A few weeks ago I was at the grocery store and I spotted some teff in the little gluten-free section of Schnucks. It was pretty exciting. At the time I was considering picking up some gluten-free oats. I miss oatmeal, I must admit, but the thought of paying eleventy billion times as much money for oatmeal that *probably* won’t make me sick isn’t the most appealing thing ever. Still, I was thinking I’d pick up some gluten-free Bob’s Red Mill oats and see how it went. I figured I could always give them away to one of my friends if it didn’t end up working out.
Instead of finding oats, though, I found teff. And teff was much, much cheaper than those oats would have been. Hmm, teff. I’d heard of it before, heard it made a tasty cereal and was healthy. I glanced at the back of the package to see that it contained a nice amount of iron and fiber. Well, it was worth a shot!
Reading the back of the package I found a recipe for teff chocolate pudding. I have to say I was intrigued by the concept. At the time, I was feeling a bit ill, feeling rather anemic, and craving chocolate something fierce. So I took the plunge.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup teff
- 3ish tablespoons cocoa powder
- A splash of vanilla extract
- Sugar to taste
To start, I had to bring the water and the teff to a boil. I used a small pot, so I spent some good quality time stirring to keep anything from overcooking. Once I had a boil, I reduced the heat as low as it can go on my stove, which is to “Wm.” I assume this means “Warm.” You never know with my old fashioned high-technology GE stove with the push button burners, the grill attachment, the dual oven (self cleaning!), the rotisserie setting (alas, no spit), and the other features I don’t even begin to understand.
The water was brought down to a simmer. I stirred, then put the lid on. The teff has to cook for 15-20 minutes or so till it thickens and the water is absorbed. Occasional stirring is a good idea to keep it from getting lumpy or sticky.
Once it was done, I took off the lid and removed the pot from heat. Let it cool at room temp for another 15 minutes or so.
Then the fun part! I added the cocoa, vanilla, and sugar. The recipe on the package calls for molasses, I think. I’d have to check it. It says you could use carob powder. I’m sure you can use whatever sweetener.
Then I went at the mixture with my stick blender! This, in retrospect, was a terrible idea. My stick blender met the goopy teff and decided it would rather die than mix. Some little black piece of vital importance broke and the blades wouldn’t even spin. Thankfully, the blender didn’t leave anything behind in my teff.
My second batch went into the regular blender, which I use every morning for smoothies. That batch was smooth and pudding-y. The first batch was a little grainier.
My third batch, the one I just made, didn’t even get blendered. The texture of the grain is just fine anyway. I added a bit of stevia and sugar this time, just to cut the sugar down a little.
All the batches were delicious. They weren’t in-your-face chocolatey, but they were tasty. I think this tastes better fresh from the fridge, so that’s how I eat it in the morning. It’s a true indulgence eating chocolate cereal for breakfast. I sometimes add milk or even heavy cream to make it even better. It would probably taste great with petroleum whipped cream (cool whip). I’ll have to try that at some point.
So the bottom line is if you’re looking for a new breakfast that is not processed and is an actual whole grain instead of a package declaring that it once contained whole grain that has now been pulverized and enriched, give teff a try. It is very tasty and nutritious. It would probably be a tasty hot cereal with nuts and fruit, too (ooo, it would probably play nice with hazelnuts!). Yay teff!