Adding the Yum Factor to Gluten-Free Cooking
Six years ago, Erin Scott was the happy, food-loving owner of a lifestyle boutique in Oakland, Calif., when she discovered she had celiac disease. The diagnosis transformed her life -- not just her eating habits but her career. Instead of wallowing in the downsides of a newfound gluten-free existence, she launched the (now-popular) blog Yummy Supper, spending her days tinkering in the kitchen and taking vibrant photos of the concoctions she made for her family, which includes two gluten-intolerant children.
That passion for creative cooking, and her determination to make "flavorful, seasonal, food that just tastes good," has spawned the just-arrived Yummy Supper: 100 Fresh, Luscious & Honest Recipes from a {Gluten-Free} Omnivore, with dishes like quinoa tabbouleh (recipe below) and zucchini ribbon "pasta" -- not to mention sweets such as pluot parfaits with sunflower seeds.
I was baffled and pretty depressed. We live in Berkeley. We love food. I thought, how am I going to have joy around food again? It took a little while for me to come to terms with what it all meant. But then I got excited about the challenge of making my own food, food that would be so irresistibly good -- even for friends used to eating out at great restaurants.
Initially the blog started as a place where friends and I could share recipes, and then I got really into it. It became an excuse for making new dishes. When you cook, it's hard not to have just five or six things on regular rotation, so this was motivation to find something new.
It was more my attitude than anything that shifted. A lot of what I cooked before my diagnosis was already gluten-free, but somehow I felt having celiac meant I could only eat packaged food that was marked as gluten-free. When I stopped overthinking and started cooking all these things I already loved from scratch again, I realized I wasn't deprived.
It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you can’t have good food when you are diagnosed. Going out to eat is tricky. I have an obsession with bread and pizza, but it only pushes me to try new grains.
It’s always about the ingredient for me. It starts with one thing, like beautiful asparagus, and then I start thinking how it would be good with lemon, or maybe an egg. So then I riff on it and have fun.
Farmers market visits must be instrumental to your repertoire, especially being in northern California.
I like playing around in the kitchen. I buy a bunch of in-season produce at the farmers market and then scrap them together. Often these combinations will turn into something good. I also love recipes from chefs like David Tanis and Deborah Madison, and mix them with my own experiments.
Almond flour. It’s rich, moist, delicious and revolutionary. Then I started experimenting with other nuts, grinding up pistachios, walnuts and hazelnuts. It’s a great way to get proteins. These sugar cookies I make with pistachio flour are some of my favorites. They are crunchy, extra-buttery and have a hint of orange from the zest and blossom water.
Salad is my fallback. I'll take arugula, or some other green, and pair it with a poached egg for extra flavor and texture. I'm a protein girl, so cheese and nuts often go into my salads.
This time of year, it's baked eggs on a bed of cherry tomatoes. Sometimes I’ll even do it for lunch if I have a little extra time because it only takes 20 minutes. It’s not a big production. Nothing I make is very hard.
There's a lot of backlash about gluten-free food not being healthy or tasty. If you fall into the packaged goods myth and eat processed food all day, yes, it will be unhealthy. But there's a lot to eat out there that’s both nourishing and delicious. I hope the book will help normalize gluten-free eating. With vegetarianism there was once a lot of confusion over fake imitation meats and nut loafs. Now I want people to realize that we don’t even need to eat gluten-free bread; we can just eat other things instead. Look at the way [Yotam] Ottolenghi cooks. Gluten-free food simply isn't fringe anymore.
Quinoa Tabbouleh with Tomatoes, Scallions, Parsley Leaves and Blossoms
When the weather is warm, the last thing anyone wants for dinner is a hot meal. This quinoa is filling while still being light, refreshing and full of herby, lemony zing. It's easy to forget that traditional tabbouleh is made with bulgur -- quinoa is so good here that it feels made for this Mediterranean classic. This dish is best made at least an hour ahead of time so all the flavors can mingle and the quinoa can soak up all the goodness.
First, rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine-mesh strainer under running tap water. Place the rinsed quinoa in a large saucepan with 3 cups of water and let the grains soak for at least 15 minutes. Bring to a boil. Add the kosher salt to the pot.
Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy and tender, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, toss the quinoa with the tomatoes, parsley, scallions, lemon juice, olive oil and mint. Add salt and additional lemon juice to your liking, and you've got your tabbouleh.
Serve the quinoa at room temp. Feel free to add a little more flaky sea salt and an extra drizzle of nice olive oil at serving time, and top with the blossoms, if you have 'em.
Alia Akkam is a New York-based writer who covers the intersection of food, drink, travel and design. She launched her career by opening boxes of Jamie Oliver books as a Food Network intern.
Recipe and photos reprinted from “Yummy Supper” by Erin Scott. Copyright (c) 2014 by Erin Scott. By permission of Rodale Books.