Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the wp-ultimate-recipe domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/maryzahc/public_html/adultfoodallergies.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121
Main Dishes/Entrées – Page 9 – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Category: Main Dishes/Entrées

Main Dishes/Entrée [ahn-trey] noun: a dish served as the main course of a meal. These recipes will not contain dairy, eggs, gluten, wheat or hazelnuts. If we use a top 8 allergen, we will use a tag warning of its use.

Quick-ish Marinara Sauce
Quick-ish Marinara with Meatballs and Gluten Free Penne

One of the things I really miss is a great meatball sub with gobs of cheese. Since I’m allergic to dairy, wheat, and eggs (in addition to what feels like 50 million other things) that’s a little hard. I haven’t totally figured it out yet, because there isn’t a vegan cheese that works for me because of my coconut, almond, and corn allergies. I’m also missing a sub roll, as I’m still trying to figure out gluten-free, corn-free, dairy-free, and egg-free bread, but I’ve gotten two steps on the way. This week I’ll be posting a marinara sauce you can use for meatball subs, pasta, or for anything else that you need tomato sauce. In two weeks, I’ll be posting a recipe for meatballs. For those of you that have a safe bread and a safe cheese you can use, you’ll have everything you need for a meatball sub. I’m totally jealous of all of you, and while I’m working on it, I’m just going to eat the meatballs and sauce over pasta, which isn’t bad either.

The reason that this is a quick-ish marinara sauce is that I’m using crushed canned tomatoes and canned tomato paste (Cento brand – no citric acid in crushed, tomato puree or paste, but watch out as other Cento canned tomato varieties do have citric acid, which can be corn derived), rather than starting from tomatoes. It still takes some time to simmer, making it a weekend dish, but you can freeze the leftovers and use it for a meal or two during the week with little to no prep.

Quick-ish Marinara Sauce
- 1 large onion, diced very finely
- 3 stalks of celery, diced finely
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 carrot (use a vegetable peeler or a micro planer to peel or zest until the carrot’s just a pile of peels or zest)
- 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 – 8 ounce can of tomato paste
- 2 – 28 cans of crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
- 1 cup of vegetable stock or water
- 1/2 cup of white or red wine (your preference, I used white becuse my tomatoes needed brightening) or use additional vegetable stock or water
- 1/4 teaspoon of oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon of marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil (if not using fresh basil below, double the amount)
- 1/4 teaspoon of rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 10 fresh leaves of basil, chopped
- salt to taste (I used about a teaspoon this time to get it where I like it)
Dice your onions and celery, mince your garlic, and zest or peel your carrot.

Diced Onions

Diced Celery

In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add your onions, celery, garlic and carrots. Saute them until the onions and celery are somewhat translucent.

Onions, celery, garlic, and carrots being sauted

Add the contents of the can of tomato paste and stir it into the vegetables so it is equally distributed throughout. Then add your cans of crushed tomatoes, the vegetable stock, and the white wine. Stir thoroughly. Reduce the heat to medium low (about 3-4 on my burner dial).

Add your oregano, marjoram, thyme, dried basil, rosemary and black pepper to the sauce and stir to incorporate the spices into the sauce. Chop your basil if you have not already, and add it to the sauce, again stirring thoroughly.

Marinara simmering

Continue to simmer your sauce on medium low until the carrot has dissolved completely into the sauce and the sauce is the consistency you prefer (for me, this is about an hour or so). Once you have reached that point, taste your sauce to see if it needs any salt and add it at that time. I found that I needed about 1/2 of a teaspoon. If you find that your sauce is too acidic, sometimes I will add about a teaspoon of brown sugar and that helps.

Stay tuned for the meatball recipe to be posted in two weeks!

Yummy Quick-ish Marinara
September 16, 2013
Pasta e Fagioli
pasta e fagioli, photo by j.andrews

Growing up, we didn’t eat a lot of pasta. Every few months, there was spaghetti and meatballs, but mostly, we had potatoes. It turns out, the rest of my cohort were eating a lot more pasta than I was, and it seems to be something of a comfort food for many people. Personally, I like it because it’s easy.

We served a pasta e fagioli soup at a sandwich restaurant I worked at, but years ago, someone gave me a recipe for a pasta dish, not soup, that was mostly a can each of beans and tomatoes. It was easy, but kind of boring, and it seemed like something that could take on a ton more vegetables, both for health and nutrition and for color. So I started tinkering. I’ve put off putting this up on the blog since last fall, primarily because I’m still tinkering. Because of that, I’m going to give you some options and ranges on amounts of ingredients. But as we move into cooler weather (well, in New England — I guess it was 90-something in Bismarck on Friday), I am thinking of heartier meals that are still quick and make enough for leftovers.

So here you go. If you have dried pasta, a can of beans, and a can of tomatoes, and garlic, you can make a version of this happen in about 40 minutes. The longer cooking time is because the beans begin to break down and make the sauce creamy. If you make the sauce a day or so ahead, you have an even quicker meal with a creamier sauce. If you come up with a variation you like, please share it in the comments!

simmering bean sauce, photo by j.andrews

Pasta e fagioli
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, cooking grade (generally not extra virgin)
- 1 teaspoon (2 cloves) minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons chopped sweet onion (optional)
- 2-4 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/4-1/2 of a bell pepper chopped finely (optional)
- 1 8 oz. package of white button mushrooms, washed and broken (optional, I guess)
- 1 8 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups of canned tomatoes, diced or roughly chopped, and their juice
- 5-8 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped (optional, but really good in this)
- 1-3 Tablespoons good quality olive oil (the fancier kind you’d use for salad dressing, if you have it)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pasta of your choice (I used Ancient Harvest quinoa and corn shells)
In a large skillet, heat up your first 2 T of olive oil over medium heat. When it is shimmering hot, add the garlic and the onion (if using). Stir frequently.

As those aromatics become translucent, add the celery and bell pepper. Stir to completely coat with oil, then add the mushrooms. You’ve broken instead of chopping the mushrooms because they hold their shape and shrink less, and this gives them more texture. Yes, I suppose these are optional, too, if you really hate mushrooms. I just find that hard to imagine (sorry, Denise).

When the mushrooms are thoroughly wilted (that’s what they will look like), add the beans and the tomatoes, but reserve most of the tomato juice. I just scoop the tomatoes out with a slotted spoon. Stir these in will, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook this for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the tomato juice, and cook another 15-20 minutes. The beans will start to break down, and this gives the “sauce” a great texture — it is very thick and chunky at this stage.

Assuming your pasta takes about 10 minutes, start it now. Cook according to package directions, making sure to reserve some of the water when you drain it for the step below.

At this point, add the spinach to the bean mixture, and cook until all the spinach is wilted. Decide if you want your sauce a bit thinner at this stage. If so, add from 1T to 1/4 cup of your pasta water, adding slowly and stirring until you get the desired consistency. If not, go directly to adding another 1-3 Tablespoons of good quality olive oil (the more you add, the richer it gets, just like hummus), stirring it in thoroughly. Taste your sauce and add salt (if needed) and a bit of fresh ground pepper.

Serve sauce over pasta.

pasta e fagioli, photo by j.andrews
September 9, 2013
Brown Rice “Couscous” Veggie Bowl
Generally those of us with multiple food allergies can rely on very little in the way of packaged or convenience foods. Given that both Denise and I also work full-time, sometimes feeding oneself on a serious time budget becomes, well, problematic. When I still ate wheat, couscous was something I always had on hand because it cooked quickly and was a good neutral base for an easy saute of whatever was in the fridge at the time. I operated on the easy model of “beans, greens, and grain.”

This is a version of that — using a Lundberg brown rice couscous with roasted garlic flavor as the “grain” base for a nice stir fry of Swiss chard from my friend Mary’s garden. Add in a leftover sweet potato and a caramelized Vidalia onion and I had a good dinner with three lunch portions leftover. Add a can of white beans or some leftover meat for a protein boost, serve this as a side dish, or think up your own variation — this is more of a formula than a recipe, really, and one I honestly repeat over and over throughout the year for easy weeknight meals.

Gluten-free Veggie Couscous Bowl

Makes 4 servings
- 1 large Vidalia onion, halved and sliced thin
- 1 Tablespoon some form of fat
- I box Lundberg brown rice couscous
- 1 bunch of Swiss chard, washed, rolled, sliced, and then chopped
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1-3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 sweet potato, cooked
- salt and pepper to taste
Melt shortening/butter/margarine/bacon fat/olive oil in large skillet over medium low heat. When sizzling hot, add onions. Stir thoroughly to coat with oils, and cook low and slow until well-browned, about 45 minutes or so. Stir occasionally.

If you need to cook the sweet potato, throw it in the oven at 375F after washing it and poking vent holes in the skin. I’d personally suggest making more than one and use the leftovers in another dish later in the week.

In a separate stockpot, bring water to a boil as directed on the box of the couscous. When the water is boiling, add the seasonings (if you can have them) and the couscous. Cover, reduce heat, and set the timer — again, basically follow the directions on the box, omitting the seasoning if you cannot have them.

While these things cook, wash and drain the chard leaves. Chop off the stems. Slice these thinly like celery and set aside. Stack the leaves, and then roll them up tightly to slice thinly to create small ribbons of chard. Cut lengthwise along the leaves next, to make the ribbons shorter.

When the onions are finished cooking, remove them from the skillet. Add a tiny amount of olive oil to the fat left in the pan, if needed, and then add the garlic and chard in quick succession. Stir thoroughly, and cook until the chard is fully wilted (4-8 minutes).

In a large serving bowl, mix all ingredients — couscous, chard, sweet potato, and onion. Taste, and then season appropriately with salt and pepper.
August 12, 2013
Pan-fried Haddock
Pan-fried Haddock with Tartar Sauce

My apologies in advance to those of you with fish and shellfish allergies, but I’m from Maine originally, and I love, love seafood. Although I have three confirmed shellfish allergies (crab, scallops, and clams), and one additional positive scratch test in the elimination/challenge confirmation process (lobster, I better not be allergic), I only appear to be anaphylactic with respect to soft-shell crab. I still avoid the other confirmed seafood allergies, because you never know (past reactions don’t predict future reactions) and because the symptoms I do get are bad enough, but I’m stubborn enough to continue eating fish or shellfish that aren’t on my confirmed or positive scratch test list. However, if a medical professional or your symptoms have made it clear that you can’t eat any shellfish or fish, don’t follow my lead because I can be an idiot when it comes to doing what I’m supposed to do for my own personal health, as we’ve previously established on this blog.

With that said, let’s move on to the dish of the day. I’m a shellfish girl primarily, meaning I like(d) crabs, scallops, clams, shrimp, and lobster. For me seafood really doesn’t mean fish, but I don’t mind a good piece of haddock. Haddock has to be cooked right or you get this dried out, tasteless piece of mushy cardboard. Since most of my shellfish favs are off limits these days, and the only way I can have haddock cooked at a restaurant is broiled with some lemon (since I’m allergic to dairy, wheat, and eggs) which tends to result in cardboard, I started buying some and cooking it at home. Haddock is also a standard offering in most fish departments in New England grocery stores.

Haddock can be a tricky thing to cook because it’s really easy to overcook, and over-cooked haddock is, as stated above, a dried-out piece of mushy cardboard. I’ll do my best to explain, but it’s sort of a continuing learning process/practice makes perfect kind of thing.

Pan-Fried Haddock

Serves 4 adults
- 2 pounds of fresh haddock (you can get previously frozen, but it won’t stay together as well and may fall apart as you’re frying it)
- 1 cup of whole grain gluten-free flour mix (see recipe below or use what you like that you have already, or if you can have wheat this works with all-purpose flour as well, as I used to make this before the wheat thing)
- spice mixture for flour (see below)
- 2 Tablespoons of canola oil (or other oil safe for you and suitable for frying)
- Canola oil (or other oil safe for you and suitable for frying), enough to fill the bottom of your skillet to the depth of a quarter of an inch
Whole Grain Gluten-Free Flour Mix

This makes several cups of a whole grain gluten-free flour mix, but you only need a cup for this recipe. If you want, save it for another use, or cut back the amounts proportionately so that you make less. Place the following ingredients in a large bowl and whisk them together thoroughly. Take out one cup for the recipe, and put the rest into an airtight container to store to use for anything that calls for gluten-free flour.
- 100 grams of millet flour
- 125 grams of white sorghum flour
- 125 grams of oat flour
- 75 grams of sweet or glutinous rice flour
- 75 grams of tapioca starch
Spice Mixture for flour

Mix the following ingredients in a little bowl:
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground chipotle pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon of rosemary (you might want to crunch it up into smaller pieces)
- 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon of garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon of thyme
Spice Mixture for Flour

Take a large gallon ziploc bag, or a large bowl and mix the cup of whole grain gluten free flour and the spice mixture together. I use a ziploc bag because I can just seal and shake after putting the fish in it without having to handle the fish (I use tongs) or get my hands all covered in flour. Put the bag or the bowl aside for now.

Put your skillet on the burned and pour enough oil in it so that there is about a quarter of an inch of oil in the bottom. If you use a thick pan like my cast iron skillet and it’ll take a while to heat up, turn the heat on now to medium (about 5 or 6 on the dial).

Take your haddock fillets, and cut them into pieces about 3-4 inches long. I find that pan-frying a whole fillet is messy, somewhat dangerous (think splashing oil), and doesn’t work well because of the variable thicknesses of the fillet, resulting in either under-cooked fish in some parts or overcooked fish in others. I choose where to cut based on the thickness trying to get pieces that are a consistent thickness. Then I can fry the thinner pieces for less time and the thicker pieces longer so that hopefully nothing gets overcooked.

Place your haddock pieces in a large bowl with the 2 Tablespoons of oil and toss them carefully to coat the haddock pieces with oil.

You can test your oil to see if it’s hot enough by taking a tiny piece of the fish and putting it in the oil to see if it bubbles and sizzles (see the picture below for bubbling and sizzling around the edges of the fish). If your oil is hot and ready to fry, take 3 pieces of the haddock, and put them in the ziploc, and shake it to coat the pieces. (Or put them in the bowl if that’s what you’re using and cover them with flour.) Take the pieces and shake off the excess flour (I use tongs) and place the pieces of fish in the skillet.

Haddock pieces frying in skillet

You should fry them, turning them once, until they are golden brown on each side, and so that the fish is just barely opaque, like this:

Haddock after frying

It should no longer be translucent, but it should not be a bright solid white either, and the haddock should just flake away in layers at a touch as shown above. If it’s overcooked, it won’t do that, it’ll be stiff at the touch and you’ll have to put effort into breaking off pieces with a fork. I’d tell you how many minutes per side, but that’s dependent on how thick your haddock piece is, so I can’t really do that. So again, it’s a practice makes perfect thing. Once the pieces are cooked, put them on a plate or cookie sheet lined with paper towels (this works best, I used paper lunch bags in the photo because I was out of paper towels), and let the oil drain off. (Also, you can take a tip from Alton Brown, as offered by Mary Kate, and put a cookie rack upside down on the paper towels, because it keeps the food off of the oil-soaked paper towels but it still drains the oil. I’ll definitely try this next time.)

Once all your haddock is fried, you can serve it with a little tartar sauce, which I make by mixing some Earth Balance Mindful Mayo, some relish, and a couple of drops of hot sauce. Enjoy!

Pan-fried Haddock with Tartar Sauce
August 5, 2013
Taco Beef for Tacos, Salads, and Nachos
Taco Beef used in a Taco Salad

So I was going totally nutty because I’ve not been eating much except rice, salad, steamed or roasted vegetables and broiled beef and pork during this whole food elimination torture thing. I’m not good at eating the same thing all the time. And I love spice. I wanted something different to eat. Something that had taste! So I was dubbing around my Pinterest boards and realized that I could make homemade taco seasoning and leave out any onion powder (still waiting to challenge onions to see if I am truly allergic to them). I double checked my chili powder to make sure it didn’t have any onion and I went to town. I made up a large batch of it so I could use it again easily, and you’ll see me use it to make a quick salsa in a couple of weeks.

First, we have to make up the taco seasoning:

Taco Seasoning – Onion Free Version (for a version with onion, see a recipe here)
- 1/4 cup and 1 Tablespoon of chili powder (I used Hot Chili Powder from Penzey’s, has no onion)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of oregano
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of paprika
- 1/8 cup and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cumin
- 1/8 cup of salt (less or more to your taste)
- 1/8 cup of finely ground pepper
Mix the ingredients in a bowl and store in a glass jar.

Taco Seasoning saved in re-purposed Earth Balance Mindful Mayo Jar

Taco Beef
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 2-3 Tablespoons of Taco Seasoning
Brown one pound of ground beef in a skillet. Drain off any excess fat. Mix 2 to 3 Tablespoons of Taco Seasoning and 1/2 cup of water into the ground beef until it’s well combined, and then simmer it over medium heat until there is little liquid left in the skillet.

Taco Meat simmering in skillet

You can now use your taco meat for tacos, nachos, or salads. Enjoy!
July 8, 2013
Red Lentil Dal Burger
Red Lentil Dal Burger

I LOVE dal. It’s almost a perfect food — cheap, easy to make, adaptable, tasty… But it can be difficult, like so many other things, to order out at a restaurant with allergies. Dal is one of those dishes that seems to have a thousand and one “family recipes” so you never know what you might encounter when you order it out, though ghee is the most common questionable ingredient, cream is sometimes used.

The real question is why it took so long for me to learn to make my own.

When we were talking veggie burgers that would be grillable, this was the one of the first things that came to mind. It would be different from your standard Boca (which is soy-based), but wouldn’t even attempt to be like a meat burger. Flavor would be the key. In this case, rather than even attempt to interpret multiple recipes and see what might sound good, I went on instinct, with flavors I knew I liked that I thought would stand up to grilling in a patty shape. The mustard seeds and the chia seeds add a nice bit of texture and crunch, but the key is the counter-intuitive practice of blooming the spices in hot oil and adding them to the beans at the end of cooking.

You will need to cool down the dal and then briefly (an hour or so) refrigerate the burgers, so plan ahead or make these the day before.

Lentil Burgers with Authentic Grill Marks

Red Lentil Dal Burgers

In medium saucepan, mix:
- 1 cup red lentils, washed and sorted
- 3 cups water
Bring to boil and simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils no longer retain structural integrity. Remove from heat.

Spice mix to add to dal:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
- 1/2 cup finely minced onion
- 3/4 t salt
- 2 Tablespoons microplaned ginger
- 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced cilantro
Heat a small skillet over medium low heat until hot. Add the oil. Let it heat up a minute, until it shimmers. Add the mustard AND COVER THE PAN (ask me how I know this). When the mustard seeds have popped some, quickly add the onion and cover for another 30 seconds or so. Otherwise, you will be finding popped mustard seeds when you move out. When the onion is nicely browned, add the rest of the spices and cook until the garlic is fragrant and cooked, stirring very frequently so as not to burn anything.

Add the spice mix to the lentils along with
- 2 Tablespoons chia seeds, whole (use maybe 1-1/4 T if ground, but you’ll miss the crunch in here)
Mix well and then taste — adjust the seasonings (particularly salt) if necessary.

Chill this mixture until completely cool, and then use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to make patties — keep these no larger than, say, an average coffee mug’s opening, and they will stay together even on a regular grill — go bigger at your own risk.

These are fully cooked, so just singe and warm them on the grill, and serve with lime wedges. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a bun, but if you need one, maybe check out the not pitas I originally made to go with them.

Summer perfection — the veggie burger
June 24, 2013
Hot Italian Sausage Burgers with Peppers and Onions
Hot Italian Sausage Burger with Peppers and Onions

As we’ve previously discussed, since it’s summer, we need things to grill outside, which means burgers. I made this burger because buying Italian sausage can be a tricky thing now. Sometimes I can get some that’s allergy free and sometimes I can’t. Also, I developed this recipe before the positive result on the allergy scratch test for onions, but since I’m still hoping the challenge will show I’m not really allergic to onions, and since many of you will still be able to enjoy it, here you go.

Hot Italian Sausage Burgers with Peppers and Onions
- 1 pound of ground pork (make sure your pork is not too lean or your burgers may be dry, if it is too lean, see the optional step below)
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
- 1 Tablespoon of red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon of anise seed
- 1/4 teaspoon of fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons of canola oil (you will use an additional teaspoon if you choose the optional step below)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 vidalia onion (or regular yellow onion is fine too)
Place the ground pork into a large bowl. Sprinkle salt, garlic salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne over pork. Pour red wine vinegar over the pork.

Take anise seed, fennel, and red pepper flakes and grind in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder or mortar and pestle). Take ground spice mixture and mix with oil in a small container. Pour spice and oil mix over pork, scraping down container to make sure it ends up in pork.

[OPTIONAL: Take a quarter to a half of the red bell pepper, green bell pepper and the vidalia onion (depending on the size of the onions and peppers, you don’t want to use so much that the burgers won’t hold together) and clean and chop them finely. Saute them in teaspoon of canola oil until the peppers are softer and the onions are just barely translucent. Remove them from heat and let them cool. To hurry this process along, feel free to put them in the freezer for a few minutes until they are cool. When they are, add them to the pork.]

Mix everything into the ground pork until well blended. The only way to do this really is with your hands. Think meatloaf. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours so the flavors can blend.

On the day you intend to grill the burgers, clean and de-seed the bell peppers and cut them into slices. Peel the onion, and slice it into slices.

Sliced Onions

Sliced Peppers

Wrap them up into a sealed foil packet. Cook them on the grill in the foil packet over indirect heat. (If you want to make this and you don’t have access to a grill, you could also do them in your oven. Preheat the oven to 4ooºF and place the packet on a cookie sheet. Check them after twenty minutes to see if they’re sufficiently cooked. You may need to let them go a little longer, so craft your foil packet so it’s easy to get open and seal back up. And be careful not to burn yourself with escaping steam.)

Cooked Peppers and Onions

Grill the burgers, making sure the pork is sufficiently cooked. (Or fry them in a pan if your’re cooking inside.)

Grilled Hot Italian Sausage Burgers

Serve with buns that are safe for your food restrictions, and the cooked onions and peppers on top. Enjoy!

Hot Italian Sausage Burger with Peppers and Onions
June 17, 2013
Tandoori Chicken Burgers
Tandoori Chicken Burger

Hey, it’s our second burger post! I really hope you’re finding some options or getting some ideas about what to bring to barbeques this summer — or what to serve at your own.

For some reason when Denise and I were discussing burgers, I was somewhat fixated on Indian spices. I love Indian food, but there are so many allergen pitfalls when ordering out that I’m finding it easier to make my own at home — and easier now that I can run some of my cooking choices by my Indian neighbor. He approved the spice mix I’m going to give you below, so it must be good, right?

You can buy tandoori spices. Tandoori chicken is a reasonably classic Indian dish, named for the clay oven in which chicken is baked after being marinated in yogurt and spices. By briefly marinating and then grinding the chicken, adding some cashew nuts for creaminess, we can skip the yogurt part, and in this case, a grill stands in for the fancy pointy-topped oven. By making your own spice, you can more carefully control the flavor of the burger, but if you’re not up to it, not interested, or in any way disinclined, seek it out pre-blended.

Mmmm, burger

Tandoori Chicken Burgers

Tandoori Spice — makes enough for 2-3 recipes of burgers
- 1 Tablespoon ground fenugreek
- 1 Tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1-1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika (regular, not smoked)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (you can buy this ground, but it’s worth it to grind your own)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon cayenne, depending on your desire for heat, as well as spice
For Burgers:
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup cashew pieces
- zest of one lime (organic if you can get it)
- 2- 3 Tablespoons tandoori spice
- lime wedges, for serving
First, marinate chicken thighs in the citrus juice and vinegar for about 30 minutes — if the marinade doesn’t quite cover the chicken, add water to cover.

Lay the chicken out on paper towels to drain and dry.

In your food processor, grind the cashews to a fine consistency. I find that I need to pulse my food processor, as just turning it on tends to make nut butter instead. Remove the nuts to a mixing bowl.

Grind the chicken in the food processor, then add it to the mixing bowl.

Add the lime zest and seasoning, and mix all the ingredients well. You can try using a spoon, but you really need to mix with your hands to get everything well-incorporated. Mix until you think it’s well-blended, then mix a little more. A note on the seasoning range — if you’re a lover of Indian food, or spices, or both, go all in with the 3 T measurement. If your company is a little more mixed (children, unadventurous eaters) ease them into the fun with the lower amount of spice.

Now shape the patties and lay them out on a parchment or plastic wrap covered platter and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. This recipe should make 4 regular burgers or 8 slider-sized burgers.

Grill until the interior temperature of the burger reaches approximately 160F. Serve with sliced cucumbers on a bun of your choice.

mmmm… spicy burger goodness
May 20, 2013