Gluten Free Pizza Bases and Sweet 'n' Salty Nuts

Gluten Free Pizza Bases (Thermomix Version) by Jo Whitton

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.

1.  Mix linseeds with water in a cup, and leave to soak for a few minutes:
  2 Tblspns linseeds (flax seeds)
  2 Tblspns warm water

2.  Grind in Thermomix on speed 9 for 1 minute, or until finely ground:
     (Tip: I put a piece of kitchen paper towel under the MC to stop the grains from spitting out onto the lid)
  120g basmati rice, raw
  120g brown rice, raw


3.  Add and grind for another minute, or until finely ground:
  80g millet, raw
  40g dry chickpeas

4.  Add and mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds:
  140g arrowroot flour (or tapioca starch, or potato starch)
  40g mixed seeds (linseeds, pepitas, sunflower seeds)
  2 tsp dry yeast (or 1 sachet)
  2 tsp sea salt

5.  Add wet ingredients and mix on speed 5-6 for 15 seconds, using spatula to help it along if needed:
  380g warm water
  1 Tbspn apple cider vinegar
  60g extra virgin olive oil
  soaked linseeds & water

6.  Divide mixture between the pizza trays (lined with baking paper) and spread into a circle with a spatula.

7.  Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil, especially around the edges so that they crisp up nicely.  Add herbs or sauces and toppings (see ideas and links above), and bake in hot oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until browned and crispy.

Regular Version:

• Use brown & white rice flours, millet flour instead of the millet, and besan flour instead of the chickpea flour. Weights are the same.
• Mix by hand or in a mix master.

Sweet 'n' Salty Nuts by Jo Whitton

This isn't a Thermomix recipe - it's so simple, it's hardly a recipe at all. All it involves is some nuts, a liquid sweetener, some sea salt, and an oven. Oh, and a baking tray. And it only takes 20 minutes.

There's lots of possible combinations of nuts and sweeteners - here's a few of my favourites, but see what you can come up with!

• Macadamias, *raw agave nectar, sea salt
• Cashews, raw honey, sea salt
• Pecans, pure maple syrup, sea salt
• Almonds, agave/honey, sea salt
• Mixed nuts, honey, sea salt

* I use agave nectar/syrup now and then in my recipes, but only the raw, organic agave nectar, not the refined one. If you're worried about using agave, read this article - it explains in scientific detail how the good agave nectar is made, and the difference between that and HFCS.

Okay, here's the simple method for making Sweet 'n' Salty Nuts:

1. Preheat oven to 180oC.Spread the nuts on a baking paper lined pizza tray (or baking tray) so that they're in a single layer.
2. Drizzle with honey or syrup, back and forth - no need to cover them! Just a drizzle.
3. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp of sea salt or pink Himalayan salt for a tray of nuts. I use Himalayan salt crystals which I grind up until fine. 
4. Pop the nuts into the preheated oven and let them cook for about 10 minutes. Take the tray out and stir the nuts with a fork, turning them in the melted honey/syrup so they're evenly coated. Pop them back in the oven and cook another 10 minutes, or until they're golden and crispy. Don't burn them!Let them cool for a few minutes before eating. Once they're completely cool, store them in an airtight jar on the counter.

P.S. You might want to do a couple of trays at a time - they go quick!