Gluten Free Biscuits with Garbanzo Bean Gravy

I saw the recipe for these two items in the most recent issue of Vegetarian Times (April/May 2012) on page 46. Having everything in my pantry outside of potato starch and poultry seasoning I decided to adapt the recipes and see how they turned out. Lets put it this way…I haven’t been thrilled with my attempts at gluten-free baking but since I bought so many flours awhile back I keep trying. I’d say the recipe was well-tested though. It worked and tasted good, while the biscuits are not mile high and tender they had a great cracker like texture and there was no off flavor (which I attribute to the biscuits not containing sharp tasting flours and xantham gum). Both the biscuits and the gravy can be made into vegan versions easy enough as well (they were vegetarian in the original recipe). I included at the end an easy way to make garbanzo bean flour if you can’t find it – Bob’s Red Mill makes it though.

Gluten Free Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice flour + more for dusting work surface (called for white rice flour)
• ½ cup garbanzo bean flour (*see below)
• ½ cup arrowroot powder (called for potato starch)
• 4½ tsp granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ cup (½ stick) butter or vegan non-hydrogenated margarine, cold and diced
• ¾ cup milk (dairy or non-dairy) + 2¼ tsp white vinegar or lemon juice (called for buttermilk)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Stir the vinegar into the milk, let curdle for 5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl whisk the rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, arrowroot, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the diced butter and work in quickly into fine crumbs with your fingers. Stir in the soured milk.

Liberally flour a work surface with more rice flour, knock the dough onto it and duet the top with more flour. Pat out to about 1″ thick, cut into 16 biscuits with a 2″ biscuit cutter, carefully transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 12 to 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.

Makes about 16 biscuits.

Garbanzo Bean Gravy

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups cooked garbanzo beans (*see below) or 15 ounce can. drained and rinsed
• 1½ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder (not onion salt)
• ¾ tsp thyme
• ½ tsp rubbed sage
• ½ tsp marjoram
• ¼ tsp crumbled rosemary
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• ¼ cup butter or non-hydrogenated margarine
• ¼ cup cornstarch (called for potato starch)
• ¼ cup garbanzo bean flour (*see below)
• 4 cups milk, dairy or non-dairy

Directions:

Add the chickpeas and seasonings to a food processor and pulse a couple of times until crumbly. Heat a large skillet over medium-high, add the oil and the garbanzo bean mixture, cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Transfer to a plate.

Turn down to medium, add the butter to the skillet, whisk in the cornstarch and garbanzo bean flour, cook for about 2 minutes, whisking often. Slowly whisk in the milk and let thicken. Stir in the beans and heat through, seasoning to taste (a shake or two of hot sauce is good). Serve over the biscuits.

Serves 6.

Making Garbanzo Bean Flour:

Yes, you can make it! Well…it does help to have a high power blender like a Vitamix and their dry container (or a grain mill). Simple as processing the dry uncooked beans until a fine flour. That is it! Fair warning it is very loud though!

Easy cooked beans?

Use the slow cooker method!

~Sarah