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Green Tomato Pave with Pistachio Relish & Sweet Tomato Fondue

IMG_4637Green Tomato Pave with Pistachio Relish & Sweet Tomato Fondue

Admittadly, I considered posting only the pictures of this luscious dish. It was that delicious, fresh and beautiful. Couldn't it possibly stand alone with no words to accompany?

I'm having SO much fun cooking Raw Vegan Cuisine, learning a ton, working with new ingredients, techniques and tools, making many ingredients by hand… and continuing to feel amazing changes in my spiritual, mental and physical well being.

 Green Tomato Pave with Pistachio Relish & Sweet Tomato Fondue is a recipe by Matthew Kenney, James Beard Award nominated chef and co-founder of the upscale, sexy, award winning raw vegan cuisine restaurant in New York City, Pure Food & Wine.  This dish encapsulates what I love about Raw Cuisine: light, intoxicatingly fresh ingredients, bursting with delicious flavors.  To be absolutely cliche, it's summertime on a plate.

Enjoy:-)

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Green Tomato Pave with Pistachio Relish & Sweet Tomato Fondue

 

Green Tomato Pave with Pistachio Relish & Sweet Tomato Fondue (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

TOMATOES

  • 8 large green tomatoes (green tomatoes are firm & slice easily, I picked a couple with spots of pink blush on the skins, lo & behold they were both beautiful green and red in the centers!)

SWEET TOMATO FONDUE 

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 cups chopped tomatoes (heirloom if possible)
  • 1/4 cup agave
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons himalayan or celtic sea salt
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup bail, julienned, plus more for garnish

PISTACHIO RELISH

  • 1 cup pistachios
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon himalayan or celtic sea salt
  • freshly ground pepper

Method:

TOMATOES Thinly slice tomatoes on a mandoline into 1/4 inch slices.

SWEET TOMATO FONDUE Blend all ingredients except basil in a high-speed blender until smooth. Stir in basil.

PISTACHIO RELISH Pulse all ingredients in a high-speed blender until well combined but still chunky. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

FINISH Alternate layering 3 to 4 tomatoes with Pistachio Relish. Drizzle with Sweet Tomato Fondue, serving remaining Fondue in small bowls alongside with soup spoons. Garnish with more Pistachio Relish and a few pieces of fresh basil. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

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Green Tomato Pave with Pistachio Relish & Sweet Tomato Fondue

 

You may also enjoy: First Spring Harvest… a cool, zippy refrigerator snack!

Easy Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce

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Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce…

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

You transform even the homeliest of mealy winter tomatoes into something sweet and divine.  You make quick, practical use of the bushels of summer garden tomatoes we can't possibly eat at once.  I can freeze you to eat any time of year.  And you're so easy to make I couldn't mess you up if I tried!  

Feel free to experiment with this one.  Add some carrot, onion or pepper chunks.  Use all dried herbs or finely minced fresh.  I never make it the same way twice.  Regardless, you'll find the roasting intensifies the sweet flavor of the tomatoes as they caramelize.  This recipe tastes fabulous with my Eggplant Parmigiana Meatballs.

DIRECTIONS

25 Roma (or whatever you have) Tomatoes Halved, Quartered if Larger

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Medium Head of Garlic, Cloves Separated but Un-peeled (or Substitute Dried)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano Finely Minced (or Basil , Thyme…)

Preheat oven to 375.  Toss everything on 1 or 2 large rimmed baking sheets (so they fit in a single layer).  Turn the tomatoes halved side up.  Roast between 1 & 1 1/2 hours.  Keep an eye on them towards the end as once the juices start to evaporate they can begin to burn.  However, you do want them to brown and caramelize a bit to develop that amazing sweetness and depth of flavor.  Allow to cool enough to safely handle.  Push the garlic cloves out of their skins, discarding skins.  Process in a heavy-duty blender or food processor until slightly chunky or smoother if you prefer.  

Freeze in ziplock baggies for up to 6 months.  (For easy storage, lay the baggies flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer so they can stack  on top of one another.   This sauce works great on bruschetta, with pasta, as a base for a delicious tomato soup (recipe coming soon) and anything else your imagination can come up with.  Enjoy!

Email me if you'd like this recipe Veganized, Raw-Veganized, Dairy-freed or Gluten-freed:)

 

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Eggplant Parmigiana Meatballs

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It's funny, I've never cared for eggplant- but I adore these!  The secret is in the bread soaked in whole milk.  Actually I'm finding there are a lot of foods I "Don't care for," that I love when they're incorporated into specific recipes.  

Rich.  Delicate.  Bursting with creamy cheesiness on the inside.  Seared and crispy on the outside. (And honestly, between you and me, they don't even taste like eggplant!  Perhaps ever-so-slightly, but in a good way.)  

These meatballs will not disappoint.  The proof being that my husband, a meat-and-potatoes guy, loves them.  He even went so far as to say they're some of the best meatballs he's ever had!  If that's not a testament…

They couldn't be easier.  Feel free to use your favorite jarred marinara or make my Roasted Tomato Sauce which I have in the freezer from last summer's abundant tomato crop.  (Roasting works wonders on any old mealy winter tomato so don't be afraid to make the sauce in the middle of winter either.)

Eggplant Parmigiana Meatballs (Serves 4)

1 Large Eggplant (Skin optional, I like it on since it has all the vitamins)

Salt to taste

2 Slices of Bread, Day-old (or lightly toast to obtain similar texture)

1 Cup Whole Milk

2 Eggs Lightly Beaten

1 Cup Freshly Grated Pecorino Romano

1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish

1/2 Cup Panko

1/3 Cup Flour, plus more for dredging

1/4- 1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (enough to cover the bottom of your pan w/ a thin layer)

24 Ounces Roasted Tomato Sauce (or store bought)

1/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella

2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley

Chop the eggplant (3/8 to 1/2 inch cubes).  Sprinkle with salt.  Steam for about 8-9 minutes, or until quite soft (err on the side of OVER versus under-cooking).  Allow eggplant to cool.  Squeeze out excess water.  

Meanwhile, break up the bread with your hands and add to a bowl with the milk.  Let sit for a few minutes to allow the bread to soak up the milk.  Squeeze as much of the milk out of the bread as you can with your hands and add to a separate large bowl (discarding leftover milk).  Add the eggplant to the bowl along with the eggs, grated cheeses, panko, salt to season and 1/3 cup flour.  

Mix the ingredients until well incorporated.  

Using your hands, form the mixture into golfball sized balls.  (Coat your hands with a bit of olive oil first to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.)  If the mixture it is too wet to form loose meatballs, add a bit more panko and flour.  DO NOT OVERWORK the mixture as this will create a tough meatball.  Dredge the balls lightly in flour using a spoon to help coat the top.  

Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a large saute pan.  Add the meatballs carefully to the pan in a single layer and brown on all sides, gently turning as you go with a slim metal spatula.  Once the meatballs are completely browned remove from the pan and set aside.  

Add the Roasted Tomato Sauce (or store bought sauce) to the pan and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to medium and return the meatballs to the pan WITHOUT SUBMERGING THEM, as you don't want to totally lose all of their crispy browned goodness.  Simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 10-15 minutes.  Sprinkle in parsley.  Serve sprinkled with additional Parmigiano and the shredded mozzarella.  Enjoy!

 Email me if you'd like this recipe Veganized, Raw-Veganized, Dairy-freed or Gluten-freed:)

 

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