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May 3, 2012

Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

Things have been pretty cerebral in Opera Girl land these days. I’ve spent much of the last week happily buried in an opera score, occasionally coming up for air to communicate with the outside world. What can I say, I’ve been thoroughly seduced by an amazing role — Aphrodite, Goddess of love (well, lust is more like it, but I’m keeping things PG here on the blog).

It’s a joy and a privilege to be involved in the premiere of Troilus and Achilles, a 1-hour opera/oratorio (operatorio?) by my former SFCM classmate, Elliott James Encarnación. The more I dig into the piece, the more things I find to love about it. With a carefully crafted libretto, lyrical, tonal vocal lines, and a chamber ensemble that includes french horn and harp . . . well, I’m pretty much in heaven.

We’ll be giving the first performance on May 14th, piano/vocal scores still in hand — with only three weeks to put the project together, there simply isn’t enough time for us mere mortals to manage a fully-realized production this time around. Happily, we’ll be performing the piece again come late summer, off-book and in much less of a hurry.

And so, as you might imagine, not much has been happening in the kitchen around here lately. Oh, and not only have I been occupied with all things rehearsal-related, I’m currently lacking an audience for my culinary endeavors — GF Boy is away on a business trip, leaving me to cook for one. I don’t know about you, but without anybody else to cook for, I tend toward convenience rather than creativity, throwing together simple and rather uninspired meals.

Today, I decided to get out of my culinary rut. I let my mind wander in a foodie reverie on the bus ride home from the gym this afternoon, thinking about what ingredients I had in the fridge. Not a whole lot, save some defrosting shrimp, along with a few corn tortillas. Shrimp tacos it would be. And so, I stopped by a bodega near my apartment, picking up an avocado, a mango, bunches of radishes, green onions and cilantro, and a bulb of garlic.

Ideal for a dinner and leftovers for one or a romantic meal for two, this recipe comes together in a cool 20 minutes. While your corn tortillas warm in the oven, thinly-sliced cloves of garlic infuse a couple tablespoons of olive oil with mellow sweetness. Meanwhile, a little bit of chopping makes short work of the sweet-and-savory mango salsa and garnishes of thinly-sliced radish and bell pepper. Next, it’s time to crank up the heat on your now garlic-infused olive oil, which is ready to poach the shrimp.

Finally, when the shrimp are just cooked through, corn tortillas emerge from the oven warm and pliant, ready to be topped with the shrimp, salsa, and crunchy garnishes. Et voila, dinner is served.

Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

serves 2

4 corn tortillas, wrapped in aluminum foil

1/2 large mango, diced into 1/4″ pieces (about 1 cup)
1 medium avocado, diced into 1/4″ pieces (about 2/3 cup)
juice of a 1/2 lime (about 1 Tbsp)
4 sprigs cilantro, chiffonaded (set aside a few leaves for garnish)
1 green onion, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1/2 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 radish, halved and sliced thinly
1 mini bell pepper, halved and sliced thinly

1. Set your oven to its lowest setting (“keep warm” or 200F) and place the foil-wrapped tortillas on the middle rack.

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the salsa. Set aside.

3. In a small (8″) skillet, heat the olive oil and sliced garlic over low heat for 10 minutes.

4. Turn the heat up to medium, and when the garlic just begins to bubble, add the shrimp in a single layer. Cover the skillet, letting the shrimp cook for five minutes.

5. Check the shrimp for doneness — they should be pink all the way through. If they are still slightly gray in the middle, cover and let cook for another minute or two.

6. When the shrimp are cooked through, remove the tortillas from the oven and place them on plates. Dish out 1/2 of the shrimp onto each plate in piles on top of the tortillas. Spoon about 1/4 C. of salsa onto each serving of shrimp.

7. Garnish with sliced radish, bell pepper, and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.

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Filed under Gluten Free, Main Dish

April 18, 2012

Vegan Ceviche

Ceviche is one of my favorite foods to eat when the weather warms up. I recently discovered the house-made fish and shrimp version at a market near GF boy’s apartment — combined with a handful of tortilla chips and some sliced avocado, it made for a delicious dinner-for-one the other night.

This week, I came up with a vegan ceviche that’s just as delicious as the seafood-filled version. Sliced hearts of palm act as a great stand-in for fish, resembling it closely in both texture and saltiness. Thanks to this clever swap, you’ll never notice anything missing. Serve it as a refreshing and healthy first course, appetizer, or snack, along with some tortilla chips for scooping.

Vegan Ceviche (printer-friendly version)

Serves 4

3 hearts of palm, quartered and sliced 1/8″ thick
1 persian cucumber, diced
1 anaheim pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 C. grape tomatoes, quartered
2 green onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 large avocado, diced
5 sprigs cilantro, stems removed, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1. Place all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir to combine.

2. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve with tortilla chips.

Gluten-Free Chicken Soup Dumplings

Well. Thanks to the whirlwind of Holy Week singing, combined with a raucous celebration for my brother’s birthday, I have once again been knocked out with a cold. I’m starting to think that 2012 is the year of the stuffy nose. And so, this week, I decided to make a pilgrimage to my parents’ house to recuperate.

Right on cue, my wonderful, doting mother made me a giant pot of chicken soup. Her recipe is basic, time-tested, and far from unusual — I’m sure you’ve got one of your own in the family vault. If not, there are plenty of versions online.

What sets this soup apart are the gluten-free dumplings I added the following evening. Made from a mix of flours, they’re pleasantly chewy and dense, turning a basic bowl of soup into a filling meal. Whole-grain teff, buckwheat, and brown rice flours add lots of great flavor, and a handful of freshly chopped chives adds a little interest and color. The recipe makes about a dozen medium-sized dumplings, enough to serve four.

Gluten-Free Chicken Soup Dumplings (printer-friendly version)

serves 4

1/2 C. brown rice flour
2 Tbsp. buckwheat flour
2 Tbsp. teff flour
2 Tbsp. sweet rice flour
2 Tbsp. tapioca flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 C. buttermilk
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/4 C. chopped fresh chives

1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flours, tapioca starch, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

2. Add the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter to the well in the center of the dry ingredients. Use a whisk to beat the wet ingredients together, then gradually whisk in the dry ingredients from the sides of the bowl until everything is combined evenly.

3. Stir in the chopped chives.

4. Gently drop 2 Tbsp. spoonfuls of the dumpling batter into your pot of chicken soup. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

5. Ladle into bowls and serve.

2 Comments

Filed under Gluten Free, Soups

April 2, 2012

Coconut Macaroons

With Passover coming up at the end of this week, I decided to forego the healthy recipes I usually come up with, and offer you a slightly-less-unhealthy version of one of my favorite holiday treats instead.

I made these coconut macaroons without the use of any flour, flavored extracts, or suspect ingredients. They contain only coconut, organic cane sugar, egg whites, and sea salt, which allows their pure coconut flavor to really shine through.

The trick here is using very finely shredded, unsweetened coconut — it produces macaroons with great texture without requiring the use of a food processor or any other special equipment. I got my coconut from Galloways Specialty Foods, and you can order it online directly from the source. Bob’s Red Mill also sells a version they refer to as “fine macaroon” coconut, which would work quite nicely and is more widely available.

Bake your macaroons just until they are light brown on top — you’ll have to watch them carefully during the last few minutes of cooking to accomplish this, as they quickly go from golden to overly browned. Once they’re done, you can let them cool right on the cookie sheets, transferring them to an airtight container once they’ve cooled completely. They’ll keep this way for at least a week, but they’ll no doubt be gone before then.

Coconut Macaroons (printer-friendly version)

makes about 3 dozen

400g. finely shredded unsweetened coconut
2/3 C. organic cane sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
4 large egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the coconut, sugar, and sea salt until thoroughly mixed.

3. Add the egg whites to the mixing bowl and stir into the dry ingredients until well-combined.

4. Use your hands to roll 1 1/2-inch macaroons, compacting it as you go. Press the macaroons gently onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, placing them 1 inch apart.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, until toasty brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool thoroughly on the baking sheets before handling.

Rice Bowls with Sesame Soy Vegetables

Lately, I’ve been on a kick with oven-roasting. It’s a great, unfussy way to prepare dinner — after you chop up some vegetables and toss them with your seasoning of choice, they cook without any extra attention. Not only is it easy, roasting also imparts a concentrated sweetness that you can’t get from other cooking methods. As the dry heat intensifies the flavors of the vegetables, they become velvety-soft and thoroughly imbued with whatever you’ve chosen to season them with.

This week’s recipe is a vegan and gluten-free combo of eggplant, bell pepper, and mushrooms marinated with a sesame soy vinaigrette. And just like the ratatouille I posted last week, this recipe is of the set-it-and-forget-it variety. The roasting vegetables and brown basmati rice cook in tandem, so everything is ready at the same time.

To add a pop of freshness and crunch to the dish, I topped the rice bowls with a garnish of sliced raw cucumbers and yasai fumi furikake, a Japanese seasoning of seaweed, sesame seeds, and dehydrated vegetables. Furikake comes in many varieties, from a plain sesame/seaweed variety to those including dried salmon, egg, and shiso. You can find it at most Japanese grocery stores, and online.

Brown Basmati Rice Bowls with Roasted Sesame Ginger Vegetables (printer-friendly version)

serves 4

1 medium eggplant, cut into bite-size pieces
3 medium red bell peppers, cut into bite-size pieces
8 oz. assorted mushrooms (hon-shimeji, nameko, piopini)
1/2 C. sesame soy vinaigrette

1 1/2 C. brown basmati rice
2 2/3 C. water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

furikake
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced thinly

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Spread out the eggplant, bell peppers, and mushrooms on the lined baking sheet, then pour the vinaigrette evenly over the vegetables. Bake for 45 minutes.

3. While the vegetables are in the oven, prepare the brown rice. In a small (1 1/2-quart) saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the rice, water, olive oil, and salt. Bring up to a boil, turn down to low, and let simmer for 35 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand another 10 minutes.

4. Spoon the rice into your serving bowls, then top with the roasted vegetables. Garnish with sliced cucumbers and furikake.

6 Comments

Filed under Dressings and Marinades, Gluten Free, Main Dish