Gluten-Free Naan with Shallots and Herbs: A Fabulous Flatbread Recipe

MAKES 10 FLATBREADS Yes, you read right. Even if you’re gluten-free you can have naan, that luscious Indian flatbread, thanks to Meg van der Kruik, the author of tasty alternative eating website This Mess is Ours. Bonus: it’s so good, it needs no embellishment.

1/2 cup warm water (110°F)
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup finely chopped mixed herbs (such as cilantro and parsley)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup olive oil
Butter or ghee, for frying and brushing
2 shallots, sliced paper thin

In a bowl, combine the warm water and the honey, stir to dissolve. Add the yeast and stir again. Set aside for 5 minutes until the mixture is foaming and frothy (start over if your yeast doesn’t bloom and get frothy). Add the herbs, buttermilk and olive oil to the yeast mixture. Whisk to combine.

In another bowl, whisk together the flours, cornstarch, potato starch, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring with a silicone spatula to combine into a thick and shaggy mixture, similar to mashed potatoes. Let rest 20 minutes.

Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Lightly dust a clean work surface with potato starch. Scoop out 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of dough onto the surface. Roll gently in the potato starch then press out into a flat round disk with the palm of your hand. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Melt a small pat of butter in the pan. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of the shallot slices on top. Working with one disk at a time, place a disk on top of the shallots, then, starting in the center of the dough, quickly use your fingertips to press dimples into the surface of the dough. Cook for 2 to 21/2 minutes then flip and cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Repeat to fry the remaining disks. Enjoy warm.

About the Author

Meg van der Kruik
Designer, Artist, Vegetarian/Sometimes Vegan, Bakery-Raised, Southern Roots, Antique Collector

If you aren’t a fan already, allow us to introduce you to Meg, a designer, artist, recipe developer, and photographer, who became a food blogger when she found out her young son was gluten and dairy intolerant. Her husband is a vegetarian, and everyone in her house has a different dietary need, hence her fabulous online food destination This Mess is Ours, which is loaded with wonderful recipes the entire family can enjoy (not to mention stunning photography). Meg’s collaborative textile designs with her husband Todd have been exhibited at a number of venues, including Parson’s School of Design in NYC. How cool is that?