Category Archives: Gluten-free

Kale salad

My CSA partner was kind enough to give me all of the kale this week so I decided to make this kale salad. I found this recipe in Runner’s World magazine circa 2009, courtesy of Chef Dan Barber. And yes, I’ve been to Dan Barber’s restaurant in NYC (Blue Hill), and yes, it is amazing.

The original recipe calls for raw Tuscan kale, but since I usually get “regular” kale, I use that instead and saute it a bit. It also calls for dried currants, but I usually substitute dried cranberries (this week I used dried blueberries). I also often use pecans instead of pine nuts.

I discovered kale chips last year, so that has probably become my favorite thing to do with kale. That makes this recipe my second favorite kale recipe…so I hope you enjoy it!

Kale salad
Source: adapted from Runner’s World, December 2009
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons dried cranberries (or currants)
6 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bunch kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves chopped
2 Tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted (or other nut)
Parmesan cheese shavings

Directions
1. Place the cranberries (or currants) in a small bowl; add five Tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar. Let them soak for at least one hour or up to overnight. Drain the cranberries (or currants). (I don’t usually do this if I’m using cranberries).
2. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in pan and lightly saute kale until wilted. (This step not needed if using raw Tuscan kale).
3. Whisk the remaining 1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and rice vinegar, honey, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Add the kale, cranberries, and pine nuts; toss to coat. Let marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature, tossing occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese shavings over salad.
5. Enjoy!

Sauteed kale

The finished salad

Tzatziki

I had some extra dill from last week’s dilly cucumber salad, so this week I decided to make tzatziki. This is a great basic recipe that can be modified to suit your tastes. I prefer it more dill-y and less mint-y, so I only used about a 1/2 tablespoon of mint.

If you use Greek yogurt, you probably don’t need to bother with the cheesecloth. I did strain it, and there wasn’t much liquid that drained off. However comma, it is important to squeeze as much liquid as possible from the shredded cucumber (which I did not bother to peel).

I like it as a dip with pita chips, or instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches or wraps.

Tzatziki
Source: adapted from The Food Network (courtesy of Molyvos Restaurant)

Ingredients
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 large English cucumber, peeled, shredded and drained
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 Tbsp mint, chopped
1 Tbsp dill, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Prepare the yogurt: Line strainer with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Bowl should support strainer so it does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Put the yogurt in the strainer loosely covered, and let it drain overnight in the refrigerator. Discard the liquid and use the strained yogurt as directed.
2. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight before serving. Enjoy!

Chickpea-sweet potato burgers

This recipe took a little bit of advance planning since it required soaking the chickpeas. It allowed me to do a lot of the prep work the night before, including grating the sweet potato and making the cucumber salad. Though I must admit that I definitely dug into the cucumber salad that night…it’s easy to forget how delicious something so simple can be. I will definitely be making the cucumber salad again. The original recipe for the cucumbers included 1/4 tsp of salt, but I left it out since I used seasoned rice vinegar.

The next day all I had to do was blend and bake. Canned chickpeas would also probably work in this recipe (1 1/4 cups dried = 3 cups after soaking). They got a bit overcooked, and I adjusted the times below to try to account for that. They tasted ok, a little bland, a little dry…I probably won’t make them again.


The final product


Chickpea-sweet potato burgers
Source: adapted from Self magazine, April 2012
Serves: 4 (per recipe), 6 (per me)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups dried chickpeas
Olive oil cooking spray
3 Tbsp tahini
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 small sweet potato, grated

Directions
1. In a bowl, soak chickpeas in 4 cups water for at 12-24 hours; drain well.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. In a food processor, process chickpeas, tahini, black pepper, baking powder, and salt, scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture holds together when pinched, 2 minutes; transfer to a bowl and stir in sweet potato.
4. For chickpea-sweet potato mixture into burgers and place on baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, coat burgers with spray and bake until crisp and golden underneath, 10-15 minutes. Flip burgers, coat with cooking spray and bake until crisp on other side, 10-15 minutes.

Dilly cucumbers
Source: adapted from Self magazine, April 2012
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 Tbsp rice vinegar

Directions
1. In a bowl, combine cucumber, onion, dill, and vinegar.
2. Enjoy!

Corn and black bean salad

This week’s recipe is more “mixing” than “cooking”, but it’s a staple for me because it is so versatile. It’s especially great during CSA (community-supported agriculture) season when there is major veggie maintenance to do because you can add any extra vegetables you have on hand. Speaking of CSAs, I’m looking forward to another delicious season from Red Fire Farm.

Besides eating it on its own, I like it on top of greens for a salad, or in a whole-wheat tortilla as a quesadilla or burrito.

Corn and black bean salad
Source: adapted from allrecipes.com
Serves: 4+

Ingredients
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp salt (or can omit alltogether)
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup sweet corn (I usually use frozen, but fresh or canned works too)

Directions
1. In a small bowl, mix together balsamic vinegar, oil, salt, sugar, black pepper, cumin, and chili powder.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together black beans and corn (and anything else you want to throw in, this week I added tomatoes). Toss with vinegar and oil dressing and garnish with cilantro. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Enjoy!