Month: August 2021

Beet and Tomato Gazpacho

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment
Beet and Tomato Gazpacho

Enjoy Beet and Tomato Gazpacho – a feast for your eyes and your palate. August is the time to make tomato-based gazpacho. Gardens and farmers markets are resplendent with this juicy, ripe, flavorful fruit. While there is no “ONE” gazpacho, I have simply had too many that tasted more like a Bloody Mary than a true gazpacho. And this delightful cold soup should never be eaten out of season. Isn’t part of the joy in these foods that they are only available for a limited time?

Every summer my mother would make a delicious gazpacho. And I also enjoy some of the less traditional gazpachos without a tomato base, like this green gazpacho. One year our family took a trip to Spain and I recall with fondness the gazpacho that we ate in a former bull-fighting ring. It was garnished with prawns and the texture of the soup was velvety smooth and so refreshing on a very hot day. Every region in Spain has their version. You might wish to try this Andalusian Gazpacho.

The recipe is from the wonderful Martha Rose Shulman. She was inspired by the Spanish Michelin-starred chef, Dani Garcia. The color alone of this gazpacho makes it worth making. The beets that I roasted stained everything this glorious color!

Beet and Tomato Gazpacho

Where some gazpachos that I have had can be very spicy or sharp, this one is not. But don’t mistake smooth for dull or boring. Far from it! No single ingredient overpowers or catches in the back of your throat. But each element blends and compliments the other perfectly. For maximum flavor, make this Beet and Tomato Gazpacho the day before and allow it to thoroughly chill, adjusting the salt before serving. Chilled dishes tend to require more salt than you might otherwise use. There may be a bit of separation after the gazpacho sits in the fridge. Just give it a good stir and you are good to go.

This is not a difficult soup to make, but it does need a good blender to achieve the correct texture. The good news is that you do not have to peel the tomatoes – something that I hate doing. And while you probably could make this with prepared beets that are available at your grocery store, this is the time to roast your own beets. Roasting is very easy and if the beet greens and stems are in good shape, you can use them to make selka, a delightful and healthy Moroccan salad.

Serve this as a first course for dinner or as a light lunch with a crusty bread and a nice glass of wine.

Recipe

Beet and Tomato Gazpacho

Yield: About 6 servings

Ingredients

Two 1/4-inch thick slices red or white onion

1 large roasted beet

1 Persian cucumber or half of a seedless English cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks

2 pounds of ripe tomatoes (about 6 medium), cored and cut into chunks

2 stalks of celery or fennel, coarsely chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, halved and the green germ removed from the center (This removes any bitterness)

2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar

3 Tablespoons EVOO

Salt to taste (Start with 1.5 teaspoons)

1/2 to 1 cup of ice water, as needed for texture and consistency

For Garnish

1/2 cup diced cucumber

Slivers or ribbons of fresh mint leaves

Directions

Place the onions in a bowl and cover with cold tap water. Add a few drops of vinegar (Distilled or cider is fine – don’t waste the more expensive sherry vinegar here. By doin this, you are just softening any harshness that the onion may have.) Allow this to sit while you prep everything else. Then drain and rinse and cut into about 4 pieces.

Place all of the vegetables in a large bowl and mix to distribute them throughout. Working in two or three batches, blend all of the ingredients except for the garnishes in a blender until smooth. Add the water as needed to achieve the consistency and texture you want. It should be a silky puree. Then put all of the soup in a container and chill for at least 4 hours. However, it is better if allowed to chill overnight. Garnish and serve.

Festive Flatbread

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment
Festive Flatbread

Festive Flatbread is as pretty as it is delicious – and it’s riffable! Since my husband retired he has gotten into doing some cooking, much to my delight. He now bakes the best challah, using my recipe, and is branching out to pita, pizzas and other flatbreads, with the occasional curry or stir-fry. The Festive Flatbread is named for the myriad grilled vegetables with all of their beautiful rich colors and flavors. It makes full use of summer’s bounty.

This recipe evolved because I was trying to clean out my vegetable drawer, and has become a favorite dinner for the two of us. We use just a shmear of homemade pesto sauce on the base, but you could also just brush it with a flavored olive oil. There is just a dusting of cheese, which could be left off if you wanted to keep this vegan. However you choose to make this wonderful flatbread just remember that sometimes less is more. Make sure that each element has the best flavors and don’t overdo it.

The shaping is kind of freeform so don’t fret if it isn’t a perfect circle or rectangle. And while we eat this as a dinner for two, if cut into smaller squares, this flatbread would also be a lovely appetizer with a beer or nice glass of wine. The version shown uses zucchini, red pepper, Portobello mushroom, corn and grape tomatoes topped with arugula. It’s a great combination and the Portobello mushrooms give off less liquid than some other mushrooms. But if you have eggplant or other kinds of peppers, use them. Caramelized onion – yummmmm! Even thinly sliced potato would be great. Let your imagination and vegetable drawer rule the results!

We did use the same basic flatbread recipe with a red sauce, pepperoni and cheese for a very thin crust pizza. And while it was delicious, the veggie version remains our favorite.

For other thin crust pizza/flatbreads:

Butternut Squash and Arugula Pizza

Butternut Squash Pizza

I’m going to turn the blog over to my husband now since this is really his handiwork.

Festive Flatbread

In Andrew’s words

Hi! It’s me again, Lisa’s husband, the guy who just recently started learning how to bake and cook. The recipe I’m sharing with you I adapted from Laura Vitale’s Grilled Veggie Flatbread, and it’s a wonderful summer dish, fresh, light, and flavorful.

Interested in my thoughts about learning to cook? Then keep reading.

Not so much? Then skip to the next section. My feelings won’t be hurt.

But I also want to share with you how my attitude about recipes and cooking changed over time. Here’s the thing: I started out knowing almost nothing about cooking, so when I’d watch a YouTube video where the presenter talked about “options” or was vague about some of the details, I’d get really nervous. How exactly am I supposed to cook this dish? What’s being left out that everyone else apparently already knows how to do?

This flatbread recipe is a good example. After I made it a few times I started to understand that you could make it slightly differently, or with different ingredients, and it would still be good. Or the next time I made it I could adjust it to what Lisa and I liked better (e.g. less pesto). So I’ll do things both ways: I’ll highlight how the basic idea of the recipe is simple, allowing you to make changes based on what you like or what vegetables you have on hand that night. But in the photos and descriptions I’ll also describe exactly how I made it, trying to be as simple and specific as possible. OK, on to the recipe!

Recipe

Yield: Dinner for 2 or 4 to 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

Festive Flatbread

For Flatbread dough

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    ½ tsp active dry yeast

    ½ tsp granulated sugar

    1 tsp kosher salt

    ½ cup warm water

    ½ tbsp olive oil

For the topping

    1 zucchini or 1/2 of a green and 1/2 of a yellow

    1 red/orange pepper

    1 ear of lightly-cooked corn

    1 large portobello mushroom

    7 cherry or grape tomatoes

    Parmigiano cheese, grated

    Mozzarella cheese, shredded

    baby arugula

    fresh basil leaves

Instructions for those who are more experienced cooks

1. You grill some summer vegetables you have on hand

(You slice them up, toss them in a bowl with some oil, salt, pepper and some thyme or oregano, then put them on a grill and cook them until they start showing some char marks. Then take them off the grill and set them aside.)

2. You partially bake a simple flatbread. The instructions are below.

3. You put some basil pesto (or maybe some flavored olive oil) on top and sprinkle with grated Parmigiano. You put on those delicious vegetables, some oil, some Mozzarella and then pop it back into the oven.

4. After about 5 minutes you take it out, top it with baby arugula and basil leaves and a drizzle of oil. You put it back in the oven for a minute, then take it out, cut it into pieces and serve.

Step by Step Instructions

Place the yeast, sugar, and water in a small bowl. Mix, cover, then let sit for about 5-10 minutes. The yeast should look slightly foamy, showing that it is working. (If you instead used instant yeast you don’t need to proof the yeast.)

Place the flour and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together. Add the yeast/water mixture and the oil, attach the dough hook and run at medium speed for about 4 minutes. The result should be a smooth, supple dough.

Take out the dough, knead it slightly into a ball. Place it into an oiled bowl and cover. Leave the bowl in a draft-free spot in the kitchen. I like to use the microwave. Let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled. How quickly it rises will depend on how warm your kitchen is.

Now (or even earlier) prepare the vegetables: slice the zucchini into rounds about ¼” thick; slice open the pepper, discard the seeds and stem, chop into 1” pieces; slice the Portobello into strips about ½” thick; leave the corn on the cob; slice the cherry tomatoes in half.

Put all the vegetables in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, dried thyme or oregano, toss all together. Place the vegetables on a hot grill, or on a stove-top grill pan, one layer at a time. Turn them when you see char marks. (Alternatively the vegetables could be cooked in a skillet or even in a 425 degree F oven.)

Place your pizza steel (or stone or upside-down baking sheet) into the oven.

Preheat oven to 485°F

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 3/8 to ¼” thick.

Transfer it to a parchment-covered pizza peel or upside-down baking sheet. Slide it onto the heated pizza steel (or stone or upside-down baking sheet) and let it bake. Use a sharp knife to pop any large bubbles you see forming.

After 5 minutes take it out. It is partially baked.

Lightly brush the flatbread with pesto sauce or flavored EVOO, then sprinkle some grated Parmigiano cheese on top, if using.

Layer the grilled vegetables on top, but leave the cherry tomatoes for later. (Slice the corn kernels off of the cob first!)

Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle a pinch of salt, then top with shredded Mozzarella (see photos).

Put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes.

Take it out of the oven, add the halved cherry tomatoes, baby arugula, fresh basil leaves, and fresh oregano.

Turn off the oven and put the flatbread back in just to warm up the topping. Keep an eye on it – the baby arugula wilts very fast. Then take it out and serve.

Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment
Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

Feel the island breezes blow with every bite of this Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake. And while this cheesecake is rich, it is also refreshing with the citrus tang of lime zest and pineapple. The macadamia nuts and toasted coconut add just the right amount of decadence. The bits of lime zest make for a subtle yet pretty contrast to the silky, smooth, white of the filling. It’s such a happy cake!

So after a day of slogging at work or playing in the sun, this make-ahead dessert is the best reward. Another great thing about this cake is that it is not a ginormous cheesecake. It’s still just me and my husband at home and a 9-inch cheesecake would take forever to finish. The circumference is only 6 inches and will easily satisfy 6 of even the hardiest appetites. And it holds up beautifully for several days in the fridge.

I chose to use virgin coconut oil in place of butter in the crust. It just ramps up the tropical flavors and it is a 1:1 swap. If you don’t have coconut oil or prefer not to use it, just substitute with an equal amount of butter. And I used pre-toasted coconut that I buy from Nuts.com – a wonderful source for all kinds of dried fruits, nuts, flours, spices and treats. But, it also is easy enough to toast coconut yourself if you either don’t have access to this or simply don’t want to go that route.

As you read the recipe, you will notice that I layer the flavors to build the intensity. You will taste the coconut, rum and macadamia nuts in the base and topping. And the lime zest is in the filling and topping. So with every bite there will be the creamy filling along with the slight crunch of the nuts and toasted coconut. The pineapple on top just adds to the tropical notes. Lovely!

Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

In order to get a perfect clean cut, run your knife under hot water first.

We are still not doing a lot of travelling, but eat this Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake and you will think that you are on a beautiful island with tropical breezes gently blowing.

My husband wanted me to add this comment from him:

I had my first piece of the Coconut Pineapple Macadamia cheesecake last night and was blown away. I had always thought that when chefs talked about a “particular balance of flavors” that it was just a bunch of hooey. I was wrong. This cheesecake isn’t merely delicious; it’s delicious from the first bite, as soon as that first combination of coconut, lime, pineapple, macadamia and other flavors hits your mouth.

NOTE: While I did not make this vegan, it easily could be since no eggs are required. Nowadays, there are delicious vegan substitutes for cream cheese and condensed milk. Check out my vegan Pumpkin Pie recipe for a recipe for vegan sweetened condensed milk at the end. This is my own recipe which is why I have not linked to anyone else.

For other delicious cheesecakes:

Blueberry Cheesecake

Summer Ricotta Cheesecake

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

Crostata di Ricotta

Recipe

Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

Yield: About 6 good servings

Ingredients

Crust

Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

150 g of crushed biscuits (Digestive or graham crackers. While I love Digestive Biscuits, the graham crackers make for a somewhat less dense, lighter base. I have used both, but prefer the latter.)

70 g macadamia nuts (I used dry roasted with sea salt. If you use raw macadamia nuts then add about ¼ teaspoon kosher salt)

35 g unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 cup (113 g) virgin coconut oil, melted (If you use refined coconut oil there won’t be any of the coconut flavor that you want.) If you have neither, you can use butter.

Filling

Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

8 oz. (225 g) full-fat cream cheese in a block, softened

1/2 cup (120 g) heavy coconut cream

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of one large lime

1 Tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut

1 Tablespoon dark or light rum (Optional) (The alcohol cooks off and only the flavor remains)

14 oz. can (396 g) of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Topping

Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

8 oz. can of crushed pineapple in juice

1/8 cup of light brown sugar (You could also use jaggery or demerara

Zest of half of a large lime

1.5 teaspoons corn starch

1.5 Tablespoons (44g) pineapple juice or water

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon rum (The alcohol cooks off and only the flavor remains)

About 1 Tablespoon chopped roasted macadamia nuts (Optional)

About 1 Tablespoon toasted shredded coconut (Optional)

Directions

Lightly grease the bottom of a 6-inch springform pan and line it with a round of parchment. You don’t have to do this but it will make it easy to transfer the cake off of the bottom of the tin.

Blitz the biscuits, nuts and coconut in a food processor or with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs. Do not wash the food processor. Just try to remove any excess crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and add the melted coconut oil. Mix until all of the crumbs are moist. It should feel like wet sand! Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F or 160 C.

Using a hand beater or the food processor (why dirty another utensil?) beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.

In a smallish bowl, whisk the heavy coconut cream and corn starch until smooth. Add this to the cream cheese. Add the vanilla, sweetened condensed milk and lime zest. Blitz until the batter is completely smooth. Pour the batter into the pan over the crumb base.

Wrap the bottom of the pan in two layers of aluminum foil to prevent any leakage. Set the pan in a baking dish large enough to hold it. I used a 9-inch square pan. Carefully add hot tap water to the pan until it comes up about half-way up the sides of the springform mold. This creates a bain-marie.

Place in the oven and bake for about 1 hour or until the center just slightly jiggles. Turn off the oven and leave the door ajar with the cheesecake inside. Keep the pan in there until your oven fan turns off or the cheesecake cools down. This prevents the crust from cracking.

Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

Remove the cooled cake to a wire rack and using a sharp, flat blade, just carefully run it around the circumference of the cake. Cool the cake in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours.

Meanwhile make the topping. Place the crushed pineapple with its juice, sugar, zest in a heavy-bottomed pan. On medium heat, cook until the sugar dissolves. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and water (that just means that you mix the two until there is a milky, smooth liquid). Add this to the pineapple mixture and bring it to a boil. Cook until the mixture thickens up. It doesn’t have to be totally solid as it will continue thickening in the fridge, but should be the consistency of a good jam. Allow the mixture to cool.

Add the cool mixture to the top of the cheesecake. I did it in the mold, but the original had you unmold the cheesecake and then add it. Your preference, but my way is easier if you don’t want a mess. Garnish with chopped macadamia nuts and toasted coconut (about 1 Tablespoon of each).

Coconut Macadamia Cheesecake

When you are ready to serve, unlock the springform and carefully remove the ring. You can then either leave the cake on the bottom for serving or it should come off easily once the suction has been broken. Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy.