The Only Soup I Need This Summer (Mango Crab Gazpacho)

The longer I blog, the more I recognize that "foodies" come in all varieties. This is quite a relief to me as I used to think I was missing some gene prevalent among many foodies that programs a love of dining out. Yes I'll plan a few restaurants to hit if I'm going on vacation, but most days I honestly prefer food I've cooked or baked with my own hands over anything served to me by a waiter.

Lord knows this isn't because I fancy my cooking skills better than a restaurant chef's. There's simply something magical about the process of turning simple ingredients into a flavorful, satisfying meal that I'm addicted to. Plus as a health-conscious pescatarian (who eats no meat except seafood), I'm a bit wary of restaurant dishes drowned in butter or containing hidden meat products like chicken broth.

That being said, I'm not immune to the charms of particularly excellent restaurant food. Today's mango crab gazpacho is actually inspired by a soup I sampled my first week working in D.C. It's been four years since that meal and I can honestly say I've been dreaming of recreating that gazpacho every summer since. Well I've finally done it, and while I can't guarantee it's as good as Ceiba's, it's every bit as refreshing and addictive as I remember. In fact I've already decided...this is the only soup I'll need for the rest of the summer =D.

Mango Crab Gazpacho Soup [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from mango gazpacho on Allrecipes
Serves 4 to 6

XIAOLU'S NOTES: For my vegetarian/vegan friends, feel free to omit the crab entirely or replace with some other mildly flavored protein. The flavor profile won't be the same, but it'll still be a wonderfully refreshing summer soup =D.

2 cups diced fresh mango, divided
1 1/4 cups orange juice
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large cucumber, seeded and diced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup diced sweet onion
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced [optional]
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro OR basil, plus larger leaves to garnish
1 to 2 slices wheat bread, well-toasted and crusts removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 to 1 1/2 cups jumbo lump crab, picked over

Reserve 1/3 cup each diced cucumber and bell pepper for garnish. Process ingredients from mango through cilantro in a food processor or blender until smooth. Tear toasted bread into chunks, add to food processor, and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Can be made several hours before serving.)

When ready to serve, toss reserved cucumber, bell pepper, and cilantro leaves together with the crab. Pour chilled gazpacho into serving bowls or cups, then divide the topping evenly among the bowls. Direct each diner to stir the topping into the soup before eating.

Guest Post: Spicy Lentil Tart with Pomegranate and Mint

Those of you who've been reading my blog for some time will know that I eat a mostly vegetarian diet (plus occasional seafood) and am a BIG fan of vegetarian and vegan cooking. One of my long-time favorite blogs has been Veggie num num, written by the wonderful Trudy from Australia. Not only does she take gorgeous photos, she also creates the most creative vegetarian recipes. They're guaranteed to have you drooling whether you're a veggie or meat-lover! I tried her Spanish Chickpea Balls a few months ago and was captivated by the unique spicing. Equally mesmerizing is the savory lentil, pomegranate, and mint tart she's sharing today, which -- believe it or not -- was adapted from a lamb recipe! I'll let her tell you all about it now. Thanks for your stunning guest post and for being such an inspiration to me, Trudy!

I have to say I am a little excited to be here! Without a doubt I am a devoted fan of 6 Bittersweets and Xiaolu’s beautiful inspiring desserts and photography and so thrilled and honoured to be guest posting today!!

I am constantly blown away with Xiaolu’s clever and amazingly scrumptious looking recipes. Her talent for creating truly beautiful and imaginative food is absolutely inspiring. So my first thought when I started to brainstorm ideas for a recipe to share was it must be something elegant and pretty and of course delicious.

Being a vegetarian it can be hard to convince people that you eat interesting, varied and delicious foods. I still think there is a popular misconception out there that vegetarian food is boring and plain and can’t be inspiring and tasty and beautiful in it’s own right.

There is nothing I love more than turning this idea on its head and providing vegetarian recipes that I really hope everyone finds delicious and appealing!!

I had been meaning to experiment with a vegetarian version of a Lebanese tart for some time and thought this post would be the perfect opportunity to do just that. Something I find so rewarding in the kitchen is to take a traditional meat dish and transform it into a vegetarian meal. I love the challenge and the fun of experimenting with different ingredients and flavours and this tart did not disappoint.

Middle Eastern flavours are some of my absolute favourites and this dish is wonderfully fragrant, spicy, colourful and I hope you’ll agree super tasty.

Thank you so very much Xiaolu for the opportunity to share this veggie recipe and I hope you’ll all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating and photographing it for you.

Spicy Lentil Tart with Pomegranate and Mint [Printable Recipe]
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Serves 4

1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry (thawed)
1 free range egg lightly whisked or 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
3 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp salt flakes or rock salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 red chili, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup pine nuts, roasted
1 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 tsp sumac
1/2 pomegranate, seeds only

To serve
1/2 cup tahini paste
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 Tbsp water
Extra lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F.

Bring the stock, lentils, bay leaves and cinnamon stick to a gentle simmer in a large pot, allow to cook for 15-20 minutes over a medium/low heat, stirring occasionally until the lentils are tender and liquid absorbed. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick and strain off any excess liquid, set aside.

Grind the black peppercorns, salt flakes or rock salt, cumin, paprika and coriander seeds together in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder to form a fine spice powder.

Combine the pomegranate molasses with the warm water until smooth, set aside.

Lay the thawed puff pastry sheet out on a baking tray, carefully score a 3cm (1 inch) border around the outside and brush with the prepared egg or non-dairy milk being careful not to brush over the score mark.

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until the pastry just begins to puff and golden, remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile fry off the onion in the olive oil for a few minutes over a medium heat in a large frying pan until soft, add the cooked lentils and prepared spice powder and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes over a medium heat.

Add the pomegranate molasses & water mixture and the pine nuts, fry the lentils until they just begin to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan, add the fresh herbs reserving half the mint and stir though.

Spoon the lentil mixture onto the prepared puff pastry sheet, sprinkle over the sumac and return to the oven for 15 minutes until pastry is golden.

Meanwhile whisk the tahini paste with the olive oil, lemon juice and water until smooth.

Remove the tart from the oven a serve sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and reserved mint. Accompany with the tahini dressing and wedges of fresh lemon.

A wonderfully colourful and tasty vegetarian recipe perfect for parties or picnics, enjoy!!

{This recipe was inspired by the Spicy Lebanese Lamb Tart found in ABC’s Delicious Magazine.}

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday: There's Never Enough Thyme

A short blogging break to study for final exams. I hope to have something yummy for you again by the end of next week. See-ya on the other side! =)

You Know You're A Foodie When...

Would you laugh at me if I told you that most of the "events" that end up making my day (or even my week) are food-related? It may be discovering the most amazing rhubarb vanilla bean jam at Borough Market when visiting my best friend in London. Or the addictive chewiness of NYC's speculoos spread leige waffles of Throwdown with Bobby Flay fame. While crossing state and even country lines with friends does tend to encourage food "eventfulness," it's by no means required.

The first bite of a straight-from-the-oven pizzookie with the perfect cookie-to-ice-cream ratio, for example, was a revelation right in my own kitchen. Even the humble neighborhood grocery can hold unexpected treasures, like these zebra eggplants. When I spied these the other week, I couldn't help but gasp out of admiration for Mother Nature's artistry. Best of all these beauties were mine for the same price as common eggplant. I anticipated (correctly) with some sadness that the stunning pattern would fade upon cooking. Still, if these eggplants could be made into a tasty enough dish, we'd at least be transforming one form of beauty into another, right?

Humbly, I say to you that this flavorful and relatively healthy tart does justice to its ingredients. Eggplant gracefully shares the spotlight with plum tomatoes as well as smoked mozzarella and feta cheeses. And that's just the filling. A generous dose of freshly ground black pepper in the crust gives a little kick to every bite. Just enough to pull you back for another taste...and another. I did find the original recipe produced a slightly tough crust. A result, I suspect, of lowering the fat content excessively (to only 1 Tbsp?) in an attempt to healthify the tart. The recipe below includes my adjustments to the crust, but feel free to stick with the original recipe if you need to minimize your fat intake for health reasons. Even with my nitpick, I enjoyed it so much that I had it for 3 meals in a row!

Now I'm looking at you, my readers. Please tell me, what are the vegetables that get you excited? And what delightful dishes do you make from them?

Eggplant Tomato Smoked Mozzarella Tart [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 3 to 4

XIAOLU'S NOTES: I loved the flavor of this crust, but had textural issues. Though I've modified the recipe to fix those problems, you're welcome to use your favorite savory tart crust recipe instead. Just add 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper to the dry ingredients. For the filling, make sure to slice your eggplant no thinner than 1/4" thick. I sliced a bit too thinly, which resulted in them being slightly dry when baked. The original recipe also called for salting the eggplant. To save time, I've skipped that step but as a result it's important to use fresh eggplant so that it doesn't impart a bitter taste.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp toasted wheat germ
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 to 3 Tbsp water
4 Tbsp olive oil
Cooking spray

1 lb eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4" thick slices
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano [I used 1/2 tsp dried]
1 T chopped fresh mint
2 plum tomatoes (about 6 ounces), thinly sliced
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese, divided
1/3 cup (about 2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese (optional)
2 Tbsp grated fresh parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through 1/4 teaspoon salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture. Add 2 tablespoons of water and all the oil, stirring to form a soft dough. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to make the dough come together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times. Gently press dough into a 4-inch circle on plastic wrap; cover and chill 15 minutes.

Slightly overlap 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a slightly damp surface. Unwrap dough, and place chilled dough on plastic wrap. Cover with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll dough, still covered, into an 11-inch circle. Remove top sheets of plastic wrap. Fit dough, plastic-wrap side up, into a 10-inch round removable-bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray. Remove remaining plastic wrap. Press dough against bottom and sides of pan. Pierce bottom and sides of dough with a fork; bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling, arrange eggplant in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush slices with 1/2 teaspoon oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Stack eggplant slices on a plate; cover with plastic wrap. Let eggplant stand 7 minutes to steam.

Using more towels, pat tomato slices dry. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, basil, oregano, mint, and tomatoes.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons smoked mozzarella and all the feta on bottom of baked crust. Layer eggplant and tomato mixture in crust, and top with 6 tablespoons smoked mozzarella and parmesan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut into 8 wedges.