“Holy Herbed Whole Roasted Cauliflower, Batman!”

Tags

AIP, Autoimmune Protocol, Cauliflower, Cauliflower Recipe, Herbs, Paleo, Vegetables, vegetarian

(Image by TSL)

Ever since I came back from my Christmas break in New Zealand, I’ve been meaning to post about my take on Al Brown‘s roasted cauliflower salad. And I will. Promise.

It’s just that I got a little side tracked this week…

While I was at the farmers market on Saturday, I found the most perfectly formed little cauliflowers. I bought one, thinking I would make the salad. Only, when it came time, I couldn’t bring myself to chop it up. It was so pretty. TRULY! And, then I told myself that, “Really, it was too small to do justice to a salad”.

And, so this wee number for whole roasted cauliflower was born.

Bella sunning herself next to my hanging herb patch by Missy K
(Image by TSL)

I have a super-special mate (Australian vernacular: mate = friend!). Here at Casa TSL, she is affectionately known as Missy K. And, among other things, Missy K is known for giving awesome pressies. This Christmas just past, she made me a hanging herb garden. She’s the ultimate D.I.Y. lawyer!

I love my hanging herb patch.

The best thing about having herbs growing in your garden (or, in my case on my wall) is that you use them more often in your cooking. And, when I say more often, I really mean all the time.

Which can only be good for me. 

Now that I have such a variety of gorgeous smelling greenery, I’m experimenting. I’m branching out from my usual – parsley, rosemary and thyme. In the past, I might have bought some coriander (cilantro) for a recipe. Now I have it all in my wee garden. At my fingertips.

So, for this recipe, I used oregano. And, the house may have smelled the littlest bit like a pizza parlour while the cauliflower was cooking…

In fact, LM walked in the door and wanted to know what smelled so good!

Whole roasted cauli’ is a great way to experiment with herbs and spices. I’ve kept this number AIP-friendly (the toasted hazelnuts are completely optional). If you prefer a different herb, then just switch it out. Thyme would work equally well.

And, if you’re fine with nightshades and seed spices, then have a play. The potential flavour combinations really are endless. Think about adding some of the following:

– Ground cumin

– Turmeric

– Fennel seeds

– Ground coriander

– Cinnamon

– Mustard seeds

– Paprika

Whole roasted cauliflower is an impressive way to serve your vegetables. This little number would be a great addition to a dinner party table. It looks fabulous.

Herbed Whole Roasted Cauliflower

• Servings: 4
• Time: 50 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

1 x organic cauliflower
Salt (I use Himalayan sea salt)
2 x Tablespoons coconut oil or lard
Small handful of fresh oregano, finely chopped (can substitute 1 x teaspoon dried oregano)
2 x cloves garlic, minced
zest and juice of half a lemon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), for drizzling
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Small handful hazelnuts (optional – omit for elimination phase of AIP)

Method:

1. Heat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Remove the outer leaves of your cauliflower and pop into a roasting dish.

2. In a frying small pan, dry fry your hazelnuts over a low-medium heat. Keep your eye on them – they will burn quickly. Once toasted, roughly chop and set aside.

3. In the same pan, gently melt one Tablespoon of fat. Pour the melted fat over your cauliflower. Season generously with salt. Pop into the oven and roast for 35 – 40 minutes until golden.

4. When your cauliflower is almost ready, melt the remaining fat. Stir in your oregano, minced garlic, and lemon zest.

5. Remove the cauliflower from the oven and reduce the temperature to 160°C / 320°F. Pour the herb-infused fat over the top of your cauliflower and pop back in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

6. Serve the cauliflower with a drizzle of EVOO. Squeeze over the lemon juice and garnish with fresh parsley and optional toasted hazelnuts.

E N J O Y !

This recipe features in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme Plantain Crackers

Tags

AIP, Autoimmune Protocol, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Herbs, Lunchbox fillers, Paleo, Plantains, Snacks

(Image by TSL)

I’m currently on the Autoimmune Protocol, a nutrient-rich elimination diet that removes foods that irritate the gut, cause gut imbalance and activate the immune system. You can read more about the protocol and why I’m doing this here.

My love is like a banana and a plantain. But that doesn’t mean I’m in love with my cousin.
” (Jarod Kintz, Love quotes for the ages. And the ageless sages)

When you remove practically everything that could possibly be considered inflammatory from your diet – I’m talking sugar, grains, seeds, nuts, dairy and EGGS!* – life can sometimes feel like a conveyer-belt of protein, (healthy) fat and vegetables. And most of the time that’s ok.

But sometimes I miss bread and crackers and things that taste like they have gluten as a central ingredient…

You may remember a recent post about my take on Graham Kerr’s root vegetable soup… well, it created some commentary amongst my immediate family. Talk of both how good the soup was AND how the experience was enhanced because of the hot buttered toast that was served alongside. Of course, hot buttered toast is an impossibility on the Autoimmune Protocol, but it got me thinking – quite a lot – about finding some sort of substitute.

There is much talk in the global AIP community about the magic that is plantains.

Plantains!
(Image by TSL)

I was a plantain virgin. To the best of my knowledge, I had never even seen one until recently, when I actively started looking for them. And, I am still far from an expert.

I am, however, a little bit hooked on plantains, now…

Plantains contain more starch and less sugar than what I know as a banana. They need to be cooked before being eaten. And, when they are green, they are always cooked or fried.

Interesting fact: plantains are the tenth most important staple that feeds the world. Plantains are treated in much the same way as potatoes and with a similar neutral flavour and texture when the unripe fruit is cooked by steaming, boiling or frying.

There is a bit of a knack to peeling a green plantain, too. Here’s a link to show you how over at Latin Food.

Plantains are not such a common sight here in Sydney and may require a little ferreting around. I found mine at the Fiji Market in Newtown. According to the very helpful gent manning the till, the reason plantains are so hard to find here in Australia is because of the ‘disease free state’ of our banana population. If allowed free rein, apparently, the plantain has the capacity to wipe out the entire banana crop production. Not good news, so plantains are restricted to a certain valley in far north Queensland…

Any-whoo – I am VERY grateful I found my first lot of plantains. Given my jars of pork lard sitting in the fridge, I decided to start my plantain education with crackers. They were a huge success, and so easy! Next time, I think I’ll try some tostones…

Simon & Garfunkel Crackers

• Servings: 16-24 crackers
• Time: 75 minutes
• Difficulty: easy-peasey
• Print

(Image by TSL)

Ingredients

2 large, green plantains
½ cup pork lard, melted (coconut oil would also work)
1 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon salt

Method

1. Heat your oven to 150° C/ 300° F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Peel and chop your plantains into large chunks and throw them into your food processor with the melted lard, fresh herbs, garlic, and salt.

3. Give it a good whiz until a chunky, wet mixture forms. Pour this out onto your lined baking tray. As carefully as possible, smooth the mixture out with a spatula until it is about a 1/2 cm thick. Try and get it into a rectangular shape (mine are always wonky!)

4. Pop your tray into the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and score the mixture into your preferred cracker size with a pizza cutter or knife. Place back into the oven and cook for another 50 – 60 minutes until they are a nice golden brown colour.

E N J O Y !

* and, I didn’t even mention coffee or chocolate!

The Best ‘Knock Their Socks Off’ Salsa Verde

Tags

Accompaniments, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Grüne Soße, green sauce, Healthy Recipes, Herbs, Kurt Cobain, Paleo, Salsa Verde, sauce verte, Sauces, Sides, The Best Salsa Verde Recipe, vegetarian

TSL’s ‘Knock Their Socks Off’ Salsa Verde
(Image by TSL)

I won’t eat anything green. (Kurt Cobain)

This post is not for Kurt Cobain.

You know how sometimes you hit the jack-pot and find a recipe that just works? One that you keep going back to, because every time you make it, someone asks you to write the recipe down for them? THIS is one of those recipes.

The Italian Salsa Verde, a.k.a ‘green sauce’, is actually the name of several different sauces containing mainly herbs. The French call it sauce verte, the Spanish salsa verde and the German Grüne Soße or Frankfurter Grie Soß.

Whatever you choose to call it, this recipe totally rocks. And, its versatile. Serve it over grilled beef? – check. Lamb? – yep. Chicken? – definitely. Tuna – duh. Eggs? – yum. Potatoes? – how very German of you! Roasted veggies? – sublime. Almost anything, really. Well – maybe not ice cream!

The real beauty of this recipe is that you throw everything together – herbs and all. It’s not an exact science. If you don’t have quite enough basil, sub in a bit more mint…

TSL’s ‘Knock Their Socks Off’ Salsa Verde
(Image by TSL)

And, one other thing. Full disclosure – this recipe has anchovies. Me, I love anchovies. But, my sister is the anti-anchovy girl. She can smell an anchovy at 60 paces. And, even she has given this salsa verde her tick of approval*.

So, what’s in it?

Knock Their Socks Off Salsa Verde

• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

(Image by TSL)

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, peeled
a handful of capers
a handful of cornichons
6 x anchovy fillets
1 x large bunch (about a couple of big handfuls) flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 x medium bunch (about a decent handful) of fresh basil, leaves picked
1/2 a bunch (about a handful) of fresh mint, leaves picked
1 x tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 x tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 – 7 x tablespoons best quality extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method

First up, unless the herbs are picked fresh from your pesticide-free garden, wash the them thoroughly to get rid of any nasties. I find my salad spinner works well to dry them. Alternatively, gently dry between a couple of sheets of paper towels.

Finely chop the herbs and place them into a bowl. Chop the garlic, capers, gherkins, anchovies and add them to the herbs. Add the mustard and vinegar, stir and then a few tablespoons of olive oil and check the taste. Add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of good salt and a little more vinegar, if needed.

* to be fair, I should let you know that when I made this for my sister, I used the Grace Kelly of anchovies. Ortiz anchovies. Not exactly the cheapest anchovy option.