Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Matzoh Recipe

If you are gluten-free, trying to find gluten-free matzoh in your local store is not always so easy.  If you live near one of those stores that do carry it, you are lucky.  You can always order on line too.  Then there are the many recipes on the internet.  Most are made with either almond or nut flour, soy flour and other ingredients that I cannot eat because of my allergies.

Even when I do purchase gluten-free matzoh I still like to make my own.  I think it’s original and more like what our ancestors ate .  But that doesn’t mean it looks or tastes good. . . . Until this year!

I found a bunch of recipes that I could not use due to the ingredients, so I tailored them and came up with a matzoh recipe this year that we like!  I made small, individual cracker-like matzohs instead of sheet matzohs.  We love the taste and the size!

Recipe:

1/3 cup of Potato Starch

1/3 cup of  Brown Rice Flour

1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Meal

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

3-4 Tablespoons of Water

Salt to taste (1/4-1/2 teaspoon)

Mix the potato starch, brown rice flour and flaxseed meal together.  Add in the olive oil and mix.  Add in one tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture is soft enough to handle and roll into balls. Add the salt to the mixture to taste.  You might need to add in a little more or less oil and water until you get it to the right consistency. Don’t be afraid to experiment!  If you add to much liquid you can always add in a little more flour.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.  Take a heaping tablespoon full of the mixture and press down into a flat circle.  Repeat until all of the mixture is used.  Prick the mini matzohs with a fork.   Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes.  Cool and enjoy!

Tips:

For the first batch  I sprinkled salt onto the matzohs.  The result was a bland matzoh cracker that I did not like.  For the next batch I added the salt into the mixture before baking.  We liked it much better.

Ingredients: I love olive oil! Note that it does give the matzoh a little olive green twinge.  You can use another oil if you prefer.  If you don’t have  or can’t find potato starch then try tapioca starch.  I’m going to try the next batch with tapioca and see how that turns out.

Baking Time:  Bake less time for a softer matzoh, longer for a crispier matzoh

My recipe made 9 matzoh crackers.

Gluten-Free Matzoh

Gluten-Free Matzohs

Gluten-Free Fondus

Once or twice a year we make a fondu at home; last night was one of these times.   It is easy and fun to make and a lot of fun to eat together.  There’s something really enjoyable about preparing it and  dipping your food it into a cheese, wine and flour mix and eating it with family and friends.

Our fondus are a little different, and we think better, than any that you can buy at a restaurant.  First of all, my husband, and now my son, are experts at making fondu.  Secondly, we don’t just dip bread in the fondu, not only because I can’t eat “regular” bread, but because it’s boring.  We eat slightly steamed broccoli, small potatoes, sliced apples, cornichons (small french pickles), and the rest of my family eat the bread .

How do I eat fondu given that I am both gluten-free and dairy-free?  First of all, we substitute rice flour for “regular wheat flour”.  I don’t even have wheat flour in my house.  We shred two types of cheese – guyere and swiss – which we mix with the rice flour in a pot with white wine.  In the meantime we lightly steam the broccoli, cook the potatoes, cut up the apples and the bread for those who eat bread and put them in bowls around the fondu pot on the table.  Then we dig in.

Since I am allergic to dairy I can generally only do this once a year when I am feeling really good, and only with lactose and allergy pills, or so I thought.  This was one of the best fondus we have had in a long time.

We topped it off late in the evening with a dark chocolate fondu.  I carefully and slowly melted dark chocolate pieces in the microwave to get it to a liquid and smooth consistency.  In the meantime I cut up banana, peeled and cut up oranges, apples, and put out strawberries and blueberries.  Given that I am allergic to milk chocolate and strawberries and I have a low tolerance for dark chocolate I have to be very careful with this dish too.  I even had a separate fondu for people to eat the strawberries.  It was fabulous and everyone enjoyed it, including me.

These are great party meals and great fun to eat with family and friends.  Everyone loved them and they were happy and fine today.  Unfortunately I woke up in agony and was sick all day today.  What was I thinking eating dairy at all and eating both dairy and chocolate in the same evening?  If you are gluten-free, you can easily substitute rice flour and you can also purchase gluten-free bread/baguettes for your fondu.  But if like me you are dairy free, think long and hard before you dig in.  It is going to be a long time before I do this again.  I may eat it once the memories of my reaction fade, maybe in another year!

PRUDENTIAL CENTER CARRIES GILBERT’S GOURMET GOODIES!

Going to a sporting event at Prudential Center? Looking for all natural goodies?  Do you want or need to eat all natural treats that taste great and are made without gluten? without peanuts? without tree nuts? without soy? without dairy? without corn or high fructose corn syrup?

Prudential Center management understands that many of their fans want healthy snacks and/or need alternative products that are made without gluten and the top allergens.  We are very excited that they have selected Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies for their specialty food offerings.

So the next time you visit Prudential Center look for Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies giant cookies and brownies, and if you don’t see them, ask for them!

http://www.prucenter.com/