By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When you’ve got a family member with a severe gluten allergy, it can be slim pickings when it comes to baked goods and other dishes made with grains like wheat, barley and rye.
Not only are menu choices often limited when planning dinner or dessert, but even a mild sensitivity can wreak havoc on a loved one’s tummy if you don’t use distinct cookware and keep counters, cutting boards and utensils super clean to avoid cross contamination.
One-to-one gluten-free flours and naturally gluten-free grains and seeds like quinoa, corn, buckwheat, rice and oats make it easier at meal time, at an added expense.
Anyone who’s shopped the gluten-free aisle at a major grocery store or perused the offerings on websites like Bob’s Red Mill knows these specialty products are significantly more expensive than everyday products made with wheat. That’s thanks to economies of scale (it’s a much smaller market), the rigorous testing involved to achieve certification and all the experimenting that goes into making a product that actually tastes good.
A 12-ounce loaf of Udi’s gluten-free white sandwich bread, for example, typically costs $6 or more at most grocery stores — roughly two or three times the price of a 16-ounce “regular” white loaf.
Still, gluten-free products are a culinary lifeline for some, as well as a fun way to add a little variety to daily meals with different tastes and textures.
With that in mind, we’d like to introduce you to sorghum, an alternative grain you might be unfamiliar with but should get to know.
Available both as a milled flour and a pearled cereal grain, sorghum is considered an ancient grain — that is, it’s been grown for hundreds of years and largely remains unaltered through modern farming practices. It’s believed to have been domesticated in East-Central Africa at least 5,000 years ago.
Today, it’s the fifth most produced cereal crop in the world after wheat, corn, rice and barley, making it an important dietary staple for more than 500 million of the most food-insecure people in the world.
High-energy and drought-tolerant, sorghum’s leaves and stems can be used to feed livestock and also to produce ethanol. In the culinary arena, it can be cooked into a cereal and porridge; used as a base in grain bowls, salads and soups; fermented in alcoholic beverages; and crushed like sugar cane or beets to produce a syrup.
It also can be popped like corn for a nutritious snack.
Why build out your pantry with a bag of soft white sorghum flour or a package of the golden, couscous-like grain?
Not only is sorghum a natural source of heart-healthy antioxidants, but whole grain sorghum is a great source of fiber and protein. It’s also full of zinc, selenium and copper and is naturally gluten-free.
But the main reason to try it if you don’t have a gluten sensitivity is that sorghum adds a hearty, nutty flavor to so many recipes. And it is just so versatile. Depending on whether you use it in grain, flour or syrup form, you can boil it on the stovetop, bake it in the oven in breads, rolls, cookies and pie crusts or bring it to fluffy life in a rice cooker or slow cooker.
One more plus: Since most of the world’s sorghum is grown in the U.S. in what’s known as the “Sorghum Belt” that runs from South Dakota to southern Texas, you’re supporting U.S. farmers and the economy.
To help you test the waters, we’ve gathered some easy recipes that shine a light on both sorghum flour and pearled grain sorghum.
Sorghum products can be purchased from specialty grain suppliers like Nu Life Market and Bob’s Red Mill, or at some grocery stores (including Whole Foods) and health food markets like Naturally Soergel’s in Franklin Park and East End Food Co-op in Point Breeze.
Sorghum Chocolate Chip Cookies
PG tested
Gluten-free cookies often have an “off” taste. Thanks to the addition of brown butter, these definitely won’t disappoint.
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into chunks, divided
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, cold right out of the fridge
- 1 1/3 cups sorghum flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4-6 ounces good quality dark chocolate, cut into chunks
- 2 ounces toasted hazelnuts, pecans or walnuts, optional
In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown half of the butter.
Remove the hot pan of brown butter from the heat and add remaining butter. Stir well and let cool while you weigh your flour and prep the other ingredients.
In a mixing bowl, stir together light brown, dark brown and granulated sugars.
Add cooled brown butter to sugars, along with vanilla. Stir until blended.
Stir in the egg. Let mixture rest for about 5 minutes, then stir again.
Mix together sorghum flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, then add to egg mixture to make a soft dough.
Add chocolate chunks and nuts (if using). Shape into large or small balls, then press them down slightly so cookies will have flat tops. Arrange on tray and chill for at least 30 minutes, or until firm. (I portioned the dough into 20 smallish balls, which resulted in Oreo-sized cookies.)
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Arrange cookies a few inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake cookies for 15-18 minutes, or until crispy around the edges but still soft in the center. (Large cookies will bake a little longer.)
Makes up to 2 dozen cookies, depending on portioning.
Roasted Cherry Tomato, Kale and Sorghum Salad
PG tested
Waiting for the sorghum to finish cooking — it takes about an hour — is the hardest thing about this nutritious vegetarian salad. I used grape tomatoes and lacinato (Tuscan) kale, but you could add any favorite green or veggie. Consider doubling the dressing if you prefer a really moist grain salad.
For salad base:
- 1 cup pearled sorghum grain, rinsed in a fine mesh colander
- 3 cups water
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 large shallot, peeled and sliced in half
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sea salt
- For dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Juice 1/2 lemon
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For salad:
- 3 cups chopped lacinato kale
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
- 1 cup rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, optional
First, cook the sorghum: Combine rinsed sorghum and 3 cups water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low.
Cook until sorghum is pleasantly tender but still has some chew, 55-65 minutes. You can wait until the sorghum is halfway cooked before proceeding with the next steps.
Roast cherry tomatoes and shallot: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a small, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
Toss whole cherry tomatoes and shallot halves with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Roast until the tomatoes are soft, plump and starting to burst open, about 18 minutes. Chop shallot into small pieces.
Make the dressing: Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper until emulsified. Taste and add more salt, red pepper flakes or lemon juice if not tangy enough.
Once the sorghum is done cooking, drain off any excess water and pour cooked sorghum into a serving bowl.
Pour in all of the dressing, all of the cherry tomatoes and their juices, shallots, chopped kale, Parmesan, feta and chickpeas (optional). Season to taste with pepper, toss well and serve.
Serves 4.
Adapted from bobsredmill.com
Carla Hall’s Sorghum Soul Food Buttermilk Biscuits
PG tested
My attempt at making sorghum bread was an absolute fail. (“Brick” doesn’t even begin to describe what came out of the pan.) But these light and fluffy Southern biscuits? Pure heaven!
Sorghum flour adds a mild, slightly sweet and nutty flavor to this recipe from celebrity chef and cookbook author Carla Hall. They are great as is, warm from the oven and slathered with butter, or at room temperature with honey or jam. They are best on the day they are baked, but also delicious reheated for several days afterwards. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Be sure to mix with your hands to prevent overworking the gluten, which will result in tough biscuits instead of flaky.
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen, plus extra softened butter for the pan
- 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
- 1 cup cold buttermilk, well-shaken
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and butter a large cast-iron skillet. If you don’t have one, a large round cake pan will work. Set aside.
Put both flours, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl and use your open hand to mix them together, using your fingers as a whisk.
Add in shortening and use your fingertips to pinch it completely into the mixture until you get coarse crumbs.
Use a box grater’s large holes to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture. Toss so that all pieces are coated with flour.
Add buttermilk and use your hand as a spatula to gently mix the dough into a shaggy mass. Scrape the dough off your hand.
Use a large spoon to drop 16 equal sized mounds of dough into the prepared skillet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool a bit and then serve.
Makes 16 biscuits.
Adapted from “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration” (Harper, $35)
Sorghum Mushroom Soup
PG tested
This soul-warming soup recipe is so simple! I used white button mushrooms and added a few slices of baby bella just before serving as a garnish.
- 1 cup cooked pearled sorghum grain
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pound white mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Dash of Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 32-ounce carton of vegetable broth or stock
- Sour cream, for serving, optional
- Chopped parsley, for serving, optional
In a large pot over medium heat, heat butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Add mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid, about 4-5 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to pot along with chopped onions. Cook over medium heat until translucent, about 4 minutes, then add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant.
Stir in Worcestershire sauce, fold in cooked mushrooms and cooked sorghum. Stir well to combine.
Add vegetable broth or stock, and simmer soup for 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve in soup bowls, garnished with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of chopped parsley.
Serves 4.
Adapted from edibleseattle.com.
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