September 11th, 2015
It’s been a month since we came home from our stay in Russia. School is back in session (second grade for Paloma), and the vacation seems like a long gone dream. Now that we are all situated, I’m finally finding the time to talk about Sochi – the last stop of our trip, where we had a chance to fully relax.
I’ve been visiting Sochi every summer, with small breaks here and there, ever since I can first remember myself. My aunt and cousins have an old, wooden house there, built on the slope of a hill, dating all the way back to the 1940s. The narrow street, on which it stands, is shaded by dense growths of cypresses, palm and fruit trees, which are abundant all over the city. To me, Sochi is a magical place. There is something special about the mix of sweet mountain air and salty Black Sea breeze, tropical vegetation, clear and refreshing seawater, pebbled beaches and busy ethnic markets that surround one at all times. I can never can get enough.
Last year’s winter Olympics brought about major updates to Sochi. The old house on the hill, however, remains the same. The city has been threatening to demolish that whole street for decades, as the houses there have seen their better days, but to our delight, the family house is still there, as welcoming as ever.
Traditionally, generations of cats guard the house. They are tough and self-sufficient like street cats, but also social and friendly like house pets. Each one has a big personality, and all are treated with much respect. Paloma was in heaven, playing in the charming courtyard at the footsteps of the old garden surrounded by cats of all sizes, just like I had done as a kid. And although we live on the beach in Florida, Paloma can’t stop talking about Black Sea beaches, where she would not leave the water for longer than two minutes at a time, turning into quite the little mermaid.
I’ve talked about food from the Caucasus region last year here and here. The markets there supply a wealth of colorful pickles (pictured above on the yellow table), endless fermented dairy and pretty treats like churchkhela. Local cuisine is rich in herbs and spices, and the vegetables are commonly cooked and served whole, or in large chunks, as opposed to Russian cooking, which favors mincing and shredding everything very finely. In the summer, eggplant is present at any table, and there are hundreds of ways to prepare it. The most common and simple eggplant dish is a mixture of vegetables charred over open fire or hot coals, dressed with tons of fresh herbs and garlic. The dish is smoky and fresh at the same time. In the absence of open fire, the recipe below is an alternative way of showcasing eggplant and other summer vegetables in a vegetable dish to complete any table.
Summer Vegetable Saute
3-4 small eggplants – sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch thickness
2-3 bell peppers – seeded and sliced lengthwise
1-2 onions – sliced lengthwise
about 7 small tomatoes or 2 cups cherry tomatoes
coconut oil or other vegetable oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper – to taste
3-4 cloves garlic – minced
good amount of fresh herbs – parsley, dill, basil, mint
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat and fry eggplant slices in batches, on both sides, until golden brown. Add oil as needed and sprinkle with salt and pepper as you go. Remove eggplant slices from the pan onto paper towels to absorb excess oil, set aside.
2. Saute peppers until soft, add salt to taste, set aside.
3. Saute onions until golden, add salt to taste, set aside.
4. Increase the heat to high. Add whole tomatoes to the pan. Let them sit for about 2 minutes, until they begin to blister, stir and leave to sit for another 2 minutes or longer, until cooked through, but with a bite remaining. Add salt and pepper.
5. Arrange vegetables on a large platter. Top eggplant slices with onion and pepper, finish with tomatoes. Sprinkle with garlic and herbs, more salt and pepper, if desired. Alternatively, you can mix them in a bowl.
Tags: eggplant, pepper, side, tomato
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August 9th, 2015
Paloma and I made it back home after our nearly two month stay Russia. We spent some quality time with family and friends in my home town, where Paloma took a few classes and got a chance to polish up her swimming, gymnastics and piano skills. The teaching style in Russia is quite different than back home – a lot is asked from the children, and the teachers are quite serious. Paloma didn’t seem to mind and actually had a few important breakthroughs. After all that hard work we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Sochi, swimming in the beautiful waters of the Black Sea (more on Sochi in the next post), hiking in the Caucasus Mountains and wandering around the Moscow center.
Back home in Florida, we still have a bit of time before school begins, to look at the hundreds of pictures we took and share the adventures with our friends over here. I keep a little dish of multicolored glass, polished by the sea, speckled pebbles and shells close by on the counter, to keep reminding myself of the most magical moments of this summer.
Below are a few favorite photos from our travels, starting with the said pebbles.
Caucasus Mountains in the summer.
One of the dozens of the ornate subway stations in Moscow.
Perlov Tea House, a beautiful tea shop and a historic building in Moscow.
One of Stalin’s high rises captured from the Moscow River.
It always takes me some time to adjust to the food here when coming back from the other side of the Atlantic. After eating all the juicy berries, wild mushrooms and my mother’s delicious Russian cooking, it’s hard to find things to be flavorful here, at least for the first couple of weeks. I do crave lots of vegetables and big salads.
This simple daikon pasta was the first dish I cooked back home, satisfying my veggie cravings. In two months without many eastern flavors, I forgot how delicious ginger and coconut milk are. The corn is also sweeter here in my opinion. This was my first attempt at cooking vegetable noodles like pasta – boiled in a pot of salted water – a method I’ve been curious about for a while. I loved the resulting neutral flavor and the noodle texture did resemble very delicate angel hair.
Daikon Radish Pasta with Corn and Tomatoes in Creamy Coconut Sauce
1 medium to large daikon radish
2 ears of corn
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons sriracha
1 tablespoon lime juice
sea salt
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon smooth almond butter
1-2 handfulls heirloom cherry tomatoes – quartered
handful of basil leaves – torn
microgreens to garnish – optional
1. Cut kernels off the corn ears and set aside.
1. Set a medium pot with salted water over high heat. Peel and cut daikon into noodles, using a juliene peeler, veggie peeler or mandoline. When the water begins to boil, add daikon noodles and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Warm coconut and sesame oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add ginger, sriracha, lime juice, pinch of salt and corn, saute for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add coconut milk, tamari and almond butter, stirring to incorporate until creamy and hot. Add daikon pasta, cook for another 3 minutes, letting all the flavors combine.
4. Turn the heat off, add tomatoes and basil. Serve immediately.
Tags: basil, coconut milk, corn, daikon radish, pasta, tomato
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June 29th, 2014
Squash blossoms have always epitomized the magic of summer to me. Like fireflies, they are quiet and fleeting – look away for a second and they disappear. That’s why, if I happen upon squash blossoms at the market, I rarely resist the urge to take them home – summer comes but once a year. Most recently, I found these beautiful pâtisson blossoms tucked away in a corner of a farmer’s stall, with their small squashes still attached, and had the idea to put them on a pizza.
I find that ricotta cheese combines very well with the subtle, flowery and pumpkin-like flavor of squash blossoms. In my cookbook, I have a recipe for Squash Blossom Ricotta Quiche, which happens to be one of my favorite dishes and photos in the whole book. I make my own goat milk ricotta cheese, which is a simple, satisfying process that everyone should try.
I generally prefer white pizza, as most pizza sauces are too salty for my taste. I thought the blossoms needed to be paired with some red, though, so I made my own pizza sauce, which was well worth the effort. The pizza crust is gluten free and vegan with the added bonus of shredded zucchini.
It has been an amazing two weeks since the release of The Vibrant Table, filled with wonderful news. First, PBS included the book in their list of this month’s best cookbooks. Then, we made it on Amazon’s list of Best Cookbooks of the Year, So Far, among nineteen outstanding authors. But most importantly, these past weeks have been filled with the kindest reader feedback that I could never even dream about. The best reward for all of the hard work and sleepless nights is to hear about you trying out and enjoying the recipes. If you are in fact one of those people, I would be forever grateful if you would leave a book review in order to help others make their choice.
Squash Blossom Pizza
for the tomato sauce
(makes about 2 cups)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves – minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
about 1 lb diced plum tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar
pinch red pepper flakes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
to make the sauce
1. Warm olive oil in a deep pan over medium low heat. Add in garlic and oregano and let sweat for about a minute.
2. Increase the heat to medium. Add tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3 Reduce the heat to bring sauce to a simmer. Simmer for 90 minutes. Let cool.
for the crust (gluten free and vegan)
(makes one large pizza crust)
1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoon almond milk – divided
1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoon ground chia or flax seeds
3/4 cup (105 g) buckwheat flour (I used sprouted homemade flour)
1/2 cup (60g) tapioca starch
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing the blossoms
1 small zucchini – finely shredded (optional)
for the topping
tomato sauce from above
8-10 or more squash or zucchini blossoms
sliced baby squashes/zucchini – if attached to the blossoms
about 3/4 cup goat milk ricotta
to make the pizza
1. Warm 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of almond milk to 110 F (43C). Add in sugar and yeast, whisk together and leave for 10 minutes. The mixture should be very foamy.
2. Mix the remaining 3 tablespoons of almond milk with the ground chia seeds. Let sit for 10 minutes.
3. In a stand up mixer with a paddle attachment or a food processor, combine the yeasty mixture, chia gel and the rest of the ingredients. Mix until well combined into a runny dough.
4. If using shredded zucchini, transfer the dough into a mixing bowl. Squeeze the extra liquid out of the zucchini with your hands. Mix it into the pizza dough.
5. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and oil it lightly. With a wet spoon, spread and shape your crust into an even thickness. Let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).
6. Bake for 20 minutes (15 if without zucchini). Increase temperature to 400 F (200 C). Spread on the sauce (you don’t have to use all of it), arrange the blossoms, sliced squash (if using) and ricotta on top. Lightly brush the blossoms with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or a little longer until the edges are slightly golden.
7. Let cool slightly. Top with your favorite greens or sprouts/microgreens, slice and serve immediately.
Tags: mains, pizza, tomato, zucchini, zucchini blossom
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