Tag Archives: Goat Cheese

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pastelillo

18 Jan

I have an “obsession” with puffed pastry…  I admit it.  It’s super versatile and easy to use, particularly when you’re cooking for company.  Just add your favorite filling and you have a nice dish.

This time around I decided to mix together the ingredients of my favorite appetizer of the Xmas season and make it into a meal… balsamic mushrooms and goat cheese.  Envelope everything inside squares of puffed pastry, add a great green salad and you have a complete meal for a girl’s night together.  Here’s how I did it…

 

MUSHROOM AND GOAT CHEESE PASTELILLO

1 sheet of puffed pastry, thawed in the refrigerator since the night before
½ recipe for Balsamic Mushrooms
4 oz package of goat cheese
2 tbs butter, melted
A bit of flour or cornstarch to roll out the puffed pastry
  1. I’ll be honest… I do not measure a lot.  So I do not know how large I roll out the puffed pastry, but just enough to make 4 medium sized squares to make into these pastelillos.  Each pastelillo serves one not so big eater.  
  2. So before you start rolling out, dust your surface and rolling pin with some whole wheat flour or cornstarch so the pastry does not stick to either one.  Cut the pastry into 4 squares as even as possible.
  3. Lay one of your squares in a diagonal with one corner facing you directly.  Add about 1 ounce of the cream cheese and about ¼ of you mushroom mixture in the half of the square closest to you, leaving about ¼ inch clearance around the edges.   Now, overlap the free side of the square on top of the mixture and pinch all the open sides with a fork to close tightly. Repeat with the 3 remaining squares.
  4. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the fridge for a few minutes, while the oven preheats to 350F.  I do this because the climate in PR is too hot and usually my pastry tends to give me a bit of trouble by the time I get to the last few squares.  This way the pastry kind of cools off and we make sure it will turn our flaky in the end product.
  5. Brush them with a bit of melted butter on top to help them brown nicely.  Bake the pastries in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.  The smell will tell you when they’re done.

 

Enjoy them with a great salad on the side for a light lunch or a light dinner. 

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Balsamic Mushrooms

27 Dec

It’s the holidays… as you know, Puerto Rico has the longest holidays in the world, because they last until the Fiestas de San Sebastián, which is until the middle of January.  And if you judge instead by the time people take off their Xmas lights, it could be until the beginning of February even.

I’ve been hosting a few get-togethers and been invited to some others and you never want to arrive with your hands empty.  Especially qhen you’re vegetarian…  because that “something” you bring with you can be your insurance policy to having something safe to eat that evening.  My friends are already familiar with my veggie, red pepper or hummus dips, but every year I want to surprise them with something different.  This was this year’s star appetizer…   

 

BALSAMIC MUSHROOMS

1 8oz packet of white button mushrooms, sliced
2 tbs of butter
1 tbs of olive oil
Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
1 small sprig of thyme, just strip out the leaves
3 tbs of balsamic vinegar

 

  1.  In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat up the butter and oil.  When the butter/oil is very hot, add the sliced mushrooms.  Toss a bit so the mushrooms are coated with the oil mixture on most sides.  But don’t toss them continually; allow them to get brownish on one side for a few minutes before moving them again.  Add the thyme.
  3. After about 10 minutes of cooking, the mushrooms will have shrunk in size and are golden brown.  Now, add the salt and pepper and toss to combine.
  4. After another minute, add the balsamic vinegar.  Be careful because it splatters a bit and the pungency of the smell can “hit you in the face”.  Toss the mushrooms to combine and allow the balsamic to be absorbed by the mushrooms and evaporated a bit from the heat of the pan.
  6. Turn off the stove and allow continuing to cook with the residual heat that’s there.

 

I thoroughly enjoy these with peppered goat cheese balls on whole wheat crackers.  It’s serves as a great appetizer for a small get-together dinner party or to serve at a night of wine and cheese.

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Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Sandwich

12 Sep

In my CSA box we’ve been receiving many eggplants and zucchini… why not combine them both in one of my favorite applications? A SANDWICH!!!

Super simple, super tasty and travels really well…

  Grilled Eggplant Zuch Sandwich - KFC

GRILLED EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI SANDWICH

1 small Japanese or Italian eggplant
1 small zucchini or summer squash
2 oz of goat cheese, at room temperature works best
A handful of arugula lettuce – washed well and pat dry
Extra virgin Olive oil
Sea salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
1 whole-wheat whole grain demi baguette

 

  1. Preheat your grill – I use my George Foreman grill for this…
  2. Slice the eggplant and the zucchini in ¼ inch slices.  Brush with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Place on the grill for about 4-5 minutes to cook and get pretty grill marks.
  3. In the meantime, slice the baguette in top and bottom halves and toast in a toaster oven.  Slather both sides of bread with goat cheese.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper to season cheese.
  4. Remove the eggplant and zucchini slices from grill and let cool down a bit.  Place on bottom half of bread.  Add lettuce on top of grilled veggies.  Season lettuce with a bit of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil.  Top with top half of bread.

 

Simple, yet very tasty and nutritious.   You could add some tomatoes or even some roasted red peppers or roasted piquillo peppers too.

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Goat Cheese Tapa

27 Jul

This was supposed to be part of my Spanish Delicacies series celebrating the Encierros de San Fermín… but I got too busy to write this post.  Unfortunately, my mom fractured her arm last weekend and I have nurse duties on top of all my regular work and blog work.

I LOOOOOVE this tapa… I always order it when I visit my favorite Spanish restaurant in Chicago, Café Ibérico.  When I was in Grad school, we used to go to Café Ibérico after our Latin parties almost once a month.  At the time I was not vegetarian and still this was one of my favorites.  But I have to admit, it was not something I saw frequently during my trip to Spain.  I am not certain what region it originated, but it’s definitely delicious.  Testament that the best dishes are usually the simplest…

 

 Queso de Cabra Tapa - KFC

 GOAT CHEESE TAPA

3oz of goat cheese, keep refrigerated until ready to use
2 peeled plum San Marzano tomatoes from a jar – you could also use a tomato puree or tomato passata for this
A drizzle of Spanish olive oil, plus more for bread
Salt and Pepper to taste
½ French whole-wheat baguette, sliced on a bias

 

  1. Take the bread slices, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper and toast in a toaster oven.  Set aside.
  2. Place the tomato in a food processor and pulse a few times until you get a puree.  If you’re using the puree or passata you can totally skip this step.
  3. Place the tomato puree in a small bowl and season with some sea salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  Mix well and place in a large ramekin dish.
  4. Cut a 3oz piece of goat cheese and place in the middle of the ramekin on top of the seasoned tomato puree.  You can drizzle a bit more olive oil on top of cheese to help it get a golden brown color.
  5. Place in a 350 – 400F oven for about 15 minutes to cook a bit the tomato and warm up the cheese.

Plate the ramekin along the bread toasts and enjoy.

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Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese Toasts

1 Jul

I LOVE tomatoes!!!!  I just love them immensely… they might well be my favorite vegetable.  I am stuck between potatoes and tomatoes as my favorite, and I am just realizing that possibly neither of them is actually a vegetable.

Oh well, vegetable or not, I have been receiving way too many tomatoes in my weekly CSA box that I have been finding creative ways to have them.  Although growing up I used to just slice a tomato as a way to add “a salad” to my plate and, to this day, I still do it when I am too lazy to wash lettuces and cut up other salad components.

Something I recently started doing (or stopped doing would be a more accurate expression) is to not place tomatoes in the fridge.  With the temperatures being so hot here in PR, I always believed tomatoes would spoil way too quickly if they were left sitting on a counter.  Well, they eventually can spoil, but you can safely leave them there for a good week and they will be perfect.  The taste of a tomato is definitely better and more intense if it’s left at room temperature.  Apparently there is a component in the tomato that is shuts down its flavor permanently if the tomato is kept in the fridge.

This is a tomato salad made to celebrate the lusciousness of tomatoes… 

 Tomato Salad 2

TOMATO SALAD WTH GOAT CHEESE TOASTS

Tomatoes – organic and local preferably to ensure their freshness and flavor
1 whole-grain demi-baguette, sliced on a bias
Salt/Pepper to taste
Drizzle of olive oil
About 2 oz of goat cheese – left at room temperature for a few minutes
About 1 tbs of Basil/Parsley oil

 

  1. Slice tomatoes as you wish – in slices across its equator, pole to pole… however you prefer.
  2. Drizzle baguette slices with olive oil, some salt and pepper and toast in a toaster oven until they’re golden around the edges.  Slather them with goat cheese
  3. Place sliced/cut tomatoes on a plate.  Drizzle basil/parsley oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.  Place goat cheese toasts on the side…

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