
Stuffed Zucchini with Goat Cheese & Herbs

Creative paleo and gluten-free recipes
By Becky 4 Comments
By Becky 2 Comments
By Becky 2 Comments
By Becky 8 Comments
Have you ever made zoodles? If you get yourself a julienne peeler, you can be making zucchini into low-carb noodle stand-ins in no time. It’s actually really good. You may not be able to fool people into thinking they are eating actual spaghetti, but I don’t think anyone will be complaining.
By Becky 17 Comments
By Becky 2 Comments
I made you a whole dinner! This is one of my favorite things to make for my boyfriend–he loves it. You can also make it with scallops instead of shrimp. The shrimp or scallops broil wrapped in bacon, which makes them almost impossible to overcook, and they don’t need any other seasonings! So simple and so delicious. You only need five ingredients (salt and pepper don’t count)!
If you’ve never tried rutabagas (also known as yellow turnips), I highly recommend them. This creamy rutabaga is a healthier, more flavorful version of mashed potatoes. You’re going to love it! It’s adapted from Ina Garten, and you should check out her version, because it has an amazing crispy shallot topping. I usually make the crispy shallots, but they take a while and today I was in a bit of a hurry.
I served the shrimp right on top of the creamy rutabaga, with a simple salad on the side. I plumped some raisins, toasted some pecans, and tossed them with baby arugula, olive oil, balsamic, and a little salt. The perfect summer dinner!
Ingredients (serves 2-3):
For the bacon-wrapped shrimp:
1/2 pound shrimp (I used 31-40 count per lb), peeled, tails on (or use sea scallops)
8 or so slices of bacon (you need one slice of bacon for every two shrimp or every one or two scallops)
Toothpicks
For the creamy rutabaga:
2 rutabagas
3/4 cup whole milk, heavy cream, or coconut milk
3 tablespoons butter, ghee, or olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
To prepare the rutabagas, trim and peel them and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Put them in a saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 35 minutes (they should feel tender like cooked potatoes when pierced with a fork). Drain them, and put them in a food processor with the milk, butter, and some salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Taste seasonings and adjust as necessary.
To make the shrimp, preheat the broiler and lightly grease a baking sheet. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it is starting to brown but still very undercooked. Drain on paper towels.
When the bacon is cool enough to handle, cut each piece in half lengthwise. Wrap each shrimp with half a piece of bacon, using a toothpick to secure the ends. If you are using large scallops, you can wrap each one in a whole piece of bacon. Place the bacon wrapped shrimp on the baking sheet.
Broil for about 3 minutes, then flip the shrimp over and broil for another 3 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and the shrimp are fully opaque. Scallops may need an additional minute or two if they are large. Serve hot.
There are lots of Vietnamese stores and restaurants in my neighborhood. On lazy days I do all my shopping at Truong Thinh, the Vietnamese market around the corner, and pick up a banh mi for lunch. One of my favorite places to eat is Pho Hoa, where I love to order the House Special Vermicelli Plate (number 90 in case you’re going–Pho Hoa is a chain and there might be one near you!). It comes with a bunch of delicious things, and rice paper wraps so you can make your own spring rolls. The first time I ordered it, the waiter brought the rice paper wraps first and Ben and I tried to take a bite of them. No dice. They are dry like paper until you soak them in hot water. Oops.
Anyway, the house special plate comes with those wraps (and a big bowl of hot water to soften them) and vermicelli, herbs and vegetables topped with grilled pork, meatballs, a spring roll, and shrimp & sugarcane. It also comes with fish sauce on the side. It’s SO good, and the grilled pork is my favorite. I don’t know what they do to it.
This dish is my attempt to recreate that dinner at home. I have to tell you, it’s really good, but it’s not QUITE the same flavor I get at the restaurant. You should still make it, though. It’s super yummy and healthy and beautiful (and lots of fun to photograph, if you’re into that). It has a lot of components, but almost all of them can easily be made in advance. When it’s time to eat, just cook the pork and put together your bowl!
By Becky 8 Comments
For my birthday, we went to dinner at Solea, a fabulous tapas restaurant in Waltham. If you live in the Boston area and haven’t been, you need to try it! It’s one of my absolute favorite restaurants.
Ben, my mom, and I ordered six tapas to share. We got sizzling garlic shrimp, scallops in saffron cream, lamb meatballs in truffle cream sauce, greens sauteed with pine nuts and raisins, and baked goat cheese. Everything was amazing. I ordered a blood orange sidecar to drink, which was delicious, and we started out snacking on a really good chickpea-porcini mushroom spread (my take on that coming soon). The whole meal was great and I highly recommend everything we ordered.
I decided the sizzling garlic shrimp would be fun to recreate at home. At Solea they serve them still bubbling in a small cazuela. You could achieve the same effect by putting the shrimp into ramekins and sticking them under the broiler for a couple of minutes before serving. If you try that, don’t cook the shrimp all the way on the stovetop since they’ll finish cooking under the broiler.
Looking for more delicious and easy paleo shrimp recipes? Try these, which can all be made in 30 minutes or less: curry butter shrimp, pesto shrimp bake with squash and tomatoes, or roasted shrimp and asparagus with green goddess dressing. It could not be easier or quicker to make gambas al ajillo at home! These sizzling garlic shrimp make an ideal paleo appetizer. With such a short and simple ingredients list and such delicious results, there's no reason not to try it!
Gambas al Ajillo--Sizzling Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
Instructions
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By Becky 7 Comments
Ingredients for the fritters:
1 1/2 cups leftover lentils (from above recipe, or any well-cooked red lentils)
1 cups frozen corn kernels (no need to defrost)
3 scallions, sliced
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup masarepa
Sea salt
1 cup hot water
Canola oil or olive oil for cooking
Lime wedges for serving
In a large bowl, mix the leftover lentils, corn, scallions, cilantro, masarepa, and a pinch or two of salt. Add the hot water and stir to combine. Let sit for five minutes.
Meanwhile, heat about 1/8 inch of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough, a droplet of water should bounce and skitter across the skillet.
Using your hands, make balls of dough a little larger than golf balls and flatten them slightly to form patties. Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Be gentle when you flip them–you’ll lose a few pieces of corn, but that’s okay.
Drain on paper towels. Serve hot, with sea salt sprinkled on top and lime wedges for squeezing over.
Extra uncooked fritter mixture can be kept for up to three days in the refrigerator.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase on Amazon after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission (the price you pay is not affected). Thank you so much for supporting my site!
By Becky 2 Comments
I LOVE curry made with coconut milk. It’s the most delicious thing ever. But, I am not the biggest fan of rice. I mean, rice is fine, but for me it’s nothing to write home about.
But, noodles? Noodles are my jam. All kinds of noodles. Italian noodles, Asian noodles…where are the noodles in Indian and Mexican cuisines? Big problem. Someone get on that quick.
Anyway, whenever I see noodles, I’m interested. Even in places where noodles might not seem to belong–bring on the noodles! One of my favorite Thai restaurants has a dish called Noodle Curry, which is a delicious yellow curry served over udon noodles. Genius! Curry and noodles are a match made in heaven. Watch out, rice. You ain’t got nothing on noodles.
Ingredients (adapted from The Little Foodie):
1 pound rice noodles
1/3 cup coconut cream (scrape off the top of a can of coconut milk that has not been shaken)
3 tablespoons red curry paste
2 Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 tablespoons fish sauce (omit for a vegan or vegetarian dish–you may need to add some salt)
1 can coconut milk (Not the same can you scraped the cream off of! We need a lot of coconut love here. Save the other can for smoothies!)
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 pound snow peas
Sliced scallions and chopped fresh cilantro for serving
Boil water and cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
Heat the coconut cream in a skillet over medium-high heat. When it bubbles, add the curry paste and stir to mix. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes.
Add the pepper and onion and mix well. Cook for five more minutes. Add the garlic, fish sauce, coconut milk, brown sugar, and snow peas. Cover the pot, and turn the heat down so the mixture simmers. Cook for about five more minutes, or until the snow peas are cooked but still crunchy and bright green.
Serve noodles in a bowl with vegetables and curry spooned on top. Garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro and serve hot.
By Becky 7 Comments
All text and photographs (c) Rebecca Winkler 2013-2020 unless otherwise noted.