Alegria-Popped Amaranth Bars
Posted: August 21, 2008 Filed under: desserts, gluten free, Snacks, Stage 1, Travel Foods, Vegan, Whole grains, world cuisine, Yacon Syrup 1 Comment »
Me and my bag of amaranth have been patiently awaiting the arrival of the newest member of my sweetener family: yacon syrup. I ordered it last week, and it finally came today. This particular brand is made by Amazon Therapeutic Laboratories and I ordered it from iHerb.com. I’m happy with the product. It’s 100% organic, comes in a 13oz glass jar, and definitely tastes like a mix of caramel and molasses.
I’ve been waiting to use this with the amaranth to make alegria, a mexican treat made from popped amaranth and a sweet syrup, usually something called aguamiel or piloncillo. I thought the yacon syrup would be excellent as an alternative to the sugar or honey based syrup that is traditionally used.
The hardest part in making alegria is popping the amaranth, but that is also the part that is the most fun! I used a heavy bottomed skillet with a glass top. Perfect choice, because I could see the miraculous change of the amaranth from seeds that were small and brown to puffy white. For the first few batches, the heat was up high and half of the seeds popped, the other half just roasted. I turned the heat down to low, and that batch didn’t pop at all, just roasted. I ate those. I turned the heat to medium, waited for the pan to heat evenly, then I put in another batch. Jackpot! As soon as the lid was put on, the amaranth popped wildly in the pan! I lifted the pan off the heat and swirled the pan until everything calmed down, and then poured the transformed seeds into a bowl.
I kept this pretty simple and didn’t add any other flavors to this because the yacon syrup already has enough of a complex taste to it to make it interesting. In Mexico, alegria is sometimes mixed with nuts or raisins. If you fancy nuts, go ahead and put some in and see how you like it.
*Note: Traditional alegria has the syrup heated until it reaches hard candy stage. The yacon syrup is left unheated, so your alegria will be much softer than the original.
1/2 cup amaranth
1/2 cup yacon syrup
cookie sheet
parchment paper
cooking spray
mixing bowl and spoon
Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. You are really making sure the sides of your cookie sheet are coated with cooking spray.
Heat a skillet (preferably with a glass lid) to medium heat, making sure the bottom is evenly heated. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of amaranth on the bottom of skillet and immediately put lid on. Swirl the pan around until you see and hear the amaranth popping, remove from heat and continue to swirl until amaranth stops popping. Transfer to bowl. Continue with remaining amaranth until all seeds are popped.
In your bowl, pour 1/2 cup of yacon syrup over popped amaranth. Mix to combine, and transfer to prepared cookie sheet. Press mixture evenly with back of spoon. Refrigerate for 30 min to one hour.
Once cooled, cut mixture into bars. Refrigerate remaining bars.
Looks like Rice Krispy treats has a rival!
10/10/08 update: I added about 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt, and it really makes a difference in the taste. The sweet/salty contrast is great!
Just testing. I wanted to see if this thing is working.