ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH MARJORAM, PINE NUTS, LEEKS & LEMON

Cauliflower is Broccoli's forgotten cousin.  Only lately have people begin to bat an eye at this cruciferous vegetable.  Besides being delicious, cauliflower has some magical properties that allow it to become grain-free pizza crust and "rice" to name a few.  This recipe, however, uses no gimmicks - just pure cauliflower goodness.  

This is my new favorite Winter recipe that adds a little brightness to an otherwise cold & dreary season.  If you can find some colored cauliflower, all the better ;)

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH MARJORAM, PINE NUTS, GOLDEN RAISINS & LEMON (SERVES 4) Gluten-free

• 2.5 lbs. cauliflower, de-stemmed & chopped into 1 in. pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh marjoram leaves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 lemon, juice + zest
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 leek, halved & thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley
• Sea salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Add cauliflower to a large baking sheet with olive oil, marjoram, sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Roast for 25-30 minutes or until browned and tender. Add to serving bowl & set aside.

Add butter to a cast iron or sauté pan over medium low heat.  Add the zest of one lemon.  Sauté until zest is fragrant, then add garlic and leeks.  Stir often over low heat until leeks are softened, about 5-7 minutes.  Add golden raisins until warm, then remove mixture and add to serving bowl.  

Using the same pan, turn the heat up to medium and add pine nuts.  Stir often for about 1-2 minutes or until pine nuts are browned and toasted.  Remove from heat and add to serving bowl.  Toss everything together with the juice of one lemon.  Top with chopped parsley and season to taste.  Serve immediately!

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB YOGURT CAKE

I don't have a lot of "food memories" from my childhood.   I didn't have a grandmother who taught me her famous pie crust, or a mother who made fresh pasta every week.  There wasn't that kind of connection to food, or as far as I can remember.  We were average, like most - just trying to feed ourselves well enough.  

I do remember Summers though.   As I kid, the warmer months could be memorialized by my constant stomach aches from too many plums (we had a tree - ugh, California..) or too many strawberries.  My mom would buy huge crates of fruit from some farmstand & I would eat most of it before my sisters even saw it.  I'm not sure I ate much else between the months of May-August.

Fruit desserts are my actual favorite to this day.  There's something so refreshing & lovely about them in the warmer months, especially when you can't (physically) eat any more fresh fruit.  I can still put down almost half a moderately-sized watermelon if I wanted, but for the most part - I bake.  Curbs the Summer aches & is much better for sharing with others.

Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt Cake  - Adapted from Cannelle et Vanille (gluten-free)

| This cake can be made with any seasonal fruit - It would be great with Sour Cherries or red currants! |

• 1 cup almond meal or flour
• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 3/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 4oz. rhubarb stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 oz. strawberries, chopped
• 2 oz. raspberries
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup ghee or butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all flours, baking powder, and salt until well combined.  In another mixing bowl, mix together lemon zest & 1/2 cup sugar with your fingers until mixed well & fragrant.  Add rhubarb stalks & berries to stir & gently macerate.  In a small bowl, stir together lemon juice & yogurt and set aside.

Add eggs, butter and yogurt to whisked flour mixture.  Stir until mixed well.  At the last minute, mix in berries & rhubarb until well combined.

Grease an 8-inch springform cake pan well.  Pour cake batter and spread top evenly with a spatula.  Sprinkle remaining sugar over top.  Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean & the edges are golden brown.  Let cool for 25 minutes before removing from pan.  

This post was originally shot for H&M!

MEYER LEMON BUCKWHEAT TART

Lemons are my all-time favorite staple.  There’s not a moment I don’t have a large supply of lemons on hand, for dressings to lemon water and every meal in between.  Meyer lemons are more sweet & aromatic than the average lemon, making this tart dessert even more charming.

I love lemon bars & tarts as much as the next person, but I loved the idea of doing this with buckwheat flour for a little rustic touch.  The nutty flavor perfectly compliments the tart (& perfectly sweet) lemon curd.  If you can keep this addicting tart around, it's a real crowd pleaser.  

Meyer Lemon Tart with Buckwheat Crust (gluten-free) Serves 6

Meyer lemon curd (from david lebovitz) :

• 1/2 cup meyer lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, chilled & cubed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks

Before juicing the lemons, zest 2 of them into a medium sized mixing bowl.  Set a fine mesh sieve over top & set aside.  In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs & yolks.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, butter and lemon juice.  Warm over low heat, stirring often, until butter has melted.  Then, slowly whisk saucepan mixture into the whisked eggs, pouring in a thin, gradual stream.  

Once combined well, add mixture back to the saucepan over medium-low heat.  Whisk often, making sure to eliminate any lumps, until mixture begins to thicken and coat the back of a spoon., about 2-3 minutes (watch carefully!). 

 Then, immediately pour through the sieve, pushing all the curd through (use your spatula to scape the curd off the bottom of the bowl).  Whisk for about 30 seconds to one minute to eliminate any bumps & cool the mixture down.  Set aside to cool.

Buckwheat crust:

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca flour*
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (or guar gum)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cubed
• 2-4 tablespoons ice water

Add first six ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined.  Add chilled butter and pulse until flour becomes gritty, about 30 seconds.  Then, add one tablespoon of ice water at a time until dough begins to come away from the edge and take shape.  Shape into a 6 inch disk, dust with more tapioca flour and wrap in saran wrap.  Chill for 30-45 minutes.

Once dough has been chilled, let it rest for 5 minutes at room temperature.  Dust again with tapioca flour, and sandwich between two pieces of parchment paper.  Roll out your dough evenly until about 3 inches larger than your tart pan (I used a 9 1/2 inch tart pan).  

Remove top sheet of parchment paper, set down your tart pan (face down) in the middle of the dough, and very carefully flip - making sure your hands are on either side of the tart dish for support.  Very carefully remove the last sheet of parchment, trying to eliminate any tearing (which will happen, don’t worry).  

Once you remove the parchment, remove any excess dough hanging over the edge & gently press the dough into the tart dish.  If you had any tears in the dough, just pinch it together or add any extra dough to do some tart dough plastic surgery.    Continue doing this until the tart dough is even along all edges and smooth.  Chill in the fridge for another 25 minutes.  While you chill, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Once dough has chilled in your tart pan, poke a few holes in the crust with a fork, and parbake - I use a piece of parchment and dried beans/lentils as a weight.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until tart begins to slightly come away from edges.  Then, pour in the lemon curd and bake for another 8 minutes.  Let the tart come to room temperature, then chill for 30 minutes up to 24 hours (if you want to make ahead).

Homemade Whipped Cream:

• 8 oz. heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

In a stand mixer, add heavy cream.  Whip on high speed, adding in vanilla & confectioners sugar gradually.  Beat until the mixture thickens and has a soft peak.  Serve over lemon tart with freshly grated lemon zest.  

*Note: Tapioca and arrowroot flours can also be referred to as arrowroot/tapioca “starch”.

 

THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY SHOT FOR H&M !