Cilantro Archives - Strength and Sunshine

Chili Lime Tuna Fishcakes (Gluten-Free)

March 19, 2018 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 94 Comments

Elevated fishcakes with a zesty twist! Chili Lime Tuna Fishcakes that are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, & soy-free, without the oil and baked in the oven. With a secret nutty ingredient for a super flavor-packed & healthy recipe your family will love for dinner or lunch!

Fishcakes, but not just any fishcakes. Chili Lime Tuna Fishcakes with a pretty awesome and unique ingredient. Chili Lime Almond CrrrunchBites! You know how much I love Mozaics popped chips; well they came out with a new fun snack that basically is a Mozaic chip wrapped around an almond. Whole roasted almonds wrapped in a crunchy rice cracker shell, is how they describe it. Sounds odd, sounds interesting, but let me tell you, they are DELICIOUS!Read More

African Spiced Carrot Millet (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Allergy-Free)

March 14, 2018 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 29 Comments

A quick & easy whole grain side dish that packs in the flavor! An African Spiced Carrot Millet recipe that’s gluten-free, vegan, and top 8 allergy-free. Fluffy millet with carrot puree, carrot greens, cilantro, and fragrant savory African spices!

A whole grain that I’ve always loved is millet. Soft and fluffy, with a slight nutty bite when you toast it in a dry pan before boiling. Its gluten-free heartiness is satisfying to say the least. As a blank slate, it’s perfect for really dressing up with flavor and serving as a perfect side dish. I remember being so excited about this recipe, in love with it, and then…never posted it here for y’all! We’re ending the madness right now!Read More

Middle Eastern Twice-Baked Baby Eggplants

February 15, 2017 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 88 Comments

Flavorful Middle Eastern Twice-Baked Baby Eggplants make a delicious gluten-free, vegan, paleo, and allergy-free appetizer or side dish. An easy plant-based recipe that will wow the tastebuds with new exciting flavors!

Ah, those recipes where I get to be fancy with simple ingredients and flavors; I love them most! When we take the time to learn about other cuisines, we realize we had all the beautiful foods, spices, and herbs that we needed, just lacked the knowledge of how to make them work together. That’s where we tap into the beauty and wonder of cooking.Read More

Levantine Socca Pizza

May 25, 2016 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 133 Comments

Combining Levantine flavors to create a delicious gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, vegan pizza recipe baked in a cast iron skillet! Levantine Socca Pizza is the healthy exotic twist you need to spice up pizza night!

It’s here! The final pizza to celebrate unofficial pizza month! I’ve given you a bunch of new gluten-free and grain-free crust ideas and this one is yet another to add to the list! This one took a little bit of before-hand prep, which I showed you on Monday. The Baba Ghanoush Hummus is only one of the spreads you’ll need to top this Levantine Socca Pizza!

You may have noticed right away that I baked this luscious pie in one of my favorite kitchen appliances, my cast iron! It creates the perfect browned and flavor-infused bottom to this socca crust! And it comes off clean and easy (which is what we all want!) We don’t want to lose any part of our chickpea flour crust because it gets stuck in some terrible tragic pan!

Before I get too ahead of myself and assume y’all know what socca is, let me give you the rundown. Socca (also called Farinata) is a chickpea flour “flatbread” or large pancake. Originally from France (I know!), but seen mostly in Middle Eastern cuisines now-a-days. You just need chickpea flour and liquid to make socca, but of course, that’s just the “basic”. We will be making a much more stellar, heartier, and “pizza-crust-worthy” socca today!

What makes this socca more than just a thin flatbread is…..sweet potato! Sweet potato puree to the rescue for making a perfect pizza worthy crust that will stand up to all the luscious sauces and topping that grace this pie! The crust comes out soft and bready and the perfect thickness.

To make this pizza really shine, through a few different layers, here’s what you get. Layer 1: socca crust, layer 2: harissa, layer 3: baba ghanoush hummus, “layer” 4: eggplant strips and fresh cilantro! Is your mouth watering? Yes! You get to bite through all those lovely layers. It really is a pie of bliss! You can eat this whole thing yourself if you have a super appetite, or share it with a very trusted and loved friend (because you know…it’s PIZZA)!

I didn’t know what cuisine this pizza fell under, so that’s why I’m using the regional term, Levantine. This encompasses the Middle Eastern area of Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey. It covers all my bases for this pizza creation.

I hope you’re as excited as I am about this pizza! I think it may be my proudest “pie” creation to this point. It may have to do with the magic of the cast iron, the chickpea flour, the harissa, or maybe that baba ghanoush hummus. Well, I guess it’s just a combination of it all! So here you go; let’s get pizza making!

Levantine Socca Pizza

Levantine Socca Pizza

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Cook time

18 mins

Total time

18 mins

Author: Rebecca Pytell

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Serves: 1 Pizza

Ingredients

Socca Crust:
½ Cup Chickpea Flour
½ Cup Sweet Potato Puree (or butternut squash)
¼ Cup Water
¼ Tsp Onion Powder
¼ Tsp Garlic Powder
Toppings:
2 TB Harissa (I use mild)
¼ Cup Baba Ghanoush Hummus
1 Small Eggplant (cut into thin strips)
2 TB Chopped Cilantro

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a mixing bowl, combine the chickpea flour, potato or squash puree, water, and spices. Mix to combine a smooth, thick batter.
In a well greased cast iron skillet, spread the socca batter in a 10 inch diameter circle (about ¼ inch thick).
Then spoon on the harissa and spread it around, next spread on the hummus, and finally layer on a few thin eggplant strips and sprinkle on the chopped cilantro.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes (mine was done in 18).
Remove and allow to cool before removing and slicing!

Yes guys, I used baby food yet again 😉 That stuff is just too handy and has the perfect consistency! Now, I hope y’all join me in grabbing your cast iron and making some delicious, mouth-watering, “omg-flavor!” Levantine Socca Pizza today!

So tell me:

+ Have you ever made socca? Funny story, I few years ago I tried to make a socca crust and it was such a huge fail! The entire thing just stuck to the baking dish and it was a mess. I made this pizza in its place. Lucky me, I finally conquered the socca pizza!

+ Do you have a pizza stone? I think I might want to get one. We have one, but it’s so “gluttened” that I obviously can’t use it 😛

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Pad Thai Broccoli Burgers

March 9, 2016 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 162 Comments

The flavors of Pad Thai packed into the ultimate bean and broccoli burger! Gluten-free, vegan, Pad Thai Broccoli Burgers are a perfect dinner recipe to satisfy even your carnivorous friends!

Who doesn’t love a veggie burger? And I’m talking BURGER. Not one of those sad, fall-apart messes and sad excuses for a meatless patty. None of that here. I want my veggie burgers veggie-packed, full of flavor and texture, hearty, but also “light”. I mean, how could you ever expect to convert a meat eater to eating and enjoying a veggie burger if it just does not live up to any type of standard? You won’t and then they’ll just become biased and assume all meatless patties are sad fails (which is far from the case)!

You won’t have to worry with these burgers. They will satisfy just about anyone. You know why? They are FLAVOR BOMBS! I don’ t think you could pack anymore explosive Thai flavor into these burgers. I’m talking the ultimate Pad Thai, but in an easy “portable” pattie package, if you will. Chickpeas, broccoli, lime, peanut flour, cilantro, lemongrass, and other spices. Pad Thai is all about the peanuts in my opinion and you get that here! By using peanut flour, you’re keeping these grain-free and lower in calories and fat as well so you get that “light” factor I was talking about.

When I think of Thai food, I think of ultra-fresh and light. Like a summer sunshine day! Maybe that’s just me? Apparently Thai food and East Asian cuisines are going to be a “2016 foodie trend”. I’m all for it! No complaints here! This trend mostly refers to “bowls” and noodles, but I’m thinking burgers will fit just fine as well! Burgers inspired by the iconic noodle dish, it just works!

Thailand is such a beautiful place, its cuisine deserves to be spread throughout the world. The land of coconut, rice noodles, and lemongrass? Heck yea! To bad I don’t see myself getting there anytime in the foreseeable future. I mean, I’ve never even left the East Coast, let alone have enough money to take a 20-something hour plane trip. When things like that happen, we just make the food of our destination, close our eyes, and pretend.

Maybe my next task should just be to find a Thai restaurant to eat at? Ha, I mean, I haven’t even made it that far! But that’s not really in my control. I don’t think there’s a Thai restaurant within a 50 mile radius of me (or an Asian market…I wish!). So this really is the best I can do with my isolated resources and opportunities…and money! If you ever happen to be taking a trip out to the Far East, let me know! I’m pretty small so I’m sure I could stow myself away in your suitcase! (After I wrote this post, my mom informed me she went to her first Thai restaurant last weekend…and ate duck!)

Pad Thai Broccoli Burgers

Pad Thai Broccoli Burgers

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

The flavors of Pad Thai packed into the ultimate bean and broccoli burger! Gluten-free, vegan, Pad Thai Broccoli Burgers are a perfect dinner recipe to satisfy even your carnivorous friends!

Author: Rebecca Pytell

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Thai

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 Cups Cooked Chickpeas (or 15.5 oz Can)
2 TB Aquafaba (liquid from cooked beans)
2 Cups Chopped Broccoli
½ Cup Peanut Flour
1 Shallot (chopped)
Zest of 1 Lime
Juice of ½ Lime
2 TB Chopped Cilantro
1 TB Coconut Aminos
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Dried Lemongrass
1 Tsp Chili Paste
½ Tsp Coriander

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a large food processor, combine all ingredients. Blend and pulse until you get a nice crumbly dough mixture.
Take the mixture and form 4 large patties with your hands. Place the patties on a Silpat or parchment paper liked baking sheet.
Bake the patties for 20 minutes, carefully flip them and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove and serve!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1

These burgers are fresh and delicious! Veggie burgers are something I always make sure I have pre-made and on hand in the freezer for those days I just want a quick easy dinner to pop in the microwave! Meaning, these freeze well and reheat in a snap. Anytime you want a taste of Thai, you can have it on demand, no plane tickets to exotic destinations required!