

Remove from the heat and using an immersion blender, break up the tomatoes and carrots until the sauce is mostly smooth. Return to the heat and season with salt and honey, tasting for flavor, adding more as desired.

Pack into clean mason jars and refrigerate until needed, using up within a couple of days. (A canning funnel and ladle make it a snap to do)

Makes about 2 quarts.

I slightly adapted this bread recipe. It called for 1 Tablespoon of poppy seeds, I used Brown Sesame Seeds instead. I am not a big poppy-seed fan. Use what you like!

Multi-Seed Bread (From page 421)

Ingredients:

  • 1¾ cups quinoa flour
  • 1/3 cup flaxseed meal
  • 3 Tbsp raw sesame seeds, divided
  • 1 Tbsp brown sesame seeds
  • 1 Tbsp caraway seeds, crushed (used spice grinder)
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 2 large eggs (I used locally sourced turkey eggs)
  • 1 cup unsweetened milk (used almond)
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp molasses or raw honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°, lightly oil a bread pan (8″x4″).

Whisk the quinoa flour, flaxseed meal, 2 Tablespoons raw sesame, brown sesame seeds, caraway seeds, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Whisk the eggs, milk, oil and molasses together, add to the dry and stir till just mixed.

Spread batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining Tablespoon of sesame seeds.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then gently knock out and let cool on the rack before slicing.

Makes one loaf.

– The author notes that once cooled, wrap in foil or a plastic bread bag and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received a copy for potential review.

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