Roasted Bell Pepper Salad from a Tapa cookbook that does not post recipes online. The recipe calls for red and yellow bell peppers. I thought I would add orange ones too. Can you tell? I sure can’t see the difference. Can you? I cut the bell peppers in quarters, so I could broil them all at once and not have to constantly turn them. I saved the ones I did not use and squished them to get the juice. I thought it was a lovely appetizer, but not many people tried it. Maybe too Bell Pepper intense.
Next up was three different Cherry tomato stuffings. I loved these little treats and they seemed to go over quite well. It took a bit of time to figure out the easiest way to empty the baby tomato of its insides. Best and easiest without destroying the tomato was to cut the edges of the center membrane and use a small melon baller to take it out. That with a little help from my fingers. (Don’t worry I did wash them & the tomatoes)
I added a little brandy to the anchovy recipe to mellow it out a bit.
I must have been on a roll that day, as I also made these Latin Devilled Eggs (spelling from the book. There were none of these guys left at the end of the evening.
Oh yeah, and I kept going. I put a spray of olive oil on the baguettes I posted the other day, put them in the oven for about 20 minutes and topped them with a Fennel and Fig Pesto from Fine Cooking Magazine. That was my favorite! Not the prettiest, but pretty dang tasty.
Fennel & Fig Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 medium fennel bulb (about 1 lb.), trimmed, cut lengthwise into quarters, and cored (reserve the fronds)
- 1 large head garlic, top 1/2 inch cut off to expose the cloves
- 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1 oz. dried figs (2 to 3), preferably dark
- 1 Tbs. finely grated Asiago
- 1 tsp. finely grated Ruby Red grapefruit zest
- 1/4 cup fresh Ruby Red grapefruit juice
- 1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
Preparation
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 425°F.
- Put the fennel and garlic on a small rimmed baking sheet, toss with 1 Tbs. of the oil, and season lightly with salt. Cover with foil and roast until very soft, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Transfer the fennel to a food processor. Squeeze the cloves from the garlic bulb (or remove with a knife), and add to the processor. Add the remaining 1/2 cup oil, the walnuts, figs, cheese, zest and juice, ginger, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Process until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the reserved fennel fronds and pulse until combined but with some green flecks, 4 to 5 times. Season to taste with salt. Use right away, or cover and refrigerate.
Boy, this is long blog. I made a Spanish Flan too, but I had posted that previously. I learned that you cannot skimp on the size of the water bath, I tried to do a smaller one, and it took too long to cook, so was not as soft and delicious as my last one. I decorated it with a little chocolate, so at least it was pretty. Everyone loved it and ate the whole thing, but I know it could be better. It is hiding beside the pig’s but. So this is the table and then every one came with lots more food and lots of great Spanish wine.
