Recipe: Pineapple Granita (Gluten, Dairy, & Sugar Free)

My son loves ice cream and gelato, but now that he's dairy free again, it's harder to find cool summer treats that aren't full of sugar or chemicals.  It's hot here in Costa Rica, and fruit is cheap, so after visiting a farmer's market and buying  ton of fruit, I decided to make some granita.  Granita is a typical Italian dessert of flavoured shaved ice.  It's super easy to make, and doesn't require any special equipment.  This recipe is granita at the most basic, but there are so many simple ways to dress it up as a fancy dessert. 

We made pineapple granita because pineapples are everywhere in Costa Rica, so we bought 2 of them for about $2.  We used one for smoothies, but the other was perfect for granita.

**This recipe doesn't call for sugar because I used ripe pineapple that was very sweet.  To choose a ripe pineapple, pull on one of the middle leaves on top.  If it comes out easily, the pineapple is ready to eat.  Check the bottom to ensure there is no mould.  Taste the pineapple before freezing.  Add a bit of sugar or honey to mix if a sweeter taste is desired.

Pineapple Granita

Equipment

1 non-stick metal baking pan (cake pan or something similar with sides)
1 blender
Fork (I know, high end stuff)

Ingredients

1 pineapple, cleaned, cored, & chopped in pieces
1 cup water

Directions

1- Combine pineapple chunks with water in blender and mix until smooth.  Pour mixture into baking pan. 

2- Freeze mixture, stirring every 30 minutes or so with a fork because the water tends to separate.  Continue until completely frozen solid.  To serve, take the side of a fork and scrape the icy shards off the top and into a serving bowl.  Serve immediately. 

Depending on how cold your fridge's freezer is, freezing times vary.  It keeps well in the freezer covered with plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn.

Weekly Gluten Free Menu Plan

Monday: 15 Minute Tuna & Tomato Pasta (Recipe) 














Tuesday:  Green Pea & Mushroom Risotto 

Wednesday: Fish Tacos 















Thursday:  Gluten & Dairy Free Spinach Soup (Recipe) 
















Friday: Stuffed Eggplants (Recipe) 

Recipe: Easy Fried Plantains

One of my favourite foods to eat is the plantain banana.  They can be prepared so many different ways and always add some great colour and flavour to a meal.  What used to be considered an exotic fruit is now easily found at most local supermarkets.  If you've never eaten plantains before, it can be a bit confusing to choose the right banana for the dish you want to make.  For this dish, you want really ripe plantains that are soft to the touch, but not mushy.  The skin should be yellow in colour with some black already on the outside.  You want them to be soft to cook, but not mushy so that they fall apart. 



Sliced and ready to cook

This side dish is sweet and great for kids.  It can be served as is, or served with sour cream (or crema) to balance the flavours.  It could also be served as a dessert with some honey or rum, or with a scoop of ice cream.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

4 plantains, peeled and sliced diagonally
Oil to coat the bottom of a frying pan (Canola or another tasteless oil works best)

Directions

1- Coat the bottom of a frying pan with oil and heat at medium high.  Oil is hot when a drop of water sizzles when dropped in the pan.

2- Arrange plantain slices in a single layer in the frying pan.  You may have to cook more than one batch.  Fry, flipping once or twice, until bananas are soft and begin to caramelize.  How long you cook them for is personal preference.  I like mine almost burnt, but it's more common to see them cooked to a deep golden yellow. 

Serve while still warm.

Gluten Free In Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

I plan on writing a nice big round-up of our trip to Costa Rica when we get home, but for today, just a quick recommendation for anyone looking to eat out gluten free in Jaco Beach.  Yesterday we found ourselves hot, thirsty, and tired after a morning of sightseeing along the coast, and decided to stop in Jaco Beach for lunch before heading back home.  Jaco has a ton of eateries, though not all are open before noon, and not all are traditional Costa Rican eateries.  I have nothing against eating at expat places, but when I'm in a foreign country I like to frequent local spots as much as possible.  When looking for gluten free options, it's actually easier at the local food places than the ones catering to North Americans. 

The North American restaurants mainly had signs for pizza, hot dogs & hamburgers, sandwiches & wraps.  Since those items are off limits for our gluten free kid, looking local made more sense.  Costa Rican food typically consists of rice, beans, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables.  We found a local spot that was full of locals, and that had a sign advertising breakfast from 2000 colones, or about $4 US. 

El Chante Tipico is a small eatery with tables carved from huge tree trunks.  The owners speak some English.  Rather than choosing from a menu, there is a small serving area where you ask for what you want from a buffet of food.  Normally I advise against buffets, but not this time.  Here's why:  1) The employee serves the food, and there are separate utensils for each dish.  Less cross-contamination is likely to occur.  2) Nothing (nothing that was available the day I was there) contained gluten.  The only thing that could have contained it was the fried fish, but it was coated in corn flour.  The thing is, wheat flour is very rarely used in day to day cooking.  It's common in the sweet breads sold at bakeries, but most cooking is done without it.   Still, I always recommend asking, as recipes change.

The price of the lunch buffet ranged from 2500 colones ($5) to 3000 colones ($6) depending on whether you added fish to your plate.  Three lunches plus three bottles of water came to the equivalent of $16 US.  Aside from beans and rice there were a variety of vegetables, fried plantains, meat, fish, and salads to choose from.  The plates were overflowing with typical food that tasted great and was safe for our son to eat. 

My plate: rice & beans, fish, plantains, vegetables & salad

My husband's plate; Rice & beans, extra beans, plantains, 2 different types of vegetables & meat

My son's plate: rice & beans, boiled potato, mixed vegetables

The location is convenient, right on the main street next to the beach, right across the street from the park on Avenida Pastor Diaz.  The restaurant is a small eatery but it is bright and airy and the bathrooms are clean.  I don't know how the menu changes at night, but the lunch deal was cheap, plentiful, and delicious.  Sadly, we were the only tourists there.  The place was full of locals, but most English speakers were across the small side street at a place advertising jumbo hot dogs with not a Costa Rican in sight and prices easily 3 times what we paid.  I know because we scoped out the menu.   

When in a new place, we try to eat where the locals are eating, especially if that coincides with great gluten free options.  We felt welcome at this small eatery, and everyone was friendly.  Even if you speak little to know Spanish, you can always point to what you want.  Worth a visit!