Our Employee Recipe Series

Hello foodies! My name is Vicky and I have been working alongside Idunn Technologies you can say since 2013 but officially since 2020 as a Sales & Marketing Coordinator for the English sector (find my personal bio here). With this employee recipe series, I would like to advantage by incorporating my gluten-free family favorites, as I am severely allergic to gluten and I know the struggle can be overwhelming to those initially eliminating gluten from their diet.

Gluten is a natural protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. This naturally occurring protein is difficult to digest by many and is very often confused with IBS. As you will know, gut health is extremely important to your overall well-being and if your digestion and/or nutrient absorption is compromised, your overall health can eventually become compromised as well. Gluten is known to affect more and more people by the day. Especially with the toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and genetic engineering affecting our everyday foods, we find a larger proportion of the general population either developing allergies or suffering from conditions such as intestinal inflammation, leaky gut, IBS, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, etc.

Lifestyle, as well as diet changes, can definitely be challenging, especially when cross-contamination can pose a threat to one’s life. Initially, changing my diet was very difficult, but times are changing as well, and are accommodating to specialized diets. To those of you who are on the brink of a diet change in order to improve your health, know that you are not alone and that this journey doesn’t have to be a miserable or hard one. It was because of my allergy and its side effects that I started cooking most of my meals at home from scratch (or almost). Seeing that I am very much a foodie and adore cooking, I eventually grew to miss many dishes, and found ways to create delicious alternatives to the those I missed most. That of which, I am here to share with you today, my personal rendition of an amazing Greek spanakopita recipe with a gluten-free twist!

This recipe swaps out conventional phyllo for a much healthier and gluten-free alternative by using garbanzo bean flour, also called chickpea flour. This flour is rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, higher in protein, has fewer calories compared to regular flour, contains polyphenols, and lastly, it has been found to possibly improve glycemic response.

I chose to share this recipe because it ranks as one of the top favorites in our household. Seeing that my significant other is Bulgarian, and doesn’t really cook, I try my best to recreate traditional Bulgarian dishes in the best way possible to spark some nostalgia in him. The Bulgarian version, however, is called Banitsa, slightly differs in appearance, uses thick yogurt instead of ricotta, and is normally eaten for breakfast, or on occasions such as New Year’s Eve, where lucky charms are hidden within it. This recipe also includes Bulgarian feta (for obvious reasons), but you can easily opt for the Greek or Canadian feta of your choosing. Although not fully authentic to either Greek or Bulgarian traditional dishes, I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

 

Gluten-Free Spanakopita
(makes approximately 12 large squares/servings)

 

Ingredients

425g ricotta (at room temperature)
450g of fresh spinach, finely chopped
3 scallions, thinly chopped
2-3 cups of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic,
454g of Bulgarian feta or the feta of your choosing
2 tbsp of oregano (can use dill instead)
1 tsp of chili flakes
3-4 cups of chickpea flour
3-4 cups of lukewarm water
3 large eggs (at room temperature)
Salt to taste

 

Cooking Utensils

Baking tray approximately 18″ x 13″ x 1″
Large cooking pan
2 mixing bowls
Whisk
2 basting brushes

 

Steps:

  1. We will first start off with the filling. In a large mixing bowl, add your cheeses, garlic, spinach, scallions, chili flakes, oregano, and one cup of olive oil, and combine. Taste and see if you would like to add salt and/or another ingredient to your liking. Once the taste is to your liking, add the 3 eggs to the mixture and combine well, then set aside.
  2. With a basting brush, line your baking tray with olive oil.
  3. We can now start making our gluten-free phyllo. In your other mixing bowl, add one cup of chickpea flour, one cup of lukewarm water, and a pinch of salt, and whisk together. This should have a very runny pancake batter-like texture.
  4. On medium-low heat, warm your large pan and essentially “paint” your batter with your second basting brush in multiple directions across your pan until a heavy coat is painted. Painting in multiple directions will give a similar crumbling effect as baked phyllo. As you wait for the dough to cook, you will see it slowly lift off the pan (the texture would be very similar to that of a crepe, but much more fragile). At this point, you can easily peel off the phyllo and place it into your baking tray. Remove your pan from the heat while keeping the heat on until you are ready to start over again.
  5. Take your fresh gluten-free phyllo and brush it with olive oil using your first basting brush. If your phyllo isn’t well-oiled, it may start to crumble and/or break.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 (and/or step 3 when more batter is needed) until the base of your baking tray is fully overlapped with your gluten-free phyllo (approximately 2-3 layers) and enough overhanging from the edges to cover your filling.
  7. Once you have enough phyllo sheets lining and overhanging your baking tray, add your filling to the center of the tray and evenly spread. Cover your filling with the overhanging phyllo over the top. Don’t worry if your phyllo doesn’t cover the top fully, this is normal. At this point, you would need to make more phyllo sheets (approximately 2 layers) to cover the top as well as tuck in over the sides and corners making a nicely tucked pillow. Do not forget to be generous with your olive oil, making sure your phyllo is moist (not drenched).
  8. Once your spanakopita pie is fully covered, tucked, and oiled, pre-cut your squares/servings in the tray with a sharp knife before placing it into the oven. This step is crucial because if you do this after, your end result will be a complete mess. Make sure to cut all the way through.
  9. In a pre-heated oven of 350oF, bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until golden brown. Allow your spanakopita to cool before serving. When ready to serve, you will see that your cuts come in handy and make it much easier to slice and plate.

As the Greeks would say, Καλή όρεξη (Kalí óreksi), and the Bulgarians, Добър апетит (Dobãr apetit)!

 

References:

 

  • https://celiac.org/
  • https://www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-disease/
  • Lebwohl B, Green PHR, Söderling J, Roelstraete B, Ludvigsson JF. Association Between Celiac Disease and Mortality Risk in a Swedish Population. JAMA. 2020 Apr 7;323(13):1277-1285. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.1943. PMID: 32259229; PMCID: PMC7139272.
  • Alassane-Kpembi I, Pinton P, Oswald IP. Effects of Mycotoxins on the Intestine. Toxins (Basel). 2019 Mar 13;11(3):159. doi: 10.3390/toxins11030159. PMID: 30871167; PMCID: PMC6468410.
  • Tu P, Chi L, Bodnar W, Zhang Z, Gao B, Bian X, Stewart J, Fry R, Lu K. Gut Microbiome Toxicity: Connecting the Environment and Gut Microbiome-Associated Diseases. Toxics. 2020 Mar 12;8(1):19. doi: 10.3390/toxics8010019. PMID: 32178396; PMCID: PMC7151736.
  • Chiu K, Warner G, Nowak RA, Flaws JA, Mei W. The Impact of Environmental Chemicals on the Gut Microbiome. Toxicol Sci. 2020 Aug 1;176(2):253-284. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfaa065. PMID: 32392306; PMCID: PMC7416318.
  • Zafar TA, Al-Hassawi F, Al-Khulaifi F, Al-Rayyes G, Waslien C, Huffman FG. Organoleptic and glycemic properties of chickpea-wheat composite breads. J Food Sci Technol. 2015 Apr;52(4):2256-63. doi: 10.1007/s13197-013-1192-7. Epub 2013 Oct 20. PMID: 25829607; PMCID: PMC4375205.
  • Balazs H. Bajka, et al. The impact of replacing wheat flour with cellular legume powder on starch bioaccessibility, glycaemic response and bread roll quality: A double-blind randomised controlled trial in healthy participants, Food Hydrocolloids, Volume 114, 2021,106565,ISSN 0268-005X, doi:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2020.106565.