sel et sucre

Tag: gluten-free

  • Vietnamese Shrimp Salad

    vietnamese shrimp salad

    We’ve had an exceptionally mild winter in DC this year (which, as someone with a very low tolerance for cold, I’ve actually enjoyed). At the beginning of March, temperatures suddenly shot up in the sixties and seventies, and it’s been feeling like spring ever since. With trees bursting into bloom and tulips out in full force right outside my front door, I just can’t bring myself to keep eating the same hearty soups and stews I’ve been relying on all winter. So when the recipe for this Vietnamese shrimp salad found its way into my inbox, I immediately set about cooking it. Crisp carrot, cucumber, and daikon radish tossed with fresh herbs and a ginger-lime dressing, then topped with shrimp and peanuts makes for the perfect refreshing dish for spring. Most of the work here is with chopping the vegetables and herbs, and once that’s done, the salad comes together really quickly. This made for a great weekend lunch all by itself, but it could also work as an appetizer.

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  • Blood Orange Curd

    blood orange curd

    I feel pretty lucky to have friends who are wholeheartedly enthusiastic about food. Nothing reminds me of this quite so much as when we get together for brunch; we pull out the leaves on the table just so we can have as much space as possible to load down with food. Bagels with cream cheese and lox, omelets, hash browns, biscuits, scones, bacon, curried vegetables, fresh fruit, crepes… and the list goes on. Sometimes it’s a chance to get creative, sometimes an excuse for a feast, and always a welcome time to relax and chat with friends.

    For our most recent brunch, I decided I wanted to make a blood orange curd to go with the crepes that my boyfriend was cooking. Of course, I managed to undercook my blood orange curd the first time around. As I shook my head with dismay and tried to hide the less than perfect results in the kitchen, my brunch companions excitedly spooned the “sauce” onto their crepes and reassured me that the flavor was still amazing. Nevertheless, I poured the concoction back into the saucepan after they’d left in a second attempt at thickening it up. Luckily, all I needed was a little more heat, and within minutes, I had my curd at the perfect consistency.

    Blood oranges are nearing the end of their season sadly, so now is the chance to embrace them while you still can. If you’ve had lemon curd, you can guess at how delicious blood orange curd is (and if not, a curd is a smooth sweet and tart spread, thickened by eggs, similar to a custard). The flavors here are a bit more subtle than lemon curd; there’s still that citrus tang, only now it’s accompanied by light floral notes and a gorgeous dusty rose color. Crepes are not the only option for this curd; it will do equally well slathered on scones and shortbread or used as the filling for a tart.

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  • Roasted Pepper and Mushroom Paprikash

    roasted pepper and mushroom paprikash

    Paprikash is a Hungarian stew, usually made with chicken, where the spicing comes entirely from paprika. As a paprika lover, this stew is naturally a favorite of mine. I’ve made a more traditional version using chicken before, but was recently inspired to try out this vegetarian version. The sweetness of roasted peppers and earthiness of cremini mushrooms is a great match with the paprika (I think I’m going to start adding both to my chicken paprikash!), and I tossed in some lentils to make it a little heartier.

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  • West African Peanut Soup

    african peanut soup

    Despite my love of bacon, I’ve recently found myself cooking a surprising amount of unintentionally vegan food. Meat is sadly quite pricey (especially if you’re like me and have qualms about eating factory-farmed meat with hormones and antibiotics), so I’m turning more and more to filling meals using fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, beans, and lentils. And I’m surprised at the great flavors I can develop using these ingredients. Take, for example, this West African peanut soup. Mostly basic ingredients, but somehow combining peanut butter and tomato paste with aromatics and curry powder yields a nearly irresistible soup. Vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike rave about this soup. And this could be a great base for a number of variations – sweet potatoes or other root vegetables would be a natural fit in here, as would chicken (if you can’t resist the urge to add some meat).

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  • Maple Peanut Butter Energy Bites

    energy balls

    These energy bites are my new favorite snack. A little sweet and packed with protein and fiber, they’re perfect for staving off mid-afternoon hunger pangs (a constant problem for me) and rife with possibilities for customization. Nearly every ingredient here can be swapped out; the peanut butter can be replaced with your favorite nut butter, the ground flax seed can be replaced with more chia seeds and vice versa, any of the dry ingredients can be partly replaced with cocoa powder for a chocolate version, and the maple syrup can be replaced with honey. You can even add in some chocolate chips, chopped dried fruit, or chopped nuts. I think my next batch will use pomegranate molasses (in place of maple syrup), walnut butter (in place of peanut butter), and chopped dates. They’re so easy to make and so convenient to have around that I’m now determined to always have some on hand!

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  • Fesenjan: Persian Pomegranate Walnut Chicken

    fesenjan

    Fesenjan is a simple and intensely flavored Persian chicken stew, thick with tart-sweet pomegranate molasses and rich toasted walnuts. Pomegranate molasses is a pantry staple of mine, and this recipe relies heavily on the syrup for it’s fruity tartness which permeates the chicken as it cooks. The use of walnuts meanwhile reminds me of the cashews in my vegetable korma except the walnuts here are only ground to fine bits instead of a paste. Actually, I think I’ll try grinding the walnuts to a paste with water as in the korma recipe next time; I imagine that would work well for anyone who doesn’t want actual crunchy bits of walnuts in the finished stew (although, personally, I like the variety of textures). The spicing is very simple with a few whole cardamom pods and a cinnamon stick thrown in – many recipes actually don’t even call for these (and you’ll be okay leaving them out), but I’ve found they add a little extra depth.

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  • Turkish Red Lentil Soup

    turkish red lentil soup

    I’ve been really enjoying red lentils lately. They fall apart when cooked which can help thicken soups and stews, and they’re great at absorbing flavors. They’re a fundamental piece of this Turkish red lentil soup which tastes amazingly complex for a dish with so few ingredients. I haven’t eaten a lot of Turkish food, and I was skeptical at first of the combination of paprika, cumin, mint, and sumac, but the flavors work perfectly together. Rich and hearty but with a freshness from the herbaceous mint and tart sumac, this soup would be a great start to a meal or a filling meal in and of itself.

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  • Blood Orange and Candied Walnut Salad

    blood orange and candied walnut salad

    I was lucky enough to recently receive a nice bottle of grape must as a gift. Having never even heard of this ingredient, I set about doing some research on it (and, of course, taste testing). Grape must, as it turns out, is essentially freshly pressed grape juice before it’s made into wine. Thick and sweet with just a little tartness, the taste is more reminiscent of raisins than your grocery store grape juice. In some countries, grape must is cooked down to form a thick syrup (called saba, pekmez, dibs, or grape molasses), and in fact, I even recall having eaten this before when in Lebanon (as a dessert with a soft mild cheese and whole wheat bread). I’m excited to experiment with my grape must (and will probably be trying my hand at making a small batch of grape molasses to recreate the dessert I had in Lebanon), and this salad was an amazing starting point.

    I like my salads with a good amount of sweetness to them. So here, in addition to grape must, I’ve used blood oranges and candied walnuts to make this salad truly decadent. Having discovered that traditional balsamic vinegar (i.e. “aceto balsamico tradizionale”) is actually fermented and aged grape must, I opted to let the grape must take the place of balsamic. Goat cheese and mixed greens help to balance the dish. The result is fantastic, and I found myself craving more immediately after eating it (and couldn’t keep myself from making it again the next day and then again a few days later).

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  • Berbere Candied Walnuts

    candied walnuts

    Let me warn you; these candied walnuts are addictive. After they’ve cooled, you will eat one to taste test and then inevitably decide you need to taste test about ten or twenty more, just to be sure. You will set them out for guests and then find yourself hovering next to the bowl to snack on them yourself. You will want to find ways to include them in everything you eat, from yogurt to salads to cookies. And you will feel an undeniable urge to make another batch once the first has run out.

    Berbere adds a hint of spiciness to the caramelized coating on these nuts, but you can also use garam masala or a mixture of cinnamon and cayenne pepper if you don’t have the Ethiopian spice mix on hand. On that note, feel free to use almonds, peanuts, pecans, or hazelnuts instead of walnuts here. You have lots of options for customizing this basic recipe, and it’s really hard to go wrong. These candied nuts are perfect for giving away as a gift, bringing to parties for a snack. or, you know, hoarding at home.

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  • Ethiopian Berbere

    ethiopian berbere

    Growing up in DC (home to the largest Ethiopian population outside of Ethiopia), I’ve gotten used to a city with a plethora of cheap and delicious Ethiopian restaurants. My favorite place is a mere half mile from me and offers up a vegetarian platter big enough for two or three people for ten dollars. So it’s understandably difficult for me to motivate myself to try cooking Ethiopian food. But I might not be in this city forever, and the flavorful filling stews and spongy sour bread has become somewhat of a comfort food for me so I recently decided to try my hand at making them. The very first step in cooking delicious Ethiopian food is the spicy and fragrant spice mix known as berbere. This deep red mixture is vaguely reminiscent of Indian garam masala with warm sweeter spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg playing a role on top of spicy chiles, cumin, fenugreek, cardamom, and coriander. Berbere adds a large amount of paprika to these spices for a unique and unmistakable flavor that serves as the base for many different Ethiopian stews.

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