Biscuits and Gravy

Gluten-free biscuits and gravy, served with a chard and kale salad and roasted romanescu.


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Gluten-free Biscuits:

• 4 cups brown rice flour
• 2 Tbs Xanthan gum (omit if you're using gluten-containing flour)
• 1 1/2 Tbs baking powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp of rosemary and/or oregano (optional)
• 1/2 cup Fat; I like coconut oil or refrigerated olive oil.
  
• 1 1/2 cups of coconut (or some other nut) mylk + 1 1/2 tsp vinegar

1. In a food processor, combine the dry ingredients and blend for about 30 seconds
2. Run food processor and stream in oil. You may have to scrape down the sides a little, but keep running it until the oil is evenly distributed.
3. Stream in the soured coconut milk, and then quickly turn off the processor; overmixing will make your biscuits chewy and rubbery, and will interfere with their fluffiness.
4. Roll or pat out your dough, and cut it into squares or circles. A can is about biscuit sized and makes an excellent biscuit-cutter, but squares have a nice rustic feel.
5. bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes
   

I don't usually use a recipe for my gravy, but it looks something like this:

• 1/4 cup fat (coconut oil is delicious)
• 2 Tbs brown rice flour
• 1 pound mushrooms
• 1/4 cup tamari (or other wheat-free soy sauce)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• herbs and spices to taste (I like oregano, fennel, nutritional yeast, and coriander)
  

1. Whisk your flour into your fat, then heat it over medium-low heat, whisking almost constantly. Its important to add the flour a little at a time, or your gravy may be lumpy.
   
2. While your, roux is cooking, puree your mushrooms. Add water and tamari as it starts to pass minced. You should have a smooth liquid when your done, add more water as needed.
   
3. Continue to cook your flour in fat until it gets a nicely light gold color (this is called a blond roux).
4. Whisk salt and pepper into your roux, about a teaspoon each.
5. Slowly whisk your liquids into the roux; water has an enthalpy of vaporization of ~539 calories per gram, so it will burn the fuck out of you if you hold your hand in it.
6. Add herbs, salt, and pepper to taste.
   

The romanescu was roasted in the oven at 400 degrees, with a bit of salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast. The salad was just kale, chard, and over-sized lemon cucumber with a tahini (sesame-seed paste) dressing. I'm pretty ball-park about dressing usually, but the dressing went something like this:

• 3/4 cup tahini (raw and roasted are both delicious)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 3 Tbs tamari
• 2 Tbs vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• herbs and spices to your liking
  
• water for consistency

Whisk everything together except the water, then add water until you have a nice salad dressing type consistency. Its awesome.