Eggless Besan Quiche

Greetings!

This recipe is one of my Sunday Prep meals along with my new Blender Blackbean Burger recipe, both eaten with a salad. My kingman and I are giving up bread so instead of eating with bread we substitute with a side salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and seeds (pumpkin, chia, hemp and sunflower).

I found the basics for this recipe on Pinterest, but I added a few powdered spices to give it more flavour as salt alone just simply will not do for a savoury flour like besan/garbanzo/chick pea!

Here are some tips I discovered over the last month or so making these weekly:

*Allow the batter to sit for a while, that allows the flax and besan to work on creating a thick batter, You don't want it to be too wet. The longer it rests the least likely it will not cook in the centre.

*A foil container to bake the quiche in works much better than regular tins which can cause the quiche to stick, but once you get the temperature right (low) sticking should not be a problem.

*Filling a pie dish with only a cup of the batter, or any dish beside a muffin tin will cook quickly and avoid the inside not cooking. The deeper the batter the longer it takes for the inside to cook.

*To store the finished quiche, line your air-tight container at the bottom with paper towel, then each layer of quiche with paper towel, and the top, because you want to absorb any moisture that will form in the fridge.

* You need 18 muffin holes or 3 muffin pans to make all muffins. I use 2 muffin pans and 1 pie pan or bread pan for the remaining batter which is about a cup of batter. Or I use 3 pie foil pans and 1 bread foil pan. I bake this one batch in multiple containers so that I have enough pieces to stretch from Monday to Friday.

*Oil the pans generously as the batter will stick easily as it cooks!


Ingredients

Batter:
1 3/4 cup besan/garbanzo flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil flakes
3/4 tsp pink salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 flax egg (1 tbs flax meal and 3 tbs boiling water)
2 1/4 cup water

Veggies:

3/4 cup canned corn (optional but my daughter likes it and I am working on getting her into more vegan foods)
1 cup finely chopped bell pepper usually 1 big one or 2 smaller ones
1/2 a zucchini finely diced
2 leaves of greens finely chopped  (optional, i don't always include)
1/2 red onion finely chopped
chives finely chopped
1/2 finely grated carrot
*You can change your veggies as you desire but about 3/4 cup of each is good.

Oil for your baking pans *remember to coat them well*

Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: the besan flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, salt, cumin, turmeric, garlic, basil, paprika and any other seasonings you use.

2. Mix the flax egg and let fluff up or turn gooey. With the whisk add it to the batter mixing it completely in, and ALLOW TO SIT WHILE you prepare the veggies.

4. Finely chop all your veggies and add them to the batter and whisk together again.

5. Oil your baking pans well. The spray oil can works best. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the batter into each muffin hole. If using a pie or bread pan, use a 1 cup measure. Using the measuring cups REALLY help get the most out of your batter.

6. Bake on top rack at a low-medium heat, 150 C or 300 F. Bake for 30 minutes, 35 the most for muffins especially.
A toothpick inserted in the centre should not be wet but a bit of the quiche will be on it.

7. Remove from oven and allow the quiche to COMPLETELY COOL which will also thicken the centre properly.

8. Toast to reheat as necessary.

I really hope you fulljoy this recipe as I surely do and my family - minus my son who isn't a fan of the savory flavours. This one was a big win with my daughter who is a very picky eater and is transitioning from dairy in her diet (Our eating habits were always meatless but included dairy when she was born and younger so it has been a struggle to get her on board with our dairy-free livity over the years. And now that I am trying to go as gluten-free as possible that is a whole other fight! But don't sweat it if you have this issue too, as the older they get, the more they want to eat and they tend to try the alternatives willingly!)

If you try this recipe please leave a comment, even your variation! And if you post a picture on Instagram, tag me @italpeople.
 Also, if you have a recipe to share email italpeople@gmail.com and I will post.

Sweet Plantain Eggless Quiche Cups

I love making protein and carb-based patties and muffins to go with meals or to eat on the go or as a snack. The base is always sweet potato and quinoa with a variety of peas and veggies to change up the flavour.

This variety of my specialty has a sweet plantain flavour that goes amazing with dinner.
I call it a quiche because I see it as a substitute for such. It makes a great appetizer for your Ital dinner party.

You will need:

1 ripe but not gooey- soft plantain
1 cup cooked quinoa (1.2 cup uncooked grain)
2 small sweet potatoes
½ sweet pepper
½ onion
2 cloves garlic
Small piece ginger
1 tomato
3 pimento peppers
½ carrot
1 slice pumpkin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp flax meal
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp Italian seasoning
5 tsp any type of flour
Coconut oil



Method:

Cook quinoa and sweet potato and cool.

Using a fine grater, grate carrot, garlic, ginger and pumpkin.

With large hole grater, grate ¼ of plantain and place into same bowl as above ingredients.

Finely chop onion, pimento, tomato and sweet pepper and combine with above ingredients.

Add the salt, turmeric, Italian seasoning, flax meal and flour.

Blend up the rest of the plantain with some coconut oil until it is mushy but not whipped perfectly into a liquid.

Mash the sweet potato and along with quinoa add to the bowl of fresh ingredients.

Mix everything well.

Oil two muffin trays with coconut oil and scoop the mixture into each one, flattening nicely in.

Allow to bake for half hour or until well browned.

Allow to fully cool before removing from trays using a spoon to disengage.

Serve warm.

grated plantain and veggies

 total mixture

Full joy!
And please do tag us @italpeople on Instagram!

Ila

Seasoned Savory ChickPea Ital Muffins

This recipe is a seasoned savory chickpea muffin that can be used as a protein snack for the family, or to compliment a brunch spread.

When these savory muffins have had a few hours to cool they become even thicker (you may feel to drink a little), because that is the nature of chickpea flour. They are not soft inside like a traditional muffin. To soften them up you might try adding to the mixture 1 blended banana, 1 cup of apple sauce or even 1 small blended plantain and give it a go!

While they taste pretty good on their own,  they can be sliced and made into sandwiches using fried plantain and toasted tomato or eggplant which you can just put in the toaster oven on some foil.

These muffins are sure to satisfy those mid-morning munchies, and as I said, are a shoo-in for any brunch or Ital gathering! As a bonus they are great little snacks for the entire family on the go!

Store in the fridge in ziploc or container, Give them a toast and they are perfect! Four days later, toasted with butter – pretty amazing still!

You will need:

2 cups chickpea flour
2 tbs flax meal
1 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp coconut oil
2 1/4 cup warm water
Ground seasonings ½ tsp: turmeric, cumin, ginger, dried oregano/basil

Fresh seasonings finely chopped:
1 tomato
½ onion
2 stalks chive/leeks stalks
1 leaf shadon beni (if you have)
1 pimento

(Very finely grated ginger, turmeric are optional instead of ground; and a finely grated carrot pumpkin or zucchini no more than ¼ cup can be added)

Large bowl
2 muffin tins or 1 bread tin
spoon



Method:
Set oven on low heat or around 120-130 C.

Mix all dry ingredients and ground or powdered seasonings well in large bowl.

Add oil and water, and mix.

Add the fresh seasonings and combine well.

It should form a thick, sticky dough, like a very thick batter.

Grease the muffin tins well with coconut oil first. Use the spoon to fill each muffin hole to the top with batter.

Set on the top rack of oven and allow to bake for no more than 40 minutes. By then they should be a nice brown colour, and a knife inserted should come out clean.

Cool then remove to a plate or cooling rack - I used a spoon and gently pried them out, they didn’t break. Allow to cool some more.

Just give them a try! I find them to satisfy cravings for fish if you are just starting a meatless diet!

Stay Ital and Blessed

Ila