Gluten-free Nacho Chips

I know there are a lot of gluten-free options for nacho chips out there, but I’ve never been satisfied with the quality of the ingredients used: mainly a lot of corn and vegetable oils. So, I started thinking of ways I could make my own super healthy nacho chips. Here’s what I came up with! (it makes about 60 chips)

Fiesta!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup millet flour
• 1/4 cup amaranth flour
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• Butter for the pan
• Red palm oil for frying
• Salt to taste

It’s pretty quick and easy to make, but it’s a three-step process. Batter, cooking, frying. So first things first, the batter. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (potato starch to pinch of salt, on the list). Add an egg and mix some more. Slowly add the water, while mixing at the same time. The batter should feel like pancakes: smooth, no lumps and not too liquid. Add the lime juice and the chopped cilantro. Mix well.

In a pan over medium heat, melt a little butter (half a Tablespoon) so the batter doesn’t stick. Pour about a fifth of the batter in the pan and cook it like a pancake: two minutes, flip, one minute and done. Cut the “pancake” in small triangle and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

They still need to get fried, but it’s starting to look good!

Red palm oil gives the nacho chips a perfect color.

And now, on to the last step! Heat up red palm oil in a fryer to 370F. Fry until nice and crisp, around 5 minutes. I had to make three different batches because my fryer is pretty small, but it was worth it. When they’re ready to be taken out, be careful not to burn yourself. Remove the excess oil with a paper towel.

Sprinkle salt on top to taste. Eat with salsa, guacamole or sour cream – or better, with all three!

I also like to use these chips to bake nachos with refried beans, ground beef, jalapenos and cheddar cheese. Hmmm!

Fish and Chips

I’ve always heard that the secret to a great batter for fish and chips was beer. Well, what a turn off! Beer comes from wheat, so no fish and chips for us, right? Wrong! I felt like experimenting yesterday, and I made fisn and chips using… hard cider! You know, from apples? It was very successful! The taste wasn’t overwhelming at all, but the batter was nice and airy.

Here is what I used and what I did. It feeds two people.

This is the exact hard cider I used in my recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1lb cod (you can use other white fish)
• 1 cup white rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 bottle hard cider
• Oil for frying (red palm oil is the best)

Mix in the flour (3/4 cup), baking soda and salt. Add the hard cider and let it fizzle for a moment, then add the seasonings. The batter is now done and you can let it stand while you prep the fish.

Wash the cod, cut it in small pieces, season it with salt and pepper and coat it lightly with the remaining white rice flour. Now, dip the small pieces in batter and fry it in batches. I followed the manufacturer’s instruction of my fryer for temperature and cooking time, which is 350F for 5 minutes. Check this out!

I was sloppy on the presentation but the taste really hit the spot!

I also used 5 medium sized potatoes for the fries. I cut them in small slices and fried them in red palm oil. For the green beans, I boiled them until they were soft, but not too soft, then I drained them, mixed them in with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

This was the most delicious meal I’ve had all week. Can you believe I ate that whole huge plate all by myself?