Category: appetizer

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Paleo Plantain Nachos

Nachos have been my favorite food since I was about 12. They always seemed like a perfect food. Fat, protein, carbohydrates – they have it all. That is until I learned about how bad vegetable oils are. Not sure what I’m talking about? My post on fats should help to clear things up. Anywho, I got real ambitious one day and decided to make plantain nachos from scratch. If you aren’t up for that, there are some “clean” plantain chips available out there. You can also use Siete chips if you want to keep it paleo.

Paleo Plantain Nachos

cleaneatingwithkatie
Nachos are an ultimate comfort food for me, but if I eat them now, I feel very uncomfortable. So having a clean version of Nachos comes in super handy!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Tex-Mex
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Plantains

  • 2 green plantains
  • ¼ cup cooking fat coconut oil, ghee, or bacon fat
  • 2 tsp sea salt

Guacamole

  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 2 avocados
  • 1 tsp garlic sea salt
  • ½ tsp chili powder

Remaining Nacho Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground meat beef, turkey, chorizo, chicken, or pork
  • 1 tbsp cooking fat
  • 2 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 1 cup shredded cabbage
  • 1 bunch radishes thinly sliced
  • ½ cup cilantro, chiffonade
  • Cotija cheese optional (not pictured)

Instructions
 

Plantains

  • Peel and thinly slice the plantains about one-quarter inch thick.
  • Add the cooking fat to a large saute pan deep enough to fry the plantains. Heat fat over med-high heat.
  • Add plantains in a single layer and cook in batches. Cook for 3-5 minutes per side until golden brown. Flip using tongs and brown on the other side.
  • As you remove the plantains, place them on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with a wee bit of sea salt.

Guacamole

  • Add avocado flesh to a bowl along with lime juice and spices. Add a couple of pinches of the cilantro that is being used for garnish. Mash until you achieve the desired consistency. Set aside.

Remaining Nacho Directions:

  • Add the cooking fat to a large skillet and add the meat and begin to brown over med-high heat. Add taco seasoning and continue cooking.
  • On each plate, layer ¼ of the following ingredients: plantains, meat, cabbage, guacamole, cilantro, and radishes. If using Cotija, crumble on top and serve.
Keyword nachos, paleo, paleo plantain nachos, paleo tex-mex, plantain nachos
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Blistered Shishito Peppers

Shishito peppers (not hot) and Padron peppers (a few a hot) are one of my favorite summer veggies. I’ve only recently started to see them in grocery stores, before that I could only get them at the farmers market or at restaurants. One of the reasons that I love them is that you can only get them for a couple of months (so don’t wait!) and the other reason I love them is that they a quick to prep and quick to cook.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

cleaneatingwithkatie
You can use either Shishitos or Padrons depending if you can handle the heat! These make a great side dish, but also like making these as an appetizer.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
  • 1 tbsp grass-fed ghee
  • 3 pints shishito peppers
  • pinch sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Rise, dry, and remove dried flower from shishitos (if any).
  • Add ghee to large skillet over med-high heat. Add shishitos and stir pan frequently to evenly blister the peppers. Add a pinch of sea salt.
  • Remove from pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Best eaten immediately.
Keyword appetizer, paleo side dish, shishito peppers, side dish
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Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Salad with Superfood Pesto

This is a great summer salad for those drool-worthy heirloom tomatoes. The pesto recipe can be used with the burrata and heirloom tomatoes OR use it wherever you like to use pesto – minestrone, salad dressing, on hard-boiled eggs, etc.

Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Salad with Superfood Pesto

cleaneatingwithkatie
This recipe takes pesto to the next level – and no one will know that it has kale in it!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Salad
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • Cuisinart Food Processor

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large bunch of basil
  • 3-5 kale leaves destemmed
  • ⅓ cup pine nuts
  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lemons, juiced
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese optional
  • 1 large heirloom tomato
  • 1 container burrata cheese
  • 1 tsp garlic sea salt
  • 1 tsp lemon pepper
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil optional garnish
  • flake salt optional garnish
  • fresh ground pepper optional garnish

Instructions
 

  • Rinse and trim the basil leaves. Add the kale, basil, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon, garlic sea salt, lemon pepper, and parmesan to a food processor or high-speed blender.
  • Pulse on high until smooth.
  • Add to a jar and set aside. 
  • Slice the heirloom tomato into wedges and add to your plate. (Pictured here is a brandywine heirloom tomato).
  • Add the burrata and drizzle the tomato and cheese with olive oil, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper. Add the superfood pesto to the salad.
Keyword appetizer, heirloom tomato salad with burrato and superfood pesto, salad
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Seasonal Charcuterie Platter

Cheese board, charcuterie platter, meat and cheese plate, whatever you call it, they are all the rage. This seasonal charcuterie platter made its debut at our Thanksgiving table in 2017 and a similar one appeared at Christmas that year as well. If you’ve already committed to a different dish – don’t fret, bring this to any upcoming gathering. Needless to say, this is more inspiration than a recipe – I encourage you to use your favorite cheeses and whatever fruits are in season!

Thanksgiving Seasonal Charcuterie Board
Christmas Seasonal Charcuterie Board

How to Build a Seasonal Charcuterie Platter:

  • Select 2-4 types of cured meats.
    • Salami, smoked chorizo, and prosciutto are pictured here and just some examples of smoked and aged meats. Pate would be another good option.
  • Select a mixture 3-5 of cheeses.
    • Pictured here are Goat milk chèvre, mozzarella, and burrata (Thanksgiving) and I added manchego and Brie. I recently took a cheese making class where we learned how to make these three cheeses, hence why these are included in the cheese board. I do suggest a mixture of hard and soft cheeses. For the chèvre, I added bacon, figs, and a drizzle of honey (in the center of the Thanksgiving picture) and pomegranate seeds on the Christmas picture)
  • Add crackers and/or bread. 
    • Here I have Jilz crackers and Simple Mills crackers
    • For the Christmas board I added homemade paleo bread
  • Add Seasonal Fruits and/or preserved fruits. 
    • We have pears, pomegranates, and figs pictured here. For Christmas I included pears, mandarin oranges, pomegranates, and some quince paste.
  • Lastly, add some veggies and olives. 
    • For Thanksgiving, we had olives and Sonoma Brinery pickles. For Christmas, I will also inlcude pickled green beans and cornichons. 

As we are now in the winter months, my goal for this charcuterie platter is to include only preserved foods and in-season foods.

I hope you try out a Seasonal Charcuterie Platter in the coming months! 

Here is a link to Farmcurious, where I took the cheesemaking class. She also sells kits for those that aren’t local. The kits include the recipes for how to make the cheeses :).