Tag: mediterranean

Sweet Potato Fries with Manjistha

Sweet Potato Fries with Manjistha

Having to avoid nightshades is frankly annoying.  Back in my pre-Hashimotos days when I was running 20-30 miles per week and cutting whole bags of jalapeños onto every meal I also enjoyed a nice fat burger with mushrooms, blue cheese and hot chips (French fries). 

Ancestral Lamb Meatballs

Ancestral Lamb Meatballs

Eating nose to tail might not be your definition of fun, but with some amazing hacks and tricks, it can be so delicious that even the hubs and suspicious children will gobble it up. Incorporating organ meats (offal) into recipes is incredibly nourishing, hormone balancing 

Cultured Fennel, Avocado & Roasted Brussels Salad: Two Ways (paleo, keto, vegan)

Cultured Fennel, Avocado & Roasted Brussels Salad: Two Ways (paleo, keto, vegan)

I came up with this recipe in an attempt to veer from my standard potluck fare of chips and salsa. I took it to my first potluck at our new church. I got a bit of the mick taken out of me by our pastor when he caught me snapping a photo of it. “You going to post it?” he asked, with a good deal of cheek in his voice. Of course I was. Ha! Caught red handed despite it being a very green dish. It had so many complements I had to make it again with my other fennel variation… and the second time my husband had three helpings, which to me is always a win. It’s very simple once you have the cultures on hand.

Caught taking this photo… but it was so pretty…

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs brussels sprouts, washed and halved
  • 2 tsp Kirkland organic no salt seasoning OR 1/2 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp granulated onion, 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • extra-virgin olive oil for roasting sprouts
  • 2 large avocados
  • 1 english cucumber, halved lengthwise and cut into 3/4″ slices OR roasted zucchini cut the same way
  • 1 quart/liter fermented fennel or apple, ginger & lemon fermented fennel
  • 1/4 cup soaked and dried or sprouted pumpkin seeds (optional)
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
  • 2-3 Tbsp hulled hempseeds (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF
  2. In a large cast iron pan or a baking sheet with a silicone mat, place halved brussels sprouts cut side up
  3. Sprinkle with your favorite seasoning or with a mix of: 1/2 tsp granulated garlic, 1/2 tsp kosher or pink salt, 1/2 tsp granulated onion, 1/2 tsp black pepper.
  4. Spray or drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and roast for 30-45 minutes. If you are using zucchini instead of cucumber, roast them together with the sprouts.
  5. When the brussels have begun to blacken to your taste, remove them and toss with prepared cucumber or zucchini, seeds, 1/2-1 quart of fermented fennel of choice.
  6. Halve your avocados and divide each half into 6 parts (three cuts: 1 lengthwise and then sideways in thirds)
  7. Toss the avocado with the rest of the salad and serve. The fermentation liquid from the fennel culture will prevent the avocado from going brown too quickly.

Let me know what you think!

 

Cultured Fennel, Avocado & Roasted Brussels Salad

A delicate roasted salad that is very simple once you have the cultures on hand, but the flavors are anything but simple.
Prep Time 1 hour
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American, European
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs brussels sprouts washed and halved
  • 2 tsp Kirkland organic no salt seasoning OR 1/2 tsp garlic 1/2 tsp granulated onion, 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • extra-virgin olive oil for roasting sprouts
  • 2 large avocados
  • 1 english cucumber halved lengthwise and cut into 3/4″ slices OR roasted zucchini cut the same way
  • 1 quart/liter fermented fennel or apple ginger & lemon fermented fennel
  • 1/4 cup soaked and dried or sprouted pumpkin seeds optional
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts optional
  • 2-3 tbsp hulled hempseeds optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF
  • In a large cast iron pan or a baking sheet with a silicone mat, place halved brussels sprouts cut side up
  • Sprinkle with your favorite seasoning or with a mix of: 1/2 tsp granulated garlic, 1/2 tsp kosher or pink salt, 1/2 tsp granulated onion, 1/2 tsp black pepper.
  • Spray or drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and roast for 30-45 minutes. If you are using zucchini instead of cucumber, roast them together with the sprouts.
  • When the brussels have begun to blacken to your taste, remove them and toss with prepared cucumber or zucchini, seeds, 1/2-1 quart of fermented fennel of choice.
  • Halve your avocados and divide each half into 6 parts (three cuts: 1 lengthwise and then sideways in thirds)
  • Toss the avocado with the rest of the salad and serve. The fermentation liquid from the fennel culture will prevent the avocado from going brown too quickly.
Keyword avocados, Fennel, lemons, roasted brussels
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Apple, Ginger, Lemon & Fennel Cultured Salad (vegan, paleo, keto)

Apple, Ginger, Lemon & Fennel Cultured Salad (vegan, paleo, keto)

Who loves fennel?! I do (obviously) and so does my husband and a handful of other folks I’ve met but for the most part when I explain that the key vegetable that goes into one of my favorite salads is a licorice tasting bulb I 

Cultured Yellow Squash Hummus (vegan, paleo, keto)

Cultured Yellow Squash Hummus (vegan, paleo, keto)

Fermented Yellow Squash Hummus I love hummus.  I know that’s a strong word but it really is one of my favorite foods.  Lately though I have been dealing with some inflammation issues and have gone a mostly plant based keto to help manage it.  I’ve 

Fermented Fennel, A Simple Adaptation (vegan, paleo, keto)

Fermented Fennel, A Simple Adaptation (vegan, paleo, keto)

I have been fiddling around a lot with baked goods of late, to the chagrin of my insides, I think. I have had a few Fennel recipes in the works but this week I am posting an adaptation of Sorella‘s Fermented Fennel, which is featured in many of the London based Italian Bistro’s entrees. My husband loves licorice and although I do not enjoy the sweet treat and couldn’t anyway, I do love the vegetable roasted in cast iron along with a menagerie of other vegetables.

As a disclaimer this is a simplified version and a sort of “review” of their recipe as I wanted to try it out and as I happened to have a leftover bottle of white wine kicking around (I don’t drink white) I thought I would give it a shot. I did not toast any dried chilis or seeds (or even add the latter) and I subbed pomace oil for extra virgin olive oil. The result was still delectable and I encourage you to give it a shot. I am going to use it as a base for ragù one of these nights…

As a mom of three high energy children I usually need to do these ferments in under 30 minutes, including interruptions and this one was accomplished as hoped. The flavor is just gorgeous with the olive oil mixed in. Enjoy!

Note: you will find some fermented onion brine from a previous batch to be very helpful, but not entirely necessary.

 

Fermented Fennel

Brenna May
An adaptation from Sorella's in London
Prep Time 1 hour
7 days culturing time 7 days 1 hour
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine American, European, Mediterranean
Servings 16 servings

Equipment

  • 68oz Glass Jar or Crock
  • Fermenting Weight
  • Knife & Cutting Board

Ingredients
  

  • 4 fennel bulbs with stalks rinsed, bulbs quartered and cut into chunks, stalks chopped in 1/2' - 1" sections
  • 1/4 cup fermented onion brine from a previous batch
  • 2-3 cloves garlic sliced
  • 3/4 - 1 cup white wine
  • 1/2 lemon peel, pulp removed (you can use 2 halves fermented lemon rind from a batch of preserved lemons)
  • 3% salt - a little over 3 tsp per quart (I ended up using 3 3/4 Tbsp Pink Salt)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1-2 tsp Tasmanian Pepperberries
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil for the top

Instructions
 

  • Wash all vegetables and sanitize jar, fermenting weight and lid in the oven at 180 degrees for 5 minutes.
  • Wash hands and prepare vegetables. With this type of ferment I like to toss them together in a large bowl before I stuff them into the jar. Weigh the empty jar if you are adding salt by percentage. Note the weight. Add non-chlorinated water or fermenting liquid if needed.
  • Calculate salt percentage by weight and add to the jar. For my 68oz jar I used 3.75 Tbsp.
  • Cover with extra virgin olive oil to keep the bacteria out. 
  • Set in the fermenting weight, close the lid and leave to ferment for 2 weeks or longer.
Keyword cultured food, Fennel, fermented, white wine
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

Fermented Aubergine (Eggplant)

Fermented Aubergine (Eggplant)

I adore baba ghanoush. Actually I adore MY baba ghanoush. Which I always begin by smoking the tar out of a pile of eggplant. I met this vegetable on a pizza in the south of France and it was called an aubergine, so forgive me