Gluten Free / Primal
Every recipe here is entirely gluten free, because that's the way I have to eat. Some who eat a Primal diet can have traces of gluten, but I can't. Many of these recipes will also be free of many common allergens, so I will note that when it's not obvious by the title. If you need multiple-allergy-free recipes, check out Cybele Pascal. For Paleo recipes that do include nuts, go to Elana Amsterdam's website or pick up her books. Anything I label as Primal will be free of grains, legumes, dairy (though sometimes with options, like good cheese, but they won't be a necessary part of the recipe), refined starches, and added sweeteners, including Date or Coconut Palm sugar, and Agave and Maple syrups. Truly sweetener free. I don't use Stevia because I don't like the taste/aftertaste and it actually makes me ill, but you can do what you want with your own food. Any of the baked items can be egg-free if you use a gluten free egg replacer (Ener-G Foods makes a great one. Note that Bob's Red Mill's egg replacer is made from gluten). For more information about the Primal lifestyle, see Mark's Daily Apple. Anything I write here is good as written, but also a jumping-off point. Experiment!
A Complete Primal Meal:
Braised Grassfed Beef Heart and Kidney with Optional Vegetables
If you think heart and kidneys are tough or too gamey, try this recipe. It's a great way to get some organ meats, which are especially nutritious, and is a nice break from liver. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs grassfed beef heart*
1 lb grassfed beef kidney*
2 tsp bacon grease (or any type of primal fat you like to use), plus a little more
1/2 cup grassfed beef bacon ends* (or 2 slices bacon), diced
1 onion (any color, or 3 shallots), diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broth (chicken or beef will do)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or balsamic)
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 cups fresh vegetables, chopped (optional - will require added broth)
sea salt (optional)
Method:
Slice your organ meats 1/2 inch thick. Remove and discard the hard, stringy, fatty-looking tissue. (This is tough and will not soften with cooking, making your final dish unpleasantly chewy.)
In a large skillet or pan with a lid, heat the 2 tsp bacon grease until it melts. Add the onion and bacon ends and sauté over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook another two minutes. Remove all to another dish. Leave some grease in the bottom of the pan, or add more for frying the heart.
Return the pan to the heat and add the heart slices. Cook for about 30-35 seconds on each side. Add the onion mixture back to the pan, along with the broth, vinegar, and pepper to taste. Do not add salt yet! Cover with the lid and turn up the heat. As soon as the mixture boils, turn it down, and simmer for 1 hour.
When the time is up, add the kidney and stir it in well. If you are using vegetables, put these and extra broth in at this time. You want the liquid to just cover the meat and veg in the pan. Put the lid on again and turn up the heat. As soon as the mixture boils, turn it down to a simmer again and cook for another hour. You can get fancy about this if you want, adding vegetables one at a time according to how long each takes to cook to perfection, but it's not necessary, and remember that every time you add something, the temperature of the whole thing goes down, and that will add to your cooking time. Putting them all in at once gives you velvety-soft veg. The onions and garlic will be that way anyway.
At the end of the hour, lift the lid and fish out a piece of heart (not kidney). Cut it and taste. Check the consistency. This meat will be tough up to a certain point in time, then it will soften with the long simmering. You want to catch it when it releases that toughness and becomes easy to eat, though not necessarily falling apart. Simmering will also let the flavors in, so give it its time. If it's not ready, give it another 30 minutes or so and check again. Keep checking until the meat softens.
This dish has a lot of robust flavor, and you may not need salt at all. If you do, salt the finished dish once it's on your plate and you've tasted it.
If you have non-Primal diners who miss their grain, toast some whole-grain bread for them to sop up the tasty juices with.
* I get these from US Wellness Meats. The heart and kidney come in the weights listed above, so it works out to one package of each. If you are fortunate enough to be able to buy grassfed organ meat locally, by all means, do so.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs grassfed beef heart*
1 lb grassfed beef kidney*
2 tsp bacon grease (or any type of primal fat you like to use), plus a little more
1/2 cup grassfed beef bacon ends* (or 2 slices bacon), diced
1 onion (any color, or 3 shallots), diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broth (chicken or beef will do)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or balsamic)
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 cups fresh vegetables, chopped (optional - will require added broth)
sea salt (optional)
Method:
Slice your organ meats 1/2 inch thick. Remove and discard the hard, stringy, fatty-looking tissue. (This is tough and will not soften with cooking, making your final dish unpleasantly chewy.)
In a large skillet or pan with a lid, heat the 2 tsp bacon grease until it melts. Add the onion and bacon ends and sauté over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook another two minutes. Remove all to another dish. Leave some grease in the bottom of the pan, or add more for frying the heart.
Return the pan to the heat and add the heart slices. Cook for about 30-35 seconds on each side. Add the onion mixture back to the pan, along with the broth, vinegar, and pepper to taste. Do not add salt yet! Cover with the lid and turn up the heat. As soon as the mixture boils, turn it down, and simmer for 1 hour.
When the time is up, add the kidney and stir it in well. If you are using vegetables, put these and extra broth in at this time. You want the liquid to just cover the meat and veg in the pan. Put the lid on again and turn up the heat. As soon as the mixture boils, turn it down to a simmer again and cook for another hour. You can get fancy about this if you want, adding vegetables one at a time according to how long each takes to cook to perfection, but it's not necessary, and remember that every time you add something, the temperature of the whole thing goes down, and that will add to your cooking time. Putting them all in at once gives you velvety-soft veg. The onions and garlic will be that way anyway.
At the end of the hour, lift the lid and fish out a piece of heart (not kidney). Cut it and taste. Check the consistency. This meat will be tough up to a certain point in time, then it will soften with the long simmering. You want to catch it when it releases that toughness and becomes easy to eat, though not necessarily falling apart. Simmering will also let the flavors in, so give it its time. If it's not ready, give it another 30 minutes or so and check again. Keep checking until the meat softens.
This dish has a lot of robust flavor, and you may not need salt at all. If you do, salt the finished dish once it's on your plate and you've tasted it.
If you have non-Primal diners who miss their grain, toast some whole-grain bread for them to sop up the tasty juices with.
* I get these from US Wellness Meats. The heart and kidney come in the weights listed above, so it works out to one package of each. If you are fortunate enough to be able to buy grassfed organ meat locally, by all means, do so.
Steamed Herbed Broccoli
Cooking doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. Simple preparation allows great ingredients to shine. You can start this maybe 20 minutes before dinner should hit the table.
Ingredients:
1 head broccoli, washed and cut up
1 sprig fresh thyme leaves, minced (or 1/4 tsp dried)
4 fresh basil leaves, minced (or 1/4 tsp dried)
6 fresh oregano leaves, minced (or 1/4 tsp crushed, dried)
1 sundried tomato, finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced (or dash garlic powder)
1 piece green part of a chive, minced (or dash onion powder)
1/4 cup good olive oil
Method:
Steam broccoli to your liking. While it's cooking, prepare your herbs. Mix herbs well, add to oil, and drizzle over cooked broccoli. You can make extra herbed oil and freeze it, or make a mix of the dried herbs and use it for vegetables and meats. I especially like it for grilling chicken.
Ingredients:
1 head broccoli, washed and cut up
1 sprig fresh thyme leaves, minced (or 1/4 tsp dried)
4 fresh basil leaves, minced (or 1/4 tsp dried)
6 fresh oregano leaves, minced (or 1/4 tsp crushed, dried)
1 sundried tomato, finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced (or dash garlic powder)
1 piece green part of a chive, minced (or dash onion powder)
1/4 cup good olive oil
Method:
Steam broccoli to your liking. While it's cooking, prepare your herbs. Mix herbs well, add to oil, and drizzle over cooked broccoli. You can make extra herbed oil and freeze it, or make a mix of the dried herbs and use it for vegetables and meats. I especially like it for grilling chicken.
Banana Biscuits (Gluten free, dairy/casein free, corn free, gum free, egg free, soy free, peanut free - not nut free)
You didn't think I'd forget dessert, did you? I keep all bananas that get too ripe in the freezer (unpeeled in zipper lock bags) for just such occasions as this. (It's good to do this with all fruit.) These are not nut free; in fact they rely on nut meal. However, if you can't have nuts, use whatever flour or meal you are allowed to have. The purpose of the flour is to sop up the wetness of the bananas and oil, so get creative if you have to. Just don't substitute a refined starch for all the flour, or your biscuits will be unhealthy and not have a good texture.
Ingredients:
2 cups almond (or another nut) meal (note that coconut flour is especially drying - you may want to add 1/2 cup of water if you are using it)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbs egg replacer (or 2 eggs, if you can have them. If using egg replacer, do not add water as directed on the package.)
2 bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork (overripe, or frozen and thawed)
1/4 cup oil (refined, expeller pressed coconut or avocado oils can take high heat and won't change the taste of the food)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup nuts and/or cacao nibs
1/2 cup bits of dark chocolate (optional - I put these in on my treat day)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350° F/180° C and prepare a baking pan with a piece of parchment paper or grease it with a high-heat fat/oil. Mix dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center, then add the wet ingredients and mix them up well with each other, then with the dry ones. Fold in your add-ins (nuts, chocolate chunks). Drop in same-sized lumps on your baking pan and flatten a little so they don't end up too wet in the center. Bake 20-25 minutes, until they are browned on top and bottom. They will be soft in the middle and slightly crunchy outside. If you bake them too long, they will burn on the bottom and may still not dry out - bananas are pretty wet. Embrace that. It's the nature of the beast. I promise they will taste good.
Variations:
Try substituting cooked squash or pumpkin for the banana and adding typical pumpkin spices for Pumpkin Biscuits. Or you can add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (non-Dutch) to make Chocolate Banana Biscuits.
Ingredients:
2 cups almond (or another nut) meal (note that coconut flour is especially drying - you may want to add 1/2 cup of water if you are using it)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbs egg replacer (or 2 eggs, if you can have them. If using egg replacer, do not add water as directed on the package.)
2 bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork (overripe, or frozen and thawed)
1/4 cup oil (refined, expeller pressed coconut or avocado oils can take high heat and won't change the taste of the food)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup nuts and/or cacao nibs
1/2 cup bits of dark chocolate (optional - I put these in on my treat day)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350° F/180° C and prepare a baking pan with a piece of parchment paper or grease it with a high-heat fat/oil. Mix dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center, then add the wet ingredients and mix them up well with each other, then with the dry ones. Fold in your add-ins (nuts, chocolate chunks). Drop in same-sized lumps on your baking pan and flatten a little so they don't end up too wet in the center. Bake 20-25 minutes, until they are browned on top and bottom. They will be soft in the middle and slightly crunchy outside. If you bake them too long, they will burn on the bottom and may still not dry out - bananas are pretty wet. Embrace that. It's the nature of the beast. I promise they will taste good.
Variations:
Try substituting cooked squash or pumpkin for the banana and adding typical pumpkin spices for Pumpkin Biscuits. Or you can add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (non-Dutch) to make Chocolate Banana Biscuits.