Three Seed Flatbread/Crust

Wheat? Yeast? Gluten Free?  What'll I do???  Grain bashing be damned.  At Avanti, we've never wavered, when it comes to baked goods -->  always organic grains & never ALL white flour.  Plain and simple.  Get at least 25% organic whole grain flours (either whole wheat or gf options) into everything you bake and eat.  And, unless you truly have a wheat allergy, it's just too much fun making real breads that rise and culture w/ active yeast.  This simple flatbread // pizza crust is 100% whole grain & 3 seed too.  The only flour in the mix is organic whole wheat, then there's the mighty flax meal (flaxseed flour) and WHOLE chia & sesame seeds.  It's easy to make, requires only one medium sized mixing bowl, one wooden spoon & two 16 inch pizza pans.  No added oil, low sodium, dairy free and delectable.  

Three Seed Flatbread/Crust

Breads 8/26/14

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Prep Method
1 ½	Cups	Whole wheat flour
½	Cup	Flax seed meal
¼	Cup	Brown rice syrup
2	Teaspoons	Yeast
2 ½	Cups	Water

Directions:

Combine all in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Stir well w/ a wooden spoon.  Cover w/ a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise at cool room temp for several hours or overnight.

Next add:

¼	Cup	Whole wheat flour
¼	Cup	Whole sesame seeds
¼	Cup	Chia seeds
1	Teaspoon	Salt

Stir well, let raise for 30 mins.  Prep out two 16 inch pizza pans by spraying or brushing with out. 

Preheat oven to 450, divide the batter onto two pizza pans, smooth w/ a sprayed spatula to an even thickness.  Offset spatulas work best.  Let rise again for 30 mins.

Bake in preheated 450 oven for 15 mins.  Rotate set timer for 10 mins more.  It’s done when the thin spots get a dark golden brown.  25 to 30 mins total baking time.  If you want to make pizza, pull it out when just golden brown (20 to 20 mins) top with pizza topping flavors and bake 10 to 15 mins more.  

NOTE:  This bread is very adaptable.  Swap out chia &/or sesame for perilla, basil, nigella, whole flax seeds.  Experiment.  Add a tablespoon of chili powder, smoked paprika, curry, garam masala, hawaij or other spice blends for deeper flavors.  

Here's the crust, baked to crisp fully seeded perfection

We suggest a beautiful pissaladiere w/ Sicilian & Moroccan olives, organic baby pear tomatoes, capers, tomato jam, golden lime caramelized onions, fresh basil & tarragon for dining al fresco

How about a 3 seed free form cracker spread w/ a sake simmered beet pate w/ roasted heirloom cucumber and zucchini, grapefruit supremes, garlic, ginger & chive

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat, Live & Party Well

Blog post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County, CA.

Meaning 'forward' in Italian, Avanti Natural is a culinary philosophy that integrates the best of traditional European and Asian healthful eating with the latest nutritional information for optimum health.

Our successful restaurant Avanti Café was located on 17^th St in Costa Mesa from 2005 through 2014.  Follow us on social media to see what is new and in store for Avanti in our culinary futures.

At Avanti Natural, we believe that you don't have to sacrifice taste to eat healthy; you can Eat Well & Live Well

We are Whole Foods Experts  It’s time to take Avanti Natural to restaurant menus & kitchens everywhere.

www.avantinatural.com

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Positive Plate Timbale How-To

Last Monday, October 1, 2012, was a rousing evening in the Avanti Cafe dining room w/ our celebration of the Positive Plate special prix fixe dinner & blogger invitational.  The main course was a slow roasted organic tomato confit timbale w/ bucatini pasta.  To go from inspiration to plate is a tall task and an arousing tale.  Want to see it?  Here you go!

It first starts w/ the exotic bucatini pasta

Bucatini is a combo of spaghetti & macaroni.  As one of our more infamous former servers used to say, in his well played up British accent 'It's spaghetti w/ an 'ole in it!'

bucatini pasta

Then there are the tomatoes.  There is a laborious process in the French arsenal dubbed >> Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and juiced. This process involves flash blanching whole raw tomatoes in boiling water for just a few seconds, cooling in lightly iced water, slipping off the skins, cutting them in half along the horizon line and working the seeds and juice out of the exposed internal chambers.  Time consuming but worth the effort when tomatoes are peak season and full of flavor.  The seeds, pulp and juice are strained and reserved for another purpose, and the firm flesh is then slowly oven roasted in extra virgin olive oil to create an organic tomato confit

Tomato confit in season is so flavorful and delicious that we don't need to add much more than a simple compliment of flavor.  Our choice, butter sauteed cipolinni onions & capers

Since we are cheese makers at Avanti, we have an abundance of organic, high protein whey in our kitchen.  It's a nutritional powerhouse and we adore it.  Our custard vehicle for these timabales is a potato & whey creme for substance, flavor & volume

Combine the above w/ organic eggs, ladle into buttered custard cups, anoint w/ hot water in a bain marie, slide into a 325 low oven and voila :::>

Now we set timers, wish them well on their journey to supreme flavor & texture town and believe they have the brightest of futures and voila, un fois encore :::>

After they cool, they chill in the fridge overnight.  Meanwhile, we toss some extremely gorgeous oyster mushrooms w/ sake, nama shoyu, black pepper, garlic shallot oil and sliced shallots.  Leave to marinate overnight, then roast in a moderate 375 oven for a brief 10 mins to bake off in preparation for the dinner.

Now we are prepped for the Positive Plate Dinner.  The timables are unmolded then reheated to crispy perfection, the mushrooms get a final roast to sear & caramelize, additional tomatoes are blended w/ some of the whey potato mix and a dash of cream to form a flavorful sauce.  Our esteemed house made organic feta is shaped into quenelles, garnished w/ our Avanti signature Pink Green Gold & Black Provencal house made spice blend & allowed to cold air dry in form for 24 hours, and a fresh batch of Avanti spinach arugula pesto is made.

Et Voila

The Positive Plate Dinner Entree :: Organic slow roasted tomato & bucatini timbales w/ house made organic Provencal feta quenelle / spinach arugula pesto & sake roasted oyster mushrooms & shallot ::

Plated entree special photo by Anne Watson

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat Live & Party Well 

As we say, eat w/ us several times a week and it’s likely you’ll become healthier than you already are!  And your taste buds will love every minute of it too. How many restaurants can legitimately make that claim !?!

Blog Post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Chef / Owner Avanti Cafe

Avanti Café  is a vegetarian & vegan friendly restaurant with many gluten free options [including our famous gluten free pizzas] in East Side Costa Mesa California [bordering Newport Beach].  Everything is custom made in house using the freshest ingredients.  We support local organic farms such as South Coast Farms in San Juan Capistrano using their fine produce in our dishes and hosting a Community Supported Agriculture site every Thursday.  We serve highest quality artisan beers in bottle and on tap, organic, biodynamic & sustainable wines, by the bottle and glass.  All of our desserts are made in house using organic whole grains, flours and sweeteners.  Always organic eggs & milk.  We make our own organic ricotta & feta cheeses in house and smoke organic mozzarella w/ bourbon soaked oak and chamomile.  Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County.

www.avantinatural.com 

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