Tag: hors d’oeuvre

Rick Bayless’s Roasted Tomato and Jalapeño Salsa

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Can anyone resist a big crunchy pile of chips and a bright red bowl of salsa?

I can’t.

It’s my weakness; I find the crunchy saltiness of the chips and the spicy sloppiness of the cool salsa irresistible.

Like everything else, I have been on the hunt for that perfect version.

This doctored-up Rick Bayless recipe comes darn close. It’s really better the next day too.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of plum tomatoes

3 jalapeño peppers, stemmed

1 medium white onion, sliced into thin rings

4 fat cloves of garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar

The juice of 4 limes (maybe 5)

1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped (about 1 loosely packed cup)

1 small white onion, minced

Salt to taste

How to prepare:

1. Turn on your oven’s broiler.

2. While the broiler is heating up, spread the tomatoes and the jalapeño peppers out on a cookie sheet. Do not brush them with any oil. Broil them until their skins are blackened in spots and blistered in some parts. Turn the tomatoes and peppers throughout the cooking to make sure that all their sides are evenly colored. Remove the pan from the oven and let everything cool.

3. Set the oven to 425°. Spread the onions out on another cookie sheet, separating the rings. Tuck the garlic underneath the onions and roast in the oven until the onions are soft and starting to brown.

4. Using a food processor, process the onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes together.

5. In a large bowl, combine the processed mixture with the remaining ingredients. You may want to add more lime juice, depending on how it tastes. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

Bruschetta with Ricotta, Wild Arugula, and Olive Oil

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This combo comes courtesy of Salvatore Brooklyn, makers of some of the finest whole milk ricotta this side of the pond. You can even make your own ricotta as they have made their recipe available to all. It is ridiculously easy to do, tastes fabulous, and gives you crazy bragging rights when your guests coo, “Oh my gosh! You made this!?”

In a pinch though, you can use store bought ricotta. Just try to buy the best and creamiest you can. Whole milk please. Full fat = superior mouth-feel.

To assemble, top toasted bread with a large schmear of ricotta. Artfully arrange a few leaves of peppery wild arugula. Drizzle with some super duper extra virgin olive oil. Finish with a sprinkling of flaky Maldon Salt or Fleur de sel.

And isn’t the plate so pretty? A wonderful gift from a wonderful friend!

Homemade Ricotta

Ingredients:

1 gallon of whole milk, the fullest and fattiest that you can buy

A good, healthy pinch of salt

The juice of one lemon

Special equipment:

Cheesecloth

A kitchen thermometer (somewhat optional)

How to prepare:

1. In a large pot, heat the milk and salt over high heat. Heat the milk until it reaches 190°, or you can just watch it until it reaches a good simmer (that’s about 180-190°). Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Stir the lemon juice in very gently and slowly. You just want to distribute the acid evenly. A vigorous stirring will break the curds up a lot. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes or so.

2. Line a colander with cheesecloth. Place the cheesecloth-lined colander over a large bowl to catch the whey. Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain on their own. Don’t squeeze the curds or press down on them. You can let it strain for an hour, but when the cheese looks like the consistency that you like (some people like looser ricotta, some people like denser ricotta), turn the cheese out of the cheesecloth and use it right away, or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it until you want to use it.

Finnish Ruis Bread with Sliced Cheddar and Cucumber

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Last week’s trip the the New Amsterdam Market yielded all kinds of goodies. A smoked duck breast here, a bushel of Winesap apples there, and a couple rounds of Finnish Ruis bread from Nordic Breads rounded out our market basket.

Chewy and deliciously dense, these Finnish rye breads are perfect for all kinds of tasty toppers. Following the example of Nordic Breads’ bakers, we smeared lightly toasted halves of bread with good unsalted butter, topping this with thin slices of cloth-bound cheddar cheese and cucumber. Each round is reasonably thin, so it is a good idea to cut each round in halves or quarters before splitting them. In a pinch, I would imagine that a good, dark, heavy rye bread would do. Once assembled and finished with a little Maldon salt, these sandwiches make a very wonderful snack or light supper.