An alert reader flagged the article in the Washington Post for my attention. He knows I am a part time foodie- his family is as well and are regulars at the farmer’s market around the region. They keep up with trends in American cooking- one of which was picked up in the Post article about Willow.
Willow, as you know, is a “chef driven” restaurant with a distinct forward-leaning attitude. Wheatless by Willow LLC is a stand-alone company founded under the Willow umbrella that produces “delicious, nutritiously sound, and gluten-free artisanal crafted food products.” I am a huge fan, and watching what Tracy is doing from day to day makes me happy I don’t actually work for a living.
I don’t have a dietary need for gluten-free dining- but I recognize what a problem it is for those who are sensitive to the protein composite found in wheat and related grains. As a seasonal whiskey drinker, I note that includes barley and rye. The gluten protein aggravates people with celiac disease, or sensitivities and allergies to wheat. That is a real condition that affects more than a million Americans, though there are millions of other people who believe there are health benefits to a wheatless diet, though that is a speculative view not validated (yet) by science. Of course, the science we hear about these days is mostly wrong, but I can see their point.
Wheat is the oldest cultivated crop known to have been domesticated by humans, and the plant’s ability to self-pollinate greatly facilitated the development of agriculture. The archaeological record suggests that the first wheat crops were grown in the Fertile Crescent around seven thousand years ago. By contrast, anatomically modern humans first appear in the fossil record in Africa about 195,000 years ago, so I would imagine that a digestive system optimized by evolution for a wheat-free world is quite possible.
The cultivation of wheat made possible long-term human habitation in cities, so there is a lot you can blame on wheat.
If you are down at Dupont today, the Wheatless team is serving up Quinoa Goat Cheese Cakes with Feta-Lebneh Sauce & Savory Granola or Eggs-to-Order with Julienned Stachowski’s Ham, Roasted Potatoes, Onions & Mushrooms with Smoked Cheddar Cheese.
Damn, I am getting hungry just typing that.
Bonnie Benwick, Deputy Food and Chief Recipe editor at the Post wrote it up this way: “The next time you’re looking for inventive gluten-free dishes, breads and sweets, check out the offerings at Willow Restaurant and its specialty sub-business, Wheatless by Willow. Chef-owners Tracy O’Grady and Kate Jansen, along with partner Julie Mounts, created these cakes to prove how terrific so-called “starchy” elements can be.”
(Julie, Tracy and Kate are flanked by the Wheatless by Willow Staff.)
(I am a huge Kate Jansen fan. She is quiet and reserved, in comparison with outgoing Tracy, who wears her heart on her sleeve. Kate’s baked good, gluten free or with are consistently excellent. The Kummelweck rolls she bakes with sea salt and fennel seeds on top for Buffalo Friday nights at Willow are extraordinary, no other way to describe them. I have special-ordered a dozen to freeze so I can make my own sandwiches when it is not the last Friday of the month, which it is next week. Mark your calendars).
Kummelweck rolls are NOT gluten free, but I am sure Kate and Julie are working on an alternative. Quinoa is a fascinating subject and worth a column of its own. Originally cultivated in mountainous South America, it is grown for its edible seeds. It is a psuedo-cereal closely related to beetroots and spinach, rather than grass. It is high in protein, lacks gluten and is tolerant of dry soil.
Bonnie goes on to say: “When they take the cakes to the FreshFarm Market at Dupont Circle on Sundays, there’s a sellout every time.”
(I talk to Tracy about this all the time- she is very generous with her time and comes out at the start of the evening to shoot the breeze with the regulars. Her weekly trip to the Dupont Circle Farmer’s Market is purely a labor of love to break through in the new and emerging gluten-free market).
“The quinoa cakes can be served a number of ways, as an appetizer as well as a main course. We (The Post) like them with the chef’s simple salad of julienne zucchini and lemon, dressed with olive oil and garnished with a dollop of labneh.”
(That, BTW, is the Post’s hip way to show that they know far more than we do. In point of fact, I was out in the wilds of Vienna the other day and wandered into a place called the Shiraz Wholesale Market. I have to give them five enthusiastic stars.
Dining there was like a trip to the Souk, all under one roof: produce, halal meats (why wouldn’t you eat halal if you had the choice? Or kosher for that matter?)
The bakery and pastry shop are to die for, and the Persian television shows on the big screen are a hoot. Anyway, I got the Kabob special that came with a delicious labneh sauce in small plastic cups, delicate white basmati rice with grated cheese and a side of crisp cucumber salad.
I would write more about that, but this is gluten free.
Oh, yeah: labneh (Persian: لبنة labnah) is yoghurt strained (in a cloth or paper bag, or filter) to remove its whey, resulting in a relatively thick consistency (between that of conventional yogurt and cheese) — while preserving yogurt’s distinctive, sour taste.
(Labneh can resemble the iconic Playboy bunny symbol, in a way.)
The Shiraz Wholesale Market experience is a gas- the food is inexpensive and delicious and it is absolutely authentic. So much so that you might run into one of the pretenders to the Shah’s Peacock Throne, or the daughter of the former chief of the SAVAK if you are there at the right time. It is at 8486-G Tyco Road, Vienna, Virginia 22182).
Oh yeah, back to the crispy Quinoa cakes: “You’ll need an instant-read thermometer for monitoring the frying oil.”
Make Ahead: The uncooked cakes can be refrigerated for 1 to 2 days.
(Quinoa Cakes done by Renee Comet for The Washington Post; image styling by Bonnie S. Benwick.)
The Post’s tested size was 4 servings; this makes 8 cakes. This is Kate’s recipe, provided to the newspaper test kitchen, so I don’t mind passing it along:
INGREDIENTS
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely diced celery
• 1/4 cup finely diced carrot
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• Canola oil, for frying
• 1 cup potato flour, for coating
• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (see NOTE)
• 3/4 cup chopped scallions (green parts)
• 1/2 cup soft goat cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup instant potato flakes, or more as needed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• Sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the diced celery, carrot and onion, stirring to coat; cook for about 5 minutes or until tender, then transfer to a large, wide mixing bowl to cool completely.
Pour enough canola oil into a medium nonstick skillet so the oil measures 1 inch deep; heat to 350 degrees over medium-high heat. Line a plate with paper towels. Pour the potato flour into a small, deep bowl.
Add the cooked quinoa, scallions, goat cheese and eggs to the cooled vegetables in the bowl, using your hands to blend the mixture well. Add the potato flakes, then season with the kosher salt and pepper. The mixture should be firm enough to hold together nicely; if it isn’t, add another tablespoon or two of potato flakes. Divide the mixture into 8 equal sections, then use your hands to roll each section into a ball, which will look like an uncooked matzoh ball.
Working with one at a time to preserve their shape, hold a ball in one hand over the potato flour bowl and use your other hand to generously coat it in the potato flour, rotating the ball with your fingers as needed. (This method keeps the balls from being over-floured.) Discard the excess potato flour.
Cook 2 or 3 coated balls at a time in the hot oil — they will flatten ever so slightly into cakes — until golden brown and crisped all over, turning them as needed, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spatula to transfer them to the paper-towel-lined plate.
Serve warm, sprinkled with a little sea salt, if desired.
NOTE: 1/2 cup of dried quinoa yields about 1 1/2 cups cooked.
Copyright 2014 Washington Post, Renee Comet and Vic Socotra.
Images Washington Post and Willow Restaurant, Arlington.
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303