Ethnic Entrees

The cuisine of other cultures tends to be much more food allergy-friendly than good old American food. We are very dependent on wheat and processed food, more so than many other countries. So ethnic cooking is a great source for recipes. Remember that all cream/milk products can be substituted quite nicely with your own cashew cream (Icecream...  post). I'll post just a few of my favorites today.

Meatball Tagine
A wonderful authentic Moroccan recipe from my friend Debbie who lived in Morocco for a couple years. This requires a pressure cooker, which replaces the traditional "Tagine" baking dish. If you don't have one, I assume you could cook it in the oven and make it work. Cook till the meatballs are done.

Saute 1 lg. onion and 2-3 cloves garlic in a little oil (in the pressure cooker if you're using it)
Add:
1/4-1/2 t. pepper
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. paprika
1/8 t. saffron (don't skip this amazing, but expensive season; it will NOT be the same without it)
a handful of fresh parsley (I actually use a generous sprinkling of my own dried basil most of the time)
Stir the seasons in and simmer a few seconds. Then add the following and simmer a few minutes:
2 tomatoes, grated (peel & all)
1/2 c. beef stock
Add:
2 lb of little beef meatballs
3-4 c. of green beans
2 c. additional beef stock
Seal up the pressure cooker and once it begins to steam, cook for 35 minutes. Serve over Jasmine rice.

Lettuce Wraps
These were created by my daughter, Rebekah. She patterned them after the lettuce wraps at P.F. Changs and they're great!

Cut chicken breasts into little pieces (about finger-tip size, using kitchen scissors)
Marinate them in: (we just liberally sprinkle this stuff and it always turns out good)
tamari sauce
chinese 5 spice powder
a little bit of cumin (just a little)
drizzle some raw honey (or regular honey...  or brown sugar?...)
a clove or two of minced garlic
After they've marinated a few hours or overnight, saute the chicken and sauce till chicken is done.
Wrap them in lettuce leaves and enjoy!

Beef Curry
2 lb round steak cut into thin beef strips
Mix the beef strips with 3-4 T. curry powder and 1 t. salt; rub it in. (I actually use more curry powder, but I like a strong curry flavor). Let the beef sit a little.
Saute 2 diced onions, then add the meet and 3 c. water. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
DON'T skip this part. It's what makes curry wonderful. Serve the beef curry over rice and sprinkle with toppings:
diced tomatoes
shredded carrots
diced mango/pineapple/papaya
raisons
cashews/peanuts
coconut

Mom's Chicken Curry
This is not my mom, but Deanna's mom, Janelle Moore. Thanks for a great recipe!
Boil a chicken till tender; debone and chop into bite-size pieces
Saute 2 med onions, diced, and 2-3 crushed garlic cloves
Add:
3-4 T. curry powder
1 t. each: dry mustard, crushed/ground coriander seeds, grated fresh ginger root
3 T. gluten-free flour
salt to tast
Slowly add broth and cook till thick (whatever amount needed to make a gravy consistency)
Simmer 30-45 minutes. Serve over rice with the toppings listed above.

Layered Salsa Supper
Eating Hispanic food without using wheat, corn or dairy is a challenge, but this satisfies the craving. Credit goes to my sister, Twyla, who is a great cook. Layer the following items over rice:
Chicken: Stir-fry diced chicken breasts seasoned with a little cumin, salt & ground oregano, or cook whole in a crockpot and shred afterwards.
Black Beans:  Mash and re-fry some cooked black bean or pintoes. Season as desired with onion, salt, jalapenos, etc.
Red Salsa  Stir together: blended tomatoes, minced garlic, salt/cumin/ground oregano/cilantro to taste. Add some green onion, if desired.
Salsa Verde   Mix together: peeled and blended tomatillos, avacado, salt/garlic/cilantro to taste
Homemade Rice Tortilla Chips - (purchase from Enjoy Life, or make your own). Drizzle with oil & salt, then broil on each side till browned (watch carefully!)  Break into chip sizes.
Guacamole  Mashed avacado seasoned with fresh lemon juice, coarse sea salt, cilantro or spicey basil, opt. smoked paprika

Other optional toppings: sauted onions rings, green onions, avacoda slices, diced tomatoes, fresh cilantro

Teriyaki Stir Fry
Stir-Fry:
Shredded cabbage, 5-6 diced carrots, bok choy, or any combination of veggies you like and diced chicken breasts. Season with :
raw suger (or other sweetener)
balsamic vinegar
coarse sea salt
tamari
a pinch of red pepper flakes

Turkish Chicken with Honey
2 lb chicken pieces
Place in a single layer of a baking dish and rub into the skin:
salt & pepper
1//4 t. saffron threads, roughly crushed
Add to the chicken then cover:
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 t. grated ginger root
drizzled olive oil
Bake for 10 min. at 475, then reduce to 350 and cook till chicken is done. Check in about an hour (can take up to 2 hours depending on the size of your chicken pieces). While the chicken is baking, dry roast 1/2 c. almonds (sliced or whole) & 2 T. sesame seeds in a low-heat pan on the stove, stirring till browned. After baking, remove the chicken to a clean baking dish. Boil the left-over sauce for 10 minutes then stir in:
3 T. honey
1 t. cinnamon
Pour over chicken. Sprinkle with roasted almonds & sesame seeds.  Serve with rice.

Chicken Paprika
Ok, I confess that I have no idea if this is even remotely related to anything Hungarian, but it's good!
Put boneless chicken pieces into a baking dish or electric skillet. Cover completely with almond milk (1 c. almonds, 4 c. water, 2 t. sugar, couple pinches of salt - blended together). Pour as much almond milk over it as your pan will hold. It makes a great sauce and everyone will fight over it. Sprinkle with: thai basil, lots of smoked paprika & slivered/sliced almonds. Bake/cook till chicken is done. Serve with rice (surprise!)

Thai Beef
Cut 2 lb round steak into thin strips (kitchen scissors work great) and slice a couple onions. Put both of these in a large pan on the stove and cover with water. Season generously with Thai season (online or ethnic grocery stores) and Thai basil. Simmer till beef is done and....       serve over rice!!