By ALISON ASHTON –  Parade

(Mark Boughton Photography/Styling by Teresa Blackburn)

ndrew Zimmern’s catering company, Passport Hospitality, serves this pork-belly version of a hot dog at AZ Canteen locations in Minneapolis. “We’ve been serving that for 15 years, and it’s probably one of our best-selling dishes in our stadium concessions,” says Zimmern. “The slaw, the bacon and the jalapeno jelly is such an awesome trio of elements that go together so well.” To make this at home, you’ll need a large chunk of slab bacon that you can cut into hefty strips. Order it ahead of time from your butcher or online (www.smokehouse.com).

Make-Ahead Tip: Prep the jelly and slaw up to 1 day ahead. Roast the bacon before guests arrive, and sear it just before serving.

Bacon Sandwich with Jalapeno Jelly and Vinegar Slaw

GLUTEN FREE· MAIN· PALEO· RECIPES· SIDES· SOUPS & STEWS· VEGAN· VEGETARIAN

Reposted from Isabel Eats

This Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Fried Jalapeños is thick, creamy and loaded with healthy veggies. It’s also gluten free, paleo, vegetarian and vegan!

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Fried Jalapenos

If you’re looking to sneak in some vegetables into your diet, pureed soup recipes like this cauliflower soup are your best friend.

Made with two big ‘ol heads of roasted cauliflower, onions, garlic, dried sage and more, a serving of this soup is full of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A and all the good stuff we get through food. And to give it that little Mexican inspired touch, I just haaad to mix in some fried jalapeños. I couldn’t help myself.

I have been absolutely obsessed with making pureed soups lately. Part of it is because they’re super easy to make and another part is because they’re often full of veggies and pretty healthy.

But let’s be honest – it’s mostly because it’s cold outside and I like eating soups when it’s freezing. Nothing to do with health, nothing to do with how easy it is, everything to do with wrapping my hands around a warm bowl of soup to keep them warm.

Does that make me a bad food blogger? ????

Luckily, this recipe is pretty damn healthy, full of veggies, warm and comforting AND freaking tasty. It’s a win win!

To get this soup thick and creamy, I used 2 full heads of cauliflower instead of using any common thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Those things are bad at all, but I wanted to fit in as many veggies as possible.

To bring out the best cauliflower flavor, I roasted it in the oven until it softened and started to get all those juicy brown bits. Roasting cauliflower is my absolutely favorite way of eating the cruciferous veggie, and I highly recommend it. Just look at this Spicy Chipotle Roasted Cauliflower recipe!

Once you roast veggies, you’ll never go back.

Once the cauliflower is nice and roasted, I sauteed some garlic and onions until beautifully fragrant and translucent. Then add in the cauliflower to the same pot along with some sage, broth and a bay leaf. Bring everything to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Then comes the fun part – pureeing everything! If you want everything as smooth as can be, I recommend transferring the soup to a blender and blending until smooth. You may have to do it in two batches because you don’t want the soup to overfill and explode in the blender. That would not be good.  Here is a link to the exact blender that I use and love. It gets everything silky smooth and isn’t as expensive as a Vitamix.

If you want your soup more chunky, almost like a chowder, I recommend using an immersion blender like this one. I love using my immersion blender if I can because clean up is a breeze compared to all the other options. And I’m always looking for a way to reduce the amount of dishes I have to do!

Once everything is nice and blended, mix in some milk (I used almond milk to keep this recipe paleo and vegan, but you can use regular cow’s milk if that’s what you have) and some fried jalapeños. If you leave in some of the veins and a seeds when frying the jalapenos, they give the soup a nice little kick, but if you don’t want anything spicy, you can leave them out. It’s up to you.

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can this cauliflower soup be frozen?

It depends. I don’t recommend freezing soups that have milk in them, even if it’s almond milk. I find that the milk separates a little bit and becomes too “watery.” However, if you plan on freezing it, you can leave out the almond milk, freeze it and mix it in when you’re ready to eat.

Is this soup spicy?

No. If you devein and remove the seeds from the jalapeños, this soup isn’t spicy at all. If you’d like it to have some heat (like me!), feel free to leave in some veins and seeds when frying.

WRITTEN BY: NEWS DESK  –   The Caterer

Photography 
by Andrew Montgomery

Pica pau means ‘woodpecker’, and you eat this dish with a cocktail stick, picking pieces up and gobbling them a bit like its namesake would. My version uses beef fillet; if you ask your butcher to give you the tail ends of the fillet it will be a lot cheaper, without compromising on flavour. I use Ibérico ham for its rich, sweet flavour. You could use other cured hams, but remember to check the salt 
content, since some types are saltier and less nutty than Ibérico. When I dream of this dish, which I often do, it always comes with an ice-cold draught beer.

Serves 4

For the pickled vegetables
600ml Japanese rice vinegar
600g caster sugar
50g fine sea salt
2 bay leaves
½tsp black peppercorns
1 small head cauliflower, 
cut into bite-sized florets
2 carrots, cut into 5mm slices
1 onion, cut into eighths

For the piri piri oil
5-7 fresh piri piri, malagueta 
or bird’s eye chillies
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1tsp fine sea salt
300ml olive oil
10 dried piri piri or 
malagueta chillies
2tbs brandy or aguardente velha
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1tbs lemon juice
1tbs white wine vinegar
3 bay leaves
A few black peppercorns

For the pica pau
1tbs good-quality pork fat
1tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 small long red chilli, deseeded (optional) and halved lengthways
300g beef fillet, rump or sirloin, 
cut into bite-sized pieces
150g thick-cut cured ham, ideally Ibérico, Serrano or Parma ham, finely chopped
10 small gherkins, finely chopped
About 1tbs dry white wine, to taste
A small handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped
Lemon wedges, to serve
Piri piri oil, to serve (see above)
Sea salt flakes and ground 
white pepper

To make the pickled vegetables, put the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, bay leaves and peppercorns in
a pan with 600ml water. Place 
over a medium heat and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring it to the boil, then add the cauliflower, carrots and onion.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool, along with the liquor. I like to make this the day before I use it. Stored in an airtight container, it should keep for two weeks in the fridge.

To make the piri piri oil, make a paste with the fresh chillies and sea salt using a pestle and mortar or a food processor. Heat the paste with 60ml of the oil in a small 
pan over a low heat. Add the remaining ingredients, except the remaining oil. Increase the heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes, to burn off the alcohol and lightly caramelise the garlic and chillies. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rest of the oil.

To make the pica pau, take a handful of the pickles, cut them into small pieces and then set aside.

Melt the pork fat and olive oil over a high heat in a large frying pan. When the fat starts to sizzle, add the garlic, chilli and beef and season with salt and pepper. Fry quickly for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the ham, chopped pickles and gherkins, then add the white wine, starting with half a tablespoon and adding more to taste as required, along with a splash of pickle liquor if you like. Fry for another minute. Take the pan off the heat and stir through the parsley. Serve immediately, 
in the pan, with cocktail sticks. Lemon wedges and a drizzle of piri piri oil are nice additions.

Recipe taken from Lisboeta: Recipes from Portugal’s 
City of Light

Photography 
by Andrew Montgomery