living in the ice age

Chacarron Macarron

2012-02-24T19:30:00.000Z

You got me ... it's a totally made up name, but then so many dishes are.

Chacarron Macarron is a peculiar song by Panamanian crazies El Mudo: Chacarron Macarron.

But, what's it got to do with eggs?

Well, the name just seemed right for the dish for some reason ... it reminded of something a child might put together thinking it was sophistamicated when actually it is kind of naive and a bit higgledy piggledy.

Damn good, though!

Is there some method to this madness?

You boil a couple of eggs and halve them, removing the yolks.

Next, you place the eggs on a board and the yolks next to them, with olives in a good dot of green Tabasco. Squirt some wasabi over the yolks and fill the whites with caviar.

Enjoy with a good slug of something that makes you happy - tequila, gin, champagne, water, whatever floats your boat.

This is a fun dish. Enjoy!

"ualuealuealeuale ualuelaelaellalea, alsualsualualauusualulus alsualsualualauusualulus ualuealuealeuale ualuelaelaellalea, alsualsualualauusualulus alsualsualualauusualulus" ... ad nauseum

Pan Fried Tilapia

2012-02-16T20:30:00.000Z

Some days, you just want something quick and nutritious - today was one of those days. Food shopping, I happened across some fillets of tilapia that had been dramatically reduced in price and simply had to have them.

Off the cuff, I thought pan-fried and accompanied with something green would do the trick.

... and that was pretty much what I did.

Drop something green into boiling water to just cook through. I went with some tenderstem broccoli.

Warm some butter in a frying pan. Yes, warm, not fry up; we don't want the pan searing hot or it will burn the butter and the fish - we want the fish to warm through, remaining soft and delicate.

Place the fish fillets into the butter and allow to cook through on one side for a few minutes. Do not fiddle with the fish! Just leave it there and let it cook.

Gently lifting with a fish slice, turn the fillets over. Add more butter and baste regularly as the fish cooks on the other side for a few minutes.

Ready?

Drain off the veggies, place on a plate to accompany the fish.

I also quickly fried off some mini-leeks and added a good blob of soured cream to the side of the plate.

Perfect! Paleo perfect!

Spicy Pulled Beef Brisket

2012-02-12T16:00:00.000Z

Admittedly, not much of a meal, more a "while you wait" kind of snack.

While cooking beef brisket for dinner, I like to regularly turn it. Towards the end of cooking, I like to trim off any excess fat. At this point, a little chunk of meat might accidentally fall off ... Chef's Privilege.

To cook beef brisket, I like brown off the outside and sit it in an ovenproof dish over some chopped shallots.

Sauté off some lamb's kidneys and quarter some mushrooms - throw over the meat.

Make up a good amount of liquor from beef stock and water, pour over and set in the oven at 125C for 4-6 hours.

Upon cooking, perfection!

Back to the principle of Chef's Privilege ...

This is where the Chef gets to sample the meal prior to finishing and serving.

Here, I simply pulled the beef into shreds, dotted Tabasco sauce all around (the Habanero variety) and some over the top, crowing with a couple of cubes of feta cheese to offset any fattiness, since this piece of meat was trimmed along with the excess fat.

Good taster and enhanced the anticipation.

Sloppy Grok

2012-02-12T10:30:00.000Z

You got it! Sloppy Joe!

The origins of this sandwich are mysterious ...

Some maintain that it was José García, owner of a Havana bar nicknamed 'Sloppy Joes's' due to his ropa vieja sandwich which became known as a "sloppy joe". Others maintain it originated in Sioux City by a chef named Joe who made "loose meat sandwiches".

You can read all about it here: An Ode to Sloppy Joe

Variations exist, but it is essentially a ground meat sauce in a burger bun.

We can keep it paleo ...

First, the meat sauce, which is simply onions, minced beef, garlic, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, thyme, perhaps some carrot. I used leftover Chilli Con Carne but will most definitely make this more traditionally in future.

For folks culturally foreign to this American delicacy, think of it as all the ingredients you'd use to make a burger, but then don't make a burger ... make a sloppy burger.

Next, the burger bun, for which we'll use a couple of portobello mushrooms. This is not substitution, this is supplanting the bun for something much more fun, nutritious and actually more tasty ... by far.

Get your griddle hot and place the mushrooms on their tops with the darker underside exposed. As they warm through, the juice therein will sweat out. When there's a good amount of juice collected, flip over carefully so as to capture all the juices under the mushroom and press down with a slice to boil all that flavour back into the mushroom, while evaporating the steam.

You'll be left with mushrooms which are not soggy, but fully retained in flavour.

How better to accompany this feast than with a condiment and a side?

The condiment, tomato ketchup ...

Easy to make - taste some tomato puree and flavour with a gastrique of cider vinegar and honey, some salt and a touch of arrowroot in lemon juice. Ensure that the ingredients are thoroughly combined in a blender.

Honey? Honey is more than sweetener - natural and loaded with complex medicinal effects ranging from immunity boosters to anti-cancer and anti-microbial properties. It passes the hunger/gatherer principle. The honey I used is local (very local, like a mile or so away) from Denholme Gate Apiary.

Arrowroot? It's just a starchy thickener. Don't fret.

Don't like the idea of either? Don't put them in. Fancy Stevia instead? Well, it's a banned food in Europe, so out of my recipe, but feel free. I don't know enough about Stevia, having never tried it, but think that a chemically extracted powder is not really within the spirit of paleo.

You could buy a primal-friendly ketchup - Tiptree brand is pretty good, organic and hand-produced. Actually, Heinz now make an organic version of their ketchup which uses tomatoes grown free from pesticides and contains no MSG or HFCS! It's a strong step in the right direction, Heinz!

The side, primal slaw ...

Shred come white cabbage, grate some carrot, slice from red onion, glob of soured cream, spritz of sherry or cider vinegar, pinch of salt, stir, done!

Serve out onto a clean plate, first mushroom down, meat filling on top falling out for artistic effect, good glob of ketchup, good helping of grated cheddar cheese, second mushroom on top and a helping of slaw alongside.

Naturally, feel free to use much less meat than pictured and eat this conventionally, picked up with all that good stuff oozing out and falling back onto the plate!

Messy food is good food ...

Pork Rind Schnitzel

2012-02-08T19:00:00.000Z

Schnitzel, traditional Austrian dish of flattened escalope breaded and fried. Traditionally, veal is used, although pork or turkey work well.

The trouble is ... the breadcrumbs. Coating with starch flour is just not right at all and gluten-free breadcrumbs are practically frankenfood, but there is a way.

Let's keep it paleo ...

How? Pork Rinds!!!

When posting this on Mark's Daily Apple forum, I inadvertently named the thread 'Porn Rind Schnitzel' and pulled in a good few people hoping for a little more, but very pleased with what they did see. With that in mind, the instruction to "bash your meat" might be a little more something you'd expect from the guys over at Modern Paleo Warfare, but bear with me over the method.

First, make the breadcrumbs ...

Take some pork rind and whizz it up with a blender. That's it! Do cover it, though - this stuff will fly out and all over your kitchen unless properly contained. Guess how I know that?

If you've made your own crispy rinds from pork skin, great! Otherwise bought work out fine - as with all things, get the best you can and avoid anything with MSG or yeast extract (MSG incognito) and go for straight-up pork rinds with no added ingredients.

Next, give your meat a good bashing ...

I had a couple of pork escalopes and just flattening them out with a meat tenderising mallet is fine. No need to wrap in clingfilm, but if you are going to be using a rolling pin or wine bottle, covering the meat with some greaseproof paper works out just fine.

Lay out the crumbs on one plate and whisk an egg on another.

Make up the rest of your meal and plate up - this last bit takes almost no time.

Warm a couple of frying pans up, dip the meat both sides in the egg then into the breadcrumbs and quickly into the frying pan. Flip over after a couple of minutes. Done!

Serve out with a wedge of lemon.

Rethinking Cauliflower Rice

2012-02-07T18:30:00.000Z

Cauliflower rice is a perfect paleo accompaniment to all manner of dishes where regular rice would otherwise be called for.

It is, however, a bit of a pain unless you have a food processor ... or microwave oven.

Here's a quick and simple way, rethinking cauliflower rice ...

Rice should be soft comfort food. Contemplating the texture is the key to rethinking cauliflower rice, so the end result should feel like rice even if it does not necessarily look like grains of rice.

Carefully cut the florets from the stalk of a cauliflower, halving, quartering and trimming the excess stalk from each floret.

Over a pan of boiling water, steam these cauliflower florets for a few minutes until soft enough to crush with a fork but not too soggy.

Remove from the steam and leave the lid off - the cauliflower will remain warm while the excess water evaporates out.

When ready to serve, tip out into a wide bowl and crush gently with a fork until the desired texture is achieved.

Daube de Boeuf Provencale

2012-02-05T20:00:00.000Z

From Wikipedia: "Daube is a classic Provencal stew made with inexpensive beef braised in wine, vegetables, garlic, and herbes de Provence, and traditionally cooked in a daubière, a braising pan."

"Variations also call for olives, prunes, and flavoring with duck fat, vinegar, brandy, lavender, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, juniper berries, or orange peel."

Daube does takes some preparation ...

One day in advance, get the meat marinating in red wine - diced beef. Follow the Chef's rule that you should only ever cook with wine that you would be happy to drink. Would be ... if drinking alcohol is not within your paleo template, you don't have to drink it. Fear not! Once in the oven, the alcohol is cooked out.

I went with Cabernet Sauvignon from Languedoc, the region right next to Provence. Good wine, which I am more than happy drinking!

Place the beef in a dish, along with some diced streaky bacon or lardons, some thyme, sage, maybe fennel, even anchovy for salty pungency and certainly some minced garlic. The meat will npw marinate happily covered in the fridge until you come to cook it.

On the cooking day, a good couple of hours in advance of meal time, pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Collect the marinated meat from the juices and sear in a hot frying pan. Any liquid should be poured back into the bowl of juices so the meat does not cook in steam - we want it browned.

You may need to do this in stages, but once the meat is browned, transfer it to a lidded ovenproof dish.

Peel and chop a few shallots, slice some carrot and add to the ovenproof dish along with a couple of bay leaves, some black pepper and more garlic, the cloves simply halved this time.

Zest some orange peel into the mix, too, and add any of those optional aromatic flavours like prunes, lavender, nutmeg and cinnamon at this stage.

For the roux, melt a little lard or dripping in the pan and sprinkle over arrowroot. Allow the arrowroot to colour slightly, then de-glaze along with all the meat flavour in the pan with the reserved marinating juices.

You will notice that the juice is especially meaty as the wine has tenderised the meat overnight and small particles of meat will be in the juice.

Pour into the ovenproof dish and place in the oven at 180C for a couple of hours, removing the lid after one hour for the sauce to reduce and colour up.

Take care to stir the Daube a few times throughout this last hour and maybe 20 minutes before serving, scatter in some green olives.

Serve out with some greens, or more traditionally, with boiled white rice or frites, fried in goose fat or lard; enjoy with a glass of the same wine you used to marinate. Garnish with parsley.

Mighty Breakfast Scramble!

2012-02-05T10:30:00.000Z

It snowed like blazes last night and so a damn good walk in the hills is in order. Nothing like starting the day with something awesome, especially if you want an active day.

Best just grab whatever is to hand and stuff it all in a pan ...

It's pretty much that, but does require a little forethought or it really will be a mess.

Preparation ...

Get some bacon under the grill, set some sausages frying and get some thick slices of mushrooms frying in butter which you prepare the rest.

Halve some small tomatoes, or quarter larger ones, shred a few greens, slice some pickles and chop some herbs - coriander, here. Grate some cheese - cheddar is good.

When the bacon and sausages are done, set them aside. Slice the sausages on the slant. Get some cubed chorizo warming though and pop the tomatoes into the same pan as the mushrooms.

Warm up a heavy bottomed pan and dot the sausages around. Crack in a few eggs and let them start to fry. Arrange the bacon over.

My crappy old heavy based non-stick pan will do for now. I know ... I know ... the horror! Non-stick pans and all, but I can't use cast iron on my ceramic hob.

When the eggs are just about done scatter over the mushrooms and tomato, scatter the chorizo and sprinkle over the chopped greens, pickles, blueberries and finally the grated cheese.

Transfer to the oven to sit under the grill for a short while to keep things warm and melt the cheese.

Garnish with chopped herbs.

Carefully, remembering where the eggs were, lift out good portions onto a plate trying to keep the yolks intact; or just eat straight out of the pan.

Get about your day ...

Japanese Curry

2012-02-04T18:30:00.000Z

Introduced to Japan by the British rather than the Indians, as an approximation of hot curried food.

So popular now in Japan it is simply called 'curry' and you will find curry roux packets widely available ... except for back here in Blighty, so I guess I'll have to dream up my own concoction.

Imagining this to be more akin to Beef Mulligatawny, as in the famous Heinz soup, just thicker, I set about a spice blend akin to that and kept it very simple to ground coriander, ground turmeric and some chilli powder.

How so?

This looks to be one of those meals that seems to have cooked forever, can be re-heated and probably is, combining fresh ingredients each time.

I sat a pound of casserole beef in some water at 125C for a few hours on Saturday morning. I don't recall how long, but a long time. Chuck it into a slow cooker ... job done.

With softened beef, collect the water for a gravy later.

Seal the meat it in some coconut oil and tossed in the dry spices - coriander, turmeric and chilli powder. Be ready to pour in some water! That spice concoction is like mustard gas!

You could just use a garam masala blend, but my wife really does not like something in that blend, so I didn't.

Sprinkle in a beef stock cube and some arrowroot in water to thicken. Traditionally, flour would be used, but wheat really is bad so we're going to stay well clear. At a push, sorghum flour might be okay but we only need to thicken it.

Let it colour and finally pour over the reserved water, stirring in a teaspoon of tamarind paste and some ground black pepper.

Intermission ...

Tamarind? Is that even paleo?

Well, I don't quite know - it is a member of the Fabaceae family, and so technically a legume, although we're just using the seed from inside. Seed? Yes, the seed. So, um ... paleo?

Well, I don't know ... Either way, tamarind has a unique sour flavour which is the absolute key to this dish. In the spirit of paleo, I did my hunger/gatherer thing and collected a tub of pure tamarind extract from the local supermarket and tasted it. It didn't kill me and had a curious flavour. Being the largest and strongest in my tribe, I took the challenge! I'll eat some and see if it's okay ... it was!

Back to the main feature ...

Toss in a chopped carrot and some peas and then transfer back to the ovenproof dish.

Cook at 180C for a couple of hours.

Serve out with some rice, dressing the dish with some fresh coriander leaves.

White rice is one of those ingredients that is peripheral to the paleo diet, tolerable, but not ideal. Beyond paleo, Perfect Health Diet authors Paul & Shou-Ching Jaminet would call this a "safe starch" and it is with this in mind that I am perfectly happy to include white rice as part of what I would call a paleo+ diet.

Enchiladas Suizas

2012-02-02T20:00:00.000Z

From Wikipedia: "Suiza, or Swiss, is an adjective that indicates the dish is topped with a white, milk or cream-based sauce, such as Béchamel. This appellation is derived from Swiss immigrants to Mexico who established dairies to produce cream and cheese."

We'll be keeping this paleo with cream cheese pancakes to wrap around a spicy stuffing and a flourless cheese sauce over.

First, make up some cream cheese pancakes ...

1oz of cream cheese and an egg makes two 6" pancakes, so multiple that simple formula as necessary. I have also found that a good knob of melted butter whisked in just before pouring really helps flavour and non-stickiness.

Next, make up the stuffing ...

I made a simple spicy stuffing from a carton of chopped tomatoes, a chopped red pepper, some steamed cauliflower broken down further in the pan and a good portion of small prawns. Spiced with paprika, black pepper and a Scotch Bonnet pepper, and given some oregano aromatics.

Cooked through for a good hour to ensure all the ingredients were well combined, cooked and soft, and water reduced out.

Finally, the cheese sauce ...

Warm up some single cream in a pan and stir in a generous potion of grated cheese - cheddar is perfect. Add a little nutmeg for a warm aromatic and set on low to reduce slightly and keep warm. No flour needed!

Time to build the dish!

Take a pancake and fill with the stuffing. Roll around and lay into an ovenproof dish.

Pour over the cheese sauce, sprinkle over some chopped herbs and bake in the oven at 180C for 20-30 minutes. A few minutes at the end with the grill on to darken the cheese works well - grill, broiler, salamander, whatever your language dictates.

Serve out and accompany with a side salad - I made up a marinated mushroom, green pepper and red onion warm salad, marinated in lemon, lime and sherry vinegar.

Marinated Mushroom Side

2012-02-02T19:30:00.000Z

Marinated in lemon, lime and sherry vinegar, this warm salad is an excellent accompaniment to rich dishes, especially dishes rich in cream.

How?

Slice some mushrooms, some green pepper and make some onion rings from a red onion.

Mince some garlic.

Soften some butter in a frying pan, add the garlic and toss the mushrooms until just cooked through and all the butter soaked up.

Toss in the green pepper and red onion and toss through with the mushrooms.

Slide out into a bowl and squeeze over a good lemon wedge, lime wedge and splash over some sherry vinegar. Splash some green Tabasco over, too for a gentle warming kick.

Shave some fennel and sprinkle over along with some shredded spring onions.

Allow the salad to cool and marinate - liquid will be released, so just before serving soak it up with a kitchen towel.

Guacamole Cauliflower Mash

2012-02-01T19:30:00.000Z

After the success of Bangers & Mash (Redux) using cauliflower and cheese together to form a mashed potato-like consistency and having taken note of how much my wife enjoyed our recent Cauliflower & Avocado Side, I wondered if the two concepts might actually work together.

Only one way to find out ...

Steam some cauliflower - one head is fine for two people and a good quantity to blend with half an avocado, which will deliver the flavour and colour.

Take half an avocado and place it in a blending pot with some feta cheese. I got the tip that feta cheese can give a slight graininess, reminiscent of mashed potato. Blending these two ingredients together forms a firm, dry paste.

Once the cauliflower has steamed to a soft consistency remove the lid and allow the steam to escape. This step is important so as not to end up with a wet mash.

Once the steam has really died down but the heat is still within the cauliflower, spoon it in the blending pot.

Cover with some grated cheddar cheese - mild, uncoloured is perfect.

Blend together!

Check for consistency. Too sloppy? Add more cheese. Too firm, add in a little more avocado.

Once you reach a consistency that can be served out onto a plate without losing its shape altogether, you've got the right consistency.

Salt to taste - the cheese should give just enough saltiness to offset the other ingredients, but add in a little sea salt if need be.

Taste-wise, it is a little like a firm guacamole and granted, green mash is not everybody's idea of an appetising looking meal, but it is tasty.

But, what to eat it with?

Well, fusion is always fun, so taking the concept of British Bangers & Mash, how about just drop a few sausages on top? Maybe some soured cream over?

I went for spicy sausages and a thick chilli sauce accompanied by a light salad.

Albondigas

2012-01-30T19:30:00.000Z

Spanish Meatballs!

Commencing a week of Mexican-inspired eating, how better to start than with a plate of meatballs in a hot tomato sauce accompanied by some cooling salads?

For the meatballs, combine equal quantities of pork mince and beef mince - 250g of each made 6 large balls each!

Place the meat into a mixing bowl, crack in an egg, some minced onion, a few minced gloves and ... some breadcrumbs! I'm kidding! I'm kidding, although traditional recipes do call for them. Keep it paleo - simply leave this one out or use a couple of tablespoons of potato flour. Pinch of salt, some white pepper, maybe some herbs, dusting of cayenne pepper.

Squeeze the meat through your fists a few times to ensure that all the ingredients are fully combined.

Pour out a little potato flour into a bowl, dividing in the meat mixture and forming meatballs, dropping them into the potato flour and rolling around - this will help with the colouring.

Fry off the meatballs in a skillet and some good fat with a high smoke point - dripping, lard and tallow are all good. Fry on one side, then the other, then around the unfried sides. The meatballs should be pretty much cooked now, but will continue to cook and soften in the sauce.

For the sauce, in a lidded sauté pan, fry off a chopped onion in some fat and add in a carton of chopped tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are almost always lined with BPA which you can google the negative effects of this for yourself; cartons do not, nor does the tomato need an acidity regulator.

Add a finely chopped chilli, or two, to taste - I used a fiery Scotch Bonnet pepper.

Add some paprika, dried oregano and then salt to taste. Add some water to loosen up the sauce, a good tablespoon of tomato purée and then drop the meatballs into the sauce. Lid on and let is simmer on a lower heat for a good hour, softening all the ingredients and continuing the cooking of the meatballs.

Meanwhile, make up a couple of salad sides.

Cauliflower & Avocado - Steam some cauliflower and allow it to cool. Mash an avocado into a mixing bowl, dropping in the now cooled cauliflower and some chopped coriander. Splash of green Tabasco and perhaps a touch of sea salt. Gently fold together to ensure the cauliflower is coated in the avocado.

Shredded Cabbage & Lettuce - Simply shred some white cabbage and some lettuce. Combine with some chopped coriander. Splash of green Tabasco and perhaps a touch of sea salt.

Slug of Tequila to get going and dig in!

Shredded Cabbage & Lettuce Side

2012-01-30T19:00:00.001Z

Simple, easy to make and delicious to eat!

Simply shred some white cabbage and some lettuce.

Combine with a teaspoon of cider vinegar, some chopped coriander, splash of green Tabasco and perhaps a touch of sea salt.

Serve out into a cool bowl and garnish with a slice of lime, squeezing over just before taking the first helping.

Cauliflower & Avocado Side

2012-01-30T19:00:00.000Z

Simple, easy to make and delicious to eat!

Steam some cauliflower and allow it to cool.

Mash an avocado into a mixing bowl, dropping in the now cooled cauliflower and some chopped coriander.

Splash of green Tabasco and perhaps a touch of sea salt, gently folding together to ensure the cauliflower is coated in the avocado.

Serve out into a cool bowl and garnish with a slice of lime, squeezing over just before taking the first helping.

Warming Swede Mash

2012-01-29T20:00:00.000Z

Swede mash is a quickly made side, but it can be better ...

Simply boil the swede, drain and mash with a good slice of butter.

Add in some spice - nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, something warming.

That's it!

[In better light, I will get a more appealing photograph]

Sissons-style 'Two Minute' Lunch

2012-01-29T18:00:00.000Z

Mark Sissons is an inspiration to us all, I'm sure.

In my drive towards simplifying this year, lunches need to be simplified. Inspired by Mark's 'Two Minute' Salad, or "Big Ass" Salad, here's how I make up a really simple, nutritious and primal lunch.

It's a "stir-fry" for want of a better word, but gets nuked at work ...

I begin by shredding up a white cabbage and some greens, be it kale, green cabbage, collard, whatever, something deep green. Next, grated carrot. Next, onion, be it white or red, and then the good stuff.

Keep in the fridge in a large bowl and pick out a handful each day, placing into a Pyrex dish to be accompanied by the following ...

For variety, I use bean sprouts, rice noodles and rice; just a little.

Are bean sprouts paleo? Well, sprouted legumes and seeds are not as bad as you think, be it alfalfa or mung, sprouted, they're pretty harmless. They pass the raw principle for me - as do green beans.

Pfff! I'd be more concerned about BPA in cans or the carcinogens I've been breathing while driving to work ...

Anyway, back to my lunch.

I love pickled things, so lots of pickled and brine preserved things go in: olives, capers, pickled garlic, pickled gherkin, pickled chillies ... all good!

More greens! Asparagus, green beans.

Now, chilli sauce - either just finely slice a good hot chilli, like a Scotch Bonnet, or pour in a pre-made chilli sauce. There are so many good, organic, gluten-free, preservative-free, MSG-free and sugar-free sauces out there, just pick one you like.

That's the staple ... drop in some leftover meat, chicken, bacon, whatever if you like, but I like to concentrate on fish for lunches.

Finally, lid on ... keep overnight and grab a can of fish to accompany. Ensure your fish is in water, at worst, brine ... not vegetable or sunflower oil, olive oil is pretty good, so long as it is cold-pressed.

Oh, boil an egg, too ... but don't put it in the dish, just carry it along.

Needless to say, given a two minute nuke at work on "full fusion" the ingredients should be sub-cooked. No need to have everything fully cooked.

So, at work, just open the can of fish, sprinkle over, nuke the lot and enjoy the omega-3 goodness, the rich micronutrients in all those good vegetables, cut, slice or just eat the boiled egg alongside.

The heat cooks some liquid out, which becomes infused with the chilli and makes a hot, heady liquid in the bottom of the dish to slug down at the end. The meal is not at all soggy, nor soaked by this.

You know what this needs? More fat ... check out the video at the top: "Fat is our friend" at 3:10, or thereabouts. I'm still trying to work in how to do this, but for now, I just take along some soured cream to eat alongside, cooling and soothing from all that chilli. I like Smetana, which is an Eastern European/Russian soured cream and more creamy than a traditional soured cream.

Breakfast Burgers!

2012-01-29T10:30:00.000Z

Burgers rule!

For breakfast, they rule more ... in fact, could assemble an army of followers and rule the world! That's how much they rule!

First up, make a burger ...

Get the best meat. As usual, I went for Aberdeen Angus fillet and had it minced.

Once cold, squeeze it between your fingers a few times to break down the structure. Form into a burger patty - that it! That's all there is to burgers. No rusk, no egg, no onion, no more fat. If you need a little help forming a patty, look no further than this: Burgers!

This is the perfect burger!

Pop them onto a griddle pan and put some streaky bacon under the grill along with a couple of waffles.

Waffles? Yes! Potato waffles ...

Carbohydrate does have a role in the paleo diet, especially useful for active days and best eaten earlier in the day. Breakfast (around 10:30) is perfect. As with all macronutrients, paleo is about sourcing the best - carbohydrate from starches are far superior to carbohydrate from grains or fructose.

I buy mine! Shock, I know, but they're not too bad - Bird's Eye brand. Potato waffles are pretty much just starch, in fact, the ingredients list as:

So, pretty much all potato, no sugar, which is rare for processed foods and the role of E464 prevents the potato from being saturated with vegetable oil.

Good so far, but let's read a little more into E464.

From Wikipedia: "Use in whole grain breads Agricultural Research Service scientists are investigating using the plant-derived HPMC as a substitute for gluten in making all oat and other grain breads. Gluten, which is present in wheat, rye and barley is absent (or present only in trace quantities) in oat and other grains. Like gluten, HPMC can trap air bubbles formed by the yeast in bread dough, causing the bread to rise. Although it has not been widely studied, it is predicted that whole grain breads made with HPMC will have cholesterol-lowering effects."

Okay, so a gluten alternative ... akin to xanthan gum, or other such stabilisers?

I'm waffling on a bit here, but wanted to investigate these fully. Processed food? Yes, but "sometimes it is better to eat the wrong food with the right attitude than the other way around" Chris Kressler.

The paleo template is large enough an hegemony for each person to take as far as the want to, personally. If this is a step too far ... don't! Leave it off the plate, put the burger over a lettuce leaf or a portobello mushroom ... or for a starchier meal, slices of sautéed potato.

Back on track ...

We've got our burgers cooking, bacon grilling and something starchy cooking.

Pre-dress a plate with some cold foods - tomato wedges, pickled gherkins, sauerkraut, blueberries, cucumber, that kind of thing.

Prepare for the burgers by shredding some lettuce and mixing with yoghurt, soured cream or home-made mayonnaise. Thinly slice some cucumber, some cheese and get some mushrooms frying off.

When you're ready to serve up, get an egg frying.

Plate up with the cucumber on the potato, cut the burger in half to create two slices, placing a slice of cheese on each and the shredded lettuce between, a good dollop of some kind of spicy sauce on top, then slide the egg on to the very top. Crown with bacon and some herbs - coriander is good.

Lay the mushrooms to the side and enjoy ...

... now get outside and have fun!

Creamed Spinach

2012-01-28T19:30:00.000Z

Taking an idea from creamed kale, this is a simple dish of spinach and cottage cheese.

Cottage cheese may not be a term all are familiar with, but to put it into context, it is simple curd cheese which you could easily make yourself by straining natural yoghurt through a muslin ... or, buy a tub.

As with all things paleo, get the best you can.

Let's get cooking ...

Boil one egg per person.

Eggs should be free range at the very least, woodland reared are best since the chickens are left to roam, peck and scratch for grubs natural to their diet, and the taste difference is evident.

Wilt a good quantity of spinach in a frying pan with some butter.

Take time to get all the moisture evaporated from the spinach - wet spinach mixed with cream cheese will not look good. Add a little white pepper and some paprika for a little taste.

Combine with some cottage cheese, stirring in thoroughly.

Plate up by laying slices of egg on a clean white plate. Sprinkle a dusting of cayenne pepper over. Spoon the spinach mixture over the top.

Feel free to combine this with whatever combination of meat, fish or shellfish you wish.

Indonesian Gulai Kancah

2012-01-24T20:30:00.000Z

Indonesian Gulai Kancah, or an approximation of it made by a totally inexperienced Westerner who thoroughly enjoyed it in the face of adversity!

Don't you just love it when things go wrong?

No, really! Some things work out so well when they're rescued from disaster!

What happened?

Well, I wanted to make up a beef stew. I had some beef and I had some lamb kidneys. I had a squash.

Consulting the google oracle, I found many ideas ranging from the plain to the less plain to the more plain ... and then found Gulai Kancah!

Indonesian Beef and Liver!

Fusion alert! Fusion takes the best of one culture and marries it with the best of another culture.

Indonesians make hot, sweet and sour curries while we Western Europeans make bland beef stews which can occasionally be interesting when beer is included, like our Beligian friends would.

To work ...

I browned off about a pound of beef cubes in coconut oil and then added in the lamb kidneys, halved and the white gristle centre removed.

Kidney? Yes! It's what I had in; no liver.

Meanwhile, I made up a paste of onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. I used a Scotch Bonnet pepper for a real lively kick, rather than several Bird's Eye chillies - again, it's what I had in.

Blended and poured over the now browned meat, I added water, tamarind paste and some ground black pepper.

Tamarind? Is that even paleo?

Well, I don't quite know - it is a member of the Fabaceae family, and so technically a legume, although we're just using the seed from inside. Seed? Yes, the seed. So, um ... paleo? Well, I don't know ...

Either way, tamarind has a unique sour flavour which is the absolute key to this dish. In the spirit of paleo, I did my hunger/gatherer thing and collected a tub of pure tamarind extract from the local supermarket and tasted it. It didn't kill me and had a curious flavour. Being the largest and strongest in my tribe, I took the challenge! I'll eat some and see if it's okay ... it was!

Great! So, a teaspoon of pungent sour tamarind paste went in along with a crushed lemongrass stalk and a couple of keffir lime leaves.

Water ... set to a rolling simmer in a sauté pan to get the meat tender.

Meanwhile, I go for my evening walk ...

Disaster?

I left my dear wife in charge with the instruction to keep it topped up with water. Upon my return, I was greeted with, "the tea is all burned!". That's dinner, which we call "tea" up north, northern England.

She had just rescued it before it really stuck and luckily, it was the sauce which had stuck not the meat. So, scraped out and the meat meticulously picked from the charred remains of our dinner, I set about repeating the task.

"Our dinner was in your hands, Dude!" :)

This time, I used a softened aubergine as the sauce base. I'd made up some blended aubergine to use as a base for some eggs and scallops as a starter. We'd have to skip that as time was pressing, so the aubergine made the base of a new sauce.

How? Just skin and slice some aubergine, soften in butter and then purée. Move on.

I added another onion, more garlic, so 4 good cloves, more ginger, so about an inch square and another Scotch Bonnet pepper.

Blended and added into the now clean sauté pan wherein the rescued meat was now coming up to the boil in more water, I added in another generous teaspoon of tamarind paste, more keffir lime leaves and another lemongrass stalk.

I had cubed a squash to drop in upon my return from my walk, so this went in at this point.

This was going well ...

Fusion time! It needed salt, which I added some Maldon salt, and some sweetness. Hmmm ... beer! Belgian beer! Grabbing a bottle of brown Leffe, I added a good glass of beer with some arrowroot to thicken the stock. I added a good splash more to colour up.

This is, of course, entirely optional - if you don't drink alcohol as part of your paleo lifestyle or are concerned about beer being from grain, you don't need to add it. Just don't.

I also dropped in some mussels. Adding cheap seafood to beef stews is a good old British thing - think, oysters in Lancashire Hotpot, mussels in London Beef Stew. These practically disappeared into the sauce giving a subtle background.

Liquid reduced, concentrated and thickened to an almost sticking sauce, I served out into small bowls and garnished with shredded spring onions and some coriander.

So, an hour and a half overdue ... we're hungry ... really hungry!

Wow! Oh, wow! This is seriously flavoursome!

Hot, physically and blisteringly fierce with chilli, sour, sweet, all sorts going on in my mouth!

Why have I not eaten Indonesian before?

Lucky me, I have a half-filled bowl of sauce left over for a work lunch. I'm thinking some chicken, maybe pork and some boiled white rice to accompany? Ideas? Let me know in the comments, please - I have my lunch for tomorrow, so need ideas for tomorrow evening when I'll prepare my lunch for Thursday.

Warm Salad of Salmon & Brussels Sprouts

2012-01-23T20:00:00.000Z

Brussels sprouts are a paleo superfood!

Such a small vegetable providing an astounding pack of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre, not to mention anti-cancer benefits, particularly believed to protect against colon cancer since they contain sinigrin.

Keeping cooking to a minimum, these anti-cancer benefits are largely retained.

So, what's in this salad?

Begin by poaching some salmon. I like to vacuum pack the salmon and allow it to bathe in water around 60 degrees for a couple of hours. This retains so much of the flavour which is usually lost to poaching water. Feel free to just poach in water and use the water as part of a soup or amuse bouche.

Take 8 or 10 sprouts each, cleaning off the outside leaves and boil for long enough to be softened on the outside but still some firmness in the middle. Drain off, cut in half and keep warm by returning to the hot pan covering with a saucer or lid.

I accompanied my sprouts with some chorizo, lightly fried off. Bacon would be excellent, too, working well with salmon.

When ready to plate up, scatter the sprout halves over the plate, the chorizo or bacon, some leaves and then the poached salmon over the top.

Salads need two other things:

First, a sauce. I made up a Hollandaise sauce with two egg yolks, a squeeze of lemon juice, poured some melted butter and then warmed over a pan of boiling water.

Eggs should be as natural as you can get them - fully woodland reared where they are left to scratch and peck for grubs is perfect.

Second, croutons! I made up some half inch cubes of potato and deep fried them in dripping.

If potatoes are not something that you want to eat as part of your paleo diet, any root veg with whatever your favourite fat will do just fine. Pre-boiled and shallow fried would work out well, too.

Garnish with a couple of stalks of quickly boiled asparagus spears and maybe some pecorino shavings.

Bangers & Mash (Redux)

2012-01-22T18:00:00.000Z

Classic British comfort food - sausages over mashed potatoes with an onion gravy.

Potatoes are perfectly good as a starch source in the paleo+ template.

As with all paleo food, selecting the better macronutrient is the key - starch is the better carbohydrate, fructose or grains the poor source.

Potatoes could be used as part of a carb-refeed, or you could just use roots with a lower glycemic index as I did here: Bangers & Mash

This is the redux: keeping it paleo yet bringing it back the potato texture.

Credit where it is due, I got the inspiration from Mellissa Sevigny on her low-carb food blog I Breathe ... I'm Hungry... "Better than Potatoes" Cheesy Cauliflower Puree

Simply put, steamed cauliflower is puréed together with grated cheese to thicken and give that gelatinous texture.

To work ...

Put some sausages in the oven set to 200C for about half an hour, turning every 10 minutes, or so to ensure good colouring and that they are fully cooked which will take about half an hour.

Sausages should be as close to all meat as possible and not contain rusk - mine were actually turkey sausages with only meat, seasoning and potato flour listed as ingredients. Many Butchers will happily make up sausages for you with your preference of minced meat.

Make up a gravy - normally, pork or beef sausages would be accompanied by a beef stock gravy, but being turkey, I decided to use a chicken stock. I keep Kallo brand stock cubes in my cupboard for quick gravy, thickened with arrowroot but liquid stock or stock you've made up yourself would be perfect.

Meanwhile soften some onions in a frying pan with a little butter and turn down the heat so that the onions caramelise. This will take about 20 minutes, after which drop some thinly sliced mushrooms in to soak up any free butter and then tip the lot into the gravy.

After turning the sausages for the first time (after about 10 minutes), set a head of cauliflower into a steamer. The outer leaves should be removed and the stalk. Steam for about 20 minutes. One head of cauliflower is sufficient for two people.

The stalks should be reserved for an amuse bouche or a soup.

Purée the cauliflower with a generous amount of grated cheese, some flat leaf parsley, minced garlic and maybe a little English mustard. If the mash is not thick and gelatinous like potato, purée in a little more cheese.

The purpose of the cheese is to offset that characteristic cauliflower flavour, and it does. Apparently, feta cheese is good in a small quantity for bringing a starchiness into the textural experience.

Serve out into a wide-brimmed bowl with the mushrooms and onions from the gravy, then a good dollop of mash, placing the sausages on top and pouring over more gravy.

Don't tell anyone it's not potato ... they just won't notice!

Chilli Con Carne Lasagne

2012-01-22T10:30:00.000Z

Leftovers!

Just a quick idea about how to turn leftover Chilli Con Carne into a favourite comfort dish which still keeping it paleo.

Lasagne!

It may surprise you to know that Lasagne is actually British! No, really ...

Mentioned as Loseyne in 'The Forme of Cury', a 14th Century English cook book, where the recipe is recorded as:

"Take gode broth and do in an erthen pot, take flour of payndemayn and make therof past with water. and make therof thynne foyles as paper with a roller, drye it harde and seeth it in broth take Chese ruayn grated and lay it in disshes with powdour douce. and lay theron loseyns isode as hoole as thou mizt and above powdour and chese, and so twyse or thryse, & serue it forth."

Easy ... so "sheets", cheese and something between them ...

First, make up a Chilli Con Carne and enjoy it with some guacamole, Greek yoghurt, cachumbar and some cos wraps. Place the leftovers in a bowl in the fridge.

When ready, make up some cream cheese pancakes - these will act as the layers for the lasagne.

Warm the Chilli Con Carne through in a pan, reducing all the liquid and make up a cheese sauce with cream, milk and grated cheese, reducing gently until thickened. Add a touch of nutmeg for a warming flavour.

Time to build the dish ...

Spread a thin layer of cheese sauce on the bottom of an ovenproof dish.

Layer half of the Chilli Con Carne over and then place a couple of pancakes over.

Repeat, crowning with the remaining cheese sauce in a thin layer and more grated cheese. Just a little sea salt is nice over the top for a little crunch.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes on 180C until the cheese is melted and then switch on the grill to brown the cheese a little.

Serve out onto a plate with a light leafy salad.

Paleo, Just Paleo!

2012-01-21T18:00:00.000Z

Sometimes it's tough being a paleo food blogger, always trying to find really interesting food to cook without going quite pretentious and without sliding into emulation of neolithic foods.

Sometimes, you just want to eat ... and eat well!

This year has got off to a pretty slow start. Being a good home cook, I do like to keep things interesting as well as good and nutritious for my wife and our family when they're around, but it does get hard dreaming up new things week in week out.

Yes, sometimes, you just want to bung a whole load of things that you love into a pan and eat it!

Tonight was one such night!

My other hobby is automotive detailing - you know, take a car (any car) and then compound, polish and burnish the paintwork to the sublime and clean, dress and present everything else to the most ridiculous detail? Well, there's a fellow called Mike Phillips who is practically a philosopher amongst detailing circles who has the tagline, "find something you like and use it often".

That can equally apply to food, and indeed should!

We'd been to the supermarket and felt so uninterested, but did pick up a whole basket of good food as well as a couple of bottles of really good cider. I like to drink, but my dear wife is not one for it ... but a glass of really good cider and she's in. Henry Weston's 2010 Reserve, which will be quite excellent in a few years if there's any left, but tonight, perfect!

Food?

We'd picked up some turkey breast, which I diced and accompanied with whatever I could find in the fridge - streaky bacon and chorizo ... gotta get those fats in! I did use a lot of tallow retrieved from this morning's breakfast to keep it all moist once the vegetables were added.

We'd also picked up a white cabbage, some asparagus and some green beans. Green beans are perfectly paleo, so stop getting hot under the collar! These things can be eaten raw and I am certain that if our proverbial caveman ancestor had found them, he'd have eaten them!

Stop worrying! It passes the raw principle.

Other things in the fridge and in the larder - some cavolo nero (Italian black kale), a leek, some ginger, spring onions, garlic, Scotch Bonnet chilli, later some mushrooms, a lot of tallow retrieved from sausages cooked this morning ... oh, all sorts of things.

Take a heavy bottomed pan.

The heavy bottom is a must - this dish is NOT a stir-fry, it is a paleo scramble!

The heavy bottom is necessary to ensure that the dish remains hot, even with the heat turned down - we don't want this too hot, but we do want it kept hot!

Perfect outdoor cooking over a real fire, for which cast iron is a must ... but in the kitchen, my crappy old heavy based non-stick pan will do for now. When we move (less than three months now), I can use cast iron ... roll on ... roll on ...

So, the ingredients ...

... some meat and some vegetables.

This is not a case of bunging a bunch of food into a pan and warming it though. This is carefully selecting ingredients that you love and will work together. Or, just grab a bunch of food and go on an adventure, which is often how really interesting combinations are put together.

Simply add some fat to the pan and start loading in the food in the order in which it needs cooking - fatty meat first, lean meat next, onions, leek, spring onions next, heavy stalky greens next, other greens, flavours - ginger, garlic, herbs, spices ... cook it all together and serve out.

Make it Paleo!

Stick a fried egg on top - make sure it's a good one. Accompany with a bottle of good cider and seriously enjoy!

Breakfast Lasagne

2012-01-21T10:00:00.000Z

Yes, Lasagne! For breakfast!

As paleo eaters, we don't do things conventionally by modern standards, so imagine my glee at finding something like this on I Breathe ... I'm Hungry ... a low-carb food blog I read.

It may surprise you to know that Lasagne is actually British! No, really ...

Mentioned as Loseyne in 'The Forme of Cury', a 14th Century English cook book, where the recipe is recorded as:

"Take gode broth and do in an erthen pot, take flour of payndemayn and make therof past with water. and make therof thynne foyles as paper with a roller, drye it harde and seeth it in broth take Chese ruayn grated and lay it in disshes with powdour douce. and lay theron loseyns isode as hoole as thou mizt and above powdour and chese, and so twyse or thryse, & serue it forth."

Easy ... so "sheets", cheese and something between them ...

First, make up some pancakes to use as the sheets: Cream Cheese Pancakes.

Next, get some sausages frying off gently, pouring off the fat as it renders into a ramekin for later use.

Prepare for scrambled eggs by simply cracking some eggs into a bowl and breaking up the yolks. Not too much, though! We want some structure in there.

Eggs should be free range at the very least, woodland reared are best since the chickens are left to roam, peck and scratch for grubs natural to their diet, and the taste difference is evident.

Also, grate some cheese - cheddar is perfect!

You know what this needs?

Yes! Bacon! So get some delicious streaky bacon sitting under the grill, broiler, salamader, or whatever your language calls on overhead source of heat.

No! More bacon ... at least a couple of rashers!

When the sausages and the bacon are ready, heat a skillet and drop in a little butter. Drop a good knob of pastured butter into a frying pan and just after it has melted, pour in the eggs.

Fold the eggs periodically to produce a nice texture and keep lifting off the heat so as not to over cook. The eggs want to be "just done", not dry.

Just before the eggs have fully cooked, drop a little heavy cream into the egg mixture and just fold it gently using the residual heat in the pan to finish the cooking. Optionally, add in a little sea salt at this stage, too.

Put the dish together ...

Lay a pancake on the plate, sprinkle over some cheese and some scrambled eggs.

Lay another pancake on, more cheese, now the sausages.

Lay another pancake on, even more cheese and more scrambled eggs.

Crown the dish with bacon.

Serve with some tomato juice. I like Big Tom as a treat, which is like a pre-made Bloody Mary without the vodka. You know ... this dish could be a great excuse for a Bloody Mary for breakfast!