Mango Grunt, Spinach-Cashew Pesto Pizza, Thai Carrot Soup, Scottish Buttermilk Bread

Thai Style Carrot Soup

Peanut Butter in a soup??  You bet!  That, plus fresh ginger, lemon juice and a hint of mint give this carrot soup a unique flavor profile that's hard to beat.

1-1/2 lbs Carrots, peeled and sliced thin to cook quickly

1 Sweet Onion, diced

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Coriander

1/3 cup plain or crunchy Peanut Butter

1 thumb fresh Ginger, peeled and minced
2 cups Vegetable Broth or water plus vegetable base

Coconut Milk or Cream to taste

3-4 cloves Garlic

2 Lemons, juiced

Sriracha or other garlic-chili sauce to taste.
Mint or basil leaves for garnish

Par cook the carrots -- I used the microwave.  Saute the onions then add carrots, spices and broth.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.    

Take the proto-soup for a spin in your food processor.  Add the peanut butter and chili sauce and spin again to combine.   Return to the soup pot.  Add the coconut cream or milk (I added maybe  a quarter cup) and then the lemon juice.  Garnish with mint leaves when serving.

Mango-Blackberry Grunt

The beauty of a Grunt, here in Florida, is that it's a stovetop dessert, unlike Crumbles and Cobblers which require the oven to heat the kitchen.    It's called a "grunt" ostensibly because of the noise the fruit makes as the fruit bubbles and simmers...   

Usually a grunt is berries.  But mango and blackberries pair so well together, you just can't miss.  If your mangos are falling-off-the-tree ripe, there is no need for added sugar.  Serves 4.

3 ripe Mangos, peeled, pitted and chopped 

8 oz or more  Blackberries, better yet Marionberries if you can find them...

For the Dumplings:
1/2-3/4 cup Self Rising Flour

3 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 cup Milk or Half & Half
1/2 tsp or more Cinnamon

Put the mango into a wide shallow pan with a tight-fitting lid, and mash it a bit.  Add about 1/2 cup of water and the blackberries.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  

Mix together the dumpling ingredients into a thick batter.  Dollop large spoonfuls of batter on top of the simmering fruit; at least 4 dumplings.  Cover and cook without peeking.    After  15 minutes peek -- and see if the dumplings are 'done'  -- sorta dry on the surface. 

 

If not, slap the lid back on quickly and cook for another 5-7 minutes.  

Plate each bowl of Grunt with a dumpling surrounded by fruit mixture.  

  

Spinach-Cashew "Pesto" Sauce

Try this on your next cauliflower crust pizza instead of tomato-based sauce or white sauce.  I topped ours with mushrooms, asparagus, onion and bell pepper, plus just enough cheese to hold things on.  It's not really a pesto, because it does not contain any oil.  Still, it serves the same function.

1-1/4 cup raw unsalted Cashews

1/2 tsp Salt

2 cups - packed - fresh Spinach

Juice of half a lemon

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1/4 cup fresh Basil or Oregano leaves

Pepper to taste

Soak the cashews in boiling water for at least an hour, then drain.  Put everything in a food processor and take it for a nice long spin.  Chill.

Makes about 2 cups of pesto.  Here I used it as a pizza sauce under asparagus and mushrooms:

And here I used it as a pasta sauce for Broccoli Pesto Fettucini:

Scottish Buttermilk Bread

The Scottish version of Irish Soda Bread.   Years ago I made this with regular rolled oats.  If you can find Bob's Red Mill Scottish Oatmealtm  which is much finer than steel cut oats and makes a much finer grained bread. 

I think they call these "porridge oats" or "pin oats" in Scotland.  

I make this bread in a loaf pan for easier slicing and toasting once it's cooked; rather than the traditional 'mound' of soda bread.

Buttermilk Substitute:

2 cups Half & Half or Whole Milk

Juice of 1 Lemon

Stir and let set for 15 minutes to 'curdle' before using.

2 cups Scottish Oatmeal

2 cups Self-Rising Flour (or AP Flour with baking soda and salt)

2 cups Buttermilk or substitute
extra flour for kneading, and dairy if necessary to get a not-sticky dough

Combine the Scottish Oatmeal with the buttermilk in a large bowl.  Let rest on the counter for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Prep a loaf pan.

Add the self-rising flour to the oatmeal-dairy slurry and fold into a dough.  Flour your workbench and drop the dough onto it.  With a spatula then hands, knead into a firm dough. 

Put the dough in the loaf pan, and slice a Scottish Cross ( X ) into the top about 1/2" deep to aid expansion as the bread rises during cooking.

Bake for 45-50 minutes to an internal temperature of 190-220F.  If the loaf starts to get too brown, cover with foil and continue baking until you get a loaf like this: