Cucumber marigold pickle edible flowers recipe paleo-min

Recipe: Cucumber Marigold Pickle

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Ever tried eating flowers? Not just any flowers of course, but so many are edible. I love marigolds in the garden, so thought I'd experiment with them in the kitchen. Turns out they have a bit of a citrus flavour, which went really well with the quick cucumber marigold pickle I made.

Recipe-Paleo-Diet-Cucumber-Marigold-Edible-Flowers-Pickle-Primal-680x450-min

Recipe: Cucumber Marigold Pickle
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Sauces & Condiments
Prep time: 
Total time: 
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Ingredients
  • Half a cucumber
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • Petals of 1 marigold head, washed
  • ½ red onion, finely sliced
  • ¼ cup white vinegar
  • Splash extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Slice the cucumber and add the salt in a bowl, to draw the liquid out. Put the bowl in the fridge for an hour.
  2. Remove from the fridge and drain off all excess liquid.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and serve in a jar. This is a great side to take along to a picnic or barbecue.

Have you cooked with edible flowers before? I'd love to hear what you made and which flowers you used in the comments below.

Paleo Lunch Box Recipe Five DIY Salad Dressings-min

Paleo Lunch Box Recipe: Five DIY Salad Dressings

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If you’re leaving home with a pre-prepared salad for lunch, there’s nothing like having a small pot of on-the-go dressing to take with you. We all have our favourite salad dressings, but here are five delicious ideas for you to try so that you’re never caught with a boring salad again!

All of the following make enough for between 4 – 6 salads, and keep in the fridge for a week. I’ve made a note on each recipe saying ‘blender’ or ‘jam jar.’ In short, if it says blender, blitz your ingredients in a blender. If it says jam jar, just combine all contents in any kind of jar and shake to combine. Not rocket science, I know!

Paleo Lunch Box Recipe Five DIY Salad Dressings-min

Oil Free Raspberry Dressing (blender)

  • 125 grams fresh raspberries
  • ¼ of an onion, chopped
  • 100ml apple juice
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Lime and Coriander Dressing (blender)

  • 150ml extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice 1 1/2 limes
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 large handful fresh coriander

Balsamic Vinaigrette (jam jar)

  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 100ml balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Pinch of salt and black pepper

Tomato and Basil Vinaigrette (jam jar)

  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 50ml cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed

Lemon and Dill Dressing (jam jar)

  • 100ml olive oil
  • Juice and zest 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp runny honey
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
Recipe paleo pesto side-min

Recipe: Paleo Pesto

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The beauty of pesto is, after hundreds of years, there is still no definitive recipe. It's all about personal preference; chopping, changing, tasting and seasoning as you go along. Bearing this in mind, this recipe is subject to tweaking as you please – be sure to share what you did differently and how it worked out!

Paleo Pasta Ingredients:

  • 2 cups fresh basil
  • ½ cup pine nuts
  • ½ cup walnuts
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • Juice of half a lemon

Paleo Pesto Ingredients:

1)     In a food processor, blitz together the basil, pine nuts, walnuts and garlic until coarse.

2)     Mix together the olive oil and lemon juice. Gradually, add this to the mixture, blitzing regularly, until the pesto reaches your desired texture. Often, you won’t need to use all of the oil and will have some left over to use as a salad dressing.

3)     Season to taste with salt and pepper

Recipe paleo pesto side-min

 

Paleo recipe tartare sauce dip white fish primal-min

Recipe: Paleo Tartare Sauce

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Let’s face it, even the freshest fillet of white fish can taste somewhat plain when eaten on its own. Tartare Sauce has been traditionally served with fish for years, but of course, the shop bought stuff is a no go. Luckily, I have a recipe on hand that is Paleo approved and delicious at the same time!

Paleo Tartare Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 150ml olive oil
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • ½ tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
  • ½ tbsp capers (RRR)
  • ½ tbsp chopped gherkins
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Paleo Tartare Sauce How To:

1)     Mix the mustard powder with a dash of water to form a paste. Whisk in the egg yolk and a little seasoning if required.

2)     In a measuring jug, combine 150ml of olive oil with the juice of half a lemon, watching out for pips. Slowly add this to the egg, a little bit at a time, whisking together well.

3)     Rinse the capers. Stir them into the mixture, along with the tarragon, gherkins and parsley. Taste and check – you may want to adjust the acidity slightly depending on your preference.

So tell me… what’s your favourite fish to have with Tartare Sauce?

Paleo recipe tartare sauce dip white fish primal-min

Recipe paleo Perfect Almond Butter peanut butter nut-min

Recipe: Perfect Almond Butter

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Not only is almond butter absolutely delicious on its own, its great to use in loads of different Paleo desert recipes. It’s a store cupboard staple in my house, and this recipe is perfect every time.

Almond Butter Ingredients:

  • 250g organic almonds
  • Pinch of sea salt

Almond Butter How To:

1)     Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4. Cover an ovenproof tray with some baking parchment and lay out the almonds, making sure they are spread out next to, and not on top of, one another.

2)     Roast for 6 minutes, then shake, then roast for another 6. Remove from the oven, then leave to cool for 10 minutes.

3)     Pop the almonds into a food processor with a pinch of salt. On the highest setting, blitz for around 10 minutes. At first, the ground nuts will stick to the side of the food processor – just push them back in to the barrel with a spatula. You may have to do this 4 – 5 times depending on your food processor!

4)     You should watch the nuts turn from solid, into a ball, into a thick liquid. At this point, YOU ARE NOT FINISHED! Keep processing until a thin layer of oil begins to rise to the top. Here, the nuts have released their natural oils, and at the optimum for taste, texture and digestion. Pour into an empty jar, then keep in the fridge. What’s the best thing about making your own almond butter? Scraping the remains off the side of the food processor!

Have you tried making your own nut butter yet?

Recipe paleo Perfect Almond Butter peanut butter nut-min

Paleo Diet Primal Recipe Baba Ganoush-min

Recipe: Baba Ganoush

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It’s no secret that living Paleo can sometimes leave us longing for a thick, creamy, indulgent dip for crudités, sweet potato fries or even barbequed meat. Baba Ganoush has to be one of the best things you can do with an aubergine – so good, in fact, it’ll have your non-paleo friends throwing away their hummus and sour cream and raiding your fridge instead.

Baba Ganoush Ingredients:

  • 2 large aubergines
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • A small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • A small handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 2 tbsp cashew nut butter
  • 1tsp cumin
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Baba Ganoush How To:

To roast your aubergines, preheat your oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4. Cut the aubergines into halves, removing the stem. Scoop out the seeds, then cut into half again. Lightly score the flesh with a sharp knife, being careful not to cut too deep. Pop into a roasting dish, drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then roast for approximately 30 minutes until tender. Leave to cool.

Peel off the skin of the aubergines. Chop into chunks, and drain off any excess liquid. Throw into a food processor, and blitz with the cashew nut butter and lemon juice.

When smooth in texture, but not too fine, throw in the garlic, herbs, and cumin. Blitz again just enough to combine the flavours. Remove from the food processor and serve.

Paleo Diet Primal Recipe Baba Ganoush-min

paleo gravy recipe onion beef stock primal bisto homemade how to-min

Recipe: Paleo Gravy (Beef and Onion)

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Gravy is a great addition to almost any meat based meal. I used to (I'm ashamed to say) “make” gravy using Bisto gravy granules and water, without any thought about the ingredients. Well, now I follow a Paleo Diet, and care greatly about what I eat, I'm quite horrified by the ingredients!

Bisto Gravy Granules, Ingredients (original flavour):

Potato Starch, Maltodextrin, Vegetable Oil, Salt, Colour (E150c), Wheat Flour, Sugar, Flavourings, Flavour Enhancers (E621, E635), Emulsifier (E322) (contains Soya), Herb and Spice Extracts, Onion Extract

Gravy, after all, is supposed to be a sauce made from the juices of meat and vegetables and it is so simple to make.

Gravy doesn't need to be full of the flour, arrowroot or corn starch that many non-paleo recipes call for.

At the base of a good gravy, is stock – another reason it’s good to make a huge batch and freeze small portions!

Gravy Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons of butter (or coconut oil or tallow)
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 300ml (10 fl oz) beef stock (freshly made, or defrosted)
  • 1 teaspoon French mustard
  • Fresh rosemary & thyme
  • Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Gravy How To:

In a medium pan, melt the butter and over a medium heat, fry the onions.

Once the onions have turned golden, add the stock to the pan and reduce the heat to allow the stock and onions to simmer. You can also substitute some of the stock for some red wine here, to give the gravy an extra depth.

Once the volume has reduced by approximately half and it has thickened up, add in the mustard, rosemary & thyme and season to taste. Stir well for a couple of minutes.

How do you make gravy? I’d love to hear your tips and favourite recipes. Let me know, in the comments below!

paleo gravy recipe onion beef stock primal bisto homemade how to-min

Recipe-The-Paleo-Diet-Pate-Offal-Liver-Duck-Chicken-Kangaroo-min

Recipe: Paleo Chicken Liver Pâté

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In keeping with my new years resolution to eat more offal, Pâté seems to be a great place to start.

You can make Pâté with lots of different meats, but my favourite is chicken liver Pâté.

With offal, I'm always very careful to make sure the meat is really high quality – organic, pasture raised is ideal.

Pâté Ingredients

  • 200g (6oz) chicken livers
  • 150g (5oz) butter, diced (or use the same volume of tallow, bacon fat or coconut oil)
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 2 small brown shallots or 1/4 onion, finely diced
  • ¼ tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1tbsp brandy (optional)
  • 1/4tsp grated nutmeg
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pâté How To:

Remove any unsightly pieces from the liver, such as any green or black spots, or any tough stringy pieces. Rinse the livers, then dry using kitchen paper.

Melt a spoonful of the butter in a pan over a medium heat, before adding the garlic and shallots. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until the shallots start to soften and turn translucent.

Add in the chicken livers and thyme and continue to cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly. When the livers have browned on the outside, but are still pink on the inside, it’s time to add in the brandy.

After a few seconds, add in the remaining butter and the nutmeg and stir into the ingredients for a couple of minutes.

Take the pan off the heat, then use a blender or food processor to puree the contents of the pan, until it reaches a smooth paste.

Season to taste, before spooning into a bowl or jar. Chill in the fridge for at least two or three hours before serving.

Liver Pâté is great as a snack, or served with raw veggies like celery, carrots and cucumber. If you have an leftovers, it should keep for about a week in the fridge.

Have you tried making Pâté yet? Which other types of Pâté do you enjoy?

Recipe-The-Paleo-Diet-Pate-Offal-Liver-Duck-Chicken-Kangaroo-min

Paleo tomato ketchup sauce red recipe primal diet

Recipe: Paleo Tomato Ketchup

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It is so hard to find a tomato ketchup recipe that doesn't add in lots of sugar! Finally with a lot of tweaking, I’ve come up with my favourite Paleo tomato sauce recipe. A home made burger just isn't the same without tomato ketchup.

Paleo Tomato Ketchup Ingredients:

  • 15 Medium Tomatoes
  • 2 Onions, Chopped and Fried in Coconut Oil
  • 4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed and Fried in Coconut Oil
  • 1 Red Capsicum (Bell Pepper)
  • 100ml (4floz) Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Paprkia
  • Pinch Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
  • 1 Teaspoon Black Peppercorns
  • 6 Cloves
  • 3cm (1 inch) Peeled & Chopped Ginger

Paleo Tomato Ketchup How To:

Chop up the tomatoes and capsicum and along with the onion and garlic, bring to the boil in a pan of the red wine vinegar.

Stir occasionally, allow the mixture to reduce to a thicker consitancy.

Remove from the heat and puree in a blender to your desired level of smoothness, before returning to the pan over the heat.

In some muslin or a tea strainer, add the seeds, peppercorns, cloves and ginger and add to the pan.

Reduce the heat to simmer and cover until it thickens up to your liking.

Once ready, remove the muslin or strainer and bottle the ketchup and store in the fridge.

I’d love to hear how you make ketchup? What do you do differently?

Paleo tomato ketchup sauce red recipe primal diet

Paleo mayonnaise recipe primal homemade-min

Paleo Mayonnaise Recipe

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Have you looked at the ingredients on a bottle of shop-bought mayonnaise? It’s not pleasant. This is fairly typical…

SAD Mayonnaise Ingredients:

Sunflower oil (antioxidant [320], water, cane sugar, whole egg, white vinegar, malt vinegar (barley & wheat), salt, vegetable gums (405, 415), food acid (citric), natural colour (carrot extract), flavour.

But did you know how easy it is to make your own?

Paleo mayonnaise recipe primal homemade-min

Paleo Mayonnaise Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 egg yolks (at room temperature)
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 200ml extra light olive oil
  • Pinch sea salt

Method

In a blender combine the egg yolks, vinegar and mustard and blend until the mixture begins to thicken.

Slowly add in the oil, until the mixture is light and creamy. Don’t rush this step; if the mixture separates you’ll have to start again!

Add in the salt, and season to your liking.

Which are your favourite sauces? I’d love to hear which sauces you make regularly.