Tomato and tofu soup.
Tomato — what to call it, a fruit or a vegetable? — the debate is on but what we know for sure is that this tasty and delicious food item is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, salads, soups, curries and drinks.
While botanically it’s a fruit, it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes. The French sometimes refer to the tomato as pomme d’amour, meaning “love apple”, and in Italy, tomato is sometimes referred to as “pomodoro” or “golden apple”. Regardless of its name, the tomato is a wonderfully popular and versatile food that comes in over a thousand different varieties that vary in shape, size, and colour.
Not just antioxidant benefits, tomatoes provide an excellent amount of vitamin C, E and beta-carotene, and mineral manganese. Intake of tomatoes has long been linked to heart health. Fresh tomatoes and extracts have been shown to help lower total cholesterol level.
Beefsteak and beef master tomatoes are among the largest-sized varieties grown. Roma tomatoes are more of an intermediate size, while cherry and grape tomatoes are small and rounded.
Tomato and tofu soup
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
Tomato 750g
Carrot 1 no
Celery 1 stick
Onion 1 no
Garlic 3 cloves
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Mint leaves 2-3 sprigs
Tofu 50g
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Method
Peel and roughly chop onion, garlic, celery, carrots and tomato.
In a heavy bottom sauce pan heat oil and add all the chopped ingredients and mix well.
Allow to cook for 8-10 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
Add 1.5 litres stock or water as available and bring to boil.
Reduce the flame and simmer over low flame and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove from flame and blend the soup using a hand blender or liquidiser until smooth.
Return to flame and adjust the seasoning, and add mint leaves.
Serve piping hot with silken tofu cubes in the soup bowl.
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury fillings. Ancient Greeks are believed to have originated pie pastry. The need for nutritional, long shelf life and appetising food led to the creation of pie. When fat is added to a flour-water paste it becomes pastry.
Initially a plain pastry of flour, oil, and water was made to cover meats and fowls which were baked, thus keeping in the juices, the outer pastry was not eaten earlier. But with the passage of time and innovation and experimentation in cooking, several desserts were also made in the same fashion with better pastry which was eaten along.
All nuts pie
Ingredients
For crust
All-purpose flour 1 ½ cup
Sugar 2 tbsp
Cinnamon powder ¼ tsp
Nutmeg powder ¼ tsp
Salt to taste
Unsalted butter 50g
Vanillas extract 1tsp
Water 3-4 tbsp
For filling
Almonds ½ cup
Walnuts ½ cup
Cashewnut ½ cup
Hazelnuts ½ cup
Sugar 1 cup
Honey 3 tbsp
Vanillas extract 1 tsp
Unsalted butter 2 tbsp
Water 1 cup
Whipping cream ½ cup
Tart pan 9½ inch with removable bottom
Method
Place flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg in a food processor, add butter, vanilla extract and water and blend again.
Take the prepared dough and wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Pre heat the oven to 375o. Roll the dough on floured surface to a 12 inch diameter disk.
Place on the pie mould and shape well, fold over hands in and press making double thick sides.
Pierce the dough all over with fork and freeze or 15 minutes.
Bake this crust for 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.
For filling combine sugar and ¼ cup water in a heavy bottom sauce pan and dissolve sugar.
Increase heat and do not stir, turn the sugar into a caramel which is deep amber colour, reduce heat.
Gradually add cream, the mixture will bubble, stir to make it smooth, add butter, honey and vanilla.
Mix all nuts and pour the mixture into the prepared crust and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove and allow to cool, garnish with whipping cream or serve with ice cream scoops.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
[email protected]
