I feel it is very important to be well rounded in the recipe depatment. Knowing how to make recipes when you are missing groceries, or if someone has sensitivites. Or if you are on a budget.
I usually make my delicious Carrot Pizza Crust. However low in carb it uses alot of cheese and eggs when you have to make a double batch just to cover the pan.
I am always searching for ways to cut down on grocery bills without interrupting the integrity of our food.
We do save alot of money by not dining out soo much and not buying starches and grains. The negative is usually we spend more then we saved in alternative flours and in produce. As everybody knows the cheapest things in the store is the 3$ loaf of white starchy high sugar bread, the 4$ 10 pound bag of potatos and the huge sack of rice on sale at Costco for less than 20$.
If you went and bought 20$ worth of brocolli you would be pretty hungry after about 4 days.... But the huge sack of rice would still be keeping you full.
Anyways, alot of gluten and grain free cooking uses alot of eggs as a stabilizer and rising agent. I love eggs, but we used to go through about 3 dozen a month. Now we go through about 18-24 eggs per week. 5 times the amount!!! Eggs arent really that expensive and are very good for you, but I want to try to avoid eggs in alot of cooking if I can to cut down on cholesterol and to save some money.
So here is a recipe I stumbled upon this morning on the internet of course. I LOVE cruising grain free blogs. I did have to change a few ingredients to make it grain free and lower carb. I crossed my fingers and watched it brown in the oven hoping it wouldn't fail with my alternative flours.
I am in complete and udder LOVE with this crust. It's a crispy thin texture that takes me back to the gluten and refined carbohydrate days. Mmm of course I miss pizza. I had the best pizza delivery place on the same street as me for a few years and I always found an excuse to need to order their pizza. It was delicous and would cost me more to make it at home.
In fact, even after moving out of Calgary I would pick it up on my home somtimes as we could not find one that tasted soo good for the same price anywhere. The sad part was all I had to do was walk in there and they smiled and waved at me and never asked for my phone number anymore lol.
This crust gets crispy and stays firm regardless of the toppings compared to my vegetable crust. Don't get me wrong the carrot crust is great but I have to sometimes burn the edges in order to get the middle firm enough for me. I also find the next day it's too soft for me. Which is sad because I could easily live off of pizza for a week.
This crust is great for people who are unable to have cheese or milk or nuts. Being egg free its also good when you run out of eggs. I could make it for people who are regular glutenous eating folk and I doubt they would complain. They will just be interested in knowing what you put in it.
It is definetly worthwhile though you will need a food processor. I always bake it in the morning after breakfast and then just let it sit until I am ready to bake it for dinner.
If you find the crust too dry, you could substitute sourcream or plain greek yogurt for the liquid. I didnt mind the dryness as it made it crispy.
Grain Free Pizza Crust - gluten free, casein free, dairy free
1 can 540 ml white Navy or Great Northern beans rinsed and drained
1/4 C non-hydrogenated olive oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, melted butter
1/2 C coconut milk or almond milk or cashew milk**
1 package of stevia sweetener powder or 1 T sucralose
1 T plus 1 t unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar (or) unsweetened lemon juice
1/4 C plus 2 T Organic Coconut flour
1/4 C chia seed meal or 2 T whole chia seeds ground
2 T Potato/Tapioca/Arrowroot Starch
1/4 C flax seed meal (You could sub in almond flour but I haven't tried it)**
1/2 t aluminum free baking soda
3/4 t gluten free, corn free baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
1 T dried italian seasoning or Oregano
1/2 T onion powder
3 dashes garlic powder
In a food processor combine, beans, oil and milk. Blend well until no visible chunks appear.
Add all remaining ingredients and mix well but do not over mix.
Press dough together into a ball.
Flatten out dough on unbleached parchment paper with wet or oiled hands. Finish with a rolling pin by placing one piece of parchment ontop of crust and flatten slightly. Rolling out the crust thinnr than 1/4 inch will just cause it to burn. Try to keep the thickness even. You can definetly leave is thicker if desired or even build up the edge for a "crust" like a regular wheat crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min. Turn half way throuh to avoid the edges from burning.
Remove from oven and brush with 1/4 C grapeseed or olive oil imediately to stop it from drying out. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese and parsley. Let cool completely before topping to keep crust crispy.
Feel free to change up the spices in any way you please. This crust has NO coconut taste whatsoever so do not worry. Coconut does not belong in everything.
** If you substitutue in yogurt for the coconut milk you may need to cook the crust longer to remove extra moisture. I haven't tried it but there is no reason why it would not work. You can of course substitute in regular Dairy milk for the coconut without any troubles.
I have not tried substituting in Almond flour yet. It will increase the Carb content in the crust. It is on my to do list**
No comments:
Post a Comment