Chocolate Hazelnut Green Bean Muffin Pizza

Makes 2 muffin pizzas.

Ingredients:

¾ cup sweetened baking cocoa
1 cup organic unbleached white flour
1 cup organic whole grain spelt flour
1 tablespoon organic whole ground flaxseed meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
⅓ cup organic cane sugar
¼ teaspoon finely ground sea salt
2½ cups blanched hazelnuts
1 bag organic frozen cut green beans, 12-ounce
½ cup canola oil
2 large organic free-range eggs
2 teaspoons hazelnut extract
⅔ cup sour cream
½ cup organic whole milk
½ cup mini-chocolate chips

Shortcut: buy pre-roasted blanched hazelnuts.

Instructions:

1.     Preheat the oven to 350F.
2.     Grease two round baking pans.
3.     Spread the blanched hazelnuts on a baking pan, and bake them in the oven at 350F for about 10 minutes or until golden brown, moving them occasionally so they don’t burn.
4.     Let the hazelnuts cool in the freezer for a few minutes. They will grind better in the food processor if they’re cold.
5.     Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: cocoa, white flour, spelt flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, cane sugar, and sea salt. Set aside.
6.     When the hazelnuts are cold, grind 1½ cups of the hazelnuts in a food processor, and add them to the flour mixture. Chop the rest of the roasted hazelnuts finely and set them aside.
7.     Steam the green beans, and purée 1½ cups of steamed green beans with the oil.
8.     In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the hazelnut extract, and add the green bean purée, pressing the purée through a sieve.
9.     Add the sour cream and the milk to the green bean mixture, whisking until everything is mixed together into a creamy liquid.
10. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
11. Pour the liquid ingredients into the center of the well.
12. Blend the wet and dry ingredients together gently until the batter is moist and lumpy. Don’t over mix it.
13. Fold in the mini-chocolate chips.
14. Split the batter between the two round baking pans, filling each pan about ½” with batter.
15. Bake for 16-18 minutes (or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean).
16. Cool the muffin pizzas partially in their pans. Remove each muffin round by placing a cutting board over the top of the pan, carefully flipping the pan over with the cutting board on top, so the pan is upside down on the cutting board. Remove the pan and the round muffin pizza should be left on the cutting board upside down.
17. Cut the muffin pizza into pizza-slice shapes.
18. When still warm, use a wooden spoon to pour some Hazelnut Ganache (see below) on top of the muffin pizza slices, and sprinkle the remaining toasted hazelnuts on top. 19. Serve immediately.

Tip: these muffins are not sweet without the ganache, so if you don’t use the Hazelnut Ganache, increase the sugar to ½ cup and increase the mini-chocolate chips to ¾ cup in the muffin recipe.

Shortcut: use jarred baby food instead of homemade green bean purée.

Hazelnut Ganache

Ingredients:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup cream
2+ teaspoons hazelnut extract

Instructions:

1.     Put the chocolate in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
2.     Bring the cream just to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
3.     Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate, a little at a time, and whisk until they’re combined into a smooth liquid.
4.     Add the extract, starting with 2 teaspoons, and adding more to taste (if desired).
5.     Use immediately as a glaze.