Tag: side dishes

Summer Roll in a Bowl

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This recipe came out of a craving for veggies and color + yet another scroll through Instagram for inspiration.

Summer rolls can be made a million different ways, but this version incorporates most of my favorite elements – some sort of crunchy brassica, sweetness from carrots, the fresh crispness of cucumber, and a little kick of heat from pretty red chilis.

I also tried to recreate a slightly less suspect in color version of the sweet chili sauce often served with rolled appetizers – and then went a little heavier on the savory components because I really like to doctor my own sauces tableside.

Gluten-free, vegetarian

Summer Roll in a Bowl

The Salad

1 inch fresh ginger, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 medium carrot, shredded or cut into matchsticks
1 cucumber, sliced into half moons
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red chili, sliced into matchsticks
2 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
1.5 cups red cabbage, finely chopped
2 cups rice noodles, soaked in hot water 10 minutes to soften and drained

The Dressing

2 Tbsp. honey
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp. sriracha
3 Tbsp. neutral oil (I used canola)
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Toppers

Big hand full chopped nuts for crunch and fat (I had roasted peanuts)
Big hand full chopped cilantro
Protein of choice (Simple poached chicken or shrimp would be great)

Boil water, add the rice noodles to a big bowl, and pour the boiling water over the noodles, making sure they are fully submerged. Let sit while you prep the rest o fly the salad.

Prep the salad veggies and add to a large bowl.

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad.

Drain the noodles and add to the salad + dressing, tossing to combine.

Let sit at least half an hour to combine flavors.

Add toppers, toss again and serve.

Serves 3 – 4

Miso Rosemary Squash Salad

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Screw it. The calendar says Fall, despite what the weather says. I’m tired of waiting and need some chilly weather comfort food!

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Miso Rosemary Squash Salad

Dressing

1 Tablespoon white miso
1 Tablespoon date molasses
2 Tablespoons tahini
2 Tablespoons coconut aminos
1 Tablespoon oil
1 Tablespoon water

Salad

1-2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 butternut squash, seeds removed
Oil
Salt, pepper, ground cumin
Arugula

Toppers

1-2 Tablespoons zaatar
1 Tablespoon slivered almonds

Optional: Chicken or other protein

Preheat your oven to 200C. Scoop the seeds from the halved butternut squash, and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle rosemary, salt, pepper and ground cumin liberally. Roast 35-40 minutes or until soft.

Set aside until cool enough to handle, then scoop the roasted squash into a large bowl.

While the squash is working, add big handfuls of arugula to a large bowl. Whisk or whiz the dressing ingredients together. Add the squash when ready and sprinkle with the toppers.

Serves 2 as written; can easily be doubled.

Shredded Salad with Sunflower Spinach Dressing

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I know, I know – another weird-sounding recipe that turns out surprisingly good despite sounding wrong.

This is a great way to sneak in a liiiiiiiitle extra nutrition (not that this already packed salad needed more greens) on weeks when you feel like you haven’t seen a real vegetable (helloooo, adulting).

This salad also keeps well even dressed and, if you’re like me and enjoy confusing your friends, is easy enough to bulk up enough to serve a crowd.

Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, raw, paleo, Whole30

Shredded Salad with Sunflower Spinach Dressing

For the salad, add the following to a large bowl:

1 cup ribboned collards or kale

1.5 cups ribboned red cabbage

1.5 cups ribboned Napa cabbage

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 large red pepper, julienned

1 hand full mint, chopped

2 Tablespoons pickled jalapeños, chopped

1 big hand raw pumpkin seeds

For the dressing, add the following to a blender:

1 big hand hulled sunflower seeds

1/4 cups frozen spinach

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tablespoon your favorite grainy mustard (y’all know my affinity for Maille)

1 Tablespoon Apple cider vinegar (I accidentally added 1.5 and it would have been too pungent on day 1 – I didn’t get around to eating a big bowl of this until day 2, so the flavor had mellowed)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

10 grinds salt

Generous sprinkle black pepper

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

50 pumps sprayable oil (or a few glugs)

A little water if needed to get things moving in the blender

Combine the dressing with the salad and either toss well or massage in.

Serves 3-4 as written; easily scaled up for more

Veggie Rice Noodle Salad Two Ways

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This is one of those ‘I was of two minds while at the grocery store and couldn’t quite remember what I was making recipes.’ Don’t you love those days?

This happened to turn out really well, though – both for the dressing I’d written out and forgot at home, and the one I cobbled together in my head while wandering the aisles of my grocery a whole day in the week later than usual. I guess yay, me for thinking on my feet when I didn’t really have to?

Gluten-free, vegetarian, pescatarian

Dressing 2

Veggie Rice Noodle Salad Two Ways

For the salad:

Rice noodles – 1/2 – 1 c. per person
Microgreens
Radicchio, chopped
Cucumber, sliced into moons
Optional: snow peas, shrimp, slivered almonds, sesame seeds

Dressing 1

2 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Juice of 2 small limes
10 squirts garlic oil

Dressing 2

1 Tbsp. mustard oil
2 tsp. Apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. honey
1.5 Tbsp. grainy mustard
Salt & pepper

First, set the noodles to soak for a full 10 minutes in water that has just come up to the boil. Drain when soft and pliable.

Toss with the rest of the salad ingredients.

Toss again with the dressing of your choice. Taste and add salt, pepper or lemon to taste.

Serves 2 – 4

Dutch-Style Shrimp Deviled Eggs

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This simple appetizer is quick to put together, serves a crowd, and gives a bit different flavor to an old favorite (at least for my American readers).

A note for those American readers: If you’re a fan of American-style deviled eggs, you’re going to think that these yolks will never hold together with this amount of mayonnaise. Resist the urge to add more – it *does* work. Don’t go into auto-pilot. Be strong: the difference in taste is worth it.

Gluten-free, Paleo, pescatarian

Dutch-Style Shrimp Deviled Eggs

12 large eggs
8 ounces tiny sized shrimp (canned is fine)
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise or aioli (I used Kewpie mayo)
3 tsp. ketchup (I used American-style)
3 tsp. whiskey
Salt & pepper
Chives for garnish

First, hard boil and peel the eggs. Halve lengthwise and add the yolks to a bowl.

Add the mayo, ketchup & whiskey. Chop the shrimp into small bits, reserving 1 per egg half for garnish. Add the chopped shrimp to the bowl.

Mix to combine, taste, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon the mixture into each egg half, top with a whole shrimp, and snip chives to garnish.

Serves a party

Orange Miso Bowl

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This recipe came from a craving I was having for my Miso Pepita Broiled Squash but couldn’t remember what was in it aside from miso – and then I went in a wildly different direction because of what I had on hand + FODMAP issues. Actually, that other recipe is pretty FODMAP-friendly as well, in case you want to give it a whirl.

Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, FODMAP

Orange Miso Bowl

Medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
Medium to large sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
Large carrot, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 Tbsp. white miso
1 Tbsp. crushed or grated ginger
1 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup or date syrup
Juice + zest of 1 orange
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt, pepper and ground cumin

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F. Whiz all the non-veggie ingredients together (minus the spices) to form a dressing.

Chuck your veggies onto a large prepared baking sheet, and drizzle half the dressing over top. Toss to coat well. Sprinkle with the spices.

Bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until done to your liking. Pull from the oven, drizzle with the second half of the dressing, and serve.

Serves 4 – 6, depending on serving size and what you do with it. I ate mine most days with a little protein and called it a meal. I had intended on serving with wilted baby spinach and had thoughts of turning it into a hash one day – but those things never quite materialized.

Cucumber Carrot Greens

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This recipe came about because after ODing on pork, potatoes and Diet Coke (to the point I didn’t want to see another potato or fizzy drink which is suuuuuuper weird since that was 90% of younger-me’s diet) during my recent German vacation, I needed a reset. And what says “reset” more than Japanese food and bok choy?

Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, Paleo, Whole30, FODMAP

Cucumber Carrot Greens

1 – 2 c. chopped cucumbers
Few grinds salt
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce or coconut aminos if Paleo
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 – 2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1.5 c. carrots, in thin coins
3/4 – 1 c. chopped bok choy
1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
Few sprays garlic oil

In a large pan, heat the garlic oil over medium-high. Add the ginger and stir-fry until fragrant.

Add the carrots and 2 Tablespoons water. Stir-fry until just beginning to soften.

Add the bok choy and 2 Tablespoons water. Stir-fry until softened.

Turn the heat off and set aside while you whisk the rest of the ingredients together.

Add the cooked veggies to the cucumber and dressing and toss again.

Serves 4

Summer Sunshine Salad

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Another potluck, another veg (pescatarian)-friendly salad. The tastes are great here, but I would caution to know your audience – I saw a couple plates of beetroot floating around after all was said and done. I loved it, though, and so did my veggie-heavy friends!

If you can find them, add toasted unsweetened coconut shavings – I think they’d add a nice subtly sweet crunch here, but couldn’t find them anywhere. If you’re in the States, Trader Joes & Whole Foods usually carry them.

gluten-free, pescatarian, paleo

Summer Sunshine Salad

2 grapefruits, cut into supremes – reserve 2 Tbsp. of the juice for the dressing
1 kohlrabi, shredded (I ribboned, but this would have been better julienned like the beets)
400g prawns, sauteed and chopped in half
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
2 scallions, sliced
1 c. beetroot, julienned
2 c. red cabbage, ribboned
Hand full of mint, chopped
1 Tbsp. tamarind paste
1 Tbsp. lime juice
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper

Chuck all the non-wet ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk all the wet ingredients and pour over top. Toss again. Taste, hit with salt + pepper if needed.

If you have toasted coconut, top with that – pepitas would also be nice.

Serves a party 

Herbed Hummus Dip

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Mmmmm … hummus. This quick to whip together dip is a fantastic last-minute thing to bring to a party, and pairs well with pretty much anything you want to dip in it (I served with raw veggies & pretzels, but potato chips were also fantastic).

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Herbed Hummus Dip

Prepared hummus
4 Tbsp. olive oil
Big hand parsley
Big hand mint
Juice of 1 lemon
1 green chili
1 tsp. ground cumin
Salt & pepper
Toasted pine nuts
Pomegranate molasses
Zaatar

Whiz together the herbs, oil, lemon juice, chili & cumin. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add the hummus to a small bowl. Swirl the herby oil over top. Add a swirl of pomegranate molasses. Sprinkle with the pine nuts. Dust with zaatar. Serve

Makes enough for a 6-person game night with a second dip

Brunch Yogurt 3 Ways

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Here are three super simple but impressive ways to serve yogurt to your guests as part of a brunch spread. All are at least gluten-free, paleo and (lacto ovo) vegetarian; and all can be made vegan.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian

Simple Peanut Butter Granola

1/4 c. date molasses
1/3 c. peanut butter
1 – 1.5 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Pinch salt

Melt the date molasses and peanut butter together in a glass measuring cup or small pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until all the oats have been incorporated.

Spread evenly over a baking sheet lined with a silpat or baking paper, making sure to leave some clumps.

Bake at 325 F for 20 minutes or so or until starting to brown. Let sit on the pan until cool. Transfer to a jar or bowl.

Citrus Curd

1 c. citrus juice (I used a combo of grapefruit, blood orange & lemon)
Zest of 1 of those fruits
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. honey
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Pinch salt

Bring the juice to a simmer in a small pan over medium-high heat. Simmer until liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup. Transfer to a glass cup to cool. Add zest.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, yolks and honey.

Drizzle the cooled juice into the mixture in a steady stream while whisking.

Pour the eggy juice back into the pan over medium heat. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens to the texture of pudding.

Strain to remove any little bits of egg that cooked and transfer to a jar or bowl. Refrigerate to set.

Quick Berry Chia Jam

500g bag frozen mixed berries
1/4 c. chia seeds
2 Tbsp. orange juice
4 Tbsp. date molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients. Sit on the counter to defrost for 3 hours or in the fridge overnight. Mash with a potato masher until desired chunkiness is achieved. Chill 20 – 30 minutes to set.