Broccoli Cauliflower Tofu Torte with a Toasted Hazelnut Crust

This is a fancy savory torte that takes a bit of time, but is a centerpiece for a holiday table.  Toasted hazelnuts really add extra depth of flavor to the crust.

2 large onions, sliced
3 cups mixed cauliflower and broccoli cut into small flowerets
1 brick extra firm tofu, cubed 1/2-inch
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, cubed
3 eggs
2 fresh ripe tomatoes, slice
Sauce:
1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp flour
1-1/2 cups milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp salt

Crust:
1/3 cup whole hazelnuts
1-1/2 cups flour
1tsp salt
1 stick butter, cubed
5-6 Tbsp ice water

Sauté onions over medium-high heat with a bit of olive oil in a large skillet.  Allow the onions to sizzle and just begin the brown.  Stir often to keep from burning.  After about 5 minutes, lower heat to medium-low and continue cooking onions, allowing them to caramelize to a much deeper brown.  Stir every 3-5 minutes over the course of 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the dough for the crust. First toast the hazelnuts in a 375F oven (I use a toaster oven) for about 3 to 5 minutes, shaking once or twice. Watch the nuts closely, being very careful not to burn them, which can happen quickly.

Let the nuts cool and then tip them into a large food processor. Pulse them to form a fine, but dry grind, being careful not to over process to almond butter!  Add the flour and salt and pulse together. 

Next, add the butter and pulse together just enough to form a coarse mixture. Pulse in the water by the tablespoon-ful. Add only enough just so that the dough pulls together.  Tip dough out onto a floured counter and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the dough rests, make the sauce.  Melt the butter in the oil n a small saucepan.  Add the flour and whisk together for about 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add the milk and bring to a gentle boil, whisking regularly.  Lower heat to a simmer and allow sauce to thicken.  Add the mustard, dill and salt, and cover and remove from heat.

Add the cauliflower and broccoli to the onions and stir.  Cook another 10 minutes, stirring often.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400F. Cook the eggs by placing them in a small saucepan covered with cold water.  Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and emerse in cold water.  Allow eggs to cool in refreshed cold water.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on a well-flowered surface to a disk of about 14-15 inches.  Butter a 12-inch spring-form pan very well and lay dough into pan, allowing dough to come straight up sides at first.

In a large bowl, mix together the veggies with the tofu and sauce.  Fold in the cheese.  Pour mixture into crust and spread out evenly.  Peel and quarter the eggs, lengthwise and nestle them into the veggie mixture.

Arrange the tomato slices on top of the filling, overlapping slightly.  Fold the edge of the crust over and pinch down evenly to the level of the filling.

Bake for 50-60 minutes.  Remove torte from oven and allow to sit 3-5 minutes to solidify a bit.  Gently remove the edge of the springform pan, using a sharp knife to separate the crust from the pan if necessary.  Slide onto a serving patter and slice.

Serves 6.

Merry Christmas!

Spinach Red Pepper and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Pizza is made for Christmas Eve as everyone finishes wrapping and preparing.  Flexible, warming and festive - this pie has the right colors for the season.
Crust:
4-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp granulated baker's yeast
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 cup water, warmed to 105F

2 red peppers, sliced
1 lb mozzarella cheese, cut into matchsticks
8 cups baby spinach leaves
4 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

About 2-3 hours before you are ready to eat, start the dough by mixing the dry ingredients together in a blender fitted with a dough hook.  Turn blender on medium and add the oil then slowly drizzle in the water, adding only just enough to let the dough pull together.  Depending on your flour and the weather, you may not need all the water.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it is shiny and elastic.  Form dough into a ball and roll in a bowl with about a dash of olive oil until completely coated.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a relatively warm spot.

Meanwhile, caramelize the onions by tossing the, into a very large skillet with a tablespoon olive oil.  Turn the heat to at least medium high to allow the onions to sizzle and begin to brown.  Then turn the heat to low and cook for the next hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so.  Watch them carefully and adjust the heat to achieve a slow simmer, making sure they do not brown.  This process should take at least an hour.  When they have achieved a dark, rich brown color, remove from heat.

While the onions are cooking, sauté the red pepper in a bit of olive oil in another,large skillet, until the slices begin to brown and soften a bit.  Remove from heat.

Just before the dough is ready, wilt the spinach by tossing the leaves into a large skillet or pot with just a dash of olive oil.  Stir constantly for about a minute or two as the leaves soften and release all their water.  Remove from heat.

When the dough has risen to at least twice it's size, preheat oven to 500F.  Remove dough to a well- floured counter.  Cut in two and roll each half out to a 12-14 inch disk to fit your pizza pan.  Place pizza dough on pan and distribute the onions evenly between the two doughs. Top with the spinach leaves, then the peppers, and then the mozzarella cheese.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake about 10-12 minutes, until brown and bubbly.  Remove from oven, slice and serve.

Serves 6-8.

Roasted Pumpkin and Apple Soup

A hot, rich, creamy soup made with fall vegetables and fruit, warms the soul in winter.
1 sugar pumpkin (about 6-inch diameter), sliced and seeded
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 sweet potato (1/2-lb), peeled and diced
1 Tbsp fresh (1/4 tsp dried) thyme
6 sage leaves, finely chopped
6-8 cups turkey or vegetable broth
freshly-grated nutmeg, about 1/4 tsp

Preheat oven to 400F.  Toss the pumpkin wedges with some olive oil on a rimmed jelly-roll baking pan.  Salt and pepper generously. Roast pumpkin for about 30 minutes, until pulp is soft and nicely browned.  You can turn them over once, halfway through.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in a soup pot for about 5 minutes.

Add the apple and sweet potato along with the thyme and sage, and cook another 5-8 minutes, stirring often. 

Remove pumpkin from the oven and scrape pulp from the skin. 

Add the pumpkin and 6 cups of the broth to the soup pot and bring to a boil.  Add the nutmeg.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft.  Cream the soup using an immersion blender.  Add any remaining broth needed to achieve the consistency you like for your soup.  Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread.

Serves 6-8.

Cook's note:  For those who like a kicked-up soup, try roasting a jalapeno pepper with your pumpkin!

Chick Pea and Pearl Onion Stew

Rich, satisfying and comforting.  Get this on the table while the snow falls!

1 cup shredded carrot
1 lb frozen pearl onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cans chick peas, drained
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp nam pla, Thai fish sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup frozen peas
2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Sauté the carrots and onions in a bit of olive oil in a large skillet.  Cook about 10 minutes, until the onions begin to soften and brown a bit.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook another 2 minutes.  Add the chick peas, broth, fish sauce and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer , cover and cook about 15-20 minutes, to meld flavors.  Stir in the peas and the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil.  Stir well to thicken stew and heat the peas through.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve in bowls topped with crushed peanuts, and pass the Sriracha or Tabasco hot sauce.

Serves 4.

Cook's note:  This stew goes well with warm pitas, or served over rice.

Moroccan Tagine of Chicken and Apricots

An aromatic North African, Mediterranean stew combining sweet apricots, Moroccan spices, and the richness of olives.
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium onion, sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 tsp Ras el Hanout, Moroccan spice
1 Tbsp pimenton, smoked Spanish paprika
dash red chili flakes
1 tomato, diced
1/3 cup dried apricots, sliced in thirds
1/4 cup green olives
zest of 1 lemon
about 1/2 cup chicken broth

Heat a bit of canola oil in a tagine or Dutch oven and brown the chicken for about 10 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Set chicken aside and add the onion and pepper to the pot, with a bit more oil, if necessary.  Sauté the veggies for about 10 minutes and then add the garlic and ginger.  Cook another 2-3 minutes and then add the Ras el hanout, pimenton and chili flakes. Cook another 2-3 minutes.

Turn up the heat a bit and add the tomato.  Let it sizzle and cook down a bit, and then add the apricots, olives and half the zest.  Return the chicken to the pot.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every so often.  Check seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary.  Sprinkle with remaining zest and serve over couscous.

Serves 4.

Cook's Note:  They say tagines condense vapors best, re-directing them back onto the stew in a continuous flow, keeping stews moist.  Dutch ovens with spiked features on the inside of the top cover are designed to perform the same function.  A cool concept and a really unique look, but let's be real - you can cook this dish in any regular pot and  come up with a fantastic result.

Tagines are often done with meat on the bone.  This adds good flavor, but you have to have a big enough tagine to handle the additional volume.

Roasted Salmon with an Orange-Lime Curry Sauce

OK, time to finish off that fresh salsa; the last in this Fresh Salsa series.  Pair it with roasted salmon infused with a tangy citrus curry sauce, and kicked up with Sriracha hot sauce.

1-1/2 lb salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions
1 tsp dried tarragon
Sriracha hot sauce

Curry Sauce:
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 tsp favorite curry powder

8 Tbsp fresh salsa

Preheat oven to 425F.  Lay fish fillets, skin-side down, onto a baking sheet or pan.  Spray fish with canola oil and sprinkle tarragon about each fillet, evenly. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle fillets with Sriracha sauce to your taste.

Mix 1/4 cup of the chicken broth in a small bowl with the corn starch and curry powder.

Bring the orange juice, lime juice and remaining chicken broth to a boil.  Whisk in the corn starch mixture and the honey.  Allow mixture to thicken and then remove from heat, mixing well.  Add the salt as needed.

Roast the salmon for about 15 minutes, until the fillets are browned and just cooked through.  Plate each fillet on top of a swirl of curry sauce.  Top each fillet with 2 tablespoons salsa.

Serves 4.

Portobello Mushrooms Quattro Formaggi

Since you might have some fresh salsa hanging around after making the lentil soup below, use it on some mushrooms and get mellow.  I am reminded of cafes in Florence, where you might see these mushrooms adorned with fresh basil.  Here, I enrich with fresh pico de gallo salsa.

4 large Portabello mushroom caps
2 cups grated quattro formaggi cheese blend
8 Tbsp fresh salsa (preferably hot)
Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375F.  Drizzle some oil into the fins of each mushroom.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese onto each cap.  Top each cap with 2 tablespoons salsa. 

Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and mushroom caps are cooked through.

Serves 4 as appetizers.

Side street, Florence, Italy

Fast Lentil Soup with Fresh Salsa

This soup will be done before the snow melts off the boots in the mudroom! 

1 onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots finely diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1 fresh ripe tomato, diced
2 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
1 15-oz can lentils, lightly drained
1/2 cup fresh hot salsa

Heat a slug of olive oil in a soup pot.  Add the onion, celery and carrot, and cook down over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic along with the cumin, rosemary and red pepper flakes, and cook another 2-3 minutes. 

Turn the heat up high and add the tomato.  Make sure there is enough olive oil to fry, not boil the tomato.  Let the tomato mixture sizzle 3-5 minutes to darken and caramelize a bit.  Add the broth and the lentils and bring to a boil.  Stir and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve the soup in shallow bowls with 1-2 tablespoons of fresh salsa piled in the middle.

Serves 4.

Cook's note:  Of course, you could cook this soup with fresh dried lentils.  I'd guess you'd need 1/2 cup dried lentils, and probably need to double the broth.

Continuing on with our series on fresh salsa, and the myriad ways to enjoy it (that is other than just eating it with a spoon):

There are so many great fresh salsas in the markets these days, you sometimes have to ask if its worth making your own, even though I have several recipes in these pages.  I like a certain hot, vinegary brand at my local market that adds a spicy and sour note to this otherwise subtle soup.  As Emeril always said "Kick it up a notch!"

Pan Seared Halibut with Saffron and Fresh Salsa

Two great cooks - Jacques Pepin and my mother - have both said "Simplify." Nothing could be more true for fish.  Find yourself some good fish and reduce some complexity in your life. 

1-1/2 lb halibut fillet cut into four portions
1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup fresh pico de gallo salsa
2 ripe avocados, peeled, cored and sliced

Melt the butter in the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle the halibut fillets with the saffron along with salt and pepper.  When the butter has frothed and bubbled and is just about to begin to brown, place the fillets into the pan, saffron-side down.  Allow the fillets to sizzle for about 5 minutes, gently shaking the pan from time to time.  Check the fillets to see if they have browned.  When you see browning around the edges, flip the fish and cook on the other side about 2-3 minutes.  The fish should just be cooked through.

Plate the fish and top with a few tablespoons of fresh salsa, and garnish with half an avocado.

Serves 4.

Chicken Sriracha Ras

Tenderized with a yogurt marinade, infused with Moroccan Ras el Hanout and jacked up with Sriracha - what more can you ask of a humble roasted chicken?

1 roasting chicken, cut into 6 serving pieces

Marinade:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
2 green onions
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Ras el Hanout, Moroccan spice powder
2 tsp salt

The day before you want to eat, whip together the marinade ingredients in a blender until very smooth.  Place chicken pieces in a large bowl and toss well with the marinade.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator.

The next day, preheat oven to 450F.  Remove chicken from refrigerator, and ideally allow to come to room temperature.  Oil 1-2 large rimmed baking sheets, enough to hold the chicken in a single layer.  Lightly squeegee the chicken pieces of the marinade with your fingers and place on the baking sheets with as much space as possible between the pieces.  Sprinkle with salt and crushed red pepper flakes if desired.  Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is well browned and cooked through, where juices run clear when pierced.

Remove from oven and serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4-6.