Gluten and Dairy Free Cream of Mushroom

Hello.

I'm reposting this piece from last year. The soup is amazing, and I think everyone should make this for Thanksgiving!

There was a long time (until about 10 years ago) that I didn't care for soup much. I've always loved split pea with ham and New England clam chowder, but other soups just seemed thin and boring to me. In the recent past, though, I realized that soups, curries and stews are all based on the same principles, making me try thicker soups with lots of layers of flavor. A whole new world opened to me. And, of course Asian noodle soups are a favorite of mine now, so I can say I'm a soup lover through and through.

I came across a gluten and dairy free cream of mushroom soup (via my friend Thanya whose sister-in-law is an expert of all things allergen-friendly). And, this year, I added bacon to it, so now, it's perfect.

There are a lot of steps, considering that a traditional cream of mushroom soup doesn't involve three steps to thicken it. And, of course, I love cooking my mushrooms in butter, but that doesn't really fit into my diet right now. By using bacon fat, I was able to bring back some of the depth that butter gives the mushrooms (and of course, anything with bacon is better).

So consider this a nudge to make a wonderful and satisfying cream of mushroom soup for your friends and family this holiday season!

Gluten and Dairy Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

adapted from original recipe: Cybele Pascal, Allergen-Free Cuisine, 10.8.2010

serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 small shallots finely minced
  • 1 ½ lb. mushrooms, chopped (I use a mix of white mushrooms and Chantrelles)
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch/flour
  • 2 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon porcini salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
  • ½ cup rice milk
  • 1/2 pound black forest bacon, cooked and diced

Method:

  • Over high medium -heat, heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot, large enough to accommodate all ingredients.
  • At this point, I also add in a bit of the grease from the bacon (used for garnish at the end). It give the mushrooms a nice richness.
  • Add porcini salt, shallots and mushrooms, stir often, cook for 3 minutes.
  • Lower heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown.
  • Stirring well to coat mushrooms, add in thyme and tapioca starch/flour.
  • Reduce heat to low. Scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the tapioca and mushrooms incorporated, cook for about 5 minutes.
  • Making sure that all clumps are broken up, add 2 cups of the chicken broth, salt and pepper.
  • Stir well, increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Boil remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock and add quick-cook tapioca to the stock. Mix gently.
  • Add chicken stock/quick-cook tapioca mixture to the pot.
  • Keep the heat on a low simmer, stirring often to help the quick-cook tapioca dissolve. It's ready when the tapioca is completely clear.
  • Add rice milk.
  • Pulse in food processor (or use a hand blender or a blender) until desired texture is reached. I keep mine kind of chunky, but you can blend it all the way to smooth.
  • Serve in bowls with diced bacon on top.

Potato Pancakes My Way: Gluten Free and Dairy Free

Potato Pancakes!

I have been buying frozen potato pancakes for a long time now, but always loved Gran Fran's homemade ones. We would sometimes have breakfast for dinner, which mostly meant bacon and eggs or french toast, but sometimes included potato pancakes. I love the crispy outside and the warm, soft inside. Gran Fran's were loaded with salt and sometimes had corn added to them. I remember the sizzle of the hot oil and Gran Fran yelling for all the kids to back away from the stove (and to leave the kitchen) in case the oil splattered when she put the potato pancakes in the pan. I can't recall anyone every getting hurt when Gran Fran fried things, but she still tells the kids (meaning me and my five adult siblings) to back away when she's frying. Old habits die hard, I guess.

The other night I had some leftover mashed potatoes and remembered that this was the base for Gran Fran's potato cakes. I don't think I made them the same way she does, but they tasted great. Gran Fran's version definitely had flour involved. Mine use just an egg and the mashed potatoes, which I made with almond milk and olive oil, making them gluten and dairy free.

Isabella, my daughter, loved them so much, she told me not to give her anymore because she wouldn't know when to stop eating them and did not want to over do it. These are definitely being made on a regular basis around here.

So enjoy these with your family and friends. You can even try some add ins like leftover bacon (but for real, who has that on hand?), scallions or grated cheese. Have a lovely weekend!

Potato Pancakes: Gluten and Dairy Free

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Mix mashed potatoes and eggs until a thick batter comes together. If you are adding in bacon, scallions or anything else, mix it into the batter now.
  2. Heat the olive oil until super hot but not smoking in a pan.
  3. Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture into the pan, leaving a good amount of space between them in the pan.
  4. Take a spatula and press down on the potato mixture in the pan to form a pancake. Some of the batter will ooze out the side, which is fine.
  5. Cook on first side for 4 minutes, until you can see the edges browning.
  6. Flip over the pancakes, press down once more with the spatula and cook for another 4 minutes.
  7. Remove from the pan onto a paper towel lined plate and add salt.

Enjoy!

 

Beet Salad with Oranges

 Gran Fran knows her way around beets. She would make them for us on a regular basis. Her salad involves only some olive oil and vinegar. And, she also cooks her with the skin on, removing it after cooking. Her method involves roasting the beets in the oven individually wrapped in foil (Gran Fran, let me know if I'm wrong here). Skinning the hot beets made me stay away from beet cooking for a good long time. My hands not only turned red from the juice, but also were slightly burned each time I tried to de-skin one of the beets.

My sister Danielle taught me this method, which turns your fingers red immediately, but leaves you with fewer burn marks on your hands. I think I end up with more beets, too. Using a vegetable peeler allows you to remove just the brown skin and preserve more of the good stuff.

I cook the beets in what will become the dressing for the final product, too, which gives you a really flavorful dressing. And, you are able to eat these hot, if you want to, without having to waste any time peeling off the skin.

The addition of oranges and sunflower seeds to this salad make it the perfect Spring-is-Here dish. It's fruity and earthy with just a little bit of crunch.

Featured on The Fruit Guys website.

Beet Salad with Oranges

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 beets, skins peeled off, greens removed, cut into eighths.
  • 1 small shallot, cut into quarters
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 orange cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon sunflower seeds
  • Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Place the beet and shallots onto a rimmed baking sheet, or into a baking pan large enough to allow space between the pieces.
  3. Mix together the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and pour the mixture over the beets, making sure to coat all sides of the beets.
  4. Roast the beets in the oven for 40 minutes, or until fork tender, turning the beets every ten minutes or so.
  5. In a large bowl, mix together the warm beets with the orange segments.