Miri Leigh » fall

Farewell to the Season (and Roasted Tomato Soup with Chili Cream)

miri — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 02:08:00 +0000

It is with a small tear in my eye that I post the last tomato photo of the season.

Sigh.

Alas, fall is here and this week I harvested the last of my summer crop: sun gold cherry tomatoes, yellow heirlooms, and purple basil. It’s been cool and a little dreary here in the Bay Area these past few weeks and even though my tomato plants are still producing fruit, I know the lower temperatures and shorter days mean those little green marbles are unlikely to ripen before the first frost. Indeed, a gusty wind sent leaves swirling around my car this evening as I waited for the stoplight to change at the bottom of my hill. I turned my head and peered into my neighbor’s living room, where her kids were pasting Halloween decorations to the windows, already decked out in full costume. Her six-year-old fairy princess waved to me with her sparkly wand.

What should one do with tomatoes in the fall? Why, make a warm and creamy soup of course.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Chili Cream
[Makes two entree- or four appetizer-sized servings. Adapted from Epicurious.com]

For the tomato soup:

4 pounds heirloom tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken or vegetable broth plus additional to thin the soup
1/4 cup heavy cream
fresh lemon juice to taste

For the chili cream:

1 fresh serrano chili or jalapeño pepper
1 large garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream

Make the tomato soup:

Spread the tomatoes, skin side down, in one layer in 2 foil-lined sheet pans, nestling the garlic cloves between the tomatoes, and bake the tomatoes and the garlic in a preheated 350°F. oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the tomatoes are very soft and their skin is dark brown. Let the tomatoes and the garlic cool in the pans on cooling racks. In a heavy saucepan cook the shallot, the orégano, salt and pepper to taste in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until the shallot is soft, add the tomatoes, the garlic (skins discarded), and 1 1/2 cups of the broth, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 15 minutes. In a blender or food processor purée the soup in batches until it is very smooth, forcing it as it is puréed through a fine sieve set over a clean bowl and whisk in the cream, additional broth if necessary if the soup is very thick, the lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. [The soup may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated in a saucepan over medium heat.]

Make the chili cream:

Seed and finely mince the chili pepper. Mince the garlic and mash to a paste using the flat face of the knife blade or a mortar and pestle. In a blender or food processor, blend together the chili, the garlic paste, and the créme fraîche until the mixture is combined well. (Be careful not to overblend the mixture or the cream may curdle.) Force the mixture through a fine sieve set over a small bowl. [The chili cream may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and brought to room temperature before serving.]

To serve the soup:

Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle some of the chili cream over each serving. Serve with warm crusty bread and a bottle of wine… I suggest Pinot Grigio.

Vanilla-Saffron Poached Pears

miri — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:40:08 +0000

I’m on a whole-fruit-as-dessert kick. There’s just something so elegant and simple about serving a piece of fruit in its whole and natural state, lightly sweetened and topped with nothing but a bit of ice cream or creme chantilly. After those Baked Apples with Lemony Brown Butter syrup a few weeks ago, I was dying to do something with pears.

Flipping through Donna Hay’s Flavors (yes, again) I found my source of inspiration: Pears poached in sugar syrup with a pinch of saffron. The saffron not only adds a lovely flavor but also an orange tint to the syrup that stains the pears ever so slightly, giving them a deep, golden glow.

I invited some friends over for dessert after we ate dinner at our favorite restaurant last week and served these pears topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with a spoonful of the poaching syrup. Divine!

Vanilla-Saffron Poached Pears

4 cups water
2 cups sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch saffron
1 whole vanilla bean
4 bartlett pears, ripe but still firm

Combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, and saffron in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the liquid, then add the scraped bean to the liquid, too. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Meanwhile, peel the pears carefully leaving them whole with the stems intact. Carefully lower the pears into the simmering liquid and simmer, turning occasionally, until the pears are soft and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Remove the pears from the liquid and set aside. Remove the vanilla bean. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil and boil until reduced by about half to a thick syrup. Serve the pears warm with the syrup, with a scoop of good-quality vanilla ice cream if desired.

Baked Apples with Lemony Brown Butter Syrup

miri — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 08:04:17 +0000

I know, I know. It’s pretty cruel of me to post a dessert recipe just as you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to eat a healthier diet. So here’s the good news: This dessert is light and healthy. Yes, yes, it has “butter” as part of its name but trust me, there’s just a smidgen.

And the recipe is so simple and straightforward, it can hardly be called a recipe.

Bakes Apples with Lemony Brown Butter Syrup

Four Red Delicious apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup refined sugar
1/2 stick butter
juice of one-half lemon

Slice the apples in half laterally and place them cut-side-up in a baking dish. (The apples should fit pretty snugly, so choose your baking dish according to the number of apples you are baking. I used an 8×8 square ceramic dish.) Top each half with 1/2 teaspoon butter, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons of refined sugar. Squeeze the lemon over the prepared apples. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, basting the apples often with the juices from the pan.

Meanwhile, melt a stick of unsalted butter over medium heat and simmer until it is golden brown and bubbly. Immediately remove from the heat, add the juice of one lemon, 2 tablespoons refined sugar, and a pinch of salt. Set aside, but keep warm.

Serve the apples warm, drizzled with brown butter syrup. Pair with good vanilla ice cream if you want to forget about that New Year’s resolution for a moment. Otherwise, go easy on the brown butter syrup and skip the ice cream. The apples by themselves are absolutely decadent.

Spicy-Sweet Roasted Fall Vegetables

miri — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:42:56 +0000

On so many holiday buffets, the veggie dish invariably seems like the afterthought. With all those show-stopping side dishes — creamy potatoes, tangy cranberries, crumbly cornbread, and savory stuffing — who’s gonna get all excited about carrots and Brussels sprouts?

Well, this recipe just might change holiday vegetables forever. I take all the best fall has to offer–carrots, butternut squash, purple onion, garnet yams, and Brussels sprouts — and give them a sweet and spicy kick with a dash of ground ancho chili pepper and a generous heap of brown sugar. Drizzled with a little olive oil, they roast in the oven until the brown sugar coating caramelizes to add a complex sweetness.

Spicy-Sweet Roasted Fall Vegetables

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 garnet yam, diced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1 purple onion, diced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chili pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 F. Place the cut vegetables (carrots through onion) in a large bowl and toss with ground peppers, brown sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until the vegetables are evenly coated, then turn onto a 12-inch cookie sheet or shallow baking dish. Roast on the middle rack, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and browned. Serve immediately.

Preparation tip: Most of the work here is in the peeling and chopping, and there’s no reason why you can’t do this ahead. Peel and chop all the vegetables up to two days ahead and store refrigerated in an airtight container.

Butternut Squash Soup with Balsamic-Roasted Tomatoes

miri — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:02:00 +0000

Last week I finished Term 2 of business school and suddenly found myself with time on my hands. So I’m back in the kitchen… cooking, eating, making a mess, and generally having a good time.

Today was a dark and dreary day in Northern California, so I made soup: butternut squash soup with balsamic-roasted tomatoes. It’s rich and full of flavor, but it’s made with a broth base (not cream) so it’s not too heavy. Served with a crusty hunk of toasted wheat bread, it makes a nice dinner… for a single girl home alone and still in her pajamas at 6 p.m.

1 butternut squash, cut in half and seeded
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
6 plum tomatoes, cored and halved
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 red onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
juice of 2 oranges

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place the butternut squash cut side down in a large, shallow baking dish. Add 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the dish. Roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the squash is soft.

Toss the tomatoes and garlic cloves with 2 tablespoons olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Place the mixture in a small baking dish and roast 30-35 minutes or until the skins are shriveled. Cool slightly, remove the garlic cloves, pull the skins from the tomatoes and then crush gently with a fork.

Heat the remaining olive oil and butter in a large Dutch oven. Add the chopped onion and cook for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add the carrot and celery and cook an additional 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the broth, salt and pepper to the vegetable mixture, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Scoop the cooked squash out of its skin and add to the broth mixture. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped herbs.

Working in small batches, transfer the soup to a food processor fitted with the metal blade and puree until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in the tomatoes and orange juice. Season with salt and pepper if desired, reheat if necessary, and serve immediately.

Tip: To remove thyme leaves, hold the stem by the tip between your thumb and forefinger. Run your other thumb and forefinger down the stem in the opposite direction against the leaves. (See photo above.) The leaves should just slip off.