Sunday Nite Dinner » cheese

Leek and Onion Tart

Chuck — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:12:17 +0000

A few months ago, Hungry Bear saw Gourmet's onion tart recipe and wanted to make it. She was reminded of an amazing leek tart that she had at Le Charm in San Francisco. We've seen a lot of nice looking leeks at the market, so she tweaked the recipe slightly and made a leek and onion tart.

We bought some beautiful leeks several weeks ago, but sadly, we accidentally let them rot in the fridge. Undeterred from this mishap, we bought some more leeks yesterday and Hungry Bear finally made the tart.

The tart had a pizza-like crust and the deeply caramelized leeks and onions were super sweet. There was also a hint of licorice flavor from the fennel seeds. Although it was not difficult to make, it was time consuming to make the dough and slowly melt the leeks and onions.

I'm very proud of Hungry Bear for making the tart. Besides being fantastic, I think she's conquered her fear of making dough!

Leek and Onion Tart Recipe

SND Note: To speed up the cooking time, sauté the leeks and onions on higher heat to reduce the caramelization time.

Ingredients

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (a 1/4-oz package)
1/2 cup warm water (105–115°F)
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 pound leeks, cleaned, halved and thinly sliced
2 pounds yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

Directions

Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, add 1 teaspoon of sugar.)
Put 1 1/2 cups flour in a medium bowl, then make a well in center of flour and add yeast mixture to well. Stir together egg, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt with a fork. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or your fingertips, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead, working in additional flour (up to 1/4 cup) as necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
While dough rises, heat remaining 1/3 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté fennel seeds until a shade darker, about 30 seconds. Stir in leeks and onions, remaining teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover onions directly with a round of parchment paper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks and onions are very tender and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
Knead dough gently on a floured surface with floured hands to deflate. Pat out dough on a large heavy baking sheet (preferably blue steel) into a 15- by 12-inch rectangle, turning up or crimping edge, then brush mustard evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Spread leeks and onions evenly over mustard, then sprinkle evenly with cheese.
Bake tart until crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into 2-inch squares or diamonds and serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings or 8 servings as an hors d'oeuvre

Gourmet Note: Onion mixture can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

[Adapted from Gourmet magazine]

Tags: cheese, dough, fennel seeds, leeks, mustard, onions, tart

Shrimp, Fava Bean and Zucchini Pasta

Chuck — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:24:45 +0000

Over the last two months, we've seen a lot fava beans at the farmers' markets. We both like fava beans, but for some reason (too much peeling) we haven't bought any. It wasn't until last week that we finally picked some up. Hungry Bear wanted to make a healthy pasta dish and created this shrimp, fava bean and zucchini pasta on a whim.

It was a simple pasta to prepare and required only sautéing the fava beans, zucchini and shrimp in a little olive oil and garlic. Since we both love angel hair pasta, we used it in our dish. In hindsight, we would have picked a tubular or shaped pasta, because it would have been easier to mix with the vegetables.

Despite all the peeling required with the fava beans (some you know I hate peeling things), the pasta was great. It's a simple dish that really highlights the fresh fava beans. To put it over the top, add a poached egg to each serving!

Shrimp, Fava Bean and Zucchini Pasta Recipe

SND Note: Any type of pasta can be used for this dish. Tubular or shaped pastas will be easier to mix into the fava and zucchini mixture.

Ingredients

1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds fava beans (3 cups shelled), removed from pods
7 small zucchinis, ends trimmed and chopped
4 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon hot pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
16 ounces pasta
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
Salt and pepper

Directions

Remove fava beans from pods. Then cook fava beans in large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes. Remove fava beans and peel outer skin. Set aside in bowl.
Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add shrimp and sauté until barely cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Remove shrimp and garlic and set aside.
Meanwhile, salt the boiling water, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve pasta water.
Add 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and sauté the zucchini until crisp-tender, about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add fava beans and hot pepper flakes and mix together well. Re-adjust seasonings.
Add the pasta to skillet and toss with bean and zucchini mixture. If pasta is dry, add a few ladles of pasta water and/or olive oil. Adjust seasonings to taste and mix in parsley. Serve pasta immediately topped with grated parmesan, shrimp and a drizzle of olive oil.

Makes 6-8 servings

Tags: angel hair, cheese, fava bean, parmesan, parsley, pasta, shrimp, zucchini

Mushroom, Onion and Cheese Sandwich

Chuck — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:55:42 +0000

A few weeks ago, Hungry Bear and I went to lunch at Ella's, our favorite breakfast place in San Francisco. Usually, I order a burger or a heavy egg scramble for lunch, but this time I went with a mushroom, onion and gruyere sandwich on a buttermilk bun. The sandwich was great and I knew immediately, we were going to make this at home.

We tried to replicate the sandwich a couple of days ago. It was easy to make and only required sautéing onions and mushrooms. Our version of the sandwich included portobello mushrooms, crimini mushrooms, onions and provolone on a focaccia roll. It was supposed to be gruyere, but our Trader Joe's didn't have any... not that provolone is a second class cheese. The sandwich was simply delicious. We served the sandwich with a tomato and English cucumber salad. If we had a ripe avocado, it would have gone into the salad too.

The sandwich is a lighter and healthier alternative to lunch meat or a burger. I think it would also be great as a panini sandwich. Next time, we plan asianifying this thing. Think shiitakes, soy sauce, green onions and maybe served on roti.

Mushroom, Onion and Cheese Sandwich Recipe

SND Note: The portobello and crimini mushrooms were sautéed in separate batches for better cooking control. To sauté the mushrooms at the same time, give the portobellos a 6-7 minute head start before adding the criminis.

Ingredients

3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, halved and sliced
4 portobello mushrooms, stems and caps separated
10-12 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
4 slices of gruyere, provolone, havarti or other favorite cheese
4 focaccia rolls or favorite bun

Directions

Scrape away gills on portobello caps with a spoon, then quarter caps and cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Trim portobello stems and slice lengthwise.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until golden brown, about 6-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside in medium bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, then add portobello mushroom slices. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Sauté portobellos until softened, about 12-13 minutes. Set aside in bowl with onions.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, then add crimini slices. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Sauté criminis until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Return onions and portobellos back to skillet and mix together. Add crushed pepper flakes and adjust seasonings to taste.
Toast rolls with cheese slices and fill with mushroom and onion mixture. Serve with your favorite salad.

Makes 4 servings

Tags: cheese, crimini, easy, focaccia, mushrooms, onions, portobello

Chickpea Salad with Roasted Pepper Puree

Chuck — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:11:55 +0000

We recently went to Ubuntu in downtown Napa, which is one of the hot new dining spots in wine country. Ubuntu is a vegetable restaurant and yoga studio. What can I say, we're in California. The yoga classes are held upstairs, but you have to walk through the restaurant to get to the studio. Imagine clearing your mind and body with some yoga, and then walking downstairs to dine on daily-harvested organic food, with a focus on farm-fresh produce. Brilliant!

We really like the fact Ubuntu labels itself as a vegetable restaurant and not a vegetarian place. Unlike many vegetarian places that try to make vegetables into meat substitutes, Ubuntu simple celebrates the beauty of the vegetable itself. We've dined at Greens and Millennium, two vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco, and walked away unimpressed. Ubuntu on other hand left us wanting to come back for more. Two of the highlights of our meal were...

Cauliflower in a cast iron pot
roast-puree-“couscous”, vadouvan spice, toast
Chickpeas with burrata
olive vinaigrette, pepper quenelles with mint and bread crumbs

Both dishes were delicious and I was taking notes with each bite, knowing that I wanted to try to recreate them at home. We were impressed by the presentation of the chickpea salad, especially the beautiful red quenelles of pepper puree. The crunchiness of the breadcrumbs in the puree was a surprise. We were expecting them to be a little soggy since they were mixed in with the puree, but somehow they remained crispy.

So earlier this week, we recreated the chickpeas with burrata at home. There were two main components to the chickpea salad — a lemon-mint vinaigrette and a roasted red bell pepper puree. Both the vinaigrette and puree were easy to make. Roasting the bell peppers was a little time consuming, but the process was still simple. The hard part was figuring out how to make the crunchy breadcrumbs. To keep the prep time down in the recipe, we substituted crushed baked pita chips for the homemade breadcrumbs, a quick and easy solution that provided the desired texture.

Hungry Bear and I were extremely happy with our chickpea salad recreation. The quenelles of roasted red pepper puree were fantastic on their own. Add them to a minty chickpea salad with mozzarella cheese and you have a great starter course or even a complete meal. We were hesitant to splurge on burrata cheese the first time we attempted to make this dish, but next time we will definitely use it for the extra creaminess and flavor.

We don't know if we were able to exactly duplicate Ubuntu's chickpeas with burrata dish. But we do know that our version of the chickpea salad was pretty damn good!

Chickpea Salad with Roasted Pepper Puree Recipe

SND Note: We used a Meyer lemon in the vinaigrette and used a 2:1 ratio of olive oil to lemon juice. With a regular lemon, we might use a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio.

Ingredients:
Zest from 1 lemon
4 tablespoons lemon juice (1 lemon)
8-12 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons shallots, minced
4 tablespoons fresh mint, minced
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
45 ounces garbanzo beans (three 15 ounce cans), drained and rinsed
6-8 ounces burrata or fresh mozzarella cheese
Kosher salt and pepper

Directions:
1) Make a lemon-mint vinaigrette by whisking together lemon juice and olive oil. Whisk in lemon zest, shallots, mint and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2) In a large bowl, add garbanzo beans and dress with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Place the cheese in the center of shallow bowl or plate with a lip. Spoon the garbanzo beans around cheese. With the roasted bell pepper puree, shape quenelles using two spoons. Place quenelles on top of the garbanzo beans. Garnish with mint and serve.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Puree Recipe

SND Note: Crushed pita chips or course homemade breadcrumbs are added to the roasted bell pepper puree for texture. Do not use fine breadcrumbs. The pita chips are crushed into course crumbs.

Ingredients:
4 red bell peppers
2 teaspoons olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 ounces pita chips or homemade breadcrumbs, crushed into course crumbs

Directions:
1) Slice 1/4 inch from the top and bottom of the pepper. Gently remove the stem from the top lobe. Pull core out of the pepper. Cut down one side of the pepper, then lay it flat, skin side down, in one long strip. Use a sharp knife to slide along the inside of the pepper removing all ribs and seeds. Arrange the strips of peppers and the top and bottom lobes on a baking sheet, skin-side up. Flatten the strips with the palm of your hand.

2) Adjust oven rack to top position. Turn broiler on. With oven door closed, let oven heat for 5 minutes. Oven rack should be 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches from heating element. If not, set a jelly-roll pan, turned upside down, on oven rack to elevate pan. Broil peppers, with oven door closed, until spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Reverse pan in oven; roast until skin is charred and puffed but the flesh is still firm, 3-5 minutes longer.

3) Remove pan from oven and transfer to a large heat-resistant bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and steam for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skin.

4) Using a mortar and pestle, crush the pita chips or breadcrumbs into coarse crumbs. Alternatively, place them in a zip lock bag and crush them using a rolling pin.

5) In a small saucepan, sauté garlic in olive oil until lightly browned, set aside along with oil. Puree the roasted bell peppers, garlic and oil in a food processor or blender, and transfer puree into medium bowl. Stir in crushed pita chips or breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Makes 6 servings

[Roasted red bell pepper directions (steps 1-2) via Cook's Illustrated]

Tags: Bay Area, bell peppers, burrata, cheese, chickpeas, mint, mozzarella, napa, quenelles, roasted, ubuntu, vegetarian, vinaigrette

Egg, Pepper Jack & Avocado Breakfast Sammy

Chuck — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 04:27:52 +0000

I'm a big fan of breakfast sandwiches. My favorite breakfast sammy only takes five minutes to make. The sandwich consists of whole wheat bread, scrambled eggs, pepper jack cheese and avocado.

Last week at the Serramonte Farmers' Market, we picked up a hearty whole wheat bread with sunflower, sesame and poppy seeds. It's called Dakota bread and is made by the Great Harvest Bread Co. franchise in Oakland. The Dakota bread has a great texture from all the seeds and makes a great base for sandwiches. Any type of bread will do, but fresh bread from a local baker makes the breakfast sammy even better.

It doesn't get any better than toasted bread, melted pepper jack cheese, scrambled eggs and a ripe avocado... simply scrumptious. A little sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper over the avocado enhances its flavor even more. There's also a great contrast of textures between the crunchy bread, melted cheese, fluffy eggs and creamy avocado. Since I love spicy food, I top my eggs with a few shakes of a good hot sauce. One of my favorite hot sauces is Crystal Extra Hot hot sauce.

I love this breakfast sandwich because it's super easy to make and a delicious way to start any day.

Tags: avocado, Breakfast, cheese, eggs, hot sauce, sammy, sandwich, toast