Chowder

I love clam chowder. It's one of my favorite comfort foods. But the real deal has milk and cream, which doesn't work for we, the paleo inclined. I saw a recipe somewhere that used coconut milk, which just sounded... wrong. But I really wanted chowder and I had a pint of shucked clams in the freezer.

Just in case, I bought some ginger, scallions, lime, straw mushrooms, lemongrass and cilantro. I figured if it tasted at all coconutty, I could simply Thai the soup up.

I made homemade dashi, but you could use fish stock. Maybe 4 cups? I only measure when I bake, but that seems about right. Bring to a gentle simmer. Add a couple of cloves of minced garlic and a finely chopped yellow onion. And a bay leaf and some fresh ground pepper. Toss in as many chopped clams as you want, with the juice. I threw in some shrimp, too, and I bet scallops would be amazing. When the shrimp is done cooking - or after just a few minutes if you're being a clam puritan - add as much coconut milk as you want: a little if you like your chowder more broth, or up to a full can if you like it creamy.

I tasted my soup. No hint of coconut. The Thai accoutrements stayed in the fridge. I lapped up my chowder like a hungry Maine lobsterman. 

Gateau Tatin

Gateau Tatin

Mesdames et Messieurs, my recipe for grain-free gateau tatin. You can follow any favorite tarte tatin recipe to caramelize the apples into sweet, sweet submission with plenty of butter, sugar and a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan. I owe much to this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen for Part I.

Ingredients

• 4-5 apples; I use honeycrisp, but any firm baking apple will do
• 1/2 c. butter; I use Plugra
• 1/2 c. sugar (the recipe calls for a full cup, but that's a lot of you've cut back your sugar consumption. A quarter yielded too little caramel, but I bet 1/2 will be perfect)
• A pinch of salt

• 2 1/2 c. almond flour; don't use the well-intentioned but inadequate Bob's Red Mill brand. It's too coarse. For an almond flour primer, go here.
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. cardamom
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 1/2 t. almond extract

Preheat oven to 375. Peel, core and quarter apples. Melt the butter. Remove from heat, add the sugar and pinch of salt, and stir. Working in circles from the outside in, arrange apples in the pan. Place them on their sides so that they spoon each other. Keep an extra apple quarter on hand in case you need to fill a space later. Return pan to the high heat. Let boil for 10-12 minutes, or until the liquid in the pan turns dark amber. Remove from heat. Turn apples over using tongs, keeping them in their original places. If a space has opened up, deploy that extra quarter. Return to the stovetop on high heat once more. Let cook another 5 minutes and then remove from heat. Don't get all wobbly in the knees while this is happening: you don't want to burn the apples, obviously, but you do want nice, dark caramelization.

While the above gorgeousness is happening, mix the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, making sure you break up any clumps of almond flour. In a larger bowl, whisk eggs until frothy and add liquid ingredients. Add dry to wet. The batter will be pretty thick, so spoon it over the apples and spread it with a wooden spoon. No need to go all the way to the edges - the cake will find its way there as it bakes.

Put it in the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes, then carefully invert the cake onto a plate. Serve warm, but it's even better the second day. (It may be better still the third, but I've never had it survive that long...)

I may have occasionally doused the warm gateau with a healthy measure of good armagnac before serving. 

Bon appétit!