cilantro Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Vietnamese Caramelized Alaska Salmon

May 15, 2020 By Becky 4 Comments

This post is sponsored by Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. I’m thrilled to be partnering with ASMI to share a series of delicious recipes highlighting sustainable, wild-caught seafood from Alaska.

This Vietnamese caramelized Alaska salmon with vermicelli, quick-pickled carrots and cucumbers, cashews, and nuoc cham is a satisfying and flavorful dinner that’s easy to throw together on a summer evening.

Raise your hand if you love a good vermicelli bowl! They’ve been a favorite of mine for years. When my husband Ben and I lived in Boston, our apartment was in a Vietnamese neighborhood in Dorchester, with several great restaurants and grocery stores. My go-to order was a vermicelli plate with shrimp and pork, carrots, cucumber, fresh herbs, and nuoc cham dipping sauce.

Sheet Pan Baked Eggs with Sweet Potatoes, Kale, & Cilantro-Pepita Pesto

January 29, 2018 By Becky 14 Comments

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These sheet pan baked eggs with sweet potatoes, kale, and cilantro-pepita pesto are packed with flavor and nutrition, but free of gluten, grains, dairy, and nuts!

Hello, happy Monday, and welcome to breakfast week! It’s nothing formal, but I have several scrumptious breakfast ideas coming up that I’m so excited to share with you, starting with these sheet pan baked eggs with sweet potatoes, kale, and cilantro-pepita pesto. This recipe is something I make versions of for myself all the time for quick breakfasts and lunches, because the combination of roasted sweet potatoes, crispy kale, and runny yolks is pretty much irresistible.

Carnitas con huevo

April 24, 2017 By Becky 40 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Try carnitas con huevo–crispy slow-cooked pork with fried eggs–for a hearty and irresistible paleo breakfast. There’s avocado crema involved, too!

I’m sorry for the silence here last week! I hadn’t planned on taking a week off from sharing recipes, but suddenly Easter and several deadlines for freelance work and a few other things snuck up on me. I’m back, though, with one of my favorite breakfasts of all time: carnitas con huevo (slow-cooked, crispy pork with an egg on top) with avocado crema.

If you’ve by any chance been reading since I started this site in 2013, you may recognize this recipe as one I posted back then during my first attempt at a Whole30. It was long overdue for a reshoot, though. Just for fun, I’ve included one of the original photos below right before the recipe card. I’m constantly working on improving my food photography and styling, but looking back on photos from a few years ago makes me feel really good about how far I’ve come already.

Curry Butter Shrimp

August 19, 2015 By Becky 34 Comments

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Curry Butter Shrimp | acalculatedwhisk.com

An easy and flavorful meal made from pantry staples, curry butter shrimp

takes ten minutes to make and is gluten-free and paleo-friendly.

I’ve kind of been boycotting grocery stores. Weekend before last I went to Florida for a wedding, and since getting back I have not set foot in one. I finished up my last week of my last internship for graduate school this past Friday, we’re getting ready to move down to Chattanooga this coming weekend, and I’m exhausted. Ben has been kind enough to pick up essentials like coffee, eggs, fruit, and bacon for us, but the eggs ran out yesterday.

What’s a girl to do without any eggs for breakfast and with a long day of packing ahead of her? The answer is definitely not grocery shopping. The answer is curry butter shrimp! Yes, I ate this at ten in the morning. No, I have no regrets. #dinnerforbreakfast may not be mainstream yet, but just you wait and see!

I didn’t do a 30 Minute Mondays post yesterday because I wanted to announce my cookbook (Paleo Planet is available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and indie bookstores near you!). This is even better, though, because this is like 10 Minute Wednesday–not as alliterative, but much faster. Not counting the rice or cauliflower rice, this meal comes together in just ten minutes. (And, true confession, I didn’t even make this rice. It’s left over from the Indian food we ordered last night.)

Curry butter shrimp is a flavorful pantry recipe that requires almost no chopping (except for the cilantro–but if you’re really anti-chop you could just break that up into little sprigs). Melted butter or ghee is mixed with Thai curry paste to form a fragrant sauce for cooking the shrimp. A tiny bit of maple syrup and fish sauce add just enough sweetness and umami to complement the rich butter and spicy curry.

Announcing Paleo Planet + Marinated Skirt Steak with Cilantro-Lime Ghee

August 17, 2015 By Becky 21 Comments

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Announcing Paleo Planet + Marinated Skirt Steak with Cilantro-Lime Ghee | acalculatedwhisk.com

Big news! I wrote a cookbook!

Paleo Planet is available for pre-order now and comes out on November 3rd, 2015. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound or read more about it on the Harvard Common Press site.

The book has over 125 paleo recipes inspired by cuisines from around the world, all made without gluten, grains, refined sugar, legumes, soy, or dairy (with the exception of ghee). There are plenty of main dishes made with poultry, beef, pork, lamb, and seafood, as well as chapters for appetizers, vegetable sides, spice blends and other pantry staples, and of course, desserts. Every single recipe has a color photo taken by me!

Writing this cookbook was a ton of work, but I’ve never eaten better than I did while working on it! It was so much fun researching dishes from different cuisines and adapting them to fit the paleo lifestyle. Some of the recipes in the book are traditional foods from a certain country, while others are more fusion recipes. Still others just incorporate exotic flavors into an old classic or provide a fresh twist on a well-loved recipe.

Roasted Shrimp and Asparagus with Green Goddess Dressing

June 29, 2015 By Becky 10 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Roasted Shrimp & Asparagus with Green Goddess Dressing (Paleo) | acalculatedwhisk.com #30minuteMondays

Succulent roasted shrimp and asparagus are served with a tangy garlic scape green goddess dressing for an easy, 30-minute paleo dinner that’s also Whole30-compliant.

I’m kind of mad at myself because I missed the boat on ramps this year. At the photography workshop I went to in May we ate them at almost every meal (there’s a picture of them in this post), and when I got home I vowed to track some down so I could cook with them myself for the first time. However, I’m a lazy late-evening grocery shopper and there were never any ramps left. Before long, their short season had ended.

You’ll be relieved to hear that I am NOT missing out on garlic scapes.

While ramps are their own kind of plant and are usually foraged wild (hence their limited availability), garlic scapes are the flowering stalks of garlic plants that farmers cut off so the plant’s energy can be fully devoted to the bulb forming below. Garlic scapes are cool looking (see evidence above) and I like their name: it sounds like they’ve been trying to escape from the head of garlic, which is pretty much what they actually do.

Garlic scapes are milder than regular garlic with some fresher, grassier notes to their flavor–kind of like a cross between garlic, scallions, and chives. Here I used them to make a green goddess dressing with some fresh herbs and Primal Kitchen’s avocado oil mayo, which I just tried for the first time. I’m not a mayo person at all so I don’t foresee myself ever eating it straight up, but once some other flavors are mixed in to create a dressing or aioli, I can usually hop on board. (If you haven’t seen garlic scapes at your local market, don’t worry. You can substitute scallions and a clove of regular old garlic.)

Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Meatball “Vermicelli” Bowls

February 23, 2015 By Becky 42 Comments

These caramelized pork meatball “vermicelli” bowls are made with paleo-friendly caramel and spaghetti squash instead of noodles.

My favorite thing to order at our local Vietnamese restaurant is bún chả, a bowl of vermicelli topped with pickled vegetables, peanuts, and grilled sliced pork or pork meatballs, served with a generous bowl of nước chấm (sweet fish sauce) on the side. This caramelized pork meatball “vermicelli” bowl is a paleo version that hits all the right notes without refined sugar, legumes, or actual vermicelli–the noodles are spaghetti squash instead!

I’m not always a fan of swapping spaghetti squash for regular noodles, but it really works in this dish. There are so many flavors and textures intermingling that the squash flies almost completely under the radar.

The star of this bowl is the caramelized pork meatballs, which are by far the best meatballs I’ve ever made. Last time I attempted Vietnamese pork it was delicious, but nowhere near as good as what I’ve had in restaurants. I wasn’t sure how to get that unique flavor–the one that’s at once almost too sweet and almost too savory, but actually just perfect. Then, while doing a little online research, I came across this recipe from Saveur, which involved a very surprising step.

I never would have tried the technique advised in the recipe if it hadn’t come from such a trusted source, because it sounds totally ridiculous. Luckily enough for me and you, though, I did try it, and it was just the ticket. Buckle your seat belts, folks, because we are going to MAKE CARAMEL and put it in the meatballs.

Yup.

THAT is what I mean by “caramelized”.

Kratiem Prik Thai Short Ribs with Quick-Pickled Carrots

November 10, 2014 By Becky 8 Comments

Wintry weather has already made an appearance in Boston; we had our first snow, albeit a small one, last weekend. I hate being cold outside and abhor feeling cold indoors even more, but I also, like a true New Englander, am always reluctant to turn on the heat.

My best solution for cold days at home is to have something in the oven pretty much at all times. And since I can’t always be making and eating desserts, my favorite thing to do is braise meat or chicken. The cooking time is nice and long, so it will really warm up your house (or at least your kitchen). The bonus effect of this heating strategy is that you will also be really well fed.

Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken

July 28, 2014 By Becky 39 Comments

This paleo cilantro lime chicken is easy to make and great right off the grill, on top of salads, or alongside roasted vegetables.

Do you like cilantro? It’s my favorite herb by far, and I love it because it’s capable of totally perking up almost any food, both in flavor and appearance. If you’re a cilantro hater, though, you’re definitely not alone. According to The New York Times, many people’s aversion to cilantro may be due to the fragrance of certain substances in the herb that are also found in soap and bugs. (Make sure to read through until the end of the article, when the author describes how he converted himself into a cilantro lover. Here’s one hint: this recipe of mine might be a good place to start.)

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned the blog Angels Homestead. It’s written by April, a mom, homesteader, and frugal cooking expert who was the owner of the SRC for several years. April recently began cooking without grains for health reasons, and you can read a bit about her story here. Everything I make is grain free, so I was excited to find many recipes on April’s site that fit my dietary requirements. I was also excited to find several recipes featuring cilantro, my go-to herb. I can only assume that April must be a fellow cilantro fan!

Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Cilantro Pesto

February 21, 2014 By Becky 11 Comments

Do you like to read “day in the life” posts? I loved this one on What’s Gaby Cooking (the first food blog I ever read!), saw this one recently on How Sweet It Is, and was inspired to write my own. I think it’s fun to get a peek into someone’s daily routine. Of course, if you don’t, you can just scroll down for the recipe.

If you’re still with me, here’s the story of my Thursday!

I woke up late, around 9:30. Since Ben works from home on Thursdays, he had made coffee. I had mine with vanilla chai spiced ghee and a splash of cream, blitzed with my immersion blender.

In the kitchen, I briefly contemplated abandoning my cauliflower plans since I wasn’t sure I had time to cook and photograph everything before class at noon, but I decided to go for it. I had a gorgeous orange cauliflower from Whole Foods, so I had to take a few shots of it before chopping it up.

Moroccan Beef with Apricots & Dates + Simple Cauliflower Mash (Whole30 Day 22)

January 22, 2014 By Becky 9 Comments

It’s Day 22 of my Whole30! I can’t believe it’s been over three weeks. This month really is flying by. I have more energy, more even moods, and while I still get hungry, I no longer want to kill all the things when my stomach starts rumbling. Also, my pants are looser and I’m recovering more quickly from my workouts, with much less soreness.

Yesterday, a big snowstorm came to town. After traipsing home from the train station in the snow, I made this Moroccan beef. It’s almost a stew, but I wanted the sauce to be nice and thick so that the beef wasn’t swimming in liquid. The meat is perfectly spiced, and the sweet fruit provides a wonderful counterpoint. The garnishes–toasted almonds and fresh cilantro–are highly recommended. I served this beef over a simple cauliflower mash, but it would also be great with spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice, or even real rice–anything that will soak up the delicious sauce. No matter how you serve it, this dish will comfort and warm you on a cold winter’s night.

Braised Zucchini (Whole30 Day 6)

January 6, 2014 By Becky Leave a Comment

We’re going nose-to-tail with our zucchini today! I saw these charmingly small organic zucchini at Whole Foods, and was inspired to cook them without trimming the ends off, chopping them up, or turning them into noodles. Sometimes, we just have to let zucchini be! It’s a beautiful vegetable, and when it’s browned like this and braised until tender, you can eat the whole entire thing.

This zucchini is slightly spicy thanks to the cumin, paprika, and cayenne, and has just a hint of tang thanks to the sherry vinegar. The vinegar, broth, spices, & shallots form a deliciously rich sauce that you can serve spooned over the zucchini, and/or on top of whatever protein you’re eating with it.

I had this for lunch alongside a pork chop, cooked using the method outlined in this recipe, seasoned with salt and pepper and just a little garlic powder. Bonus: if you decide to make these pork chops, with or without the apple compote, they can cook in the oven alongside the zucchini, and everything will be ready at the same time.