Spicy Potato Salad with No Common Allergens

 

Some potato salads are bland. This potato salad, besides containing no common allergens, is very well seasoned. 

     2 tsp. oregano (See Spices in the Glossary) 
     1 Tb. Aleppo pepper (See Spices in the Glossary) 
     1/2 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (See Juice in the Glossary) 
     salt (See Salt in the Glossary) 
     1-1/2 c. red onion cut into slivers
     6 c. peeled potatoes cut in 1/2" or 3/4" cubes
     1/2 c. olive oil (See Oil in the Glossary) 

     Stir the oregano, Aleppo pepper, lemon juice and 1 tsp. of the salt together in a largish bowl. Stir in the onion. Set aside to marinate. 

     Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add the potatoes, bring back to a boil, and simmer until the potatoes are tender but not mushy. (Allow for the fact that they will become somewhat firmer as they cool off.) Strain. Immediately mix the potatoes and the olive oil into the onion mixture. Allow to  steep for 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Adjust salt to taste. Refrigerate.

Herbed Roasted Potatoes

Roasted Yukon gold potatoes.  Russets
are starchier and crisp up more easily,
but this batch came out perfect anyway.

     This recipe produces potatoes with intense flavor and perfect texture—without help from common allergens such as dairy (milk, cream, butter, cheese) or flour. 









     2 lb. potatoes, washed and peeled

     1 Tb. salt
     1/4 tsp. baking soda
     1/2 c. fresh Italian parsley (See Produce in the Glossary)

     1/4 c. fresh basil leaves (See Produce in the Glossary)

     1 Tb. fresh rosemary leaves (See Produce in the Glossary)
     1 Tb. fresh thyme leaves (See Produce in the Glossary)
      2 cloves garlic, minced
     1/4 c. olive oil or other oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     
     Wash and dry the herbs, and chop them fine. Cut the potatoes into large chunks (4 to 8 chunks per potato, depending on the size of the potato).

     Preheat oven to 450 F. 

     Bring 1 quart of water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add the salt, baking soda and potatoes. Bring back to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are pretty much softened up. Drain.

     Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet. Add the herbs and garlic and saute gently until the garlic is cooked but not browned. Put in a strainer over a small bowl. Apply pressure with the back of a spoon; you should retrieve a couple tablespoons or so of the oil. Refrigerate the sauteed herbs. Toss the potato chunks vigorously with the oil. The potatoes will have an odd gooey appearance. Do not be alarmed: this means that the baking soda has done its job and the potato chunks are coated with starch and ready to crisp up. 

     Spread the potato chunks out on a cooky sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Scrape them off the cooky sheet with a spatula and flip them over. Continue baking until nicely browned and crisp, another 30-40 minutes, occasionally tossing with a spatula. Toss with the herbs and serve hot.

     Note that if you toss raw herbs and garlic with potatoes and roast them in the oven together, it is likely that the herbs and garlic will scorch before the potatoes are done, giving your dish a nasty, acrid flavor. Don't do that.

Variations:  You can, of course, give your roasted potatoes different flavors by varying your choice of herbs. For plain roasted potatoes, just toss the boiled potato chunks with 2-3 Tb. of oil.

     Deep-frying the treated potato chunks works well too.
   

Roasted Yams/Sweet Potatoes

The yellow ones are sweet potatoes, and the orange ones
are yams. Yams are just sweet potatoes that have been bred
to be orange.

     Discovering you're allergic to most bread, whether the problem is wheat or yeast, is a good reason for brushing up your skills on cooking alternate carbs such as yams and sweet potatoes. These can be perplexing: they're good baked, but they don't mash as smooth as regular potatoes and they tend not to crisp up as easily as regular potatoes.

     This recipe produces excellent roasted rounds of sweet potato or yam, soft on the inside and browned and crisp on the outside.

     2 yams or sweet potatoes
     1 quart of water
     *1/4 c. rice syrup 
     1 Tb. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)
     1/4 tsp. baking soda
     oil (See Oil in the Glossary)

     Preheat oven to 425 F. Add the rice syrup, salt and baking soda to the water in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, peel the yams and slice them into 1" rounds. Add the yams to the boiling water (which should cover the yams), bring it back up to a boil and simmer until the yams are softened, up to 8 minutes. Drain, and stir the yams gently with a big spoon. At this point they will have a questionable-looking, gooey texture. Do not be alarmed: this means the baking soda and syrup have done their job and the yams are ready to crisp up. Resist any temptation to add spices at this point: they would scorch and leave nasty, bitter flavors.

      Spread out on a thoroughly greased cooky sheet and bake until mostly browned on the bottom, about 20 minutes. Spray the tops with oil. Remove from oven; separate each round from the cooky sheet with a spatula and flip it over. Bake another 15-20 minutes, until browned on both sides.

     Alternatively, once the rounds have been boiled as described above, they can be fried on both sides in a bit of oil at medium high heat.

*Note that some rice syrup is not gluten-free, as the processing involves enzymes which may have been derived from barley. Watch for gluten-free syrup if this is an issue.      

Buckwheat Pilav (kasha)

he

Buckwheat groats cooked with chicken broth

     Needing to avoid wheat and/or yeast is a good reason to check out some other grains. Buckwheat, despite the name, is not related to wheat at all. It cooks to a texture similar to that of rice and is surprisingly tasty.

      2 c. water (Use broth if you like. See Broth in the Glossary)
     1 Tb. oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     1 c. untoasted buckwheat groats
     salt (see Salt in the Glossary)

     Heat the water to boiling; set aside. Heat the oil to medium in a small saucepan. Add the buckwheat to the oil and, stirring constantly, cook until the buckwheat looks almost dry and smells toasty. Pour the water into the pan with the buckwheat. It will splutter and boil furiously; this is normal. Turn the heat to a simmer, and add salt to taste (the amount of salt needed may vary with your choice of liquid). Cover, and cook until the water is absorbed and the buckwheat is tender. The grains should be separate and fluffy. Remove from heat and allow to set for a few minutes. Serve warm with butter (for those that can eat butter).

Refried Non-Beans: Favas

     Refried beans are easy to make, and if you are allergic to beans, favas are an easy substitution. I highly recommend dry favas that have already been presoaked and peeled. 

     Favas are a vetch, not a true bean. Allergies to beans do not necessarily mean an allergy to favas. My grandson, who used to get sick from the amount of soy lecithin in a chocolate bar or the bit of soybean oil in a handful of candy corn, was unable to eat any kind of peas, lentils or beans. Favas, though, he could gobble with impunity. 

    Note that there is a rare genetic enzyme deficiency (not a true allergy) that gives some people, especially of Middle Eastern or African descent, gastrointestinal distress when they eat favas. 

     2 cups dry presoaked favas
     3 Tb. oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     1 onion, chopped
     3 cloves garlic, minced
     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)
     (optional) chili powder (See Spices in the Glossary)

     Boil the favas, with enough water to keep them covered, until they are soft. Drain into a bowl (i.e. retain the cooking liquid).

    Meanwhile, fry the onion in the oil on medium heat until it just starts to brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so, until the garlic is translucent. Add the onions to the favas and mash, adding cooking liquid in small amounts as needed, until you obtain the desired consistency. Add salt to taste and stir in a sprinkle of chili powder if you like.

Pasta with Olive Oil, Garlic and Herbs

     Have you ever suffered from jealousy in an Italian restaurant while your friends happily dunked fresh, warm bread into garlicky olive oil and snarfed it down—as you realized your food wouldn't arrive until they got done? @#$%^ allergies to wheat and yeast!  This classic Italian dish is the best revenge I know of: make it for yourself and don't share it with anyone who doesn't have food allergies. This dish has no hidden allergens: if you're not allergic to rice, garlic or olives, it should be fine. Note that you can change the character of the dish substantially by varying what herbs you include and their proportions.

Olive oil with garlic and herbs on Tinkyáda white rice spaghetti

     1 lb. spaghetti, fettuccini or other pasta (See Pasta in the Glossary)
     1/2 c. olive oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     6 garlic cloves, minced
     1/2 c. gently packed fresh Italian parsley leaves (stripped off their 

          stems and washed) (See Produce in the Glossary)

     1/4 c. gently packed fresh basil leaves (stripped off their stems and 

          washed)
     1 Tb. gently packed fresh thyme leaves (stripped off their stems and 

          washed)
     1 Tb. gently packed fresh rosemary leaves (stripped off their stems and 

          washed)
     1 tsp. black pepper (See Spices in the Glossary)
     (optional) 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (See Spices in the Glossary)

     Bring a large potful of well salted water to a boil and cook the pasta just until al dente. Drain. Meanwhile, chop the herbs fairly small. Gently heat the olive oil in a small pot and add the chopped herbs and garlic. Saute gently just until the herbs are wilted and the garlic is soft and translucent. Stir in the pepper flakes and black pepper.
     Toss the pasta with the olive oil mixture.

Rice with Favas

     Beans are excellent with rice. So are peas. If you're allergic to both beans and peas, it's time to remember that favas are a vetch, not an actual bean. Allergies to beans, peas or lentils do not necessarily mean an allergy to favas. Note that there is a rare genetic enzyme deficiency (not a true allergy) that makes some people, especially of Middle Eastern or African descent, sick when they eat favas. 

     In this classic pilav recipe, fava "beans" (not the pods) are cooked into rice.  If possible you want to use fava beans that aren't much bigger than baby lima beans. The herb that complements favas the best is baby dill.

     4 c. water or chicken broth (See Broth in the Glossary)
     2 c. long-grained rice (See Rice in the Glossary)
     1 c. fresh young fava beans (not in pods)
     2 Tb. washed, chopped fresh baby dill (See Produce in the Glossary)
     1 tsp. salt, more or less, depending on the saltiness of the broth (See 

          Salt in the Glossary)

     Bring the water or broth to a boil in a medium-sized pot.  Add all the other ingredients, bring back to a boil and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked.

Soy-Free Veggie Fried Rice

     Fried rice is one food you pretty much have to make for yourself if you can't have soy sauce. This version has plenty of seasoning but no soy, corn, sesame, or eggs. Obviously, you can have soy sauce (See Soy Sauce in the Glossary) and toasted sesame seeds on the side as condiments for the non-allergic. You can also cut a two-egg plain omelette into chunks and stir it into some or all the rice at the end if you like.

    To vary the recipe, replace some of the veggies with chunks of meat or mushroom (stir-fried separately, set aside, and added near the end of the cooking time). 

Fried rice with carrot, celery, broccoli stems and green tomatoes
(the veggies I had sitting in the fridge: this recipe is versatile)

     2 Tb. oil, any variety to which you are not allergic and which tolerates high 

          heat. (See Oil in the Glossary)

     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)
     3 c. hard veggies either all cut into chunks or all sliced thin, so that they 

          all get done at the same time (carrots, celery, cauliflower, onion, or 

          whatever you like and aren’t allergic to)

     3 c. cooked rice (See Rice in the Glossary)

     1 batch stir-fry sauce but leave out the tapioca starch.

     Heat the oil to medium high heat in a large skillet. (It is hot enough when a chunk of food sizzles and sputters when it is added to the pan.)  Add the veggies, sprinkle them with salt, and fry, stirring constantly, until they are softened but still crunchy.  Do not brown them. Add the rice and continue to cook on medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the rice is thoroughly hot.  Add the stir-fry sauce and continue to cook, stirring, for a few seconds, until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Serve immediately.

Sushi Rolls

     Most sushi contains a variety of allergens: fish, yeast and possibly corn (in the vinegar), sesame, etc.  You can, however, make excellent sushi without any of these ingredients. Using a bit of lime juice in place of the usual vinegar does no harm to the flavor.

     1 c. rice (See Rice  in the Glossary) Sushi rice, being sticky, does an 

          excellent job of holding a sushi roll together, but  other  rice can be 

          substituted. 
     1 tsp. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)
     2 Tb. sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)
     3 Tb. white vinegar (See Vinegar in the Glossary) or 2 Tb. freshly 

          squeezed lime juice (See Juice in the Glossary)
     (totally optional) 1/4 c. sesame seeds—1 Tb. sesame seeds per sushi roll 

          containing  sesame seeds 
     4 sheets of nori (some nori has sesame seed oil on it: read the label)
     2 or 3 filling ingredients (your choice of raw fish—ask your grocer which fish are ok for sushi, slivered green onions, slivered raw carrot, cucumber strips  [See Produce in the Glossary], corn-free, yeast-free marinated daikon, slightly cooked spinach or whatever else you feel like using and aren't allergic to)

     Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. Stir in the salt, sugar and vinegar or lime juice. Put the sesame seeds in a small pan over high heat and toast them, stirring constantly. As soon as the seeds are lightly browned, pour them out into a bowl so that the hot saucepan does not continue to cook them. Arrange your ingredients and a bamboo sushi rolling thing in front of you and you are ready to assemble the sushi rolls.  

Getting ready to make sushi with slivered green
onion, daikon pickle and carrot

     Use a wooden paddle (or the back of a big spoon) to spread ¼ of the rice onto the less shiny side of a sheet of nori, leaving one end of the nori uncovered.  

     Sprinkle 1/4 of the sesame seeds on top of the rice. If you need some of the rolls to be sesame-free, make those first, before there are stray seeds lying about your work area.

    Arrange the filling ingredients in a line on top of the rice.  Roll up using a bamboo rolling thing such that the uncovered end of the nori is on the top and can stick to the layer of nori below it, sealing the roll.

Ready to roll

     Slice with a sharp knife and serve with wasabi and/or Sushi Dipping Sauce.

Yellow Coconut Rice

      This recipe, loosely inspired by Thai cooking, produces delicious rice that needs no butter or soy sauce.

     1 can (13.66 fl. oz.) coconut milk (See Coconut and Milk in the Glossary)

     2 c. chicken broth (See Broth in the Glossary)

     1 clove garlic, minced

     2 Tb. freshly squeezed lemon juice or lime juice (See Juice in the 

          Glossary)

     1 tsp. cumin (See Spices in the Glossary)

     1 tsp. turmeric (or a few strands of saffron if you prefer) See Spices in 

          the Glossary

     pinch of red pepper (See Spices in the Glossary)

     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)
     2 cups white jasmine rice (See Rice  in the Glossary) 

     Put the coconut milk, chicken stock, garlic, lemon juice and spices in a medium-sized pot (i.e., a pot that is not too much larger than the amount of rice it is going to contain). Taste the liquid and decide whether and how much salt to add (this will depend on the amount of salt in the stock). Bring the liquid to a boil and add the rice. Bring it back up to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until there is no unabsorbed liquid on the bottom of the pot. Turn off the heat and leave the rice on the burner for another 10 minutes or so to steep. Garnish with sliced green onions, chives and/or chopped cilantro if you like.

Rice Pilav

     Here is a classic Middle Eastern rice dish which involves neither butter nor soy sauce.

     

     5 cups boiling water, chicken broth or beef broth (See Broth in 

          the Glossary)

     (optional) 6 green onions, trimmed, washed and sliced
     ¼ cup pine nuts (See Pine Nuts in the Glossary)
     ¼ cup vegetable oil (See Oil in the Glossary)

     1 tsp. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     2-1/2 cups rice (See Rice  in the Glossary) 

     Bring the water or broth to a boil.  Set aside. In a small pan, saute the green onions on medium heat with the salt and half of the vegetable oil, stirring constantly, until they soften and turn translucent.  Set aside. Saute the pine nuts on medium high heat in a medium pan with the remaining oil just until they turn golden brown. Add the rice and saute the mixture for a few seconds, stirring constantly. (Or, for a toastier flavor, saute a couple minutes, stirring constantly, until the rice just begins to brown. Be careful not to scorch the pine nuts.)  Add the boiling liquid and the onions. Cover and simmer until done, probably 20-25 minutes.

Variation: Replace the pine nuts with 1/4 cup small pieces of rice pasta and reduce the amount of rice to 2-1/4 cups. To obtain small pieces of rice pasta, break some rice spaghetti up enough to get it into a food-processor and run the food-processor until the spaghetti is cut down to the desired size.  This is a shockingly noisy business, but it works quite well.

Quinoa Pilav

     This recipe is inspired by Turkish bulgur pilav, which is often enlivened by the addition of vegetables. Bulgur is a wheat product; quinoa is a good substitute for it.

     One reason for using tomatoes in this recipe rather than tomato paste or tomato sauce is to avoid the citric acid made from corn or soy that is found in most canned tomato products. The reason for peeling the tomatoes is to avoid the wax containing, corn, soy, or dairy products that is smeared on so much grocery store produce. "Vine-ripened tomatoes" have not been exposed to ethylene gas (made from corn). Note that grocery store peppers are often coated with wax too; fortunately, the pepper is not essential to this dish.

     2 c. quinoa

     ½ small onion, chopped

     (optional) 1/8 bell pepper, peeled and chopped (See Produce in the 

          Glossary)

     ¼ c. vegetable oil you are not allergic to (See Oil in the Glossary)

     1 tsp. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     pinch of cumin (See Spices in the Glossary)

     2-1/2 c. peeled, food-processed vine-ripened tomatoes (See Produce in 

          the Glossary)

     3/4 c. water

     Rinse the quinoa; drain thoroughly and set aside. Saute the onion and pepper gently in the vegetable oil with the salt until they are soft and the onion is translucent; do not brown. Add the cumin, tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Add the quinoa, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. (You can start checking it after 20 minutes or so.)

Hypoallergenic Rice Stuffing

     This is the rice-based stuffing I like to make for Thanksgiving. It contains no gluten, yeast, dairy, corn, soy or tree nuts, so it works at my house. If you are allergic to pine nuts, just leave them out: they're good in this stuffing, but they're not essential. 

     The seasoning is reminiscent of the rice stuffing in certain Turkish stuffed vegetable dishes.  The reason for using brown rice and wild rice is that they cook much more slowly than white rice and can better stand up to a long cooking time inside a turkey.

     2-1/2 c. brown rice (See Rice  in the Glossary) 

     1 c. wild rice

     1/2 c. pine nuts (See Pine Nuts in the Glossary)
     2/3 c. olive oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     3 medium onions, chopped

     10 cloves garlic, sliced

     6 celery stalks, sliced

     1 Tb. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     1/2 Tb. black pepper (See Spices in the Glossary)

     2 Tb. dried mint (See Spices in the Glossary)

     1 Tb. dried dill weed (See Spices in the Glossary)

     juice of 3 lemons (See Juice in the Glossary)

    The easiest way to precook the rice is in a large pot full of water (12 or more cups). Bring the water to a boil, stir in the brown rice and wild rice, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 40 minutes or so, until the rice is just cooked. (Remember, it will have more cooking time in the oven.)  Drain. Mean­while, saute the pine nuts in a smidge of the olive oil on medium heat until lightly browned. Gently saute the onions and celery with the salt in the rest of the olive oil just until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and continue cooking briefly, just until the garlic turns translucent. Be careful not to brown it. Add the black pepper, mint, and dill and continue cooking for a few seconds, just enough to wake up the spices.  Add the pine nuts and the vegetables to the rice. Stir in the lemon juice, and chill thoroughly before stuffing the turkey. (Or cook the turkey by itself and cover the dressing and finish cooking it either on the stove top or, if there's room, in the oven. You may find that an unstuffed turkey dries out less in the oven.)

     Makes 13-14 cups of stuffing, enough for a 25-pound turkey.

Variation: For a more conventionally American approach to seasoning the stuffing, replace the mint and dill with 2 Tb. fresh rosemary leaves and 2 Tb. fresh thyme leaves.

Dairy-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Garlic mashed potatoes made with chicken stock

     I had it firmly stuck in my mind that the only way to make mashed potatoes was with milk and butter.  After we discovered my grandson was allergic to dairy I didn't make mashed potatoes for a long time.  That was silly: there are other tasty liquids that complement potatoes!  For the record, I tried tomato juice once, but the result was disconcertingly pink and not especially tasty.

     10 medium potatoes

     1 to 1-1/2 cups beef or chicken stock (See Broth in the Glossary)

     20 cloves of garlic, peeled

     oil (See Oil in the Glossary)

     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     Put the potatoes in a large pot; add water to cover  Bring to a boil, then simmer until thoroughly cooked. Drain the potatoes, and peel if desired. Meanwhile, put the garlic in a very small pot, add oil to mostly cover, and saute very gently until very soft. Heat the stock.  Mash the potatoes with the garlic, 1/4 cup of the garlic-infused oil, and enough hot stock to achieve a good consistency. Salt to taste.