Authors: Carol Kicinski
Simply . . . Gluten-Free Quick Meals: More Than 100 Great-Tasting Recipes for Good Food Fast (18 page)
Process the soup in a blender in batches until smooth; do not overfill the blender. Make sure you remove the plastic center piece from the blender lid before blending and cover with a folded towel and your hand while blending. The hot liquid will expand and the soup will explode all over your kitchen otherwise.
Garnish the soup with the toasted pumpkin seeds.
• Dairy-Free Adaptable
• Grain-Free
• Vegetarian
I came up with this recipe out of sheer panic. My husband had called to say he had run into an old friend and was bringing him home for a home-cooked meal prepared by his “gourmet” wife. It had been a busy day working on my first book,
Simply … Gluten-free Desserts,
and I was looking forward to just heating up a rotisserie chicken that I had just picked up at the market, serving it with a green salad, and calling it dinner.
I rummaged through my pantry and found two cans of beets. How they got there I did not know, but I figured with a little roasting I could transform them. I cut the chicken into pieces and heated it with some quartered lemons and sprigs of rosemary. I added this quick beet salad, a
quinoa pilaf
, and pulled out one of the desserts I had in my refrigerator from recipe testing. Our guest left well-fed and happy and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The goat cheese, while very “gourmet,” is not essential if dairy is a problem or if you don’t normally stock it in your pantry.
Two 14.5-ounce cans standard
cut beets (cut in chunks not
sliced) rinsed, drained, and
patted dry
1/2
cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher or fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup walnuts
Finely grated zest and juice of
1 large or 2 small oranges
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2
tablespoon honey
4 cups arugula (or other salad
greens)
4 ounces goat cheese (optional)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Put the beets in a baking dish, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the beets for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Put the walnuts in the oven with the beets and toast for 5 minutes, or until the nuts are fragrant.
Serves 4
While the beets and walnuts are roasting, make the dressing. Whisk the orange zest, juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, and about
1/2
teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper together. Continue whisking while you drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
When the beets and walnuts are done remove from the oven. Just before serving, toss the arugula with the dressing and divide it among four individual salad plates. Top with the beets and walnuts. Crumble the goat cheese on top if using. Serve immediately.
• Dairy-Free
• Vegetarian
Serves 10 to 12
This is the kind of salad I throw together after arriving home from a trip and to a refrigerator that was emptied prior to leaving. The beauty of this recipe is you can change it up to suit your tastes and what’s in the pantry.
Giardiniera is a spicy pickled vegetable mixture usually found in the condiment aisle of the supermarket or in Italian specialty food stores. It typically contains carrots, onions, celery, cauliflower, and peppers. I love the bite it adds to this salad, and the vegetables, while still crisp, have a texture more suitable with the canned beans than raw vegetables. This salad can be eaten immediately, but it also improves with age and can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
One 15-ounce can black beans,
rinsed and drained
One 15-ounce can red kidney
beans, rinsed and drained
One 15-ounce can chickpeas,
rinsed and drained
One 16-ounce bottle giardiniera,
drained
1 small red onion, finely
chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2
teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
Kosher or fine sea salt (optional)
Combine the drained and rinsed canned beans in a large bowl. Cut any large pieces of giardiniera into smaller bite-size pieces and add to the beans along with the onion.
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, and black pepper. Add to the beans and toss to coat. Taste and add salt, if needed. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Vegetarian Adaptable
Serves 4 to 6
While not a classic risotto, this is so simple to prepare and just as delicious. The risotto is baked in the oven thus forgoing all the stovetop stirring.
Think of this recipe as a canvas to which you can add your own creativity. Stir in re-constituted dried mushrooms, frozen peas, cooked chicken—the only limit to the possibilities is your imagination and what you have on hand in your kitchen. Roast a pan of precut butternut squash along with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper while the risotto is baking. Stir it into the rice at the last minute for a lovely butternut squash risotto.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, finely
chopped (about
1/2
cup)
1
1/2
cups arborio rice
1/2
cup dry white wine
4¼ cups gluten-free chicken (or
vegetable) stock, warmed
1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
1/2
teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1/2
cup Parmesan cheese, plus
more for serving
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted
butter, cut into pieces
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof saucepan or Dutch oven with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, stir to coat with the oil, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until it has completely evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of the chicken broth, salt, and pepper and bring to a simmer, cover the pan, and bake, stirring once halfway through cooking time, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the rice from the oven and vigorously stir in the remaining 1¼ cups of warm chicken stock, then add the cheese and butter, stirring until creamy. Taste the risotto and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Grate over some additional Parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve.
• Dairy-Free
• Vegetarian/ Vegan
This is the recipe you need when you have a crowd of hungry people to feed and limited time and budget. A great vegetarian main dish on its own, this is also a perfect side for a backyard barbecue or to take to a potluck dinner. And as with most chili recipes, the leftovers just keep getting better and better. I make up a whole batch even if I am only feeding my husband and me; we eat it all week long and it also freezes well.
I frequently make this recipe with fresh red bell peppers that I sauté with the onions but for pantry-raid emergencies, jarred roasted red peppers work just as well.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, roughly
chopped
Kosher or fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounces jarred, roasted red
bell peppers, drained,
patted dry, and cut into large
dice
Three 30-ounce cans kidney
beans, rinsed and drained
Two 30-ounce cans diced
tomatoes with their juices
1/2
cup gluten-free, mild taco
sauce (such as Ortega)
1/2
cup A.1. Steak Sauce
1 to 3 tablespoons chili powder
depending on the amount of
heat you like
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to get translucent. Season with a large pinch of salt and black pepper. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until the garlic has softened but is not browned.
Add the roasted red bell peppers, beans, tomatoes (including the juice), taco sauce, A.1. Sauce, and 1 tablespoon chili powder. (You can add more later depending on your desired heat level.) Stir well to combine. Bring to almost boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced and the chili is thick, stirring every once in a while. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, black pepper, or chili powder, if needed.
Serves 10 to 12
The chili can be made a day or two ahead, and gets better as time goes by.
Note:
If you prefer to use fresh bell peppers, substitute two that have been seeded and chopped for the jar of peppers and add with the onion.
Sausage, Artichoke, and Olive Pasta
• Dairy-Free
I once invited about fifteen people to my house for some food after a fancy art show where the wine was free-flowing but the food on the skimpy side. It wasn’t until I walked into the kitchen that I realized I had no plan for what to prepare. Fortunately there are some things I always have on hand that can be thrown together in a flash. This pasta is a weeknight staple at our house and thankfully a crowd-pleaser. (I might add that on the night of the art show I whipped this up in high heels and a cocktail dress.)
1 pound gluten-free pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound chicken sausage,
sliced
One 14-ounce can quartered
artichoke hearts in water,
drained
One 14.5-ounce can diced
tomatoes with their juices
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried Italian
seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
1/2
teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
flakes
1 cup black pitted olives (preferably
kalamata but any kind
will do)
Parmesan cheese for serving
(optional)
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to the package directions.
While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it starts to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the sliced sausage and brown. Add the artichoke hearts and cook for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the olives and cook until heated through.
Serves 4 to 6
When the pasta is al dente, ladle out about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking liquid and add it to the sauce. Drain the pasta and return it to the hot pot. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to coat. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
Serve with or without grated Parmesan cheese.