{cook: Gwyneth's Recipes}

Just this morning, I was having an in depth cooking conversation with my housekeeper (aka lifesaver & friend), Maria, about the incredible tamales she made for us last week. I promise to post the recipe once I can weasel it out of her! Then these recipes were in my In Box this morning, courtesy of GOOP. They look gorgeous- and healthy, to boot.

It's that time of year where I am feeling inspired to spend time in the kitchen and be nurturing. I'm going to start posting lots of recipes I am testing out. I hope you enjoy them. Cooking is a passion of mine, but I can only cook when I am happy. It's been a tough month for me since being back from the Hamptons, and I have not been inspired to cook. When I feel myself longing to cook and create in the kitchen, I know there are better days to come.

Please let me know what you think of these!

(all photos and recipe copy courtesy of GOOP)

CARAMELIZED BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN

I recently found this recipe in Food & Wine magazine. It’s from Charles Phan, who runs the great Vietnamese restaurant, Slanted Door, in San Francisco. When I make it, I use a little less sugar, a lot more cilantro and organic chicken breasts (I prefer the texture of white meat in this preparation). This literally takes minutes, is so easy and tastes like what you always imagine take-out will taste like (but sadly never does). Serve this with jasmine or brown rice and stir-fried or steamed vegetables.

SERVES: 4 generously
TIME: 10 minutes

2/3 cup dark brown sugar (unrefined)
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons finely grated garlic
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
1 or 2 fresh Thai chilis (to your taste!), halved
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 pounds organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces (1/2”)
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, ginger, pepper and chili and reserve.In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the shallots until softened and a bit brown, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and stir-fry, browning it all over, about a minute. Add the sugar mixture and simmer over high heat until the chicken is totally cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

ASIAN TUNA SANDWICHES WITH SOY AND SESAME MAYONNAISE

This started as an elegant, plated tuna dish, but it quickly turned into an out-of-this-world sandwich. If you’d like, you can omit the bread and simply serve the tuna on a bed of arugula and use the soy and sesame mayonnaise as a dressing.

SERVES: 4
TIME: 10 minutes

2 tuna steaks, about half a pound each
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon finely minced ginger
8 slices ciabatta
Extra virgin olive oil
Soy and sesame mayonnaise (see recipe below)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup arugula

SOY AND SESAME MAYONNAISE

Beyond quick and simple but full of flavor. Also a nice dip for steamed vegetables.

MAKES: 1/2 cup (more than enough for 4 sandwiches)
TIME: 1 minute!

1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise (or Veganaise – the only substitute that tastes good)
2 teaspoons shoyu (soy sauce)
2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil
Whisk everything together.

Slice each tuna steak in half horizontally so you end up with four thin steaks (more bang for your buck!). Rub them with the peanut oil and ginger. Set a large, nonstick skillet over high heat. When it’s hot, cook the tuna steaks for 20-30 seconds on each side or until just seared. Meanwhile, grill or toast the bread and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. Spread the soy and sesame mayo on one side of each slice and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Distribute the tuna and arugula evenly on four slices of bread and sandwich with the remaining four slices. Devour.

BUCKWHEAT AND BANANA PANCAKES

I’ve got a thing for pancakes. This combination of nutty buckwheat and sweet, sticky banana is just great. You could sprinkle chopped walnuts on the pancakes as they’re cooking for a full-on pancake-meets-banana bread experience. These happen to be vegan, but don’t taste like it. Buckwheat flour adds a lot of value to the plain white flour – it’s rich in nutrients like calcium, iron, B vitamins and protein, and it's gluten-free. Definitely worth a trip to the health food store.

SERVES: 3 or 4 (makes about a dozen pancakes)
TIME: 15 minutes

1 1/4 cups soy or rice milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup, plus more for serving
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or white spelt flour (substitute rice flour to make pancakes completely gluten-free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bananas, thinly sliced

Mix all the wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a slightly bigger bowl. Add the wet to the dry and stir just enough to combine – be careful not to over-mix (that’s how you get tough pancakes).Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat (I love Jamie Oliver’s nonstick cookware – it’s so slippery that I don’t need to use any oil or butter). Ladle as many pancakes as possible onto your griddle. Place a few slices of banana on top of each pancake. Cook for about a minute and a half on the first side or until the surface is covered with small bubbles and the underside is nicely browned. Flip and cook for about a minute on the second side. Repeat the process until you run out of batter. Serve stacked high with plenty of maple syrup.