Pollo Borracho and Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Pollo borracho (Cuban style drunken chicken) is one of my favorite party dishes. It's easy to make a day ahead of time, and just re-heat on the stove or in the oven. And! It's great as leftovers days later. Oh, and it's pretty much impossible to mess up, so it turns out delicious every time.

Cilantro lime cauliflower rice has been making the rounds on food blogs and pinterest, so of course I decided to put my own spin on it and give you the recipe here. The flavors go perfectly with pollo borracho, and it's so easy and tasty that you won't even miss your white rice. If you change around the spices, you can serve it in place of white rice in any meal.
 

{browning the chicken}

{letting it simmer}

Pollo Borracho (Drunken Chicken, Cuban style)
Ingredients:
one 4- to 5-pound frying chicken, cut into serving pieces and skin removed (you can also buy pre-cut breasts or thighs, that's what I usually do)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
 1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, thickly sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup large green Spanish olives (with the pimientos), drained and roughly chopped
Directions:
1.) Wash the chicken pieces, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano.
2.) In a dutch oven (or large oven-proof skillet big enough to hold the chicken pieces without crowding), heat the olive oil over medium heat until fragrant, and brown the chicken pieces well on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and onions, and cook, stirring, until tender, 6-8 minutes, adding more oil if necessary.
3.) Add the bay leaf, wines, and olives and stir to incorporate. Return the chicken to the pan, cover, and cook over low heat until tender, about 45-60 minutes. If you prefer, you can place the covered skillet in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes instead. Remove the bay leaf and serve with cauliflower rice.

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:
1/2 large head of cauliflower
1/2 yellow/white onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
zest of one large lime
juice from 1/2 a lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
a dash of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1.) Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor or grate it, so that it resembles grains of rice.
2.) Heat a large pan to medium heat and add olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook until just translucent, then add riced cauliflower.
3.) Cover the pan and let steam for 6-7 minutes, or until cauliflower is softened and gently cooked through.
4.) Remove cover and cook off any excess liquid.
5.) Add in lime zest, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then transfer to a serving dish. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the rice and serve.

{you can also shred the chicken & mix it in with the rice: delish!}

Savory Leek and Arugla Tart

Let's put your almond flour crust making skills to good use, now in a savory dish! This recipe has recently become one of my favorite go-to recipes for dinner when I'm running out of food in the fridge and needing to go the grocery store.  Although I use leeks and arugula for the tart here, this recipe works well for a number of different fillings. If you only have onions and spinach on hand, that would be just as delicious. You can also change the herbs and spices depending on your taste and what you have on hand at home. This tart would also be perfect for serving at a brunch. It's loosely adapted from this recipe.

 
Crust:

2 1/2 cups almond flour/almond meal

1/4 parmesan, finely shredded (not pre-grated, they put corn starch in that stuff!)

1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

1/8 cup ice water 

Filling:  
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

4 leeks (white part), thoroughly cleaned and coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander 

5 large eggs 

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated 

a handful of cilantro, chopped 

2 1/2 oz arugula  

To make crust:  

1.) Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Combine cold butter, almond flour, parmesan, salt, pepper and water, and knead into a firm dough. The dough should be crumbly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

2.) Roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment, then invert into your greased tart pan. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of your pan. (If you have a 10-inch springform tart pan, that would work best. Since I don't, I use a regular ceramic tart pan. I just end up with a little extra filling that I bake in a small dish.) 

3.) Bake at 300 for about 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare the filling.

To make filling:  

1.) Melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add in leeks and spices and then cover and cook until leeks are tender, stirring every so often. Remove from heat and transfer leeks to a bowl to cool. 

2.) In a separate bowl combine eggs, cream, milk, both cheeses and whisk to combine. Mix in cooled leeks, cilantro, and arugula into mixture.

3.) Pour filling into crust and bake at 375 degrees. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until filling starts to puff, gold spots appear and center is set. Remove from oven and transfer to rack and cool slightly. Serve warm. 

 

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I love soup, have you noticed yet? In cold weather, there's nothing better. And this soup is a delicious way to consume a lot of vegetables and not mind one bit. This soup will freeze well, so you can make a big batch and save some for later. And the cheddar crackers from my last post make an excellent topping instead of starchy saltines.

{pureed using an immersion blender, before adding in the cheese}

{stirring in the cheeses}

Broccoli Cheddar Soup - adapted just slightly from Cook's Illustrated

serves 6-8

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds broccoli, florets roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 (medium) cloves garlic, minced, or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tsps)

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 teaspoons brown mustard
Table salt
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, (but if you're a veggie who can eat starch, vegetable broth will work just fine) - I actually used turkey broth that I made from our thanksgiving turkey carcass and it was perfect
2 ounces baby spinach (2 loosely packed cups)
3 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated fine (about 3/4 cup), plus extra for serving
Ground black pepper

optional: 1/4 cup heavy cream

 1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, mustard, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup white wine and baking soda. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.

2. Add broth and 2 cups water and increase heat to medium-high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove pot from heat. 

3. If you have an immersion blender, blend the soup right in the pot. If not, transfer soup to a blender (do this in parts, all of the soup won't fit in the blender at once) and process until smooth. Pour the soup back into the dutch oven and add Cheddar and Parmesan, and stir with a wooden spoon until melted and smooth about 1 minute.  

4. Put dutch oven back on medium heat and bring to simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup water. If you'd like it a little creamier (like me), add in heavy cream and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

 

Classic Chicken Salad

With hurricane Sandy in town, I've been thinking about different meals I could make that we could have already available, no cooking necessary, in case we lose our power. And chicken salad is one of those meals I could eat all year round; it's delicious no matter the season. I know most people probably already have their own favorite version of chicken salad, but this recipe is so good, it's worth posting.

Since apples are available now, I made this version with honeycrisp apples. But if I make it in the spring, I usually use sliced green grapes and celery instead. Chopped walnuts and almonds also make nice additions to chicken salad, really you can make a million variations and they {almost}always turn out delicious. This recipe is adapted from the one in Cooks Illustrated May & June 2012 and makes the perfect classic chicken salad.

Classic Chicken Salad
serves 4-6
salt and pepper (I use seasoning salt too)
4 (6-8 ounce), skinless chicken breasts, no more than 1 inch thick
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 honeycrisp apple, chopped (depending on the season, I'll use 1 cup of green grapes, sliced in half, instead of the apples and add in 2 ribs of celery to add some crunch)
2 green onions, sliced
salad greens

1.) Dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in 6 cups cold water in a Dutch oven and submerge the chicken in water. Heat pot over medium heat until water registers 170 degrees. Turn off heat, cover pot, and let stand until chicken registers 165 degrees, 15-17 minutes.

2.) Transfer chicken to paper towel lined plate and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes. While chicken cools, whisk mayo, lemon juice, mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl.

3.) Pat chicken dry and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Transfer chicken to bowl with mayo mixture. Add apple, green onion and anything else you like in your salad and toss to combine. Season with pepper and seasoning salt and serve on a bed of your favorite salad greens. Salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. 

Pork Chops with Mozzarella and Homemade Tomato Sauce

It's like pizza on your pork chops! This dish makes an excellent weeknight dinner because it's simple to put together and you can leave it alone to cook. And it's pretty quick, especially if you have the tomato sauce made ahead of time. Roi said that he thought it tasted even better as leftovers, which he doesn't say about anything really, so you know that these have to be good.

This is another recipe adapted from Everyday Food and you can find the original recipe right here.  I decided to pan-cook my pork so that I could get it really tender, so my cheese didn't brown like in the original recipe that was done under the broiler. If you go with the broiler method instead, let me know how it turns out! My tomato sauce for this recipe is taken directly from my Starch Free Pizza post and is just re-posted here for your convenience. It's my go-to, on-the-fly tomato sauce.

{getting things ready}

{browning the meat and making the sauce}

Pork Chops with Mozzerella and Tomato Sauce
serves 4-6 (depending on how much you want to make)
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 lb. pork chops/pork cutlets
1/2-3/4 cup tomato sauce (see recipe below for making your own)
6-8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into slices

1.) Trim the pork chops and season with salt and pepper. Add a few lugs of olive oil to a large skillet and heat on the stove over medium-high heat until the olive oil is fragrant.
2.) Add the pork chops to the pan and cook on first side until browned, 2-3 minutes. Then flip them over and brown the other side.
3.) Once both sides of the pork are browned, turned the heat down to medium low, cover the skillet and let simmer for 25-30 minutes. Keep an eye on the skillet, just to make sure the pork chops don't burn. If bottom starts to caramelize, just de-glaze the pan by adding in a little white wine or sherry. And don't skimp out on this part, this is what makes the pork really tender.
4.) Still in the pan, cover the pork chops in tomato sauce then add a slice or two of mozzerella to each one. Re-cover the pan and let cook until mozzerella is melted, about 5 minutes.
5.) Serve with a lettuce salad and add extra tomato sauce on top, if you're like me and you like it extra saucy.

Simple Tomato Sauce*
makes 1/2-3/4 cup
2-3 tablespoons butter
4-6 medium tomatoes, chopped (depends on how much sauce you want!)
a small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
salt & pepper
basil, oregano (to your liking)

1.) Add butter and onion to a saucepan and saute over medium heat until onion is tender and starting to turn golden in color.
2.) Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn the garlic.
3.) Add white wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Add tomatoes and turn up the heat to medium high.
4.) Once the sauce starts boiling, I usually turn the heat back down to medium and let the sauce lightly boil for awhile, so that most of the moisture from the tomatoes can evaporate.
5.) Once the sauce begins to thicken (after 10-15 minutes), add the seasoning to taste. Turn the heat down very low and let the sauce thicken.

**I never really measure anything when I make this sauce, I kind of just throw in what I have available, go on what feels right, and keep tasting it as I go along. It always turns out delicious; this sauce is almost impossible to mess up.

Picadillo Pie: My Quest to Invent a Starch Free Casserole

 
I consider this the first recipe that I ever invented, so I'm kind of (really) proud of it.  Casseroles are classic comfort foods and they're always good as leftovers, when you don't have time to cook dinner every day. But looking through the recipes for casseroles I know and love, all of them had one thing in common: multiple starchy ingredients. So I set out to create one that would work with the diet, and this layered casserole is what I came up with. It's based on Cuban flavors, with an American-style casserole twist.

Picadillo is a pretty generic name for a beef hash containing tomatoes, and many Latin cultures have their own version of the dish. The picadillo recipe I use is adapted from the recipe from Memories of a Cuban Kitchen.

Picadillo Pie
makes one 9x13 casserole

for the Picadillo:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped (sometimes I add in green onions too, it depends on what I have around)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef, turkey or bison (the example pictures are made with bison-it's local and free range!)
1/4 cup dry sherry or dry white wine
1.5-2 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 4-5 medium sized tomatoes), chopped
salt and pepper (~1 tablespoon salt and pepper to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 cup pimento stuffed green olives, roughly chopped

1.) In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over low heat until fragrant, then add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 8-10 minutes. Add the ground meat and cook, stirring, until browned, 10-15 minutes. I usually also add some of the salt, pepper, cumin and oregano at this point as well.  Use a wooden spoon to break up any large chunks of meat.
2.) Add the sherry, tomatoes and salt, and stir, and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Add the olives to the mix, adjust the seasonings to taste and continue cooking until most of the liquid is absorbed, 10-15 minutes.

to make the Casserole:
1 small head of cauliflower (or 2/3 of a large head)
5 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups grated Muenster cheese

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Steam/boil cauliflower in a covered pot with 2 cups of water until soft, about 6 minutes. Drain and let cool for a few minutes. Then use a blender or food processor to process the cauliflower until it resembles mushy grains of rice.
2.) Put the cauliflower in a medium sized bowl. Mix in the eggs and 1/2 cup of the cheese with the cauliflower.
3.) Spread about 3/4 cup of the picadillo over the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, just to cover it. Spread half of the egg/cheese/cauliflower mixture over that, then top that layer with half of the rest of the picadillo. Add the rest of the egg and cauliflower mixture on that layer, then add the rest of the picadillo on top of that. Cover the top of the casserole with an even layer of the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
4.) Bake in the oven, uncovered, until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese is starting to brown, 40-45 minutes.

{onions and garlic + green onions + ground bison}

{after adding in the tomatoes}

{I know this looks weird-it's because the farmers market cauliflower was green!}

{before the oven}

{after the oven}

Enjoy!

{No Starch in My} Pizza

I happened to try out this recipe at the exact point in time when I needed something like this: it's simple to make, relatively quick, infinitely customizable, all of the ingredients can be kept on hand and I was starting a new job and was definitely at a loss for time when it came to cooking. And it's pizza. I mean for realz, who doesn't like pizza?

If you can't eat grains, you have to try this recipe, or even if you're just gluten intolerant or are trying to cut back on complex carbs, you should keep this recipe in your back pocket.

The most time consuming part for me is making the sauce. If you can eat store-bought sauce, that's even more of a time-saver. But we've found that pretty much all store bought tomato based sauces tend to be starchy, so I always make tomato sauce at home from fresh tomatoes. I adapted this pizza recipe from one that I found on this blog. And in this post, I'm including a recipe for basic tomato sauce and a recipe for white sauce, for those times when you don't have any tomatoes on hand, but still want pizza. (That's actually why I developed the white sauce recipe in the first place. Except I realized I didn't have any tomatoes after I had already made the crust.)

{No Starch in My} Pizza
serves 4-6
ingredients for the crust:
8 ounce package of full fat cream cheese (at room temp.)
2 egg whites and 1 whole egg
salt & pepper
garlic powder, dried basil leaves, dried oregano leaves
1/4 shredded Parmesan cheese
ingredients for the pizza:
1/2-3/4 cup tomato sauce*
4 ounces mozzerella cheese, sliced thinly
fresh or dried basil and oregano
your choice of toppings (we love black olives, spinach, tomatoes, etc.)

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9x13 baking dish.
2.) Blend the cream cheese with the eggs until smooth, then mix in dried seasonings to taste.
3.) Add Parmesan cheese and stir until combined, then pour mixture into the baking dish.
4.) Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Let crust cool for 10 minutes before adding sauce, cheese and toppings.
5.) After the crust is done and cooling, raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
6.) Top the crust with sauce, mozzarella cheese and add whichever toppings are your fave. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Simple Tomato Sauce*
makes 1/2-3/4 cup
2-3 tablespoons butter
4-6 medium tomatoes, chopped (depends on how much sauce you want!)
a small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
salt & pepper
basil, oregano (to your liking)

1.) Add butter and onion to a saucepan and saute over medium heat until onion is tender and starting to turn golden in color.
2.) Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn the garlic.
3.) Add white wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Add tomatoes and turn up the heat to medium high.
4.) Once the sauce starts boiling, I usually turn the heat back down to medium and let the sauce lightly boil for awhile, so that most of the moisture from the tomatoes can evaporate.
5.) Once the sauce begins to thicken (after 10-15 minutes), add the seasoning to taste. Turn the heat down very low and let the sauce thicken.

**I never really measure anything when I make this sauce, I kind of just throw in what I have available, go on what feels right, and keep tasting it as I go along. It always turns out delicious; this sauce is almost impossible to mess up.

Simple White Sauce for Pizza
makes about 1/2 cup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried thyme)
salt and pepper

1.) In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5-6 minutes, or until translucent. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute longer.
2.) Add cream, lower heat to medium-low and cook for about 5 minutes, or until cream thickens and reduces slightly.
3.) Remove from heat and stir in any seasoning. Let sauce cool before spreading on your pizza.

French Onion Soup

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Summer just hit and soup is the last thing you want to make, that all it will do is heat up your kitchen and make you feel miserable. Maybe. But French onion soup isn't just any soup, and this isn't just any recipe for onion soup. I've made at least 4 different versions of French onion soup so far in my life, and this one is by far the best. (You get a little obsessed with finding the perfect recipe for French onion soup when you've been to France and had the perfect French onion soup.) And once you make it, you'll want to eat 3 bowls in a row, it's that flavorful.

French Onion Soup (Soupe à l’Oignon)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, in turn adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces or about 5 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon table salt, plus additional to taste
3 tablespoons almond meal
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken or beef broth (make sure when buying broth that it doesn't have pureed carrots or tomato paste in it, because those are both starchy, making your own is the best way to go)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 4-5 quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes. They don’t need your attention for this part.

2. After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and stir in the salt. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes until they have turned an even, deep golden brown. You want them to be browned, but not super caramelized, because caramelizing them makes the onions starchy. This step will build the complex and intense flavor base that will carry the rest of the soup, so don't cut it too short.


{browning the onions}

3. After the onions are browned, sprinkle them with almond meal and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine in full, then stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 more minutes, skimming if needed. Correct seasonings if needed.

{finished soup--I know it's not much to look at, but it tastes amazing}


4. Preheat oven to 325. Arrange six ovenproof soup bowls or crocks on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Bring the soup back to a boil and divide among six bowls. To each bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon grated raw onion and a tablespoon of grated cheese. Stir to combine. Dab your bread with a tiny bit of butter and float a few on top of your soup bowls, attempting to cover it. Mound grated cheese on top of it; how much you use will be up to you,but if you love cheese, you could use as much as 1/4 cup per bowl.

{in the oven}


5. Bake soups on tray for 10 minutes, then preheat broiler. Finish for a minute or two under the broiler to brown the top lightly. Make sure that you use pot holders (because those bowls are going to be scalding) and serve immediately

{finished!}


French Onion Soup (Soupe à l’Oignon)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, in turn adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces or about 5 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon table salt, plus additional to taste
3 tablespoons almond meal
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken or beef broth (make sure when buying broth that it doesn't have pureed carrots or tomato paste in it, because those are both starchy, making your own is the best way to go)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Freshly ground black pepper
Gratinée (Optional)
1 tablespoon grated raw onion/raw green onion
1 to 2 cups (to taste) grated Swiss, or a mixture of Swiss and Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
12 to 16 1-inch thick slices of starch free pumpernickel bread (see this post), toasted

1. Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 4-5 quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes. They don’t need your attention for this part.
2. After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and stir in the salt. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes until they have turned an even, deep golden brown. You want them to be browned, but not super caramelized, because caramelizing them makes the onions starchy. This step will build the complex and intense flavor base that will carry the rest of the soup, so don't cut it too short.
3. After the onions are browned, sprinkle them with almond meal and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine in full, then stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 more minutes, skimming if needed. Correct seasonings if needed. 

The soup is so good on it's own , it's not necessary to do the graitinéed top. But sometimes it's nice to be fancy.
4. Preheat oven to 325. Arrange six ovenproof soup bowls or crocks on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Bring the soup back to a boil and divide among six bowls. To each bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon grated raw onion and a tablespoon of grated cheese. Stir to combine. Dab your bread with a tiny bit of butter and float a few on top of your soup bowls, attempting to cover it. Mound grated cheese on top of it; how much you use will be up to you,but if you love cheese, you could use as much as 1/4 cup per bowl.
5. Bake soups on tray for 10 minutes, then preheat broiler. Finish for a minute or two under the broiler to brown the top lightly. Make sure that you use pot holders (because those bowls are going to be scalding) and serve immediately

Vaca Frita (Cuban Stir-Fried Beef)

{vaca frita + roasted cauliflower}

Vaca frita is a standard Cuban dish, and one of the first that I learned to make. It's a dish that you have to plan ahead for, but it's worth it, and it's really tasty as leftovers. It's really good served with seasoned cauliflower, whether it be roasted, in "rice" form, or mashed. This recipe came from Memories of a Cuban Kitchen, a really great collection of Cuban recipes.

{boiling the meat}

{shredded beef, pre-stir frying}

{stir-frying}

Vaca Frita
makes 4-6 servings
one 2 1/2 lb. flank steak, cut into 1/3s
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large onion, cut in 1/2 and each 1/2 thinly sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

1. Put the beef and bay leaf in a large saucepan, cover with salted water, and cook over low heat, covered, until the meat is tender, 1-1 1/2 hours. Then remove the meat from the stock and allow to cool at room temperature. When the meat is cool, cut it into 2-inch chunks, shred it using your fingers, and place in a large nonreactive bowl. Add the citrus juices, garlic, salt, and pepper, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight.

2. Remove the meat from the marinade and squeeze out the excess liquid. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until fragrant and cook the onions, stirring, 5-6 minutes. Add the beef shreds and cook, stirring, 10 minutes more, until the beef is crisp. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Sometimes, depending on what I have around, I'll also add in a little orange juice or sherry when I'm stir-frying, they both add really nice flavor to the dish.

Zucchini Lasagna

Have you had enough zucchini pasta yet? Zucchini lasagna has become one of our household staples. It tastes great as leftovers and since it makes at least 6 large servings, that means I don't have to cook dinner every single night. Zucchini makes an awesome substitute for pasta in general, not just for lasagna noodles. (See here for zucchini spaghetti & meatballs.)
 
In an effort to eat less red meat and no pink slime, I don't usually use beef in this recipe (the lasagna in the photo was made using ground turkey). If I can get it, I'll use free-range bison (they sell it at our local farmer's market) or turkey and it tastes great. Bison and turkey are leaner than ground beef too. This lasagna won't be as tomato-y as you're used to because you have to use fresh tomatoes, but it still tastes amazing. And I use a lot of mozzarella cheese. 

Zucchini Lasagna
serves 6-8
olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey or bison
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground oregano
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5-6 fresh tomatoes (for the tomato puree, you'll need about 1 cup)
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 medium zucchinis
6 ounces mozzarella cheese (I use mozz. that comes in a whole block and cut in into thin slices that will spread as they melt in the oven)
2 ounces parmesan cheese (I use the fancier parmesan that comes in blocks that I can shred myself, because parm. that comes pre-grated has anti-sticking starches in it)

1. For the tomato puree: Core and roughly chop 5-6 medium tomatoes. Put them in a food processor/blender and mix until completely processed. Place a mesh sieve over a medium sized bowl. Pour the tomato puree over the sieve, so that the juice drains into the bowl. You'll use the tomatoes that remain in the sieve for your sauce. I usually end up pouring in about 1/2 cup of the juice into the sauce, but not all of it. (If you just chop up the tomatoes and add them to the meat, your sauce will be too watery.)

{making the sauce}

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender.  Add the meat and sauté until browned all over. Add all of the spices, salt and pepper. Stir and pour in the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes. Simmer on medium heat about 30 minutes -- until the sauce has thickened.

{zucchini strips}

3. Slice the zucchinis lengthwise into thin slices. Pour a small amount of the sauce to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Add a layer of zucchini slices, pour half the sauce onto the zucchini layer, and top with half of the mozzarella slices. Add another layer of zucchini and top with the last of the meat sauce, the rest of the mozzarella and all of the parmesan.

4. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. And you will want more.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Homemade Tomato Sauce & Meatballs

This is a pretty time consuming meal (compared to pasta out of a box and tomato sauce out of a jar) mostly because of all of the parts that you have to make. But let me assure you, it's well worth the work and the wait.

The sauce you can make ahead of time and use for multiple dishes and you can cut the zucchini spaghetti strips ahead of time as well. I like to bake our meatballs, rather than cooking them on the stove; when you're cooking the sauce and the zucchini, you don't have much stove space leftover anyway. Zucchini makes an awesome substitute for other kinds of pasta dishes, too. I'll have a zucchini lasagna recipe post coming up soon.

{my tomatoes, ready to go}

{tomato sauce, cooking}

For the Tomato Sauce:
adapted from the Smitten Kitchen recipe and serves 4
10 medium-large ripe fresh tomatoes
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

1. Bring a big pot of water to a boil (it should have enough water to cover all of the tomatoes). Once boiling, immerse the the tomatoes in the water for 1 minute, then pour the water and tomatoes in a strainer and rinse the tomatoes with cold water. You should be able to slip the peels off of the tomatoes easily. Peel and core the tomatoes.

2. Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

For the Meatballs:
serves 5-6
1 lb. ground turkey or ground bison (ground beef = pink slime)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (from a block--not pre-grated, that's starchy!)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine meat, garlic, almond meal, cheese, basil, eggs, 2 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in a bowl. Mix together with your hands (I suppose you could use a pastry cutter, I just find this to be the easiest way) until completely mixed. Roll into 1-inch balls, and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

2. Bake for 16-20 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through, but juicy.

For the Zucchini Spaghetti: 
1 medium zucchini per person (I used 3 so there would be extra)

1. Cut the zucchini into thin slices, then slice into thin strips (unless you have a magical machine that will do this for you, which I don't).

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, put in the zucchini and cook for 30 seconds, then pour into a strainer. It's important not to overcook these, or they won't have the right pasta-like consistency.

3. Put everything together, sprinkle some basil and shredded parmesan and have a delicious meal!

Camarones en Crema con Cilantro (shrimp in a creamy cilantro sauce)

Despite the fact that at least half of the meals I cook at home are Cuban in origin, I haven't shared many of those meals on the blog yet. Maybe it's because we tend to eat those meals so quickly I don't get a descent photo of them before they're gone. Needless to say, there will be many starch-free versions of Cuban recipes in the future.

This is a really simple and delicious recipe to make, and can be a quick dinner if you don't have much time to spend cooking. I used a version adapted from this book.

Camarones en Crema con Cilantro
6-8 servings
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 large, ripe tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I usually put in a lot, because we love cilantro)
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 1/2 lbs large raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

for the sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup fish stock, chicken stock or clam juice (I used chicken stock, because I had that on hand)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
few dashes of Tabasco sauce, optional

1. In a large skillet over low heat, melt the first amount of butter. When it begins to foam, add the garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, sherry, and shrimp, and cook, stirring, 4-5 minutes.

2. To prepare the sauce, in a saucepan over low heat, melt the second amount of butter. When it begins to foam, raise the heat to medium and whisk in the stock, milk and cream and cook, whisking, until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the salt, pepper, Tabasco and Worcestershire.

3. Add the sauce to the shrimp, stir to blend, and cook over low heat 3-4 minutes. I like to serve this with either cauliflower "rice" or mashed cauliflower (as in the photo).

Homemade Pesto & Baked Pesto Chicken

{baked pesto chicken and kale}

For most of my life, I thought I didn't like pesto, but I think I was comparing store-bought to home made. And man, does it make a difference if you're eating it home made. Pesto is one of the quickest and tastiest sauces around and I like that it's so versatile. You can use it with baked chicken, zucchini noodles, starch free bread, on fish, etc. And you can change up the herbs and nuts depending on what you have available. I like to use walnuts, but almonds will work just fine. (P.S. I'll tell you about making kale another day.)

Pesto
makes about 1 1/2 cups
2 cups fresh basil or cilantro leaves (packed into a measuring cup)
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts or almonds
3/4 cup coarsely grated/shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 a lemon's worth of freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste

1. Wash basil/cilantro leaves if needed and dry. Put basil leaves and sliced garlic into food processor (or a blender if you don't have one) that's been fitted with the steel blade and process until basil and garlic is finely chopped, adding oil through the feed tube as you mix. You're going to have to take off the lid and scrape the sides with a rubber scraper periodically to make sure it all gets mixed.

{processing the basil & garlic}

2. Add walnuts, Parmesan cheese, and lemon juice to the chopped basil mixture and process 1-2 minutes more, until the pesto is mostly pureed and well mixed. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and pulse a few times more.

3. Store any leftover pesto in the refrigerator, where it will keep for more than a week. Pesto can also be frozen.

Baked Pesto Chicken
makes 4 servings
1 lb. chicken (I used boneless thighs, but breasts work well too)
salt and black pepper
1 cup pesto
4 oz. mozzarella cheese (I buy mozz. in a block because shredded cheeses usually have added starches to keep it from clumping)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. 

2. Spray a 9" x 12" baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/2 of the pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken pieces over the pesto, then spread the rest of the pesto over the chicken, making sure to cover all of the pieces.

{pre-baking chicken + pesto}

3. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (or use a baking dish with a tight-fitting lid) and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, just until chicken is barely firm and cooked through. But don't cook too much at this point, or the chicken will be overcooked by the time the cheese is melted and browned.

4. When the chicken is barely cooked through, remove foil and spread the chicken with mozzarella cheese slices. Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 5 -10 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. (If your broiler is separate from the oven, start preheating it when you take the chicken out.) After I melted the cheese for 5 minutes I switched my oven to broil and broiled for 5 minutes more, just long enough to get the cheese lightly browned.

{ready to eat}