Sides

Roasted Tomatoes with Herbs

Posted by lisa on 19 Jul 2013 in Recipes, Sides | 4 comments

There were some lovely fresh tomatoes in the store the other day so I grabbed a couple figuring I’d use them up one way or another. We grilled a marinated flank steak for dinner and I decided some roasted tomatoes would make a great side. Actually, these tomatoes are how we start our homemade tomato sauce that we always use on pizza. I’ve never eaten them just roasted like this before, but I will definitely be doing it again. They look fancy, but are so easy!

Fresh tomatoes

Ingredients

• Fresh tomatoes
• Olive oil for drizzling
• A few fresh basil leaves
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme
• Freshly ground salt and pepper
  

  Just a few fresh herbs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
2. Slice the tomatoes in half and then make a few slits into the cut side.
3. Stuff the slits with basil leaves and sprinkle on a few small sprigs of thyme.
4. Place the tomatoes on a parchment lined baking tray.
   

   Ready for the oven

5. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.
   

   Perfect with grilled steak

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Green Chili Coriander Sauce (salad dressing)

Posted by lisa on 13 Jul 2013 in Recipes, Salads, Sides | Comments Off on Green Chili Coriander Sauce (salad dressing)

I made this sauce as a dipping sauce to along with some delicious Cajun fried chicken the other day. The chicken was so good by itself that I didn’t end up using much of this sauce. I did, however, pour it over a salad as a dressing the next day for a lunch. I still had some left, so I poured it over a nice, big,  juicy steak. YUM!

Use as a dip, salad dressing or sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 small red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 small green chili pepper, roughly chopped (remove the seeds if you don’t want it too spicy)
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander (leaves and stems)
• 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley (leaves and stems)
• juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/8 cup of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup coconut milk

What to do

Toss everything into a food processor and whiz until well mixed.

Whiz away!

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Tzatziki Sauce

Posted by lisa on 5 Jul 2013 in Appetizers, Recipes, Sides | 4 comments

Before you call the paleo police, yes, this recipe contains dairy. We used 100% full fat Greek yogurt. If you would like to make a yogurt sauce that is non-dairy, have a look here (it’s made with coconut milk). We don’t do much dairy, but we tolerate it well and will add it in small amounts from time to time (usually in the form of cheese or Greek yogurt).

Tasty tzatziki

We made some Gyros for dinner and they were just screaming for some tzatziki sauce. So of course I had to make some. I looked up a recipe by Nigel Slater on line. There were no quantities or measurements in his recipe, but there were some good tips.

Here’s how I made it. It was delicious and added just the right touch to our gyros. It also makes a great salad dressing or dip for vegetables. And, of course, it is to die for on some Paleo Naan Bread.

Ingredients

• 180 grams (about 6 ounces) full fat Greek or plain yogurt
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• Splash of apple cider vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

What to do

1. Peel your cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon.
2. I then cut each half in half lengthwise again so that I had 4 long quarters.
3. I sliced each quarter into thin little slices with a mandolin. Really, you can slice, dice or chop your cucumber however you like. Thin or thick is your choice. You could even grate it.
   

   This is how I did mine

4. Then set the cucumber into a colander, salt it a bit and let it drain.
5. After draining it for about 15 minutes, pat it dry with paper towels. Getting the cucumber as dry as you can will help to keep your tzatziki from getting watery.
6. Add the drained and dried cucumber with all of the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
   

   Served with Naan Bread

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Bacon Sweet Potato Bites

Posted by lisa on 23 Jun 2013 in Appetizers, Recipes, Sides | 5 comments

I went to two different parties over the last few weekends and I brought this to both of them. I always worry about what to bring to parties. I am, after all, the lady who blogs about food so I better bring something that tastes good. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with this. Who doesn’t love bacon and sweet potatoes? They disappeared super quick at the first party, so I figured they were worth making again for the second party.

These are delicious served hot out of the oven, but they also taste great at room temperature.

YUM!!

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes (makes 64 bite sized pieces)
• 1/2 Tablespoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons butter or ghee
• 32 thin slices of bacon, each slice cut in half
• Optional: a drizzle of maple syrup or a teaspoon of chili powder
• Toothpicks

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 175 C (350 F).
2. Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them in half lengthwise.
3. Now cut each half lengthwise again. Now you have 4 quarters (from one potato).
4. Cut each quarter in half and then in half again. Each potato makes 16 bite sized pieces.
5. Melt butter and salt together in a large pot.
6. Add in chili powder, a drizzle of maple syrup or any other spices you like. We did just salt and butter for one batch and salt, butter and chili powder for the next batch.
7. Add the potatoes to the pot and toss to coat the potatoes well.
   

   Tossing in butter and salt

8. Cut each slice of bacon in half.
9. Wrap each butter coated sweet potato in a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
   

   secure with a toothpick

10. Lay your bites on a parchment lined baking sheet.
    

    Ready for the oven

11. Bake for 25 minutes and then turn the bites over.
12. Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes more.

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Paleo Naan Bread (Flatbread)

Posted by lisa on 8 Jun 2013 in Appetizers, Recipes, Sides | 115 comments

We made some Indian food for dinner the other night (Chicken Tikka Masala…and it was so good…recipe to follow in a day or two). My favorite part of Indian food has always been the Naan bread.

Tikka Masala with Naan Bread

I searched around the internet looking for different recipes (grain-free and traditional) to get an idea of how to go about making my own. I don’t know about you, but I generally never expect paleo bread type recipes to turn out really good. I know they will be edible and might even taste good, but I rarely expect them to taste non-paleo. They will invariably be a bit coconutty, almondy or eggy. This actually tasted like bread to me! Oh happy day 🙂 Who knows though….it’s been years since I’ve had real bread, and even longer since I’ve had authentic Naan, so maybe I’m just forgetting what it actually tastes like. I wish that would happen with chocolate.

So here you go. Paleo Naan Bread adapted a bit from this one over at Real Sustenance. By the way, you don’t have to wait until you’re having Indian food to make this. It would make a great sandwich bread or hamburger bun.

Actually tastes like bread

Ingredients

• 5 Tablespoons of ground flax seeds
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or thick coconut milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup arrowroot powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Coconut oil or ghee for cooking

Instructions

1. Put everything together in a food processor and whiz until well mixed. It is not a dough consistency but it’s also not quite as runny as pancake batter.
   

   The batter

2. Melt 1-2 Tablespoons of ghee or coconut oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
3. Drop about two to three large tablespoons of batter into the hot pan.
4. Quickly get your finger wet with water and tap down the batter to help spread it into a circle shape.
   

   Get your fingers wet to spread it around

    

5. Cook about 2 minutes before flipping. It does not make little holes like pancakes do. It’s ready to flip when it’s golden brown on the bottom.
   

   Ready to flip when the bottom is brown

   

   Paleo Naan Bread

    

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Paleo Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Posted by lisa on 7 Jun 2013 in Recipes, Sides | 8 comments

I love Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. We used to always buy the one in a squeeze bottle by Thai Kitchen. The ingredients list isn’t too terrible, but it’s not paleo. When it comes to sauces, any kind of sauces, it’s probably best to just make your own.

I modified this recipe (not paleo) and came up with a pretty darn good sweet chili sauce. I added some fish sauce, because as I’ve learned from Michelle over at NomNomPaleo, everything is better with fish sauce.  I’ll be posting up a recipe that calls for this sauce in the next day or two, so keep your eyes open.

Homemade Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons honey
• 1/8 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 red jalapeno or Serrano pepper (rot peperoncini), de-seeded
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder plus 2 teaspoons water, mixed

Instructions

1. Put everything except for the arrowroot powder and 2 teaspoons of water in a blender.
2. Whiz until everything (the red jalapeno and garlic) is liquefied.
3. Pour into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
4. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Now mix the arrowroot and 2 teaspoons of water in a small glass and pour into the chili sauce while stirring.
6. Remove from heat when it gets thickened.

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Lemon Artichoke Dip/Sauce/Pesto

Posted by lisa on 26 May 2013 in Appetizers, Recipes, Sides | 6 comments

I have a few pot luck get- togethers coming up soon, so I’ve been trying out a few different recipes and thinking about what I might  bring. One of the things I whipped up for practice was this lemony artichoke dip. It makes a very tasty dip for vegetables or these paleo crackers. I think it would also make a nice spread inside of a lettuce leaf with some chicken and veggies for a paleo lettuce roll-up. It would probably also be good on some fried eggs. I might try dipping chicken breasts in it and then coating them in almond flour before frying. See all of the things you could make with this?

So many ways to eat this

Ingredients

• 1 can of artichoke hearts
  

  Drain the hearts

• Juice from half a lemon
• Zest from half a lemon
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Fresh parsley (about a handful)
• 4-6 cloves of garlic (your preference)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Instructions

1. Put everything in a food processor together and whiz until smooth. You could pulse and leave it a bit chunky if you prefer.
   

   I love my food processor

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Paleo Focaccia Bread

Posted by lisa on 18 May 2013 in Appetizers, Recipes, Sides, Snacks | 12 comments

I love focaccia bread. The first time I had it was at a cafe near the university I went to. The cafe was called Deux Gros Nez (which translates to “two big noses” in French). Keep in mind that this was in Reno, Nevada. It was the coolest place around (duh! it had a French name!) and we thought we were very cool every time we went there. Plus, everybody there seemed to be smoking….how very European!

Many years later, I had REAL focaccia bread on one of my many trips to Italy. It is possibly the best thing ever. I think the best we had was in San Gimignano, but it was also really good in the Cinque Terre. We used to buy a big square of focaccia, some olives, fresh cherry tomatoes, a hunk of cheese and some prosciutto from little grocery shops. It was much more economical than eating in a tourist restaurant(and much more delicious). Now I really thought I was cool 🙂 Here’s my daughter enjoying some focaccia high above a village in the Cinque Terre while we were hiking through olive groves.

Samantha in the olive groves enjoying some focaccia

Here’s a gluten-free (but not dairy free) version of focaccia bread for you to try out. Enjoy it with a glass of wine. Close your eyes and pretend you are in Tuscany. I found the original version of this recipe at GastroChef.

Colorful tomatoes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 4 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or coconut milk (I used yogurt)
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• a generous pinch of salt
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• A handful of cherry tomatoes and black olives, chopped or halved
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary or basil…your choice)
• 1/4 Parmesan, shaved or coarsely grated

Instructions

1. Mix the eggs and yogurt or coconut milk together in a small bowl. I used a stick immersion blender, but a whisk would work equally well.
   

   Eggs and yogurt

2. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, finely grated Parmesan, salt and baking soda.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.
4. Spread your dough (it’s like a batter consistency) onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I sprayed the paper with olive oil.
   

   Spread the batter fairly thinly

5. Toss the halved cherry tomatoes, olives, herbs and olive oil together and then place them on top of your dough.
   

   Tomatoes, olives and herbs

6. Place into a pre-heated 375 F (190 C) oven for 12-15 minutes.
7. Remove and sprinkle the shaved Parmesan over the top and return to the oven for an additional 3-5 minutes.
   

   Hot from the oven

The Verdict

This was actually very bread like. Was it like real authentic focaccia? No, and I didn’t expect it to be. If you are ever in Italy, you might want to just throw caution to the wind, eat some real focaccia and suffer the gastrointestinal consequences. However, until you make it to Italy, this is a pretty darn good alternative. It’s even better when you dip it in some salted olive oil.

Light lunch or snack

Focaccia

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Raisin Buns with Whipped Honey Butter

Posted by lisa on 8 Apr 2013 in Breakfast, Recipes, Sides, Snacks, Treats & Desserts | 2 comments

Mr. Swiss Paleo travels a lot for business. He does really well eating paleo while he’s away ( he especially enjoyed eating at PALEO while he was in Copenhagen), but sometimes there are challenges and good food is hard to come by. Have you ever been faced with situations like this?

Lately they have been working long hours in a conference room (with no windows) and the stretch between lunch and dinner is long. The company has been catering cakes for them in the afternoons. Mr. Paleo has been drinking water and eating hard boiled eggs that he brought from home, and that’s getting a little boring. I decided to make him some raisin buns to take along on his trip so that he could have something nice while everybody has their cake. I get to bake and he takes it all away so I can’t eat it. Win-Win!!

Recipe for Raisin Buns

Raisin Buns

Dry Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups (320 grams) almond flour
• 1 Teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/ 8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• zest from one lemon and one orange
• 1/4 cup raisins (or more if you like)

Wet Ingredients

• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons melted ghee or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Put all of the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and mix well.

Dry ingredients

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and thoroughly mix. Drop large biscuit size blobs (larger than a golf ball) onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Ready for the oven

Bake in a pre-heated 180 C (350 F) oven for 5 minutes and then reduce heat to 150 C (300 F) and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.

Of course we had to test them after they came out of the oven smelling so delicious. We gobbled a few up with some whipped honey butter ( whip some butter together with a little bit of honey in a food processor until it’s super creamy).

A real treat warm from the oven

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Steak with Classic Bèarnaise Sauce

Posted by lisa on 5 Mar 2013 in Eggs, Meats, Recipes, Sides | 6 comments

Classic Bèarnaise sauce is made with egg yolks and lots of butter. Sounds like a paleo dream come true if you ask me! The yolk is the very best part of the egg and it’s absolutely loaded with things that are good for you. Gone are the days of egg white only dishes…if you don’t want your yolks, I’ll take them!

                                  Egg Yolks Versus Egg Whites

Bèarnaise Sauce Ingredients

Shallots and tarragon

• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, divided
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
  

  Cook your steaks up after the sauce is done

What to do

Boil wine, vinegar, shallots, and 1 tablespoon tarragon in a small heavy saucepan until liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons (this goes pretty quickly so don’t put your heat up too high), then strain through a fine-mesh sieve set into a medium metal bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids.

Whisk yolks into vinegar mixture, then set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until yolks have thickened slightly (if your heat is too high, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs).

Whisk, whisk, whisk!

Whisk in butter 1 spoon at a time, adding each spoonful before previous one has melted completely. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon juice, remaining tablespoon tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste). Serve steaks with sauce. Lick your plate 🙂

Totally classic

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