Volume 8, Issue 073 - April 13, 2005

Hello Recipe Club,

Coconut milk is a thick creamy mixture of coconut meat and hot water. It is parve. It is sold in cans and is different from cream of coconut which is very sweet and used mostly for drinks. The clear liquid inside a coconut is not coconut milk but called coconut juice. It can be hard to find the coconut milk with a kosher sign. Check on the internet for information on which brands are kosher. Do a search under kosher coconut milk. There are a number of brands that are available.

If you are really desperate and up to the task, you can make your own by cutting the meat of a small coconut into small chunks and puréeing them in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over and let it sit for 1/2 hour. Process again until smooth. Pour into a cheesecloth lined bowl, squeezing out the milk into a bowl. You need to use this within a few days or it will spoil.

Just a reminder for those of you who have not registered to win one of two copies of Susie's book. I will be giving them away on Friday. Click Here and send me your email address and it will go into the chef's hat to be drawn Thursday evening. You can also click the book jacket to the right and buy one online.

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Carrot Coconut Vichyssoise
Meat, Parve, or Dairy

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

Carrot Coconut Vichyssoise:

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 medium Idaho or russet potatoes, peeled and diced
16 ounces baby carrots, or 2 cups sliced carrots
1 leek, sliced, white and pale green parts only
1 shallot, diced
dash ground white pepper
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup soy milk or light cream

Balsamic Garnish:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dark molasses

Preparation:

Prepare the soup: Place the stock, potatoes, carrots, leek and shallot into a medium soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until vegetables are very tender.

Season with white pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes longer. Add in the coconut milk. Remove from heat. Transfer to a blender and purée until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender right in the pot and purée for a full 3 minutes. Stir in the soymilk or light cream.

Place the soup in the refrigerator and cool for at least 5 hours.

Prepare the garnish: Place the balsamic vinegar and molasses into a small pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low for 6 to 8 minutes, until reduced by half. Place in refrigerator, it will get thicker as it cools.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. With the tip of a spoon, or a squirt bottle, add a swirl of the balsamic to each bowl.

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Cornish Hens with Pistachio Paste
Meat

The pistachio paste is fine at room temperature which makes this dish great for Shabbos lunch.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 (1 pound) baby Cornish hens, butterflied, backbone removed, pressed flat with your palm
2 cups shelled raw unsalted pistachio nuts, finely chopped, divided
salt and pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
6 shallots, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
12 ounces chicken stock, plus a little extra
4 basil or other brightly colored flat leaves for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stuff 1/4 cup of the chopped pistachio nuts under the skin of each of the hens. Massage the nuts under the skin to help spread them out evenly. Salt and pepper both sides of each hen.

Heat the olive oil in 2 large sauté pans (or plan to sear in batches). Sear the hens, skin side down until golden brown. Remove hens from the pan and place in roasting pans in a single layer. Set aside.

Add the shallots to the pan with the hen drippings. Sauté 6 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle in the thyme. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock, use a wooden spoon to unstick any nuts from the pan.

Meanwhile, place the hens, uncovered, in the oven. Roast for 30 minutes, or until done.

Prepare the pistachio paste. In a deep container, or in the bowl of a food processor, place 1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts. Add the shallots and pan drippings. Using an immersion blender or food processor blend into a paste. Thin with a little stock if needed.

Dollop a tablespoon or 2 of the pistachio paste on a basil or other flat lettuce leaf, place on the side of the hen. Sprinkle all with the remaining chopped pistachios.

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Chocolate Berry Tart
Parve or Dairy

This recipe is a variation of a wonderful tart that was sort of sent to me by Arline Heimlich, a woman I don't know. I found it at the very end of a long e-mail chain on a subject matter totally unrelated to food. I don't know what made me read all the way to the bottom but I came to a comment that said "girls, here is the recipe for those tarts we were devouring". That was all I needed to read. I whipped up a batch and loved the results. By tracing back through the e-mail recipient list I found someone who put me in touch with Arline, who was happy to share the recipe.

You can freeze these tarts before adding the berry garnish. You can also make them in miniature tart pans.

Makes 10 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups pecan halves
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted margarine or butter, melted
10 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
2 cups heavy or whipping cream, if using parve I like Rich's whipped topping
2 pints raspberries, blueberries, or sliced strawberries
1/2 cup seedless red raspberry, blueberry, or seedless strawberry preserves

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cut out a 10 inch circle of parchment paper and place it into a 10 inch tart pan with removable bottom or into 8 (4 inch) mini tart pans with removable bottoms. Set aside.

Place the pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet. Toast the pecans for 10 minutes, until fragrant. Check towards the end to make sure they are not burning, shake the pan occasionally.

Remove the pecans from the oven and transfer them to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Process until finely ground. Add the melted margarine or butter and process until moist clumps form.

Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan or pans. You may need to let it cool for a few minutes until it can be touched.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and firm to the touch, 28 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place into a medium bowl.

Bring the cream to a simmer in a medium sized heavy saucepan over low heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Gently stir until smooth. Pour mixture into crust and chill until set, about 1 hour. This can be made up to 2 days in advance.

Before serving, arrange the berries of your choice over the top of the tart in overlapping concentric circles.

Place the jam into a small heavy saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush melted jam over the berries.