Beet Panzanella

March 31, 2009 by Susan

I can hardly believe I am writing a food post about a salad. I like salads, but I’ve never been a real lover of them, I can take ’em or leave ’em, if you know what I mean. I was, however, so impressed with this salad that I had to post the recipe. It is outstanding.

Panzanella is a bread salad and I make a delicious one in the spring/summer. When I came across this ‘winter’ version, I was intrigued to give it a try. The contrasting flavors really round out this salad, which truthfully can be a meal all on it’s own. It’s sweet, savory, creamy and crunchy all at the same time and after making my own croutons I will never again buy them in a store.

The individual parts of this salad can be made ahead and stored separately, lasting well in the fridge for a few days. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know how much I love that! This salad is slightly time consuming to make so getting several ‘uses’ out of it is a terrific payoff. I keep the croutons in a separate zip lock bag in the fridge and they last a long time. The beets and shallots are put in a different zip lock back, the dressing in a container…well, you get the idea. Just assemble as needed.

Some advice regarding this salad that I must pass on. The first is do not wear something white or of extreme value when making this salad. The beets stain like nobody’s business. The second is do not assemble this too far ahead of time, the croutons will get soggy and that is just not good. The bread must be crunchy. I would say you can let the salad sit for about 10-15 minutes before any soggy problems start.

I’ve adapted this recipe from Tyler Florence, making just a few small changes. My version is below…

Recipe

2 bunches baby beets (or large beets cut into chunks)

4 shallots, peeled

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 sprigs thyme and oregano

4 slices pancetta, sliced into small pieces

1 log goat cheese, refrigerated

1 loaf whole wheat bread, cut into crouton-sized pieces

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 orange, juiced

1 handful dates, chopped

1 large handful arugula

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash beets well, cut into chunks, then place on a long sheet of aluminum foil. Split shallots lengthwise and add to foil. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, thyme, and oregano leaves and season with salt and pepper. Fold foil into a packet and roast in oven until fork tender and nicely caramelized, about 40 – 50 minutes.

In saute pan, cook pancetta until crisp.

Toss the bread cubes with 1⁄4 cup oil until the bread is damp with the oil. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and bake until the bread begins to brown, about 10 minutes.

While the bread is baking, make the dressing. In a large mixing bowl, add the honey, lemon juice, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, 4 tablespoons oil, salt, pepper, and stir together. Add all the remaining ingredients except arugula and gently stir. Taste for seasoning. Remove beets and bread from oven and add to bowl. Stir together and season with salt and pepper. Add pancetta and arugula. Divide onto individual plates and enjoy!

Beet Panzanella

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

2 bunches baby beets (or large beets cut into chunks)
4 shallots, peeled
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 sprigs thyme and oregano
4 slices pancetta, sliced into small pieces
1 log goat cheese, refrigerated
1 loaf whole wheat bread, cut into crouton-sized pieces
½ lemon, juiced
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ orange, juiced
1 handful dates, chopped
1 large handful arugula
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash beets well, cut into chunks, then place on a long sheet of aluminum foil. Split shallots lengthwise and add to foil. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, thyme, and oregano leaves and season with salt and pepper. Fold foil into a packet and roast in oven until fork tender and nicely caramelized, about 40 - 50 minutes.
In saute pan, cook pancetta until crisp.
Toss the bread cubes with 1⁄4 cup oil until the bread is damp with the oil. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and bake until the bread begins to brown, about 10 minutes.
While the bread is baking, make the dressing. In a large mixing bowl, add the honey, lemon juice, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, 4 tablespoons oil, salt, pepper, and stir together. Add all the remaining ingredients except arugula and gently stir. Taste for seasoning. Remove beets and bread from oven and add to bowl. Stir together and season with salt and pepper. Add pancetta and arugula.

Sun-Dried Tomato Jam Crostini

February 24, 2009 by Susan

I can sit down with a glass of wine and some appetizers and be the happiest woman on the planet. I view it as sort of an extended happy hour at home. If you are going to make a light meal out of it, as I love to do, you need to have a few appetizers that are on the substantial side. One of the more substantial appetizers I always make now is this sun-dried tomato jam crostini. I absolutely love it. It’s earthy, tangy and sweet all at the same time. Perfection.

I adapted this recipe from Giada, making but a few small changes. The first being I cut back on the vinegar, some people mentioned the original version was a bit too ‘vinegary’. Also, since I cut back on the vinegar, I also cut back on the sugar. The last change I made is the addition of the smear of goat cheese on the crostini, I think the extra bit of creamyness really adds to it. And I love goat cheese!

Aside from this appetizer being absolutely delicious the other aspect I really love is that it can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to one week. It’s a huge time saver if you are having a party but also it’s wonderful to keep leftovers so you can treat yourself to a snack during the week.

Here’s what you will need….

Recipe

1 (8-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped, oil reserved

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup water

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 baguette, cut into 3/4-inch slices

5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Method

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, olive oil, onion, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the sugar, vinegar, water, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper.

The mixture will look like this….

Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid is reduced and the mixture is the consistency of jam, about 30-40 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. (In Giada’s recipe she instructs to allow the jam to reduce for only 10-15 minutes more, which was not enough time at all. If you keep the heat the same it will take more like 30 minutes to reduce. You can turn up the heat, however, you will then need to stand around watching the mixture, stirring often.)

Amazingly enough, that liquid mixture turns into this…

And that is the exact consistency you are looking for. Jam-like.

As the jam is cooling, mix the chopped thyme into the room temperature goat cheese. Toast up some crostini and once slightly cooled spread a thin layer of goat cheese on the crostini, then top with some jam mixture. Top that with a small dollop of goat cheese. Enjoy!

Giada’s original recipe can be found here…

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/crostini-with-sun-dried-tomato-jam-recipe/index.html

Sun-Dried Tomato Jam Crostini

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped, oil reserved
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
⅛ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup water
½ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 baguette, cut into ¾-inch slices
5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Method

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, olive oil, onion, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the sugar, vinegar, water, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid is reduced and the mixture is the consistency of jam, about 30-40 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. (In Giada's recipe she instructs to allow the jam to reduce for only 10-15 minutes more, which was not enough time at all. If you keep the heat the same it will take more like 30 minutes to reduce. You can turn up the heat, however, you will then need to stand around watching the mixture, stirring often.)
As the jam is cooling, mix the chopped thyme into the room temperature goat cheese. Toast up some crostini and once slightly cooled spread a thin layer of goat cheese on the crostini, then top with some jam mixture. Top that with a small dollop of goat cheese.

Roasted Pepper And Goat Cheese Sandwich

October 9, 2008 by Susan

This is one of my go-to sandwiches on the weekends. After the gym I’m usually ravenous and want to eat something immediately and this sandwich is so quick to make, provided you already have the roasted peppers on hand. I highly recommend roasting the red peppers yourself instead of using the jar kind. It’s so easy, basically all you do is pop them in the oven. The only tedious part is after they are cooked when you have to peel the skins off and get the seeds out. In my opinion, the payoff is worth it. If you roast 4 or 5 peppers at a time, you will have a nice supply in the fridge for up to a week. Well, that’s if you live alone, like I do. Although this sandwich is easy to make it feels sorta…gourmet. And after sweating it up at the gym this simple, gourmet sandwich is a treat I can feel good about eating. This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten.

Here’s what you will need to make 2 sandwiches…

Recipe

4-5 large red bell peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2-3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tablespoon capers

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon chopped basil

5-6 large basil leaves, whole

goat cheese

good bread

red onion, sliced paper thin (optional)

Method

The Peppers:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place the whole peppers on a sheet pan and place in the oven for 40-50 minutes, until the skins are wrinkled and charred. Turn once or twice during cooking. Remove from oven and immediately cover tightly with aluminum foil and set aside for at least 30 minutes. You don’t want to burn your little fingers. Once they are cool enough to handle peel all the skins off each pepper and remove the seeds and stem. Rip the flesh of the peppers into thick strips and put them in a bowl with their juices.

To the bowl add the olive oil, balsamic, smashed garlic, capers, chopped parsley, chopped basil and some salt & pepper to taste. Voila, the peppers are done! I like to let this mixture blend for a few hours or even a day before preparing the sandwich, so the smashed garlic has a chance to flavor the peppers and oil. I prefer to add the whole garlic cloves smashed instead of chopping the garlic, eliminating the risk of eating a raw piece of garlic in the sandwich. It could be potent sometimes. These peppers will stay in the fridge covered for up to one week (if they last that long).

The Sandwich:

For one sandwich: Toast bread. Spread each half with goat cheese. If you love goat cheese (as I do) spread liberally. On top of the goat cheese on one half of the bread lay as many basil leaves in a single layer as will fit on your bread slice. On top of the basil leaves lay the red pepper slices. If you decide to include the red onion in this sandwich now is the time to place those slices on top of the peppers. I don’t always add the red onion as I find they have a tendency to linger long after the sandwich is gone. However, if you are careful to slice them super thin, it’s not so bad. If you love red onion, then feel free to slice to your desired thickness and glob them on. Cover with the other slice of bread and enjoy!

Roasted Pepper And Goat Cheese Sandwich

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

4-5 large red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon capers
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped basil
5-6 large basil leaves, whole
goat cheese
good bread
red onion, sliced paper thin (optional)

Method

The Peppers:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place the whole peppers on a sheet pan and place in the oven for 40-50 minutes, until the skins are wrinkled and charred. Turn once or twice during cooking. Remove from oven and immediately cover tightly with aluminum foil and set aside for at least 30 minutes. You don't want to burn your little fingers. Once they are cool enough to handle peel all the skins off each pepper and remove the seeds and stem. Rip the flesh of the peppers into thick strips and put them in a bowl with their juices.
To the bowl add the olive oil, balsamic, smashed garlic, capers, chopped parsley, chopped basil and some salt & pepper to taste. Voila, the peppers are done! I like to let this mixture blend for a few hours or even a day before preparing the sandwich, so the smashed garlic has a chance to flavor the peppers and oil. I prefer to add the whole garlic cloves smashed instead of chopping the garlic, eliminating the risk of eating a raw piece of garlic in the sandwich.
The Sandwich:
For one sandwich: Toast bread. Spread each half with goat cheese. If you love goat cheese (as I do) spread liberally. On top of the goat cheese on one half of the bread lay as many basil leaves in a single layer as will fit on your bread slice. On top of the basil leaves lay the red pepper slices. If you decide to include the red onion in this sandwich now is the time to place those slices on top of the peppers. I don't always add the red onion as I find they have a tendency to linger long after the sandwich is gone. However, if you are careful to slice them super thin, it's not so bad. If you love red onion, then feel free to slice to your desired thickness and glob them on. Cover with the other slice of bread and enjoy!