Beginning in February, Cups Culinary Director Jesus Gonzalez, formerly creative chef at the Rancho La Puerta Spa in Tecate, Mexico, will begin a regular monthly series of his healthy, seasonal fare – but this time, all made without gluten, and mostly all without dairy.
Chef Jesus is known for his seasonal spa cuisine, featuring the freshest, local ingredients – full of flavor and texture, without all the fat and simple carbohydrates. But given his use of alternative, healthier grains, much of his repertoire is also gluten free. So he decided to focus this series on putting together amazing menus of his healthiest, most flavorful dishes – all gluten free.
“I cook a lot with quinoa and other grains – which are flavorful and nutritious, and wonderfully versatile” said Gonzalez. ”Because of this, many of my meals are naturally gluten free already.”
Gonzalez’s classes are also dairy free or can be easily altered to be dairy free.
“Many of my class members have expressed an interest in dairy-free eating, so I tend to offer alternatives for them. Most often, when I use dairy, it is goat milk, yoghurt or cheese, but even these can be eliminated from the menu without sacrificing flavor.”
The upcoming class menus include:
Squash apple soup with thai red curry
Roasted pear and arugula salad with pomegranate chipotle vinaigrette
Pan roasted fish with pearl onions porcini and fingerling potatoes
Root vegetables roasted with honey balsamic and spices
Chocolate cake with Fresh persimon, sweet cheese and toasted walnuts, red wine
Tortilla soup with avocado
Beet salad with pine nuts and guava dressing
Shrimp enchiladas on mexican rice with guacamole
Chocolate chip cranberry cookies
Guacamole with bake tortilla chips
Spinach salad with poach eggs and cilantro dressing
Mango gazpacho with balsamic reduction
Masala crusted wild salmon with pineapple cilantro chutney
Orange-saffron-pine nut bread
Strawberry and vanilla cream parfait with almond cookies
