Salad Nicose; A Classic of Summer

This dish is a family favorite in those summer months of ripe tomatoes and hot days that feel too warm for a big heavy meal. This salad is just so delicious when made with fresh summer tomatoes – easily available at farm stands or home gardens. This salad is composed of several vegetables cooked until just barely done, bathed in a simple EVOL vinaigrette and topped with oil packed tuna. Fresh, satisfying and very healthy in that trendy Mediterranean way I keep reading about. This salad is my daughter’s favorite from her teen years; she is 32; I have been making it for decades! My mother loved it too. My guy enjoys it as well. I don’t make it except in summer as the fresh produce is critical to the flavor especially the tomatoes.

First, you start with fresh ripe summer tomatoes, crisp bell peppers, tender zucchini and high-quality small potatoes, preferably red organic ones and the oil packed tuna of your choice. Do not make it with water canned tuna, pallid and lacking flavor: a total waste of time in my opinion. You can lay it on a bed of romaine leaves or leave off the lettuce, great either way. I use fancy olives sometimes, but inexpensive small canned pitted ones work just fine. Please do make the homemade vinaigrette; it is very simple and very effective in creating the perfect flavor of the salad. If you hate one of the ingredients; leave it out. I do want to mention that many recipes use wedges of hard-boiled eggs but my version doesn’t usually have that. Feel free to add them in!

Angie’s Salad Nicose

Ingredients

2 lbs of small red potatoes

2 medium peppers; one red, one green, cut into vertical strips and halved across the middle.

1 medium zucchini sliced in 1/2 inch half rounds

1/2-2/3 lb fresh green beans, tips removed, if long cut in half

2/3 of a 14 oz can of small pitted olives, drained

1 large ripe tomato cut into chunks

2 cans oil packed tuna fillet

Vinaigrette
I use one of those cool modern vinaigrette jars that has a wire metal ball in it to easily mix my dressing in; works really well!

Fill jar with 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or to the water line [If using a Good Season’s jar – second line from bottom]

Fill rest of way to oil line with EVOL (I often do half EVOL and half mild olive oil) (about 2/3 cup)

Then add the following:

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp. French Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp sea salt; rounded

ground black pepper to taste – cap it and mix it up well

Salad directions

Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water and boil on high until just tender. Whie, they cook chop the individual veggies. Steam each kind individually in a pot with 1/2-inch water until just tender (3-5 min) Taste one to be sure., do not overcook them! Carefully drain each cooked veggie and dump gently into a big bowl. On top of each other. Make the vinaigrette as you do the cooking so it can stand 5-10 minutes. When the potatoes are done drain them and set on your cutting board to cool; not touching each other. Peel them and slice thickly. If they are oval, I sometimes just cut into two thin halves, cutting along the long side. Put them in the bowl you will serve the salad in. When all hot potatoes are peeled pour 1/3 of the vinaigrette over them and carefully turn with a big spoon to coat well. They should still be quite warm when you do this step. The dressing soaks into the warm potatoes; doing it warm is very important to the flavor. Put the cooked and drained veggies in there on top. Add the tomato chunks, tuna and olives. add another third of dressing and gently turn the salad to mix well. Adjust the salt/pepper and dressing amount. Serve on a plate or shallow bowl on a bed of torn up crisp romaine leaves. Enjoy!

Summer Shrimp Sauté

High summer is the perfect time for a simple sauté of fresh veggies with a light protein like shrimp. Quick, tempting and a super use of your excess cherry tomatoes. I added fresh herbs from my garden and made some long grain brown rice in my InstaPot to serve with it. Refreshing and very nourishing without heavy sauces or cheese. Ready in less than 30 minutes.

This is a recipe for one, just double it if you are feeding someone. Try scallops if you prefer them. Sub in a different kind of squash if that’s what you like. I grew yellow pattypan squash. They are at their best small. This one was just a day from being too big. I cut it in half and scooped out the seeds. I sliced half of it quite thin so it would cook rapidly. You can use a yellow onion or even shallots in place of the red onion. Please try to get vine ripened local tomatoes, organic if possible. You could use large, diced tomato chunks but add them right at the very last minute. The herbs are simple to switch up, maybe mint and basil? I have to say that thyme and parsley freshly picked are delightful. I used 4 jumbo Argentinian shrimps which are deliciously meaty, and their flavor is reminiscent of lobster. Use whatever shrimp you prefer; fresh and do shell them for easy eating. Enjoy!

Summer Shrimp Sauté

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. light olive oil

1 small red onion sliced into vertical ribbons (from top to bottom)

1 cup of thinly sliced patty pan squash (if seeds are big scoop them out)

1 or 2 garlic cloves minced

4 ounces shrimp, peeled

1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 stalk of parsley finely julienned

zest of half a lemon cut in skinny strips – I have a tool that ribbons off 3 strips at a time

1 Tbsp butter

juice of 1/2 that small lemon

1/2-3/4 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

brown rice if you want a starch

Directions: Prep the veggies; slice the onion vertically into narrow ribs, removing the very top and bottom. Thinly slice the squash.

Heat a 9-10 inch sauté pan until fairly hot, add the olive oil, when hot add the onion. Stir a minute. Add the squash slices, stir and add a Tbsp of water to help it steam. Stir or flip the squash a few times. Add another bit of water. I cooked this for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic minced and cook 30-60 seconds. Push the veggies to the edges and add just a touch more oil. Lay the shrimps in the open space. Turn after a minute. After another minute add the butter and then add herbs and lemon zest strips and then juice. Stir and add the tomatoes after a minute. Stir well, add salt and pepper freshly ground; to taste. Serve on brown rice or noodles. Enjoy!

Peach Blueberry Crumb Pie

In eastern Pennsylvania we are still in blueberry season, and I was craving a great late summer pie. The resulting pie was delicious down to the last slice.

This is so easy to make: slice and dump together the filling, crumb topping gets made in the mixer bowl you just used for bottom crust. You can store any leftover crumb mixture in a sealed container in the fridge; it keeps a few weeks. This GF crumb topping is perfect for most any fruit pie.

I used a lot more peaches than blueberries; the proportions are up to you. To peel peaches; heat 3 inches of water to a boil, drop the peaches gently in 3-4 at a time and poach them 1-3 minutes. Allow to cool somewhat before peeling. I like to do that over a bowl to catch the juices as I slice each peach.

Bake and enjoy summer in a pie in just a few minutes of work. Don’t eat it piping hot; it should be cooled to close to room temperature. You could certainly serve this with vanilla ice cream. And this pie works perfectly with fresh nectarines. Bonus: no peeling required!

GF Blueberry Peach Crumb Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (King Arthur Basic GF blend or use the recipe at the bottom of recipe)

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbps. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 lg egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Directions:

Spray 9 or 10 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. I confess I forget to do this more often than I remember…still works.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal. Add egg and juice. Mix until it comes together into big chunks. Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

5 cups sliced fresh peaches, peeled and cut in thick slices

1 cup fresh blueberries – rinse and place in medium bowl

Mix with:

½ cup sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. quick tapioca

Add and stir in

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Let the filling stand while you prepare the crust, important for the tapioca so it does its job optimally.

Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Fill with fruit mixture.

Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Directions:

Sprinkle the top of the pie with crumb mix; use as much as you like. I like about a heaping cup and a half of the mixture. Up to your personal taste… It sinks partially into the fruit mixture and adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 45-50 minutes until bubbly and the crumb crust is light brown. I put a piece of aluminum foil on top for the last ten minutes. Cool at least 2 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature. I think it is best served the same day you make it, or no more then 10 hours after baking for optimal flavor. The crumbs will get soggy if too much time passes.

Note: if you find your bottom crust is not browning enough there are a couple of choices; you could bake it empty at 375 degrees for ten minutes before filling it with the fruit. Choice 2: I bake pies on the rack at the very bottom of my oven which gives me perfect pie crust; I don’t ever have pale pie crust.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

Perfect Peach Pie

Peach season is finally here so find some ripe juicy peaches and whip up a delicious gluten free peach pie. Orchard peaches would be the best choice. I have some I got last weekend at an orchard last weekend. This is an easy pie to create. Slice and dump together the filling, crumb topping made in unwashed mixer bowl you used for creating the bottom crust. You can store any leftover crumb mixture in a sealed container in the fridge; it keeps a few weeks. Sometimes I let the mix spin in the stand mixer for extra big crumbs for this pie; love that look. If you prefer a solid crust just double the crust part and top your pie with it. Be sure to cut some slits for steam escape! I think a lattice crust would be fantastic, if a bit more time consuming to construct.

Please make every effort to use local fruit; can get peaches at orchards like Bechdolt’s near Springtown, at most farm stands and at farmer’s markets; one on Saturdays in Easton or Sunday’s in Hellertown. This pie really showcases great tasting peaches. If you use lousy peaches your pie will be lack luster. But, here’s the issue I want you to think about: store peaches can become quite poor in flavor and texture due to improper chilling during transport or storage so I strongly suggest you get locally grown, nearly ripe peaches to make your pie. I love when they have a pink blush; it makes the pie so pretty and perhaps even tastier! You might have to let them ripen a bit so plan ahead and buy them a few days before you want to make that spectacular late summer peach pie.

Some peaches I bought a week ago at Bechdolts’ Orchard

To peel peaches for a pie (and you really must peel them); heat 3 inches of plain water, drop the peaches gently in 4-5 at a time and cook them 2-3 minutes. Use the lesser time for more ripe peaches. Allow to cool somewhat before peeling. I like to do that over a bowl to catch the juices as I slice each peach.

Bake and enjoy late summer in a pie in just a few minutes of work. Don’t eat it hot; it should be cooled to just warm if you like it so or room temperature or even a bit chilled. You could certainly serve this with vanilla ice cream. And this pie works perfectly with fresh nectarines, bonus: no peeling required!

GF Peach Crumb Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 Tbsp. sweet rice flour

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 large egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray 9 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. I forget to do that most of the time so you can too!

Filling:

6 cups sliced fresh peaches, peeled and cut in thick slices, place in medium bowl

Mix with:

½ cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup quick tapioca

Mix and stir in 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice and ¼ tsp. almond extract *(optional but it does add great flavor)

Let stand while you prepare the crust.

Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form. If you let them go extra long you get big fat crumbs if you want that look and I did!

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Sprinkle the top of the pie with crumb mix; use as much as you like. I like about a heaping cup of the mixture. Up to your personal taste… It sinks partially into the fruit mixture and adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 45-50 minutes until bubbly and the crumb crust is light brown. Cool at least 1 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature. I think it is best served the same day you make it, or no more then 12 hours after baking for optimal flavor. The crumbs will get soggy if too much time passes. Mine was still very good the next day; just not as great as when really fresh. I would store leftover pie in the fridge if it’s a hot day.

Note: if you find your bottom crust is not browning enough bake it empty at 375 degrees for ten minutes before filling it with the fruit. I bake mine on the lowest shelf of my oven so I don’t ever have pale pie crust.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (Same as King Arthur GF All-purpose blend)
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

Note: the crust and crumb recipe are out of Annalise Roberts cookbook, Gluten Free Baking Classics, Second Edition. Adaptation and filling recipe are mine. This blog post was originally published in August 2014.

Blueberry Crumb Pie – Perfection!

As it is fully blueberry season, I was feeling the need to share my blueberry crumb pie.

This pie is really easy to create. Slice and dump together the filling, make your crust in the stand mixer in 3-4 minutes, the crumb topping gets quickly made by dumping ingredients in the mixer bowl you used for the bottom crust. You can store any leftover crumb mixture in a sealed container in the fridge; it keeps a few weeks. This GF crumb topping is perfect for most any fruit pie.

Bake and enjoy summer in a pie in just a few minutes of work. Don’t eat it piping hot; it should be cooled to room temperature, a minimum of 2 or 3 hours. You could certainly serve this with vanilla ice cream or any other vanilla topping.

Angie’s GF Blueberry Crumb Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe) or King Arthur’s Basic gf flour

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6-10 chunks

1 lg egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray a 9-inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour.

Filling:

5 cups fresh blueberries (rinsed and drained) – place in medium bowl

Mix with: ½ cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. quick tapioca

Add and stir in

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Let stand while you prepare the crust.

Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper or in an OXO pie bag, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Fill with fruit mixture.

Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Sprinkle the top of the pie with crumb mix; use as much as you like. I like about three quarters of the mixture. Up to your personal taste… It sinks partially into the fruit mixture and adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.

Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 50 or so minutes until the blueberries are bubbly and the crumb crust is light brown. I put a piece of aluminum foil on top for the last ten minutes if the crumbs are getting too browned. Cool at least 2 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature. I think it is best served the same day you make it, or no more than 12 hours after baking for optimal flavor. The crumbs will get soggy if too much time passes.

Note: if you find your bottom crust is not browning enough bake it empty at 375 degrees for ten minutes before filling it with the fruit. I always put my pie on the lowest level and closest to the bottom in my oven which gives me a perfect pie crust, I rarely have pale pie crust if I do this.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur basic gf blend)

2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch – not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

***************************************

The crust and crumb recipes are from Annalise Roberts great cookbook, GF Baking Classics, Second Edition.

Reprinted from 2016 post; minimal changes to recipe.

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My World Without Wheat

My World Without Wheat by Angela E. Drake continues here

Author: Angela Drake

Salad Nicose; A Classic of Summer

Summer Shrimp Sauté

Peach Blueberry Crumb Pie

GF Blueberry Peach Crumb Pie

Perfect Peach Pie

Blueberry Crumb Pie – Perfection!