Cheese / Bean Crackers (an LSCDL recipe)

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Cheese / Bean

Crackers (an LSCDL Recipe)

3 cups bean or lentil paste

4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

2 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons melted butter (olive oil also works well)

3 jumbo eggs

Stir together bean paste and cheeses. Add baking soda and salt and stir

again until well mixed. Beat together cooled melted butter and eggs. Add

to bean paste / cheese mixture and stir well. This should make a thick

batter.

Divide into two parts and spread each part on a well-buttered, non-stick

(or parchment lined) full cookie sheet. Using a wet hand or a wetted

large spoon, spread the batter in an even layer over the entire cookie

sheet. It will be gummy and pasty and try very hard to attach itself to

your hand, but it will eventually behave itself if you

persevere.

Bake at 350°F / 180° C for about 20 minutes, or until light gold in

color. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Reduce oven

temperature to 160°F / 70° C. Using a pizza wheel or very sharp

knife, cut the baked mixture into cracker-sized squares. Using a

thin-bladed spatula, make sure all the crackers are loose from the pan.

Return to cooled oven and re-bake for 2-3 hours, or until crispy.

(Alternatively, dry in a dehydrator at 150°F for 5-8 hours.) Store in a

moisture proof container.

These crackers are very light and delicate – almost too delicate to even

spread soft butter on. Newcomers to the diet may wish to omit either

pepper.

Variations:

add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper for a zing.

omit pepper and substitute homemade onion or garlic powder

use other combinations of spices and herbs as desired --

Italian, Mexican, etc.

use romano instead of Parmesan cheese

use shredded Swiss instead of sharp cheddar for an interesting

variation

Note: I've given some thought as to how these could be made dairy

free. I believe the best bet would be to use an extra three-quarters of a

cup of bean or lentil paste, and not worry about the cheese. An

alternative would be to add well cooked, pureed and drained vegetables of

some sort. I think, although I have not yet kitchen-tested it, that they

can be made egg-free by using two whole ripe avocados in lieu of

the eggs. I strongly recommend a hand-blender or food processor for

making these.

Note: these have been sampled by a former worker at Commander's Palace

(a VERY fancy restaurant here in New Orleans) who said they were tastier

than any of the wheat crackers the restaurant served.

Bean Paste (an LSCDL

recipe)

2 (dry weight) pounds white navy pea beans, lentils, or

dry lima beans

Sort beans to be sure there are no stones or other undesirable items in

them. Place in a large pot, and cover with water to a depth of about 5

inches over the beans. Allow to soak overnight, or 8-10 hours, whichever

is longer.

Drain and rinse the beans. Return to pot and fill with water to a depth

of around four inches over the beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat

and simmer until the beans are completely tender, about two hours.

Do not salt the beans before or during cooking, as this

will make them tough.

Drain, and rinse the beans. If vegetable skins are still a problem, use a

food mill to process the beans into paste and remove the bean skins. If

vegetable skins are not a problem, process the beans in a food processor,

blender, or through a meat grinder with a fine plate. (I use a Maverick

electric grinder.) The bean paste is now ready to use.

For future use: Plop bean paste on a cookie sheet in one-cup glops and

freeze solid. Pry glops off the sheet and store in a zip top bag in the

freezer. Then when you need a cup of paste, you can reach in, pull out a

glop, and set it in a bowl to defrost, and it’s pre-measured. Using the

“glop” method, you don’t have to go through the hassles of soaking,

rinsing, cooking, and rinsing the beans every time. Whole cooked beans

can also be frozen in pre-measured amounts for other uses.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

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