Author: medsall

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Zucchini Basil Soup

medsall

Just like the recipe site says, this Zucchini Basil Soup is amazingly smooth, silky, and even creamy–all with no cream added! It’s yummy on its own, but it’s also really good with ricotta gnocchi floating in it! I just leave out the ribbons-of-zucchini garnish. Some of the people who made this liked it better made with chicken stock. But one good tip in the comments is to take most of the puréed soup out of the blender and let the soup in the blender cool down a bit. Purée the basil in the cooled soup and then mix it into … Continue reading Zucchini Basil Soup

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Ricotta Gnocchi

medsall

Soft, pillowy, cheesy “lumps” swimming in basil infused marinara. I say “lumps”, because Mark Bittman (whose recipe follows) taught me that in colloquial Italian gnoccho means lump! I used Bittman’s New York Times recipe, which has a video you can watch to perfect the procedure. The whole family–not just my father–enjoyed this dish. The article on ricotta gnocchi that goes along with the recipe is a good read too. And if you read Italian, HERE is an interesting post on the ancient tradition of gnocchi making. I wanted to keep the dish moist, so I skipped the recommendation to serve … Continue reading Ricotta Gnocchi

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Arugula “Salad”

medsall

A nice, crispy summer lettuce salad…no way on a puréed diet. And puréed lettuce of any kind just doesn’t sound good to me. Then I thought of arugula. It is packed with flavor and isn’t too watery. And it makes a really good pesto! So what about a raw arugula purée à la pesto (to mix Romance languages). Ditch the nuts, but keep a touch of garlic, cut down on the olive oil, and add a touch of freshly squeezed lemon juice. This turned out OK! It was good with slices of tomato gelée and ham loaf for a cold … Continue reading Arugula “Salad”

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Tomato Gelée

medsall

What to do? It’s summer. It’s hot. My Dad loves tomatoes. How can I serve them cold–and not as a sauce or a soup? [Puréed Gazpacho recipe coming soon!] Gelatin must be the answer. But all the recipes either lack real tomato oomph, like the various recipes for Tomato Aspic that are based on tomato juice, tomato sauce, or V-8 Juice. [Click HERE for a classic version.] Other versions of Tomato Gelée sound lovely–types of deconstructed tomatos (as this site with a nice recipe and image puts it) with the tomatoes puréed and drained to create a light-greenish tomato water. … Continue reading Tomato Gelée