Gluten Free Seafood Chowder and Cheesy Garlic Rolls

I love warm chowder on a cold day!  Being a Maritimer, Seafood Chowder is one of my favorites!  My Nanny makes amazing Chowder!  So this recipe is a combination of her recipe, and one I learned at a cooking class put on by Chef Aidan Brunn of Schoolhouse Gluten Free Gourmet http://www.schoolhouseglutenfreegourmet.com/.  If you don’t know about Aidan and Jen and Schoolhouse Gluten Free Gourmet – you absolutely should!  I buy a lot of their product locally, especially their incredible granola, and they are a wealth of knowledge on healthy, organic, gluten free living!

Chowder

1 large sweet onion, finely chopped

3-4 celery stocks, washed and finely chopped

4 small white potatoes, chopped and boiled

6 small asparagus shoots, chopped

1/3 cup of Becel Vegan margarine

2 cups of Campbell’s Vegetable Broth

4 cups of chopped seafood (assorted, your choice)

2 tbsp salt

2 cups of cream blend (10% mf)

2 tsp potato starch

Over medium heat in a large pot sauté onions, celery in the margarine until soft.  Add asparagus.  In a separate pot, boil potatoes until soft.  Add salt and seafood.  Stir often until seafood is cooked and the fish pieces have turned into small flakes.  Add broth and potatoes and allow simmering for about 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to low for about 5 minutes, then add the cream blend.  Slowly increase the heat back to medium.  Boil for 10 minutes again stirring often.  Reduce heat again, allow to cool for about 10 minutes.  Stir in potato starch to thicken.   Voila!

Cheesy Garlic Buns 

This recipe is from www.kingarthurflour.com.  I followed it and used the suggestions of my fellow readers to increase the tapioca starch by ½ cup (so total Tapicoa starch is now 2-1/2 cups rather than their suggested 2 cups).  I also had to bake for an extra 5 minutes.

½ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup water

¼ cup milk

¾ tsp of salt (I omitted this and they came out fine)

2-1/2 cups of Tapioca Starch (used Bob’s Red Mill)

Heaping 2/3 cup of Parmesan cheese (can also use Romano or aged Asiago cheese)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets; or line with parchment.  Put the butter, water, milk, and salt in a saucepan, and heat till the butter has melted and the mixture has come to a full boil. While the mixture is heating, put 2-1/2 cups of tapioca flour into a mixing bowl.  Pour the boiling butter mixture over the tapioca flour, beating to combine. Beat at high speed till the mixture becomes smooth and elastic-looking; this will happen very quickly.  Beat the garlic and cheese into the dough till well combined.

Stick your finger into the dough. If it's uncomfortably hot, let it sit for a couple of minutes to cool a bit; you don't want to cook the eggs when you beat them in. If it seems hot but not burning hot, continue with the next step.

With the mixer going, gradually dribble in the beaten eggs, beating till well combined and smooth.

Drop the mixture in 2-tablespoon balls (about the size of a golf ball) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2" apart. A level tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, till they have a freckled appearance (from the browning cheese), and they're beginning to color a bit. Remove them from the oven, and serve hot.

Makes 18-20 buns.