White Bean Walnut Spread with Roasted Tomato Tea Toast

I was immediately intrigued by the new book Steeped. I love tea. I drink tea often and have cooked and baked with tea as well, and now here was a book full of “Recipes Infused with Tea.” I received a review copy. What I quickly realized as I started reading the book is that not only is it full of clever uses of tea in all kinds of different dishes, it’s also full of just really delicious-sounding food. The Green Tea Noodles in Asparagus Sauce with Goat Cheese Pearls has a couple of genius things happening in the same recipe. The fresh pasta is made with matcha green tea powder mixed with the spelt and all-purpose flours. And, the dish is served with goat cheese pearls made by rolling little pieces of goat cheese between your palms. They make the prettiest garnish. The Iced Tea Sugar Cookies are made with five options for glazes, and each glaze is made with a different type of tea. For instance, the Mojito Glaze calls for Moroccan mint green tea and lime zest, and the Rooibos Carrot Glaze has rooibos tisane and finely grated carrot. I first learned about tea leaf salads when I read the book Burma, and this book includes a fabulous, big, composed, California-version of a tea leaf salad with chopped avocado, jalapeno, and sunflower seeds. There are also really lovely pairings like the Jasmine Tea Whipped Cream with Shortcakes topped with Canteloupe. I can already imagine how good sweet, ripe cantaloupe will be with the flavor of jasmine tea. This is definitely so much more than a darling, little book about tea. First, I had to try the Roasted Tomato Tea Toasts and experiment with the smoky flavor from lapsang souchong tea. 

You begin by grinding lapsang souchong tea with coarse salt in a spice grinder. It results in a smoky-flavored salt accented with the floral qualities of the tea. This salt was sprinkled on tomato slices before they were roasted. I had just received some tomatoes from our CSA, and I bought some extras at the farmers’ market. This happened two weeks ago, and at that point, our local tomatoes were of the greenhouse variety. They were good candidates for roasting to concentrate their flavors. While the tomato slices roasted, white beans, toasted walnuts, minced garlic, more ground lapsang souchong tea, and some of the tea salt were pureed together in the food processor. Olive oil was drizzled in until the puree was smooth. Last, olive bread was sliced and toasted. I cut the bread to about the size of each slice of tomato. The bread was topped with the white bean puree, then a slice of tomato, and chopped chives. 

These tea toasts were so simple to prepare, and the result was a delightful and unique flavor experience. The lapsang souchong salt is just smoky enough without being overbearing as some smoked salts can be. It combined perfectly with the white bean and walnut spread, and the roasted tomatoes on top. I love now having the idea of this tea and this salt for adding a hint of smokiness in my bag of tricks, and I look forward to using tea in even more new and different ways. 

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Artichoke and White Bean Dip

Today, I have for you, a tale of two artichoke dips. At Christmastime, I tried a new-to-me recipe for a baked artichoke dip. Shallots, garlic, and artichoke hearts were sauteed in olive oil and then simmered in white wine until it reduced. Softened cream cheese was mixed with grated Gruyere, lemon juice, and hot sauce, and the vegetables were folded into that mixture. It went into a little baking dish and was sprinkled with panko and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. The dip was baked until bubbly, and then topped with crispy, fried shallots. It was spooned onto pieces of toasted bread while still steaming. This dip was deliciously savory and layered with flavors; it was gooey and rich. In fact, it was so rich that after one bite, I was done. From now on, I’ll think of it as the extra-decadent, wintertime artichoke dip. For spring, I wanted something different. And, after learning how good for you artichokes are, I wanted something that I could enjoy more often. While flipping through River Cottage Veg, I found it. It’s Artichoke and Bean Dip, and there’s no heavy cheese in it at all. It’s not entirely spartan since the vegetables are sauteed in olive oil before being added to the dip, and some thick yogurt helps bind the mixture. But, it’s made up of things you can feel good about eating without feeling stuffed after one bite. 

Step one should be to finely chop a few garlic cloves and let them sit for about ten minutes while prepping the other ingredients. (Chopped garlic should sit for ten minutes before being cooked to allow time for allicin to form which is a very good for you antioxidant.) Meanwhile, finely chop a small onion. I used a small amount of red onion, and some young shallots from my CSA as well. Seven ounces of artichoke hearts in brine should be drained. The onion and shallot were sauteed in a small amount of olive oil, and the garlic was added. Next, chopped fresh oregano leaves were added, and I was happy to get to use some from my herb garden where it’s growing like crazy. Rinsed and drained, canned cannellini beans were added next and just cooked until warm. The entire mixture was transferred to the food processor. I chose to hold back the artichoke hearts rather than add them with the bean mixture at this point. My thinking was that I wanted a somewhat smooth bean mixture with larger chunks of artichoke hearts. So, I pulsed the bean mixture until it looked almost smooth, and then added the artichokes for just a pulse or two. Lemon juice, chile flakes, and a couple of tablespoons of yogurt were added and folded into the dip. The vegetables should be seasoned while sauteing, but taste for seasoning after adding everything. In the serving bowl, the dip was topped with chopped, toasted walnuts. 

I baked some pita wedges for scooping up the dip and enjoyed a snack that lasted for more than one bite. It was a tasty mix of flavors while still warm, but it got even better after all those flavors mingled while it sat in the refrigerator for a few hours. It’s perfect for dipping pita wedges, tortilla chips, or vegetables, and this would make a great filling for a wrap or a spread for a sandwich. Now, I have a go-to artichoke dip for spring or anytime I want something a little lighter. 

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Mussel and White Bean Stew

This dish falls squarely within that category of recipes that are so simple, every ingredient really matters. It's a quick dish too. You do have to pick the mussels from the shells after they're cooked and opened, but even that step only takes a few minutes. This came from last October's issue of Food and Wine, and the total time for making this is noted as 30 minutes. I think it might have been less than that. So, about those ingredients. The mussels, of course, need to be as fresh as can be. They get steamed in some white wine, and then that broth is strained and added back to the stew, which means you'll want to use a wine you really like. Then, a good amount of olive oil is used for cooking some garlic and chopped chiles to begin the stew. I was lucky to have just received some olive oil samples from Nudo which is the company known for its Adopt-An-Olive-Tree program in Italy. I received two gift sets. One included three different olive oils, and the other included basil oil and a container with seeds for growing your own basil. I used the plain extra virgin olive oil for sauteeing the garlic and chiles, and I drizzled a little of the extra virgin olive oil with chilies over the stew for serving.

The cooking time is so short, you definitely want to have everything prepped and ready before you start. I let the mussels sit in a big bowl of water with a little flour while I minced the garlic and chopped the chiles. The mussels were rinsed and drained and checked to be sure none were open. Then, they went into a big skillet with white wine and cooked until opened which was about three minutes. The mussels were removed to a plate, and the wine was strained into a bowl and reserved. The mussels were picked from the shells, and the shells were discarded. Next, extra virgin olive oil was warmed in the skillet, and the garlic and finely chopped chiles were sauteed. Rinsed and drained white beans were added followed by the reserved wine. That was brought to a boil and seasoned. Last, the mussels were added with some chopped homegrown parsley.

This is perfect on a cool, fall day, but for a stew, this one isn't too heavy. A thick slice of bread or two is a good accompaniment, and the drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with chilies was a fitting garnish. For such a simple stew, the flavors were anything but after starting with great ingredients.

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White Bean and Roasted Zucchini Puree with Truffle Oil

I’ve read several great posts lately about the organic products from da Rosario, and I will join in the chorus of praise. I received a bottle of their black truffle oil, couldn’t wait to try it, and wouldn’t be mentioning it if it weren’t fantastic. The truffle fragrance from the bottle is enough to make me swoon, and I’ve been known to simply stop reading a restaurant menu as soon as I see a dish served with truffle oil or truffles or any variant of truffleness. I thought back to my last restaurant experience with truffle oil to come up with a plan for using this. We went to Asti for Kurt’s birthday and started with the antipasti platter. Among several delicious things, there was a white bean puree with a pool of truffle oil on top of it and some crunchy grissini along-side it. That became my corner of the platter, and nothing else mattered for a few minutes.

Yes, I thought, white bean puree. Then memory number two flashed by which involved an impossibly light and airy zucchini puree I recalled as an amuse bouche once enjoyed at Aquarelle. I began to imagine a hybrid of the two with some garlic pungency and a little freshness of lemon, and then I turned on the oven. I roasted three bulbs of garlic because having extra roasted garlic always ends up being a good thing. For the last 15 minutes of their roasting time, I put some peeled zucchini in the oven too. Once cool, I chopped the zucchini, squeezed the softened cloves from the garlic heads, and put both in a food processor with two cans of white beans that had been rinsed and drained. That combination was joined by some olive oil, a little lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper, and it was pureed. It seemed just a little flat, so I added some minced fresh garlic and a little more salt.

The zucchini lightens the mixture leaving it fluffier than it is otherwise. The roasted garlic and fresh garlic worked together to intensify the flavor, and the lemon brightened it up as it does. It’s delicious on crostini or carrots or spread into a sandwich with lots of lettuce, but none of that matters because its purpose was to be a pillow on which the truffle oil would rest en route to my mouth. And, that, was just delicious.

1 bulb garlic
1 lb. zucchini (I used three small ones, but sizes vary quite a bit, so I’m giving the weight here.)
2 15 oz. cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Truffle oil

-roast garlic in a 400 degree oven until softened, about 40 minutes depending on the size of the garlic (I prefer to cut off the very top of the bulb, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper before wrapping in parchment and foil and placing in the oven.)
-peel zucchini, place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper place zucchini in oven for the last 15 minutes of roasting time
-remove garlic and zucchini from oven and allow to cool enough to handle; squeeze garlic cloves from bulb into the bowl of a food processor, cut stem ends from zucchini and chop remaining into large chunks; add chunks to food processor bowl along with remaining ingredients; puree until smooth; taste for salt and adjust as needed
-serve on crostini topped liberally with truffle oil

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Vegetarian Caldo Gallego

I was in need of inspiration for a vegetable-filled soup, so I looked through a few different books to get ideas. It was Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian that offered just what I was hoping to find. This book is a terrific reference for just about any vegetable cooked in just about any style. You can use the index to locate the vegetable in question, and then you’ll find several options from all around the world. As I flipped through the book, I made repeated mental notes on other dishes ranging from El Salvadoran to Indian that I want to try as soon as I can.

While vegetarian caldo gallego may be an oxymoron, it is definitely a full-flavored and satisfying soup. Traditionally, chorizo would be the source of rich flavor. Jaffrey’s recipe included onion, garlic, potato, white beans, chopped greens, and vegetable broth or broth from cooking beans. I felt that the essence of a traditional taste would be found in Spanish paprika, so I added a healthy dose of pimenton de la vera to the onions and potatoes as they cooked. Since time was at a premium this weekend, I resorted to using canned white beans instead of cooking dried ones, but I did use some homemade vegetable broth. As the potatoes, onions, and garlic cooked with the pimenton, the aroma was transfixing. I decided pimenton is my new best friend. It’ll be in everything I cook for the foreseeable future.

The finished soup was hearty and delicious. The smoky quality was there, and the potatoes, beans, and greens were a nice trio of tastes. We lunched on this soup with some chunks of manchego cheese. It might not have been completely traditional, but it was just what I was looking for this weekend. I made a double batch and can freeze some for future quick meals unless it disappears in the next few days.


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