Recipes

Chipotle Pumpkin Soup

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Faced with an unexpected CSA prize – an adorable pumpkin – I set out to find something fitting to do to this noble squash, aside from sitting it on the edge of my counter so I could ogle it daily, luxuriating in the little bit of Fall brought into my daily line of sight.

I researched pumpkin recipes high and low, got frustrated because it seems everything calls for canned pumpkin or butternut squash (because let’s face it: pumpkins are fickle, unpredictable bastards and a crap item to use in baking), or is a soup. I *always* make pumpkin soup.

That’s because pumpkin soup is delicious.

I settled on the flavors from one soup married to the flavors from another, with the cooking method of a third – and lo and behold, this soup was born. It’s hands-off lazy girl cooking at its finest, utilizing the crock pot and nothing else. And it smells divine while burbling away on the countertop all afternoon.

Note: As written, this soup is on the liquidy side. If you like super thick soups, you could probably get away with halving the stock or maybe omitting altogether.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian and vegan if you use vegetable stock, Whole 30

 

Chipotle Pumpkin Soup

1 2 – 3 lb. pumpkin
1 small onion
2 chipotles in adobo
13.5 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 c. broth (I used some leftover bone broth stashed in the freezer for just such an occasion)
2 – 3 cloves garlic
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
Kosher salt
White pepper
The juice of 1 – 2 limes

Peel and chop your pumpkin into chunks. Add to a crock pot. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Add. Chop the chipotle and add. Add the coconut milk, broth (mine was still frozen), cumin and oregano. Hit with 2 big pinches salt.

Cook 4 hours on high.

When cooked and cooled a bit, blend (be careful – need I remind you that piping hot liquid + a blender is a recipe for disaster if one is not really really careful?). Taste. Add the juice of 1 lime and a couple pinches salt. Taste. Add more lime and/or salt as necessary. I used 2 limes + 6 big pinches salt and a smattering of white pepper.

Serves 2 – 4, depending upon how large your servings are.

Silky Eggplant Puree

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This is a primal riff on a Middle Eastern classic, and is the perfect accompaniment to broiled lamb steaks.

Gluten-free, primal

  

I swear. On day 1 this lumpy glob was silky and smooth. Even bumpy, this purée tastes amazing.

Silky Eggplant Puree

1 large eggplant
2 Tbsp. grass fed unsalted butter
1/4 c. sheep pecorino
Kosher salt
Optional: lemon juice and pepper

Set your broiler to high and cover a baking sheet with foil.

Take the ends off your eggplant, and quarter. Lay face-down on the baking sheet.

Broil 15 minutes or until the skin is blackened and starting to burn in spots.

Flip. Broil until the flesh is soft, 5 – 10 minutes (I did 5 minutes for the thinner top pieces and 10 for the thicker bottoms).

When your eggplant is done, add to the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and cheese and blend until silky.

Taste. Add salt as needed (I did 2 big pinches). Taste again. If needed, add a dash of lemon juice or a couple cracks pepper.

Serves 4 as a side

Half-Baked Chicken

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Half a chicken. I had no idea this was a “thing” until I received one in my CSA share a couple of weeks ago. I saw it, had no idea what to do with it, and promptly shoved it to the back of the freezer until I ran out of meat – and it was between learning what to do with half a chicken and trying to phrase dinner excitingly enough that two tiny lamb kidneys sounded like a buffet.

I figured it was time to face the half chicken. If you, like me, have zero idea what to do with this bizarre bird configuration – you’re in the right place. Here, I have cobbled together instructions from a couple different sites into something that works well for a simple dinner.

Throw in a few chopped carrots (and those radishes that were hiding in the bottom of my crisper) and I had myself a full meal that was relatively hands-off. Perfect for the amount of effort I had to expend.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30

 

Half-Baked Chicken

Half a chicken
Fat of choice
Seasoning mix of choice
Kosher salt & black pepper
Root veggies – I used most of a bunch of carrots + a whole bunch of radishes

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Rub your fat of choice all over the chicken + on a large oven-proof skillet (big enough to hold the chicken + veggies). Season liberally with your favorite seasoning mix (I used a vaguely Asian mix I picked up in my butcher’s impulse spice section) and salt & pepper if necessary.

Place the chicken cut side/open cavity down. Bake 15 minutes, or until the skin starts to brown.

While the chicken is working, chop the veggies.

When the chicken is done, pull it, arrange the veggies around it, kick the heat down to 350, and put the chicken back in. Bake until the thigh registers 165 – 180 F, about 20 minutes per pound.

Let sit out of the pan 10 minutes to allow the juices to re-distribute. While the chicken is resting, make sure your veggies are cooked through and seasoned to your liking.

Serves 2 – 3 for dinner

 

 

Paleo Pasta Puttanesc-ish

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Eggplants, man. What to do with a bountiful eggplant season when half your household hates them is quite the yearly conundrum. I’ve made meatballs with them, used them to lend silky body in meat-based Indian dishes, made a dipping sauce out of them, and have found a myriad other ways to tuck them into dishes well enough to hide the texture.

This go ’round, I opted for pasta sauce.

Gluten-free, paleo, whole 30

  

Paleo Pasta Puttanesc-ish
Globe eggplant (about 3-4 cups cubed)
Spaghetti squash
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 lb. ground turkey
2 anchovies
5-6 roma tomatoes (about 2.5 cups chopped)
Dried mushrooms or mushroom powder (I used 2 Tbsp. dried porcini)
2 Tbsp. capers
2 big pinches red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. + 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 Tbsp. + 2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
Fat of choice
Kosher salt & black pepper
Optional: pecorino or parmesan

Preheat your oven to 375F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set aside. Halve the spaghetti squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, season generously with salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil and place face down on the sheet. Bake 30 minutes.

While the squash is baking, make the sauce by whizzing together the eggplant, tomatoes, anchovies, garlic, mushrooms, capers, onion, red pepper, half the tomato paste, and 4 Tbsp. of the worcestershire sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary.

When the sauce is ready to go, brown the turkey in about 2 Tbsp. fat of choice. Season with the remaining 2 Tbsp. tomato paste and worcestershire sauce, generous dashes salt & pepper, and the dried basil and oregano. Cook through and set aside.

When the 30 minutes on the squash is up, move the squash to the outer sides of the baking sheet and dump the sauce in the middle, spreading out so more surface area hits the heat. Bake an additional 15 minutes.

When the 15 minutes is up, check the squash. If a knife pierces the skin easily, it’s done. If not, let cook an additional 10 minutes, stirring the sauce before putting back in the oven. I let mine cook those extra 10 minutes, and then stirred the sauce once again once the squash was removed from the pan – letting just the sauce bake an additional 5 minutes.

Scrape the flesh of the spaghetti squash with a fork to create “noodles”, and toss with the sauce and the turkey. Taste once more and adjust seasoning if needed.

Serves 4

 

 

Braised Chicken Leg with Vegetables

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This homey and comforting dish makes the best of late Summer’s vegetable bounty. It’s delicious, a nice light dinner, and is relatively hands-off, once the chicken is browned.

  

 

Gluten-free

Braised Chicken Leg with Vegetables

2 chicken leg quarters, bone-in and skin-on
Fat Of Choice
1 small onion
4 stalks celery
1 ear corn
1 medium sweet potato
1 large clove garlic
Splash white wine
3 bay leaves
1/2 bunch thyme
1c. bone broth
Kosher salt & black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. Place a large cast iron or other oven-safe skillet over medium high heat. Add a Tablespoon of your favorite fat and bring to temperature.

When hot, add the chicken. Brown on both sides, making sure to leave alone in the pan 3-5 minutes per side so it can do its thing.

While the chicken is browning, chop the onion and dice the garlic. Set aside.

Chop the celery, take the corn off the cob, and peel and chop the sweet potato. Set aside.

When the chicken is nice and brown, deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine. Add the onion and garlic, and stir for a minute. Add the rest of the veggies and stir. Let cook while you gather your stock and herbs.

Add the stock, herbs, and chicken (nestle the chicken in the veggies so it touches the bottom of the pan).

Braise 40-45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are tender.

Serves 2 for dinner, with enough leftover veggies for lunch. 

Primal Eggplant Meatballs

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I love it when I successfully trick my DH into eating foods he doesn’t think he likes. This recipe contains a vegetable he just can’t get into – eggplant – and if he noticed it, he didn’t mention it.

Gluten-free, primal

 

Primal Eggplant Meatballs

1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1 large eggplant
2 large cloves garlic
Fresh parsley
1 lemon
1/4 c. hard cheese (I used sheep pecorino)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. dukkah
1/2 tsp. ras el hanout
Kosher salt & black pepper

First, bake the eggplant. Cube, toss with fat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes, flipping once during cooking.

Pull and cool.

When cool, combine 1.5 cups of the eggplant with the ground beef, minced garlic (2 Tbsp.), chopped parsley (2 Tbsp.), the zest of the lemon, the juice of the lemon, cheese, and spices. Hit with a big pinch salt and a few grinds black pepper.

Turn into golf ball sized meatballs and brown over medium-high heat.

Serves 3 – 4, depending upon what you serve these with.

Plum And Cucumber Salsa

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What to do with an overabundance of stone fruit? Make salsa, of course. This salsa makes a fantastic salad base for a light lunch – just throw on your favorite protein, maybe a hand full of baby spinach or some shredded cabbage, and you’re good to go.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, paleo

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Plum And Cucumber Salsa

Plums – enough to total 2-3 cups when chopped
3 peaches
1 cucumber
1 red jalapeno (it doesn’t have to be red, they’re just prettier IMHO)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 inch ginger
2 cloves garlic
Kosher salt & black pepper

De-pit and chop the fruit. De-seed and dice the jalapeño. Dice the cucumber. Peel and mince the ginger and garlic. Add everything to a large bowl and toss with the lime juice, a generous pinch salt & a few cracks black pepper.

This salsa is good straight after making, but the flavors are even better the next day.

Serves 3 – 4 as part of a nice lunch

 

Paleo Slow Cooker Butter Poultry

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This is a paleo-fied version of one of my DH and my favorite Indian takeout treats. This version uses everyone’s favorite weeknight dinner helper to make an almost hands-free dish that can be ready when you are.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 if you source your coconut milk and tomato paste well

Paleo Slow Cooker Butter Poultry
Based on Slow Cooker Butter Chicken Sliders by Kiwi & Bean

1 lb. poultry – I used boneless, skinless turkey breast
2.5 Tbsp. FOC (fat of choice)
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1/5 – 2 inches fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. garam masala
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground turmeric
Spice – I used a slight dust of ghost chili powder, the recipe calls for 1/2 – 1 tsp. cayenne
15 ounce can coconut milk – I used light, because that’s what was on hand
4-5 ounce can tomato paste
Kosher salt & black pepper
Something to serve with or on – I ate mine over chopped cucumber, the DH had a sandwich, cauli rice or zoodles would also be great

Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Chop the onion and add to the pan when hot. Chop the garlic and add. Peel and dice the ginger and add. Hit with a couple big pinches salt and a few grinds black pepper.

Cook until the onion is browned. It would be awesome if you waited until the onion was caramelized, but I have zero patience for all that.

While your aromatics are working, add your poultry to your slow cooker.

When your onion is caramelized or you can’t wait any longer, add the spices and cook, stirring, until the spices bloom and become fragrant.

Add the coconut milk and tomato paste. Stir to combine and break up any clumps and bring to a boil.

Dump into the slow cooker. Cook on High 6 hours.

When done, shred the poultry and toss well to coat in sauce. Taste and season more if needed.

Serves 2 – 4 depending upon your delivery vehicle

Paleo Stuffed Globe Zucchini

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I credit a cosmic alignment bringing serendipity as the impetus behind this recipe. A friend of mine over at Nerd Fitness posted something a few weeks ago he was calling a grenade – from what I can remember, it involved baked globe zucchini stuffed with some sort of ground meat. It sounded delicious, but since I had no pretty balls of zucchini on hand, I pushed it out of my mind.

And then this week the stars aligned and my CSA gave us beautiful, round zucchinis the perfect size for stuffing plus ground pork. Serendipity.

This recipe makes a fantastic light dinner for two, with enough innards left over for at least 1 lunch, maybe 2.

A note on sausage: I’m using a really nicely flavored sweet pork sausage here I’ve been getting from my CSA (order form). It’s fan-freaking-tastic. I would suggest swapping in the best sweet Italian sausage you can find. 

Paleo, gluten-free, Whole30 if you source your sausage well

 

Paleo Stuffed Globe Zucchini

2 round zucchini
1 lb. sweet pork sausage
2 shallots
4 cloves garlic
2 smallish potatoes
4 roma tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. thyme
Kosher salt & black pepper

Preheat your oven to 375F. Set your largest pan over medium heat and add the sausage.

While the sausage starts to cook, peel and dice the garlic and shallots. Add to the pan and give everything a stir, breaking up any huge sausage lumps.

Dice the potatoes and add to the pan. Stir.

Chop the pepper. Add to the pan and stir.

Chop the tomatoes. Add to the pan and stir.

Cut the tops off the zucchini. Using a large spoon, scoop the innards out of the zucchinis, being careful to not puncture the sides. Chop the innards and add to the pan. Stir.

Add the coriander, thyme, a big pinch or two Kosher salt and a few cracks black pepper to the pan. Stir and taste for seasoning. Add more if necessary.

Stuff the empty zucchini with the sausage mixture, replace the zucchini tops, and place in a baking dish. Add a little water to the bottom of the dish. Cover with foil.

Bake 1 hour, or until the zucchini is soft.

Serves 2 for dinner, with enough sausage mix left over to supply 1 – 2 lunches

Zucchini Mashed Potatoes

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Zucchini. Mashed. Potatoes. A simple, delicious vehicle that whisks away some of summer’s over bounty if you’re lucky enough to subscribe to a CSA (or have a backyard plot of veggies). This side dish is zucchini-hating DH-approved (he pretended it was unidentified herbs until confronted with reality).

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 if you sub clarified butter, vegetarian

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Zucchini Mashed Potatoes

4 smallish potatoes (about hand sized)
1 large zucchini
2 large cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. unsalted grass fed butter (sub clarified if W30)
Kosher salt & pepper

Wash, peel and chop the potatoes into half inch-ish pieces. Peel the garlic. Add both to a large pot and cover with water (+ about an inch). Set over High heat, add a generous sprinkle salt, and bring to a low boil. Let cook 10 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, chop the zucchini. Add to the pot after the 10 minutes are up. Boil 5 minutes.

Drain and add to the bowl of a food processor or blender carafe. Add the butter and process. Taste. Add salt & pepper as needed.

Serves 4 as a side – perfect with simple sautéed chicken breast or broiled steaks