Hello dear friends and fellow quinoa-lovers!
I’m Felicia, and I blog over at Dish by Dish , a space filled with personal stories and easy recipes.
It’s such an honor to be writing a post for Cooking Quinoa today, and this is possibly one of the best ways to begin the brand new year! Thank you dear Wendy for this lovely opportunity!
I don’t know about you, but I started this year with a determined resolve to eat cleaner and healthier. I didn’t put that as a resolution because my doctor recommended it; I just wanted to start the year right and try to reduce as much gluten from what I eat as possible.
Quinoa, with its high protein content and gluten-free nature, has obviously become an important ingredient in my diet these few days, and like I’ve mentioned many times at Dish by Dish, it’s sort of like a new friend with whom I find myself wanting to hang out more.
About a year ago, I first got acquainted with quinoa through other food blogs, and when the number of quinoa recipes in my “Favorites” list started accumulating, I eventually decided to overcome my fear and try cooking with quinoa.
I started off with easy salads – like this roasted vegetable and quinoa salad and this chicken quinoa salad with tomato and spinach, but I soon found myself wanting to explore more creative ways of eating with this nutrient-packed food. I soon experimented with stir-fried sausage and egg quinoa , using quinoa as a substitute for rice in my favorite fried rice recipe. Hungry for more, I made quinoa cauliflower patties, and later, I even dared myself to use quinoa in this amazing chocolate quinoa cake.
Today I’m going to take you with me on my latest quinoa adventure – quinoa brown rice and sesame crackers.
If you raised your eyebrows after reading the last sentence, don’t worry. (I raised mine too at first.)
It may sound and seem and even look tough to make - and yes, the dough may be stickier than what you’re used to; and yes, perhaps it might take a little more time to prepare cooked brown rice, cooked quinoa, soaked flax seeds and toasted sesame seeds.
But dear friends, trust me on this, these are crackers that are completely worth every second of your time and every inch of your energy. I’ll bet my quinoa brown rice and sesame crackers on it.
They’re the sort of crackers that are crunchy and crispy and so incredibly delicious – the sort that leaves you wanting more, because they’re bursting with flavors of nutty quinoa, brown rice and the fragrance of toasted sesame seeds.
They’re…… so incredibly good!
There are just a couple of notes to make your life easier when you eventually make these crackers. Make sure to grease your parchment paper before rolling out the dough on it – this will ensure that the crackers turn out crispier and prevent them from sticking. And, make sure you roll them as thinly and as evenly as you possibly can. The thinner, the better!
Quinoa Brown Rice & Sesame Crackers
Ingredients
- 2 cups of cooked brown rice
- 2 cups of cooked quinoa
- ⅔ cups of sesame seeds
- ½ cup of flax seeds
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce or gluten free tamari
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 3 tablespoons of sesame oil
Instructions
- To start, combine ½ cup of flax seeds with ½ cup of water, and let the flax seeds soak for at least half an hour. (This flax seed-water mixture is used in place of an egg.) During the waiting time, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Toast sesame seeds until they turn fragrant in a dry skillet (no oil needed!), then remove from heat and reserve.
- In a food processor or blender, blend the cooled cooked quinoa, cooked rice, soaked flax seeds, salt, soy sauce and sesame oil until a dough is created. Depending on the side of your food processor or blender, you may need to do this in small batches – it may take up to four or five batches in order for the ingredients to be well blended together. Should the mixture be too dry, add ½ tablespoon of water at a time.
- Add the toasted sesame seeds and pulse to incorporate. The dough will be very sticky, don’t worry.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 deg farenheit (or 175 dec cel).
- Divide dough in three portions and place each portion between two pieces of greased parchment paper (use a clean brush to spread some oil over the parchment papers), and then flatten dough with a rolling pin (as thin and evenly as your possibly can)
- Remove the top parchment paper, and then use a knife to cut the dough into the shapes you like
- Brush a bit of oil over the dough and then bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the crackers are crispy. Note that it is possible that your baking time will vary because it depends very much on the thickness of your dough. It may even take up to an hour if necessary, don’t worry.
- When crackers are crispy, remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes, then break the crackers according to the score lines which you cut prior to baking. If some of the crackers are still not totally cooked and crispy, return them to the oven and continue baking until crispy.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Store in an airtight container. Crackers best eaten within a week.
Shannon Graham
I would LOVE to give these a try!
Beth Klemen
I assume you can use pumpkin seeds or sunflower I'm place of sesame? Will have to try them in my dehydrator.
Thanks!
Wendy Polisi
Let me know how it goes!