Capers and Eggplant Pizza

I confess, I’m a pizza junkie, in fact as long as I have cheese, some sort of tomatoes (sauce, diced, sliced, pureed, or whatever) and a crust, I’m happy. I constantly experiment with the toppings, the following recipe is my latest creation. Yes, I know, I didn’t discover America; others have made similar pizzas before me – but – this one came out delicious and I’ll be making it often.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
2. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Roll out to a 10″ circle.

Topping

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant
• 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed
• 1/2 lb of mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 25 cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• basil (for garnish)

Directions

1. Wash and slice the eggplant into very thin slices (I used a mandolin). Grill the eggplant slices in a pan for about 2 to 2.5 minutes on each side.
2. Wash and quarter the cherry tomatoes. Cut the mozzarella cheese into medium-large dices and tear the basil after cleaning it carefully.
3. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese into, the capers and the cherry tomatoes over the pizza; season with olive oil, salt and pepper, then bake at 450 F for 4 minutes.
4. After 4 minutes add the eggplant and continue cooking for another 4 minutes, until the edges brown lightly browned and crispy. Remove from oven, garnish with the basil leaves and serve immediately.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Hamburgers with Beets – Variation on a Theme

I always liked hamburgers, what carnivore doesn’t? I’m always on a quest to find new ways of making them, I was – therefore – pleasantly surprised with this delightful recipe (and photo) sent in by Ziva A. from Lakewood, NJ:

Hamburgers with Beets

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 pound 7 ounces ground beef
• 1 medium egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped capers
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped cooked beets
• 2 tablespoons pareve sour cream (I use Tofutti brand)
• 4 tablespoons margarine
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and cook over low hea, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until softened
2. Transfer the onion to a large bowl and add the ground beef, egg, wine vinegar, paprika and capers. Mix well with your hands. Add the beet and parve sour cream, season to taste with salt and pepper, mix well again. Shape the mixture into 4 patties.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons margarine with the remaining oil in the skillet. Add the hamburgers and cook over medium heat for 6 minutes on each side, or until well browned. Remove with a spatula and drain on paper towels.
4. Melt the remaining margarine in a skillet. Break 2 eggs into separate cups and slide them into the skillet. Immediately collect the whites around the yolks with a spatula to keep them neat and separated. Cook until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny. Cook the remaining eggs the same way in the remaining margarine. Transfer the burgers to a warmed serving plate, top with the fried eggs and serve immediately.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Insalata Caprese

This classic Neapolitan dish is truly a celebration of summer. Easy to prepare and made from simple ingredients it is, however, only as good as the quality of its components.

The tomatoes must be sweet and juicy; the basil should be fresh and very aromatic, the pepper freshly ground.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 4 large vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• Sea salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

In a bowl alternate the layers of tomato, mozzarella, and basil leaves. Sprinkle with the capers, season with sea salt and pepper.

Coincidentally, the salad sports the red, green and white colors of the Italian flag. Simple, refreshing and delicious, this salad is a feast to the eyes, the nose and the palate; it is a true paean to the joy of any occasion!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Interesting Products

Being a foodie I’m always on the lookout for new or interesting products. I recently came across a company with over 1400 products many, many of which have good, globally accepted, hechsherim. That company is Roland Foods.

I tried four of their products in various dishes and liked them!

Mandarin Oranges, Fire Roasted red Peppers, Capers, Oven Roasted Tomatoes

I found quite a few uses for the Oven Roasted Tomatoes Marinated in Oil with Garlic and Oregano and here is a very simple, delicious recipe by SYR:

Penne Rigate con Pomodoro Arrestito

Penne Rigate con Pomodoro Arrestito

3 cups penne rigate (you can substitute your favorite pasta)
4 cloves chopped garlic
8 ozs. shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil
1/2 lb Roland oven roasted tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the chopped garlic, until golden brown, in olive oil.

Bring water to a boiling point, add a half teaspoon of salt, (it keeps the pasta from becoming bland), add just under a capful of oil (will keep the pasta from sticking to each other, if you use more than a capful it will make the pasta soggy), add the pasta and cookal dente stirring frequently. How do you know that the pasta is ready? Look at the pasta box’ recommended cooking time and start testing about 30 seconds before the lowest recommended cooking time. If you gently toss the pasta against the wall and it sticks… it’s ready!

A couple of minutes before the pasta is ready, warm the oven roasted tomatoes with some of their own oil.

Drain it, put on a serving dish, while hot about half of the shredded mozzarella, the sauteed garlic, the chopped oregano, chopped basil, the tomatoes and the rest of the shredded cheese. Add salt and pepper as needed. Garnish according to your own taste, we used cheery tomatoes Serves 4.

You’ll find the oven roasted tomatoes give this simple dish a delightfully delicious, rich taste.

Next SYR made a salad with the can of Whole Mandarin Oranges.

Mandarin Orange and Cubed Mango Salad

Mandarin Orange and cubed Mango Salad

One can of Mandarin Orange, one cubed mango, fresh red lettuce, fresh romaine, radicchio, arugula, craisins, cherry tomatoes and diced fresh cucumber. Colorful, refreshing, delicious!

Next we tried a variation on the traditional bagel with lox and cream cheese.

Lox and Cream Cheese Bagel

Every day I pick up a dozen dozen bagels, still hot, with that just baked aroma at: Bagels & Cheese (1304 Avenue M; Brooklyn, NY; Telephone: 718.998.8778), this morning I did so as well but I added lox and cream cheese. For the photo above we added Capers to the lox a bit of tangy, lemony, flavor. We added a Fire Roasted Red Pepper to the cream cheese. The pepper was surprisingly sweet. The whole combination made an incredibly succulent bagel sandwich.

We liked these four products tremendously and we will be using them in a variety of old and new recipes.

CS