The first time that my wife cooked for me, back when we were dating, she made Chicken Marbella. It was delicious. Little did I know it was one of only a handful of things she knew how to cook! Of course now she is as good a cook as me (largely due to my tutelage). But the Marbella is still a wonderful dish, and we still make it occasionally. Courtney got it from her mother, Jan, who contributed it to a state department cookbook many years ago.
Last night we decided to give it a new twist. We didn't have any meat in the house, as we are trying to eat vegetarian as often as possible, so we decided to give Cannellini Beans Marbella a try. It was a delightful experiment, and one we are sure to repeat. The base of the sauce is chopped prunes, crushed olives and capers, simmered in white wine and red wine vinegar. It is sweet, salty, and tangy, providing a complex and exciting glaze to liven up the Cannellinis, The process is pretty simple and the cooking time is very quick, making this an excellent weeknight meal. The fact that it is vegan makes this a very green weeknight meal.
While Chicken Marbella is a baked dish, this version is all prepared in one pan on the stove top.
Cannellini Beans Marbella:
(Serves 4)
2 Cup Precooked Cannellini Beans, or 1 Can
2 or 3 tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic
1/4 cup Chopped Prunes
1/4 cup Green Olives, pitted and crushed
2 tbsp. Capers, with brine
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Parsley
1/4 cup White Wine
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 tbsp Brown Sugar (or demerara)
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
Saute the garlic and prunes in the olive oil until garlic is softened, but not browned. Add the rest of the ingredients except the beans, and bring the liquid to a boil. Bring down to a simmer until the liquid reduces to a syrupy glaze, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Add the beans and stir to coat with the sauce. Continue stirring until beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Showing posts with label gluten free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten free. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Cannellini Beans Marbella
Friday, April 2, 2010
Vegetarian Lasagna (Gluten Free, of course)
After an unplanned, unannounced and unceremonious sabbatical from blogging, I am returning to my few but faithful readers with a recipe, in part to point out that I am a finalist in the Foodista 'Best of Food Blogs' cookbook contest. If I am selected, one (or two?) of my recipes will be included in a real world published cookbook (BTW, I finally added pictures to my gumbo recipe for anyone who is interested). I didn't start this blog to be about food entirely, but as cooking is one of my passions the blog became at least partially about food as it relates to sustainability, and I am glad that it did, because cooking (and eating) good food brings me great joy.
A few days back, Courtney and I made one of those throw together weeknight meals that usually succeed only at sustaining one's body for another day or two, but we were pleasantly surprised by the results. We made lasagna with some brown rice pasta noodles that had been sitting in our cupboard for some time, and by adding a few choice ingredients we took it form the realm of 'bland though filling' to 'can't wait to have that recipe again.' Basically, we prepared a straight forward lasagna but threw in to each layer a sporadic sprinkling of fresh red bell pepper (chopped finely) and fresh basil leaves (whole).
Italian cuisine is ideal for communal cooking. I am reminded of the scene in Good Fellas when the main character serves a short prison sentence and the mobsters all have their own private, minimum security wing. They spend all day, every day, preparing elaborate meals with the finest ingredients they can bribe the guards to bring them. One guy does the sauce, one guy does the pasta, etc. The work is easy to break up, most of it is fairly simple, and you can socialize in the kitchen while doing it. Lasagna is particularly good for a small group or a family to prepare together, as you assemble the layers each person can be responsible for one or two ingredients.
And of course, cooking vegetarian makes this a greener meal, since no methane producing grain eating animals were harvested to bring it to table. So, without further ado,
Vegetarian Lasagna (Gluten Free):
Ingredients:
1 package Gluten Free Brown Rice Lasagna Noodles
3 or 4 cups of your favorite Canned Pasta Sauce, or homemade
2 cup Ricotta Cheese (or more as needed)
2 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated (or more as needed)
1 cup Chopped Spinach (frozen is fine)
1 Red Bell Pepper, julienne or diced
1 hand full Fresh Basil Leaves
1 tsp. Sea Salt (or to taste)
1 tsp. Cracked Black Pepper (or to taste)
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
Optional: Cayenne pepper and Paprika to taste
Cook the noodles in a large pot filled with boiling water for several minutes, until they are soft enough to work with but still quite al dente, as they will continue to cook in the oven and it is easy to over cook rice noodles. In a small sauce pan, bring the tomato sauce to a boil, then add the spinach. While the noodles and spinach are cooking, prepare the other ingredients: wash and chop the bell pepper, wash the basil leaves, grate the mozzarella, etc. When noodles are ready, empty pot into a strainer and rinse noodles with cold water to arrest cooking.
Preheat Oven to 400F. Grease a 9x12 (or sized to your noodles) pan with the olive oil, and lay one layer of noodles on the bottom. Cover the noodles with a portion of the sauce and spinach mixture. Over the sauce, sprinkle some of the mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, Some of the Red Bell Pepper and the Basil. Cover with another layer of noodles and repeat until out of ingredients. Make sure to reserve a portion of cheese large enough to cover the top layer, as it will melt and form a golden brown crust in the oven.
Bake the assembled lasagna in the oven for about 30 minutes. Check periodically, when the cheese on top forms a gratin-like crust, it is done. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Should make about 6 portions. Refrigerate for several days, or freeze for-almost-ever (use common sense). Reheats very well in the oven or microwave.
Variations:
This recipe is extremely versatile. Add one or two of whatever vegetables you have around, as a replacement for or in addition to the bell pepper and spinach. Hard, root vegetables (like potatoes) should be par cooked.
For some protein, consider adding pine nuts, crushed walnuts, or cooked beans to the layers. Any ground meat or sausage will also go well, but then the meal would be less green. Similarly, canned tuna or other flaky fish will work well.
For more variety in your variety, try replacing the sauce with pesto (result will be dryer), Alfredo or other cream sauce. I recommend against Vodka sauce, or any other sauce with a lot of cheese added, as there is a ton of cheese in the recipe already.
Speaking of cheese, Parmesan also goes very well. Replace some or all of the Mozzarella with grated Parmesan if preferred.
A few days back, Courtney and I made one of those throw together weeknight meals that usually succeed only at sustaining one's body for another day or two, but we were pleasantly surprised by the results. We made lasagna with some brown rice pasta noodles that had been sitting in our cupboard for some time, and by adding a few choice ingredients we took it form the realm of 'bland though filling' to 'can't wait to have that recipe again.' Basically, we prepared a straight forward lasagna but threw in to each layer a sporadic sprinkling of fresh red bell pepper (chopped finely) and fresh basil leaves (whole).
Italian cuisine is ideal for communal cooking. I am reminded of the scene in Good Fellas when the main character serves a short prison sentence and the mobsters all have their own private, minimum security wing. They spend all day, every day, preparing elaborate meals with the finest ingredients they can bribe the guards to bring them. One guy does the sauce, one guy does the pasta, etc. The work is easy to break up, most of it is fairly simple, and you can socialize in the kitchen while doing it. Lasagna is particularly good for a small group or a family to prepare together, as you assemble the layers each person can be responsible for one or two ingredients.
And of course, cooking vegetarian makes this a greener meal, since no methane producing grain eating animals were harvested to bring it to table. So, without further ado,
Vegetarian Lasagna (Gluten Free):
Ingredients:
1 package Gluten Free Brown Rice Lasagna Noodles
3 or 4 cups of your favorite Canned Pasta Sauce, or homemade
2 cup Ricotta Cheese (or more as needed)
2 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated (or more as needed)
1 cup Chopped Spinach (frozen is fine)
1 Red Bell Pepper, julienne or diced
1 hand full Fresh Basil Leaves
1 tsp. Sea Salt (or to taste)
1 tsp. Cracked Black Pepper (or to taste)
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
Optional: Cayenne pepper and Paprika to taste
Cook the noodles in a large pot filled with boiling water for several minutes, until they are soft enough to work with but still quite al dente, as they will continue to cook in the oven and it is easy to over cook rice noodles. In a small sauce pan, bring the tomato sauce to a boil, then add the spinach. While the noodles and spinach are cooking, prepare the other ingredients: wash and chop the bell pepper, wash the basil leaves, grate the mozzarella, etc. When noodles are ready, empty pot into a strainer and rinse noodles with cold water to arrest cooking.
Preheat Oven to 400F. Grease a 9x12 (or sized to your noodles) pan with the olive oil, and lay one layer of noodles on the bottom. Cover the noodles with a portion of the sauce and spinach mixture. Over the sauce, sprinkle some of the mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, Some of the Red Bell Pepper and the Basil. Cover with another layer of noodles and repeat until out of ingredients. Make sure to reserve a portion of cheese large enough to cover the top layer, as it will melt and form a golden brown crust in the oven.
Bake the assembled lasagna in the oven for about 30 minutes. Check periodically, when the cheese on top forms a gratin-like crust, it is done. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Should make about 6 portions. Refrigerate for several days, or freeze for-almost-ever (use common sense). Reheats very well in the oven or microwave.
Variations:
This recipe is extremely versatile. Add one or two of whatever vegetables you have around, as a replacement for or in addition to the bell pepper and spinach. Hard, root vegetables (like potatoes) should be par cooked.
For some protein, consider adding pine nuts, crushed walnuts, or cooked beans to the layers. Any ground meat or sausage will also go well, but then the meal would be less green. Similarly, canned tuna or other flaky fish will work well.
For more variety in your variety, try replacing the sauce with pesto (result will be dryer), Alfredo or other cream sauce. I recommend against Vodka sauce, or any other sauce with a lot of cheese added, as there is a ton of cheese in the recipe already.
Speaking of cheese, Parmesan also goes very well. Replace some or all of the Mozzarella with grated Parmesan if preferred.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Healthy gluten free Pancakes
That's right, I said it, healthy pancakes. Don't believe me? Read on.
Courtney and I (though mostly Courtney) have been making these pancakes for some time now, and they are delicious. Despite the fact that they are more healthy, the texture and flavor are not sacrificed in any way. Here is how we came up with this recipe.
Because of Courtney's allergies, we can't use wheat flour. So in searching for alternative grains, we studied the different characteristics that different flours have: some have more protein, some more fiber, etc. We also learned that almond meal, flax seed meal, and various other dried ground protein sources can be substituted for a certain amount of grain flour in most recipes. Flax seed adds tons of fiber (and a lot of omega 3 fatty acids), and almond meal is pure protein. They also both add oil naturally, eliminating the need for added fat. We replace half of the grain flour with almond meal in our pancakes, and add flax seed instead of oil.
But you still cover them in butter and maple syrup right? So how can that be healthy? Well, actually we don't use butter or maple syrup (okay, sometimes, but we try not to). Instead, we top our pancakes with yogurt and some kind of fruit sauce. Pictured below: Trader Joe's Apple Cranberry Butter.
I love maple syrup, but since it is basically just pure sugar I really can't justify having it all that often. I used to think that pancakes and syrup must be eaten together, but Courtney opened my eyes to the possibilities of alternative toppings, and now I don't know how I could have been so blind before. The Apple Cranberry Butter has only 6g of carbs per tbsp (although there are probably 2 or 3 tablespoons on the plate), which is much better than maple syrup, which has 14g in the same volume. We use unflavored yogurt, which adds a little protein and some live active cultures without adding any sugar.
Since we eat vegetarian more often than not, the addition of almond meal, yogurt, and flax seed meal provides some much needed protein to our diet. There is also a vegan variation below, for maximum positive environmental impact.
So, half the carbs of regular pancakes plus vastly more protein and lots of healthy stuff like omega 3 fatty acids and probiotics, and I am sure that you won't believe until you try it, but they taste just as good as regular pancakes. I bet if I served them to you without telling you the ingredients, you wouldn't expect they were healthy at all. The almond meal in these pancakes makes them very, very filling, so I recommend making them small and only eating a few. So, here is the recipe. Enjoy.
Gluten Free, healthy pancakes
Yield: 8-10 small pancakes
Ingredients:
1 cup GF Pancake Mix (we use Arrowhead Mills Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix, 28-Ounce Packages (Pack of 3)
) or Buckwheat
1 cup Almond Meal
4 tbsp Flax Seed Meal
2 eggs, beaten
~1 cup milk, milk substitute or water
2 tbsp Honey (optional)
Sweet Spices (optional) such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, etc.
~1 cup Yogurt
~1 cup fruit sauce (anything that strikes your fancy, canned or homemade)
Canola or other high heat Oil (for greasing the pan)
Combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk together, breaking up any lumps. Separately, combine the egg, honey, and about half of the liquid (milk, water, etc.), and whisk together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk together until thoroughly mixed. Add more liquid, a little at a time, until batter is the right consistency. It should be a little runny, so that the batter will flatten out into a circle quickly when put on the griddle, and not doughy as you would make bread dough.
Pour about a third of a cup of the batter onto a hot griddle or skillet (cast iron works very well). When bubbles appear in the pancake (about 2 minutes over medium heat), use a spatula to test how well it is holding together on the bottom. If the bottom is solid, flip it right away. After about the same time on the other side, it is ready to serve. You can make as many at a time as you have room for. If you can only make one or two at a time, keep them warm in a very low oven (around 180 F). They will keep very well in the oven for as long as it takes to cook the whole batch.
When all of the batter is used up, serve two pancakes per plate topped with yogurt and fruit sauce. Leftovers will keep in the freezer or fridge and microwave quite well.
Vegan variation:
Replace egg with 1 tbsp extra flax seed meal, and soak flax seed meal in water for a few minutes before combining with the other ingredients.
Instead of yogurt, try a coconut milk or soy yogurt substitute Alternatively, just double the fruit sauce or syrup and leave the yogurt out entirely, or use Earth Balance spread as you would butter.
Courtney and I (though mostly Courtney) have been making these pancakes for some time now, and they are delicious. Despite the fact that they are more healthy, the texture and flavor are not sacrificed in any way. Here is how we came up with this recipe.
Because of Courtney's allergies, we can't use wheat flour. So in searching for alternative grains, we studied the different characteristics that different flours have: some have more protein, some more fiber, etc. We also learned that almond meal, flax seed meal, and various other dried ground protein sources can be substituted for a certain amount of grain flour in most recipes. Flax seed adds tons of fiber (and a lot of omega 3 fatty acids), and almond meal is pure protein. They also both add oil naturally, eliminating the need for added fat. We replace half of the grain flour with almond meal in our pancakes, and add flax seed instead of oil.
But you still cover them in butter and maple syrup right? So how can that be healthy? Well, actually we don't use butter or maple syrup (okay, sometimes, but we try not to). Instead, we top our pancakes with yogurt and some kind of fruit sauce. Pictured below: Trader Joe's Apple Cranberry Butter.
I love maple syrup, but since it is basically just pure sugar I really can't justify having it all that often. I used to think that pancakes and syrup must be eaten together, but Courtney opened my eyes to the possibilities of alternative toppings, and now I don't know how I could have been so blind before. The Apple Cranberry Butter has only 6g of carbs per tbsp (although there are probably 2 or 3 tablespoons on the plate), which is much better than maple syrup, which has 14g in the same volume. We use unflavored yogurt, which adds a little protein and some live active cultures without adding any sugar.
Since we eat vegetarian more often than not, the addition of almond meal, yogurt, and flax seed meal provides some much needed protein to our diet. There is also a vegan variation below, for maximum positive environmental impact.
So, half the carbs of regular pancakes plus vastly more protein and lots of healthy stuff like omega 3 fatty acids and probiotics, and I am sure that you won't believe until you try it, but they taste just as good as regular pancakes. I bet if I served them to you without telling you the ingredients, you wouldn't expect they were healthy at all. The almond meal in these pancakes makes them very, very filling, so I recommend making them small and only eating a few. So, here is the recipe. Enjoy.
Gluten Free, healthy pancakes
Yield: 8-10 small pancakes
Ingredients:
1 cup GF Pancake Mix (we use Arrowhead Mills Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix, 28-Ounce Packages (Pack of 3)
) or Buckwheat1 cup Almond Meal
4 tbsp Flax Seed Meal
2 eggs, beaten
~1 cup milk, milk substitute or water
2 tbsp Honey (optional)
Sweet Spices (optional) such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, etc.
~1 cup Yogurt
~1 cup fruit sauce (anything that strikes your fancy, canned or homemade)
Canola or other high heat Oil (for greasing the pan)
Combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk together, breaking up any lumps. Separately, combine the egg, honey, and about half of the liquid (milk, water, etc.), and whisk together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk together until thoroughly mixed. Add more liquid, a little at a time, until batter is the right consistency. It should be a little runny, so that the batter will flatten out into a circle quickly when put on the griddle, and not doughy as you would make bread dough.
Pour about a third of a cup of the batter onto a hot griddle or skillet (cast iron works very well). When bubbles appear in the pancake (about 2 minutes over medium heat), use a spatula to test how well it is holding together on the bottom. If the bottom is solid, flip it right away. After about the same time on the other side, it is ready to serve. You can make as many at a time as you have room for. If you can only make one or two at a time, keep them warm in a very low oven (around 180 F). They will keep very well in the oven for as long as it takes to cook the whole batch.
When all of the batter is used up, serve two pancakes per plate topped with yogurt and fruit sauce. Leftovers will keep in the freezer or fridge and microwave quite well.
Vegan variation:
Replace egg with 1 tbsp extra flax seed meal, and soak flax seed meal in water for a few minutes before combining with the other ingredients.
Instead of yogurt, try a coconut milk or soy yogurt substitute Alternatively, just double the fruit sauce or syrup and leave the yogurt out entirely, or use Earth Balance spread as you would butter.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Free Sushi! (well, practically free anyway) Spicy Tuna Roll Recipe
Sunday night, Courtney had a sudden urge for sushi. We did not, however, feel like going out, nor do we know which sushi places are good in town. We decided to see if we could scrounge together a few sushi like items from the stuff we had in our kitchen already.
We already had nori from a previous sushi night, we always have rice and veggies on hand, the one thing that we did not have just lying around the kitchen? Sashimi grade raw fish. So, although every recipe you find online will tell you not to do this, we decided to be adventurous and make spicy tuna rolls from canned tuna. The results were astoundingly good. One can of tuna produced about 6 rolls, each roll was about 8 pieces, so we had dinner for two, for two night, from only a dollars worth of canned tuna! Eat that, it's delicious. All of the other ingredients (rice, nori, vinegar, etc.) were purchased in bulk, and the small portion we used was almost negligible in terms of cost. Hence, free seeming sushi!
Courtney did most of the rolling (I had always done it before, and she wanted to learn) and I made the spicy tuna filling. So here is my spicy tuna roll recipe.
Ingredients:
1 can tuna (and because this is a green blog, take a look at this before your next tuna purchase)
6 sheets nori, dried seaweed for rolling
2 cups white rice (sushi rice for best results)
Sriracha (or other hot sauce)
1/3 to 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 avocado, cut into thin strips
~1/4 carrot, cut into thin strips
1 small cucumber, cut into thin strips
Rice vinegar [several uses, just make sure you have plenty]
1/4 cup (or to taste) sugar
Soy Sauce
Wasabi (powdered is fine)
Tools:
large, flat plate or bowl for rice
bamboo sushi rolling mat (find at Asian markets)
First, cook the rice. For sushi, use twice as much water as dry rice, so 4 cups water to 2 cups rice. While the rice is cooking, make the spicy tuna. Drain liquid from can and mix tuna in a bowl with mayonnaise and sriracha (for extra spice, add a little cayenne pepper, chili oil, and/or chili powder). When the rice is done, stir and dump it out on the plate. Sprinkle with rice vinegar (3 or 4 tsp) and the sugar. Mix thoroughly. Allow the rice to cool to room temperature before making rolls.
While rice cools, get all of the other ingredients ready at your rolling station, have the mat laid out on a large cutting board with the first nori sheet, and keep a small bowl of rice vinegar next to the rice. If the rice is still not cool enough, have a glass of sake. When rice is cool, soak your fingers in rice vinegar (that is what the bowl is for) and pat a thin layer of rice down on the nori, covering it to the edges from left to right, but leaving a half inch to an inch of nori open at the front and back. Each time you go back for more rice, and periodically while patting it into place, dip your fingers in the rice vinegar again. This will keep the rice from sticking to you (at least sticking too crazy much). When you have an even layer of rice, about 1/4 inch deep (if you make it any deeper, it will not roll well, but thinner is just fine) make a little row of tuna from left to right across the middle of the roll, about a half inch thick. Lay in one thin layer of carrots, cucumbers and avocado on either side of the tuna.
Now, roll the bottom half of the nori over the center row of ingredients, pressing down gently. Next, bring the top half up and over the bottom, dabbing a little rice vinegar on the overlapping edge of nori to help seal it.. Now you should have an even cylinder. Wrap the mat around the cylinder, and pressing a little more firmly, roll it as you would a rolling pin to compact the ingredients a little. This will make it easier to cut.
Cut the roll into roughly 8 or 10 equal pieces. Allow the end pieces to be a little bigger, or they will fall apart while cutting. Use a very sharp knife with a serrated edge for best results.
Repeat until tuna and rice are all used up, should yield about 6 rolls. Serve on a cutting board or platter with soy sauce and wasabi, enjoy. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for a day, because there is no raw fish to get funky.
Next time Courtney I think we're turning Japanese, we will attempt a gluten free tempura as well, so that we can make spider rolls! I will post a recipe for gluten free tempura batter if it works out.
We already had nori from a previous sushi night, we always have rice and veggies on hand, the one thing that we did not have just lying around the kitchen? Sashimi grade raw fish. So, although every recipe you find online will tell you not to do this, we decided to be adventurous and make spicy tuna rolls from canned tuna. The results were astoundingly good. One can of tuna produced about 6 rolls, each roll was about 8 pieces, so we had dinner for two, for two night, from only a dollars worth of canned tuna! Eat that, it's delicious. All of the other ingredients (rice, nori, vinegar, etc.) were purchased in bulk, and the small portion we used was almost negligible in terms of cost. Hence, free seeming sushi!
Our idea of a last minute meal. Aren't you jealous?
Courtney did most of the rolling (I had always done it before, and she wanted to learn) and I made the spicy tuna filling. So here is my spicy tuna roll recipe.
Ingredients:
1 can tuna (and because this is a green blog, take a look at this before your next tuna purchase)
6 sheets nori, dried seaweed for rolling
2 cups white rice (sushi rice for best results)
Sriracha (or other hot sauce)
1/3 to 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 avocado, cut into thin strips
~1/4 carrot, cut into thin strips
1 small cucumber, cut into thin strips
Rice vinegar [several uses, just make sure you have plenty]
1/4 cup (or to taste) sugar
Soy Sauce
Wasabi (powdered is fine)
Tools:
large, flat plate or bowl for rice
bamboo sushi rolling mat (find at Asian markets)
First, cook the rice. For sushi, use twice as much water as dry rice, so 4 cups water to 2 cups rice. While the rice is cooking, make the spicy tuna. Drain liquid from can and mix tuna in a bowl with mayonnaise and sriracha (for extra spice, add a little cayenne pepper, chili oil, and/or chili powder). When the rice is done, stir and dump it out on the plate. Sprinkle with rice vinegar (3 or 4 tsp) and the sugar. Mix thoroughly. Allow the rice to cool to room temperature before making rolls.
While rice cools, get all of the other ingredients ready at your rolling station, have the mat laid out on a large cutting board with the first nori sheet, and keep a small bowl of rice vinegar next to the rice. If the rice is still not cool enough, have a glass of sake. When rice is cool, soak your fingers in rice vinegar (that is what the bowl is for) and pat a thin layer of rice down on the nori, covering it to the edges from left to right, but leaving a half inch to an inch of nori open at the front and back. Each time you go back for more rice, and periodically while patting it into place, dip your fingers in the rice vinegar again. This will keep the rice from sticking to you (at least sticking too crazy much). When you have an even layer of rice, about 1/4 inch deep (if you make it any deeper, it will not roll well, but thinner is just fine) make a little row of tuna from left to right across the middle of the roll, about a half inch thick. Lay in one thin layer of carrots, cucumbers and avocado on either side of the tuna.
Now, roll the bottom half of the nori over the center row of ingredients, pressing down gently. Next, bring the top half up and over the bottom, dabbing a little rice vinegar on the overlapping edge of nori to help seal it.. Now you should have an even cylinder. Wrap the mat around the cylinder, and pressing a little more firmly, roll it as you would a rolling pin to compact the ingredients a little. This will make it easier to cut.
Cut the roll into roughly 8 or 10 equal pieces. Allow the end pieces to be a little bigger, or they will fall apart while cutting. Use a very sharp knife with a serrated edge for best results.
Repeat until tuna and rice are all used up, should yield about 6 rolls. Serve on a cutting board or platter with soy sauce and wasabi, enjoy. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for a day, because there is no raw fish to get funky.
Next time Courtney I think we're turning Japanese, we will attempt a gluten free tempura as well, so that we can make spider rolls! I will post a recipe for gluten free tempura batter if it works out.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Gluten Free Gumbo: Begin With a Gluten Free Roux
Image via Wikipediafor anyone with a southern mother (like me), and as the house was filled with the signature smell of Cajun cooking, I felt at home here in Oregon for the first time. The recipe below does not contain exact portions, because I always just make it up as I go. Instead I describe the process and give some guesses.
As those close to us know, Courtney is allergic to wheat, which is one of the only two ingredients in roux. I had made gumbo once or twice with a quinoa flour roux, which was alright but somewhat disappointing. The quinoa did not thicken up the way roux should, and added a strange nutty overtone. So this time I consulted the all knowing Internet, and was shocked by the dearth of information on gluten free roux. There was only one decent link to Gluten Free Girl and this video, but that is a french roux and I needed a Cajun one.
I decided to wing it. Believe it or not, the most simple solution turned out perfectly. I grabbed a bag of GF All Purpose Baking Flour from Bob's Red Mill (a lovely company) and used it exactly as I would regular flour. It thickened up just the right amount, browned well, and tasted delicious. I almost think they should market it separately as 'GF Roux Flour.'
Cajun roux is different from french roux primarily in that vegetable oil is used in stead of butter (any fat can be used for roux, but different regional cuisines have different traditions). It is also used differently, as a thickener for stews and soups (gumbo, jambalaya e.g.) and not so much as a thickener for sauce (veloute or bechamel would be thickened with a french roux).
Cajun roux is made with vegetable oil for two reasons: first it is cheaper than butter (a lot of Cajun recipes use ingredients that are cheap and abundant in the south), and second because you can make the roux much, much darker in oil. With a french roux, the butter will burn before the roux cooks to the right color, which various cookbooks have described as "the color of peanut butter," "a deep nutty brown," "walnut," etc. Whatever you call it, you'll never get there with butter.
Gluten Free Basic Gumbo
Ingredients:
Canola or other high heat oil (about a half cup)
GF all purpose flour (about a half cup)
Chicken stock (about 4 cups)
Andouille Sausage (a link or two) cut into bite size bits
Left over or pre-cooked chicken (about a pound)
The holy trinity: onions, green bell peppers, and celery (about 2 cups, roughly diced, even portions of each)
Shrimp (half to a whole pound)
Fresh herbs (bay, thyme, parsley, etc.)
Cooked plain white rice
Gumbo File (ground sassafras leaves)
For gumbo, make the roux in a heavy pot or dutch oven (cast iron is best) by mixing roughly equal part oil and flour. Cook over a high heat, stirring constantly, until the flour reaches the desired color (several minutes). When the roux is dark enough, add the holy trinity and the chicken stock to cool it off a bit and stop the flour from over cooking. My mother always sauteed the trinity in the roux for a few minutes before adding the stock, allowing them to brown a little. Either way tastes very good. After the stock, add the chicken and the fresh herbs.
In a separate pan, grill the andouille sausage until it is well browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon, adding the sausage to the gumbo without transferring the extra fat. Bring the gumbo to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.
About 5 minutes before serving, add the shrimp. When the shrimp is cooked through, remove the pot from the heat. Serve over rice sprinkled with gumbo file, with Tabasco or other hot sauce at the ready.
Variations:
For those with a heat tooth: adding a jalapeno or two with the trinity will please. Alternatively (or additionally) add cayenne pepper with the herbs.
For those with a taste for Thai: serve the finished gumbo with fish sauce and sriracha instead of Tabasco. I did this last time I had it, and I thought it was just about the most delicious thing I ever had, and I now believe fish sauce is the perfect condiment for gumbo.
Seafood Gumbo: instead of (or in addition to) chicken add crab legs, crayfish, scallops, or any other fish or crustacean really. Add it with the shrimp, careful not to overcook.
Vegetarian/vegan: Gumbo z'herbes is a traditional lenten version of gumbo for catholic southerners. Leave out the chicken and andouille sausage. To get some of that andouille flavor add cayenne pepper, black pepper, paprika, garlic, and plenty of sea salt. In place of the meat, throw in a mix of greens such as collard greens, spinach, dandelion, etc. This site gives an excellent list of greens to include, but I think the extra step of par boiling the greens is really unnecessary, just trim and chop into spoon able size and boil in the gumbo itself. Obviously, use vegetable stock instead of chicken.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Sweet Life
So on top of getting the tour for free ($5) and getting some free slices from La Perla (~$10), I also got a gift card to Sweet Life Patisserie, value $10, for volunteering at EWEB last weekend. At first I thought this gift was a Trojan Horse, a nice idea but full of sad Courtney later (pastries and wheat allergies usually do not mix), but it turns out that Sweet Life has several gluten free options!
Flourless torte, GF brownie, truffle, and "Venus Nipple"
I haven't told Courtney yet that I bought all this today, so she should be very pleased when she gets home.
Now, gluten free is not their specialty, but like many shops in this area, they are definitely hip to it. So, I just wanted to write a quick post about them, and include a photo of what $10 bucks can get you when you only stick to the GF stuff.
Flourless torte, GF brownie, truffle, and "Venus Nipple"I haven't told Courtney yet that I bought all this today, so she should be very pleased when she gets home.
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