Back home in Vancouver, one of my favorite places to grab a quick sandwich, or some buns for later, is Quejos. A quejo, for those who have never heard of it before, is a Brazilian cheese bun which is naturally gluten free. They have a unique texture (think Japanese mochi, I describe it as squeaky and gummy) I haven't found any here in New York, so I decided to try to make my own.
After looking at a few recipes I decided to give the one on All Recipes as spin - with a few of my own twists.
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup Lactaid, milk, soy milk, whatever you fancy.
- 1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
- 2 cups tapioca flour
- 3 tsp chopped garlic
- 1/4 cup light havarti cheese
- 1/4 cup guyere cheese
- 2 eggs
To make: In a medium-large pot (whatever you have), combine the extra virgin olive oil, water, milk, and salt and heat over high heat. Once the mixture boils, turn off the heat and add the flour and garlic and stir it together. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then, stir in the cheese and eggs. The dough should be kind of chunky, so don't try to mix until it's smooth, just well combined. Then using 1/4 cup or an ice cream scooper, drop scoops onto a medium baking sheet and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy right out of the oven. If you aren't consuming right away, I recommend freezing once cooled. To enjoy from frozen put into 400-425 oven for 6-8 minutes or microwave for about 60 seconds.
I love having mine as a side dish, or I make it the center of my lunch by cutting in half and filling with my favorite deli meat (turkey) with a salad on the side.
Have you had a quejo before? What did you think of it?
I think I tried the All Recipes version and wasn't impressed. Did you cut the oil down? I also didn't find them to rise well. I would really like to get a great version to pass on to my patients. So will try yours:) Wish me luck!!
ReplyDeleteBy the way...I too was introduced to Quejos via Quejos in Vancouver but now live on Gabriola Island.
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