Passover Manicotti-Sort Of (Also makes great gluten-free blintzes/crepes)

I basically made some gluten free crepes with potato starch and eggs. You can use this recipe to make noodles, or crepes, or blintzes, or really whatever you like-they're versatile. Be warned, the first couple crepes will flop. I don't know why, they just will-but stick with it-the results are light and delicious...except for all the cheese, which isn't light at all. You know what I mean...


You Will Need:

About 6 cups of chunky spaghetti sauce (I made mine with tons of carrots, onions and red bell peppers)
About 4 cups grated cheese (I used Provolone and Pepato)

For the cheese filling:

2 cups full fat cottage cheese, drained and forced through a sieve
2 large eggs
A handful of grated mozzarella

For the crepes:

3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups cold water
6 tablespoons potato starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cooking oil
Butter for the pan

With a hand mixer, beat together everything except the butter until thick like cream. heat a small (5 inch) pan and toss in a knob of butter. When pan is hot, pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter (stir it between crepes to keep the starch from settling). Tilt to coat the pan and cook until dry. Turn, and cook a minute or two longer until golden. Transfer to a plate and make the next. I did not need to keep re-buttering the pan, but this will largely depend on your pan.

When cool, fill the crepes with the cheese filling, and fold closed. return to frying pan and fry in a bit of butter until browned nicely on both sides. Set aside on a plate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In an 8x8 pan, cover the bottom generously with spaghetti sauce. Layer in the crepes, then cover with a layer of cheese. Repeat with a second layer finishing with sauce and cheese. Bake (on a baking sheet just in case) for about an hour. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Potato Starch Muffins

Flipping through a random volume of the Women's Day Encyclopedia Of Cookery (1966) I found this recipe for potato flour muffins that are supposed to be the ones served at Marshall Field's in the Walnut Room. Honestly, I don't remember these if I ever had them. I was probably too distracted by the hot chocolate with whipped cream and a peppermint stick to notice some stupid muffin. The best food was down on the street anyway where you could get a paper cone filled with warm roasted chestnuts (the only nut I wasn't allergic to).

This would be an excellent recipe if you're avoiding gluten. I'd be curious to try it with rice flour to see if it achieved the same results. They are similar in flavour to a popover, but they lack the hollow centre. The smell and taste reminds me of those little egg-based puffs called "soup mandel" that can be found in Kosher markets.

With the heat hovering at 100 degrees for the next few days, I'm baking things that are quick in the oven and don't require creating steam. Biscuits, muffins griddle breads are all in my plans. The muffins took 20 minutes to bake and just under ten minutes to prepare-you could probably do that faster with a mixer but I prefer beating egg whites by hand.

You Will Need:

1/8 teaspoon salt
4 eggs separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup potato starch, sifted multiple times to get out tiny grit
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons ice water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin that will hold 12 muffins.

Add salt to egg whites and beat until stiff and dry. Beat egg yolks until pale and thick. Beat in sugar.

Sift together the starch and baking powder.

Fold egg whites into egg yolks carefully. Slowly fold in the flour/baking powder mixture. Mix well. Add the ice water and mix well. Pour into a dozen greased muffin cups and bake 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.