Kannoli and Kraut are proud to present another guest blogger...we will call her Mrs. Wheatfree. Get it? She can't eat Gluten...come on people...all of the good gluten free names are already taken :) Say it fast...it's kind of cute.
Thanks Mrs. W for this yummy looking recipe. We can't wait to try it!!...
The Beginning:
At age 34 I was sick and tired… of being sick and tired. I went to the doctor and described my symptoms and gave my family history. Of course they ran a full battery of tests, sent me to specialists, ran blood tests and found… wait for it… nothing. I was completely disheartened, pissed off. They were experts, shouldn’t they be at least be able to give me SOME idea of what was wrong with me?
Did I mention I was overweight as well? Oh yes, I was fat. And not the kind with the PH, the much less attractive kind. So I decided to do something about my weight and went on the South Beach Diet. You know the one… all meat , veggies, and low fat dairy, no carbs. Something amazing happened. All my “sick and tired” disappeared within days. I knew there was a correlation so I did what any modern woman would do. I turned to the internet. Turns out I had all the symptoms of someone with a disease called Celiac. I immediately took this to my doctor. She was amazed, and pretty convinced that I did indeed have the disease. She also shared with me that approximately 1 in 133 American suffer from gluten intolerance. I was astonished. Wow. So then, more tests. The blood kind. My least favorite.
Long story short, I am indeed gluten intolerant and it was time to make some major lifestyle changes. No more bread. No more tortillas. No more fast food. No more pasta! My Italian husband was not too thrilled about any of this, least of all the pasta. He was however, incredibly supportive. I had to change our entire way of living and all the foods we eat were under scrutiny. Lucky for us, there are a lot of wonderful choices for us gluten intolerant peeps as far as pasta goes. Rice pasta is our favorite. Bread is another story. I have yet to find one that doesn’t either fall apart or feel like I just ate a brick.
Did I forget to mention I lost weight? It started falling off after I began giving my body what it needed and stopped poisoning it with gluten. I have discovered all sorts of new and wonderful recipes, all of which I never would have experienced without this disease. Eating gluten free is not a necessity, but it can definitely be healthy for all… and absolutely delicious. So here it begins my first gluten free post for Kannoli and Kraut. Bon appétit!
Seared Tuna on Shaved Fennel Salad with Light Creamy Lemon Sauce and Parmesan
Ingredients
Salad:
1 fennel bulb, shaved paper thin w/a Japanese Mandolin or a cheese slicer if necessary
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme leaves
1 teaspoon chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons shaved Parmesan cheese
Creamy Lemon Sauce:
½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 clove garlic, minced
1/8 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoons capers
½ teaspoon lemon-pepper
¼ cup fat-free sour cream
Tuna:
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon rainbow peppercorns
4oz. fresh sushi grade tuna
2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Start with the Salad:
Shave your fennel like you never shaved it before!! Okay, maybe it was just me. But now I am hooked. I put shave fennel in all sorts of things now… but that is another post. So, back to the salad. This is the difficult part so pay close attention: mix shaved fennel, EVOO (that’s extra virgin olive oil to all of those of you who have never watched Rachel Ray), lemon juice, chopped thyme, Italian parsley, and shaved parm. Store it in a cool place while you prepare the rest. That’s it. Like I said…. rocket science.
On to the Creamy Lemon Sauce:
Heat the EVOO in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add two cloves of garlic if you are brave or live alone, one if you don’t. After one minute of sautéing, reduce heat to low. Stir in the lemon juice, capers, and lemon pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Don’t freak out when your garlic turns green… it will, just deal with it. Next add the sour cream and cook for another 5 minutes until heated completely through.
Cooking Charlie Tuna:
Brush Charlie on both sides with 1 teaspoon of the EVOO and sprinkle with freshly crushed rainbow peppercorns. Heat a sauté pan to high and add the last teaspoon of EVOO. Toss the tuna in the pan and allow to cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side, searing only the outside and leaving the inside completely raw and cool. Remove tuna from the pan, place on a cutting board, and gently slice into thin pieces.
Assembly!
Remove the Salad from its cool place and toss in the Creamy Lemon Sauce. Arrange salad tossed with sauce on plate, artistically arrange Charlie on the salad… and dig in!