Chrissy is in nursing school and while she's not busy interning, studying, doing clinicals and saving the world one D.C. ward at a time, she is also the mastermind behind a blog called Cooking Up Kefi, which I strongly recommend checking out.
My cousin has embraced a gluten-free lifestyle so when we finally set our lunch date, I was excited for the opportunity to expand my repertoire. And while Chrissy isn't vegan, I wanted to make something that catered to both of our dietary choices -- gluten-free and vegan -- not to mention edible (and hopefully delicious).
The results: roasted tomato soup and crimini mushroom tarts, followed by chocolate mousse for dessert.
Because this was a special lunch, I did stick to recipes. I love to experiment but didn't want to take too many chances today. The soup is from Rebecca Katz's cookbook The Cancer Fighting Kitchen, the tart is adapted from Mark Bittman's cookbook How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and the chocolate 'mousse' is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The 30-Day Vegan Challenge.
I realize that most of us lead busy lives and don't have the time to make soup from scratch. Perhaps this is why I found myself up at 10pm last night roasting the tomatoes. Sure, you could cut some corners and used canned tomatoes but I think roasting your own makes all the difference.
While preparing the tarts, I was worried that subbing soy creamer for heavy cream, egg replacer for eggs, and Daiya for goat cheese was going to result in a mushy mess. Much to my surprise, they turned out to be savory and delicious. The potato crust was amazing and I can't wait to make it again!
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| First step: bake the potato crusts |
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| Et, volia! They turned out okay! |
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| Chocolate mousse for dessert! |
Please, please, please try the potato crust if you have a chance. You won't regret it! I can't wait to make more tarts. Wait, did I already say that? Yes, I did. That's how good they are :)
So without further adieu -- the recipes!
Peace and love --
~Jo
Roasted tomato soup
Adapted from Rebecca Katz's "Roasted Red Roma Tomato Soup" from The Cancer Fighting Kitchen
Serves 4
2 pounds tomatoes on the vine, halved
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1/2 white onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
Vegetable broth, optional, if needed
Walnut pesto, for garnish (see this post for recipe)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Gently squeeze the tomatoes by hand to remove the excess seeds, then put into a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt until evenly coated. Place the tomatoes cut side down in a single layer on sheet pans and roast for 20-30 minutes, until their skins are just browning and the juices are bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes and lift off the skins with a fork.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and a pinch of salt and saute until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic and continue to saute until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes.
In a blender, puree the tomatoes and carrot mixture until smooth. Note: depending on the juiciness of your tomatoes, you may need to add some vegetable broth if the soup seems too thick. I didn't have to use any with this batch of tomatoes.
Return the soup to the pot and reheat over medium-low heat. Stir in another 1/4 teaspoon salt and do a FASS check. Tomatoes are acidic so you may want to add a little agave nectar and another pinch of salt.
Serve topped with the Walnut pesto (see this post for recipe).
Crimini mushroom tart with potato crust
Adapted from Mark Bittman's "Goat Cheese and Mushroom Tart with Potato Crust"
from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Serves 2-3 (depending on your appetite and willingness to share)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large russet potato, peeled
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups chopped crimini mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup Daiya mozzarella cheese
3/4 cups soy creamer
1 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer well mixed with 2 tablespoons water
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Liberally grease a 9 or 10 inch tart pan (or 4 mini tart pans) with two tablespoons of the olive oil. Grate the potato (I used my food processor); sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss together then squeeze out the excess water. Press the potato mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a thin crust. Bake the crust util golden brown and crisp, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Put the remaining olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and cook and stir for a couple of minutes, then add the herbs and continue cooking until soft and almost dry, about 5 minutes.
Stir together the Daiya cheese, soy creamer and egg replacer mixture and sprinkle salt and pepper and then stir in the mushrooms. Put the mixture into the prepared crust (or mini crusts) and bake until slightly jiggly in the middle, 35-45 minutes.
Serve warm or room temperature.
Chocolate mousse
From Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's cookbook The 30-Day Vegan Challenge
Serves 3
Note: In her book, it says this serves 6, but that seems unrealistic, unless those six people have really small appetites and/or hate chocolate.
1 cup semisweet, nondairy chocolate chips
12 ounces silken tofu
1/2 cup nondairy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Raspberries for garnish
Melt the chocolate chips. This can be done in either the microwave or by double boiler. If microwaving, heat in a microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute. Stir, then heat for another 1 minute. Stir and they should be melted.
If using a double boiler, see this video tutorial.
Pour the tofu into a blender or food processor. Add the melted chocolate, nondairy milk, and vanilla. Process until completely smooth, pausing the blender/processor to scrape down the sides if necessary.
Chill the mixture in serving bowls for at least 1 hour before serving.
OMG, this looks delicious! I can't wait to try.
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