I decided to make a paleo vegetarian dinner today with two new recipes. It came out quite good! I’m trying to have a couple of vegetarian paleo meals a week — we’ll see how that goes.
The first recipe I made is called Paleo Vegetarian Burgers. I did not use them as burgers though but as small patties with an aioli sauce (not the Lemongrass ailoi that was optional in the original recipe) on top of them. I refrigerated the patties overnight and took them out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before I was ready to fry them.
Here are the ingredients you’ll be needing …
They will all be combined and put in a blender or food processor to blend together. I used 2 smaller sweet potatoes instead of 1 large one which I baked, peeled and then put in the food processor with everything else.
Make sure your eggs and sweet potatoes are at room temperature before adding them to the food processor.
Once everything is combined you’ll be making small patties and putting them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper then putting that cookie sheet in the refrigerator. You don’t have to keep them there overnight but I would suggest at least a couple of hours to make sure they are firm before frying them.
Now for the recipe …
Ingredients
- 2 small sweet potatoes or 1 large one, chopped
- 4 whole mushrooms, diced
- ½ green bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 1 teaspoon cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup of almond flour
- ½ cup of flaxseed meal
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon of coconut aminos
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- ½ tablespoon of coconut vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (not extra virgen)
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- In a food processor, combine the sweet potato, peppers, jalapeno, cilantro, almond flour, flaxseed meal, eggs, garlic cloves, cumin, coriander, coconut aminos, lime juice, coconut vinegar, salt and black pepper. Pulse until everything is combined but in small pieces.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Form your patties and put them on the baking sheet then refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes or overnight as I did.
- Once you’re ready to cook them, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat then add the patties. If you cook these patties too quickly they will be done on the outside but not on the inside so don’t rush the cooking process.
- Cover the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side.
That’s pretty much it for the patties.
The Aranitas were a snap to make. Really easy. The only suggestion I would make is to make sure you don’t make them too thick or the outside will be beautifully done while the inside will be slightly raw. (I had a couple come out that way so next time I’ll make sure I’m more careful.)
Here are the ingredients you’ll need. Yes — this is all, isn’t that fantastic? The original recipe calls for coconut oil but I used the olive oil to fry in also — either one will work.
This is what the “dip” will look like. (You’ll be stirring it up really good right before serving to get garlic pieces on your aranitas. Â Yum!
Next you’ll be preparing your green plantains. They truly must be green as the yellow ones (also called maduros) won’t shred well enough for this recipe.
First, you’ll be cutting the tips off the plantains to make it easier for you to peel this “banana” then slitting it right down the middle.
Next you’ll be peeling the plantain. This requires a little finesse but I grew up with plantains so it was very easy. Simply pull the peel from the slit portion to the right and work your way down and around.
The peel will come off in chunks. If small pieces of peel are left on the plantain, simply use a small knife and scrape them off.
Next you’ll be preparing a bowl of cold cold salted water. I used a large salad bowl and added ice to it to make sure the water was cold.
Next, add the plantains to the cold water and allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes. Once that’s completed, get a grater and grate the plantains.
After heating your oil in a skillet (coconut or olive if you’re on the paleo diet), use your hands to form flattened “pancakes” — you want them to be kind’ve flat or (as I said above) they won’t cook fully through. Â Some of mine came out a little “puffy” — edible but not the best.
Oh — make sure your oil is HOT when you slide these in the skillet.
You can see the (above) plantains starting to get crispy on the sides. That’s a good thing. You don’t want them to cook too quickly or you’ll also have the “raw in the middle” problem. But you’ll want these crispy as you’ll be using your hands (yes, your hands) to pick them up and eat them.
And this is what they will look like … A very old Puerto Rican dish served with an olive garlic dip.
Ready to try the recipe?
Ingredients
- 2 Green Plantains, grated
- 3Â Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1/4Â cup Olive Oil
- Kosher Salt
- Coconut or Olive Oil (for cooking and the dip)
Directions
- In a small bowl, add the garlic and the olive oil and whisk them together then set aside for about an hour.
- Peel the green plantains then soak them in salt water for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the plantains from the water, dry them slightly with a paper towel and then grate them. Add salt to the plantains if you prefer them even more salty.
- Using your hands, form palm sized patties.
- Heat about 2 inches or so of oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. The oil should be hot enough so that it “sizzles” when you put a plantain in the skillet.
- Fry until golden on both sides. Crispy is how you want them.
- When you remove them from the skillet, put them on paper towels to remove some of the oil.
- These are best if served warm.
And that is pretty much it! Here is what our dinner looked like. I served the Veggie Patties with an aioli sauce and the Aranitas with the garlic sauce. I also put together a cucumber/tomato/pepper salad to serve with this meal.
Enjoy!
Special thanks to Paleo Effects for both recipes!
