It’s just beginning to feel real Wintry here in NYC. It happens that way each year, where one day, it just gets cold and we begin to hunker down for the Winter ahead. We roast squash and make soup and need to wear socks to bed. It’s a new season and we learn how to submit to it.
In terms of cooking, the warmer and heartier the better. I’ve been making soups like crazy and roasting a whole kabocha squash each week. Some people feel daunted by the produce limitations, but I’ve learned some things over the years to help inspire cold-weather cooking. Besides beans, lentils, etc, I always have preserved tomatoes on hand: canned, chopped, fire-roasted or whatever you like. It’s the simplest thing to keep around that can make cold, Winter nights a little better. I use them in soups, make a quick tomato sauce, a savory braise - the options are endless. We may not have fresh tomatoes, but we wouldn’t want to eat them this time of year anyway. It’s time for baking, braising, roasting - all the warm things in life.
Savory Tomato & Parmesan Crumble (Gluten-free) Serves 8
-This recipe, at its base, is a simple crumble. I used romesco and cannellinni beans, but you could use any veggies or herbs you have on hand and need to get rid of! A few notes, too: you can use all cornmeal instead of cornmeal/corn flour to keep it simple.
FILLING:
- 26 oz. Pomi Chopped Tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 2 teaspoon tamari
- 2 teaspoons sumac
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 small romanesco, chopped into about 1 inch pieces
- 1 (15 oz.) can of cannellinni beans, drained
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 1/3 cup basil, sliced thin or chiffonade
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 4 sprigs marjoram
TOPPING:
- 1 1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup corn flour
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 5 sprigs thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk chopped tomatoes together with cornstarch, lemon juice + zest, tamarin, sumac, salt and red pepper flakes. Then, stir in romesco, beans, garlic, shallot and herbs until well combined. Add to 9x9 or similar sized baking dish and set aside.
In another mixing bowl, stir together oats, almond meal, cornmeal and flour, parmesan, thyme and salt. Mix until well combined, then add chilled butter cubes, Using your hands, work together dough - breaking down butter - until mixture looks and feels like oatmeal cookie dough. Add olive oil, and mix in well with your hands, making sure to get all the flour bits at the bottom.
Add crumble evenly over top tomato filling. Bake for exactly 30 minutes or until tomato is bubbling up around the sides and topping is golden browned. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
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GLUTEN-FREE CINNAMON ROLLS
I did a little research to see what recipes already existed for such a thing like vegan and gluten-free cinnamon rolls, when I found a blog called Cooking with Dia. She makes amazing comfort food, and cooks mostly (if not all) gluten-free and vegan. I took a look at her recipe, and the wonderful photos, and I barely adapted a thing. The recipe was amazing as is, and my family loved it, too.
DOUGH: 4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 teaspoon unrefined sugar 1 cup warm water 1 cup non-dairy milk 2/3 cup raw cane sugar 2/3 cup butter (or Earth Balance) 2 teaspoons sea salt 3 cups oat flour 1 cup corn flour 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons xanthum gum 1. Mix together yeast with 1 cup of warm water and 1 teaspoon of unrefined sugar. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together oat flour, corn flour, salt, baking soda, powder and xanthum gum. By then, the yeast should be foaming. Tip the yeast mixture into the flour and combine. 2. Add in 1 cup of non-dairy milk and mix thoroughly until dough forms. Knead the dough for 20 minutes, or use a stand mixer with dough hook for 8-10 minutes. 3. Once dough is done, place on a floured surgace and cover with a warm towel for 1 hour. Once dough has risen, roll out to approximately a 16x20 rectangle. FILLING: 1/2 cup butter (or Earth Balance), melted 1/3 granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 3 tablespoons cinnamon Mix both sugars with cinnamon and combine with melted butter. Drizzle mixture evenly over the rectangle of dough. Begin rolling up dough from the longest side, being careful to keep the filling in tact. Once you have a long, rolled dough, use a serated knife to slice into 12 even pieces. 1/2 cup butter (or Earth Balance), melted 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons maple syrup Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix melted butter with sugar and maple syrup until well combined. Pour mixture into 15" rectangular pyrex pan. Place each 12 cinnamon rolls into the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool. FROSTING: 1 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup non-dairy milk Place the powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in milk until thick icing begins to form. If too dry, add more milk (or if too wet, add more sugar) until you arrive at the desired consistency. Once icing is formed, drizzle over cooled cinnamon buns and serve! 