Curtido, a recipe from Latin American Paleo Cooking

Latin American Paleo Cooking: Curtido

The best tacos I've ever had were served to me at a gas station in the mountain town of Glenwood Springs, CO. Let me guess.... you thought I was going to say something like, "on the streets of Mexico City" or "at this hole in a wall restaurant in Texas, just north of the border." Nope. A gas station in Glenwood Springs, while waiting for a bus. I know, that's just not as cool. But they were $1.00 each and simple. Super simple. Just a bit of shredded chicken on a 4-inch corn tortilla topped with this Mexican cabbage slaw that added acidity, crunch and freshness. That was my first taste of Curtido, and my last--at least for some time.

Latin American Paleo Cooking: Curtido

I didn't happen across curtido again until I visited Nicaragua, and then, boy, did I eat curtido. Many people credit El Salvador with this brilliant recipe, but it's eaten all through Central America. In Nicaragua, it came with virtually every dish I ate. Finally, towards the end of my stay, I attended a cooking class where sure enough, we learned to make curtido from a well seasoned abuela. Everything was done by hand: what most of us would do in a food processor, she did with ease on a small cutting board. She sliced that cabbage with more finesse than I've ever sliced anything in my life. The result was ribbons of cabbage were the most delicate, long and beautiful pieces of cabbage I had ever seen. (Every time I slice cabbage now I think of her, and attempt to mimic her motions. I still haven't mastered the skill). 

Latin American Paleo Cooking: Curtido

When Latin American Paleo Cooking cookbook showed up at my front door, and this recipe sat within its pages, I knew I needed to make it stat. Taco night anyone?

Getting your fair share of veggies on taco night is not always easy (some days you just don't feel like taco salad). But curtido! It's the answer. When you make curtido, you put your veggies in your taco, and it's the most delicious taco you'll eat. It's the crunch, acid, and spice your taco needs. And the recipe in this cookbook is awesome... along with the rest of the recipes in there. Want to hear a few? 

  • Mofongo Relleno de Camarones - Mofongo Stuffed with Shrimp 
  • Empanadas al Horno - Baked Meat Empanadas 
  • Pupusas con Chicharrón - Pupusas stuffed with sausage (or cheese!)
  • "Arroz" con Dulce - Grain-free rice pudding 
  • The list goes on...

So, if you have been on a grain-free diet for a while (or not that long) and are seriously craving some real Latin American food, this cookbook is for you. (I can relate to your cravings... case in point: those tacos in Glenwood Springs! And enchiladas. And tamales. Don't get me started on tamales. This cookbook is totally the answer to your cravings). 

You can get it on Amazon, here

Latin American Paleo Cooking: Curtido
Latin American Paleo Cooking: Curtido

YC Media sent me this cookbook to review. Thoughts and opinions are all my own. 

Curtido

Published October 17, 2017 by
   |     Print This Recipe

Serves: 4-6   |    Total Time: 20 minutes



Ingredients:

  • 1 small head green cabbage, sliced very thinly or grated
  • 4 carrots, grated
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced and cut about 1" (2.5 cm) long
  • 2 fresh jalapeño peppers, diced and seeded, or 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp (12 g) fine Himalayan salt
  • 2 tsp (4 g) dried oregano
  • ½ cup (120 ml) filtered water
  • ½ cup (120 ml) apple cider vinegar

Directions:

  1. In a large, nonreactive bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well. Depending on how large your cabbage is, you may need to add a bit more vinegar and water. Place it in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving. The flavors will continue to develop as it sits. Serve a generous portion alongside Pupusas con Chicharrón o “Queso” (page 63 of the Latin American Paleo Cooking cookbook)
  2. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
  3. AIP compliant: Simply omit the jalapeño peppers and substitute minced garlic.

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Cauliflower Pork Fried "Rice" + One-Pot Paleo Cookbook Review

Ok, so I know I write a food blog and am supposed to be eating gourmet meals all the time and all, but the reality is that half the time I'm throw meals together in rush with no direction. My lunches are often random compilations of leftovers, the makings of a salad, or other snacks. My desire to eat real food out weighs my desire to eat a typical sack lunch, so I prefer the random lunch anyways! 

When lunch time rolls around, I can almost guarantee it will go one of two ways.

Some days I go to heat up my lunch, and I'm super excited to eat it because it's delicious leftovers. Someone else walks into the kitchen, and asks me what I'm having for lunch. They know I write a food blog--they know that I'm probably super excited about what I'm having for lunch- so it's a loaded question. When I have great leftovers, answering feels a bit like bragging. It feels just enough like bragging that I almost (almost) feel bad about it. 

The second scenario happens on days when I'm running out the door in a rush and  throw together some mis-matched items to make a "lunch". You know what I'm talking about. It's something like a spinach-carrot-bell pepper salad with the last of the leftover chicken and a sprinkle of nuts. Or a half-full tupperware of soup, a few veggies on the side, and a heaping of "gosh I hope I have some good snacks in my drawer at work" wishes. When people ask what I have for lunch on those days, I feel like shrinking on the inside. Er... um... well, I have a leftover burger on a pile of arugula which is totally dry because we were out of oil and vinegar. Jealous, aren't you? 

Those days are a total bummer. 

Those are the days that I'm most desperate for quick, easy meals that are no brainers. Preferably the also require minimal cleaning. Those are the days I'm most desperate for a cookbook like One-Pot Paleo: Simple to Make, Delicious to Eat and Gluten-free to Boot. Have you heard of it? It's a new cookbook by Jenny from Paleo Foodie Kitchen. Not only is the book full of simple to make delicious meals, it's also full of photos. And if there's one thing I look for in a cookbook is it's photos (big, bright, full page photos). Jenny manages to make her totally approachable meals also totally drool worthy-- a sweet spot, it you ask me.

This cookbook's publisher sent me this book to review. Opinions are all my own. Supporting fellow healthy food bloggers is something I love to do! 

Cauliflower Pork Fried Rice

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free   |       |    Print Friendly and PDF

This recipe is from One-Pot Paleo

Serves: 4   |    Total Time:



Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon ghee or bacon fat
  • 3 cloves garlic,minced
  • 1 cup sweet onions, chopped
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 3 tablespoon coconut aminos
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 cups cauliflower rice (run cauliflower floret through the cheese grate attachment of your food processor)
  • 1/2 cup green onions, chopped

Directions:

  1. Add ghee to a wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onions & saute for 3 minutes. Add the ground pork and cook for 7-8 minutes while breaking apart big pieces with the back of a wooden spoon.
  2. Stir in the carrots and season with the coconut aminos, fish sauce and black pepper. Remove from the wok and set aside in a bowl. Crack the eggs into the wok and scramble for 1 minute. Return the pork mixture to the pan and stir together with the eggs. Add the cauliflower rice and green onions. Mix until everything is thoroughly combined. Cook for 5 minutes until cauliflower is soft but not mushy.
  3. Top with more green onions before serving.

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Honey Sesame Chicken Wings & Make it Paleo 2 Cookbook Giveaway

 -- This Giveaway has ended, and the winner has been notified via email. Thank you to everyone that participated! --

Each day last week, I checked the mail expectantly. I had ordered several things on Amazon and was getting impatient: Cocoa butter (to satisfy that chocolate addiction). Succulent cuttings (to plant in our collection of empty pots--BTW, did you know you could mail order these?!). As days passed, my patience wained (...chocolate...). Then, midweek,  I opened up the mail box to find a package. 

It was bubble wrapped, rectangular, and bendy. I know it was neither my plants nor my cocoa butter, but for a few minutes my curiosity piqued, distracting me from my missing deliveries. What is this?? A copy of Make it Paleo II!

Make it Paleo 2 by Hayley Mason, Bill Staley, and Caitlin Grace Nagelson

Make it Paleo 2 by Hayley Mason, Bill Staley, and Caitlin Grace Nagelson

This was a pleasant and welcome surprise, to say the least. Make it Paleo 2 contains over 175 grain-free recipes, many of them AIP-friendly, and pages lined with photos. The team at Primal Palate hit this one on the nose. If you've been looking for a new favorite food, it's probably in here. Barbacoa Tacos (tortillas included)? Check. Nightshade-free breakfast sausage? You got it. RAVIOLI? Yup, that's in there too. These Honey Sesame Wings were the star of our game-watching festivities last night. 

 

So now you want your own copy of Make it Paleo 2? Make it Paleo 2 will be available for purchase on February 17th, but I'll be giving away a free copy of this book here! Scroll down to the widget below to enter. The winner will be chosen at random on Sunday, February 8th, at 12 midnight (MST). Until then, I'll be making as many of the other recipes in here as I can! Stracciatella Gelato? More, please! 

This cookbook's publisher sent me this book to review. Opinions are all my own. Supporting fellow healthy food bloggers is something I love to do! 

Please note that only participants living in North America are eligible to win this sweepstakes. Winner will be notified by email on Feb. 9th and must respond with their mail information with in 3 days or a new winner will be selected. 

 

Honey Sesame Wings - from Make it Paleo 2 cookbook

1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon grated garlic

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup coconut aminos

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon raw honey

24 chicken wings, cut into winglets

Sea salt

For garnish: 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and 1 scallion, thinly sliced 

 

1. Make the sauce: heat the coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the red pepper flakes, coconut aminos, and fish sauce and stir to combine. Add the toasted sesame oil and honey and whisk over medium heat until the honey has completely dissolved and the sauce starts to bubble. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring every so often, until the sauce has reduced and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This can take up to 20 minutes.

2. While the sauce is cooking, grill the chicken wings. Preheat a grill to medium (400°F). Rinse the chicken under cold water, pat dry with a paper towel, and season with salt. Grill for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through, turning every 5 minutes. (Most grills have hot spots and cooler spots, so moving the chicken around a bit helps to ensure even cooking.) 

3. Toss the chicken wings with the honey sesame sauce, sprinkle with the sesame seeds, and top with the slices scallion. 

I served these along side Sriracha. Make your own, here

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