Lisa's Culinary Atrocities

Multi-seed baguette from Trader Joe’s,  broiled with olive oil and:

top left: black mission fig, walnut and shropshire blue cheese (yellow stilton)

top right: fresh pico de gallo topped with micro greens

middle left: homemade basil/walnut/garlic pesto, made chunky, topped with tomato

middle right: chunky garlic hummus, chive, cucumber

bottom: basil leaf, roasted garlic, olive oil/Herbes de Provence marinated mozzarella

Lovely summer soups are apparently my seasonal muse.  Summer is not exactly my favorite season, with it’s sun and heat (I’m strange), yet this year it has inspired me with it’s colors and flavors.  Soup requirements: refreshing, good both hot and cold, tasty the 1st day as well as the 3rd or 4th, and most importantly, simple.

This one was the epitome of simple.  Roast tomatoes and garlic, add stock and basil, blend.  Winner in both ease and taste.

Ingredients
·  2 pounds fresh tomatoes
·  6 cloves garlic
·  extra-virgin olive oil
·  salt and freshly ground black pepper
·  1 quart vegetable stock
·  fresh thyme
·  ¼ cup fresh basil
 
Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, cut side up, and garlic cloves onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle fresh thyme and salt on top. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized. Remove from oven and transfer tomatoes and resulting juice from roasting to a large stock pot.  Snip ends of garlic cloves and squeeze into pot.  Add vegetable stock and basil to pot.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Can be enjoyed either hot or cold.

Serves 4

Sourdough boule broiled with olive oil & sea salt, basil leaf and black tahini.

Looks strange–tastes good!  It is a very strong-tasting experience and the color is disconcerting when eating it, but I will say it is quite good as long as you add another strong flavor, such as the basil leaf. Worked very nicely together.

Black Tahini:  black sesame seeds + food processor.

Pizza?  Mmm, maybe.  Waffles?  Well, of course!!  Take your favorite pizza (today: basil, garlic, tomato, artichoke), fold it in half and waffle away!

From scratch, recipe later.  For now, I’m hungry.

From yesterday’s pizza dough I made cute little pizzettas in tartlet pans:

Pesto, Tomato & Raclette du haut Livradois*

Spinach, Walnut, Garlic & Marinara

For the pesto, process until desired consistency:

1 bunch fresh basil

3/4 cups pecans (or whatever nut you like)

1/4 tsp. sea salt

5 cloves garlic

3/4 cups Kalamata olive oil

Vegan Pecan Pesto

* Raclette Description:

Produced in both Switzerland and France, Raclette takes its name from the French verb “racler”, meaning “to scrape.” Traditionally, Alpine cheesemakers would lunch upon boiled potatoes and cornichons, covered with melted cheese scraped from a rock near the smoldering fire. Raclette is a semi-soft pressed cheese, made of raw cows’ milk and washed with brine to impart a deep, fruity pungency. True to its name, it melts beautifully and can be scraped atop all manner of root vegetables for a winter supper.

Raclette du haut Livradois is from Livradois, France