My husband and I recently became vegetarian for a multitude of reasons. Our primary goals were to become animal friendly, greener, and healthier. When I was vegetarian (for 8 years and nearly 15 years ago), there weren't many options at restaurants. It's definitely much easier now with a vegetarian option gracing almost every menu. You will notice that the recipes on this site will now be vegetarian. With this wine party, I wanted to showcase that vegetarian food doesn't mean sacrificing the gourmet experience.
Amuse Bouche
Grilled Three Cheese Panini with a Roasted Tomato Basil Soup Shot
First Course
Silky Cauliflower Soup with Purple and Gold Cauliflower Saute Drizzled with Truffle Oil
Second CourseMushroom Kale Empanada with Cardamom, Tomato, and Ginger Consommé
Third CourseButternut Squash and Mascarpone Ravioli with Hazelnut Brown Butter
Fourth CourseLinguine with Butter, Pecorino, Arugula, and Pink Peppercorn Sauce
Fifth Course
Poached pears in Honey, Ginger and Cinnamon syrup
Chocolate Honey Almond Tart
Rum Raisin Gelato
Grilled Three Cheese Panini with a Roasted Tomato Basil Soup Shot
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
1 can good quality roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped yellow onions (1 onion)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
Directions
In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, and basil. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Puree using a hand blender or in a blender. If you do it in a blender, hot liquids tend to expand so remove the plastic cap in the lid and cover with a towel. Taste for seasonings. Add additional water if you would like the soup thinner Serve hot or cold. Serves 8 small portions
Grilled Three Cheese Panini
Ingredients
10 bread slices, remove crusts
Three types of cheeses (use your favorites, I used fontina, mozzarella, and provolone)
Butter
Directions
Butter the bread on both sides. Add cheese and pan sauté until toasted.
Silky Cauliflower Soup with Purple and Gold Cauliflower Saute Drizzled with Truffle Oil
Regular cauliflower can be substituted for this recipe. I use purple and gold cauliflowers if in season. The colors impart a vibrant quality to the soup.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped leeks, white portion only, rinsed well
1 head golden cauliflower, florets separated (reserve 1 cup of florets)
2 cups unsalted vegetable stock
1 ½ cups heavy cream or fat-free half and half to be healthier
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
Salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
White truffle oil for serving
Fennel fronds for decoration
For Cauliflower Saute:
1 cup of reserved golden florets
1 head of purple cauliflower, florets separated
1 tsp thyme
Salt and pepper
Directions
For cauliflower sauté, in a pan, sauté cauliflower until a slighted browned. This releases the sugar and imparts a wonderful caramel flavor. Cover and cook for 5 min. Salt and pepper.
For soup, In a large soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the leeks and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the stock, half/half or cream, bay leaf and coriander, bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is very tender, about 30-35 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.
Puree the soup directly in the pot using a emersion blender until it is very smooth and creamy. Season with salt and white pepper. Keep the soup warm over low heat until ready to serve.
To serve: Pour soup in bowls (I use china cups). Top with 2 tbsps of the cauliflower sauté and drizzle with truffle oil. Add a fennel frond or parsley for color.
Mushroom Kale Empanada with Cardamom, Tomato, and Ginger Consommé
I was watching Top Chef last week (fyi, most talented chefs so far) and Jennifer made this broth that sounded like rasam. Naturally, I was intrigued by this application of our Indian comfort food. It’s comical how comfort food is one country is considered gourmet cuisine in another. Their broth was served with beef. I instead chose a mushroom kale empanada and made a few adjustments to the consommé. V requested the mushroom empanada but I added kale which is growing rampant in the garden. Be warned that putting together the empanadas is time consuming but a stunning show piece especially if you are aiming
to impress.
Cardamom, Tomato, and Ginger Consommé
Ingredients
6 plum tomatoes
2 whole star anise
8 pods cardamom, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 head garlic
1 knob ginger
½ cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon sambal
1 can vegetable stock (reserve the can)
2 shallots, sliced thin
Salt and pepper
Directions
Add shallots to oil and cook until caramelized. Take care not to burn. Then add tomatoes with spices, ginger, and garlic. This phase is just to sweat the tomatoes (i.e., release the liquids). Deglaze with vinegar and add sugar. Add sambal and stock. Simmer for 30 minutes. Take off heat and steep for 10 minutes. Strain and reserve. The left over strained items can be used to make vegetable stock (which is what I did). I freeze the stock to use later.
Mushroom Kale Empanada
Ingredients
1 package of uncooked tortilla wrapper
Reserved can from consommé recipe (remove the lid completely)
1 cup of chopped kale
1 small container of bela mushrooms (baby portabellas), sliced thin
2 shallots, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic sliced thin
1 tsp crushed pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
Directions
In a sauté pan, add garlic and crushed pepper to oil. Cook until aroma releases but do not brown. Add shallots, cook for 5 min on medium heat. Add kale and cover for 15 min. Kale is a tough leafy green and needs to be braised to be edible. Otherwise, it will be tough and chewy.
Once the kale is braised, add the mushrooms and cook until tender. Add salt and
pepper to taste.
Assembling the empanadas, using the can, cut a hole into one tortilla wrapper. Each wrapper should provide 3 rounds. Place 1 tbsp or more (depends on your can) on each round and cover with another sound. Seal either by pressing. If the wrapper does not seal, then apply a tiny bit water on the edge of the round. Bake in the over until golden brown. Approximately 10-15 min.
To serve: Place two empanadas in a bowl. Pour some sauce on the bottom, not over the empanadas. Add a fennel frond on top for decoration.
I will post the other recipes shortly.
