CASHEW CREAM SAUCE

Posted in Small Dishes, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

You know how every single Paleo-lover food blogger goes on and on about the wonders of cashew cream and how it will replace melted cheese in a way you won’t believe until you try it? Well, those statements always put me into eye-rolling mode. I cannot help but mentally associate cashew cream sauce with those gluten-free donuts that look like sawdust shaped into rounds and make me want to run away screaming. Of course, I have the utmost respect for those with non-imaginary gluten allergies. But I doubt they would like those donuts. In some cases, if you cannot have the real thing, better skip it altogether. But, back to the cashew cream. I am here to say I was absolutely wrong in my assessment. The stuff is awesome. Awesome. I made it, and could not stop sampling a little teaspoon here and there, I drizzled it over everything. Then, when I considered dunking a chocolate cookie into it, Phil pointed out that maybe I was getting a bit carried away. Fine. My next batch will be divided in two, and one of them will have coconut sugar in it. Or maybe maple syrup. And I shall dunk a cookie into it. You better believe it. Whatever your take on Paleo nutrition, open your gastronomic horizons, and made this sauce.

CASHEW CREAM SAUCE
(adapted from many sources)

1 cup raw cashews
Water
1 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Place raw cashews in a bowl and add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Soak cashews at room temperate for 8 to 24 hours. Drain and rinse very well.

Add drained nuts to a powerful blender with 3/4 cup cold water, the lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. Process until very smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Adjust consistency with extra water if you like. Season with salt, pepper, and extra lemon juice to taste. Sauce will keep in the fridge for a few days, and it can also be frozen.

ENJOY! (I know you will…)

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: What can I say? I regret it took me so long to finally try this recipe. If I have one criticism about it is that cashews can be pricey, but if that was not the case, I would make it regularly. I can now understand why so many people make fake Alfredo sauce with it. You can find quite a few variations online, some add nutritional yeast to take it on a slightly more “cheesy” path, but I decided to keep it simple. Basically you must soak the cashews for a few hours, discard the water. Process with a slightly acidic ingredient, sometimes a little olive oil is also added, season with salt and you are done. Variations with sugar can be used to drizzle over fresh fruit, and I’m dying to try that soon. For the moment though, I leave you with a photo of a recent lunch which was enjoyed three days in a row. Ground chicken sautéed with mushrooms, green curry paste, garam masala, and ginger. Spooned over butter lettuce leaves. And topped with this magical sauce…

Cashew Cream Sauce…. It’s been a pleasure to meet you!

ONE YEAR AGO: Blood Orange Margaritas

TWO YEARS AGO: Smoked Salmon Appetizer

THREE YEARS AGO: Clementine Cake

FOUR YEARS AGO: Springtime Spinach Risotto

FIVE YEARS AGO: The end of green bean cruelty

SIX YEARS AGO: Torta di Limone e Mandorle

27Mar2016

WHEN SIDE DISHES STEAL THE SHOW

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

With this post I bring you two recipes, one of them so simple that it’s hard to call it a recipe. However, both were so delicious that made the main dish (you know, for us carnivores the meaty component) seem like a mere supporting actor in the play. I warn you, though, my pictures of the eggplant concoction did not turn out particularly great, but if you go pass its looks and make it, you’ll fall in love with it. The recipe was on Foodbod, hosted by Elaine, aka The Vegetarian Goddess. She always comes up with amazingly creative recipes for veggies, and this one also features a nice story behind it. You should stop by her site to read all about it. A fainting priest is involved. How about THAT for adding spice to a recipe? As to the other side dish, it was a humble spiralized butternut squash. Oh. Em. Gee. I wish I had ~~doubled~~ tripled the amount because Phil and I ended up fighting for the last strand, and well, I won. I like to think it was due to my relentless tropical charm. But perhaps the hissy fit spoke louder.

IMAM BIYALDI
(slightly modified from Foodbod)

1 medium/large eggplant
1 medium shallot, peeled and sliced
1 rib celery, diced
1 can diced tomatoes with their juices
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Olive oil, with abandon…

Heat your oven to 400 C.

You can leave the hat on the eggplant if it will fit in your pan. Cut a slit down one side of the eggplant, don’t cut all the way through, and don’t cut all the way to either end. Open the eggplant and using a teaspoon scrape out some of the flesh and chop it up. Keep the whole eggplant to one side.

In a pan over a medium heat, heat a good glug of olive oil then add the shallot and celery and start to soften. Add the chopped eggplant and cook for a few minutes. Add the spices and salt and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook it all down to a lovely sauce. Stir in the lemon juice and take it off the heat.

Place your eggplant in an oven proof dish, slit side up. Open it as much as possible and spoon the lovely sauce into the eggplant as much as you can then spoon the rest over and around it.

Drizzle with copious amounts of olive oil.

Cover and bake for 45-60 minutes.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: When I read all the praise that Elaine gave to the eggplant recipe, which in her side of the planet goes by as “aubergine” (so much cuter it’s not even funny), I was intrigued, but to be completely honest I didn’t think it was possible for something that simple to be so amazing. Sometimes I love to be proven wrong. The tomatoes and spices interact with the flesh of the eggplant turning it into something with incredible depth of flavor. You’ll have to make it to believe me. This basic method can be adapted to other spices and herbs, what matters here is to allow the slow roasting to take place, don’t rush it. I can visualize the eggplant turned into a pasta sauce, or even a flavorful addition to a risotto. It would be great as a spread on sourdough bread even. One dish, endless possibilities.

Now, let’s focus on the spiralized butternut squash – just use the neck of the squash for this preparation. Peel it (I know, I hate it too), and grab your favorite spiral cutter to make the strands. Then, coat them lightly with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees F (about 200 Celsius). You can move the strands around after 10 minutes or so. Make more than you think you need, even if you are serving it to folks with squash issues. And watch their issues turn into craving…

Elaine, thanks for another gem of a recipe!
I wish my photos turned out better, but taste comes first, right?

ONE YEAR AGO: Venting on Vaccines

TWO YEARS AGO: Prime Rib Roast, Mexican Style

THREE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Bread with Walnuts and Dates

FOUR YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Apricot Glaze

FIVE YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

SIX YEARS AGO: Pork Tenderloin and Blue Cheese

25Feb2016

CREAMY BROCCOLI AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

One more time I am sharing a recipe from the super athlete Mike, who runs the blog The Iron You. For those who like to experiment with a lower carb or Paleo nutrition, eggs are a fundamental ingredient. Great source of protein and fat, they are so versatile: you can make a nice omelette, frittatas, egg muffins, egg bakes, adding all sorts of ingredients from meats to veggies. I eat a lot of eggs each week for lunch, usually sunny side up or scrambled, sometimes hard-boiled, but at dinner time I opt for more elaborate uses, souffle’ being a favorite when I don’t mind splurging a little. This casserole is quite low in carbs, but feels like splurging. Satisfying without making you feel uncomfortably stuffed. Perfect side dish, if you ask me…

CREAMY BROCCOLI AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE
(slightly modified from The Iron You)

1 ½ pounds broccoli florets
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 pound white button mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon fine grain salt
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup full fat coconut milk

Heat oven to 350°F and place a rack in the middle. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with olive oil.
Place an inch of water in a saucepan with a steamer and bring to a boil. Steam the broccoli for 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Remove from the heat and let cool.

While the broccoli cools, melt coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the shallot and celery and sauté until translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, thyme, salt, paprika, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Sauté until mushrooms have browned a bit, about 8 minutes.

When broccoli florets have cooled down a little bit, chop the larger ones into bite-sized pieces. Add broccoli to the skillet and gently stir until combined. Pour the broccoli-mushroom mixture into the prepared baking dish. In a bowl whisk eggs with coconut milk and pour over broccoli mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden-brown.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: If you google recipes for low-carb egg bakes or egg muffins, you’ll end up with thousands of hits to choose from. For the most part, they can be divided in two categories: those that use just eggs to bind the ingredients, and those that rely on dairy (quite often heavy cream). I am not too fond of recipes that use only eggs because they end up with a rubbery texture I don’t care for. As to the ones loaded with heavy cream, they feel overly rich for my taste. This recipe solves both problems, the texture is perfect, and it has just the right amount of naughty… We enjoyed it back in December, actually. Obviously, it’s taking me a while to share, but the weather is still appropriate for casseroles. Make it and you will fall in love with it too. You can add different veggies, in fact soon I intend to try a version using carrots and zucchini. I might even get my spiralizer out just for fun, and a bit of added naughty.

Mike, thanks for all the great dishes you blog about, two thumbs up for this one!

ONE YEAR AGO: Maple Walnut Biscotti

TWO YEARS AGO: Barley Risotto with Peas

THREE YEARS AGO: Oatmeal Fudge Bars

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cauliflower Steaks

FIVE YEARS AGO: Soft Spot for Chevre

SIX YEARS AGO: Quick sun-dried Tomato Crostini

27Jan2016

WHEN THREE IS BETTER THAN TWO

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

Am I talking about the dogs again?
No, this time it’s a veggie thing…

As far as vegetable purees are concerned I tend to be very conservative to allow the main ingredient to shine in all its glory. Yes, I’ve been known to mix two veggies together, for instance Broccoli & Spinach, Carrot & Sweet Potato , or Cauliflower and Celeriac, but those are exceptions rather than the rule. However, the other day I was staring at the bag of parsnips I got with the intention of roasting them and faced a disappointing state of affairs. You’d think that those bagged creatures would all be more or less similar in size and shape? Don’t get your hopes high! They place one or two gorgeous specimens with a bunch of pencil-thin cousins. Pathetic. I learned a lesson, of course, will never buy bagged parsnips again. I’ll pick them myself, thank you very much, and they will be all chubby. But, I digress. I was staring at the parsnips and decided that they could work better in a puree of sorts. Since I did not have enough for a side dish, I also grabbed some carrots. And then, the tiny orange cauliflower winked at me. So there you have it, not one, not two, but three veggies cooked together in harmony. I must tell you, this turned out much better than I expected, especially considering I kept it very simple. No exotic spices, no garlic confit, not even chicken stock… I let the veggies sing, and the music was gorgeous!

PARSNIP, CARROT AND CAULIFLOWER MASH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 tablespoon butter + smear of olive oil
3 celery stalks, diced
1 small head of orange cauliflower, florets only
5 parsnips, cut in chunks
4 carrots, cut in chunks
salt and pepper (go heavy on the pepper)
2 cups water

Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add the diced celery, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until translucent and fragrant. Add all the other veggies and cook in medium-high heat stirring occasionally for a few minutes. If necessary, add a tiny amount of olive oil to prevent the veggies from scorching.

Add the two cups of water, season with salt and pepper again, and cover the pan. Simmer for 25 minutes in low-heat. When veggies are tender, remove them to a food processor, leaving most of the water behind. Process and add more water if too thick. Adjust seasoning, and serve right away.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: We were both quite impressed by how complex this puree tasted. I think parsnips adds a lot with their distinctive taste: spicy, peppery, a bit citric almost. They change completely the flavor of the carrots and cauliflower. This mash has great texture and just the right amount of sweetness. Plus, the color is not too shabby either… When processing, don’t go overboard, I think having some chunks here and there add a lot to the dish. You might even skip the processing and mash it all by hand, whatever rocks your boat…

Dinner is served! Simple grille chicken breasts, mashed veggies, and a salad.
Very delicious way to end a busy Monday.

ONE YEAR AGO: Mini-quiches with Duxelles and Baby Broccoli

TWO YEARS AGO: Quinoa and Sweet Potato Cakes

THREE YEARS AGO: Pumpkin Bolo de Fuba’ Cremoso

FOUR YEARS AGO: Citrus-crusted Tilapia Filets

FIVE YEARS AGO: Bran Muffins, not just for Hippies

SIX YEARS AGO: Flourless Chocolate Cake

5Jan2016

KADOO BORANEE: BUTTERNUT SQUASH PERFECTION

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

My first cooking post in 2016 needs to be special, and special it will be. Maybe you don’t like butternut squash, maybe you are anti-pumpkin in general, but even if you are, please bear with me. I fell in love with this recipe from the moment I tried the first bite, not sure what to expect. Kelly blogged about it a while ago, a great post crowned with the sweetest photo of her and her husband on the evening they got engaged just a few months ago (wink, wink, wink). I can understand how this humble butternut squash preparation could leave such a strong impression. It is warm, it is creamy, it is luscious, at the same time refreshing due to the acidity of the yogurt. You must, absolutely must make it. Even if you live with a crowd of picky eaters who are afraid of squash. Dare them to try a little bite. They won’t be able to stop there.

KADOO BORANEE
(very slightly modified from Inspired Edibles)

for the butternut squash:
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound butternut squash, cubed
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup liquid (mixture of veggie stock + water)

for the yogurt sauce:
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
good pinch of salt
1 clove garlic, smashed

for topping:
toasted slivered almonds and dried mint

Make the yogurt sauce by whisking together: yogurt, sour cream, salt and garlic in a bowl – cover and place in fridge while prepping the remaining ingredients.

Purée onion in a small blender/food processor. In a separate small dish, combine the dry spices: turmeric, cumin, chili, coriander & ginger.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat and sautée onion until golden. Add fresh ginger, and the ground dry spices: turmeric, cumin, chili, coriander and ground ginger, stirring until the seasonings are well combined and fragrant. Add tomato paste, broth, water, sugar and salt, mixing well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the cubed butternut squash.

Reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes (lifting the lid to stir the squash once or twice during this time). Remove the lid for the remaining cooking time until the squash is tender but still holding its shape. Continue to stir the squash on occasion and use more water or stock while cooking, if needed. The goal is to have about 80% of the seasoned liquid absorbed into the squash while retaining the remaining liquid as a golden sauce.

Remove yogurt sauce from the fridge, reserve about 2 tablespoons, and spread the rest on plates to make a base for the squash. Top each yogurt base with some of the warm butternut squash, then add a bit more yogurt sauce on top, sprinkling the toasted almonds and dried mint right before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This preparation goes to my personal Hall of Fame of Veggies. I cannot think of a better way to enjoy butternut squash, in fact it would work for all kinds of pumpkin, I am sure, as long as you respect their optimal cooking time. As Kelly says in her post, you could omit the sour cream if you prefer to keep it lighter, but it does add a lot to the dish in terms of texture and also taste. Try it exactly this way, you won’t be disappointed. I added toasted slivered almonds, my main modification to the recipe. I like the added crunch and feel that almonds go very well with squash and all the spices in the sauce.

Kelly, thanks for yet another great recipe!

Looking forward to more deliciousness coming from your blog…

. holidays