gluten free recipe

time for macaroons / March 21, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

march is quickly becoming a busy month. i've been trying to keep to up with the various holidays, celebrations, and observances. last week was st. patty's day, this week passover begins, and next weekend is easter. i feel the urge to make something for each event because in some capacity or another my family celebrates each one. so, for passover, i decided to make macaroons. i chose to make 3 different kinds of macaroons. why make something more difficult than it has to be? because that's what i'm good at.

this is the first time i've made macaroons. i never really liked them until a few years ago when i developed a liking for coconut. here, i provide 3 different recipes; the first two are egg white based, and the last one is egg and nut free. the first recipe, coconut macaroons, were a little plain. so, i decided to dunk them in chocolate sauce...soo (extra o for emphasis) much better. the almond-coconut macaroons were pretty good; next time i might add more almonds, and a bit more almond extract. lastly, the chocolate macaroons. these are by far my favorite. i decided to dunk 5 of the 9 macaroons in chocolate because i had some leftover, and because chocolate-chocolate macaroons are naturally better than chocolate macaroons.

// coconut macaroons

adapted from elana's pantry

makes about 24

pre heat oven 350°

line a baking sheet with parchment

ingredients:

3 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

directions:

with an electric mixer, beat egg whites with salt until the whites form a peak - about 5-6 minutes

fold in agave, vanilla, and coconut with a spatula

using a tablespoon, scoop macaroon balls onto parchment paper leaving about 1 inch between each cookie

bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned

can be stored in an air tight container for about 3 days, or they can be frozen for up to one month

// almond-coconut macaroons

adapted from martha stewart

makes 16

pre heat oven 350°

line a baking sheet with parchment

ingredients:

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 large egg white

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup whole almonds, chopped

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

pinch of salt

directions:

in a large bowl, whisk agave and white. stir in the remaining ingredients

using a tablespoon measurement, scoop macaroon balls onto parchment paper leaving about 1 inch between each cookie

bake until top and bottoms are lightly browned, 15 minutes

can be stored in an air tight container for about 3 days, or they can be frozen for up to one month

// chocolate macaroons

adapted from against all grain

makes 9

pre heat oven 350°

line a baking sheet with parchment

ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon full fat coconut milk

in a medium sized bowl, combine coconut, cocoa powder, and salt

in a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. combine using a spatula, work the coconut oil into the mixture until smooth

add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. mix until combined

using a tablespoon, scoop macaroon balls onto parchment paper leaving about 1 inch between each cookie

bake for 10 minutes - allow to cool before removing from baking sheet

can be stored in an air tight container for about 3 days, or they can be frozen for up to one month

// chocolate sauce

1/2 cup dark chocolate (either chips or a bar)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

directions:

set a heat proof bowl over simmering water

add the chocolate and coconut oil

use a spoon or whisk to stir until melted

remove from heat and dunk the bottoms, tops, or sides of macaroons

with help from a spoon or spatula, lift the macaroon out of the chocolate sauce

place macaroons on a parchment lined baking sheet or platter. when all the macaroons are dipped, place in the refrigerator for an hour or so

serve at room temp and enjoy (*if you're freezing them, seal in an air tight container. set on counter and thaw a couple hours before serving.)

garlicky accordion potatoes / March 11, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

i'm pretty sure i've eaten potatoes every which way. that is until the accordion potato, or as some people refer to it: hasselback potatoes. accordion potatoes are a swedish tradition dating back to the 18th century. i never knew about them until i saw a picture of them on instagram. since that day i have been obsessed with getting them perfect - tender and mushy on the inside, and crispy and crunchy on the outside. it took many attempts and caused quite a bit of frustration...first, i tried covering them with foil for the first 40 minutes, then uncovering them and bumping up the heat for the last 20 minutes. the second time i tried keeping them uncovered at a steady temperature for a little under an hour - this yielded dry and unevenly cooked potatoes, yuck. the third time i kept them uncovered, at a steady temp, and i checked on them every 20 minutes to turn them and coat them with olive oil - this yielded some pretty amazing accordions!

the thing i didn't think about was the fact that these are essentially a baked potato, but by cutting the slits in them you're exposing them to air (duh), and therefore they are much more prone to drying out during the baking process. so, the trick is to coat them with a generous slather of olive oil before baking, and to continually re-coat them with olive oil while they are baking. i chose to stuff these little guys with thinly sliced garlic. similarly, you can stuff them with shallots, onions, or herbs. the only piece of advise i have is to slice the stuffings thin enough so that they fit in the potato slices. in this recipe i use white yams, they tend to take longer to cook so i chose to slice them in 1/8" slices - if you're using a regular potato i would probably use 1/4" slices.

*non-vegans, you can totally use melted butter in conjunction with the olive oil. just melt a tablespoon or 2 (depending on how many potatoes you are using) in a microwave safe bowl, and slather all over the potatoes.

thank you, frank for taking these lovely photos. couldn't have done it without you

bake time: 60 minutes

pre heat oven to 400°

prepare a baking dish with a thin layer of olive oil

// ingredients

3 medium sized yams

3 large cloves of garlic

1/4 cup olive oil (decrease amount of oil if using butter as well)

sea salt

// directions

prepare a small bowl with a 1/4 cup of olive oil

scrub potatoes clean

while the potatoes are drying, thinly slice the garlic (i used 3 cloves because i love garlic, if you're not such a lover reduce the amount)

slice the potatoes 3/4 of the way down being careful not to slice them all the way through. repeat with the other potatoes

take your garlic slices; one at a time insert them into the potato slices (like i mentioned, i love garlic so i put a slice in each potato slit. likewise, you can do every other slit or every third slit)

using a pastry brush, brush the potatoes with the olive oil making sure to get in between each potato slit - repeat with remaining potatoes. use the leftover oil and drizzle it around the bottom of the baking dish (this will be used when you re-coat the potatoes as they are baking)

season with salt place in the middle of your oven - set a timer for 20 minutes. after 20 minutes take the potatoes out. using your pastry brush re-coat the potatoes with the oil at the bottom of the baking dish, trying to get in between each slit. place back in oven and set timer for another 20 minutes - repeat when buzzer goes off. set for an additional 20 minutes - when the buzzer goes off your potatoes should be cooked through. if you like a crisp skin, keep them in the oven and turn the heat up to 500° or broil, for 5 minutes to get them really crispy. serve, and enjoy

rice paper ravioli salad / March 5, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

rice paper ravioli? yes. wrap your heads around it people, it happened. and it was good. like, really good. believe it or not, rice paper is a great substitute for all things pasta. these are not the fresh, homemade raviolis i grew up eating from the Bronx, but they are a really great alternative. after doing some research on how to use rice paper as pasta i took to testing it out. i learned some valuable lessons that day that resulted in me getting a good bearing on how to treat these delicate little raviolis.

*just to note, if you are using wonton wrapper or egg roll wrappers you may want to research how you should treat the paper, it may be different from the directions i give below.

i put my raviolis over a salad, but they work in any capacity. you could totally use them in any authentic italian recipe, or use a pesto sauce, you could even go the sweet route and fill them with a nutella-like substance. the filling i chose was broccoli- ricotta puree. here i used tofutti ricotta cheese, which is soy based (you can easily substitute this with regular dairy ricotta). because i don't eat cheese, i left out reggiano cheese - which adds a certain depth of flavor to the filling - so i replaced it with a healthy amount of spices and salt. this was a fun little project, i hope you try them out some day!

:: makes 24 raviolis ::

prepare a large bowl with water (you will use this to dip the rice paper in)

prepare a platter or large plate with a coating of olive oil

for the ravioli //

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

8-10 ounces of broccoli (a small head of broccoli) cut into florets

1/2 cup ricotta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or more to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)

pepper to taste

12 pieces of rice paper

for the salad //

3 ounces mixed baby greens

a handful broccoli sprouts (or micro greens)

1 radish sliced thin

2 small beets, grated

1 tablespoon toasted pignoli nuts

dressing //

2 tablespoons basil oil

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

salt to taste

directions //

toast pignoli nuts

prepare a medium saucepan with water that reaches 3/4 of the way up to the top and olive oil (the raviolis tend to stick to one another)

in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. add the broccoli, 1/2 cup of water, and 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, cover and cook over a low heat until tender, about 10-15 minutes. let cool. coarsely puree the broccoli in a food processor; transfer to bowl. stir in the ricotta, salt, red pepper, oregano, and pepper

prepare a work surface with water for dipping rice paper, and a platter coated with oil

dip the rice paper in the water, rotating it until it is completely wet, set it down on a large cutting board. using a small spoon, dollop 4 mounds of ricotta mixture onto the paper. take your second piece of rice paper, and dip in the water, wetting it completely. lay the top piece over the bottom piece - the paper takes about a minute to really soften - let it sit until soft. take a sharp knife or pizza cutter and cut into 4 equal pieces. here is the somewhat tricky part: you don't want a lot of air getting caught when you seal the ravioli, so make sure there is a hole to push the air out of (this sounds much more complicated than it actually is). next. use your fingers to press the pieces of rice paper together, creating a seal. take a round cookie cutter and cut out your ravioli. transfer to the oiled platter. repeat with remaining papers. i had extra filling leftover; i froze it for another time.

bring the water in your saucepan to a boil

2 at a time place the raviolis in the water, turn the heat to medium low - you want the water to boil but not so hard that it breaks the ravioli. after 1 1/2 - 2 minutes use a slotted spoon to remove the raviolis, place them back on the oiled platter until they are all cooked

repeat with remaining ravioli

let them cool while you assemble your salad. combine all salad ingredients, toss in the raviolis, dress with the basil oil dressing (you can also totally substitute this dressing with something else) and enjoy!