Nuts in the Kitchen (9 page)

Tomato and Pistachio Croustillant

Makes 8 single-serving tarts

Elegant. Easy. Delicious. Who could ask for anything more? Use very ripe, sweet tomatoes for this and a drizzle of pistachio oil.

Note:
Croustillant means “crisp” in French, and the pastry is very crisp, almost like puff pastry.

I recommend assembling these at least 30 minutes and up to an hour before you plan to serve them, so the pastry and the topping have a chance to meld.

1.
On a flat work surface, roll out the pastry to a
¹
/
₈
-inch (.3 cm) thickness. Working quickly, cut out eight 5-inch (13-cm) circles from the pastry, transfer them to baking sheets, and chill for 1 hour.

2.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

3.
Arrange the tomato slices on the bottom of two nonreactive baking dishes. Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and arrange the fresh herbs on top.

4.
Bake the tomatoes in the bottom third of the oven until slightly golden on top and caramelized, about 1 hour. Remove and let cool for at least 10 minutes before proceeding. Remove and discard the herbs.

5.
Increase the oven temperature to 425°F (220°C).

6.
Remove the pastry circles from the refrigerator and prick them several times with a fork. Bake in the oven
until light brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on wire racks.

7.
Assemble the croustillants by arranging three slices of tomato overlapping slightly in the center of each pastry round. Let sit for about 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Just before serving, drizzle each croustillant with ½ to 1 teaspoon of pistachio oil and sprinkle with an equal amount of pistachio nuts.

Fiona’s Almond and Olive Sandwich

Makes 4 servings

When my daughter, Fiona, doesn’t have school on Saturday morning, she and I can be found pursuing a well-trodden path through our farmers’ market. One of our stops is at Makram’s stall. Makram is a big, burly Tunisian, with a smile like the sun and velvet brown eyes. He is what the French call a
baratineur
—what some might call a “bluffer.” He hails me like long-lost family, clasps his hands, and looks to heaven when he sees Fiona. All of his customers are made to feel they have caused the sun, moon, and stars to come out and shine for Makram. The response is, of course, big sales of all his products, from olives to taramasalata.

Makram is smooth and obvious, but both Fiona and I play right along with his game. Makram delights in Fiona’s clear blue eyes and listens to every word she says to him. When she told him about the sandwich she makes with his herbed cheese and almond-stuffed olives, he laughed out loud and then asked her exactly how to make it. As she explained, he made one, with all his long line of customers looking on. When he was finished, he wrapped it in a napkin and handed it over the counter to her, with a flourish. “For you, my Fiona,” he said.

Note:
You can adapt Makram and Fiona’s sandwich by adding sun-dried tomatoes, lots of freshly ground black pepper, fresh lettuce, thin-sliced cucumber, and freshly sliced seasonal tomatoes. You may also want to vary the herbs, though a good herbes de Provence mixture is hard to beat. Note, too, that there are dozens of varieties of green olives. Makram’s are Tunisian, fleshy and firm, and marinated in a salty brine.

1.
Place the cheese, the olive oil, and the herbes de Provence in a medium bowl and mix. Taste to be sure you’ve added enough herbs for your taste.

2.
Thickly spread each side of the baguette with the cheese, using all of it. Arrange the olives on one side of the sandwich, the almonds on the other, pressing them firmly into the cheese so they’ll stay there as you eat the sandwich. Firmly press the halves of the bread back together, then cut it into four lengths on the bias. Serve with a big green salad alongside.

Almond Soup

Makes 6 to 8 servings

This gorgeous soup is the culinary “La Marcha Real” of southern Spain, where it is a cornerstone of the cuisine. Smooth and luxurious, it tastes distinctly of the almonds; the olive oil and garlic are a foil. The result is a combination of the elegant and the exotic. Though its origins are simple, it is a soup for all occasions.

Note:
The texture of this soup has a great deal to do with the type of bread you use. Best is a rustic-textured baguette style. The original recipe called for the soup to be passed through a sieve, but I don’t strain it because I like the subtle texture of the ground almonds.

One of the beauties of this soup is that you can make it the day before you plan to serve it. Before serving, adjust the texture by adding water a tablespoon at a time, if necessary, then carefully season it. Don’t cut the garnish grapes until right before you plan to serve the soup, as they will darken.

This soup is best made in the autumn, when grapes are flavorful and garlic still has a bright freshness to it.

1.
Place the bread in a medium bowl and just cover it with water. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, or until it is soft through. To drain the bread, pick it up by small handfuls and place it in the palm of one hand. Cover with the palm of your other hand so your hands are cupped, and squeeze very gently, slowly, and rmly, so that you squeeze out the water without mashing the bread, allowing the bread to retain its integrity. The bread should be just slightly moist.

2.
In a food processor, puree the garlic, the almonds, and ¼ cup (60 ml) of the olive oil. Add the grapes, the drained bread, the crème frâiche, and about 1 cup (250 ml) filtered water, enough to make a smooth puree about the consistency of heavy cream.

3.
If desired, transfer the mixture to a sieve or tamis and strain it through. Season the soup to taste with sherry vinegar, salt, and white pepper. Chill, covered, for at least 2 hours before serving.

4.
To serve, adjust the seasoning and the texture of the soup (by adding a bit of water if necessary), then transfer the soup to shallow soup bowls. Garnish each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, two grape halves, and two almond halves.

Focaccia with Onions and Almonds

Makes 6 servings

During the two years that I researched and wrote
Italian Farmhouse Cookbook,
I discovered the simplicity of focaccia, the satisfying pizzalike bread that incorporates just enough olive oil in the dough to make it almost meltingly tender. Focaccia is forgiving because you can push the rising time a bit, add just about any ingredient, and season it as you like. Even at the best of times it is quick to make, so it can be a nearly last-minute addition to any meal. The crunch of almonds on this version with the onions and rosemary makes for a fun and intriguing flavor combination.

Note:
The dough for this focaccia should be soft and sticky as you work it. As you knead and shape it, dust it lightly with flour so it doesn’t stick to your hands. The moisture in the dough makes for a light crust

I call for “very warm” water because I use SAF instant yeast, which requires water that is warmer than usually called for in yeast breads to activate it. Use the temperature of water that works best with your yeast.

The focaccia will emerge from the oven blistering hot, so wait a while before slicing and eating it—10 minutes at least.

1.
To make the dough, place 2 cups (500 ml) very warm water in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the yeast, stir, then add 1 cup of the flour and stir. Let sit until the yeast bubbles up on the surface of the mixture.

2.
With the mixer running, or as you stir, add the olive oil and salt and mix well. Slowly add the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft dough. Coarsely chop 2 tablespoons rosemary, then stir it into the dough.
Beat the dough—it will be too soft to knead—until it is elastic, about 5 minutes by hand, about 2 minutes in a mixer. Cover the bowl and let the dough sit until it doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.

3.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Sprinkle an 18 × 13-inch (45 × 33-cm) baking sheet with an even layer of semolina flour or cornmeal.

4.
Turn out the dough onto a heavily floured surface and, keeping the surface of the dough floured, punch down the dough several times, kneading out the air as much as you can. The dough will be quite sticky; you can handle it easily if you keep a light lm of flour on it at all times. Stretch out the dough into a small rectangle. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and stretch and push it out to a rectangle that comes to within 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the edges of the baking sheet. Let the dough rest while you prepare the topping.

5.
Place the onions in a large bowl, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and toss until the onions are coated with the oil. Evenly sprinkle the onions on top of the dough.

6.
Coarsely chop 2 tablespoons rosemary and sprinkle it evenly over the onions, then sprinkle the almonds over all. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the focaccia, then season with coarse salt and black pepper. Bake in the center of the oven until the dough is golden at the edges and cooked through in the center, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then cut into serving pieces or serve whole.

Yeast Seed Crackers

Makes about 40 crackers

An ideal lunch for me is a piece of buttery Comté or Montferrat cheese, a fresh endive and garlic salad, and these nutty, crisp crackers. I was inspired to make them by Lena Sodergren, a Swedish friend who makes these regularly. These are the Swedish alternative to bread, eaten with nearly every meal.

Note:
As I tried this recipe over and over, I found that some of the crackers baked to a deep gold, some to a light gold, some very, very crisp, some not so crisp. The variables had to do with how thin I rolled them out and the temperature of my oven. In Sweden, crackers are available very dark and crisp, medium-dark and crisp, or pale and pliable, so all the variations are successes.

The nutritious omega-3 fat in flax seeds becomes more nutritionally accessible when the grains are ground, so I grind some and use the other grains whole, because I love the hit of nutty flavor I get when I bite into a seed. To grind flax seeds, put them in a food processor or a coffee grinder reserved for grinding grains.

The Swedes have a special rolling pin for these crackers. It looks quilted and has sharp points on it so that as it rolls the dough—very, very thin—it makes holes in it and gives the crackers a sort of quilted look. This keeps them flat during baking.

1.
Place 2 cups (500 ml) very warm water in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the yeast and ¼ cup of the whole wheat flour, stir, and let sit until the yeast foams on top of the water. Add the remaining whole wheat flour and stir, then add the salt and stir. With the machine running, or as you stir, add the rye flour, then add 1 cup of
the all-purpose flour and mix well. Let the mixture sit in a warm spot until it bubbles and doubles in volume, about 1 hour.

2.
Add another ½ cup of the all-purpose flour to the dough and mix well, then stir in the sesame oil. When it is thoroughly incorporated, add the dukkah and the seeds and mix well. Add enough of the remaining all-purpose flour to make a fairly firm dough, and when the dough is too rm to stir in the machine or by hand, turn it out onto a heavily floured surface and knead in enough flour so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands, flouring the work surface and the dough regularly as you knead. You will probably use a total of 2 to 2½ cups of all-purpose flour to achieve this. When the dough is kneaded, place it back in the bowl and cover it with a damp towel. Leave it to rise in a warm spot (68° to 70°F/20° to 21°C) until it has nearly doubled in bulk.

3.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Dust several baking sheets with flour or semolina.

4.
Punch down the dough. Cut it into 8 pieces. Roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface, making sure to flour the top of the dough as well so the rolling pin doesn’t stick to it, until it is paper-thin and about 8 inches in diameter. Cut each piece into the shape and size of cracker you want. Transfer the crackers to the prepared baking sheets. The crackers can be right next to each other, but they shouldn’t be touching.

5.
Poke each cracker several times with the tines of a fork to make holes for the steam to escape as they bake. Let the crackers rise for about 15 minutes, just long
enough that the gluten in them relaxes slightly, then bake them in the center of the oven until they are golden on the bottom, about 12 minutes. Turn the crackers and continue to bake them until they are crisp and golden on both sides, 5 to 8 minutes longer, or as long as you like to achieve the cracker you prefer.

6.
Turn off the oven, open the oven door, and leave the crackers in the oven to dry thoroughly, up to 2 hours. Remove the crackers from the oven and transfer them to cooling racks. Serve or store in an airtight container when completely cool for up to 1 month.