French Lentil Soup - Gluten Free

Cooler weather causes me to hibernate in my warm kitchen, maybe it's due to a biological need to gather food and build body fat resources to survive the upcoming winter. On the other hand, it could be my need to hide in warm places so that I don't have to wear multiple layers of insulating clothing. Or maybe it's just my excuse to make hearty bone warming food like French Lentil Soup.

French Lentil Soup is an aromatic dish that will have everyone in your house gravitating towards the kitchen. Traditionally built on a base of vegetable broth, lentils and tomatoes, I needed to adjust the ingredients for the nightshade (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers) allergic crew at my house. The recipe I began to work with was from one of my favorite chefs, Alton Brown.

Prior to the advent of allergies and gluten sensitivity, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed lentil soup. Alton's recipe is where I started with my substitution for the tomatoes. I used celeriac in place of the tomatoes. Since I didn't have an onion on hand, I substituted shallots and leeks for the onion.

The French Lentil Soup turned out wonderfully. A soul satisfying medley of vegetables, this soup will have your taste buds demanding for more.

Recipe

4 Tb olive oil
2 medium leeks, whites only chopped
1/2 shallot, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped celeriac
2 tsp sea salt
1 pound french lentils, pricked through and rinsed
2 quarts vegetable broth
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Optional: 1/2 tsp ground grains of paradise*

1. In a 6-quart Dutch oven, dump in the first seven ingredients. Then sweat the vegetables until the shallots are translucent.

2. Pour in the lentils, broth and spices, then bring to a boil. Once it has begun to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, approximately 40 minutes.

3. Serve the soup warm. The next day the soup will have thickened, so add a little vegetable broth to the soup while reheating it.

What did my family think about the French Lentil soup? All of us thought this version of French Lentil soup was a winner. My children liked it so much, they keep asking me to make it again.

* Where can you find grains of paradise? I found mine in the spice area of my local Whole Foods, but you can also buy it from the Spice House.

Chestnut and Celeriac Soup

Rich and hearty soups are staple fare at my home when fall weather arrives. Warming you from the inside out, these types of soups can chase the chill from your body just like a toasty radiator. I'm always looking for ways to stay warm when chilly weather hits and new soups for us to try.

While I was at the vegetable stand, I picked up a celeriac, some parsley roots and sweet potatoes that I thought would be wonderful together in a soup. After looking through my collection of cookbooks, I was inspired by a recipe for sweet potato and celeriac soup in Vegetables: from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider. I used celeriac, parsley root, sweet potatoes, shallots, celery and chestnuts to create a delightful fall soup.

Recipe

2 cups chopped celeriac
1/2 cup chopped parsley root
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped sweet potato
1/2 cup chopped shallot
3/4 cup chopped roasted chestnuts
1 quart vegetable broth
2 1/4 cups water
2 tsp sea salt
dash black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1. In a stock pot, pour in the first ten ingredients. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

2. Puree the soup in a food processor and then return it to the stock pot to keep warm.

3. Add the nutmeg then stir. Garnish with celery leaves and chopped roasted chestnuts.

What did my family think about the soup? My husband and I thought it was delicious. My children didn't really enjoy it, but they said it wasn't too bad. My husband and I enjoyed it for lunch the next day with toasted ham and cheese open faced sandwiches.

Orange Fennel Salad - Gluten Free

I've looked at the fennel in the produce section of Whole Foods for quite some time. I don’t know why I haven’t picked one up to try out, maybe I was held back by my uncertainty of how it would taste. I finally gave in to my curiosity and brought one of the tightly packed bulbs home on my last trip to the market.

The fringy leaves tasted slightly like licorice and the sliced bulb did as well. What could I do with it? I pulled a number of foods out of the refrigerator to do some taste testing with the fennel. Several stand outs were the orange and wasabi mayonnaise. While doing all this taste testing, I realized that the fennel was milder in flavor when combined with other food.

Next, I perused the recipes at Food Network and like some of the flavors that Bobby Flay used in his Grilled Orange Fennel Salad recipe. Continuing my research I found the article “Don’t Forget the Fennel,” by Howard Yoon for National Public Radio. Howard notes that fennel stands well on it’s own, but it’s greatest feature is that it complements other food. Howard is correct, fennel takes on a different role with other food.

I worked up the salad and tried it out. It was flavorful and slightly spicy from the wasabi mayonnaise. A delightfully light salad, my husband and I had this for dinner on a recent summer night when it was too steamy for heavier foods.

Recipe

1 fennel with top
1 cup diced celeriac
1 naval orange, peel & diced
1/2 cup chopped whole almonds
1/3 cup wasabi mayonnaise
1 Tb Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Cut off the ribs and leaves of the fennel bulb. Chop them up and put into a medium sized bowl. Next cut the end off the fennel bulb and slice in half. Cut each half into slender slices and add to the bowl. Peel the naval orange and dice the segments, then place in the bowl. Add the chopped whole almonds, wasabi mayonnaise and the mustard to the bowl. Fold the ingredients together, then add salt and pepper to taste.

What did my family think of the orange fennel salad? My husband and I thought it was delicious. A cool and crispy salad, we thoroughly enjoyed it as a light dinner. Our children didn’t want to try it out. They didn’t care for the slight anise aroma.

Celeriac Confetti Salad - Gluten Free

I found a wonderfully knobby celeriac at our local Whole Foods. A round cream globe etched in brown, the bulb had all the visual appeal of a mud pie. Convinced that it wasn't edible, my son declared that I couldn't pay him enough money to taste it. I replied, "It smells like celery and you like celery." To which he replied with the utmost disgust, "Yeah Mom, but I don't eat foods that look like trolls." The poor abused celeriac, unwanted by my kids, quietly found it's way into our shopping cart when the kids weren't looking. I had plans for my little celeriac bulb.

Celeriac is kin to the celery that's found in grocery stores or local farmer's markets around the country. Grown for it's large bulb, celeriac is a long lasting vegetable that can be stored three months or longer. It has a mild and earthy celery flavor that can be used roasted, in soups or as the layers in a lasagne and deep fried. Best of all it's one of the many foods that are blessedly gluten free.

My plan was to peel the celeriac while the kids were playing together. I had just started peeling the bulb, when my rapidly growing pre-teen son with a nose for food came leaping into the kitchen. "Whatcha' makin' Mom?" he asks. "A nice cool veggie salad with all your favorites," I answered. "What's that thing in your hand then?" he asks. "It's a variety of celery,"I replied. Developing a suspicious look on his face, he asks, "Isn't that the troll food?" Hearing the words troll food, my daughter dances into the kitchen wondering why we're making food for our fairy garden. "This isn't for the fairy garden guys, it's for us," I explain. I obviously wasn't convincing, because off they ran chanting "troll food," "troll food!" Alone once again in the kitchen, I finished preparing the salad. Chuckling as I listened to their laughing and squealing over Mom fixing troll food.

The chia seed that I added to this recipe for not only for their nutrition, but for their gelling properties. The chia gel held the balsamic dressing on the vegetables and not sitting in the bottom of the bowl.

Recipe

half of a large celeriac bulb
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup diced radish
1/2 cup chopped snap peas
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp dill weed, to taste
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp sesame seed
1 tsp chia seed
1 Tb balsamic vinegar
2 Tb grapeseed oil

In a medium sized bowl, plop in all the ingredients and stir. Served chilled.

How did it go over with my kids? Never tried it, they simply couldn't get over the look of the celeriac. How did it go over with my husband and myself? Well...it's pretty tasty. We ate it all that night for dinner. The chia gel did a great job of holding the dressing on all the vegetables. Each bite was covered with spices and dressing which was very nice. We agreed, this recipe is a keeper.