Diary and gluten free
Serves 4-5

            Juicy tomato, eggplant’s meaty texture that absorbs garlic, oregano, and ancho, and almond’s deep flavor combine in this baked vegetable side dish. Here I’ve taken the traditional cheese and breadcrumb crust packed with saturated fat and replaced it with a nutrient-rich topping high in monounsaturated fat, a fat that contributes to a balanced cholesterol profile and heart health (Ipatenco; “Nuts and Your Heart”). Lycopene, the carotenoid that gives tomatoes and other fruits their reddish-orange color and helps lower cancer and stroke risk, releases as the tomatoes cook (Karppi; Godman; "Q&A: Lycopene in Cooked Tomatoes?"). When you consider these health benefits as you devour the scrumptious toasted almond, garlic, Ancho, and olive oil crust, you won’t miss cheesy breadcrumbs.
            While best if consumed within an hour or so of baking, you can enjoy the gratin the next day by baking a portion in a toaster oven to heat the base and crisp the crust.

4 early girl tomatoes (or another medium-sized red tomato variety), skinned*
1 medium-sized eggplant*
¼ teaspoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped
¼ cup chopped almonds
¼ cup almond flour
1-tablespoon olive oil
2 medium garlic gloves, crushed or finely chopped
Salt, to taste (a generous sprinkle over the tomatoes, and in the almond topping)
¼ teaspoon Ancho chili powder
1-2 pinches of ground black pepper
4-5 fresh basil leaves, torn

1. Preheat oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Wash, dry, and slice the tomatoes and eggplant into a ¼ inch thick slices.

3. Spread olive oil around a medium-sized baking dish.

4. Place the tomato and eggplant slices in a fan across the baking dish (see the picture).

5. Sprinkle the chopped oregano leaves and a generous pinch of salt over the top of the tomatoes and eggplant.

6. Mix the chopped almonds, almond flour, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, crushed garlic, Ancho chili powder, and ground black pepper together in a bowl. A crumb topping will form as you mix these ingredients.

7. Spread the almond mixture on top of the tomatoes.

8. Place the dish on the top rack of the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

9. Let the gratin cool for about 8 minutes before dividing it into portions, garnishing with torn basil leaves, and serving.

*To skin the tomatoes, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Make on X on the bottom of the tomatoes with your knife (just enough to pierce the skin) and cut the cores out. Submerge the tomatoes in the hot water for just under a minute, and then pull out of the hot water to shock them in salted ice-cold water. In about one-two minutes, the tomatoes should be cool enough to handle. Pull the skin off and place the tomatoes on a cutting board to slice.

*With its soft skin, Rosa Bianca is the variety I prefer, but any smaller, thin-skinned eggplant variety will do. Usually the globe eggplant is too thick-skinned and large in diameter for this recipe.

                                                Works Cited

Godman, Heidi. "Lycopene-rich Tomatoes Linked to Lower Stroke Risk." Harvard Health Blog RSS. Harvard Medical School, 10 Oct. 2012. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.

Ipatenco, Sara. "Monounsaturated Fat Vs. Polyunsaturated Fat." Healthy Eating: SFGate, n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.

Karppi, Jouni, et al. "Serum Lycopene Decreases the Risk of Stroke in Men." Neurology, 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.

“Nuts and Your Heart: Eating Nuts for Heart Health.” Mayo Clinic, n.d. Web. 16   Aug. 2015.

"Q&A: Lycopene in Cooked Tomatoes?" Consumer Reports News, 4 Sept. 2009. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.

Dairy and Gluten Free
Serves 5-6
          Heavy cream, butter, refined sugar, white flour, and egg yolks are the building blocks for most desserts. When consumed in moderation and sourced from responsible producers these ingredients aren’t harmful, but often riding this line can be hard, and why eat a dessert that might increase our LDL cholesterol and cancer risk? Why not enjoy a dessert that nourishes us in all the ways that good food should?
            The sweet tang of strawberries and raspberries combines with luscious dark chocolate and roasted almonds in this antioxidant-heavy dessert. While the base can be composed of a mixture of fresh summer fruit—blueberries, blackberries, figs, peaches, or plums—strawberries and raspberries are often the most accessible summer fruits. Packed with anthocyanins and phytonutrients, this berry, almond, chocolate mixture will leave you feeling as if you’ve indulged in a sinful dessert while it has a positive impact on your overall health.
            If you follow a gluten or dairy free diet, in most restaurants and dining situations, if you are lucky you might find the rare sorbet or fresh fruit cup; in other words, dessert becomes a boring dining experience or you must abstain altogether. The following recipe uses almonds, coconut, and neutral oil to create a crisp topping that actually tastes better than the diary and gluten packed traditional topping.  

Base:
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1 cup raspberries
¼ teaspoon ginger
½ cup dark chocolate, chopped (check for no cream or milk)

Topping:
½ cup roasted almonds, chopped
½ cup almond flour
½ cup finely shredded coconut
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons light olive, almond, or avocado oil

1. Preheat an oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Wash, dry, and slice the strawberries.

3. Wash and dry the raspberries and place them in a bowl with the strawberries.

4. Add ¼ teaspoon ginger and a pinch of salt to the berries and lightly fold them so that the ginger and salt are evenly distributed.

5. Place the berries in an oven safe dishpan.

6. Chop the dark chocolate and sprinkle it on top of the berry mixture.

7. Prepare the topping: Place the roasted chopped almonds, almond flour, shredded coconut, vanilla extract, pinch of salt and olive oil in a bowl. With a spoon, mix the ingredients together and break up the little balls that form.

8. Sprinkle the topping over the chocolate-berry base.

9. Bake the crisp for 20 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown and the berries are slightly cooked (don’t cook the crisp until the berries are mush—they should still have some firmness).

10. Cool for 20 minutes or more before serving.


                                                            Works Cited

Lewin, Jo. "The Health Benefits of Strawberries." BBC Good Food. BBC, n.d.     Web. 09 Aug. 2015.


Mazza, GJ. "Anthocyanins and Heart Health." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 09 Aug. 2015.