Tag Archives: dairy-free

Kabocha-Cauliflower Mash

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This dairy-free mash allows for everyone at the table to take a scoop no matter what the dinner may be. Kabocha squash and cauliflower blend seamlessly with creamy coconut milk and minced ginger. The resulting dish is a luscious, Asian-inspired alternative to mashed potatoes—without a speck of cream or butter in sight.

While it suggests to use a ricer, and we did, it’s probably easier to just use a hand mixer. Can’t find, or not a fan of Kabocha squash? Acorn or butternut squash would work just as well.

Kabocha-Cauliflower Mash

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 ½ lbs. kabocha squash (from 1 medium), halved, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 lbs. cauliflower (from 1 medium), cored and cut into large florets
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger (from a 1-inch piece)
  • 2 tsp. minced garlic (from 2 cloves)
  • ¾ cup light coconut milk
  • Chicken or vegetable broth, or water, if needed

Directions

  1. Cook squash in a large pot of simmering (not boiling) salted water 6 minutes. Add cauliflower; continue simmering until vegetables are very tender, 10 to 12 minutes more.
  2. Drain, then return vegetables to pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables appear dry and a film forms on bottom of pot, 3 to 4 minutes.
  3. Pass vegetables through a ricer, food mill, or chinois strainer; cover to keep warm.
  4. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium. When it shimmers, add ginger and garlic; cook until fragrant and sizzling, about 30 seconds. Add coconut milk; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and stir into vegetable mixture until smooth.
  5. If mash is too stiff, add broth, coconut milk, or water, a few tablespoons at a time. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.

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Recipe by Greg Lofts for Martha Stewart

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic

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So easy, yet so elegant. This recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts from Mark Bittman is an ATK popular version and is perfect as a holiday side dish. If you haven’t yet figured out a go-to recipe, this simple preparation is the answer. It results in sweet caramelized Brussels sprouts which is sure to satisfy just about anyone.

  • Use oven-safe cast-iron pan, as noted above.
  • Getting sprouts brown is important to avoid bitter taste.
  • Smaller quantity of large, hand-selected sprouts is better than big bag of assorted sprouts.
  • Don’t cook more than can fit in pan with cut side down.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  • 4-6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (maybe less, to taste)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400°F. Trim bottom of Brussels sprouts, and slice each in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Put in garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  2. Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer to oven. roast for 10-20 minutes at 400°F with a few shakes of the pan in between..
  3. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in (CAREFUL, NOT TOO MUCH) balsamic vinegar, and serve hot or warm.

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Recipe by Mark Bittman for NYTimes Cooking

Seared Salmon Paka

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Paka refers to a silky coconut-milk-based sauce popular in East African cuisine. In this take from Bon Apétit on machi paka—a classic fish curry—quickly seared salmon takes the place of the traditional charred, grilled white fish. Cooking the blended curry base down until the coconut milk breaks and the aromatics toast in its rich fat is key to developing deep flavor—don’t rush this part.

The curry base is wonderfully versatile; if fish isn’t your thing, sub in chicken or your favorite canned beans (adjust cooking times accordingly). Having a lot of rice and curry sauce left over, we browned some boneless chicken thigh pieces and added them to the sauce for another dinner a few days later.

Since no Thai chiles were available at the grocery store, we opted to incorporate jalapeños instead. The color of the paka may be a bit off-putting as it gives the appearance of pea soup, but don’t be fooled by that, the sauce is amazing!

Seared Salmon Paka

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 4 6-oz. boneless salmon fillets, preferably skin-on
  • 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2–3 green Thai chiles
  • 3 garlic cloves 
  • 1 1½” piece ginger, peeled 
  • 1 Tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste,
  • ½ tsp. ground turmeric 
  • ¼ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems 
  • 2 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lime
  • Cooked basmati rice

Directions

  1. Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Season four 6-oz. boneless salmon fillets, preferably skin-on, with kosher salt and cook (skin side down if it has skin), pressing fillets gently with a spatula, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn fillets over and cook until golden brown and just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Wipe out skillet and reserve.
  2. Purée 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped, 2–3 green Thai chiles, depending on heat preference, 3 garlic cloves, one 1½” piece ginger, peeled, 1 Tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste, ½ tsp. ground turmeric, ¼ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems, and one 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk in a blender on high speed until smooth. Pour onion mixture into reserved skillet and sprinkle with 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Bring to a brisk simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until mixture is reduced to a thick paste, fat separates from coconut milk (it will look broken), and aromatics are golden brown, 30–35 minutes.
  3. Pour in remaining one 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk and ¼ cup water and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits.
  4. Gently break salmon fillets into 3″ pieces and return to skillet. Cook just until salmon is heated through, about 3 minutes. Stir 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice into curry and remove from heat.
  5. Divide curry among shallow bowls and top with cilantro leaves with tender stems and halved green Thai chiles. Serve with cooked basmati rice or country-style bread and lime wedges alongside.

Do ahead: Curry base can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Reheat over medium-low, adding water to thin as needed.

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Recipe from Bon Appétit

Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops with Capers, Balsamic Vinegar, and Red Peppers

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Typically, we find lamb shoulder chops to be a tough cut of meat and benefit from a longer braise. However, Cook’s Illustrated tried a much shorter braise than usual for this lamb chop recipe—just enough to cook the meat. After only 15 to 20 minutes, they claimed the lamb was tender, but we beg to differ.  

Our initial concerns at the short amount of time (15 to 20 minutes originally) the lamb chops cooked were well-founded. After 20 minutes, they were still tough and we added another 10 minutes to the braise. In fact, they could have used even more time to tenderize. In the past, we’ve always braised them, covered over low heat for 2 hours, until they were fall-apart tender.

The much-anticipated caper and red pepper sauce with the deglazing liquid was delicious! Because we only cooked two chops, there was some sauce leftover which we made good use of on some pork chops the following day. Our pairings for the lamb included a side salad and a recent new potato fave, Crispy Parmesan Potatoes.

included

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 4 lamb shoulder chops, about 3/4 inch thick, trimmed of external fat
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped fine
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
  • 2 small cloves garlic, minced
  • ⅓ cup dry red wine
  • 1 cup canned tomatoes packed in puree, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley leaves
  • 2 Tbsp. capers, drained
  • 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions

  1. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed nonreactive skillet over medium-high heat. Cooking in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding, add 2 chops; sauté until brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from pan; set aside. Repeat.
  3. Pour fat from pan; return pan to medium heat, adding remaining tablespoon of oil. Add onion and pepper; sauté until softened, about 4 minutes.
  4. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
  5. Add wine; simmer until reduced by half, scraping browned bits from pan bottom with wooden spoon, 2 to 3 minutes.
  6. Stir in tomatoes, then return chops to pan. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until chops are cooked through but tender, at least 30 minutes.
  7. Transfer chops to each of four plates. Stir parsley, capers, and balsamic vinegar into braising liquid; simmer until sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust seasonings, spoon portion of sauce over each chop, and serve.

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Adapted from a recipe by Cook’s Illustrated