Roasted Broccoli with Toasted Almonds, Red Pepper Flakes & Lemon Zest

This might be the best broccoli dish ever!

Thanks to “A Beautiful Plate” (link here), serve a restaurant-quality dish in about 30 minutes. Just omit the shredded cheese - you won’t miss it, I promise - for a total Paleo delight.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 5 Persimmons

#paleo #broccoli #veggies #vegetarian #vegan #almonds #glutenfree #dairyfree

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

Le Bernardin Cherry Almond Bites

What to do when your tube of almond paste is about to expire? Try the Cherry Almond Bites from Chef Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin Cookbook, right?

Well, maybe not. My taste tester said they were pretty French - "understated" to be kind - and she could think of several other desserts that might have been better to try.

Still, they are cute, easy to make, and have that rich almond paste flavoring.

And it gives me a chance to recommend Chef Eric Ripert's new memoir, 32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line. After an abusive childhood, Ripert is known for the sense of calm he instills in the kitchen of his four-star New York restaurant.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 2.5 Persimmons

Ingredients:

1 tube (7 oz) Odense almond paste
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons Cup4Cup gluten-free flour
1/4 cup almonds, ground in a food processor

For free-standing mini-cupcake wrappers (about 24): 1 jar of maraschino cherries, well-drained, and cut in half 
For 2 mini-cupcake pans (about 48 cupcakes): 2 jars of cherries, prepared as above

For healthier cherries, here is a recipe to make them from The Cupcake Project.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place about 24 cupcake wrappers on two baking sheets lined with silpat or parchment paper. If you have mini cupcake pans, you can just grease them with non-stick spray (I didn't have any). 

1. Break the almond paste into pieces and place them in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add 1 egg, and beat on medium speed for about half a minute. Repeat with the other 3 eggs, one at a time. Gradually mix in the butter, and then the flour until everything is well combined. Remove the bowl from the stand, and fold in the almond meal with a spatula. Refrigerate batter in a sealed container until cold (or overnight).

2. When ready to bake, fill each wrapper with about 1 tablespoon of batter. Place 1/2 cherry in the center of each one. Bake until the cakes are lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean, about 12 - 14 minutes depending on your oven (check at about 10 minutes). If using baking pans, check at 7 minutes. Remove trays from oven and let cool on a metal rack for about 10 minutes. Then put either wrappers or almond bites on a rack until fully cooled.

3. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Makes about 24 almond bites in wrappers, and about 48 in mini-muffin tins.

Recipe adapted from Le Bernardin Cookbook.

#cupcakes #glutenfree #desserts #snacks #almond #almond #almondpaste #cherries #lebernadarin

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

Paleo Mongolian Lamb with Lettuce Cups

You would probably never know this is isn't the original Mongolian sauce recipe from the P.J. Chang Restaurant chain.

A few Paleo tweaks on the delish.com recipe still result in a dish that looks authentic, smells aromatic, and tastes delicious. Use a protein of your choice: lamb, beef, pork, or tofu, and enjoy a healthier dish for about half the price you would pay at the restaurant.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4.8 Persimmons*

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon grape seed oil
1 pound boneless leg of lamb, thinly sliced and cut into bite-sided pieces
1/4 cup arrowroot starch flour 
2-3 pinches of salt

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger

3/4 cup coconut aminos
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup coconut sugar

4 scallions, sliced into quarters, plus 1 sliced scallion for garnish
Butter lettuce, for service

Directions:

1. Toss the lamb in the arrowroot to coat. In a wok, heat 2 tablespoons of the grape seed oil until it just starts to smoke.  Add the lamb in 2-3 batches and stir-fry the pieces until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt to each each batch. Place the cooked lamb aside.

2. After the remaining oil cools down, wipe the wok clean with paper towels. Add remaining teaspoon of oil. Reheat to a medium-low temperature and add the garlic and ginger. The garlic will burn quickly, so watch it carefully and remove from flame when necessary until it is a light brown - about 1-2 minutes. 

3. Add the coconut aminos, water and sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until sauce is reduced by half, 8-10 minutes.

4. Add the cooked meat and green onions to the sauce, and simmer a few minutes more. The onions will wilt. Taste for salt and pepper, if desired.

5. Serve lamb in lettuce cups and garnish with chopped scallions.

Serves 2-3 main courses, or 4 side dishes.

#paleo #lamb #mongolian #stirfry #glutenfree #dairyfree

Recipe adapted from the delish.com website here.

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

Marcona Almond and Cara Cara Orange Salad

Marcona almonds, or the "Queen of Almonds," are imported from Spain. They are rounder, softer and sweeter than our California variety, with a delicate taste similar to almond extract.

Although I’d given small tins of them for holiday gifts, I’d never tasted one. I’d been looking for an excuse to splurge on them, and this recipe from the Flavorwalla cookbook looked perfect. Worth the wait: they are delicious! So here’s your excuse - enjoy!

My Paleo Marin Rating: 3 Persimmons*

Ingredients:

For the Vinaigrette:

Juice from 1 Cara Cara orange (keep segments for salad)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons White Condiment of Modena vinegar, or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad:

1 head mizuna, or escarole, leaves washed and dried
1 small endive, leaves washed and dried 
6-8 radicchio leaves, washed and dried
12 - 15 Marcona almonds* 
2 teaspoons minced shallot
Course sea salt
Freshly grown ground pepper

Directions:

1. Slice off the top, bottom and sides of the orange to expose the flash. Cut the segments out of each membrane, catching the juice in a bowl below. Squeeze the juice from each segment. Set the segments aside.

2. Add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper to the orange juice. Whisk to mix thoroughly. Set aside.

3. Tear the mizuna into bite sized pieces and put in a serving bowl. Tear off outer leaves of endive and slice inner leaves into 4-5 thin strips; put in bowl. Tear off outer leaves of radicchio and tear inner leaves into bite-sized pieces; put in bowl. Toss the greens together.

4. Add the almonds, shallot, and reserved orange segments to bowl. Toss to mix.

5. Mix the dressing well, and add to salad. Toss to coat thoroughly. Serve.

Serves 4 side salads.

*If you would like to toast the almonds. place almonds in an oven at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes; set aside to cool. I liked the taste of the almonds raw so did not toast them, but the recipe recommends it.

#paleo #salad #marcona #almonds #cleaneating #healthyeats #flavorwalla

Recipe adapted from The Flavorwalla Cookbook available here.

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.