Hermann
The abundance of seaweed on coasts all around the world has always posed a crucial question. How come that certain cultures have long taken advantage of its nutritional benefits, whereas others have seen it as a mere weed of the ocean? What if we could learn from those cultures and apply a few simple techniques and methods to the local bounty, thereby opening up an entire new food group that is not only healthy but also sustainable?
One of my favourite twists to making chickpea tofu is to turn it into farinata instead. Farinata is a thin chickpea pancake that originated in Genoa and is known in France as ‘socca’. Traditionally, it’s made from chickpea flour, but just like with the Burmese-styled tofu, you can start with whole, dried chickpeas.
Pão de Queijo are small, gluten-free cheese breads from Brazil. Traditionally, they get their cheesy flavour not only from the addition of cheese, but also from the fermented starch, Polvilho Azedo, that is used to make them. Once we understand these ingredients, it becomes much easier to look around us and find alternatives that grow within our reach.
Pão de Queijo is a traditional cheese bread from Brazil. The discovery of these breads dates back to the Portuguese colonisation of Brazil, when African slaves peeled, grated, soaked and dried local cassava roots to turn them into an edible flour. The flour, known as tapioca starch, is still used today in traditional Pão de Queijo recipes.