Category Archives: Dairy-Free

Roasted Beet Wedges with Champagne Vinegar

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This roasted beet recipe is the real deal. “Roasting” beets often calls for wrapping them in foil, baking them until tender and then peeling them. That’s a fine method, but it really steams the beets rather than roasts them. In this recipe, you’ll peel them  first, toss them with oil and vinegar, and roast them at high heat so they caramelize. Serve them warm as a side dish (they’re delicious with salmon or Arctic char) or cold to augment a tossed green salad. We call for baby beets, but any size or variety will work beautifully in this recipe.

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Love beets? Try these recipes:

 

Spicy Sauteed Rainbow Chard with Golden Raisins

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Rainbow chard’s vibrant orange, red and magenta stems are too pretty to toss into the compost. They have a crunchy texture similar to celery and add a colorful confetti-like cheer to this speedy saute. Serve as a side dish with, well, just about anything (it’s especially tasty with our Spiced Pork Roast) or toss with hot pasta and goat cheese for meatless entree.

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Tiny Cherry Tomato Sauce

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This is the perfect tomato sauce recipe to make with that extra pint of cherry tomatoes in your CSA box that’s sitting on your counter. Use it to dress a simple pasta or spoon it over a crispy chicken paillard.

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Veggie-Laden Drunken Noodles

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I consulted Asian cooking author and expert Nancie McDermott on how best to cook rice noodles for this recipe. She gave me two paradigm-shifting tips to keep them from sticking: 1) lower the heat and 2) add water to the pan. “Rice noodles in particular are prone to stick and burn,” Nancie says, “so they can use the coddling-along heat level rather than the fiery furnace.” Adding a bit of water if they start to stick also helps them soften and cook. Thanks, Nancie … my drunken noodles have never looked better! You can find Nancie’s Quick & Easy Thai in our Amazon Market here (also check out her Quick & Easy Vietnamese, and Quick & Easy Chinese … in all three books the recipes are true to their word—quick and easy—but Nancie knows her stuff, too. She’s spent extensive time living in and studying all three countries, so the flavors are true to the cuisine).

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Grilled Salmon with Stone Fruit Salsa

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I developed this grilled salmon recipe when I got home from Cordova, Alaska bearing a few pounds of Copper River salmon. A simple salsa made with summer’s stone fruits is the perfect accompaniment.

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Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemon, Dates and Bulgur

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North Africa meets the Middle East in this Moroccan-inspired lamb tagine. Ras-al-hanout (translation: “head of the shop”) is a fragrant Moroccan spice blend of cinnamon, black pepper, cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne, cloves and allspice. You can find it, along with preserved lemons, at gourmet stores, Middle Eastern markets and some large gourmet supermarkets (I found both at Whole Foods). In this dish, whole-grain bulgur stands in for traditional couscous.

lamb-tagine-bulgur1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound lamb stew meat or shoulder roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ras-al-hanout
1 cup water
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped pitted green olives
1/4 cup chopped preserved lemon
1/4 cup chopped pitted dried dates
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup fine- or medium-grain bulgur
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add oil to pan. Generously season lamb with salt and pepper. Add half of lamb to pan, and cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove lamb from pan. Repeat with remaining lamb.

Add onion to pan, and saute 2 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, ras al hanout, salt and pepper; saute 30 seconds or until fragrant. Return lamb to pan. Add water and oregano. Cover, place in the oven, and bake 1 hour. Add chickpeas, olives, preserved lemon and dates. Cover, and bake an additional 30 minutes or until lamb is fork-tender. If the lamb needs more time, put it back in the oven for 15 minutes or until it’s fall-apart tender.

While the lamb cooks, bring chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add bulgur. Cover, remove from heat, and let it stand for 10-20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide bulgur evenly among 4 plates. Top evenly with lamb mixture. Sprinkle evenly with parsley and cilantro.

Serves 4

Vegan Tempeh Fajitas

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Tempeh is a firm, chewy cake made from fermented soybeans, and its dense texture makes it a hearty yet cholesterol-free and very low-fat stand-in for meat. It’s a staple of vegan cuisine. You can crumble into chili, or slice it and throw it on the grill. Here, we use it as a substitute for beef in fajitas. Tempeh does well marinated (it really soaks up the flavors). For this weeknight-friendly recipe, combine the tempeh with the marinade in the morning, pop it in the fridge, and then finish the recipe in the evening. We use plain old soy tempeh, but you can use other varieties, such as flax or three-grain. Serve with salsa (either End-of-Summer Pico de Gallo or Fiery-Sweet Peach Salsa) and a dollop of Guatemalan Guacamole.

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End-of-Summer Pico de Gallo

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This simple pico de gallo salsa recipe is a tasty way to use up late-season tomatoes, and you can pull it together in no time. Pico de gallo — also known as salsa fresca — is traditional uncooked Mexican salsa. Serve it with our Vegan Tempeh Fajitas, as a condiment with grilled chicken or fish, or simply with chips and a nice, cold beer.

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Really Easy Roasted Ratatouille

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Ratatouille is a Provencal specialty that’s a classic way to use a garden’s summer bounty of eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and bell pepper. In culinary school, I was taught to saute each vegetable separately, and then simmer them all together. That’s too much work. In this ratatouille recipe, everything is tossed together in one pan and roasted until the vegetables are tender and slightly caramelized. Serve the ratatouille hot, at room temperature or cold as a side dish, tossed with pasta, atop pizza or grilled bread, or even tucked into a quesadilla.

roasted-ratatouille-recipe

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Hot-Smoked Sablefish (Black Cod)

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Wild-caught sablefish (a k a black cod, Alaska cod, butterfish) from Alaska is a fatty, mild-flavored fish with luscious, buttery texture. It’s an ideal candidate for smoking. If your fillet is long, cut it in half so you can pull the thinner tail end, which will cook more quickly, off the grill when it’s done. If you can’t find sablefish, use wild Alaskan salmon instead. Your choice of wood will influence the taste. For more pronounced smoky flavor, use hickory. For subtle smokiness, use applewood. Serve atop crackers, flaked over a tossed green salad or with bagels and cream cheese (with capers, of course).

hot-smoked-sablefish-black-cod

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