Authors: Carol Kicinski
Simply . . . Gluten-Free Quick Meals: More Than 100 Great-Tasting Recipes for Good Food Fast (19 page)
• Dairy-Free
Serves 4
This is what I call a rummage recipe—I rummaged through my pantry, tossed what I found together, and hoped for the best. All I was hoping for was to stave off starvation; I wasn’t looking for a rave review, but get one I did. My husband loved it! I prefer to let him think that much thought and planning went into this recipe rather than tell him it was just lucky happenstance.
One 14.75-ounce can salmon
(do not drain)
1
1/2
cups gluten-free, panko-style
bread crumbs
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 heaping teaspoons Old Bay
Seasoning
One 2.25-ounce can sliced black
olives, drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
3 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive or grapeseed
oil
In a large mixing bowl, flake the salmon with a fork. Add the bread crumbs, eggs, Old Bay Seasoning, olives, corn, and scallions. Mix well and form into 8 patties, each about
1/2
inch thick, compacting firmly.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the patties in batches (do not overcrowd the pan) for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until nicely browned.
Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce
• Dairy-Free
Makes enough sauce for 4 to 6 sundaes
I find that if I make something fabulous for dessert, dinner can be very basic and no one complains. The easiest pantry dessert is of course a dish of ice cream, but to make it really special it needs something to dress it up.
One of the things I love about canned coconut milk is that it sits in my pantry waiting for me, no refrigeration required. Mixing with some dairy-free chocolate chips and peanut butter turns that coconut milk into a decadent, rich, fudgy sauce with no coconut flavor.
Top some dairy-free ice cream with this sauce and perhaps a sprinkling of chopped, salty peanuts and you have created a fabulous, company-worthy dessert in less than 5 minutes.
¾ cup coconut milk (shake the
can well before measuring)
¾ cup semisweet, dairy-free
chocolate chips
1/2
cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons agave nectar or
corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine the coconut milk, chocolate chips, peanut butter, and agave nectar in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is melted together, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and let the sauce cool slightly. Serve on scoops of regular or dairy-free ice cream; the sauce thickens as it cools.
QUICK COOKING DOES not always mean that the entire recipe will be done, start to finish, in half an hour. Sometimes it means minimal preparation but a long time spent in a slow cooker, oven, or refrigerator, which is actually easier and quicker.
These recipes are not ones that can be thrown together right before a meal, but they make dinner or entertaining simple, as the work is done largely ahead of time.
• Dairy-Free Adaptable
Eggs Benedict just scream out “brunch” to me, but honestly, who wants to spend time over a stove poaching eggs when there are people to chat with and fun to be had? My solution? Eggs Benedict Strata. While it may seem this recipe takes a long time to prepare since it needs to sit in the refrigerator overnight and spend an hour in the oven, in reality it only take a few moments of actual hands-on preparation. Plan ahead and make this the night before you want to serve it and then get ready to wow your guests. Stick it in the oven while you get on with making coffee, setting the table, or just going back to bed and catching a few more winks.
4 gluten-free English muffins,
thawed, split, and toasted
8 ounces Canadian bacon
10 large eggs
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1
1/2
teaspoons kosher or fine sea
salt
1/2
teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2¼ cups milk (regular or dairy-free)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed
lemon juice
1 or 2 dashes hot sauce
1/2
cup (1 stick) butter or
dairy-free butter substitute,
melted
The day before you plan to serve the strata, spray a 12 × 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Cut the toasted English muffins into 1-inch chunks. Cut the Canadian bacon into 1-inch pieces. Layer half the Canadian bacon in the bottom of the prepared dish. Top with the English muffin chunks and then add the remaining Canadian bacon pieces.
Separate four of the eggs and put the yolks in an airtight container and refrigerate until it is time to make the hollandaise sauce. Put the egg whites in a large mixing bowl with the remaining whole eggs,
1/2
teaspoon of the dry mustard, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the pepper, paprika, and milk. Whisk to combine. Pour the egg mixture over the muffin chunks and Canadian bacon in the baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (8 to 12 hours).
Serves 10 to 12
One hour and 10 minutes before you plan to serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and remove the strata from the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes, remove the foil, and continue to bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and the strata is set. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
While the strata is cooling make the hollandaise sauce. Put the reserved egg yolks in the blender along with the remaining
1/2
teaspoon dry mustard, remaining
1/2
teaspoon of salt, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Blend for 5 seconds. Remove the small plastic top from the blender lid and, with the blender running, slowly drizzle in the melted butter. Continue blending until all the butter has been incorporated. The sauce can be kept warm, if needed, by placing in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. It takes so little time and effort to make the hollandaise I usually just whip it up while the strata is cooling. Put the sauce into a small serving bowl and serve with the strata.
• Dairy-Free
• Vegetarian/ Vegan Adaptable
Serves 8 to 10
I wish I could take full credit for this recipe but, in fact, it comes from my good friend Jan Regan, who has made this her signature dish. I adapted the recipe to be gluten-free. I have even made versions of this dish nut-free by using sunflower butter in place of peanut butter and omitting the peanuts.
The dish needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours for the flavors to meld, but it does not take long to prepare and makes a great potluck dish as it is easy to transport and everyone loves it.
1 pound gluten-free noodles (can
use gluten-free spaghetti or
rice sticks, either thick or thin)
¼ cup grapeseed or vegetable oil
1/2
cup sesame oil
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
flakes (more or less depending
on how spicy you want it)
1/2
cup creamy or chunky peanut
butter
6 tablespoons honey (to make
vegan, substitute agave nectar)
5 tablespoons wheat-free, glutenfree
soy sauce
2 bunches scallions, thinly sliced
1/2
bunch cilantro, chopped
Kosher or fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup sesame seeds or ¾ cup
chopped salted peanuts or both
Break the noodles in half and cook according to the package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
In a medium saucepan, heat the oils. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the peanut butter, honey, and soy sauce. Cook, stirring, for a minute to combine and melt the peanut butter. Pour the mixture over the cooked noodles, reserve a couple tablespoons of the sliced scallions and cilantro for garnish, and add the rest to the noodles. Taste and season with salt and black pepper, if desired. Toss well and refrigerate, covered, for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Just prior to serving, garnish with the reserved sliced scallions and chopped cilantro and sprinkle with the sesame seeds or chopped peanuts or both.
Brined Pork Chops with Spicy Pear Chutney
• Dairy-Free
Many years ago the pork industry responded to consumer demand for leaner meat and started breeding pigs with less fat. They achieved the result of leaner cuts of pork, but also ended up with fairly tasteless meat. The solution to this flaw is brining.
Left to languish in a salty solution for many hours, the pork chops in this recipe absorb flavor and cook quickly and beautifully. With brining you can take the cheapest pork chop in the supermarket and turn it into a restaurant-quality meal.
I have updated the classic pork chop and applesauce dinner by taking away the bland, baby food–like applesauce and replacing it with a spicy pear chutney that can be whipped up in just a little bit more time than it takes to cook the pork chops.
BRINED PORK CHOPS
4 cups water
¼ cup kosher salt
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
6 pork chops (about ¾ inch thick)
1/2
white onion, sliced
2 or 3 springs fresh sage
Olive oil for brushing the pork chops