Kañiwa Avocado Salad With Aji Amarillo

I love the textures, colors and flavors of this beautiful summer salad.  This is the perfect side dish for your favorite seafood  dinner. It is also great as a main course on its own.  This salad really is wonderful anytime of the year but it is perfectly lite and satisfying for a warm summer day. This Kañiwa Avocado Salad with Aji Amarillo is easy to make but looks like you made so much effort! It is fun to make, so enjoy your creative spirit.  The Aji Amarillo adds a little kick so keep some extra on the table if you and your guest want a big kick ... add more!  

Ingredients

1 cup Zócalo Gourmet Kañiwa Grain
2 Avocados, large and ripe
1/4 tsp Matiz smoked sea salt
1 Tbs. Spanish Olive Oil, plus more if desired to garnish
fresh ground black pepper, season to taste
2 roasted garlic cloves, mashed
2 stalks or 1/4 cup Spring onions, sliced thin
Aji Amarillo paste
2 1/2 cups water

Boil the water and Kañiwa grain in a covered pot until the water is absorbed and the grain has expanded.  Approximately 20 - 45 minutes, depending on your burner size and strength.  Remove from heat and fluff with fork.  Add smoked sea salt, black pepper, roasted garlic and 1 Tbs. of Spanish olive oil. Mix well.

Slice the avocado and onion into thin slices.  Use a metal pastry ring to make the form.  Place the metal ring on the plate.  Add a big scoop of Kañiwa grain to the bottom of the ring.  Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the Kañiwa grain down firmly.  Add the layer of sliced avocado.  Add another layer of Kañiwa grain and press firmly.  Remove the ring. Garnish the top with small sections of avocado, onion slices.  Add the Aji Amarillo to the top of the salad and around the plate.   

Variations of this salad - add another layer with cheese, tomatoes, fish or shrimp. Change the vegetables with the seasons.
I wanted to keep this one Vegan for today.

Salud!

This recipe and photograph are created by Lisa Garza - Gluten Free Foodies

Lima Bean Flat Crisp Bread - Habas Planas Pan Crujiente

This Lima Bean Crisp Bread recipe is a fun and tasty way to make appetizers or a modern Peruvian pizza.  The inspiration for this - flat crisp bread was an Italian bread made with garbanzo bean flour.  The bread is called - Faina.  I decided to keep with the flavors of Peru using Lima bean flour which is  Gluten Free, high in fiber and protein.  I added some dried Aji Limo, garlic, sea salt and smoked pimenton. Feel free to add the flavors that you like - rosemary, dried onion, parmesan, lemon or lime zest, oregano or thyme. I used a non-stick frittata pan that is oven safe.  The - crisp flatbread - pan crujiente -  that I wanted to make was for appetizers, so I kept it small, approximately 8 inches.  You could use a well seasoned comal or a non- stick pizza pan with an edge.  Speaking of pizza - this would make a great crust if you wanted to add toppings to it after you cooked it. 

Lima Bean Flat Crisp Bread
Habas Planas Pan Crujiente
makes 2 - 8 inch or 4 - 6 inch - crisp breads - depending on the pan

Dry Ingredients
 1 cup Zócalo Lima Bean flour
1 tsp Matiz Sea Salt - smoked, flor de sal, herbed
1/2 tsp Aji Limo, dried
1/4 tsp smoked pimenton - Rey de la Vera
1/4 tsp garlic powder
fresh ground black pepper

Wet Ingredients
1 Tbs  Spanish Olive oil for the mix and additional for the pan
1 cup water, fresh cold, may need more to thin out

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

When the oven reaches 400 degrees, coat the pan with olive oil and put it in the oven to heat, approximately 3-5 minutes.

Mix all of the dry ingredients - lima bean flour, sea salt, seasonings in a bowl with a whisk. 
Add the 1 Tbs of olive oil and water and mix well.  The batter should be thin, you may need to add a little more water to thin it out.  *Please note that if the batter sits too long it may get thick, just add a little more water to thin it out.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven and slowly add the batter to the pan in a thin layer, 1/4 inch deep.  The oil may move to the sides of the batter after you pour it into the pan, no worries it will be absorbed during cooking. Quickly, place the pan with the batter back into the oven and cook for 10 - 16 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula or tongs to slide the crisp flatbread out of the pan.  I just turned the pan over on to my wooden block and it came out very easily! Add a little more olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, add more batter and cook.  Continue to repeat the process until all of the batter is cooked. 

Serve with any Aji paste, sliced cheese, sliced meats such as jamon or chorizo, extra dipping olive oil and a glass of your favorite wine!
Salud!

Pussac Punay Beans - Beautiful Beans

Have you ever seen such beautiful beans?
Pussac Punay Beans ...
just saying the name puts a smile on my face.

Speaking of putting a smile on our faces ...

Zócalo Pussac Punay Andean Heritage Beans, has been selected as a Silver Finalist in the 2011 NASFT sofi™ Awards Competition, for Outstanding New Product. 
The competition was stiff, with a record 670 entries across both awards for Part 2.
Gold Winners for each award will be determined in a special judging by attendees at the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, July 10 and Monday, July 11.
Gold winners will be announced July 11 at a red-carpet ceremony hosted by celebrity chef Cat Cora.

Easy Pussac Punay Beans recipe

1 cup Pussac Punay Beans
4 cups fresh cold water
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 tsp Matiz Sea Salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbs Spanish Olive Oil
2 tsp Aji Amarillo, dried - give or take depending on your heat preference

One of our favorite ways to make Pussac Punay Beans is so simple it is ridiculous.
Soak the beans, 1 cup beans to 4 cups of cold fresh water for 6- 8 hours.
Change the water out half way through soaking time. 

Rinse the beans and put them into a pot with 4 cups of water. You will notice the beans have expanded from soaking in the water. Boil in a pot for approximately 2 hours covered with a lid.  Add chopped yellow onion, Matiz Sea Salt, Spanish Olive Oil, fresh ground black pepper and Aji Amarillo.

You can also cook the beans on high in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours.  Make sure that there is enough water, an inch above the beans while cooking. The Pussac Punay beans are done when the beans are tender. Serve with or without the bean broth.  I like it both ways.  If I just want a warm bowl of beans to warm me up, I serve it with the broth.  If I am serving the beans as a side dish I use strainer to get just the beans, I keep the broth with the other beans and store them in a container with a tight fitting lid in the refrigerator.
Cooking the beans with the least amount of ingredients allows for the wonderful flavors of each of the beans to be enjoyed! I have never tasted beans with so many different flavors - some are buttery and others are earthy and nutty. There is one more thing ... every time I eat Pussac Punay Beans ... I feel really great! These beans are magic ... when I eat them for dinner, the next morning I seem to spring out of bed! Just look at the nutritional value for these beautiful magic beans!
So simple, so tasty ... so good for you!


Recipe created by Lisa Garza - Gluten Free Foodies

The Secret Behind Berry Special Smoothies ... Kañiwa!

Do you want to know the secret behind this amazing smoothie? Look closely ... Kañiwa!

If you add just 1 tablespoon to your smoothie you will add extra fiber, protein, calcium and iron!

Kañiwa has a great earthy and nutty flavor and will enhance all of your favorite fruits.

Berry Special Kañiwa Smoothie
4 servings

2 cups Non-Fat Yogurt
Use your favorite non-fat yogurt, I like Greek yogurt for the flavor and less sugar.  1/2 cup per person.
2 cups of your favorite frozen berries
This is a great way to get the cold frozen texture without watering the smoothie down.
1/4 cup Kañiwa flour
1 cup of fresh Organic Berries or fruit

1 Tbls. Puremiel Organic honey
Add everything to your blender and mix well.  Pour into your favorite glasses and top with a strawberry or your favorite fresh fruit.



Salud! To good health!

Recipe created by Lisa Garza, Gluten Free Foodies

Poblano Peppers Stuffed With Kañiwa, Chorizo and Manchego

I love Poblano Peppers and found some perfect ones recently while shopping. I couldn’t resist how big and beautiful they were. I thought they would be perfect to stuff with all my favorite ingredients as well – Kañiwa just seemed like the perfect grain to fill the Poblano beautifully and to add great texture. I love Chorizo too but you could leave it out for the vegetarians in your group and it will still be very satisfying. So easy to make I think this will be on my regular dinner party menu … or anytime!

Serves 4, approximately 1 hour to make and bake

4 Poblano peppers - 1 per person
1 package of soft Spanish chorizo, 4 links
1 large yellow onion
2 chopped or crushed garlic cloves

1 cup Zócalo Kañiwa grain

Smoked Matiz Sea Salt

Spanish Olive Oil

1 yellow pepper, grilled (see below for directions to grill)

1 orange pepper, grilled

Aji Amarillo, dried and paste

Aji Limo, dried and paste

Manchego cheese 8-10 oz, sliced

Toothpicks to hold the peppers together while baking.

Cook the Kañiwa grain – 1 cup uncooked with 2 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil then simmer with the lid on until the liquid is absorbed and the Kañiwa grain has expanded or popped open. Remove from heat and fluff with fork. Keep covered while cooling, approximately 10 – 15 minutes.

While the Kañiwa is cooking, cut the yellow onion into small pieces. Add the chopped onion to the Kañiwa when it is done cooking. Add the garlic, 1 tsp of Matiz Smoked Sea Salt, ¼ tsp dried Aji Limo and dried Aji Amarillo to the Kañiwa and mix well.

Wash and dry the yellow and orange pepper. Brush some Spanish olive oil on all sides. Grill for 5 minutes or until all sides get charred grill marks or the skin begins to blister. The grilling releases the flavors and softens the skin. When the peppers are done, put them on a cutting board and let them cool. Remove and discard the seeds and stems. Cut into small pieces and add the cut grilled peppers to the cooked Kañiwa.

Remove the casing from the chorizo and section into small pieces or balls. Coat the pan with olive oil and cook on medium heat, approximately 5 minutes on all sides. Set to the side to cool slightly.

Wash the Poblano peppers and dry them. Carefully, make a cut on one side of the Poblano pepper, ¼ inch from the stem across the top and down the middle to make a T. Remove and discard the seeds. Keep the big stem on the top of the pepper. Brush the Poblano pepper with Spanish olive oil and begin to stuff it with at least 1/3 cup of cooked Kañiwa , 4-6 chorizo balls, and slices of Manchego cheese on top. Carefully push the toothpicks across the cut of the pepper to connect the two sides as close as you can. Use as many toothpicks as you can to keep the pepper together. Coat the bottom and sides of a baking dish or cast iron pan. Place all of the stuffed Poblano peppers in the baking pan and cover while baking.

Bake in a 425 degree preheated oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pepper skin soft.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven. Caution when removing the lid, there will be lots of steam from the peppers baking. Remove the peppers with tongs or spatulas and place on the plates. Carefully remove the toothpicks before serving. Top with either Aji Amarillo past and Aji Limo paste or both!

Salud!

Recipe created by Lisa Garza, Gluten Free Foodies