May Cookbook Club: Gwyneth Paltrow’s It’s All Easy

This month, Gwyneth Paltrow, releases her third cookbook, It’s All Easy: Delicious Weekday Recipes for the Super-Busy Cook. Unlike her first cookbook (a tribute to her late father and his favorite foods) or her second (which focuses on eating a clean diet), Gwyneth’s third cookbook highlights wholesome but comforting recipes for the time-strapped. As the Oscar-winning actress and lifestyle guru writes in her introduction: “This book is meant to be a road map: A self-help book for the chronically busy cook.”

 

Below is a look at two of our favorite recipes from the cookbook. If you’re into the dishes that you see here, then be sure to join us Wednesday, May 18 at your local store for our monthly Cookbook Club event. You’ll learn cooking techniques and enjoy a tasting of recipes from the cookbook prepared while you watch (including the Zucchini Cacio e Pepe featured below!). Get in touch with your local store for more details.

 

Zucchini Cacio e Pepe

 

Serves 4

 

Cacio e pepe is one of my favorite simple pasta dishes, so when Thea and I started spiralizing vegetables like maniacs, we thought a zucchini noodle version might be nice. We were right— it’s even more delicious than the original and so simple to make. If you don’t already own a spiralizer, put this book down and order one. Now. Seriously, it will change your life.

 

3 medium zucchini, spiralized

¼ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Salt

 

In a large bowl, toss the zucchini noodles with the olive oil and pepper. Add the cheese, toss to combine, and season with salt to taste.

 

Coconut Key Lime Tarts

 

Makes eight 1/2-inch tarts

 

Key lime pie is one of my daughter’s favorite desserts, so I’ve made a lot of them over the years. While I’m a big fan of the sweetened condensed milk and sugar bomb that is the traditional recipe, I wanted to make a raw, vegan dessert highlighting the bright, citrusy flavor I love so much in the original without all the butter, sugar, and preservatives. Use natural almond meal or flour if you can find it, and be sure to put your coconut milk in the fridge overnight so the solids and liquids separate.

 

For the crust

1 cup natural almond meal or flour

3 tablespoons coconut oil

3 tablespoons brown rice syrup

A pinch of salt

 

For the filling

1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk, left in the fridge overnight

Zest of 5 key limes or 1 regular lime, plus extra for garnish

Juice of 3 key limes or one regular lime

1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon coconut sugar

 

To make the crust, place all the crust ingredients in a medium bowl and use your hands to mix thoroughly, making sure there are no lumps of coconut oil left. Divide the mixture into 8 (about 1 tablespoon each) balls if using a standard muffin tin or 24 (about 1 teaspoon each) balls if using a mini-muffin tin. Place one ball of dough in each well of the muffin tin. Wet your fingers with water and press the dough up the sides to make little tart shells. Place the tart shells in the fridge to set while you make the filling.

 

To make the filling, scoop out the solid portion of the coconut milk (leaving it in the fridge overnight allows the fat to separate from the liquid) and place it in a large bowl. Use a fork to break it up into an almost smooth consistency, then add the lime zest, lime juice, and coconut sugar. Whisk until the mixture is super smooth and has the consistency of lightly whipped cream. Fill each tart shell with the coconut filling, garnish with extra lime zest, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

 

When ready to eat, use a butter knife to loosen the tarts from the pan, then pop them out. Eat immediately or store in the fridge so they keep their shape.

 

Excerpted from the book It’s All Easy: Delicious Weekday Recipes for the Super-Busy Home Cook by Gwyneth Paltrow. Copyright © 2016 by Gwyneth Paltrow with Thea Baumann. Photographs copyright © 2016 by Ditte Isager. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Life & Style. All rights reserved.