A new edition to the website. I hope it inspires you to create wonderful things with your food crops, familiar and new.
Plant to Plate
Where I post ideas for processing and cooking what I grow at ALE.
Chufa
Plant breeding 101 tour group admiring the chufa.
Chufa, also called Tiger nuts, is grown from little nut shaped tubers. The non wild and weedy form (Cyperus esculentus sativa) is not frost tolerant so it has to be planted out after danger of last frost. Though some people pre-start it for a few weeks beforehand, I usually direct sow just before a good rainstorm or 'chit' (pre-sprout just to the formation or root stage) and then plant out in a well watered bed.
It's a member of the sedge family and has 'grassy' looking foliage. It's quite handsome in edible landscaping, contrasting well with more robust looking leaves. Just around first frost, I pull the whole plant and collect the tubers that are usually just below the crown. It can be a bit time consuming but not that difficult to get through a lot once you get your rhythm down.
After picking the tubers off the roots, my kids and I then rub handfuls together in a sieve under running water to clean them up. At the same time, you might want to pick out any small stones that snuck in to the mix. Then we dry them out before storing them in a large, not airtight container.
It's a member of the sedge family and has 'grassy' looking foliage. It's quite handsome in edible landscaping, contrasting well with more robust looking leaves. Just around first frost, I pull the whole plant and collect the tubers that are usually just below the crown. It can be a bit time consuming but not that difficult to get through a lot once you get your rhythm down.
After picking the tubers off the roots, my kids and I then rub handfuls together in a sieve under running water to clean them up. At the same time, you might want to pick out any small stones that snuck in to the mix. Then we dry them out before storing them in a large, not airtight container.
Collected chufa 'ALE select'
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Drying after washing
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Chufa is tasty fresh though its flavours are even more concentrated when it is dried. It is sweet with a taste similar to almonds. Traditionally it seems most often used to make horchata - a tasty drink something like a nut milk (though chufa is not a nut, it is similar in flavour). Texturally, it reminds me of coconut though the flavour gravitates toward a sweet almond. It is very nutritious and has high oil and fiber content.
Probably one of the most challenging things about it is preparation. It will not grind in a mill as it is too oily. I've had success with dry tubers in a sausage grinder. I've also been able to mill it if I baked it first in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes then mill it in conjunction with a grittier, drier grain. I've also heard of people having luck with a vita-mix or something similar though I have never tried that. A coffee grinder will work though it sounds like rocks in there so I usually prepare them first before using it.
They can be eaten raw, though not in huge numbers as I hear this may cause indigestion due to fiber and oil content. Given its new status as a super food, it's really hard to find the references on that as I can't get past the (mostly deserved) hype but if you ask an abuela, they'll tell you not to eat too many in one go. They are tasty, sweet and crunchy like this. You can also just eat them baked whole though I've also not really used them this way.
Normally, I soak for a day or two in water then crack them with a mortar and pestle before putting in the coffee grinder until they reach the desired texture. I may have to remove portions as I go as the thick, somewhat oily flour will stick to the sides. I then use as is or soak this mixture in water to produce horchata and chufa meal.
Probably one of the most challenging things about it is preparation. It will not grind in a mill as it is too oily. I've had success with dry tubers in a sausage grinder. I've also been able to mill it if I baked it first in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes then mill it in conjunction with a grittier, drier grain. I've also heard of people having luck with a vita-mix or something similar though I have never tried that. A coffee grinder will work though it sounds like rocks in there so I usually prepare them first before using it.
They can be eaten raw, though not in huge numbers as I hear this may cause indigestion due to fiber and oil content. Given its new status as a super food, it's really hard to find the references on that as I can't get past the (mostly deserved) hype but if you ask an abuela, they'll tell you not to eat too many in one go. They are tasty, sweet and crunchy like this. You can also just eat them baked whole though I've also not really used them this way.
Normally, I soak for a day or two in water then crack them with a mortar and pestle before putting in the coffee grinder until they reach the desired texture. I may have to remove portions as I go as the thick, somewhat oily flour will stick to the sides. I then use as is or soak this mixture in water to produce horchata and chufa meal.
 Toasted, milled chufa flour
Above they are baked then milled with oats. You can see the toasted colour. To the right is horchata with remaining coarsely ground chufa meal.
For inspiration, I try them in various recipes that would normally use almonds. They adapt well to most kinds of sweet baking, and I'm working on expanding their savoury uses. |
Coarse chufa meal with horchata
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They are an easy add for cookies, muffins and other batters and combine well with fruits or chocolate. I use both the horchata part and the chufa meal part in baking, sometimes substituting the milk for the liquid of a recipe.
Some cookies with dried apple, chufa and something red - I can't remember... let's say currants.
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Chufa, chocolate bars - an easy sell to the kids.
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In most flour based recipes, I don't use straight chufa but combine with other nut flours, legume or grain flours. Below you can see a shortcrust with a chocolate torte that used horchata as the liquid, and two instances of bread. I do all my bread making with an approximately 1:2 ratio of liquid:flour but as toasted chufa flour and chufa meal are higher in oil/liquid content, I usually raise the flour part a little bit to get a ragged if somewhat wet dough, at a ratio of about twice as much other flour(s) as chufa flour. I've gone as high as 75% chufa flour in some cookie recipes. With these heavier chufa amended bread doughs, I tend to make thinner breads like sticks or baguettes.
Three chufa products: chocolate torte with horchata and chufa meal shortcrust
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Chufa bread sticks with cranberry and dried dandelion
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Because chufa shares some qualities of almonds, I have even made marzipan with it as seen below.
Chufa-pan
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My attempt at a ladybug with chuff-pan
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Horchata pudding
There are lots of other possibilities. I've made a sort of polenta from the chufa meal, horchata pudding. People have made horchata ice cream and other horchata flavoured things.
A couple of my vegan friends have even tried chufa cheese though I'm not sure how that turned out. Will have to follow up.
I look forward to posting more chufa experiments in the future, especially some savoy dishes to help you realize your chufa recipe dreams!
A couple of my vegan friends have even tried chufa cheese though I'm not sure how that turned out. Will have to follow up.
I look forward to posting more chufa experiments in the future, especially some savoy dishes to help you realize your chufa recipe dreams!
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Just a quick note, to make chufa part of a diverse diet. As it is so high in nutrients and fiber, it's probably not great to eat a tonne of it in one sitting, especially when trying it for the first time.
To the right are my two main types of chufa that I grow and use: Tigers Black - a relatively new staple on my farm and the more common derived Canadian form that is floating around, which I have adapted to my growing conditions, ALE select. If you are interested in trying some, you can purchase here (and a few other places in Canada, including Seed of Diversity trade list). |
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A sort of recipe
I intentionally use textural and other cues rather than recipes when I cook as I so often am using non standard ingredients. Even if they are common foods, their growing conditions and my processing techniques, may subtly or markedly change their moisture, sugar or other content meaning that if I followed a recipe, without thought, I might not get the result I want. So, instead of recipes, I'll post guidelines on how I make stuff.
Chufa bread
1. Pour 'some' horchata (or other liquid which may include oils) into a bowl. Alternatively add to a sourdough starter.
2. Add some yeast, if you aren't using sourdough.
3. Add a bit of coarse salt to taste.
4. Add a bunch of other fun stuff if desired like dried fruit, savoury herbs, dried greens etc...
5. Add twice as much dried ingredients (not including herbs etc... usually) + some, as wet ingredients. I use wheat flour but you can experiment. If the dough is heavier, you'll probably want to shape differently but we'll get to that in a moment. If you are using chufa flour or meal then to start, I'd try 50% at most, along with another flour. Think of it as akin to bran flours.
6. Using a fork, mix together then hand knead until combined with no floury bits sticking to the side of the bowl. The texture of the dough should be ragged to smooth but not super sticky wet or very dry. If it is too wet, you can add more flour. If it is very dry, you can try to incorporate more oils or other liquid though this is tricky.
7. Cover and let rise overnight or at least for a couple hours until increased significantly in size.
8. For results with excellent rise, you can shape and bake in standard round or loaf breads. For those with mediocre rise, try making thinner breads like bread sticks, small rolls and so forth. You may even want to roll out the dough into flatbreads.
9. Let shaped bread rise again while you warm up your oven. For breads with lots of oils, eggs or sugars, use a lower temperature, like around 350, whereas for drier breads, you can go up to 400.
10. Let the larger breads rise longer on their second rise. I usually leave all breads at least 20 minutes.
11. Slash if needed/desired then bake.Larger breads will need longer - like 40 minutes and should be well browned and hollow sounding when the bottom is knocked. Breads with more surface area - the sticks or flat breads will need less time. I usually pick around 20 minutes for most of them but you'll have to keep an eye on them until you learn what works.
12. Let cool on a cooling rack.
13. Enjoy!
PS. I warned you that it wouldn't be a 'recipe'
Chufa bread
1. Pour 'some' horchata (or other liquid which may include oils) into a bowl. Alternatively add to a sourdough starter.
2. Add some yeast, if you aren't using sourdough.
3. Add a bit of coarse salt to taste.
4. Add a bunch of other fun stuff if desired like dried fruit, savoury herbs, dried greens etc...
5. Add twice as much dried ingredients (not including herbs etc... usually) + some, as wet ingredients. I use wheat flour but you can experiment. If the dough is heavier, you'll probably want to shape differently but we'll get to that in a moment. If you are using chufa flour or meal then to start, I'd try 50% at most, along with another flour. Think of it as akin to bran flours.
6. Using a fork, mix together then hand knead until combined with no floury bits sticking to the side of the bowl. The texture of the dough should be ragged to smooth but not super sticky wet or very dry. If it is too wet, you can add more flour. If it is very dry, you can try to incorporate more oils or other liquid though this is tricky.
7. Cover and let rise overnight or at least for a couple hours until increased significantly in size.
8. For results with excellent rise, you can shape and bake in standard round or loaf breads. For those with mediocre rise, try making thinner breads like bread sticks, small rolls and so forth. You may even want to roll out the dough into flatbreads.
9. Let shaped bread rise again while you warm up your oven. For breads with lots of oils, eggs or sugars, use a lower temperature, like around 350, whereas for drier breads, you can go up to 400.
10. Let the larger breads rise longer on their second rise. I usually leave all breads at least 20 minutes.
11. Slash if needed/desired then bake.Larger breads will need longer - like 40 minutes and should be well browned and hollow sounding when the bottom is knocked. Breads with more surface area - the sticks or flat breads will need less time. I usually pick around 20 minutes for most of them but you'll have to keep an eye on them until you learn what works.
12. Let cool on a cooling rack.
13. Enjoy!
PS. I warned you that it wouldn't be a 'recipe'