Babaganoush .. Delicious Rice-Free Bread .... Chocolate Sorbet .. Plumped Garlic-Caramel Shrimp
Babaganoush
– Recipe courtesy Spiral Path Farms. Thanks to Becky for passing it on
to us!
1 medium eggplant, or 2 small
2 cloves garlic
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
2 t lemon juice
1 T fresh cilantro or 1 t dried (optional)
1/4 c tahini (sesame butter) found in the organic section near PB in Giant
Place a whole eggplant, cap and all, on a cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for
1 hour, or until knife inserts easily thru. Remove from oven. Allow to cool.
Slice into eggplant and scoop out the inner pulp with seeds. Add to a blender
with all other ingredients and puree until smooth. May need to add a few drops
of olive oil to get the blender working.
Pasta & Beans: Pasta e Fagioli – This is a classic Italian soup. The
recipe here is adapted slightly from an easy Rachael Ray recipe. If you can,
plant one rosemary and one thyme plant in your garden this summer, and you’ll
have cheap herbs on hand when you want to make this soup.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 pound Boar’s Head pancetta, sliced thin & chopped into squares
2 (4 to 6-inch) sprigs rosemary, left intact
1 (4 to 6-inch) sprig thyme with several sprigs on it, left intact
2 dried bay leaves
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
coarse salt and pepper
2 (15 ounce) cans GFCF cannellini (great northern) beans
1 cup GFCF canned tomato sauce or canned crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 quart chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics – available at Wegman’s)
1 ½ cups rice pasta of your choice…(my kids like Mrs. Leeper’s
alphabets from Healthy Grocer)
Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat and add oil and pancetta. Brown the pancetta bits lightly, and add herb stems, bay leaf, and chopped vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 5 minutes or until onions are almost transparent. Add chopped garlic and sauté for 1 more minute. Add beans, tomato sauce, water, and stock to pot and raise heat to high. Bring soup to a boil and add pasta. Reduce heat to medium and cook soup until pasta is al dente. Remove from heat. Rosemary and thyme leaves will separate from stems as soup cooks. Remove herb stems and bay leaves from soup & let soup rest for a few minutes before serving. Serve with your favorite GFCF bread/toast to mop up the broth.
Chocolate Sorbet
(from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten) – My kids LOVE this
sorbet…both making it & eating it. You can’t taste the coffee
and cinnamon; they just make the chocolate taste more chocolate-y!
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup brewed espresso (I use regular brewed coffee)
In a large saucepan, mix the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
Stir in 4 cups water and the espresso. Cook over low heat until the ingredients
are dissolved. Transfer to another container and refrigerate until very cold.
Freeze the mixture in 2 batches in an ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s
directions. The sorbet will still be soft; place it in plastic containers and
freeze for an hour or overnight, until firm enough to scoop.
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Plumped Garlic-Caramel Shrimp (from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper) – I had never cooked shrimp in my life before trying this recipe. It’s so easy and SO delicious. I serve it with rice and a green vegetable. Serves 4.
BRINE:
1/2 cup kosher or sea salt (not iodized)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup medium-hot chili powder
2 quarts warm water
1 ½ pounds large frozen shrimp (peeled & deveined)
SAUTÉ
4 large garlic cloves
4 tbsp canola oil
¼ tsp black pepper
salt
4 teaspoons sugar
1. In a medium bowl, blend the salt, sugar, and chili powder in the warm water.
Drop in the shrimp, and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes while you
set up the rest of the meal.
2. Drain the shrimp & pat dry.
3. Chop the garlic into 1/8-inch pieces. Heat the oil in a straight-sided 12-inch
sauté pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic, pepper, and a sprinkle
of salt. Cook for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spatula. Blend in the sugar
and keep stirring until the garlic is pale gold. Do not let the pieces get dark
brown.
4. Immediately drop in the shrimp and stir for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until
the shrimp are turning pink and are barely firm. Turn the shrimp into a serving
bowl. Taste them for seasoning, adjust as necessary, and serve hot or warm.
Note: Frozen shrimp are called for as a convenience. You could use fresh or thawed. If you do, use ice-cold water instead of warm, and marinate the shrimp in the refrigerator. Also: 1/3 cup of chili powder is not an error. In a brine, you need this much to end up with a subtle boost of flavors.
Delicious
Rice-Free Bread – This the bread recipe in Karen Seroussi’s
book, with the flours changed so it’s a rice-free loaf. It is savory and
delicious. Makes 1 loaf.
In a large bowl, combine:
½ cup sorghum flour
¼ cup teff flour
¼ cup potato flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 tbsp ground flax
1/3 cup DariFree powder
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tablespoon xanthan gum
3/4 tablespoon egg replacer
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 package dry yeast
In a smaller bowl, combine:
1 cup + 2 tbsp lukewarm water
2 tbsp canola oil
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Preheat oven to 400°. Beat dry mixture with Kitchen-Aid, slowly adding the
wet mixture until well blended. Beat at high speed for an additional 2 minutes.
Dough is very tough; add a little extra water if it’s too tough. Grease
a loaf pan with canola oil or Pam. Pour dough into pan – it will appear
only about half full before rising. Let rise 1 hour. Bake for 50 minutes, and
allow to cool before slicing.