Maifun Noodles {Gluten Free}

Many people range from sensitive to highly allergic to gluten, the protein found in wheat.   It's in everything from cookies & cakes to crackers, cereal, bread & pasta.   Allergic or not, gluten really gums up the system. Have you ever tried mixing water & flour?  The combination turns into a pasty glue, which coats the inside of your digestive tract & intestines.  I limit my consumption of anything wheat (pita bread, cookies, pasta, etc.) to a few servings per week and am always on the look-out for wheat-free alternatives to pasta.  To be fair, white rice can have the same affect (although less people are allergic to rice), so I also limit white rice to only once a week or so.

As far as gluten-free alternatives to wheat (semolina) pasta, we've tried everything from soba, (buckwheat), to brown rice pasta to white rice stick noodles to quinoa pasta to glass noodles (mung beans) to konjac noodles to corn noodles. Some are better than others.  Quinoa noodles come out al dente.  Brown rice noodles tend to cook well on the outside, but stay a little chewy/hard on the inside.  The konjac noodles have an odd smell...  Soba are good but very hearty.

Today in the "Exotic Foods" section at Meijer (probably my favorite aisle), I discovered Maifun, or thin white rice vermicelli noodles.   Really, it's nothing new, I've had white rice noodles plenty of times, just never this tiny and never with shrimp scampi.  YUM.

They look exactly like angel hair pasta and are very mildly flavored.  They only need to be soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, which saves you the time of boiling them (although I actually did warm my filtered water on the stove because I am anal about tap water, especially when it is hot and cloudy).  Debating whether to make an Asian stir fry creation or go the scampi route, I let Matt decide.  This is not a tough decision for an Italian. ;) I served the scampi with a super flavorful & colorful Greek salad.

1 lb Argentinian Red Shrimp (wild caught) sauteed in organic butter (3-4 tbsp), olive oil, 2 minced cloves garlic, juice of a lemon, sea salt, fresh pepper, big handful of parsley.  (Toss the rice noodles with the shrimp for several minutes).  Check the flavor & adjust.  :)

Favorite kind of salad....Greek!  Organic baby spinach, carrots, steamed yellow beet, kalamata olives, gorgeous avocado.  Best Quick Greek Dressing EVER:  equal parts red wine vinegar &olive oil, pinch of salt, sumac & a clove of garlic. Whisk or shake until really well mixed.  In the summer I add fresh herbs and steep them in there. It lasts weeks on my counter.

Whether you're gluten sensitive, have celiac disease or are just wheated down, I definitely recommend trying Maifun noodles!

Pulpo Guisado (Stewed Octopus + Cilantro Quinoa + Mango Slaw)

I've pretty much always been an "adventurous" eater.  Even as a kid, I loved ordering the "weird" menu items: oysters, octopus, frog legs, lamb. Getting octopus in Greek Town after church on a Sunday was a highlight for me.  In the Greek hole-in-the-wall tavernas, octopus is served either stewed in a red tomato sauce and served over rice -OR- marinated in a deliciously tangy oregano, olive oil, lemon marinade and served cold as an appetizer or the way I learned to love it:  over a big Greek salad.   I haven't had much of it in recent years, unless I go to Greek Town, or go to a sushi place and order octopus sashimi, which is a little rubbery and bland for my liking.

On the last evening of our most recent trip to Costa Rica, I got to experience it in a completely new way.   Browsing the menu of KOKi Beach, Matt & I both landed on "Pulpo":  octopus stewed in white wine, ginger & garlic, served with potato puree and sauteed veggies.   Consider both of us SOLD.  The stew came in a good sized bowl on an over-sized plate with the accoutrements. The sauce was a buttery rich brown with a ginger warmth.   Next to the bowl was a healthy amount of pureed golden potatoes decorated with yucca chips and tender steamed carrots & zucchini.  The main difference of this octopus to all of the other times?  Texture; it was *actually* tender.  Our awesome bartender/waiter listed off the ingredients that he knew of and I scribbled them in a mental note.

The other day at Honey Bee, while grabbing some staples, the octopus appeared for only $3.99/lb!

Serendipitous.  I already had all of the ingredients in my cart, except the white wine.   So here's my first attempt at recreating this gorgeous dish at home:

NOTE:  this is not a quick dish.

Prep caramelize time: 30-40 minutes
Cook time:  approx. 2 hours

Equipment for the octopus: 

Meat mallet
Salt
Crushed ice
Gallon-sized ziplock bag





Ingredients:

1 small (1 - 2 lb) octopus, cleaned (beak & eyes removed)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 large cloves garlic (about 2 tbsp) minced
Fresh ginger (about 2 tbsp) minced
1/2 bottle white wine; I used Pinot Grigio
1/2 stick butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste.

Directions: 

First and foremost, dice that onion up.  Heat a pan to medium with 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil.  Caramelize the onion.  This should take a good 30 minutes.   Stir frequently. While you're doing this, listening to some good jams and drinking a glass of vino is most acceptable.  Prep your ginger & garlic.   You have plenty of time to prep your octopus now.

Rinse octopus.  Inspect it because it's pretty cool looking. Cut the tentacles off and into thirds.  Chop up the "head" into bite sized pieces.  Now, put the pieces with about a teaspoon of sea salt and a cup of crushed ice into the gallon ziplock.  Close and put into a larger grocery bag.  Beat the whole thing with a meat mallet.   Tenderize the heck of out it.  Without this step, your octopus might turn out pretty rubbery. Important note to pass along:  it is advised to wear gloves when handling an octopus because some people get a skin reaction.  Since I didn't have any available, and don't have any known food allergies, I took my chances and ended up ok - rash free.  Once you have it all prepped, let it drain in a colander.  

When your onions are an even golden brown, add in the minced ginger and garlic.  Stir them in for 1-2  minutes or until fragrant.   Dump in the 1/2 bottle of wine and remaining 3 T butter.  Turn up the heat to bring it to a low boil.  Add in the octopus.  Bring down to a good simmer (bubbling but not boiling) and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so.   Now, uncover and let it go another hour, or until the sauce thickens up and reduces down to your liking and octopus is tender.   My sauce did break a bit at the end.  Next time I think I will add in a bit of flour and the butter to make a rue before adding the wine next time.

Instead of the potato puree, I whipped up a bit of quinoa pilaf and that did nicely to soak up the octopus and gravy.  For the pilaf, sautee onions in butter, cook them with quinoa according to package directions and add in a few tablespoons of fresh cilantro at the end.  In substitute of the veggies at KOKi Beach, I freshened things up with a red cabbage-mango-cilantro-citrus-jalapeno slaw tossed with honey, lemon, salt and evoo.

My version turned out with a fantastic texture and flavor and I will be making it again.  For reference, here is KOKi's delicious presentation with the potato & veg medley. Please excuse the bad cell phone shot:



Octopus-lovers, I certainly urge you to try this one at home or at KOKi Beach...and please share your outcome if you do!

Ceviche!

 

Ceviche (Left), served with Gallo Pinto and Ensalata Mixto 

Hola from Costa Rica! Its a drizzley evening here in the jungle, and a good time to recap ceviche while it is fresh in my mind.

Ceviche is a seafood dish found all over Latin America with countless variations. Peruvians add corn, sometimes its super spicy, other times rather plain. I have had ceviche with everything from scallops to octopus to snapper to shrimp, etc. and all sorts of combinations of seafood. What makes ceviche unique is that the fish is "cooked" using acid, rather than heat like in traditional cooking. Basically, the raw seafood marinates for 4 or so hours in lemon, lime or lemon juice and salt, mixed with some onions and other vegetables.  If you like sushi, you'll love ceviche. Not only is it deliciously tart, spicy & flavorful, this is loaded with nutrients, omgega-3, protein, and plenty of minerals and vitamins from the raw veggies.

Today, on a bike trip to the farm market here in Puerto Viejo, we picked out some fantastic locally caught marlin. Cant beat fish from the ocean across the road! Marlin is a firm, fatty fish which in my opinion, makes a great choice for sashimi or ceviche.  Then we stopped to buy some fruit from a man selling on the side of the road.  We got pina (pineapple), pipas (coconuts) and cacao (chocolate in it's raw fruit form).  Limons, found in Central America, have green rind and look like an ugly lime. The inside is a surprisingly bright orange. They are delicious, tasting like a combination of lemon, lime and orange. So lovely!  

So with the inspiration of fresh and local in my mind...ceviche! Thankfully I have my super sharp knives packed in the International Mobile Kitchen. ;)

Angela's Marlin Ceviche
Dinner portion for 2, appetizer for 4

3/4 to 1 lb Marlin (or your choice of fresh seafood)
2 limons (or 1 lime & 1 lemon), juiced
4 T finely diced red onion
1/2 c diced tomatoes
3 T fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 c diced red bell pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 scotch or habanero pepper, minced
1/2 ripe avocado, diced

Cut seafood into bite sized chunks. Juice the citrus and pour over fish. Add salt, habenero. I add a small drizzle of olive oil too. Stir and cover. Refrigerate, stirring every hour. After 2 hours, add tomato, red pepper and onion. Cover and give it another 2-3 hours, stirring hourly.

When ready to serve, gently mix in the diced avocado and cilantro. Taste and add more salt if you like. Serve cold on a bed of lettuce. Bonus points for serving in a martini glass; very fancy and pretty! That's it...enjoy. warning, this is highly addictive. :)

Pura Vida!

Food Renegade!