Following is another gift of the season fromThe Blooming Platter Cookbook. While I can’t purchase locally-grown oranges, I did notice a sweet shipment from Florida in the grocery store last week, which made me think of this recipe.
It is a luscious marriage of rich chocolate and fresh oranges. Especially if you spike it with a tablespoon or two of orange liqueur, it is a wonderful dessert for a cold winter evening. The mousse sets up almost instantly, so it is ready and waiting as soon as you put your dinner fork down.
Yield: 8 servings
This is a luscious marriage of rich chocolate and fresh oranges. Spiked with orange liqueur, it is a wonderful dessert for a cold winter evening. The mousse sets up almost instantly, so it is ready and waiting as soon as you put your dinner fork down.
2 large oranges
12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu
1/2 cup natural sugar
9 ounces bittersweet vegan chocolate,melted (see note) and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch sea salt
Optional garnishes: vegan whipped topping, orange slices, or candied violets
Arrange 8 (4-ounce) ramekins in a 9 x 13-inch pan and set aside. Zest and juice the oranges and transfer to a food processor along with the orange pulp, discarding the seeds and pith. Add the tofu and sugar to the food processor, and process until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla and almond extracts, and a pinch of salt. Process for several minutes until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins. Cover the top of the pan with foil. This method is faster than covering each individual ramekin and makes them easier to transport. Chill the mousse until set, about 30 minutes. Serve chilled, garnished as desired.
Note: melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for about a minute at 30 second intervals, whisking in between. Alternately, melt on the stove in the top of a double boiler.
For 150+ additional gifts of the season, please consider The Blooming Platter Cookbookfor yourself or as a gift for a health- and taste-focused friend or loved one.
All things autumn was the inspiration for this absolutely addicting pizza. I’ve enjoyed it three or four times this week and I have not yet had my fill!
Homemade pizza dough is so quick and easy to make that there is scarcely any reason to purchase it, especially since it can be frozen. Hands on prep time is just minutes, but it does take a couple of hours to rise. So, if you are super pressed for time and favor a brand like Trader Joe’s frozen dough, then go for it. If you choose the purchased route, I would definitely recommend a prepared dough as opposed to a prepared crust.
My dough of choice comes from my Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes. My recipe calls for a combination of self-rising and whole wheat flours. However, for the pizza pictured, I didn’t have either, so I used all white whole wheat flour with some baking powder. The only difference I found is that it makes a softer dough and, hence, requires additional flour. The crust made this way also benefits from a couple of minutes in the oven before topping it and returning it to the oven to insure that the crust doesn’t become soggy.
Make the dough at least 3 hours before you plan to serve the pizza.
Blooming Platter Pizza Dough
Yield: 2 approximate 8-inch crusts
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour (or 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white whole wheat or all purpose flour combined with 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and a scant 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
Note: you may substitute all white whole wheat or all-purpose flour for both of the above. However, you will need considerably more flour, added 1/4 cup at a time, until dough is smooth and elastic, but slightly sticky.
1 teaspoon “quick rise” yeast
1 teaspoon natural sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons tepid water
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil plus 1 teaspoon to oil the bowl
Place all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl, stir to combine, and make a well in the center. Add the water and 2 teaspoons olive oil to the well and stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a fork until fully incorporated.
Knead for 5 minutes with oiled hands or until the dough is smooth and elastic, but slightly sticky. I knead it right in the bowl. Do not over-knead. Lift out the dough and pour the remaining teaspoon of olive oil into the bottom of the bowl and spread to coat the interior with your fingers.
Return the dough to the bowl, rolling it around on both sides to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl loosely with a damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. While the dough rises, prepare the other ingredients.
Next prepare Rosemary-Garlic Olive Oil:
1/4 cup olive oil (makes sure it is super flavorful)
1 5-inch stalk of fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
Combine all ingredients in a small cup and set aside.
Prepare the Apple Cider Vinegar Reduction:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon maple syrup
Pinch sea salt
Combine ingredients in a 1-quart saucepan and simmer over medium-high until reduced to 1/4 cup. Reduce heat if necessary, so that mixture doesn’t scorch. Pour into a small ramekin or cup and set aside.
Before preparing topping, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place two pizza stones (or two inverted baking sheets) into the oven and heat for 30 minutes.
Caramelized Onion and Apple Topping:
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium-large yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 small-medium apples, stemmed, cored, cut into 1/4-inch wedges; cut wedges crosswise into 3 to 4 pieces
Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute, stirring frequently, for approximately 15 minutes or until onions are beginning to develop a golden color. Reduce heat if necessary to prevent onions from scorching. Add apple, 2 tablespoons of the Apple Cider Vinegar Reduction, and a pinch of salt, and continue sauteing and stirring about 10 minutes, or until onion is deeply colored and apple is tender and has developed some color. Add water, a teaspoon at a time as needed if mixture appears to be drying out. Check for salt and adjust if necessary. Remove the skillet from the heat.
To Assemble:
Remove the rosemary from the olive oil, strip the leaves off the stalk, mince, and set aside.
Lay two 10-inch sheets of aluminum foil, shiny side down, on a work surface. Spray each sheet lightly with non-stick pray. With hands lightly dusted with flour, divide the dough in half, shape each half into a ball, and place one in the center of each piece of foil.
Beginning in the center of the ball and working your way to the edges, use your fingertips and palms to gently press the dough into a circle about 8 1/2 inches in diameter, leaving a slightly raised 1/4-inch wide rim. Brush the entire surface of each very lightly with the Rosemary-Garlic Olive Oil; you will likely have some left over. Lift each piece of foil one at a time, crust and all, holding it taught, and place on one of the baking stones. Bake for 2 minutes. Remove the stones from the oven and divide the onion-apple topping between the two crusts, spreading evenly to the rims. Divide the Cheese Spread between the pizzas, dotting the top of each with teaspoon-size dollops. Sprinkle each with half of the minced rosemary. Return the stones to the oven and cook the pizzas for 9-11 minutes or until the crust is golden and the topping is bubbly, switching the position of the stones halfway through if pizzas seem to be cooking unevenly. Remove the stones from the oven and slide the pizzas, one at a time, onto a cutting board. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon of the remaining Apple Cider Vinegar and cut each into 8 wedges. Serve immediately garnished with fresh rosemary sprigs.
Note: this pizza reheats beautifully on a pizza stone in a preheated 3350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
A big thank you is in order to Isa and all the good folks who are the driving force behind Vegan MoFo. Thank you so much for continuing to feed this fire and for making it so easy, not to mention gratifying, for all of us vegan bloggers and many, many readers to participate. What a beautiful thing.
Though MoFo officially ends today, I will still be here offering new recipes several times a week to Blooming Platter readers and subscribers. So I invite you to subscribe if you haven’t already. It’s now easier than ever and you can do it via email, no rss feed necessary. Just look over at the top of the right-hand sidebar and follow the simple prompts.
This version features a split pumpkin biscuit.
And now a sweet for the sweet, but, not so sweet that you couldn’t serve this warming dish for a fall breakfast or brunch, which is how I first enjoyed it.
I grew up loving my mother’s biscuit-style Strawberry Shortcake which, incidentally, she would sometimes allow my sister and me to enjoy for breakfast. So, my fall version of this treat is based on a sweetened pumpkin biscuit.
And it’s topped with a quick and spicy apple and walnut saute. Your kitchen will be perfumed with some of the best fragrances of fall.
Yield: 4 Servings
Note: the following is the Herbed Biscuit recipe from my new Blooming Platter vegan cookbook without the herbs, but with the addition of dehydrated pumpkin powder and a little natural sugar. Just click here to order the dehydrated pumpkin from Barry Farm. I am partial to it rather than pumpkin puree, as it adds lots of flavor and golden color, but no additional un-needed nor unwanted moisture which requires additional flour and, hence, a heavy biscuit. However, if you have a vegan pumpkin biscuit recipe you like, feel free to substitute. Just add about 2 tablespoons of natural sugar to a cup of flour.
My special biscuit method requires freezing the vegan butter and shortening, so don’t forget to pop it in the freezer the night before you plan to make them. And I highly encourage taking the tiny bit of extra time to employ my modified french puff pastry folding method. You won’t believe how buttery and flaky the two together will make your biscuit-shortcakes.
This version features an unsplit pumpkin biscuit.
Pumpkin Shortcakes
Note: this recipe makes about 10 biscuit-shortcakes, more than you need, but they are delicious plain and reheat nicely, so I predict you’ll be glad to have them on hand.
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plain or unsweetened soy milk
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (or 1 1/2 cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour + 1 tablespoon baking powder)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder (add only if using the self-rising flour)
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or your own mix of ground cinnamon, clove and nutmeg to taste)
1/4 cup natural sugar
4 tablespoons frozen vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons frozen vegan butter + 2 tablespoons refrigerated vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
Warm Spiced Apple Filling (recipe below)
About 1/4 cup of your favorite vegan whipped topping, sweetened cashew cream, or even vegan sour cream and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar into the soy milk and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder (3/4 teaspoon if using the self-rising flour and 1 tablespoon if using all purpose or white whole wheat), pumpkin powder, pumpkin pie spice, and natural sugar, and stir with a fork to combine. Make a well in the center. Spray your box grater very lightly with nonstick spray for easier clean up and then grate the frozen shortening and frozen vegan butter into the well. Whisk the soy milk mixture and add it to the well.
2. Incorporate the wet into the dry ingredients by stirring with a fork so that the warmth of your hands doesn’t melt the shortening and butter. Place the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a 9-inch square pan and place it in the oven to melt the butter. Remove the pan as soon as the butter has melted.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, pat or roll the dough to about 1-inch thick (1/4-inch thicker than for my biscuits). Fold it like a business letter: fold one side two-thirds of the way across and fold the remaining 1/3 back across. Pat or gently roll the dough out to a 1-inch thickness again, turn it a quarter turn and repeat about 4 more times. Do this fairly quickly so that the dough doesn’t warm up.
4. Lightly flour the work surface as necessary. The last time you pa the dough to a 1-inch, cut out biscuits wih a 2-inch biscuit, cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place each biscuit in the prepared pan and flip to coat both sides with melted butter. Bake the biscuits for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. While biscuits bake, make filling (recipe below).
5. When cool enough to handle, either place a biscuit on each of 4 plates; top with 1/4th of the Warm Spiced Apple Filling; garnish each serving with a tablespoon of vegan whipped topping, sweetened cashew cream, or vegan sour cream and a light dusting of ground cinnamon; and serve warm. Or, split the biscuits and place 1/8th of the filling inside and another 1/8th of the filling on top, garnish, and serve. Save the remaining 6 biscuits in an airtight container for another use.
Warm Spiced Apple Filling
1 tablespoon vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons chopped walnuts
2 medium apples (I like our local Winesaps), cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 cup natural sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon or to taste
1/4 cup ground ginger or to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground clove or to taste
1 tablespoon maple syrup
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add walnuts and toast, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove nuts to a paper towel-lined saucer. Add apple, natural sugar, and spices. Saute for about 3 minutes or until apples soften. Add maple syrup and cook another minute or two until apples are very tender. Add all but 1 tablespoon of walnuts, stir, and heat through. Remove from heat and use as directed above.
This recipe was inspired by a recipe for a side dish of roasted grapes in a current issue of a home and garden magazine. My recipe is slightly altered, including that it makes use of the lovely grape drippings in a silky pan sauce in which grilled tempeh is bathed before being served on a bed of bright green baby spinach under a tumble of the thyme-scented roasted grapes. The result is perfect to tuck into when you’re starved or to enjoy smaller portions, almost like tapas, when noshing is more the order of the day.
Yield: 2 servings (easily doubles)
Roasted Thyme-Scented Grapes
1 1/2 pounds of seedless green or red grapes, or a combination (I like a combination for both color contrast and more a of a sweet-tart contrast in flavor; you will have grapes left over)
1 scant tablespoon olive oil (about 2 teaspoons)
Sea salt to taste
Approximately 1 tablespoon very loosely packed fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grilled Tempeh Over Sauteed Baby Spinach with White Wine Pan Sauce (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place grapes in a metal roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Toss to coat. Place the pan in the center of the oven and roast for 5 minutes. Open the door, give the pan a gentle shake, close the door, and roast for 3 more minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, drain off and reserve as much liquid as possible. Sprinkle the grapes with the thyme and black pepper, gently stir, and return the pan to the oven for another 4 minutes or until the grapes are lightly roasted but still hold their shapes (it’s fine if a few split open). Remove the pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve the grapes immediately or store covered in the refrigerator. Allow them to come to room temperature or heat them gently before serving.
Minnie the Moocher
Grilled Tempeh Over Sauteed Baby Spinach with White Wine Pan Sauce
1-6 ounce package of tempeh, cut crosswise into 8 slices
Approximately 1/3 cup reserved grape drippings
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup water
1 tablespoon powdered vegetable base or 1 bouillon cube
1/3 cup plain soy creamer
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
4 loosely packed cups of fresh baby spinach
Garnish: sprigs of fresh thyme
While grapes are roasting, heat an oiled grill pan over medium-high. Add tempeh slices and grill approximately 2-3 minutes on each side or just until nice grill marks develop. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high, heat grape drippings, white wine, soy creamer, and salt and pepper to simmering. Simmer until thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add tempeh slices, turn to coat in the sauce, which will be quite reduced, and heat for about 1-2 minutes. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high, add spinach, and saute for about 30 seconds or until slightly wilted and bright green. Divide spinach between two serving plates. Arrange 4 slices of tempeh on top of each bed of spinach. Drizzle with remaining sauce if there is any. Top each with a spoonful of grapes and a sprig of fresh thyme. (Store remaining grapes, covered, in the refrigerator.) Serve immediately.
This Mediterranean riff on sausage and sauerkraut is perfect for Oktoberfest. A fresh take on its forebear, my version will perfume your kitchen with warm North African spices when its cool outside. And the presentation is so special, yet simple, that you can turn dinner into a dinner party.
Yield: 4 servings
Note: you will need to make the Cashew Cream a day in advance.
Cashew Cream
You will have lots of leftover, but you’ll be glad you do!
2 cups raw cashews, divided in half
2 cups water, divided in half
Sea salt to taste.
In a covered bowl, soak 1 cup cashews in 1 cup water overnight in the refrigerator. Rinse and drain. Process the cup of soaked cashews with the additional cup of raw unsoaked cashews and the remaining cup of water in a food processor for several minutes, or until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add salt to taste, process just to combine, and store covered in the refrigerator.
Vegan Chickpea Sausages
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained (1-15.5 ounce can)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Freshly ground black pepper or white pepper to taste
Roasted Apples, Onions, and Jalapenos (recipe follows)
Accompaniment: 8 cups of very lightly packed fresh baby spinach lightly barely sauteed in about 4 teaspoons of olive oil over medium high heat for about 30 seconds to 1 minute
Optional Garnish:
Cashew Cream (recipe is above)
A drizzle of Pomegranate Molasses (available at Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Markets)
Tear off 4 sheets of foil about 6 inches wide. Place a steamer basket in a 4-quart saucepan and fill with water just to the bottom of the steamer. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
In a medium bowl, mash the chickpeas and garlic until creamy. A few small pieces of beans may remain. Stir in the vegetable broth, olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce, and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together vital wheat gluten, salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, and pepper. Pour the bean mixture into a well in the center of the dry ingredients and, using a fork, stir the dry ingredients around the edge of the bowl into the wet center until all of the ingredients are completely combined.
Divide the dough into four equal parts. Place each part on a sheet of foil and shape into 5 to 6-inch long logs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, pressing mixture together fairly firmly. Lay each log along one long edge of the foil and roll snugly, bending up the foil at the ends. Place the logs into the steamer–either vertically or horizontally, two on the bottom and two on top of them–and steam for 40 minutes, adding more hot water to the saucepan
if necessary to prevent it from evaporating completely.
Remove the sausages from the steamer and unroll them when cool enough to handle. Be careful that you don’t burn yourself with escaping steam. At this point, I like to split the sausages lengthwise and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side on my stovetop grill pan. Serve the sausages on a bed of the lightly sauteed spinach topped with the roasted apples and garnished with a dollop of cashew cream and a drizzle of pomegranate syrup. While the sausages steam, make roasted apples.
Roasted Apples, Onions, and Jalapenos
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 gala apples (or your favorite sweet-tart variety), stemmed, cored, and cut into 8 wedges each
1/2 of a large Vidallia or other yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch slivers
1 jalapeno, stemmed, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch slivers (you can use two if you choose, but that makes for a really spicy dish!)
Sea salt
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour olive oil into a large metal roasting pan. (If the ingredients are crowded, they will steam instead of roast.) Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat with the oil. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring after 10. Remove the pan from the oven and serve as described above.
It’s simple to enter! Just add a comment to this post on one of two topics: 1) either share how you “MoFo” (do you blog, subscribe to MoFo headquarters rss feed, read more blogs than usual, cook more than usual, etc.); or 2) share your favorite way to enjoy apples in the fall.
I’d also love it if you checked out the book on Amazon, read one or two of the very generous reviews and, if you like what you see, “like” the book while on the Amazon site.
A winner will be chosen at random (using www.random.org–very cool site), next Sunday, October 9. Deadline to enter is midnight (wherever you are in the world), Saturday, October 8. Make sure your email address is accessible through your comment. The winner will be notified privately via email to provide me with your mailing address.
A quick note: I will respond to the comments at the end of the contest because if I respond as I receive them, it will throw the numbers off for the random calculation of a winner. So, I want you to know in advance that I appreciate you, and don’t want you to think I am being rude by not acknowledging your time and effort!
That’s all there is to it! Please spread the word. But first, check out this sneak preview recipe fromThe Blooming Platter Cookbook. I love re-imagining one dish as another, and my Baked Apples Baklava is a perfect and perfectly tasty example of that. And, though the presentation is elegant, the recipe is as simple as can be, provided you purchase the phyllo dough. If you decide to be an over-achiever and make your own, that’s on you!
Baked Apples Baklava with Cider Sauce
Yield: 4 servings
Baked apples are one of the wonders of autumn. In this dessert, tender stuffed apple halves are wrapped up like a beautiful package in buttery phyllo dough. They are as scrumptious for breakfast or brunch as they are for dessert.
Apples:
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon natural sugar
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
2 teaspoons agave nectar
2 large McIntosh or other sweet-tart red apples, stemmed
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup vegan butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon natural sugar
16 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
Cider Sauce:
3/4 cup apple cider
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick, halved
Optional Garnish:
Cinnamon stick halves
Walnut pieces
1. Apples: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, apple pie spice, and agave nectar and set aside. Cut the apples in half lengthwise. Using a melon baller, remove the core of the apples in two scoops to make a generous void for the filling. Rub the cut surface of the apples with lemon juice. Press one-fourth of walnut filling into each hollowed out void.
2. Combine the vegan butter and olive oil in a small bowl. Unroll the phyllo dough and cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Remove one sheet of dough to a flat work surface and brush lightly with butter-oil mixture. Repeat with three more sheets, stacking them.
3. Place the apple half, filling side up, in the center of the stacked phyllo. Bring up one corner of the dough over the filling, then the opposite corner. Repeat with the remaining corners, smoothing as you go, to make a tight package.
4. Brush on a little more butter-oil mixture and place the apples, flat side down, on a baking sheet or stone. Brush the top with a little more of the butter-oil mixture, smoothing down the edges of the dough. Repeat with remaining apple halves, filling and dough. Sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Cider Sauce: In a 1 quart saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes. Cool slightly to serve. Remove the cinnamon stick halves before serving or use them as two of the garnishes.
6. To assemble: Arrange the baked apples on dessert plates drizzled with the Cider Sauce and garnished with cinnamon sticks and walnuts, if using.
Alisa Fleming, creator of “Go Dairy Free,” posted a lovely review of The Blooming Platter Cookbook just a little while back. Her endorsement is very flattering for, through her work, she’s seen more than her fair share of wonderful cookbooks.
But, with the change in seasons, she felt herself returning again to “The Platter” in search of what she calls “that depth of flavor that I love this time of year.” What she found and dubbed “perfect fall comfort food” was my Farmstand Fruit Muffins. Follow the link for her intro, favorite apples recommendations, and the recipe.
Thank you, Alisa, for the post and for calling my cookbook a “creative collection of recipes”~enjoy everyone!
Until now, I’ve always used sweetened cashew cream as a topping. But something made me wonder what would happen if I baked it as a filling in a darling little tart that I call a crostada because they seem a little Italian, especially when bathed in my glistening Rosemary Caramel Sauce, inspired by my love of my vegan cheese spreads, fresh figs, and rosemary. So what did happen? The emergence of one of my favorite desserts of summer! But when figs aren’t in season, top them with any soft or lightly sauteed fruit. And feel free to mix and match the herb you add to the sauce to best complement your choice of fruit.
1/2 cup Cashew Cream (recipe follows; must begin making the day before you plan to use, as cashews soak over night)
2 tablespoons natural sugar or confectioners’ sugar (the former will lend a hint of crunch, while the latter will yield a smoother product)
approximately 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
Crostada Dough (recipe follows)
2 fresh figs (or other soft fruit, such as banana slices, lightly sauteed in vegan butter and a pinch of sugar)
Note: this recipe will yield approximately 2 cups, more than you need for the crostada, but you’ll enjoy having it on hand.
2 cups raw, unsalted cashew pieces, divided
2 cups water, divided
6 tablespoons confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place 1 cup of the cashews in a medium bowl and cover with 1 cup of the water. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. Drain and rinse the cashews in a colander. Transfer the cashews to a food processor, add the remaining one cup of water and process until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula. Add the remaining cup of cashews and process another few minutes , or until thick and creamy, again scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. The mixture should have enough body to hold a peak. Add the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and process until combined. Taste and adjust flavoring if necessary. Transfer the cream into an airtight container and chill for at least an hour before using. Remove 1/2 cup of the cream to a small bowl, and return the remainder to the refrigerator. Into the 1/2 cup of cream, stir the 2 tablespoons of natural sugar and optional lemon zest. Set aside.
Note: this dough is the world’s easiest and best-behaved around. I’m just sayin’…I thought I had added too much ice water, but I just pulsed it a couple more times, lifted out the ball, and placed it on my very lightly floured surface, turning it over once to coat both sides, and it was perfect.
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour (or unbleached all purpose flour)
pinch of sea salt
3 tablespoons non-hydrogenated coconut oil (semi-solid at room temperature; now considered part of a healthy diet!)
Scant 1/3 cup ice water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper, or use a seasoned baking stone, and set aside. Combine the flour, salt, and coconut oil in a food processor, and pulse a few times until the coconut oil is evenly distributed and the dough looks like coarse sand. Begin adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing a few times after each, just until the dough comes together. It should be slightly moist, but not sticky, very easy to handle, and formed into somewhat of a ball. Lift it out of the processor, gathering up any loose bits, and divide the dough into fourths.
On a very lightly floured surface, shape each into a small disk and then roll out, using a lightly floured rolling pin, to about 5 inches in diameter. The dough should be quite thin, but not so much so that it will tear. Gently lift each dough circle and place on prepared baking sheet, gently reshaping if necessary. (I like to use the tried-and-true method of rolling the circle of dough around the pin, transferring it to the baking sheet, and then unrolling in place)
Assembly:
Place 2 tablespoons of cashew cream in the center of each circle of dough, gently shaping it into a disk with a generous border of dough. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the outer edge of the filling, pleating the dough as you go. Be sure to leave an opening in the center in which to place the fig half. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, but check periodically to avoid over-browning. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and, as soon as the crostada are easy enough to handle, use a metal spatula remove them to a wire rack. With the back of a spoon, make a depression in the filling of each tart and nestle a fig half, cut side up, inside. Place each tart on a serving plate and drizzle withe the Rosemary Caramel Sauce. Serve immediately and pass extra sauce. These crostada are best served just after baking or, stored, covered, in the refrigerator and allowed to come to room temperature.
While tarts bake make sauce:
Rosemary Caramel Sauce
4 tablespoons vegan butter
1 cup natural sugar
1/2 cup soy creamer
Pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon minced rosemary
Dash of vanilla extract (optional)
Place butter, natural sugary, soy creamer and salt in a one quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir or whisk frequently for about 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in rosemary. Allow to cool slightly and then taste to determine if you want to add the vanilla. I prefer it without as it dulls the lovely flavor of the rosemary. Use right away or pour into a bowl or jar and allow to cool. Refrigerate any leftovers tightly covered. Reheat to use.
Okay, I admit it, I shamelessly “lifted” this idea straight out of a recent culinary magazine. I don’t even know which one. And I didn’t even read the recipe–which was non-vegan–I just saw the title and the picture, and then raced as fast as I could to our local farmer’s market for the biggest, juiciest, ripest local peaches I could find.
The concept is so simple, yet so brilliant; I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it by now, epecially since I live in the land of peach perfection. Little dollops of vegan cheesecake batter–so little you don’t even need to feel guilty–are baked inside the depression left by removing the stone. That’s it. I simply garnished mine with sprigs of fresh mint, but you could drizzle with a sauce or liqueur, add a dollop of vegan whipped cream, or sprinkle with berries and/or nuts.
To my way of thinking, though, all of that is just guilding the lily. Trust me, it just doesn’t get much better than this dessert in its purest form. Two friends who popped by yesterday, separately, for impromptu visits swooned. Hope you do too!
Note: you will have extra batter, probably enough for 8 more peach halves which, short of a large gathering, is too many to have on hand. However, unless you have a petite food processor, it’s a little difficult to work with half this amount of cheesecake ingredients. So I would just get creative with the leftovers. You can use it as a sauce or bake it up in a couple of little tart shells.
8 very large ripe, but still firm, peaches, cut in half lengthwise and pitted
1/2 of a 12-ounce block of Silken firm tofu
4 ounces of vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup natural sugar or to taste
1/2 cup soymilk (unsweetened or plain)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice + more for brushing on cut peaches (if you want a more pronounced lemon flavor, add the zest of half a lemon rather than more juice)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch sea salt
Garnish: fresh sprigs of mint or lemon verbena
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a large glass or ceramic baking dish with non-stick spray. Using a small scoop, hollow out a tiny bit more of the center of each peach half to make a large enough depression to hold a generous tablespoon or so of cheesecake batter. (Just nibble on what you scoop out; it won’t be enough to save.) Brush cut/scooped surfaces of peaches with lemon juice. Set aside. Make filling: place all remaining ingredients except garnishes in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Fill each peach depression with a generous tablespoon or so of cheesecake batter and bake for 30 minutes or until set and slightly less shiny. (Check after 20.) Do not overbake. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully transfer the peaches to individual serving bowls. Allow them to cool to room temperature, cover, and chill for an hour or so in the refrigerator before serving. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve. (I was in a rush to try them, so I transferred them straight from the oven to uncovered bowls to the refrigerator and chilled them for about 30 minutes before serving.)
Following is another gift of the season from The Blooming Platter Cookbook. While I can’t purchase locally-grown oranges, I did notice a sweet shipment from Florida in the grocery store last week, which made me think of this recipe.
