Lentil and Herb Stuffed Mushrooms
Lentil and Herb Stuffed Mushrooms
Makes 6 servings
Free From gluten and all top 8 allergens
Lentils are said to resemble mini coins, and an abundance of these tiny edible legumes symbolizes wealth in the New Year. This rich and flavorful gluten-free appetizer can be prepared through Step 4 and chilled a day in advance. Just before your guests arrive, drizzle the stuffed caps with olive oil and bake. To make vegan, omit the pancetta.
30 crimini mushrooms (2-3 inches wide)
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 1/2 oz (42 g) pancetta, diced (optional)
1/2 cup (120 mL) minced red onion
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
pinch crushed red pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 tsp salt + additional for mushroom caps
2 tbsp dairy-free, soy-free buttery spread
1 cup (250 mL) cooked lentils (1 15 oz can, drained)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 cup (250 mL) gluten-free, allergen-free bread crumbs
1/2 cup (120 mL) shredded dairy-free, soy-free cheddar cheese alternative (such as Daiya)
freshly ground black pepper
paprika, for sprinkling
1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a dry paper towel, gently wipe dirt off mushrooms. Remove stems. Trim off the rough bottoms of stems. Finely chop remaining stem portions. Place mushroom caps, top-side down, on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan or a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add onion, thyme, sage and crushed red pepper and cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, while stirring. Add chopped mushroom stems and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Add buttery spread and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
4. In a medium bowl, mash 1/2 cup lentils until relatively smooth. Stir in remaining lentils, cooked mushroom mixture and parsley. Add bread crumbs, shredded cheese alternative, and a few turns fresh black pepper. Stir gently to combine.
5. Lightly sprinkle mushroom cap cavities with salt. Stuff each with a rounded tablespoon of lentil stuffing. Lightly sprinkle tops with paprika.
6. Drizzle stuffed mushrooms with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, until mushroom are tender and filling is golden brown. Transfer to a platter and serve warm.
Lentil and Herb Stuffed Mushrooms © 2015 by Cybele Pascal
This recipe first appeared in the Winter 2015 issue of Allergic Living Magazine
Gluten Free Chicken Vegetable Yakitori
Gluten-Free Chicken Vegetable Yakitori
(Gluten-Free and Top 8 Allergen-Free)
Serves 4 as a main, 6 as an appetizer
Yakitori is traditional Japanese street food. These tasty grilled skewers are usually dependent on soy and wheat/gluten for their flavorful marinade, but this allergy-friendly version is made with coconut amino acids instead for a gluten-free, soy-free savory, sweet, and tangy sauce.
The skewers are great for dinner, but also good party food, as they are easy to pass and require no utensils! I like making them with wooden or bamboo skewers, but they can also be made with metal skewers.
Marinade
6 tbsp coconut amino acids
2 cloves garlic, finely minced, or pressed
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp dry sherry
3 tbsp mirin
Ingredients
1½ lbs boneless chicken breast, cubed into 1-inch pieces
6 green onions, white and green parts, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces small white button mushrooms (halved, or even quartered if larger than 1 ½ inches) trimmed and wiped clean (don’t rinse)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well to dissolve brown sugar. Transfer to a small saucepan, using a rubber spatula to scrape out all sauce from the bowl.
2. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, decrease heat to medium-low and keep at a slow simmer for 18 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and let cool to room temp. (Or place in refrigerator to cool).
3. Combine sauce with chicken in a large bowl, tossing well to coat the chicken. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, this is a good time to prep your vegetables.
5. In the final hour of marinating the chicken, soak wooden or bamboo skewers in cool water. You will need about 10 skewers if you are using 10-inch skewers, and 16 if using 8-inch skewers.
6. Thread chicken and vegetables onto the skewers, starting with peppers, alternating chicken and vegetables. Don’t pack too tight. Reserve the remaining marinade to baste the skewers while grilling.
7. Brush skewers with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper, flip, sprinkle other side.
8. Preheat grill to medium. Oil the grill well.
9. Add skewers, baste with reserved marinade.
10. Cook for 4 minutes, flip skewers. baste again, and cook 4 minutes. Continue cooking, turning to brown on all sides and until chicken is cooked through, about 16 minutes total. Keep an eye on them, as they need to be turned often. Transfer to a platter and serve warm.
Gluten-Free Chicken Vegetable Yakitori © 2013 by Cybele Pascal
This recipe first appeared in the Spring 2013 issue of Allergic Living Magazine
Allergy Friendly Thanksgiving Tips
Delicious, Allergen-Free Turkey Day
On Thanksgiving, we gather and we eat for upwards of four hours, all the way from pre-dinner snacks to post-dessert dessert. But a traditional Thanksgiving dinner is literally one of the most allergen-laden meals possible.Whether this is your first allergen-free Thanksgiving or your twentieth, the following tips will help make it festive, mouthwateringly delicious, and safe.
Talking Turkey:
Did you know that many fresh and frozen turkeys contain hidden allergens? Most conventional, “self-basted” turkeys have been injected with butter, water and salt, and may also contain gluten. If you’re going to go the conventional turkey route, always verify ingredients with the manufacturer before purchasing. A safer option is a “Natural” turkey, which hasn’t been treated with any artificial colors or flavor enhancing ingredients. Look for “Organic” natural turkeys at websites like Local Harvest, or stores like Whole Foods.
Another good option: natural “Kosher” turkey. Guaranteed to have no dairy injected, the benefit of a Kosher turkey is that it has already been salted, and thus doesn’t need brining. I recommend Empire, the taste test winner selected by Cook’s Illustrated Magazine. Empire turkeys are also gluten-free. If you’re a die-hard foodie, take the adventurous (albeit, most expensive) route and look for a “Heritage” turkey, which is one of the pre-World War II breeds of turkey, like Narragansett and Bourbon Red. Slow Food has a great listing of independent farmers raising Heritage turkeys, state by state. Looking for something similar to what our forefathers might have eaten? Save yourself the hunt, check out D’Artagnan, to purchase a wild bird.
Last, to keep your turkey allergen-free, baste with olive oil. There is no need for butter, and in fact I prefer turkey with olive oil.
Savory Side Dishes:
Make baked sweet potato and potato dishes using canola oil instead of butter, and orange juice or rice milk instead of milk or cream. I prefer yams/sweet potatoes without marshmallows, but if like them, look for Allerenergy marshmallows, or try vegan brands like VeganSweets, made without eggs or gelatin, but be forewarned that they contain the allergen SOY. Instead of plain rice, mix and match with old world gluten-free grains like quinoa, millet, brown rice, wild rice, and buckwheat. All of these combine well with legumes like lentils or chickpeas, and are wonderful when enhanced with fresh herbs like thyme and sage. Dip into the plentiful array of winter squash available this time of year–not just butternut and acorn, but delicata, red kuri, and sweet dumplings. For an allergy-friendly stuffing, check out my Cornbread Wild Mushroom Stuffing Recipe.
Gravy can be made with olive oil instead of butter, and alternate flours, such as brown rice flour for thickening, instead of traditional wheat flour. See my recipe for Allergy-Friendly Gravy below.
Try making roast brussel sprouts this year instead of drenching them in butter or hollandaise sauce. To roast, cook at 450 degrees on a baking tray, tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper, for 25 minutes, shaking once or twice until a crispy golden brown on the outside, and tender on the inside.
For cranberry sauce, omit walnuts (tree nuts), and use thinly sliced tangerines or mandarin oranges, keeping the rind on, to add texture and color.
For Pie, check out my cookbook, The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook for any number of wonderful allergen-free pie, crumble, and crisp recipes, from Pumpkin Pie, to Apple Cranberry Pie. Or see my Allergy-Friendly Sweet Potato Pie recipe, or Cranberry Apple Crisp.
Remember: if you’re only doing a few allergen-free dishes rather than a whole allergy-friendly meal, be aware of cross contamination and cross contact while cooking and serving. Consider labeling dishes with ingredient cards. If the meal is going to be served buffet-style, serve the food allergic person first to avoid cross contamination.
Allergy-Friendly (Gluten-Free) Creamy Gravy
Makes 1 1/4 cups
Gravy is one of those things that everybody loves. Even the thought of gravy can make you smile. In fact, the term gravy, in slang, means happiness, stable goodness, and a state of complacency.Gravy also means cool, okay, and all good, as in “It’s all gravy, baby”. If something is better than gravy, it’s gravy on eggos or gravy on rice. Who doesn’t want some of that coolness poured onto their plate?
But beloved gravy is also highly allergenic. Yup, it’s loaded with no-nos for those with food allergies. Butter (dairy), wheat (gluten), and cream/milk (dairy again). It’s also often chock-full of soy derivatives.So I took on the challenge to convert beloved gravy into something allergy-friendly. Just pour this yummy goodness over rice, potatoes, turkey breast, or do like me, and eat it with a spoon!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fine brown rice flour
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup warm beef (or chicken or turkey) broth or stock (Kitchen Basics is allergy-friendly)
1/2 cup warm rice milk
1. Heat canola oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add brown rice flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, 2 minutes, until golden and aromatic.
3. Add onion powder, pinch of thyme, pinch of cayenne pepper, pinch of salt, and a couple turns of freshly ground pepper. Cook about 1 minute more, stirring.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Using a whisk, whisk in the warm beef broth, in three batches. Whisk vigorously, to smooth out any lumps. Add warm rice milk, whisking, and bring to a simmer. Cook stirring often, until thick and creamy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Allergy-Friendly, Gluten-Free Creamy Gravy
© 2010 by Cybele Pascal
(Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them. Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.)
SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns beforeconsumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.