Day 12- Experimenting in the kitchen

So after a conversation at the gym yesterday about the difficulties of baking primal...I decided to rework one of my favorite gluten-free biscuit recipes into one that is also primal friendly.


The original recipe is for Pão de queijo, which is a very popular Brazilian cheese roll made with tapioca flour. The biscuits when done right are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Because they are made with tapioca flour (from the cassava root), this recipe is naturally gluten free. They are, however, NOT primal due to the cup of milk and two cups of cheese!


So this morning I decided to switch up the recipe a little to see if I couldn't render something savory and primal! 

The original non-Primal Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups tapioca flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 beaten eggs

My attempt at Primal: 

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup organic butter
• 1 cup unsweetened original flavor Almond milk
• 2 cups tapioca flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup spinach
• 1 Aidells All Natural Andouille pork sausage (diced)

Baking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Pour olive oil, water, almond milk, and butter into a large saucepan, and place over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately, and stir in tapioca flour until smooth. 
3. Stir egg into the tapioca mixture, one at a time, until well combined, the mixture will be chunky like cottage cheese. Add sausage and spinach. 
4. Drop rounded, 1/4 cup-sized balls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake until the tops are lightly browned, approx. 20 minutes

What to try next time:

• So the biscuits came out with the right texture (a major concern I had cooking with almond milk) but they lacked a little flavor. The sausage and spinach were a nice touch but the dough itself was a little bland. I omitted the teaspoon of salt thinking the sausage would add enough, but I was wrong. Perhaps a teaspoon or two of minced garlic or other spice will perk the dough up next time.
• I know those of you on a strict "Paleo" diet cannot eat butter. So I'll try subbing that 1/4 cup butter with either 1/4 cup olive oil or maybe some other paleo oil like flaxseed oil or pumpkin oil. Ghee is also an option.
• The protein count was a little lower than I wanted (only 2g per biscuit) so I might sub the water for low-sodium organic chicken or beef broth. That will bring it up to 3g of protein per biscuit. 

If anyone has any suggestions on how to further tweak this recipe....please please let me know.