Spanish Gazpacho is a little different in ingredients. This one uses eggplant and you will become addicted to the flavours of this chilled soup. Trust me, I wouldn’t lead you astray…at least not with this recipe.
- 2 large eggplants, halved lengthwise
- 5 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 2 lbs. roma tomatoes, stemmed and quartered
- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 3/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup tahini paste
- 2 cups water
- extra olive oil, for drizzling
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drizzle 1 tbsp. olive oil on each of the cut halves of eggplant. Turn over, cut side down and roast for 1 1/2 hours until very tender. Cool and discard the large seed pockets. Scoop the flesh into a bowl, discard the skins and set the bowl aside.
Place the tomatoes in a processor and using the pulse button, process to a coarse puree. Strain the tomatoes into a large bowl and press through to measure 1 1/2 cups of tomato juice. Set the tomato juice aside.
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a heavy skillet and add the onion and garlic, cooking until the onions are a lovely golden colour. This should take about 25 minutes. Add the cumin, cayenne and pepper and stir for 1 minute. Add the yogurt, tahini paste and lime juice, stir, scraping up any brown bits in the pan. Remove from the heat. Stir in the eggplant to combine.
Place half of this mixture in a blender and while running, gradually add 3/4 cup tomato juice and 1 cup of water. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Repeat this process with the remaining eggplant mixture.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate no less than 2 hours or, if pressed for time, make the day ahead. Keep cold. When ready to serve, scoop into individual bowls and drizzle some oil over the top YUMMMMM.
Crunchy Summer Salad
There are a million salads and this is another one…..might I add, a great one? I just did.
- 2 English cumbers, unpeeled and sliced thin
- 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernals (off the cobb)
- 2 3/4 cups sugar snap peas
- 10 radishes, sliced thin
- 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- pinh of salt and pepper
- 2 firm-ripe avocados, halved and cut in wedges
Combine the cucumbers, corn, peas and radishes in a bowl. Drizzle the lime juice and oil over the bowl and toss to combine.
Gently fold in the avocadoes and serve right away.
YUM!
Blackberry/Mango Individual Pies
Mango and Blackberries make a super combination and , in this dessert, each person gets their own…no way you will want to share this with anyone. Serve these warm with either mango ice cream or really good quality ice cream.
- 1 large mango (pitted, peeled and diced)
- 2 cups blackberries, washed and patted dry
- 7 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- 1 tbsp. lime juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 x 1 lb. pkg. phyllo, cut into an 8 x 8 inch square
- Butter flavoured vegetable spray
Heat oven to 425 degrees and lime a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine the mango, blackberries, 1 tbsp. sugar, cornstarch and lime juice and toss well to coat the fruit.
Place one sheet of phyllo in front of you, with a corner facing you and spray with the butter spray, sprinkle a 1/2 tsp. sugar over the surface and repeat this with three more sheets of the phyllo, laying them on top of each other.
Place 2 heaping tsp. of fruit 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the phyllo. Fold left and right points over the filling, overlapping by 1 inch. Fold the bottom corner up, enclosing the filling. Loosely roll up to form a cylindical shape about 4 1/2 – 5 inches long.
Repeat this until all the phyllo and fruit are used up- should make 8. Spray the tops and sides of the pastry with the butter spray and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
Bake until a deep golden colour and turn the baking sheet once during the 25 minute baking time. Slide the parchment paper and pies onto a rack to cool slightly.
Serve warm with ice cream, What a treat! Bring on the movies…..Yum!
Baklava For Celebrations
With Easter just around the corner, this would be a terrific and, yes, traditional treat. Use it for a dessert at your Brunch Buffet or Easter dinner.
It can be long in time to make, so make it up to a week ahead of when you want to serve it. As long as it is in an airtight container and not put in the refrigerator, it will be wonderful and delicious with no harm done.
*Note: Do not crush the nuts in a food processor. Just chop them. If put in a processor, they made the Baklava very heavy and not pleasant, as it should be. Just sayin’.
Read through first, then make your syrup before working with the phyllo.
- 3 1/4 cups whole almonds, skins on, finely chopped
- 2 1/3 cups walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
- 2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 x 1 lb. pkg of phyllo dough, thawed
Whisk together the almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt until really well combined.
Generously brush a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish with melted butter.
Halve the phyllo sheets and keep covered with 2 layers of plastic wrap and then topped with a damp tea towel (of course, clean). Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the baking dish and generously brush with butter. Continue layering 2 sheets at a time staggering sheets every two layers slightly to cover the bottom of the dish, until you have 10 layers in total.
When you have brushed the top layer with butter, spread 1 1/2 cups nut mixture over it and drizzle with 2 tbsp. butter. Do this step 3 more times. Oh, by the way, when done you should have 50 layers of phyllo. Butter the top and let stand 15 minutes to allow it to harden a little.
Now the fun…..with a very sharp knife, cut in 16 diagonal rectangles, then cut each piece in half diagonally. You must ensure you cut all the way through.
Bake this until golden (55 – 60 minutes) in a 350 degree oven.
Syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 orange,halved
- 1 lime, halved
- 1 1/2 cinnamon sticks
- 2/3 cup honey
Combine the sugar and water in a 3 qt. saucepan. Squeeze the juice from the fruit into the sugar mixture. Add the fruit halves and cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil, stirring often until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool to room temperature and pour through a sieve, pressing on the fruit halves and then discard all the solids.
Chill, uncovered, until cold. (about an hour).
Now, SLOWLY pour the cold syrup over the Baklava, getting into all the cuts, sides and all over the top. Now, let this stand for 8 hours. Once the Baklava has reached room temperature, cover with plastic. Do not chill.
Sweet? Sure.
Beyond your dreams? Absolutely.
Will you enjoy this? More than you will ever know.
YUMMY!
Fennel Gratin With Lemon
This is a wonderful dish with layers of flavours and, with the crumb topping, texture as well. Can be made a day ahead, chilled in the refrigerator and before using, let stand at room temperature for an hour before baking.
- 5 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 onion, halved and cut in 1/4 inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored and cut in 1/4 inch slices
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
- pinch of salt and ground pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp. grated lime zest
Butter a 2 qt. baking dish. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and saute the onion and garlic, taking care not to brown or burn. This should take about 4-5 minutes.
Add the fennel and saute only until the fennel has softened slightly and beginning to brown. Stir often and watch it doesn’t burn. Should take about 15-17 minutes. Add the broth and simmer until almost completely absorbed. Stir in the lime zest.
Transfer to the baking dish and start the crumb topping. At this time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Crumb Topping
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 3/4 cups Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup Pecorino cheese
- 1 tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp. grated lime zest
Melt the butter in a frypan and add the Panko breadcrumbs. Saute until starting to turn golden in colour. Remove from the heat and cool down to room temperature. Add the cheese and zest to the crumb mixture.
Top the fennel mixture with the crumbs and bake for about 20 minutes until the topping is a deep caramel colour. Serve warm.
This is quite yummy.
Lamb Or Veal Chops With Mushroom Butter
The best ones for me to use would be Veal…but if you love lamb….choose lamb. Easy!
- 1 tbsp. fresh tarragon, chopped (if using lamb)
- 1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped (if using Veal)
- 2 tbsp. shallots, minced
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3-4 tbsp. dried mushrooms
- 4 chops (your choice of which ones you use tonight)
- pinch of salt and pepper
Trim the bones back with a sharp knife until the chops look like large lollipops. Then, in a small saucepan, sweat the shallots and chopped herb in 2 tbsp. of butter for 3 minutes and then let cool down.
In another saucepan, rehydrate the mushrooms in 1/2 cup of boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes. Drain well and finely chop.
Using the remaining room temperature butter, combine the shallot/herb mixture and the chopped mushrooms until well combined. Roll into a log shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
In a preheated barbecue, season the chops on both sides and grill to rare (lamb) and medium rare (veal). Transfer to a platter, tent with foil and let rest for 6-7 minutes.
Cut the butter into coins and place 2 coins on each chop, add a salad, buttered noodles and, of course, a glass of you-know-what. Awesome dinner.