grain free

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Manchego + Marcona Almonds

~ beckijuice ~ Leave a comment

Last week, I spent a glorious few days in Calgary, visiting my boyfriend who is there on a temporary assignment.  It proved a much-needed reprieve from the Houston heat (and floods) and we spent lots of time hiking, exploring, and eating (duh).

One of my favorite dishes was at a restaurant called Ox and Angela, which served (sort of) traditional Spanish tapas and reminded me of all of the tapas consumed when I studied in Cordoba, Spain during my junior year of college.  The dish was a simple salad of zucchini, studded with Marcona almonds and garnished with shaved Manchego cheese (two of my favorite things in the world that happen to also be very Spanish). We devoured it immediately and I vowed to recreate it the second I got home.

Zucchini makes a lovely grain-free substitute for pasta, but its texture can sometimes be a little bit off-putting when served completely raw.  By marinating the zucchini in lemon juice and olive oil, it softens and gains a more “cooked” texture that is much more appetizing.  You can use a mandoline slicer to cut your zucchini ribbons, or just use a vegetable peeler and run it down the length of the zucchini until you reach the core.  My favorite mandoline is this little cheapie from Sur la Table that I use far more often than the expensive one I have with a gazillion different blades that is most certain to slice off a finger one of these days.

Once you marinate the zucchini, this salad comes together very quickly and should be eaten day of or it will get too soggy.  I imagine this would go nicely with some torn prosciutto and basil if you wanted a more Italian take!

Makes 4 servings

2 medium zucchini

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 cup Marcona Almonds (in the cheese or specialty section at Whole Foods)

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

2 oz raw aged Manchego cheese, thinly sliced and crumbled

3-4 sprigs fresh mint, leaves removed

pinch sea salt

Using your mandoline or vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini into long ribbons, keeping them as uniform in size as possible.  Place the ribbons in a medium bowl and add the lemon juice and olive oil.  Toss to coat and let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour, until zucchini begins to soften.  Be careful not to leave marinating too long, as the zucchini will become mushy.  Add the almonds, tomatoes, cheese crumbles and fresh mint leaves.  Sprinkle with the sea salt and serve at once.

Grain Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

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I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to come across rhubarb at my local Whole Foods the other day.  We used to have this growing in the backyard on the East Coast, but it is very rare in my experience to find fresh rhubarb anywhere in Houston.  My grandmother, Dot, who is my culinary idol and would be 99 years old this month, used to make strawberry rhubarb pie in the summer.  We would have a picnic under her carport nearly every Sunday, and her desserts were always the best part. I’m pretty sure the woman subsisted entirely on sugar for the last 10 years of her life, all 98 pounds of her!

Needless to say, I scooped up several pounds of the bright red stalks and the cashier looked at me, dumbfounded and had to look it up.  As soon as I got home, I got to work chopping the rhubarb into small pieces, freezing a good amount to stash away.  I’m not sure my grandmother would recognize the final product, or approve of the lack of actual sugar, but the idea is the same.  Tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries are a match made in heaven.  I jazz them up with a bit of lemon zest, red wine and black pepper and top it with an almond flour and pine nut crumble.  This dessert is best eaten warm with a scoop of ice cream (try this coconut milk version) and shared with friends.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

2 cups strawberries,  sliced

2 cup fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

zest of one lemon

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

4 Tablespoons local honey

1 Tablespoon arrowroot

a splash or two of red wine

For the crumble: 

3/4 cup almond flour

3 Tablespoons coconut flour

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

4 Tablespoons local honey

1/4 cup grassfed butter (or coconut oil), softened

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 pan or skillet.

Assemble the filling by combining strawberries through honey.  Mix the arrowroot with the red wine until it is completely dissolved.  Add into the filling mixture and toss to coat.  Set aside.

Make the crumble.  Combine the flours, nuts, salt and pepper.  Add the honey and the butter and use a fork to cut into the flour mixture until crumbs form.  Keep pressing together until you have a workable dough.

Pour the filling into the pan.  Crumble the topping over filling.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until topping is browned and filling is bubbling.  Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Apple Cinnamon Protein Pancakes

~ beckijuice ~ 2 Comments

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Pancakes, though delicious, are traditionally pretty much devoid of nutrients, and thus rarely make an appearance at my breakfast table. White flour, white rice, white sugar, even white potatoes don’t really stand a chance in my kitchen. Even the whole grain varieties of pancakes are lacking substantial protein, essential to a good breakfast. These pancakes are a super yum way to add more protein to your breakfast, while still satisfying a pancake craving. They are grain free and made with almond meal, apple sauce and protein powder.  I cooked them in grass fed ghee to give them a little extra healthy fat boost, then topped them with caramelized apples and local honey.

Makes about 12 medium sized pancakes, or 3-4 servings

For the pancakes:

4 eggs
2/3 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup almond meal
1 scoop plain grass fed whey protein, or your protein powder of your choice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon grass fed butter or coconut oil, for cooking

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, then add the applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Add in the almond flour, protein powder and baking powder and mix until thoroughly combined.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium. Add a small amount of butter or coconut oil . Once heated, pour in about 3-4 Tablespoons of batter. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, turning once bubbles start to form and the pancakes are firm enough to be flipped. Please note, these pancakes are a little more delicate than normal pancakes, so be careful when flipping!  Repeat with the remaining batter.

For the apple topping:
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 teaspoon grass fed butter or coconut oil
2-3 Tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
squeeze lemon juice
In a small saucepan, combine the apples, butter, maple syrup or honey, lemon juice and cinnamon. Heat over medium heat until bubbling, then lower the heat and cook 10-15 minutes until apples soften and liquid thickens. Pour over pancakes and serve hot!

Grain Free Tabouli

~ beckijuice ~ 3 Comments

IMG_5688 Parsley is abundant right now and to me that means only one thing–tabouli. Traditionally, tabouli is made with bulgar, yielding a distinctly nutty flavor while also lending some bulk.  Here, cauliflower and almonds replace the bulgar for a grain free alternative that is bright and crunchy and full of detoxifying sulphur compounds and antioxidants.  I like to mix in a dollop of greek yogurt and serve it alongside chicken or lamb.

¼ cup almonds
½ head cauliflower
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 cucumber, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
2 Tablespoons olive oil
juice of one lemon
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Place the almond in the food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Set aside. Break the cauliflower into florets and place in the food processor. Pulse until it resembles small grains. Combine the cauliflower and almonds, then fold in the parsley, mint, garlic, tomato, cucumber, and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with allspice, salt and pepper. Mix until incorporated and season to taste.