Category: Recipes

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A Precocious Paleo Pot Roast

As the mercury falls, and fireplaces warm your hearth, it’s time to warm your insides with some great comfort food. Comfort food, as we all know, is more of a fancified way of referring to things that will pack on that extra layer that will not only keep us warmer in the winter months, but can also be well hidden by a stylish coat and hat.

Of course, if you’re on a paleo diet, you’re likely still working out a lot, so you’re going to need this high-protein, low-carb meal to keep you in proper form through the icy chill.

And, naturally, we here in Texas are experiencing a severe lack of winter-y weather, so with a precocious spring heading our way, we’ll enjoy our last excuses to make comfort food!

 

Paleo Pot  Roast wrapped in Pork Belly

1 medium piece Yuca, peeled and chopped
3 Carrots, sliced
1 Leek, halved and sliced
15 cloves Garlic, halved lengthwise
3 T Coconut Oil
2 T Paprika
2 T Garlic Pepper
2 T Sea Salt
2 T Coriander, ground
3 T Thyme, dried
3 T prepared Mustard
3 T Ume Plum Vinegar
2 lb Beef Rump Roast
1/2 lb Pork Belly, sliced
2 cups Red Wine
3 cups Beef Stock
6 oz. Coca Cola, optional (because cavemen didn’t have it)

NOTE: Yuca roots are delicious and also not the most fun things to deal with. One thing you’ll note is that you’ll get pieces that are terribly woody in texture. One way to get rid of that is this:

  • Slice the peeled yuca lengthwise and look for something resembling veins.
  • Starting at the bottom, make a couple of incisions on either side of where the root attached, forming a “v” on either side of the main vein.
  • If you’re lucky, you can get that, and pull the whole thing out. If not, just continue that “v” cut all the way up the inside of the yuca to get as much out as possible.
  • Now, it’s ready to chop up!

Ok, moving on…

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut 1st 4 ingredients as described above and set aside.

Combine next 8 ingredients together to form a paste, and cover the roast in it completely.

Wrap the top of the roast with pork belly and set in the middle of a roasting pan.

Toss in the rest of the vegetables, stock, wine and soda into the pan.

Season liquid with a bit of salt and pepper.

Put roast in oven, uncovered, at 400 for 25-30 minutes.

 

 

Reduce heat to 300, cover with foil, and let roast for 3-4 hours.

 

 

For best results, let sit in the fridge overnight, skim fat from the top, and reheat in the oven at 300 for another hour, uncovered. Turn over once halfway. Then remove the pork belly, chop it up, and mix in with the veggies and sauce.

 

Enjoy!

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Grain-free Green Chile Enchilada Casserole

I didn’t get to take all the pics on this one that I wanted to, because this was one of those “I wonder if I can make that work” moments. And I did! In fact, I almost want to go back and try this one again with many other options, like lasagna or just about any other kind of layered casserole.

I’m back on the low-carb train, trying to get back down to my fightin’ weight, or at least fit back into that kilt I bought in Scotland back in college. I lost 20 lbs the first time I did this, so we’ll see how well I do this time.

One thing I definitely miss is tex mex when I’m on this diet, so I had this idea for a while and finally decided to try it out at one of my weekend shindigs. Instead of using tortillas, I made 3 thin versions of my Cauliflower pizza crust, and layered them together. It was AMAZING!!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 2oz cream cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • handful of grated cheese (about 1/2-3/4 cup)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Paprika
  • Parchment Paper
  1. Pre-heat oven to 375.
  2. Shred/rice the cauliflower in your food processor (or just go buy the bagged stuff at the store, but it won’t keep as long).
  3. Put it in a bowl and toss it in the microwave for around 4-5 minutes.
  4. Throw all of that in a kitchen linen, and give it a squeeze to get all of the water out.
  5. While you’re doing that, Cut the cream cheese into pieces and throw it in the hot bowl the cauliflower was in, so it’ll start getting soft.
  6. Add the squeezed-out cauliflower rice, eggs, cheese, and seasoning. Paprika helps with the color as well as a bit of flavor. Mix well.
  7. Spread out on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 25 minutes at 375. Voila!

NOTE: This recipe makes roughly 2 pizza crusts that are of decent thickness and can be picked up like a piece of pizza when topped. For this project, spread the “batter” a bit thinner, and you’ll get 3-4, which will be perfect for your needs here.

Green Chile Sauce

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bin of Bueno Frozen Green Chile, or a fair amount of roasted Hatch chiles, seeded and chopped
  • 1T Oregano
  • 2t Thyme
  • Red wine vinegar
  • 1T Arrowroot or cornstarch, stirred into a bit of water
  • 1 cup stock or water
  • Salt and pepper

 

  1. Saute the onion first, until translucent.
  2. Add garlic, chiles, and herbs. After a minute or two, deglaze with the vinegar.
  3. Add stock and simmer for a bit. Set aside ~a cup of the veggies to use as enchilada filling.
  4. Blend using a processor, blender, or immersion blender until it’s nice and smooth. Return to heat.
  5. Stir in your thickener and allow to thicken up a bit. Season to taste.

 

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas!

Here we go!

  • 3-4 Cauliflower pizza crusts
  • 1 recipe Green Chile Sauce
  • 1 Rotisserie Chicken
  • Cheese
  1. Pre-heat oven to 375.
  2. Cut pizza crusts into large/medium pieces, so they’re easier to work with.
  3. Dismantle and shred the chicken.
  4. Toss chicken in a pan with a bit of the Green Chile Sauce, as well as the cup of sauce veggies you set aside. Let it heat through and gain some flavor.
  5. Ladle a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 8×13 or 9/13 Pyrex. Spread it around to cover.
  6. Layer away! Start with the cauliflower “tortillas”, then cheese, chicken mix, and a bit of sauce. Repeat until you have one layer of cauliflower on top, then you just top with sauce and cheese.
  7. DON’T OVER SAUCE! It’s a mistake I’ve made too many times. Just enough to lightly cover each layer. Remember, these flatbreads won’t absorb like a tortilla will.
  8. Toss in the oven at 375 and bake around 30 minutes.
  9. Remove from oven and let it cool. This is important. There will be some watery sauce at the bottom, but it’ll thicken up as it cools.

 

 

Honestly, for best results, make this a day ahead. The flavors get more chance to meld that way.

Cut some slices and serve! You can top with more green chile and/or a bit of crema!

Heck, when you’re tired of the leftovers, cut it in smaller pieces, fry it up in a skillet, and make Chiliquiles with an egg over the top!

Enjoy!