Category: lactose-free

Brussels Sprouts with Shallots and Bacon

 

 

Today I cut down a stalk of brussels sprouts from my community garden plot.  I was having friends over for dinner and I wanted to try out a new recipe.  I know that not everyone loves brussels sprouts, and one of my friends wasn’t so sure about trying them.  She was won over after the first bite.  Searing the sprouts on high heat caramelizes them, and you don’t get that unpleasant odour and taste that made you hate them as a kid (or an adult).  Plus bacon makes everything taste great!  You can easily make these a vegetarian version by omitting the bacon and adding a little extra salt.

What you need:

12-16 brussels sprouts

2-3 shallots, sliced

a few rashers of bacon

olive oil, butter or bacon drippings

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1.  Cut the ends off the brussels sprouts , then cut them in half.  Remove any extra leaves.

2.  Cook the bacon in a frying pan until crispy, then remove from the pan and cut or break into small pieces.  Leave a little bacon fat in the pan.

3.  On medium heat toss in the shallots.  Lower the heat and cook them until they are brown and caramelized.

4.  Add a little butter, olive oil or a touch of the bacon fat to the pan and turn on high heat.  When the pan is hot, add the sprouts, cut side down.  Stir a few times throughout the cooking, and cook until they are quite browned and soft enough for a sharp knife to pierce them.

5.  Toss in the diced bacon, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot.

 

Lentils with Browned Onions and Veggies

One of the reasons this recipe is so delicious is the browned onions, and a little white wine doesn’t hurt!  It can be a vegetarian main, or a side dish to just about anything.  Salmon worked really well as a pairing for this one, but chicken or just a salad would be great too.  I made this a while ago, but I’m going to make it again this week because it’s one of my new favourites.

I found the recipe on this site.  I made a few changes, such as browning the onions rather than cooking until translucent, I used white wine in place of some of the chicken stock, and I didn’t add the agave nectar that the recipe called for.  The blogger says that both salmon and lentils help de-stress and balance moods, and provides omega-3 and magnesium.  I sure felt happy after eating it, maybe just because it tasted so good.

What you need:

2 cups lentils (french if you have them; I didn’t so I just used green lentils)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large sweet onion, chopped

2 leeks, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 carrots, sliced

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 cup homemade chicken stock, or vegetable stock for vegetarians (or 1 & 1/2 if you’re not using the wine)

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  Put the lentils into a bowl and cover them with boiling water.  Let this sit for about 15 minutes while you prepare the onions.

2.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan or a pot, then add the onions.  Let them cook on medium low heat, stirring, until they begin to brown.

3.  Add the leeks, and thyme to the onions, cooking for about 10 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes.

4.  Drain the lentils, then add them to the onion mixture, along with the carrots, celery, soup stock, wine and tomato paste.  Cook, covered, over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.  Then add the wine vinegar, and you’re all set.

It’s also good served with a dollop of plain yogurt!

Patatas con Chorizo

Potatoes with chorizo  – I made these recently as an appetizer, but I was so glad that I made too much because they were really good heated up with my dinner the next night.  This one is really easy to make.

I got the recipe out of Rohan Daft’s Menu del Dia cookbook, and made a few changes to the original recipe:  I cooked the chorizo first and soaked up a lot of the fat that came off of them.   Rather than the dried peppers the recipe called for, I used a few pimento del piquillo a friend gave me from Spain.  I also made a smaller recipe.

What you need:

1-2 dry-cured chorizo, chopped

5-6 small white potatoes, cut in half or quarters (I left the skins on)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 dried mild red pepper, or 2 chopped roasted red peppers, or 1 teaspoon paprika

1 bay leaf

boiling water

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

sea salt

What you do:

1.  Cook the chopped chorizo for a few minutes in a frying pan, then drain on paper towels.  Remove the excess fat from the frying pan.

2.  Heat the olive oil on medium-low heat, then add the chopped onion, stirring well and cooking for about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes, so the onion is soft but not browned.

3.  Add the potatoes and stir until they are coated in oil.  Add the chorizo, peppers and bay leaf, and stir well.  Cover with boiling water and simmer for 30 minutes, or until most of the liquid has disappeared.  Give it a stir every now and then, but do it carefully so you don’t break the potatoes.

4.  Remove the bay leaf and sprinkle on some salt and the chopped parsley.  Serve it up hot!

Feel free to leave a comment if you like the sounds of this, if you try it out, or if I’ve made any mistakes!

Salmon Croquettes

These are a yummy way to use up leftover salmon.  I planned ahead and made mashed potatoes with barbecued salmon so that I could try out this Mark Bittman recipe.  Shaping these into croquettes was a little finicky, so next time I might try to form them into patties instead.

I served them with honeyed-ginger carrots and lemony kale with onions, garlic and pine nuts.

What you need:

1 cup leftover salmon meat

1 cup leftover mashed potatoes

1/2 cup finely diced onion

a few chopped parsley leaves

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 egg

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

bread crumbs

olive oil

lemon wedges (optional)

What you do:

1.  Mix all the ingredients except the olive oil and lemon together, using just enough breadcrumbs to stiffen the mixture.

2.  Form into small logs or patties, then coat in bread crumbs.  Place on a rack, then refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to dry them out a little.

3.  Heat some olive oil over medium heat, then cook the croquettes until they are browned.

Serve them with lemon wedges if you like, or a yogurt dill sauce.

Lemony Kale with Onions, Garlic and Pine Nuts

Another quick, easy and delicious way to serve up the super-food kale!  Kale is one of the few things I can harvest from my garden year-round, so it’s always good to find some new ways to cook it up.

What you need:

1-2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted

olive oil

1/4 of a red onion, sliced

1-2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 bunch kale, roughly chopped

1/2 a lemon

salt, to taste

What you do:

1.  Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan.  Add the sliced onions and cook until they are browned.

2.  Add the garlic, cooking briefly, then add the chopped kale.  Toss the kale with tongs a few times until it is wilted and the onions and garlic are distributed throughout.

3.  Squeeze on a little lemon, a little salt too, and then toss the pine nuts in.

Serve it right away!

Spanish Stew With Vegetables and Olives

The weather is turning a little cooler, and I always look for an excuse to put olives into a recipe.  This one has tons of flavour, and it’s got lots of veggies to keep you healthy.  This one comes from Maryana Vollstedt’s Big Book of Soups and Stews.  It’s pretty easy, just a bunch of chopping, sauteing and stewing.

What you need:

1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 & 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 3 cm-ish cubes

1 cup chopped sweet onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper and 1 yellow or orange pepper, cut into chunks of about 4cm

10-12 mushrooms, cut in half, or quarters for large ones

1 large can diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon fresh oregano

1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme (less of each herb if you use dried)

1 cup kalamata olives, or a mixture of olives of your choice

1 pound green beans, frenched

salt and pepper, to taste

What you do:

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot, then add the pork and brown it for about 5 minutes. You may want to do this in batches.

2.  Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, then add the pepper and mushrooms and cook for about 5 more minutes.  Add more oil to keep the veggies from sticking, if you need to.

3.  Add the tomatoes, wine, oregano and thyme, then reduce the heat so it is just simmering, for about 30 minutes.

4.  Add the olives and green beans and cook for a few more minutes, until the beans are lightly cooked.

5.  Season with salt and pepper, remembering that the olives will add a bit of salt to the stew, so don’t use too much salt without tasting it first!

Serve it up with a nice loaf of crusty bread!

Panzanella

 

For this salad I used tomatoes from my garden – they are so flavourful!  A local farmer’s market is another great place to find amazing tomatoes if you don’t have a garden yourself.  I also used the remnants of a crusty loaf from the farmer’s market.  We ate this one at a picnic at English Bay.  Gorgeous, delicious.

What you need:

a few great tomatoes

cucumber

a few slices of stale bread

1 clove garlic

fresh oregano and basil

salt and pepper

olive oil

balsamic or red wine vinegar

What you do:

1.  Cut the tomatoes into chunks, removing a lot of the liquid.  Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and let them sit in a colander to drain.

2.  Chop the cucumber.

3.  Cut the clove of garlic in half and rub the bread slices with it.  Cut the bread into cubes.

4.  Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and throw in the cubed bread.  Cook, turning from time to time, until the bread is browned and crispy on the outside.

5.  Throw the bread, tomatoes and cucumbers together in a bowl along with the herbs, salt and pepper and a few splashes of olive oil and vinegar, to taste.

6.  Toss it all up and you’re ready to go.  Some recipes say to let it all sit for a while, but I prefer for the bread to retain a bit of its crispiness, so I like to eat it right away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avocado Yogurt Dressing

Served on salmon this simple dressing was delicious.  It would also be great as a veggie dip.   I found the recipe in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.  I only made half of this recipe for a salmon dinner because Bittman said it doesn’t keep well . . . and he was right.  It tastes fine the next day, but it turns a little brownish, so it’s probably a good idea to make a half recipe unless you’ve got a big crowd to eat it up for you.

What you need:

1 large ripe avocado

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons minced shallot or sweet onion

1/2 cup plain yogurt

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1.  Scoop the avocado flesh along with the lemon and orange juices into a food processor or blender.  Puree.

2.  Add the remaining ingredients and puree again, tasting to see if you need to correct the seasonings.

Spanish Salad

This isn’t an authentic Spanish recipe; instead I was inspired by the amazing vegetables I found in the markets of Barcelona.  Was it because I was on holiday, or did these veggies truly have more flavour than the ones at home?  I’m not sure, but since they were bursting with flavour, they didn’t need much doctoring up with dressing.  I just drizzled on a little extra-virgin olive oil and cracked some salt on top.  Simple and amazing.

What you need:

a few tomatoes – I used cherry tomatoes

a few mini cucumbers

an avocado

olives with the pits in them

What you do:

1.  Chop the veggies up and put them into a bowl.

2.  Drizzle with the best quality olive oil you have.

3.  Crack on a little salt.

I served mine with some chorizo, flatbread and a glass of red wine.  Buon provecho!

Monserrat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Kick-Slaw

It’s finally summer in Vancouver, for today at least, so that means it’s time to try out new salad recipes.  This one’s got lots of flavour, a great way to up your veggie intake!  Chop it up, pour the dressing on, and stick it in the fridge to munch on with your meals or bring  to a picnic.

I found this recipe in Fast, Fresh and Green by Susie Middleton, and altered it slightly.  The author calls the recipe kick-slaw because the ginger, lime and garlic give it a kick of flavour.  I like the name because coleslaw sounds so boring.  This recipe isn’t boring!

What you need:

1/2 small head of red cabbage

1/2 small head of green cabbage (or just one of either red or green if you prefer)

1 package snow peas, ends cut off, then cut on a sharp diagonal

2 carrots, shredded with a grater, or julienned

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

2 & 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil

a little chopped cilantro

optional: toasted, crushed sesame seeds

What you do:

1.  Mix the veggies together in a large bowl.

2.  Mix the dressing ingredients together in another bowl and add to the veggies, tossing until combined.  Top with the optional sesame seeds

Voila, easy peasy!