gluten free

May – Balsamic Skirt Steak and Chili Cherry Tomatoes
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May – Balsamic Skirt Steak and Chili Cherry Tomatoes

A butcher here on the coast told me recently that skirt steak was only of interest in the summer when folks used their BBQs, so they didn’t stock it right now. I mean really…we don’t live in the middle of Montana where temperatures are in the negative double digits in the winter! Can you imagine anything more ridiculous? Unless it’s pouring rain outside, BBQ weather on the California coast is 12 months of the year.

Consequently, the skirt steak didn’t come from our local market here on the coast. I purchased a couple from my favorite butcher in Oakland and froze them on my return to Fort Bragg.

Now tomatoes are a different matter. Nothing compares with summer sun-ripened tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes have to stand in during the cooler months and they could use some doctoring. I would serve this tomato salad with any grilled or roasted meat. In the summer it would be fun to use cherry tomatoes of different colors.

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Skirt steak cooks very quickly, it took longer to heat the BBQ grill. It also has different thicknesses, so everyone can have their favorite degree of doneness. Make the cherry tomato salad ahead, it will only improve from sitting at room temperature for a few hours. You can add the arugula (or basil if you are lucky enough to have it) at the last minute.

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:

  • For the marinade –
    • 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
    • 1/4 cup of olive oil
    • 2 cloves of garlic, grated
    • 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs, such as a combination of rosemary, basil, and sage – finely chopped
  • For the steak –
    • 3 pounds of a skirt or hanger steak
    • 1 basket of cherry tomatoes, halved
    • 1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced (I used 1/2 since one person is sensitive to heat)
    • 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
    • 1 garlic clove grated
    • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
    • 1 bunch of basil or arugula

Method:

  1. Whisk the marinade ingredients in a 1-gallon plastic bag or a bowl.
  2. Cut the steak into manageable pieces.
  3. Season the steak with salt and pepper and pour the marinade over it. Marinate overnight.
  4. Make the tomato salad by tossing the tomatoes with the salt and the chili pepper. Stir in the vinegar, garlic, and olive oil. Set aside until the steak is grilled.
  5. Grill the steak over high heat for a few minutes on each side, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
  6. Toss the tomatoes with the basil or arugula.
  7. Cut the steak into manageable pieces, and scatter the tomato salad on top.
Marinated and Grilled Skirt Steak with Spicy Cherry Tomato Salad

Marinated and Grilled Skirt Steak with Spicy Cherry Tomato Salad

 

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

This recipe came from Malibu Farm Cookbook, Recipes from the California Coast by Helene Henderson.

Malibu Farm Cookbook

Malibu Farm Cookbook

May – Carrot and Saffron Socca
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May – Carrot and Saffron Socca

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

What is socca? It’s a pancake made with chickpea flour. A more complete explanation comes from Google:

Farinata, socca, torta di ceci, or cecina is a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe made from chickpea flour. It originated in Italy and later became a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Sardinia and Elba islands. It is also typical in Gibraltar, where it is called calentita.

Socca is gluten-free and dairy free. In this recipe crumbled feta is added to the salad, leave it out for a dairy-free and vegan meal.

The recipe comes from salad freak by Jess Damuck.

There are a couple of ways I will change this when I make it next time. Suggestion number one has to do with the batter. The socca batter is baked in a 12-inch cast-iron or round griddle pan. The pancake was quite thick and although it was crisp on the outside, it was more like a regular fluffy pancake in the middle. The salad makes enough for two pancakes. And there is enough batter to make two thinner pancakes, which would be crisper.

Suggestion number two is that I would dress the salad with a tablespoon of mild vinegar, two of olive oil, salt, and pepper. The pesto would be dolloped on top, each person could mix it in as desired. I felt it was lost as a dressing for the salad.

I plan to make this again very soon with the changes noted above. Meanwhile, I will post this as it was written in the book, let me know what you think.

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of fresh carrots with their tops. Peel the carrots and reserve the tops
  • 2 lemons
  • 3 radishes
  • 3 scallions
  • Fresh chives with their flowers
  • 1/3 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
  • Big pinch of saffron
  • 1 cup of chickpea flour
  • 1 cup of lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the pesto and salad:

  • 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
  • Crushed red pepper flakes

 

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and place a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or round griddle inside

Prepare the socca batter –

  1. Add a big pinch of saffron to the 1 cup of lukewarm water, and let it seep for 10 minutes.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of chickpea flour and 1 teaspoon of salt (kosher), add the saffron water and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Whisk until smooth and set aside.

Prepare the pesto –

  1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. Put a bowl of water in the sink with some ice cubes, this will be your ice bath.
  3. Remove the tops for the carrots, discarding any tough stems or wilted leaves. Rinse the tops well until clean. Add them to the boiling water and cook for about 30 seconds, until bright green. Transfer the tops to the ice bath with a slotted spoon or spider. Once cool, remove the tops and squeeze out any excess moisture. Spread them on paper towels or a tea towel to dry completely.
  4. Once dry, finely chop them in a small bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup of olive oil, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Taste and season with salt. (I used a mini food processor for this step.)

Prepare the salad –

  1. Using a Y-peeler or a mandoline, create thin ribbons from the carrots.
  2. Thinly slice the radishes.
  3. Add both vegetables to the ice bath used for the carrot tops. This will crisp them while you cook the socca.
  4. Slice the scallions and chives (if using)

Make the socca –

  1. Carefully remove the preheated pan from the oven and place it on top of the stove.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the scallions and cook until softened.
  3. Carefully pour the batter into the pan and return it to the oven.
  4. Bake until golden brown and completely set – 10 to 12 minutes. For additional color, you can broil it for a couple of minutes.

Assemble –

  1. Drain the carrots and radishes, pat them dry, and add them to a bowl. Toss with a few spoonfuls of the pesto, 1/2 cup of toasted almonds, 1/3 cup of crumbled feta, and the chives.
  2. Scatter this mixture on top of the socca and serve with the pepper flakes on the side.
Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

 

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

Everything could be made ahead, baked, and assembled at the last minute. Other recipes I have seen for socca call for letting the batter rest, in the fridge, for several hours. The salad would be more flavorful if it had a chance to soak up some of the dressing. Goat cheese would be a good stand in for the feta.

It’s a wonderful, light, flavorful meal. It could even be a starter, cut into small portions.

 

March – Tender Almond Cake
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March – Tender Almond Cake

I should explain that I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. Do I hear gasps out there? I know, it’s not a popular viewpoint.

Salt is another matter, I’ve yet to meet a crisp chip of any kind that I don’t immediately adore. But sugar, not so much. My first blog post was in late September of 2014 and, since that date, there have been exactly 5 recipes for desserts.

Working backward, the last one was in May of 2022: Overnight Croissant French Toast Bake with Coffee Rum Sauce

In May 2021: Sweet and Salty Cream Cheese Tart

In June 2015: Lavender Nut Cake

In December 2014: Raspberry streusel bars

And in November 2014 my mother’s secret recipe: Pot of Chocolate

Here is number 6, Tender Almond Cake. It’s not too sweet, both dairy and gluten-free. The recipe came from Salvatore Messina at the NY Times. It’s a keeper, good for dessert with some fresh fruit. But it’s also wonderful with a cup of tea or coffee in the morning or as an afternoon snack.

My pictures do not do it justice. If I wasn’t leaving for New Zealand in a few days I would make it again just for the pictures…it will have to wait until I get back. I wanted to get this recipe into your hands.

Almond Cake

Almond Cake

The recipe is similar to an Italian almond cake. However, he adapted it from a recipe for torta de Santiago the traditional almond cake from Galicia, Spain, using less sugar, no cinnamon, and more orange zest.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter (or butter substitute) for greasing the pan
  • 8 oz/227 grams of blanched almonds
  • 6 large eggs, separated
  • 1-1/4 cups/250 grams of granulated sugar
  • 1 orange, zested
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • Confectioners sugar for dusting

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides.
  2. Pulse the almonds a few times in a food processor, then grind them, until they become a coarse meal. This will take 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the ground almonds, zests, and almond extract until incorporated. Transfer the mixture to another large bowl and thoroughly wipe and clean the bowl of the stand mixer.
  4. In the clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks on medium-high, for 1 to 2 minutes. Incorporate the whites into the egg yolk-sugar-almond mixture until no white streaks remain. Spread into the prepared pan.
  5. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes clean.
  6. Cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it, then transfer it to a serving platter. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
Tender Almond Cake

Tender Almond Cake

Tender Almond Cake

Tender Almond Cake

January – Brown Rice Risotto with Edamame Beans and Spinach
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January – Brown Rice Risotto with Edamame Beans and Spinach

Can you make a risotto with brown rice? It was a challenge I set out to investigate. There are several recipes for baked rice out there, even baked brown rice. Ina Garten has an easy baked Parmesan “risotto” method which only requires a few minutes of stirring at the end. Her recipe is similar to America’s Test Kitchen’s baked brown rice. The blog Cookie + Kate combined the two in her recipe for baked brown rice risotto with mushrooms. That sounded delicious and I wanted to go one step further (faster?) and cook it in the electric pressure cooker. Over Christmas, a friend’s daughter made a more traditional risotto with arborio rice in the Instant Pot, it was creamy and everything you want a risotto to be. So here goes…

My inspiration came from a recipe in Suzanne Goin’s book Sunday Suppers at Lucques for shell bean risotto. Fresh shell beans weren’t available but frozen edamame beans are in most grocery stores. Her recipe also has a healthy dose of greens with the addition of chopped spinach.

Because you don’t get any evaporation in a pressure cooker, the quantity of stock has to be reduced. For each 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of stock should be used. And the quality of the stock is crucial since it gets concentrated in the rice, unsalted homemade is best. When added, the wine should be cooked until it mostly evaporates, otherwise the flavor will be too strong. Trust your nose on this one.

It would be easy to convert this to vegan by using only olive oil and a good quality or homemade vegetable stock.

Ingredients:

6 small side dishes, 2-3 main

  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (divided)
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons of thyme leaves, fresh (if using dried 1/2 teaspoon)
  • 1 chile de Arbol, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup of dry white wine
  • 1- 1/2 cups of short-grain brown rice
  • 3 cups of broth – I used chicken stock but vegetable would make it vegetarian
  • 1 cup of cooked edamame beans
  • 2 ounces of baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of flat-leaf parsley, chopped for garnish

Method:

  1. Using the saute setting, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter.
  2. Add the onion, thyme, and chile de Arbol. Saute for 5-10 minutes until the onions are turning golden brown.
  3. Add the rice and stir to combine, toasting the rice for about 1 minute.
  4. Add the wine and stir constantly until is mostly evaporated.
  5. Hit cancel or stop to end the saute setting.
  6. Add the stock and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to ensure there are no bits stuck to the bottom.
  7. Put on the lid and lock it in place, make sure the vent is set to sealing. Set it to high pressure for 24 minutes.
  8. When the cooking cycle is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 min, then quickly release.
  9. Remove the lid, add the second tablespoon of butter and stir for 1 – 2 minutes to create a creamy texture.
  10. Stir in the beans, spinach, and parsley.

I served this with an oven-roasted boneless chicken thigh, a recipe to be posted. The risotto was supposed to serve 6 as a side dish. Don’t believe it, there were no seconds to be had. I would say 4 as a generous side dish, maybe 2 for a main dish with some leftovers. It all depends on the appetite and enthusiasm of your eaters.

Unfortunately, it was gobbled up before I had an opportunity to take any photos of the risotto itself.

It turned out creamy and delicious. Who could have guessed? The brown rice added a nutty fullness to the flavor. I think it would be even more delicious with mushrooms. A combination of dried (use the soaking liquid as part of the broth) and fresh (saute them and add them at the end) would be memorable. Stay tuned for next time.

November – Roast Vegetable Salad with Horseradish Goat Cheese
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November – Roast Vegetable Salad with Horseradish Goat Cheese

Roasted Vegetable Salad

Roasted Vegetable Salad

This is another recipe from salad freak.

salad freak

Salad Freak by Jess Damuck

I have found this book very inspiring, especially useful because I am not feeling very inspired in the kitchen these days. I seem to be there way too often since Covid hit. I served the salad as a side with a juicy steak off the grill, the horseradish goat cheese was a perfect match. This was also useful as a ‘clean out the fridge’ salad, you can use whatever is hanging out and needs to be roasted before the new week’s shopping. I found a small head of Romanesco cauliflower (or is it broccoli Romanesco?), some Brussels sprouts and carrots. With shallots and garlic cloves from the pantry it was a go. The original recipe adds fingerling potatoes. If you have some in your pantry or fridge, by all means add them. Just wash and cut them in half, no need to peel.

The important thing is to check the timing on the vegetables as some items may need longer or shorter times in the oven.

Broccoli Romanesco

Broccoli Romanesco

If you want some extra crunch, add toasted torn croutons. I find torn ones are much more interesting than ones cut into little squares. The craggy bits become that much more toasty.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Horseradish Goat Cheese

Ingredients:

  • 2 bunches of small carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half (quartered if very large)
  • 1 small head of Romanesco cauliflower or regular, separated into florets
  • 4 shallots, peeled and cut in half
  • 1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
  • 1 tablespoon of jarred horseradish
  • 2 lemons
  • 5 ounces of fresh goat cheese at room temperature
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups of fresh chopped parsley or arugula

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
  2. On a rimmed parchment lined baking sheet, toss the carrots with 2 tablespoon of oil and season with salt and pepper. Separate them so they are not touching.
  3. On a second parchment lined baking sheet, toss the Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, shallots, garlic and potatoes (if using) with another 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. They will roast to a toastier brown if cut side down.
  4. Roast the vegetables for about 25 minutes, then give them a toss. Roast for another 10 minutes until they are brown and crispy.
  5. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool a bit.
  6. Make the horseradish goat cheese. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the horseradish with the goat cheese, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, salt and pepper. Blend until whipped and smooth.
  7. Spread the roasted vegetables on a platter, squeeze the other lemon over and taste. Add more olive oil, salt and pepper as needed. Scatter the parsley or arugula on top and dollop with the horseradish goat cheese. Alternately you can first spread the horseradish goat cheese on the platter and arrange the salad on top.
Roast Vegetable Salad with Horseradish Goat Cheese

Roast Vegetable Salad with Horseradish Goat Cheese

Roast Vegetable Salad with Horseradish Goat Cheese

Roast Vegetable Salad with Horseradish Goat Cheese