Recipe, interrupted

Recipe: Chickpea and Sunflower Seed Hummus

A neighborhood mom and fellow Park Slope Food Co-op member has for months been raving to me about sunflower seed butter. It took me a while to make room for yet another nut butter in the fridge (next to the peanut and almond butters) but when I finally got around to trying sunflower seed butter, I could definitely see its appeal. Slightly sweet, very creamy and very rich, but it has the delicate flavor of sunflowers. It was almost too rich for me to spread on a slice of bread. Doing that kind of felt like eating sesame tahini straight up. And that’s when I tried making hummus with this instead of tahini. With sunflower seed butter, the hummus is mellow and very smooth and buttery. So buttery, that I didn’t even need to drizzle in any olive oil. I added some scallions for a spike of sharp, green flavor and my new favorite hummus was born.

This hummus tastes just right to me when it’s had a chance to sit for about an hour or so. The garlic and scallion become more pronounced as time goes on. After a day or two, my kids deem it "too spicy" (but I still like it).

 

Makes about 2 cups

Preparation time: 5 minutes, plus resting time, if desired

 

2 cups cooked chick peas, with some of the cooking liquid reserved

3 tablespoons sunflower seed butter

3 scallions, white and light green parts roughly chopped

1-2 cloves garlic

Kosher salt to taste (start with about 1/2 teaspoon and add more as necessary)

Fresh lemon juice to taste (start with about a teaspoon, going up to about 3 teaspoons)

 

1. In a food processor or with an immersion blender, process all ingredients together until very smooth. Moisten with cooking liquid and process again until you get a thick, dip-like consistency that will hold on to pretzels, crackers, and veggie sticks.
    
2. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice as desired.

 

Recipe: Pimento Cheese Spread, Zesty Happy Hour Version

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, I’ve got a spicier, more grown-up version of pimento cheese spread. To add a little kick that goes well with beer and crackers, I first made a few substitutions. Hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese took the place of plain Monterey Jack and hot mustard replaced yellow mustard. On top of that, I added scallions and horseradish. It’s not crazy hot, but it does have a pleasant heat that is definitely not for kids.

 Here are the ingredients that make this grown-up pimento cheese spread different
from the lunchbox version.

 

Preparation time 5 minutes

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

 

4 ounces sharp orange cheddar, cubed

4 ounces hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese

¼ cup sliced, drained pimentos (such as Cento pimientos)

¼ cup cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons crème fraiche

White and light green portions of two scallions, roughly chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

2-3 teaspoons grated horseradish (the fresher it is, the hotter)

1 teaspoon hot mustard (I used Colman’s mustard)

1 clove garlic, finely minced or passed through a garlic press

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Pinch Kosher salt (to taste)

Optional (for heat lovers): hot sauce (such as Tabasco), to taste

 

1. Place all ingredients except salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well-blended and more or less the consistency of a small curd cottage cheese. Salt to taste. Add hot sauce if desired.
   
2. In order for the garlic, horseradish, and scallion flavors to develop, make the spread a couple hours ahead of serving and refrigerate until shortly before serving. Allow the spread to come to room temperature, or at least lose its chill, before serving.

 

 

 

Recipe: Lunchbox Pimento Cheese Spread

The first time, and, up until very recently, the last time I had pimento cheese spread was in Louisville, Kentucky, where I spent the summer after graduating college. I taught at a summer enrichment program for at-risk children. Whenever we had a break to run out and get food, the teachers would go to a nearby supermarket and pick up provisions. As soon as I tasted the odd, lumpy orange spread that someone had brought back, I was hooked. Every few days I stopped by the prepared food/deli section and pick up a container of it. I really had no idea what was in it but I loved the stuff. I’d roll it up with lettuce and avocado in flatbread or sometimes just scoop it up with Triscuits. Yet when the summer was over, my love affair with pimento cheese seemed to end as quickly as it began.

Until the heat of this summer hit New York. Somewhere in the dusty recesses of my brain I must associate pimento cheese with stiflingly hot weather and kids. Out of nowhere I started to crave pimento cheese sandwiches and wanted to put them in my kids’ lunchboxes for summer camp.

Fortunately, I was able to consult with my hair stylist buddy, born and raised in the South, while getting my hair cut the other day. Cheddar, pimentos, garlic (usually in powder or salt form, she told me), and mayonnaise are the main characters in most versions of pimento cheese. Variations include cameos by cream cheese, hot pepper, and pickles. She always ate it between two slices of Sunbeam white bread.

I weighed my options and considered a few additions. I didn’t want to stray too far from the classic version. The mayonnaise, though, had to go. I love homemade mayonnaise, but in this heat, I really didn’t want to make up a batch. Of course, I could’ve used mayonnaise from a jar, but I felt there had to be another, less oily option. Crème fraiche has a very similar consistency that would help make the cheese mixture more spreadable, plus it adds a nice mild tang.

If my pimento cheese spread was going to stand a chance of making it into my kids’ lunchbox rotation, it couldn’t be too spicy. So I stuck with mild and lightly tangy flavors. It turned out to be perfect comfort food, delicious in a sandwich spread with a light layer or sweet relish. And instead of Sunbeam, I used an all-natural honey oatmeal bread that is just as soft. My younger daughter loved helping me make it. She’s good at dumping things into the food processor and pressing the button (supervised, of course!). My older daughter loved eating it. And so did I.

P.S. A happy hour pimento cheese spread to enjoy with beer is next on my list. Stay tuned for jalapeno- and horseradish-spiked version.

 

Preparation time 5 minutes

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

 

4 ounces sharp orange cheddar, cubed

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese

¼ cup sliced pimentos (such as Cento pimientos) 

¼ cup cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons crème fraiche

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 clove garlic, finely minced or passed through a garlic press

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

pinch Kosher salt (to taste)

 

1. Place all ingredients except salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well-blended and more or less the consistency of a small curd cottage cheese. Salt to taste.
   
   
2. In order for the garlic flavor to develop, make the spread a couple hours ahead of serving and refrigerate until shortly before serving. Allow the spread to come to room temperature, or at least lose its chill, before serving. Delicious with crackers or in a sandwich with soft sliced bread and relish.
   

 

 

Recipe: Fresh and Bright Guacamole

This has been a guacamole summer for me so far. I never really made the stuff much before, but since May, I’ve been whipping up a batch about once a week. I’ve found that salty corn tortilla chips, a beer, and a generous bowl of guacamole is a very pleasant way to wind down a day. Especially when the creamy guacamole is loaded with a spectrum of fresh flavors and just enough heat.

Though red onion is more common in guacamole than shallots, I like the mild sweetness that shallots contribute to the mix of flavors. But, of course, feel free to use a tablespoon of minced red onion if you like prefer.

If I don’t have fresh jalapenos on-hand or if I just want a deeper, slightly smoky guacamole, I use a dab of chipotle in adobo sauce. You can buy a small can of it and, after opening it, store it in a jar in the fridge until you need it again.

 

Makes about 2 cups

Preparation time: 10 minutes

 

2 medium ripe and tender hass avocados

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded, pith removed, and minced

1 small tomatillo, minced

1 small shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, passed through garlic press, or mashed well with the salt

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves

Juice of up to 1 lime

¾ to 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, to taste

 

1. Scoop the avocado flesh into a mixing bowl along with the pepper, tomatillo, shallot, garlic, and cilantro. Add the juice from about half the lemon and ½ teaspoon or so of the salt.
   
2. Using an electric hand mixer, working up to high speed, blend the ingredients together until creamy. If you like a chunky guacamole, use a potato masher instead, or use the electric hand mixer just until you reach the consistency you like. If you want a very silky guacamole, use an immersion blender.
   
3. Taste and season with additional lime juice and salt as desired.

Recipe: Miniature Spinach Tarts

My sister called me the other day on her way to the grocery store. Her in-laws were arriving in town in about an hour. She wanted to welcome them with a little something to eat and thought of these spinach tarts I had made a while back. I wished I had posted this recipe online already but it was easy enough to talk her through over the phone.

If you keep a box of frozen spinach and a sheet of frozen puff pastry in the freezer you can make this hors d’oeuvres on very little notice.  There are a few other ingredients as well, but in a pinch you can substitute the feta cheese with any cheese you have in the fridge and use sour cream, crème fraiche, or even cream cheese in place of the cream.

 

Makes 24 mini spinach tarts

Preparation time: 25 minutes

 

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (I usually use Pepperidge Farm, but there are excellent all-butter ones out there), roughly 9 ½ by 10 ½ inches and a little more than 1/8 inch thick

1 well-packed cup cooked spinach, with all excess water squeezed out (this equals one package of frozen spinach, defrosted and drained of all excess water)

¼ cup crumbled feta or ricotta salata

2 tablespoons cream

1 egg

Freshly ground black pepper and Kosher salt, to taste (keeping in mind the saltiness of feta if you are using it)

Zest of half lemon

A few gratings of nutmeg

 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Allow to defrost slightly at room temperature while you prepare spinach filling.
   
2. In a food processor, pulse together spinach, cheese, cream, egg, salt, lemon zest, and nutmeg until well combined and lightly pureed.
   
3. When the puff pastry has softened slightly but is still quite cold, unfold it and roll it out slightly ib a non-stick or lightly floured surface just to thin it out a bit, until it is roughly 10 x 13 to 14 inches. Cut the puff pastry into 24 squares. If some of them are a little narrow, don’t worry about it; they are easy enough to stretch out by hand as you fill the muffin pan.
   
   
   
4. Press a cut square/rectangle gently into each of the cups of a miniature muffin pan. Make sure the pastry dough is pressed against the inner surfaces of the muffin cup but without pressing overly hard into the dough. (If you press too hard and start to warm up the dough a lot, the tarts will be more difficult to remove when they are cooked. They don't have to look perfect, though. If the corners stick out at odd angles or the dough doesn't come right up to the top edge, that's fine. Once they puff up, they'll look great.)
    
    
5. With two small spoons, place a teaspoon or so of the filling into each of the puff pastry cups.
   
   
6. Bake until puff pastry is golden brown, about 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven and let tarts cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing them. They should come out very easily, but you can use a small offset spatula to help loosen any stubborn tarts. 
   
   

 

Recipe: Devilled Eggs with Smoked Paprika and Tarragon

Here’s an idea for those leftover Easter eggs. After all the fuss in the kitchen this weekend, these came together quickly and disappeared even more quickly. I’m a big fan of smoked paprika, which goes really nicely here with the egg yolks, shallots, low-fat mayonnaise (a small repentance for the Easter brunch gluttony), mustard, and a little sprinkle of fresh tarragon. If you want to fancy the eggs up a bit, use a pastry tube to fill the eggs. I just spooned the filling right into the yolks.

 

Makes 6 devilled eggs

Preparation time: 10 minutes

 

3 hard-boiled eggs, cooled

1 teaspoon minced shallots

4 teaspoons mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon mustard (I used Colman’s which is hot and just a tad sweet; Dijon mustard would also be good)

Minced fresh tarragon, as garnish

Pinch Kosher salt, to taste

 

1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop or pop out the yolks into a small mixing bowl.
   
   
2. Add shallots, mayonnaise, paprika, mustard and salt to yolks. With an electric hand mixer, blend the ingredients on medium speed until smooth and slightly lightened, about 3 minutes.
   
   
3. Lay the egg whites face up and spoon the filling into the egg white hollows.
    
4. Sprinkle with a few bits of minced tarragon.
   
   
5. Serve immediately or refrigerate.