I made flapjack first, with quinoa, and jolly nice they are too. In fact, so good, they've already gone; all gobbled up at our book club meeting last night...
Here's the recipe:
8ozs. Anchor Butter - or your choice of spread
3 dstspnfuls Golden Syrup
4ozs. soft brown sugar - or Demerara or Golden Granulated
3ozs. dried mixed fruit
3-6 dstspnfuls dry-fry quinoa - I used 6 dstspnfuls for a good crunch but you may want to use even more, or less
12ozs. porridge oats
2ozs. self raising flour - I used Doves Farm Gluten-free white self-raising flour blend in my bake as I have a small intolerance to wheat
3 ripes bananas - mashed
A small Swiss-roll tray, buttered
Oven set to medium heat for 25 minutes + an extra 10 minutes at a slightly lower temp; 150o C for 25 mins. followed by 10 mins. at 125o C
How to make:
1. Melt together Anchor Butter, sugar and Golden Syrup then set pay aside to cool.
2. Fold in mashed banana to buttery mixture.
3. Mix together oats, flour, quinoa, dried fruit and tip into buttery mix. Stir well to amalgamate and turn out contents into buttered pan and bake.
4. When fully cooked and with slightly browned edges, remove from oven and place on a cooking rack until cold, marking into small squares while still warm. When quite cold, cut into shapes and serve for tea.
My recipe makes a soft-ish flapjack that's not too sweet. To make a regular-style flapjack, use 4 serving spoons of Golden Syrup and just two mashed bananas, which should give a sweeter, crisper bake.
Notes on quinoa - from Wikipedia, stating - "It is high in protein, lacks gluten, and is tolerant of dry soil." "A grain crop, grown primarily for its edible seeds."
"www.grainfreeliving.com 19th May 2011 - states "Quinoa is a seed of the Chenopodium or Goosefoot plant. It is frequently called a grain because it is used and cooked like one,....."
Notes found online for all to read - and there's more to be discovered if you need to do your own research.
I buy my quinoa from Tesco at 300g for £2.15; Sainsbury's sell Gourmet Merchant and I understand Waitrose sell their own range of quinoa too - I'm looking forward to my next Waitrose shop, and soon I hope!
The British Quinoa Company of Shropshire were featured on Country File a few weeks ago, giving John Craven a slice of their Quinoa Chocolate Cake made with quinoa flour, and they now provide the recipe for this on their Face Book Page. They are on Twitter too. They are just harvesting their first crop about now - keep in touch with them for more news of their farm and their quinoa crop.
Daisy
