Posts tonen met het label tomato. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label tomato. Alle posts tonen

maandag 12 juli 2010

My Tapas Birthday Party: Gazpacho Shots


While browsing the Internet for a Gazpacho recipe fot my Tapas Birthday Party I came across this site where they had the great idea to serve gazpacho in shotglasses made out of carved cucumber. These look so cool and are handy too as you can simply eat the 'glasses' when you finish your gazpacho!


Both the gazpacho and the glasses can be prepared in advance and chilled before serving. This is a great refreshment during summer. I made some minor adjustments: instead of 300 ml bottled water I used 200 ml tap-water and 100 ml vodka. I also added a few splashes of Tabasco to up the spiciness of the Gazpacho.


Gazpacho Shots
makes 1 liter

4 Vine tomatoes
1 Small cucumber peeled
4 Large cucumbers
1 Garlic clove
1 Small onion
1 Small red bell pepper
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
300ml bottled water


To make the gazpacho

Roughly chop the tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic and 1 small cucumber.
In a blender or food processor, blend the ingredients together to form a thick paste.
Pour in the olive oil, wine vinegar and season to your desired taste with salt and pepper.
Blend for a second time, adding water little by little until you achieve the desired consistency.
Reserve in a glass pitcher or pourer.


To make the shots

Take the four large cucumbers and slice off each end, cut the cucumber into 6cm long segments.
Using a peeler peel away strips of the cucumber skin creating a vertical stripe pattern.
Use a small paring knife carefully cut around the seeds in the centre of the cucumber then, gently scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
Fill each cucumber piece with gazpacho and refrigerate for 20 minutes.


dinsdag 18 mei 2010

Asparagus Tomato Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Tart


This Saturday I picked up some more green asparagus at the market, I love asparagus season: just can't get enough of them!! The other day I didn't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, but I also didn't feel like ordering fast food. So I had a look at my fridge/freezer and decided to play with what I had on hand.



The oven was preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I thawed some puff pastry sheets and rolled them out, I then scored a line about 1/2 inch from the edges of the puff pastry to get a nice rim after baking. Two tablespoons of pesto were spread onto the center of the puff pastry and then topped with halved cherry tomatoes (9 whole, 12 half tomatoes). This was baked for 10 minutes.


Meanwhile I washed 400 grams of asparagus and used pencil-thin ones, if they were thicker I halved them length-wise. I layered these on top of the puff pastry and sprinkled some salt and pepper over them. I topped the asparagus with slices of soft goat cheese and popped the tart back into the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until the edges of the puff pastry is golden.



Doesn't it look delicious???



Here's a close-up for you!! Yum!! Serve this tart with a nice salad and it'll serve two.
Enjoy!!