gluten-free – Page 40

Apple Sage Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onions (paleo)

July 5, 2014December 29, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

Mmmm…. sage and turkey and apples. In summer. I got a massive bouquet of fresh sage in my CSA box last week and have been using it in pretty much everything – and since sage goes brilliantly with turkey & apples, I thought a quick and easy turkey burger was in order.

Gluten-free, Paleo and Whole30-compliant (if you omit the maple syrup)

Apple Sage Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onions

1 lb. ground turkey (dark meat is best!)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
2 Tbsp. minced onions
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. Red Boat fish sauce
1/4 c. minced Fuji apple
Liberal sprinkles of salt & pepper
2 Tbsp. Fat of Choice (I used bacon fat)
Caramelized onions – optional – see recipe below
Ketchup for grownups – optional – recipe here

First, start your onions if you’re serving with caramelized onions. Second, prep your mise. Mince the apple and onion, and finely chop the sage. When your onions are about 3/4 of the way done, add all burger ingredients to a large bowl, mix well (hands are best), and form into 2-4 patties.

Heat your fat in a large pan over medium heat. Add the burgers and cook 5 minutes per side to ensure doneness. This is not the time for a medium-rare burger.

Serve with caramelized onions and Ketchup for Grownups.

Feeds 2-4.

Caramelized Onions

1/2 to 1 whole onion (any white variety will do)
1-2 tsp. Fat of Choice (I used coconut oil)
Big pinch salt
1/2 tsp. maple syrup

In a medium pan over medium low heat, add the fat and bring to a melt. While your fat is coming up to temperature, peel and very thinly slice your onion – I generally halve mine lengthwise first to make the slicing easier. Add to the pan, making sure to break the onion up as you toss it in.

Let cook gently 5 minutes or until just beginning to turn translucent. Add a liberal sprinkle of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of maple syrup. Stir. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally to avoid burning, until the onions are deeply caramel colored. This is not quick. Allot a good 20/25 minutes to this process. The maple speeds it up a bit, but this is still not a speedy topping. It’s a labor of love.

Serves 2-4, depending upon how much onion you cut and how much you like on your burger.

Chile Dusted Summer Fruit

June 28, 2014Recipes1 Comment

This week’s recipe is not so much a recipe as a suggestion. After a tiring but great vacation, I just couldn’t bring myself to focus on the menu for last week – or on making something interesting and/or tasty enough to share with you guys. I made a bunch of thrown-together meals that were really simple and light- nothing terribly inspiring or particularly out of the box.

I still have a wicked fruit craving going on (it’s all I’ve wanted to eat the past 3 weeks) and am happy to say I’ve finally started branching out from the standard fruit in a bowl with nothing on it except for salt on melons. It turns out there *is* enough fruit existing in the summer that I *can* do something different and I won’t miss out. A good lesson to learn in one’s 30s.

This week, I experimented with chili powder + salt on a little mixed fruit salad and it was fan-freakin-tastic. And dead easy. Just sprinkle the spices and go. For a cup of fruit, I used 1/2 – 1 tsp. of chili powder and a liberal sprinkle (or two) of kosher salt.

Also fantastic: aged balsamic vinegar & cracked black pepper on fresh strawberries, mint on any fruit, cucumbers mixed in your fruit bowl, the possibility of basil making an appearance, and lime juice on pretty much all fruits.

The tomato harvest had better hurry up, lest I eat nothing but sweet fruit this season.

Sweet & Smoky Chipotle Sauce (paleo)

June 21, 2014December 29, 2014Recipes2 Comments

This sauce started out as a request from my brother, who asked me to recreate the pizza sauce from his favorite pizza joint in the town he and his wife just moved from. “It tastes kinda like the Chipotle sauce from Tabasco,” he said. And that’s about all I had to go on.

So I took to the kitchen and came up with a sauce that works well both as a BBQ sauce and a pizza sauce. And it’s good. Smoky, sticky, a little sweet, a little earthy, with a shot of tart – fantastic with chicken thighs and braised turnips/radishes and really good on a pizza. Hopefully this does the trick.

Paleo (check your labels and swap the brown sugar for maple syrup), and gluten-free (watch your labels)

For the record, I was going for "artfully messy plate" here, not "dropped schmutz all over the plate" :) — *For the record, I was going for “artfully messy plate” here, not “dropped schmutz all over the plate” 🙂*

Sweet & Smoky Chipotle Sauce

1/2 c. minced onion or shallot
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp. ghee
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 chipotle in adobo, chopped
2 Tbsp. coconut aminos (if you’re not paleo or gluten-free, you can use soy sauce)
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar (the cheapie stuff is fine)
2 Tbsp. ketchup (check your labels!)
1 Tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. brown sugar (swap for maple syrup if paleo)
Kosher salt

In a small saucepan, heat the ghee over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic, hit with a big pinch of salt, and sautee until translucent.

Add the tomato paste and chipotle and sautee 30 seconds to a minute, mixing vigorously the whole time to combine evenly.

Add the coconut aminos and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 1-2 minutes. Add the ketchup and molasses and stir to combine. Taste. Add the brown sugar/maple syrup if needed.

Let cool. Blend to break up the onion pieces if desired.

Makes about half a cup of sauce – enough for chicken + a pizza if needed.

Paleo Pork Picadillo

June 14, 2014December 29, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

Picadillo is a Cuban dish that can be made a million different ways, but generally includes ground meat (generally beef), some sort of sweet something (raisins or dried apricots or both), tomatoes, and olives. To me, the combination is magical. The brine of the olives gets under my skin, leaving me craving more for days to come. Luckily, the other half of this household is olive-adverse, so more for me.

Paleo, gluten-free and Whole30-compliant

Paleo Pork Picadillo

2c. chopped butternut squash
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. dried oregano, divided
1 lb. ground pork
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper (any color)
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. capers
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
Hand full of golden raisins (or more, if you’re a raisin lover)
1/2 cup olives (or more, if you’re an olive lover)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive juice
Kosher salt

Preheat your oven to 400. Dice the butternut squash and spread out on a cookie sheet. Toss with 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, 1 tsp. oregano and a few pinches salt. Bake 20-35 minutes, or until tender. You’ll want to turn the squash a few times during cooking to avoid burning.

Heat the other Tbsp. coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pork and cook until browned, breaking up as you go along. Hit with a big sprinkle of salt.

While the pork is working, dice the onion, garlic and pepper. Add to the pan and sautee until the onion is translucent.

Add the second tsp. oregano, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon and capers plus another big pinch of salt. Sautee 1-2 minutes to let the spices bloom.

Add the diced tomatoes, raisins, olives, vinegar, and olive juice. Bring to a boil. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Drop the heat to a simmer and let go 5-10 minutes.

Serve the picadillo over the butternut squash.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch.

Avocado + Dill Egg Salad (Paleo)

June 7, 2014December 29, 2014Recipes1 Comment

This, my friends, is a revelation. I’ve been crushing hard on avocados for months now, and adding them to eggs for a quickie egg salad snack was like a freaking thunderbolt out of the sky. Ridiculously delicious.

I ~~ate~~ inhaled this snack? lunch? heavenlygoodness? in a matter of seconds with nary a thought as to a proper serving vessel. But, if you’re not so inclined, some form of paleo cracker would do nicely – or mash up finer and stuff into egg whites for extra-delicious deviled eggs. Or just eat plain.

Paleo, gluten-free and Whole30-compliant.

Avocado + Dill Egg Salad

1/2 avocado
2 hard boiled eggs
1 Tbsp. fresh dill
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Dusseldorf style mustard (or your favorite mustard)
big pinch kosher salt

Peel your eggs and chop or run through an egg slicer twice to get a nice fine dice. Add to a small bowl, along with the avocado, vinegar, mustard and salt. Chop the dill fine and add. Mash everything together with a fork or other mashing apparatus until you like the consistency. Enjoy.

Serves 1 – I suppose this can serve 2 if you’re not a glutton, but for me there is a zero point zero chance I’m sharing something this delicious. Or leaving any in the bowl.

Vietnamese Pork Bowl

May 31, 2014Recipes1 Comment

This simple bowl takes humble leftover pulled pork and quickly transforms it into a sticky/sweet/tangy Vietnamese-inspired dinner bowl that’s simple to prepare and on the table lightning-fast. This dish isn’t strictly paleo as written – the Ketjap Manis features both sugar and soy sauce – which is easily remedied by using coconut aminos + an additional dash of honey. The sugar can also be omitted in the pickle if needed. This dish is, however, delicious.

Paleo with substitutions, Gluten-free with label policing

Vietnamese Pork Bowl

1 medium carrot
2-3 radishes or 1-2 inches daikon
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Liberal pinch salt
Liberal pinch sugar (omit for paleo)
Leftover pulled pork (or fresh pork; whatever you have)
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. Red Boat fish sauce
Small shallot
2 large cloves garlic
2 big pinches Kosher salt
Few grinds black pepper
2 tsp. ketjap manis (swap for coconut aminos + a dash of honey for paleo)
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. sriracha (check your labels!)
1-2 jalapenos
Hand full cilantro
Extra lime juice
Broccoli slaw

First, make a quick pickle. Dice the carrot and radish and place in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar and a liberal pinch of salt to a boil. Pour over the carrot & radish and let sit half an hour (or up to overnight) to pickle.

Now go about your business.

The pork portion of this recipe can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 8+ hours, depending upon what type of meat you use and whether you want to marinate it or not. I used leftover pulled pork and did not marinate. If you are using fresh, marinating might be nice, but it is optional. Either way, make your sauce.

In a separate small bowl, combine the sesame oil, fish sauce, shallot (minced), garlic (minced), salt (2 big pinches), pepper, ketjap manis (or substitution), honey, lime juice and sriracha. Stir to combine. Marinate your pork or not.

Bring a large pan up to temperature over medium-high heat. Add the pork. If coming straight from the fridge, some pork fat is a great addition here. Heat through. Pour the sauce over top and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until the sauce gets sticky and reduces a bit.

While the pork is working, add broccoli slaw to a bowl (a couple hand fulls per bowl is perfect). Top with the pork when ready. Add the quick pickled veggies (drain first). Dice the jalapeno and cilantro and add to the top. Squeeze some extra lime as a topper and maybe a drizzle of sriracha if you’re feeling saucy. Enjoy.

Serves 2-4, depending upon how much pickle you have, how much pork you use and how much broccoli slaw you serve. I used 10-12 ounces pork, and 1/3 of a bag of broccoli slaw per serving and had enough for two for dinner with leftover broccoli slaw.

‘Summer Is Almost Here’ Strawberry Mint Salsa

May 24, 2014December 29, 2014Recipes3 Comments

As this hard won Spring starts its slow inexorable crawl toward Summer’s temperature indulgences, I’m happy to see fresh red pops of color starting to populate the produce section. This season’s first strawberries – check. Early tomatoes – check. Salsa craving in high gear – check.

This salsa is bright, refreshing, and was perfect perched on top of a simple salad loaded with cruciferous greens and simple pulled pork (omit, of course, if serving vegetarians or vegans). A winner in my book.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, paleo and Whole30 compliant

‘Summer Is Almost Here’ Strawberry Mint Salsa

2 large strawberries
Half a shallot
3 leaves fresh mint
Juice of 1 lime
2 big pinches salt

Dice the strawberries and add to a small bowl. Mince the shallot (you’re looking for about 2 Tablespoons) and add to the bowl. Roll your mint leaves up into a little tube and chiffonade (cut into ribbons). Add to the salsa bowl. Sprinkle with 2 big pinches of salt and top with lime juice. Toss well to combine.

Serve with sliced cherry tomatoes, pulled pork and a glug of grapeseed oil over a bed of Cruciferous Crunch (kale + brussels + red cabbage + green cabbage salad mix sold at Trader Joe’s) for a tasty and healthy lunch.

Serves 1 for lunch. Can be easily scaled up and served in a myriad of ways – I’m thinking it would be especially nice over a light protein (chicken or fish) and would make a fine dip for plantain chips in place of standard red fruit salsa.

Larb-Inspired Paleo Thai Poultry Bowl

May 17, 2014December 29, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

Larb. I can’t get enough of it. From Wikipedia:

Larb (Lao: ລາບ; Thai: ลาบ, RTGS: lap [lâːp], also spelled laap, larp, lahb or laab) is a type of Lao minced meat salad^[1]^[2]^[3] that is regarded as the national dish of Laos. It is also eaten in Isan, an area of Thailand of which its inhabitants are for a large part of Laotian descent. There are also Lao and Thai communities in the U.S., France, and England, resulting in larb being served in those areas as well. Local variants of larb also feature in the cuisines of the Tai peoples of Shan State, Burma, and Yunnan province, China.^[4]

Any way you slice it, larb is a deeply flavorful meat dish – usually served in lettuce wraps – and generally how I’ve experienced it, as a starter. I’ve had versions with so much lime my mouth tingled, versions that were so hot it made the endorphins fly, and versions that are decidedly more bland. I dream about larb.

This is one of those dishes I try to recreate from memory in a thousand different ways, but usually what I’m going for is crispy little nibblins of meat swathed in a fair hit of lime and chased by enough heat to at least tickle the back of the throat. Sticky rice is fantastic, but not something I generally eat – so I serve it in other ways. Lettuce cups would certainly be fantastic here, but they just don’t work very well in my household. So, bowl it is. Tonight’s rendition was served over a bed of salt and pepper roasted carrots in an effort to throw some veggies into the mix so we weren’t just eating a bowl of meat for dinner. This was a protein-heavy dinner and a light one at that. If you’d like to beef it up with more substance, feel free to make extra carrots or throw in some broccoli or cauliflower rice.

Gluten-free, paleo, and Whole30 compliant with adjustments

Larb-Inspired Paleo Thai Poultry Bowl

1 pound ground meat (I used turkey, pork and chicken are also good)
1 large shallot
1 stalk lemongrass
1/4 cup lime juice (I use key lime juice)
2 large cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. Red Boat fish sauce
1 tsp. sweetener (I used brown sugar, but honey or agave would be fine – omit if Whole30)
1-2 Tbsp. sriracha (if Whole30, use a compliant hot sauce)
2 Tbsp. cilantro
1/2 inch fresh ginger
2 tsp. sesame oil (check your labels if Whole30)
2 tsp. coconut oil

First, assemble your sauce. Mince the shallot (you want about 1/4 of a cup) and add half to a small bowl. To the bowl, add the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and sriracha. Grate the lemongrass, ginger and garlic into the bowl. Stir. Chop the cilantro and add half to the bowl.

Now start the meat. In a large pan, heat the sesame and coconut oils over medium high heat. Add the meat and a couple pinches salt and cook, stirring to break up the big lumps, until cooked through. Add the sauce and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally to avoid burning, until browned to your liking.

Serve in a lettuce cup or over roasted carrots, broccoli, or cauliflower rice. Serves 2 for dinner if used as the main component of the meal.

Bunless Banh Mi

May 10, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

Y-U-M. This is a stellar dish, packed with tons of flavor and a good wallop of veggies – perfect for the (finally!) warmer days we’ve been having around here. This dinner (and later, lunch) didn’t bog me down and felt like exactly what I needed to be eating. I love it when that happens.

Gluten-free, paleo

Bunless Banh Mi

1 lb. ground pork

1 – 2 Tbsp. fat

2 Tbsp. Red Boat fish sauce

2 Tbsp. coconut aminos

1 tsp. honey

2 cloves garlic

2 scallions

1 inch ginger

1-2 Tbsp. lime juice

1 medium cucumber

2 medium carrots

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

1.2 tsp. honey

Black pepper

Kosher salt

Shredded brussels sprouts

Cilantro

Radish

Chili aioli

First, get your carrots & cukes marinating for a quick pickle. Julienne your carrots and cukes and place in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the apple cider vinegar, 1.5 tsp. honey, a big pinch of salt and a few cracks black pepper. Bring to a boil and then quickly pour over the veggies. Add water to bring the liquid level up to just covering the veg. Set aside 30 minutes to an hour.

On to the pork. In a large pan, heat your fat over medium and add the pork. Break up with your spoon or spatula and let work while you prep the sauce. In a small bowl, add the fish sauce, coconut aminos, honey and lime juice – grate the garlic and ginger and add that, too. Pour over the pork and quickly stir to mix well. Let the pork cook until it reaches the crisp little nibblins stage.

While the pork is cooking, thinly slice the scallions, tossing the white and light green parts in with the pork and reserving the dark portion for garnish.

Thinly slice the radish and chop the cilantro. Put aside.

Prep the aioli (to make the ailoi, blitz 1 egg, the juice of half a lemon, 2 big pinches kosher salt and a sprinkle white pepper with an immersion blender – drizzle olive oil into the mix until you reach a nice thick consistency. Once your aioli is made, combine with your favorite hot sauce).

To serve, spoon the pork nibblins over a cup – cup and a half of brussels and top with the carrot & cuke pickles, radish, scallion tops, cilantro and chili aioli.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch.

Indian Spiced Meatballs In Coconut Sauce

May 3, 2014December 29, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

This dinner earned high praise from the DH – the sauce wasn’t his favorite thing on Earth, but I loved it and he loved the texture – and he loved the texture of the meatballs. I think this method (cribbed from Melissa Joulwan of The Clothes Make The Girl) is going to be my general go-to from now on.

Gluten-free, paleo, and Whole30-compliant if you omit the sweetener

Indian Spiced Meatballs In Coconut Sauce

For the Balls

1 pound grass fed ground beef
A bit of onion
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1/3 cup cilantro
2 Tbsp. warm water
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. fat of choice

For the Sauce

6 cloves garlic
1/2 inch fresh ginger
1 tsp. ground turmeric
2 Tbsp. fat of choice
1 can coconut milk
Juice of 2 limes (if small – you’re looking for 1-2 Tbsp.)
Pinch brown sugar/tsp or so maple syrup or honey – or omit
1-2 tsp. hot hungarian paprika
Tomato (2 roma sized)
Black pepper
Kosher salt to taste

First, make the sauce. Mince the garlic, grate the ginger, chop the tomatoes and collect your other ingredients. In a medium pan, sautee the garlic and ginger over medium heat in 2 Tbsp. fat until beginning to soften. Add the turmeric and stir, cooking 1 minute more. Add the tomato and, stirring frequently, cook 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 5 minutes more while you prep the meatball components.

In a large bowl, add the beef, salt, and granulated garlic. Grate the onion and add to the bowl (you want about 2 Tbsp.). Chop the cilantro and add. Bash the fennel to break it up a bit and add. In a separate bowl, combine the warm water with the baking soda and cream of tartar; stir to combine and add to the meat bowl. Combine and shape into ping pong sized meatballs.

Add 2 Tbsp. fat to a large pan and bring up to almost shimmering. Drop the meatballs into the pan as you finish making them and brown on all sides, shaking the pan as you go – 5 minutes or so.

Add the sauce and let simmer until balls are cooked through and the sauce reduces a bit and becomes almost velvety – about 10 minutes.

Top with more cilantro if desired and serve.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch

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