Middle Eastern herb filo pie

July 15, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

Another gem from Ottolenghi. With Sephardic roots, this is a wonderful centerpiece for a dinner party, whether vegetarian or not.

Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil plus extra for brushing the pastry layers
1 large onion, diced
1lb Swiss chard, stems and leaves finely shredded but kept separate
5 oz celery, peeled and thinly sliced
2 oz green onions (scallions) chopped
2 oz arugula
1 oz flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 oz fresh mint, chopped
2/3 oz dill , chopped
4 oz ricotta cheese, crumbled
4 oz aged Cheddar cheese, grated
2 oz Greek feta cheese, crumbled (not pre-crumbled)
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large organic eggs
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp superfine sugar (caster sugar)
9 oz filo pastry

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Pour the olive oil into a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 8 minutes without browning. Add the chard stems and celery and continue to cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chard leaves, increase the heat to medium high and stir as you cook for about 5 minutes or until the leaves wilt. Add the green onion, arugula and herbs and cook for 2 mins more. Remove from the heat and transfer to a colander and cool.
Once the mixture is cool, squeeze out as much water as possible and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the three cheeses, lemon zest, eggs, salt and pepper and sugar and mix well.
Lay out a sheet of filo pastry and brush it with some olive oil. Cover with another sheet and continue in the same manner until you have 5 layers of filo brushed with oil, all covering an area large enough to line the sides and bottom or an 8 1/2″ pie dish, plus extra to hang over the rim of the dish. Line the pie dish with the pastry, fill with the herb mix and fold the excess pastry over the edge of the filling, trimming the pastry as necessary to create a 3/4″ border.
Make another set of 5 filo layers brushed with oil and place them over the pie. Scrunch up the pastry a little to create a wavy, uneven top and trim the edges so it just covers the pie.
Brush generously with olive oil and bake for 40 mins until the filo turns a nice golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve warm or at room temperature.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Soup · Vegetable-related

Gorgeous Greek gazpacho with feta cheese

June 16, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

This is such a lovely, refreshing and vibrant dish on a hot summers day and so easy as there’s NO COOKING!!
I saw Ina Garten making this on the Food Network and immediately ran to the computer to get the recipe. It’s richer and more interesting than the usual slightly watery and one dimensional gazpachos one gets in many restaurants.
When we start our kitchen remodel in a couple of months, this will be a staple, along with several other great chilled soup recipes as we will be without the kitchen for 2 months.

Serves 8 to 10
2 thick slices day-old bread, such as Ciabatta
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp freshly chopped oregano leaves
2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
5 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 tbsp good olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 red onions, chopped
1 seedless cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 (46 oz) can good tomato juice, such as Sacramento
4 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 oz good Greek feta cheese, small-diced, not crumbled

Place the bread, garlic, oregano and parsley in a food processor and process until everything is finely chopped.
Add the vinegar and olive oil and process again until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
Place the peppers, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes and olives separately in the food processor and process until very coarsely chopped. Add to the mixing bowl.
Add the tomato juice, salt and pepper and stir well. Taste for seasoning, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours for the flavors to come together nicely.
Fold in the feta and serve chilled.

Grains · Vegetable-related

Polenta with mushrooms and truffle oil

June 15, 2014February 8, 2016 Belinda

This recipe is from the incomparable Yotam Ottolenghi and his book “Jerusalem” is one of my 5 “desert island” recipe books.
So easy and with such bold, earthy flavors. All that needs to be served with this is a simple salad.

Serves 2 (but can easily be augmented)
4 tbsp olive oil
¾ lb mixed mushrooms, very large ones halved
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp truffle oil
1 pint ( 16 fl oz) vegetable or chicken stock
3 oz polenta (instant or traditional)
3 oz Parmesan, grated
2 – 3 tbsp butter
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 tbsp chopped chervil
4 oz Taleggio cheese (rind removed), cut into 1/4” slices
salt and black pepper

* There are two types of polenta meal (or cornmeal) available – a quick or instant variety and the traditional, slow-cooking one. For most purposes the quick polenta is good enough. Either one can be used for this dish.
Heat up half the olive oil in a large frying pan. Once hot, add half of the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes, or until just cooked; try not to move them much so you get golden-brown patches on their surface. Remove from the pan, and repeat with the rest of the mushrooms and oil. Off the heat, return all the mushrooms to the pan and add the garlic, tarragon, thyme, truffle oil and some salt and pepper. Keep warm.
Bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan. Slowly stir in the polenta, then reduce the heat to the minimum and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The polenta is ready when it leaves the sides of the pan but is still runny. If you are using instant polenta this shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes; with traditional polenta it could take up to 50 minutes (if it seems to dry out, add some more stock or water but just enough to keep it at a thick porridge consistency).
Preheat the grill (broiler) to high. When the polenta is ready, stir in the Parmesan, butter, rosemary and half the chervil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the polenta over a heatproof dish and top with the Taleggio. Place under the grill until the cheese bubbles. Remove, top with the mushrooms and their juices, and return to the grill for a minute to warm up. Serve hot, garnished with the remaining chervil.

Asian flavors · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Soup · Vegetable-related

Chilled lemongrass and cilantro soup

June 14, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

Thanks to the wonderful and foolproof Delia Smith for this refreshing, zingy soup for those hot summer evenings.
Delicious before a dinner even in a soup shooter. it’s even nicer when the soup and the bowls or shooters are chilled when serving.

Serves 4
4 thick stems lemongrass
2oz fresh cilantro leaves
5 green onions, finely chopped
2 oz butter
2 medium onions
10 oz new potatoes, scraped and chopped small
5 fl oz whole milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Firstly, strip the cilantro leaves from the stalks and reserve both the leaves and the stalks.
Lemongrass is dealt in exactly the same way as leeks; trim the root and the tough top away, leaving 6 inches of stem, remove the outer skin and chop quite finely. Then do the same to the green onions.
Gather up all the trimmings from both, wash them and put them into a saucepan together with the cilantro stalks, some salt and 1 1/2 pints water and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes to make a stock.
To make the soup, melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the chopped lemongrass, onions (reserve the green onions until later) and potatoes and keeping the heat low, let the vegetables sweat gently, covered for about 10 minutes.
After that, pour in the stock through a strainer, discard the debris from the strainer and add the milk and about 3/4 of the cilantro leaves.
Season with salt and pepper, bring the soup up to a simmering point and simmer very gently for about 25 minutes.
Allow the soup to cool a little before pouring it into a food processor or blender, puree it, then pour it through a strainer into a bowl.
When it’s cold, cover and chill thoroughly until you’re ready to serve it.

Serve in chilled bowls or soup shooters.

You can add an ice cube to each bowl if you like and sprinkle in the rest of the finely chopped cilantro and the green onions as a garnish. FYI, in my picture there is no garnish other than a blob of whipped sour cream and a mini basil leaf which is also nice, but more minimalist.
Make sure you serve this soup chilled!

Do-ahead · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Creamy gratin of roasted tomatoes

May 24, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda1 Comment

A really delicious, creamy but summery side dish. It’s also great to serve as reheated leftovers with scrambled eggs for breakfast.
I’m addicted to any gratin, but this one uses intense, roasted tomatoes with fresh thyme. Well worth roasting the tomatoes yourself, as they’re so easy to do.
The roasted tomato recipe is below the main recipe.

Serves 6 to 8
30 oven-dried tomato halves
about 1/4 of loaf of bread: French, Peasant, focaccia, rosemary, etc.
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1-2 tsp minced thyme leaves, preferably fresh
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tsp chopped chives or chervil
1/3 cup shredded Gruyère cheese or Parmesan

Prepare the oven dried tomatoes. See the recipe below called “Oven dried tomatoes” These dried tomatoes can be made a day or two in advance and stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to proceed with the recipe.
Prepare croutons: Preheat oven to 300ºF. Remove crusts from bread. Cut into 1/3-inch slices, and then cut into 1/3-inch cubes. Spread cubes in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake until cubes are dry and crisp, about 40 minutes. Toss the croutons with a spatula about every 15 minutes for even cooking. Cool completely and store for about a week at room temperature. As an alternative, you can also use homemade croutons for salads.
Prepare gratin: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9×12-inch oven-proof dish with at least 1-inch sides that is large enough to hold all the tomatoes in a single layer.
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil, and add the garlic and time, and cook for a couple of minutes until the garlic is softened, but not brown. Add the dried tomato halves and 1 tablespoon of butter. Cook gently for a couple more minutes.
Add the cream and bring to a boil. Add the croutons and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the mixture to the prepared gratin dish. Dot with the the remaining butter and bake for about 40 minutes until bubbly and nicely browned. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

OVEN DRIED TOMATOES
Oven temperatures vary, so your tomatoes may bake faster or slower than what’s called for in the recipe. The longer and slower you can dry the tomatoes, the better, because the flavors become more concentrated the longer the tomatoes bake. Through this process, normally bland winter tomatoes become fairly edible and summer tomatoes become super intense, delivering an out-of-this-world taste experience.
39 large fresh plum tomatoes             2 Tbsps kosher salt
2 Tbsp granulated white sugar         1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced             1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil. Place a baking rack on each cookie sheet.
Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the stem core. Gently squeeze out most of the seeds and place the halved tomatoes closely together, cut side up, on the baking racks.
In a small bowl, combine the salt and sugar. Sprinkle generously over the cut side of the tomatoes. Let the tomatoes sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature. The salt and sugar will help draw out the moisture in the tomatoes.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 225ºF. Transfer the cookie sheets to the oven. Bake the tomato halves for 3 to 4 hours, checking about every 30 minutes. Rotate trays half way through for even baking. The tomatoes are done baking when they start to shrivel but are not completely dried.
When cook enough to handle, turn the tomato halves over and gently peel away the skins.
If you like, in a bowl, dress the tomatoes with the olive oil, freshly sliced garlic, black pepper and fresh thyme. Delicately layer the tomatoes in a flat container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Because all the moisture is not extracted, the tomatoes will spoil.