It's been so long since I've been able to post anything. Some time ago I found a recipe that I was really interested in trying. Some folks call it "Nordic", some others call it "Stone Age" but it's always followed by "nut and seed bread". It's essentially a baked loaf made up of nuts and seeds, held together by some egg, a little oil and seasoning. I just got to trying it and wanted to document the experience in a long overdue blog post. I'm happy to say that it turned out great! It holds together really well. You can dress it up like toast or a fancy cracker. They taste great, are quite filling and full of fibre. Gluten-free as well for our Celiac and gluten-sensitive friends.
There are two methods you can use. In this method, I kept the pieces of nuts and seeds whole (unless they were already in pieces such as the walnuts). In the other method, you can put the nuts and somewhat larger seeds in a blender or food processor and blitz them for a few short bursts. You don't want to grind them down completely, but just break them down a bit. This will create a slightly denser product and resemble a little more like actual bread. It's up to you. I might try the second version next time. One advantage of the method used here is that you get a greater variety of textures and individual flavours this way. It's up to your personal preference.
You can get as creative as you want. You need 1 cup of flax seeds in particular, 2 cups of raw nuts and 3 cups of other raw seeds. For the nuts I chose a combination of peanuts, walnut pieces, pistachios, almonds and cashews. For the seeds (excluding flax) I chose sesame, pumpkin and sunflower. You can choose whatever you like. Try to use raw nuts and seeds as everything is going to bake together in the oven anyway and if they are already roasted they can become bitter in flavour. Try to get unsalted options as well, so you can control the seasoning on your own. In case you can't find some or any of them unsalted, keep that in mind when you season (if at all).
Ingredients
1 cup of flax seeds
2 cups of raw, unsalted, mixed nuts
3 cups of raw, unsalted mixed seeds
1/3 cup of olive or (melted) coconut oil
1.5 tsp sea salt
5 eggs
Preheat oven to 325 F/163 C.
The first step is to choose your selection of nuts and seeds. For the seeds (excluding flax) I used a cup each of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. For the nuts I used a combination of peanuts, walnut pieces, pistachios, almonds and cashews totalling up to 2 cups. Have fun with your combinations. Use things you like and try to keep a variety of colours and textures.
Next step is to combine all of the nuts, seeds, eggs, oil and sea salt together in a large bowl. Stir until lightly and evenly coated.
Line a loaf tin with two pieces of parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth out the top with a rubber spatula.
Place in the center of your preheated oven and bake for one hour. Then allow to cool completely before removing by pulling the sides of the parchment paper. Slice to your desired thickness and enjoy.
Anything you might put on toast (butter, cream cheese, avocado, ricotta, hummus, etc...) will all go great with this. Dress them up with cheese, meat, fresh fruit, or whatever you like. Include it as part of your charcuterie tray. The possibilities are endless! After I tried it I got to thinking that oats would work really well in this as well. You could even add some caraway, cumin and/or fennel seeds for additional flavour.
This recipe is easy, fun, creative and decently healthy. Enjoy with any meal of the day.
Until next time,
B
No comments:
Post a Comment