Simply Norma

We get the Wall Street Journal (paper edition) and while I was glancing through it I noticed this Lamb Chops with Coconut-Curry Potatoes and Spinach recipe and thought I’d try it. It was delicious, to say the least, and will be one of my regular “go-to” recipes.

I reduced the recipe since there was only going to be two of us eating and also used sweet potatoes instead of new potatoes. The recipe you see below is my adaptation to make sure it’s paleo but almost everything is from the original recipe. I chose to bake instead of the broil the lamb chops also.

These are the spices you’ll be using.

I used small lamb chops that I purchased at Costco. You’ll be marinating them in olive oil, salt and garlic.

For the side dish, these are the main ingredients (besides the spices).

You’ll be adding some olive oil to the bottom of a large pot, then the cumin for about a minute and lastly the sliced onion.  The original recipe calls for thin sliced onions but I thought thicker would be better.

After the onions are soft (takes a few minutes), you’ll be adding the turmeric, mustard seeds, chili powder, coriander and the remaining cayenne pepper and salt then stirring until well combined. Let this cook through for a couple of minutes. Then you’ll be adding the potatoes and water.

After the potatoes are almost cooked through (5-10 minutes depending on your heat setting), you’ll be adding the coconut milk and continuing to cook the potatoes. You don’t want them too soft though as you want to be able to eat them with a fork. Next you’ll be adding the spinach until it’s just wilted.

Ready to try this wonderful recipe?

Ingredients

• 5 lamb chops
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 cups baby spinach

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add the lamb chops with 1/4 cup oil, 1 teaspoon salt and garlic, making sure to coat them thoroughly then set them aside to marinate.
2. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
3. In a large pot (that has a lid), add the remaining oil and heat on medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin and fry about 1 minute.
4. Add the onions and sauté until soft and browned, 8-10 minutes.
5. Stir in the turmeric, mustard seeds, chili powder, coriander, cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt until combined.
6. Fry the spices for about 2 minutes.
7. Add the potatoes and water to the onion mixture then stir, cover and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes (but check every few minutes).
8. At this point, add the marinated lamb chops to a well oiled baking dish or parchment lined cookie sheet and put them in the oven. (They’ll take about 20 minutes to cook through.)
9. After the potatoes are almost tender, stir in the coconut milk, replace cover and cook until potatoes are just fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover and set aside.
10. Once the lamb is cooked through (I use a meat thermometer to make sure they come out perfect for me which is well done and medium for my husband — his normally come out first), remove them from the oven and serve with the Coconut Curry Potatoes and Spinach.

Tasty and delicious.

The chef of this recipe that I found in the Wall Street Journal is Meeru Dhalwala. Very nicely done!

Side note:  Wiki has a really nice site that shows different ways to cook lamb.  Click here to view the site.

(Click here for a list of other paleo friendly recipes.)

I’ve been wanting to eat more fish recently so I searched for a new recipe and found one that is for Spicy Grilled Halibut with Fresh Mango Salsa.  Then I tweaked the recipe a little bit to use more of what I liked although I used the mango salsa just as it was.

And how did it come out? Very good. I had tried tilapia for the first time about a month or so ago and really liked it but I was hoping to find fish that was wild caught in the U.S. Unfortunately, the tilapia I had used before was from Costco, frozen and farm raised in Thailand.

Eventually, I found some dover sole fillets at Trader Joe’s that are U.S. farm raised (close enough).

I didn’t realize that when the fish is cooked, it actually shrinks along with the fact that sole is a delicate fish unlike a beefy salmon. So — this package was enough for two even though initially I thought it was going to make a lot.

I made the mango salsa first. Here’s what you’ll be needing and it makes a LOT of mango salsa but I refrigerated it and used it over omelettes the next day.

The sole will have an herb seasoning that you’ll be making.

After taking the sole out of the package,I defrosted it in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes. Then I patted it dry, put it in a bowl, added the lime juice and seasoning then stirred it carefully so as not to break the sole up (remember, it needs a gentle touch).

I then lined a cookie sheet with olive oil and put the sole on it making sure both sides were covered with the olive oil. Next time, I won’t line the baking sheet with olive oil but will brush the olive oil on both sides of the sole (uses less oil).

After baking the sole on one side, I turned it over. Do you see where it came apart? I didn’t realize how “sensitive” they were until I turned one over.

Alright then — let’s try this recipe.

Ingredients (for the mango salsa)

• 1 cup finely chopped tomato
• 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped mango
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1 lime (juiced)
• Salt (to your taste)
  
• 1 fresh avocado, roughly chopped

Ingredients (for the halibut)

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (the original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Salt (to your taste)
• 1 lime (juiced)
• 1 pack of frozen sole fillets (or more if you want)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ° fahrenheit.
2. Start by preparing the mango salsa.
3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, toss together the tomato, red bell pepper, mango, red onion, cilantro, garlic clove, lime juice, and salt (if using).
4. Add the chopped avocado then cover and place the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the cayenne pepper, paprika, onion powder, ground thyme, black pepper, and salt (if using). Set this aside.
6. Put the sole into a bowl and squeeze the lime juice on top then gently stir.
7. Toss the seasoning mixture on top of the sole and stir gently until all is combined.
8. On a cookie sheet, add a small bit of olive oil — enough so that you can coat both sides of each sole on it.
9. Bake the sole for 10 minutes then remove from the oven, flip the sole over and bake for an additional 10 minutes. (Make sure you keep an eye out on the sole as ovens differ in how they heat).
10. When the sole is cooked, remove from the oven and serve the salsa over it along with your favorite vegetable or salad.

So — here’s what the mango salsa looked like.

And here was our dinner — simple, paleo and tasty.

Bon Appetit!

Special thanks to dairyfreecooking.about.com for the inspiration of this meal.

(Click here for a list of other paleo friendly recipes.)

This homemade recipe can be called Chicken Coconut Stew or Chicken Coconut Soup (if you like chunky soup) and it is totally paleo.

I simply took ingredients that I already had and came up with this tasty soup and even surprised myself (laughing).

I started out with this group items.

And we can’t forget the main ingredient — three chicken breasts.

I cut each chicken breast in three pieces to make it easier to grill on the stovetop in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Once the chicken was cooked, I allowed it to cool on the counter and then cut it into bite size pieces.

I like to have everything chopped and ready to go before I start cooking.

In a large soup pot (I have a Le Creuset Cast Iron Pot that I used), I added two tablespoons of olive oil and put it on medium heat. When the oil was hot, I added the onions, carrots and celery then allowed that to cook through.

Next, I added the mushrooms.  (I am not a mushroom fan but my husband loves them so I cook with them on occasion.)

Then I added spinach and stirred it up. Doesn’t it look pretty?

Lastly I added the basil, chicken broth, cooked chicken and the coconut milk.

Then I waited for the soup to boil.  Since the meat is already cooked, you just need the vegetables to cook through and make sure all the flavors are blended.

I added the coconut milk in slowly — 1/4 cup at a time — until I found the consistency and flavor that was to my liking. At the end, I added a total of 1 cup of coconut milk.

So — here’s the recipe so you can try it.

Ingredients

• 3 carrots, thin slices or chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 chicken breasts, grilled in olive oil and cut up into bite sized pieces
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Prepare all vegetables ahead of time (see above).
2. In a skillet, grill the chicken breasts in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once it’s cooked through, allow to cool on the counter and once cooled slice into bite size pieces.
3. In a large soup pot on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil.
4. When the oil is hot, add the carrots, celery and onions then stir until the onions are clear in color.
5. Add the mushrooms to the pot and stir with the rest of the vegetables.
6. Add the spinach to the pot and stir to combine with the rest of the vegetables.
7. Add the basil, salt, chicken and the chicken broth to the pot and stir.
8. Add the coconut milk a little at a time and stir to combine with the rest of the soup until you get the consistency and taste you want.
9. Allow the soup to boil then bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.

That’s it! This is an easy peasy recipe and you can add whatever vegetables you like.

I served this with paleo Cranberry Orange Muffins.

(Click here for a list of other paleo friendly recipes.)

Here’s a paleo Beef Stew recipe that is truly a keeper. The flavors melded so well together and my palette was truly satisfied.

So … let’s look at the ingredients that are needed, shall we? (I did not include a picture of the salt and pepper.)

After making sure your beef stew meat is cut into bite size pieces, you’ll be drying the meat to make sure it will brown properly.  I laid the meat on a paper towel to let it absorb any excess water.

Then I put another paper towel over the meat to remove the excess water from the top of the meat.

You’ll be using a large pot to brown the meat on one side — make sure not to add two many pieces in the pot so the meat can brown properly.

Next turn the meat over and brown the other side.

Once the meat is browned, place it in a bowl while you prepare the rest of the stew. Let’s grate the onion now …

I grated as far as I could but still had some large pieces left over so I simply chopped the rest of the pieces finely (that way pieces of finger won’t be in our stew — yuck!).

Next you’ll be putting everything in the pot little by little to allow the flavors to meld together.

Once that is complete add the browned stew meat.

This will be simmering and simmering and simmering. Don’t rush this process — really, nice and slow is best.

Okay … so let’s try this wonderfully delicious recipe, shall we?

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless beef stew, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, grated or diced finely
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup blended apple/grape juice
• 1 cup hot water (must be hot)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

1. Place your cut up meat pieces on paper towels and pat them dry.
2. In a large Dutch oven or pot, add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat.
3. When the oil is hot, add enough meat pieces to cover the bottom of the pan (do not overcrowd the pan because the meat will boil rather than brown).
4. When one side of the meat is browned, turn and brown the other side.
5. Remove the browned pieces from the pan, place them in a bowl and set aside.
6. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and sauté on medium heat for about 4 minutes, stirring continuously.
7. Add the ground allspice and cumin then stir continuously for a couple minutes.
8. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste and stir continuously for a couple more minutes.
9. Now, add the browned meat pieces, stir well and add some freshly ground black pepper.
10. Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the grape-apple juice along with the hot water then stir well.
11. Let everything come to a boil then turn the heat down to the lowest setting, put the lid on and let the meat stew for 1 1/2 hours or until it is tender. (I checked and stirred the meat every 15 minutes.)
12. Lastly, season with salt.

And there you have it! It is delicious and well worth the wait.

(Click here for a list of other paleo friendly recipes.)