Paleo Spring Omelette

The series Sex and the City hit it's peak at the end of my Junior year of high school. It was a BIG DEAL. A really big deal. The first Sex and the City movie came out and my tight-nit group of girlfriends was all over it. Sure, watching the show felt a bit risque, but what made this show so appealing was the strong female leads. The quartet of women knew everything about one another, and gathered for regular brunch dates to just talk about life (who doesn't want to go to brunch on a regular basis?). 

My circle of friends could totally relate to it. While our lives were significantly less entertaining than Carrie's, Charlotte's, Samantha's, or Miranda's, we could spend hours talking about our shared dramas. We would camp out at the local coffee shop, Cup of Coffee, claiming it as our headquarters.

Those days are long behind us--Cup of Coffee has a new owner and a new name, and our tradition has slipped into the past along with it. I wish I could say we still talk to each other on a regular basis, but to be honest, it's sporadic at best. Still, when that group gets together it's like no time has passed at all. 

Earlier this Spring a few of us sat down to brunch in a Sex and the City-style fashion. Nothing had changed. Is brunch a 5 hour affair? Sure! Just make sure there are enough Mimosas to go around. These airy Spring Omelettes made it feel like a fancy meal. Since our brunch dates are few and far between these days, it's nice to make them count with a bit of extra everything. I'm the only Paleo eater at the table, but it doesn't matter: no one seems to notice they're eating grain-free when the table is covered in platters of fresh food! These omelettes stole the show, stuffed with prosciutto and garlicky asparagus.

I think even back in 11th grade, I secretly hoped that I'd always have my girlfriends around for brunch. Here's to many more to come! 

Best enjoyed outside!

Paleo Spring Omelette

Yields 4 small omelettes

4 eggs

1/4 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

4 slices prosciutto

16 stalks of asparagus

1 clove garlic

4 teaspoon coconut oil

Salt & Pepper


1. Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Mince the garlic. Add it to the pan once the oil is hot. Trim the tough, white ends from the asparagus and add it to the pan. Stir every so often, cooking until the asparagus is bright green and tender. 

2. While the asparagus cooks, whisk together the eggs and coconut milk.

3. In a 9-inch non-stick skillet (I use a Le Creuset enamel cast iron skillet), heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, pick up the skillet and swirl it around the pan to coat. Return to stove, and pour in 1/4 of the egg mixture. The mixture will bubble and begin to set. Turn the heat down to low. Once the omelette is cooked almost all the way through, lay 1 slice of prosciutto in the center. Top with 4 stalks of asparagus and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Fold the omelette: working carefully, use a spatula to fold one side of the omelette over the asparagus and then the other. Slide the full cooked omelette onto a plate and serve.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4, using remaining coconut oil, eggs, prosciutto, and asparagus until all four omelettes are cooked.  

Yields 4 small omelettes

4 eggs

1/4 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

4 slices prosciutto

16 stalks of asparagus

1 clove garlic

4 teaspoon coconut oil

Salt & Pepper


1. Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Mince the garlic. Add it to the pan once the oil is hot. Trim the tough, white ends from the asparagus and add it to the pan. Stir every so often, cooking until the asparagus is bright green and tender. 

2. While the asparagus cooks, whisk together the eggs and coconut milk.

3. In a 9-inch non-stick skillet (I use a Le Creuset enamel cast iron skillet), heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, pick up the skillet and swirl it around the pan to coat. Return to stove, and pour in 1/4 of the egg mixture. The mixture will bubble and begin to set. Turn the heat down to low. Once the omelette is cooked almost all the way through, lay 1 slice of prosciutto in the center. Top with 4 stalks of asparagus and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Fold the omelette: working carefully, use a spatula to fold one side of the omelette over the asparagus and then the other. Slide the full cooked omelette onto a plate and serve.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4, using remaining coconut oil, eggs, prosciutto, and asparagus until all four omelettes are cooked.  

Paleo Cashew Chicken Cabbage Cups

There's a small Asian grocer not far from where I work. It's a landmark for me--it's been in that same spot for as long as I can remember. Even before I cared enough to read the street signs, I knew where I was when I saw the Asian market. It family owned shop, with over-stuffed aisles and at least ten different types of coconut milk, more than seven colors of curry paste, and a case of vegetables that can't be found anywhere else in town. (Edit: when my Dad read this post, he reminded me that there's a whole wall of different types of rice noodles, and buckets of live crabs). When I was young, the shop owners ran a restaurant next door. It was cheap, saucy, full of umami, and felt like the real-deal. I didn't recognize half of the things on the menu (that added to the effect) and ordered the same thing every week for the first decade of my life: Cashew Chicken. 

Then one day, when I was still in elementary school, I asked for my usual, and the shop owner refused to take my order. He threw down his pen. "Look kid," he said in a thick accent, "you order the same thing every time! This time, you must try something different". My dad looked at me, and nodded in agreement. I was instantly stressed. How could I choose anything other than Cashew Chicken?! I looked at the rest of the menu for the first time in my life. That was the day a new era began. (That new era was the era of the Spring Roll, and for the next decade of my life, I only ordered Spring Rolls from that little restaurant). (They were really good Spring Rolls). (And that was really good Cashew Chicken). 

In recent years, the little shop and restaurant have changed hands. I don't visit it regularly anymore, unless I need something special, and that familiar man who made my Cashew Chicken from scratch for years is just a memory now. This recipe brings that memory to life in full swing: the vegetables are crisp and lightly blanched, the cashews are toasted and crunchy, and it's all smothered in a nutty savory sauce. Instead of serving this over rice, I serve it in cabbage cups, making it a grain-free meal. In place of store-bought hoisin sauce, I make my own paleo version. This recipe only uses 1 skillet, and goes from chopping board to fork in no more than 30 minutes. 

Paleo Cashew Chicken Cabbage Cups

Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |       

Serves: 5-7   |    Total Time:



Ingredients:

    Filling:
  • 1 pound chicken breast, cubed (Tip: ask your butcher to do this for you!)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 small white onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
  • 2 cups snow peas
  • 1 cup carrots, julienned
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
  • 1 8-ounce can bamboo shoots, strained
  • 1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, strained
  • 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce OR Worcestershire Sauce
  • Paleo Hoisin Sauce:
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce OR coconut aminos
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar OR rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
  • To serve:
  • 1/3 cup whole unsalted cashews
  • 1 small head savory cabbage

Directions:

  1. Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger.
  2. When the ginger is fragrant and starting to brown, add the chicken. Allow the chicken to brown on each side, stirring only occasionally. While the chicken cooks, stir together the the ingredients for the hoisin sauce.
  3. Sprinkle the arrowroot powder into the skillet and stir so that is coats the chicken. Add the vegetables, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts to the skillet, along with the fish sauce/Worcestershire Sauce and Paleo Hoisin Sauce, and cover. Stir well, so sauce is well distributed. Cook for 3-5 minutes, just until the vegetables are tender.
  4. Sprinkle in the cashews, and red chili flakes. Carefully peal individual leaves from the head of cabbage. Wash and pat dry. Arrange the cabbage cups on serving plates and fill with a scoop of cashew chicken. Serve with a drizzle of Sriracha and chopsticks.

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Paleo Cran-Apple Relish

Paleo Cran-Apple Relish Sauce

Last week, I shared a recipe for coffee cake that was inspired by my grandmother. This recipe also makes me think of her, because for years I thought it was a family tradition--you know, passed down from my Grandmother, to my father, and finally to me. My Grandmother taught me to make blueberry muffins, and inspired so many other dishes: Every time she had guests over for dinner, she would spend the next day on her typewriter, writing up a thank you letter and a recipe card for the meal she had made. 

So it only seemed natural that this recipe, like so many others, was one of hers. Pass down the family line.  This was such a nice thought that somehow, it stuck. It stamped out my memories of canned cranberry sauce, jiggly and can-shaped. It made me forget that I used to despise cranberry sauce. 

Paleo Cran-Apple Relish Sauce

But one day, many years after trying this recipe for the first time, I told my dad that I had made his favorite cranberry sauce--his mom's version. He gave me puzzled look, trying to figure out what "recipe" I may have used, since in reality she had always just used canned cranberries. Quickly the truth became clear: I was confused! My dad had actually found this recipe years ago on his own. When it was passed to me, and described as "our family recipe," well, things got confusing.

It is still a family recipe, in a sense--two generations counts, right? But mostly, it's just the best cranberry sauce I've ever had. It converted me from a cranberry sauce hater (or a cranberry sauce poker — someone that just pokes the slice of canned red stuff with their fork, never taking a bite), into a cranberry sauce fanatic (someone that can’t wait to make cranberry sauce come November).

This, my friends, is what cranberry sauce is all about. Refined sugar has been taken out of the equation, and what's left is a pure, delicious, tangy cranberry and apple relish. Studded with pecans, for a bit of texture, too.

Cranberry sauce isn't just for dinner! It makes a pretty awesome desert, served over ice cream or a slice of pound cake. If you eat dairy, it's delicious on yogurt, cottage cheese, or perfect for making an appetizer platter with baked brie or gruyere. Or, try it on french toast!  

TIP: You can make this sauce a week ahead of the big day! Store in the fridge in air-tight containers. 

Paleo Cran-Apple Relish

Published December 15, 2014 by

Serves: 2 cups   |    Total Time: 25 minutes



Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 cup diced apple
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Optional: 1/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Directions:

  1. In a small sauce pan, combine the cranberries, chopped apples, water, and honey. Cover and bring to a low simmer for 10 minutes.
  2. After ten minutes, the cranberries should be puffed or popping, and the honey should be dissolved. Add the lemon, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir. Simmer for five more minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in the toasted pecans. Serve immediately or allow to cool and place in an air tight container to serve later.