Wattleseed & Banana Bread

gluten free dairy free egg free nut free vegan 

Wattleseed is a native Australian seed from the Acacia tree. (I remember collecting the pods as a child and once took a deep sniff from a bunch of wattle flowers and have been afflicted by hay fever ever since.) Wattleseeds were a main part of the diet of indigenous Australians for thousands of years being a  rich source of protein and carbohydrate. Because the acacia tree has hard husks, when they fall to the ground, they last for up to 20 years (!) in their natural environment, apparently only germinating after bush fires. The wattle flower is also, of course, Australia's floral emblem.

When I asked my seven year old daughter to guess the aroma of the ground seeds, she replied 'chocolate? coffee?'. Top of the class darling! Roasted ground wattle seed is known for its nutty, chocolatey and coffee-like flavour. It pairs very well with cakes, cookies, bread and desserts.

This rustic banana bread has a firm yet tender crumb - it's gluten-free AND vegan. Woo!

1/2 cup agave syrup (honey or golden syrup if you don't have it)
3 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 medium sized ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup lemon juice
220g gluten-free plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
1 tsp xantham gum
1 tbs ground wattleseed (purchased online from Outback Chef)

Preheat oven to 180 C and grease and line a medium-sized loaf pan.

Whisk oil, vanilla, salt, lemon juice and agave syrup, then add mashed banana and mix well. Sift together flour, wattle seed, anthem gum, baking powder and bicarb soda. Gently fold in banana mixture until well combined then pour batter into loaf pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, or toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in tin for 10 mins then transfer to wire rack.