Gluten Free · Meat · Whole30 compliant

Easy and quick oven roasted mustard/herb crusted racks of lamb

Serves 6

These are divine and so easy and quick. For me living in Los Angeles, the best lamb to buy is New Zealand lamb and Trader Joes sell a great rack of lamb, unfrozen and vacuum packed.
Be careful not to overcook the lamb and 25 minutes is the perfect time for me to achieve this color above. I have been known to double the mustard/herb topping
This is a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa and is bulletproof.

1 1/2 tbsp Kosher salt
2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup good Dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 racks of lamb, “frenched”  Trader Joes has already done this for you

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the salt, rosemary and garlic until they’re as finely minced as possible. Add the mustard and balsamic vinegar and process for 1 minute.

Place the lamb in a roasting tin, not too deep, with the ribs curving down and coat the tops with the mustard mixture.
Allow the lamb to stand for 1 hour at room temperature.

Roast the lamb for exactly 20 minutes for rare or 25 minutes for medium rare.
Remove from the oven and cover with aluminum foil
Allow to sit for 15 minutes, then cut into individual ribs and serve


Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food

Brussel sprouts and butternut squash with warm maple mustard dressing

Brussels sprouts and butternut squash are simply roasted together and then tossed with a gorgeous and simple dressing of balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and grainy mustard for an easy and delicious Fall staple.

1lb brussels sprouts
1lb peeled, diced butternut squash, (about 1 inch dice)
1 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp good balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup
leaves from 2 small sprigs of fresh rosemary, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced

Preheat the oven to 400F

Toss the brussels sprouts and butternut squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Arrange in a single layer on a rimmed 9 x 13? baking sheet.
Roast for 35 minutes, turning twice, until the vegetables are tender inside and browned in spots on the outside.
Meanwhile, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, rosemary and garlic. (Or blend together in a small food processor)

When the vegetables are done, transfer to a serving bowl.
Drizzle with the balsamic mixture and toss to coat.
Serve immediately

Asian flavors · Fish · Gluten Free

Broiled salmon with cucumber raita

Beautiful, light, unusual and easy!

Serves 4

2 tsp curry powder
4 tsp whole grain mustard
4 salmon fillets about 6 oz each, skinned (preferably wild)
1 large English cucumber. peeled, seeded and diced small
1 cup red onion, diced the same size as the cucumber (small)
1/2 cup plain thick yoghurt. (Not low fat)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 heaped tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Coat the salmon fillets in the mustard and sprinkle on 1 tsp of the curry powder then season with salt and pepper. Set aside until the raita is made.

Diced cucumber

In a bowl, stir together the remaining tsp of curry powder, cumin,cucumber, red onion, yoghurt, cilantro and mint. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover and refrigerate until serving. (About 1 hour so the flavors can blend)

Cucumber raita

Put the salmon fillets under a broiler and broil until just done but don’t over cook.
Serve with the raita either over the salmon or under the salmon

NB   You can also poach the salmon then chill it, making the dish a cold one, but I like the salmon hot.

Accompaniments · Do-ahead

Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing

I am reading and adapting recipes from a book called “Vegan YumYum” by Lauren Ulm.
This is one of the recipes with a few modifications. Extra tasty, you won’t miss regular Caesar dressing and it’s completely cholesterol free!  No cheese or anchovies! The nutritional yeast and miso make it taste as if there is Parmesan cheese in it.
This recipe makes about 1&1/2 cups.

1/4 cup slivered almonds (raw)
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp mellow white miso
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed (or more if you like it really garlicky)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 pinches salt
2 pinches ground pepper
About 1/2 block of silken tofu (6 oz)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional, but I use it as it contains protein and is really good for you)
2 tbsp water or more oil , to thin out the dressing if necessary

Make the dressing by putting ALL the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.
That’s it!!

Do-ahead · Meat · Poultry

My turkey meat muffins

These are fun and easy to make and are great to have cold the next day. You can use a muffin or cupcake tin and they are so much more flavorsome than ordinary old meatloaf. You can vary the amounts of ingredients, I tend to like a very flavorsome blend.

Makes about 18 cupcakes, or 12 muffins

2lbs ground turkey (I use the dark meat, but either is good)
1 large onion, chopped in the food processor
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 tbsp Worcester sauce
2 heaped tsp sweet paprika
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 extra large egg

Glaze

1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Get your largest bowl and put ALL the ingredients except the glaze ingredients into it.
Wash your hands, (remove any wedding rings) and plunge your hands into the mixture and mix it all together thoroughly so the egg is well blended and everything else is well blended.

Get out your muffin or cupcake tins and spray each hole with oil. Also with your hands, or an ice cream scoop, fill each hole with the meat mixture.

Brush the tops of each meat muffin with the ketchup then sprinkle over the grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes.

Fish · Pasta

Spaghetti with grilled shrimp, zucchini and salsa verde

Summer is the perfect time for this recipe.You can BBQ the zucchini and shrimp but I do them on the ridged pan over two gas elements. Like this one below.

Serves 4

Salsa Verde
2/3 cup lightly packed Italian parsley leaves
3 tbsp drained capers
1 large clove garlic
4 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp anchovy paste
a level 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1&1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Rest of the dish
2 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices
1&1/4lbs large shrimp, shelled and deveined
wooden or metal skewers for cooking the shrimp
3/4lb spaghetti

Put the parsley, capers, garlic, lemon juice, anchovy paste, mustard, 1/2 tsp of the salt and the pepper into a food processor, Pulse, just to chop, 6 to 8 times. With the machine running, add the 1/2 cup olive oil in a thin stream to make a coarse puree.
Leave this salsa verde in the food processor, if necessary, pulse to re-emulsify just before adding to the pasta.

Light the grill or heat the ridged pan to hot. Brush the zucchini with 1 tbsp of the oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of the salt.
Grill the zucchini, turning, until just done, about 10 minutes in all.
When the slices are cool enough to handle, cut them crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces and put them in a large bowl.

Thread the shrimp onto the skewers. Brush the shrimp with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt.
Grill, turning, until just done, about 4 minutes in all.
Remove the shrimp from the skewers, slice them in half horizontally and add them to the zucchini

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes.
Drain. Add the pasta to the grilled zucchini and shrimp and toss with the salsa verde.

 

Breakfast · Do-ahead · Egg based · Meat

Breakfast Strata

Another gorgeous and easy breakfast/brunch dish.

Serves 4 to 6 people

6 slices of a good dense Italian loaf cut 3/4 inch thick
1lb Sweet (or spicy) Italian sausage meat
1 tsp Dijon mustard (or less of English Colmans if you can take the heat)
1 heaped cup grated or shredded strong cheddar cheese. it’s always better if you buy it whole and mature then do it yourself
4 extra large (or large)  eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp Worcester sauce

Trim the crusts from the bread and fit it all into the bottom of a  10 by 16 inch baking pan.
Brown the sausage meat, using a fork and press down forcing the lumps to disappear until it’s crumbly and drain off any excess fat. Stir the mustard into the sausage meat.
Spoon the cooked sausage meat evenly over the bread and sprinkle evenly with the grated cheese.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl (eggs, milk, half and half, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Worcester sauce) then pour the mixture over the cheese and sausage mixture.
Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes until hot, bubbly and set.
Note
 This can be made the day before and kept in the refrigerator. Allow extra time for bakiong if it’s been refrigerated

Fish · Pasta

Spaghetti with grilled shrimp, zucchini and salsa verde

Serves 4. Really worth doing.

2/3 cup lightly packed parsley leaves
3 tbsp drained capers
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchini, cut lengthways into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/4 lbs large shrimp, shelled and deveined
3/4 lb spaghetti

Put the parsley, capers, garlic, lemon juice, anchovy paste, mustard, 1/2 tsp of the salt and the pepper into a food processor or bender. Pulse  just to chop, 6 to 8 times. With the machine running, add the 1/2 cup olive oil in a thin stream to make a coarse puree.
Leave this salsa verde in the food processor, if necessary, pulse to re-emulsify juts before adding to the pasta.

Light the grill or heat the broiler. (I do them on a cast iron ridged heavy rectangular flat pan over two burners). Brush the zucchini with 1 tbsp of the oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of the salt.
Grill or broil the zucchini, turning until just done, about 10 minutes in all.
When the slices are cool enough to handle, cut them crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces and put them in a large bowl.

Thread the shrimp onto skewers. Brush the shrimp with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Grill or broil, turning, until just done, about 4 minutes in all.
Remove the shrimp from the skewers, slice them in half horizontally, and add them to the zucchini.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes.
Drain. Add the pasta to the grilled zucchini and shrimp and toss with the salsa verde.
ENJOY!!