Double Apple Bundt Cake

This cake is made with both applesauce and diced Granny Smith apples.  We used a chunky applesauce, but feel free to experiment with your favorite style.  The cake is wonderfully moist and aromatic, and makes a nice afternoon snack with a cup of creamed tea, or a tasty evening dessert.

Double Apple Bundt Cake

Ingredients

1          cup            butter, room temp

2          cups           sugar

5                           eggs

1 1/2     tsp            vanilla

2           tsp            lemon zest

3           cups          unbleached A.P. flour

1 1/2     tsp            baking soda

1/2        tsp            baking powder

1 1/2     tsp            cinnamon

1/4        tsp            salt

1/4        tsp            nutmeg

1/4        tsp            allspice

1/4        tsp            ginger

1 1/2     cup            homestyle applesauce with cinnamon and brown sugar

2                            granny smith apples, peeled and diced

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 300° convection (350° conventional), place shelf in middle of oven.
2. Butter and flour bundt pan.
3. Combine dry and set aside.
4. Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping bowl each time.
5. Add lemon zest and vanilla and combine well.
6. Alternate between adding dry and apple sauce, starting and finishing with dry.
7. Fold in diced apples, then fill bundt pan.
8. Bake until done through to center and cake is golden brown, 80 minutes in our oven.
9. Cool on rack completely, then remove from pan.  Serve at room temperature.

Texas Peach Cobbler

Peach season in Texas is not to be missed.  Roadside stands lining the back roads feature a ridiculous assortment of freshly-picked peaches as well as peach ice cream, peach pastries, peach pie, peach butter and peach preserves.   We have been planning our annual pilgrimage to Hill Country to gorge on these delights, but work and family obligations keep delaying our trip.  Luckily, this year the peaches came to us by way of our dear family friend Kenny.

Kenny gave us a big bag of peaches from Rhew Orchards in Floresville, a town southeast of San Antonio.  By the time they got to us, the peaches were perfectly ripe and so juicy that the bottom of the bag was leaking.  The fruit definitely had to be used right away, so we pulled out our favorite cobbler recipe.  This recipe works with almost any fruit, and is perfect in a pinch because it comes together so quickly.  We've used this recipe to make strawberry cobbler, blackberry cobbler, and rhubarb-strawberry cobbler.  The buttery biscuit topping can't be beat.  It complements the fresh peaches perfectly here, although frozen peaches would work well too if you aren't lucky enough to be in Texas during peach season.

Texas Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

Filling

6            cups        peaches, sliced
3            Tbs          unbleached A.P. flour
1/3         cup          sugar
1/8         tsp           cinnamon
                             pinch of salt

Topping

1 1/2            cup        unbleached A.P. flour
1/4               tsp         salt
1                  Tbs        baking powder
2                  Tbs        sugar (plus more to sprinkle on top)
4                  Tbs        unsalted butter, cubed and kept cold
1                  cup        heavy cream
                                 sugar for sprinkling                        


Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 for convection oven, or 375 for regular oven.  
2. Combine all the filling ingredients, mix well, and put into 8" pyrex baking dish.  Or, use individual ramekins to make individual cobblers (these are perfect for dinner parties if you're so inclined).
3. Make topping.  First, combine all dry ingredients.  Then cut in the butter to resemble coarse meal using your fingers or a fork.
4. Add cream and mix until uniformly moist.  Spoon out on top of filling.  It should be plopped on in clumps.  You don't want a perfectly smooth topping.  Sprinkle the biscuit generously with granulated sugar.
5. Bake in oven until top is golden brown, about 40 minutes.  If you used a glass pyrex, you will also see the fruit bubbling.  
6. Serve warm topped with clotted cream, whipped cream or ice cream.
7. Leftovers refrigerate and re-heat well.

 Printable Recipe

Flatbread with Sauteed Apples, Fennel, Radicchio, Escarole and Stilton

This flatbread, with its pungent leafy greens, tart apples and strong blue cheese, practically screams autumn.  But here In Houston, our growing seasons are a bit upside down.  We grow fall vegetables such as leafy greens, lettuce and brassicas during the winter for a spring harvest in order to avoid the impossibly hot summer temperatures that start as early as April.  This means we are eating vegetables like collards, fava beans, chickpeas, and escarole in the spring instead of the fall.   While we're enjoying the last of these wonderful vegetables, our snap beans, tomatoes, and other summer vegetables are also maturing, a clear sign it's the end of our spring vegetable season.

This flatbread includes both radicchio and escarole from the garden, two of our favorite chicories.  These plants, started last October, have far exceeded expectations by producing massive, thick heads of leafy greens.   We also use a fennel bulb from the garden.  All these plants are suffering badly due to our high temperatures.  We're hoping the fennel will last a few more weeks still, but the chicories are about done for the season.  To enjoy this flatbread despite the heat, we just turned up the air conditioning and let the flavors serve as a reminder that cooler weather, at least here in Houston, is only about five months away.

Flatbread with Sauteed Apples, Fennel, Radicchio, Escarole and Stilton

Ingredients

2           cup             escarole leaves, washed, stems removed and 
                               coarsely chopped
2           cup             radicchio leaves, washed, stems removed and 
                               coarsely chopped
1           cup             apple juice
1                             small fennel bulb, thinly sliced, about 1 1/4 cups
1                             Granny Smith apple, very thinly sliced
                               sea salt and black pepper
1           Tbs             olive oil, plus more for flatbread
1           Tbs             butter
3           oz               Stilton or other strong blue cheese, crumbled
                               (we used Neal's Yard Colston Basset Stilton)                   
1                             ball flatbread dough, at room temp for 5 minutes before rolling out
                               flour for rolling out dough and cornmeal for peel
Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 450° and place rack in top third of oven.  Place pizza stone on rack and heat, ideally for one hour, before baking flatbread.
2. Heat apple juice over medium high until it is reduced in volume to 1/3 cup.
3. Heat olive oil, fennel, 1/4 tsp salt and a few pinches of pepper over medium.  Saute about 2 minutes, then add greens and another 1/4 tsp salt and another pinch of pepper.  Cook until greens are wilted, about 2 minutes.
4. Add apples and apple juice and continue to cook until greens are very soft.
5. Remove from heat and leave in the pan to cool.  Add the butter and toss together.
6. Roll out dough on a well-floured surface.  Cover very lightly with olive oil.
7. Spread half the cheese over the dough, then add greens and apples.  Top with remaining cheese, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
8. Bake until bread is crispy and golden brown and cheese is well melted.  Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

Other Escarole recipes from Vegetable Matter:
Escarole Soup with Arborio Rice and Escarole Blue Cheese Crostini

Taleggio Melt with Escarole and Fig Jam

Salad of Bitter Italian Greens, Strawberries and Parmesan

Panini with Braised Escarole, Apples and Walnuts

Flatbread with Kale, Swiss Chard, Pine Nuts, Currants, Brown Butter and Ricotta Salata

Leafy greens provide amazing colors, textures and shapes in the garden.   They are now reaching their peak before giving in to our hot, humid weather.  These three greens in particular, Swiss chard, lacinato kale, and collards, are not only beautiful but also among the most nutritious vegetables around.   Swiss chard, a member of the beet family, is loaded with folate, vitamins C, E and K, iron and calcium.  Kale and collards, both members of the brassica family, provide protein and iron in addition to fiber, folate, calcium and several important vitamins.

For this recipe, the greens are combined and cooked ahead of time in brown butter.  The nutty tones of the butter give the greens a rich, deep flavor; the brown butter also harmonizes the distinct flavors of the three greens.  The subtle color differences of the cooked greens are especially attractive with the red currants, brown pine nuts and white cheese that are loaded on top.  Feel free to substitute other leafy greens such as spinach, leafy cabbage, Asian greens, or beet greens, or to change the proportions to fit what you have on hand.

Flatbread with Kale, Swiss Chard, Currants, Pine Nuts, Brown Butter and Ricotta Salata
Ingredients

Brown Butter

8             Tbs          unsalted butter

Flatbread

3              Tbs         brown butter
1              Tbs         dry currants
2              cups        kale, washed, stems removed and cut into thick strips
2              cups        Swiss chard, washed, stems removed and cut into thick strips, 
                              1/8 cup of stems reserved
2              cups        collard greens (or spinach or asian greens), washed, 
                              stems removed and cut into thick strips
1              Tbs          olive oil
1/2                         garlic clove, minced
                              sea salt and black pepper
1              Tbs          pine nuts, toasted
1                            flatbread dough, at room temp for 5 minutes before rolling out
1/2           cup         ricotta salata, crumbled
                              flour for rolling out dough and corn meal for peel

Procedure

Brown Butter

1. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat.
2. First, butter will separate, with the milk solids settling to the bottom of the pan. 
3. After 8 to 10 minutes, butter will turn dark amber color.  Remove from heat, and line a strainer with a paper towel.
4. Pour butter through paper towel into a measuring cup to remove the solids.
5. Use immediately, or store in refrigerator.

Flatbread

1. Turn oven to 450° and place shelf in top third of oven.  Place pizza stone on shelf and heat, ideally for one hour before baking flatbread.
2. Soak the currants in 1/4 cup hot water to plump them.
3. Cut reserved 1/8 cup of Swiss chard stems on a diagonal into very thin slices. 
4. Heat olive oil in large pan over medium.  Add chard stems, garlic, 1/4 cup water (or vegetable broth), and pinches of sea salt and black pepper.  Saute about 1 minute, then add kale.  After 1 minute, add remaining chard and collards, plus 1/4 tsp sea salt and a few pinches of pepper.
5. Raise temperature to medium-high and saute until greens are just tender, about 3 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to medium low and add brown butter, currants and pine nuts.  Cook briefly, then season with salt and pepper.
7. Roll out flatbread on well-floured surface.  Sprinkle cornmeal liberally on peel to prevent sticking.
8. Spread thin layer of olive oil on flatbread, then spread out half the cheese.
9. Add greens mixture, then top with remaining cheese.
10. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
11. Bake until bread is golden brown and puffed, about 5 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

  
Other flatbread recipes from Vegetable Matter:
Flatbread with Swiss Chard Puree, Tomme de Savoie and Fake Bacon

Flatbread with Spiced Pears, Dates and Haloumi

Flatbread with Crispy Lacinato Kale and Tarentaise Cheese
Flatbread with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Walnuts and Shaved Parmesan
Flatbread with Roasted Golden Beets, Goat Cheese and Chestnut Honey
Flatbread with Gorgonzola Dulce, Grapes and Walnuts
Flatbread with Broccoli Rabe and Manchego
Flatbread with French Sorrel, Roasted Cauliflower and Goat Cheese

Flatbread with Swiss Chard Puree, Tomme de Savoie and Fake Bacon

Swiss chard is a member of the beet family, no surprise if you've planted Swiss chard because the big, bumpy seeds look almost identical to beet seeds.  It is the most colorful of the leafy greens, and is so beautiful that it is often grown solely for its ornamental value.  While it makes a bold statement in the garden with its bright ribs and colorful leaves, the flavor of cooked chard is not always distinctive.  It can be mildly bitter like a chicory, but more closely resembles kale or spinach in flavor.   This is not to knock Swiss chard, which is one of the healthiest vegetables around.

Swiss chard has been the subject of numerous health studies, including several documenting chard's effectiveness at preventing cancers of the digestive tract, and in particular the colon.  Studies also suggest that Swiss chard may protect the kidneys for diabetics, and it is packed with vitamins and minerals including the B vitamins, zinc, folate, niacin, iron and vitamins A, C and E.  It also contains lots of fiber and protein.  In other words, Swiss chard provides amazing nutritional benefits in addition to its good looks.

We have two thick rows of "Ruby Red" Swiss chard in the garden.  Thus far, the plants are surviving both Houston's increasing temperatures and our frequent harvests.  The plants are so attractive, it is not always easy to cut off the leaves.  But we have far too many uses for chard in the kitchen to leave the plants alone.  Last week, we made a gratin using only the bright red ribs of our Swiss chard.  We saved the leaves to make yet another of our fabulous flatbreads.

Flatbread, with its yeasty aroma and chewy texture, is the perfect backdrop for the Swiss chard puree we prepare here.  The chard flavor is enhanced with fresh nutmeg and vegetable stock, and fake (vegan) bacon crumbled on top adds a smoky element.   Tomme de Savoie cheese provides the gooey, creamy backdrop for these strong flavors.

Tomme de Savoie is a semi-firm cow's milk cheese produced in the French Alps. It is made from skim milk left over after the cream is used to make butter or richer cheeses.  The resulting cheese is relatively low in fat, but it still has a creamy, smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture and a rich, nutty flavor.

This creamy cheese melts into the Swiss chard puree in the oven, which is topped after baking by the fake bacon bits for a bit of crunch.  This flabread makes a wonderful spring dinner for two, and is so delicious that you'll forget that it's also good for you.  

Flatbread with Swiss Chard Puree, Tomme de Savoie and Fake Bacon

Ingredients

1            ball             flatbread dough, at room temperature for 
                                5 minutes before rolling out
                                flour for rolling out dough and cornmeal for peel
1            lb                Swiss chard, washed and ribs removed
1/8         cup             vegetable stock
1/8         cup             heavy cream
                                freshly grated nutmeg
                                sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/4        lb                Tomme de Savoie cheese or similar, 
                                broken into small chunks
2           strips           fake bacon, cooked and finely chopped

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 450° and move shelf to top third of oven.  Place pizza stone in oven to heat, ideally for one hour before baking flatbread.
2. Boil a big pot of water, then blanch Swiss chard leaves until soft, about 2 minutes.  Run under cold water immediately to stop the cooking process, then drain well.
3. Combine leaves in food processor with half the vegetable stock and half the heavy cream.  Puree, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.  If puree is too thick, add more vegetable stock and heavy cream and puree again.  If too watery, strain excess liquid using a colander and discard extra liquid.
4. Roll out dough on well-floured surface, then transfer to peel covered with cornmeal.
5. Spread thin layer of olive oil on dough, then add cheese chunks.  Top with Swiss chard puree.
6. Bake until crust is done, about 5 minutes.
7. Top with fake bacon and serve immediately.            

Printable Recipe


Other Flatbread recipes from Vegetable Matter:
Flatbread with Spiced Pears, Dates and Haloumi
Flatbread with Crispy Lacinato Kale and Tarentaise Cheese
Flatbread with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Walnuts and Shaved Parmesan
Flatbread with Roasted Golden Beets, Goat Cheese and Chestnut Honey
Flatbread with Gorgonzola Dulce, Grapes and Walnuts
Flatbread with Broccoli Rabe and Manchego
Flatbread with French Sorrel, Roasted Cauliflower and Goat Cheese

Strawberry Cobbler

Beautiful strawberries are available everywhere right now.  Last week we made a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie which was gone all too quickly.  Here we use our favorite cobbler recipe to make an amazing strawberry cobbler.   The key here is the biscuit topping, crusty on the outside and soft and tender within, and buttery throughout.  The biscuit is also very versatile -- we've used the same recipe to make cobbler with blackberries; peaches; and (our favorite combo) strawberries and rhubarb.  It soaks up a bit of the fruit juices, and reheats well if you have leftovers.   This is a rustic dessert that does not require any baking skill.  Just dump the biscuit dough on top of the berry filling, bake and eat.  Proof that taste triumphs over form when it comes to dessert.  Perfect any time of day served warm with lots of creme fraiche on the side.

Strawberry Cobbler

Ingredients

Filling

6           cups             strawberries, wished and sliced
1/2        cup               sugar
3           Tbs               flour
1/2         tsp               orange zest

Biscuit

1 1/2      cup               unbleached A.P. flour
1/4         tsp                salt
1            Tbs               baking powder
2            Tbs               sugar, plus more for top
4            Tbs               butter, cubed and cold
1            cup               heavy cream
                                   8" pyrex baking dish or similar

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 325° convection (375° conventional). 
2. Combine filling ingredients and place in pyrex baking dish.
3. Make topping.  First, combine all dry ingredients.  Then cut in the butter to resemble coarse meal.  We use our fingers for this by rubbing the butter/flour mixture between my thumb and forefinger until the butter pieces are the size of a pea (some can be bigger than that).  You don't want the texture to be too smooth or the topping will lose its buttery richness.  You can also use a pastry cutter, food processor or forks to do this, but why create one more dirty thing to wash?
4. Add cream and mix until uniformly moist.  Spoon out on top of filling.  It should be plopped on in clumps.  You don't want a perfectly smooth topping.  Sprinkle with granulated sugar for some sparkle.
5. Bake until biscuit is golden brown and filling is cooking and bubbling.
6. Let cool enough for the juices to thicken, then served warm alone or with whipped cream or creme fraiche. 

If you like this, check out our:
Blackberry Cobbler and Rhubarb Strawberry Cobbler recipes which use the same biscuit topping
You might also like our Mixed Berry Grunt which is a stove-top version of a cobbler

Spiced Pear, Date and Haloumi Flatbread

Haloumi is a sheep's milk cheese that is predominantly made in Cyprus, although a blogger friend in Italy told us about a beautiful Italian Haloumi that she uses often.  The cheese is unusual because it can be grilled and browned without turning into a liquid mess, and it has a dense, chewy texture that is amazing.  We use haloumi most often in Middle Eastern dishes, and its salty flavor combines particularly well with sweet ingredients such as the pears and dates in this recipe.

The only work here comes from preparing the spiced pears and dates. Once they're ready, the flatbread comes together in just seconds.  You may have extra pears and dates; we ate ours tossed with a light vinaigrette and forellenschuss and the other gorgeous lettuces that are plentiful in the garden right now.  This flatbread makes a filling meal, but it would also be beautiful to serve in bite-sized pieces for an appetizer.

Spiced Pear, Date and Haloumi Flatbread
inspired by Ana Sortun's recipe in Spice

Ingredients

1                       ball flatbread dough, at room temp for 5 minutes before rolling out
                         zest and juice of 1 lemon
1       Tbs          brown sugar
1/2    tsp           cumin
1/2    tsp           coriander
1/4    tsp           ground cardamom
1/4    tsp           black pepper
8                       dates, pitted and halved
2       Tbs          olive oil
3/4    lb             haloumi, cut into 8 slices
1                       pear, seeded and cut into 8 slices
                         flour for rolling out flatbread
                         cornmeal for peel

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350° and place pizza stone in oven on shelf placed towards the top.  Place another shelf lover lower with another space in between the shelves for a large pyrex baking dish.
2. Combine dates, lemon juice, lemon zest and brown sugar and cook over medium, stirring, until the sugar melts.  Add spices and dates and cook until the dates soften, about 5 minutes.  Add 1 Tbs olive oil, then remove from heat.
3. Preheat another pan over medium-high heat, then fry the haloumi in a single layer until golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Flip and repeat.  Remove from heat, then remove cheese but don't clean out the pan.  Spread cheese pieces out in a single layer in a large pyrex baking dish or similar.
4. In same pan, heat 1 Tbs olive oil and saute the pears until brown on only one side, about 5 minutes.  Don't flip over, then remove from heat.  Place pear slices alongside the haloumi in the pyrex baking dish.
5. Spoon a date onto each of the haloumi slices, then place dish in oven and bake until cheese is soft, about 8 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, and turn oven temperature up to 450°.
7. Roll out flabread dough on a well floured surface.  Transfer to a peel which is generously covered with cornmeal to prevent sticking.
8. Lightly brush rolled-out dough with olive oil, then add baked haloumi, dates and pears.  You may have a few extra slices of cheese and pears.
9. Bake until bread is done, about 5 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Printable recipe 

Other haloumi recipes:
Grilled Eggplant, Haloumi and Arugula Sandwich
Bulgur with Haloumi and Eggplant
Boca Burger with Grilled Haloumi and Lemon

Other flatbreads in this series:
Flatbread with Crispy Lacinato Kale and Tarentaise Cheese
Flatbread with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Walnuts and Shaved Parmesan
Flatbread with Roasted Golden Beets, Goat Cheese and Chestnut Honey
Flatbread with Gorgonzola Dulce, Grapes and Walnuts
Flatbread with Broccoli Rabe and Manchego
Flatbread with French Sorrel, Roasted Cauliflower and Goat Cheese

Flatbread with Leafy Broccoli Rabe and Stinky Goat Cheese

Here in Houston we have a wonderful farmer's market sponsored by Urban Harvest, a non-profit group dedicated to educating vegetable gardeners in the area.  They operate a large community vegetable garden located in a very urban part of the city, and also sponsor many teaching gardens at schools throughout Houston.  The farmer's market includes several vendors that grow vegetables right in the city, plus many larger producers that farm within an hour's drive of Houston.  We love to attend the market to see what others are growing and find inspiration from their harvests.  And we have become huge fans of the market's resident cheesemaker, Pola Artisanal Cheeses, which makes wonderful cheeses at a facility not far from the market.  Run by a former Houston-area chef, the cheeses are gorgeous and loaded with flavor.

Many of our winter greens are maturing in the garden, and we picked up Pola's pungent Ashy Rind Pyramid goat cheese to use with one of these greens, a leafy broccoli rabe.   These greens are an unusual member of the broccoli family because they are grown solely for their leaves rather than their flowers or stems.  The taste is quite mild, comparable to broccoli, despite being called a broccoli rabe.  As members of the brassica family, these must be started in the fall in Zone 9 for a spring harvest.  

We are growing both Cima di Rapa Maceratese from Franchi Sementi and Spigariello Liscia from Johnny's Seeds.  For this recipe, we used the Maceratese which produces lots of large soft green leaves. We cook the Maceratese first, then load the flatbread dough with the greens.  On top is Pola's goat cheese, not for the timid, although it mellows somewhat in the oven, and shaved parmesan.   Feel free to substitute with the cheese (stinky or otherwise) of your choice.  The cheeses and Maceratese combine for a hearty, filling flatbread.  

Flatbread with Leafy Broccoli Rabe (Maceratese) and Stinky Goat Cheese

Ingredients

1                            ball flatbread dough, at room temp for 5 minutes before rolling out
8        oz                Maceratese, Spigiarello or other leafy broccoli rabe
2        Tbs              olive oil
1                           garlic clove, minced
1/2     tsp               red pepper flakes
                             sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/4     cup              strong goat cheese, crumbled
1/4     cup              parmesan cheese, shaved using vegetable peeler while cold
                             olive oil for flatbread dough
                             corn meal and flour for rolling out dough

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 450° and place pizza stone on shelf in top third of oven.  Ideally, stone will heat for around an hour before cooking the flatbread.
2. Rinse greens well, remove any thick stems, then roughly chop.
3. Heat olive oil over medium low and saute garlic with red pepper flakes until golden and fragrant.
4. Add Maceratese and a small amount of water, about 1/4 cup.  Cover and cook until greens are wilted, several minutes.  Once the water is almost evaporated, remove lid and let the rest completely evaporate.  Season with sea salt and pepper and remove from heat.
5. Roll out flatbread dough using flour on work surface and cornmeal on peel to prevent sticking.
6. Spread a thin layer of olive oil, then half the parmesan.  Top with cooked greens, remaining parmesan, and goat cheese.  Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
7. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe 

Coming tomorrow:  Flatbread with Spiced Pears and Haloumi

And you may also like our other flatbread recipes:
Flatbread with Crispy Lacinato Kale and Tarentaise Cheese
Flatbread with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Walnuts and Shaved Parmesan
Flatbread with Roasted Golden Beets, Goat Cheese and Chestnut Honey
Flatbread with Gorgonzola Dulce, Grapes and Walnuts
Flatbread with Broccoli Rabe and Manchego
Flatbread with French Sorrel, Roasted Cauliflower and Goat Cheese

Flatbread with Crispy Lacinato Kale and Tarentaise Cheese

Kale is a primitive form of cabbage that does not form a head.  It is an extremely versatile vegetable, popular in many regions of the world whether served on its own or in any number of soups, pastas, salads and even Irish colcannon mashed potatoes.  Kale is so rich in nutrients that it was mandated in many World War II-era victory gardens to prevent malnutrition due to rationing.  To name just some of its nutritional benefits, kale is a good source of protein, fiber, beta carotene, calcium, folate, iron, and vitamins C, B6, and E.

Kale is a cool-weather crop which actually tastes better after a frost, so here in Houston we started our seeds last October.  We are growing Lacinato kale which goes by many other names including Cavolo Nero, Black Cabbage, Tuscan Kale and Dinosaur Kale.  Kale is easy to start from seed (our seeds are from Botanical Interests) and has few pests.   The plants are absolutely gorgeous, making this type of kale ideal for an ornamental border that includes vegetables; visitors to our garden are instantly drawn to the blue color and amazing texture of our Lacinato plants.  Add in kale's long list of nutritional benefits and delicious flavor, and you'll see why kale is a great addition to any vegetable garden.  

We have written often about our ongoing love affair with flatbread.  We posted a whole series of recipes earlier this year, including an easy and versatile flatbread dough recipe.  The response we received was tremendous, confirming that we are not alone in this passion.  This week, we are posting three new recipes using the vegetables we are now harvesting in the garden including kale, bunching onions, and leafy broccoli rabe.  And of course, cheese is always featured in our flatbreads.

Here we present a delicious flatbread topped with crispy lacinato kale.  The trick is to cook the kale in advance, using a bunching onion, shallot and garlic to add flavor.  In the oven, the kale leaves crisp up on a bed of gooey melted cheese.  We were lucky to find Tarentaise, a wonderful cow's milk cheese that is buttery and nutty in flavor, for our flatbread.  This cheese melts well in the oven and adds dimension to the flavor of the kale, but Gruyere would be an excellent substitute if you can't find Tarentaise.

Flatbread with Crispy Lacinato Kale and Tarentaise Cheese

Ingredients

1                       ball flatbread dough, at room temp for 5 minutes before rolling
1/4      cup        olive oil
1/2                    shallot, minced
1                       medium green bunching onion stalk, thinly sliced
                         (see photo below)
1/2                    garlic clove, minced
10                     medium lacinato kale leaves, chopped
                         sea salt and black pepper to taste
1         Tbs        olive oil
1/4       lb          Tarentaise or Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 450° and place pizza stone in oven.
2. Heat olive oil over moderate heat, then saute shallot, onion and garlic until softened, about 8 minutes.
3. Reduce heat slightly to low, add kale and cover, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender, about 12 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
4. Roll out flatbread dough on well-floured surface, then generously cover peel with cornmeal and place rolled-out dough on peel.
5. Spread 1 Tbs olive oil on flatbread, then add about 2/3's of the cheese.  Add kale, then sprinkle remaining cheese on top.  Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and black pepper.
6. Bake until cheese is melted and crust is golden, about 5 minutes.
7. Eat immediately.

Printable Recipe

Other Flatbread Recipes Coming This Week:
Flatbread with Leafy Broccoli Rabe and Stinky Goat Cheese
and Flatbread with Grilled Haloumi Cheese and Spiced Pears
 
And check out our other popular flatbread recipes:
Flatbread with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Walnuts and Shaved Parmesan
Flatbread with Roasted Golden Beets, Goat Cheese and Chestnut Honey
Flatbread with Gorgonzola Dulce, Grapes and Walnuts
Flatbread with Broccoli Rabe and Manchego
Flatbread with French Sorrel, Roasted Cauliflower and Goat Cheese

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Pie is one of our serious obsessions.  Whenever we travel, we are on the lookout for the best local pie.  On a recent trip to Austin, we enjoyed several mini pies from the Cutie Pies food truck.  Our favorite was the bumbleberry.  Last weekend, we drove to New Orleans and stopped in Beaumont for the sweet potato pie at Willy Ray's BBQ.  (David ate more than just pie, but this is a vegetarian blog so we won't talk any more about that).    We love that Willy Ray's serves sweet potato pie as the side vegetable of the day.  In New Orleans, we had a slice of chocolate pecan chess pie at Dick and Jenny's.  And whenever we drive out to see the annual wildflowers in Texas Hill Country, we gorge on pie at Bevers in Chappell Hill.  Even the local Exxon station in Chappell Hill sells great pies, especially the coconut cream pie.

We will forever be on a quest for the perfect pie, but we frankly think there is nothing better than a pie freshly baked at home.  It is one of those homey desserts that is hard to perfect on a mass scale.   The trickiest element is the crust, which is often the most disappointing part of any store-bought pie.  We have tried many recipes at home, and have settled on what we think is the perfect crust.  We love our pie crust recipe and know that you will too.

When it comes to fillings, rhubarb is one of our favorites.  We love rhubarb so much that we are trying to grow it here in Houston even though these plants really prefer cool weather.  We started seeds last fall, but sadly many of the seedlings did not survive the winter.  Those that did are still so small that any harvest is many, many months away.  Luckily, rhubarb is now available, combining perfectly with the gorgeous local strawberries.  The filling for this pie is little more than fruit and sugar, so make sure to use strawberries and rhubarb that are packed with flavor.  The resulting pie is wonderfully sweet and tart at the same time, brimming over with gorgeous red fruit and thick juices inside a super-flaky crust.   After we made this pie, we checked on our rhubarb seedlings hoping that there had been a dramatic growth spurt in the last week.  Sadly, no.  But this pie has convinced us to redouble our efforts to grow rhubarb this year.  And we will have no problem using every last bit of our harvest.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients

Crust  (makes enough for 2 pies or a top and bottom crust)

2          cups     unbleached A.P. flour
1/4       tsp       salt
1          tsp       sugar
1/2       lb         unsalted butter, cubed and kept cold
1/4       cup      vegetable shortening, cold
1/4       cup      ice water

Filling

2                      pie crusts, one rolled out and lining pie pan, chilled
                        one rolled out and chilled for top
3 1/2    cups     strawberries, washed and sliced
3 1/2    cups     rhubarb, sliced into 1" pieces
1 1/4    cup       sugar, plus more for top
5          Tbs      unbleached A.P. flour
1/2       tsp        orange zest
1/8       tsp        salt
3          Tbs      butter, cubed
                        small amount of heavy cream for lattice top

Procedure

Crust

1. Combine Dry.  Add half the butter and mix until resembles coarse meal.  Add rest of butter and the shortening and cut in, leaving larger pieces of fat (around 1/4").  Add ice water until dough forms a ball (you may not need all the water).
2. Divide into two balls, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Let dough rest at least 4 hours before rolling out, but will keep for several days in the refrigerator if you want to plan ahead.
3. Roll out on a well-floured surface.  

Filling

1. Preheat oven to 400° convection (450° conventional).  Place a shelf in the middle for the pie, and another shelf below.  On lower shelf, place a sheet pan lined with a silpat or parchment paper.  This pan will catch the dripping juices as the pie bakes.
2. Roll out bottom crust and line pie pan.  Return pan with crust to refrigerator.
3. Roll out top crust and refrigerate.  When chilled for about 15 minutes, cut into strips for lattice top.  Return to refrigerator.
4. Combine filling ingredients (except the butter and heavy cream).
5. Add filling to pie pan and dot the top of the filling with the butter cubes.
6. Remove lattice strips from refrigerator and make lattice top.  Brush strips lightly with the heavy cream using a pastry brush or your finger, then sprinkle sugar on top.
7. Freeze pie for 15 minutes before placing in oven.
8. Bake for 10 minutes, or until crust looks lightened and dry.  Reduce oven temperature to 325° convection (375° conventional) and continue to bake until crust is golden and fillings and thick and bubbling, about 45 minutes in our oven.
9. Cool completely on a wire rack to allow juices to thicken before cutting into pie.  Store at room temp.

Printable Recipe

If you love rhubarb as much as we do, try our Rhubarb Strawberry Cobbler .
You can also make a delicious quick Rhubarb Sauce perfect on ice cream or pound cake

Dandelion Green and Goat Cheese Empanadas

Our favorite Argentinian restaurant here in Houston is Marini's Empanadas.  We order a big assortment of empanadas every time we eat there. Our favorites include the Dulce de Leche dessert empanada, and the Humita with creamed corn and cheeses.  At just over $2 each, they're so affordable and delicious, we never planned to make empanadas at home.  But then we discovered this recipe in the L.A. Times, and couldn't resist making empanadas using our Red Rib Italian Dandelion greens from the garden.  The ribs of the dandelion greens keep their red color when cooked, making the filling as pretty as it is tasty.  This is a time-consuming recipe, so save these empanadas for a weekend project, or break it up into two nights.  The unbaked empanadas keep in the fridge for up to two days.

 

Dandelion Green and Goat Cheese Empanadas

adapted from latimes.com

Ingredients

1          cup              whole-wheat flour
1 1/4    cup              unbleached A.P.flour
                                sea salt and black pepper
1/2       cup               (1 stick) butter, cubed and cold
1/2       tsp                cider vinegar
1                              egg, separated
                                ice water
3                              large bunches dandelion greens
1 1/2    cup              onion, finely chopped (about 1 onion)
1          cup               leek sliced thinly (about 1 leek)
1/4       cup               olive oil
3                              cloves garlic, minced
1/8       tsp                red pepper flakes
1/4       tsp                cayenne
11        oz                goat cheese
1/2       cup              grated Pecorino Romano
                                Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Procedure

1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is reduced to pea-sized pieces. 
2. In a measuring cup, whisk together the vinegar and egg yolk (reserving the egg white) and add enough ice-cold water to bring the volume to one-half cup. Add the liquid to the processor in a steady stream while pulsing. 
3. Continue to pulse just until the mixture looks crumbly and damp, and the dough just adheres when pressed together. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight. 
4. Preheat the oven to 400°.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the dandelion greens for about 1 minute to bring out the color and soften slightly. Drain and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process.  Coarsely chop, then squeeze the chopped greens in a towel to remove as much liquid as possible and set aside.
6. In a large pan, cook the onions and leeks in the olive oil over medium heat until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook until the garlic is aromatic, about 1 minute. Stir in 1/4 tsp salt, the pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp black pepper and the cayenne. Remove from heat and cool. 
7. In a large bowl, combine the cheeses, dandelion greens and onion mixture. 
8. Divide the chilled empanada dough into 8 disk-shaped portions. On a floured work surface, roll out each portion of dough into an approximately 7-inch circle. Place one-third cup of the filling in the lower middle section of the circle. Whisk the reserved egg white in a small bowl and use it to brush the outer edges of the lower half of the dough. Fold the dough in half over the filling, pressing the edges and making sure there are no air pockets. Trim any rough or uneven parts and either crimp the edges with your fingers or use a fork to seal the edges. 
9. Place the empanadas on a silpat-lined baking sheet. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake until puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack. The empanadas will keep, unbaked and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.