Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook: A Seasonal, Vegetarian Cookbook (19 page)

This pesto is thick, green, and so delicious that I guarantee you won’t miss the cheese. Of course it’s perfect on pasta, but also try it as a dip, spread, or tossed with hot cooked grains and vegetables.

Makes about 1 cup

1 cup walnuts

4 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves

5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons umeboshi vinegar

Put the walnuts in a food processor and grind to a
coarse meal
. Add the basil, garlic, oil, and umeboshi vinegar and blend until almost smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.

Variation

Substitute pine nuts for the walnuts, or use a combination of sunflower seeds and walnuts.

Hempseeds and hempseed oil are not only delicious, they’re also nutritious, thanks to their generous quantities of healthful omega-3s. You can substitute the more traditional pine nuts and olive oil if you like, but once you taste this version it may become a staple in your summer menu. I like to use Grace cheese in this recipe (and in many others) because it’s a locally produced artisanal cheese made with milk from grass-fed cows. Hopefully you can find something similar in your area, but any good Parmesan or Romano would work well here. Toss this thick pesto with warm pasta, or scoop it up with cucumbers and carrots, spread it on tomatoes, or use it as a topping on a zucchini and tomato sauté.

Makes about 2 cups

2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (about 8 ounces)

1½ cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves

½ cup hempseeds, rinsed

¼ cup hempseed oil

2 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon sea salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until almost smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.

Here’s a delicious pesto made with cilantro instead of the traditional basil. It’s great on any type of noodles, but especially delightful on Asian noodles, such as 100% buckwheat soba or bifun, quick-cooking clear angel hair noodles made from rice flour and potato starch. You may be surprised to learn that it’s also a fabulous dip and pizza topping. Spread it on top of a prebaked gluten-free pizza crust and top with sliced bell peppers, olives, and marinated dried tomatoes (see page 171 for a recipe for making your own).

Makes about 2 cups

½ cup raw almonds,
presoaked if you like

½ cup raw sunflower seeds,
presoaked if you like

2½ cups tightly packed cilantro leaves

6 cloves garlic

½ cup water

5 tablespoons umeboshi vinegar

Put the almonds in a food processor and grind to a
coarse meal
. Add the sunflower seeds and continue grinding until they too have a texture like coarse meal. Add the cilantro, garlic, water, and umeboshi vinegar and blend until almost smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.

This sprightly sauce is nice on grains, pasta, or grilled vegetables, and especially good atop
Coconut Jasmine Rice with Goji Berries and Shiitakes
. I recommend an aged brown rice miso here or, my favorite, Dandelion Leek Miso from South River Miso (see Resources). If you’re serving it over pasta, consider 100% buckwheat soba, brown rice spaghetti, or bifun noodles. You could also serve it over rice. It would pair especially well with Madagascar pink rice, basmati, or brown rice.

Makes about 2 cups

2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro

½ cup
cashew butter

2 tablespoons dark miso

¼ cup grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until completely smooth.

Garlic, mint, and chiles are the essence of Thai cooking, and this versatile sauce is an ideal and easy way to bring their fabulous flavors into your cooking. Experiment with the quantities to suit your tastes or your mood. For more fiery heat, increase the amount of cayenne or chile flakes; to tone it down, add more peanut butter or lime juice. Or you can make it thicker or thinner by varying the amount of water. Try this sauce over tofu, hot or cold noodles, cooked grains, or steamed vegetables, or use it as a salad dressing. Garlic scapes (the flowering tops of garlic) give this sauce a wonderful mild garlic flavor, but if they aren’t in season, regular garlic will work just fine.

Makes about 2¼ cups

2 cups cilantro leaves

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice or rice vinegar

½ to 2/3 cup
peanut butter

1 cup water

2 garlic scapes, or 2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon tamari

¼ teaspoon cayenne or dried chile flakes

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor in the order listed and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.

While it’s true that gluten isn’t an issue with cranberry sauce (at least not any versions I know of), commercial versions are ho-hum, and most of the recipes out there have become all too familiar. Here’s an updated version worthy of being served alongside creative, gluten-free dishes like
Savory Stuffed Winter Squash
or
Basmati and Wild Rice Pilaf
. Feel free to substitute other dried fruits for some or all of the dried cherries; as always, goji berries would be an especially nutritious choice. Be sure to zest the oranges before you squeeze them; it’s much harder to do afterward.

Makes about 3 cups

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1½ cups dried pitted cherries

1¼ cups freshly squeezed orange juice

3 tablespoons orange zest

1/3 cup maple syrup

Combine the cranberries, dried cherries, orange juice, and orange zest in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the cranberries are soft. Stir in the maple syrup. Taste and add more maple syrup if desired. Serve warm.

One of the benefits of getting familiar with different ingredients and experimenting with them is that you’ll develop more confidence in making substitutions based on personal preferences and what’s in season. I used to cook for a woman who was allergic to lemons. To her delight (and mine), I found that cumin filled the gap in flavor when I omitted the lemon juice from a typical tahini dressing. Cumin also gives this familiar dressing more of a Middle Eastern flavor. As an added benefit, in Ayurvedic folk medicine cumin seeds are said to be a good remedy for a nervous stomach and digestion.

Makes about 3 cups

3 cloves garlic, or 3 garlic scapes, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cumin

1½ cups parsley leaves or cilantro

1 cup tahini

1 1/3 cups water

2 teaspoons sea salt

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor in the order listed and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.

I love a creamy dressing on salad; don’t you? And this one is dairy free! Make this in July, when the garlic scapes are being cut from the garlic plants to help the bulbs grow bigger. If you don’t have garlic scapes, substitute regular garlic. Either way, this is delicious not just on salads, but also over grains or pasta.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups

2/3 cup water

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup mashed avocado

¾ cup fresh basil leaves

4 garlic scapes, coarsely chopped

¾ teaspoon sea salt

Put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.

Variations

Swap parsley for the basil.

Substitute regular garlic cloves for the garlic scapes.

Fresh herbs make this a great dressing for pasta or green salads. For a great summertime main-dish salad, try it on a pasta and bean salad.

Makes about 1¼ cups

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup balsamic vinegar

1½ cups fresh basil leaves

½ cup fresh oregano leaves

1 tablespoon sea salt

Put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.