Vegetarian Recipes: Appetizers, Party Foods, from Pinole, California
pc cuisine
Home / Deli Menu / Catering / Shop / Cooking Video / Media / Newsletter / Contact / FoodBlog / PeaceBlog / HealthBlog
Custom Search
Milk and Honey
___________
________________
Appetizer Recipes
Looking for tips on how to have an elegant party without too much effort? Plan ahead! A recipe like the one here for Red Pepper Tartlets, will be somewhat labor intensive, but it's not too overwhelming if the peppers get roasted one day, and the other parts of the recipe are finished in steps.
At The New Deli, we roast a bunch of peppers all at once, freezing the roasted, peeled peppers until we need them. With the roasting out of the way, the rest of a recipe can come together fairly quick and easy.
To give any party a festive, fresh, appetizing flair, consider laying out platters of fancy cheeses. Your guests can sample exciting varieties, but you hardly have to go to any effort. Perfect!
Fresh fruit will also brighten any table. Strawberries are a good choice, as they take little preparation. Just a quick rinse and they can be served as is, or with a favorite fruit dip. A Pineapple Coconut Dip will lend an exotic flair; a Chocolate Dip is always popular.
Appetizer Recipe: Red Pepper Tartlets
The
following recipe might seem complicated, but if you take it a step at a
time, it's pretty manageable. Now that we roast red peppers every week
at the deli for our Tuesday sandwich special, it doesn't seem
complicated at all. There's a lot of "do-ahead" things in this recipe,
but you can do them here and there, whenever you have a bit of spare
time. We brought these to a party over the week-end; all I had to do
the day of the party was bake the shells and then broil them with the
filling in them. I had done the pastry shells earlier in the week,
popping them in the freezer. The tartlets were so good!
Red Pepper Puree Ingredients:
Red Pepper Caviar Ingredients
Tartlet Dough Ingredients
Making Red Pepper Puree
Yields approx. 2 pts. (1 ⅔ c. puree per pt.) You really don't have to make this much. But I do find it handy to do an iron pan full of the peppers at a time. The puree is a gourmet spread to add to sandwiches, omelets, or appetizers; makes a great "Cream of Red Pepper" soup as well.
Roast whole red peppers in oven on hottest temperature, checking every 10-20 minutes, until blackened on top. Turn peppers to cook undersides as well. When well-roasted, remove from pan to cool in a covered bowl. When cool enough to handle, de-skin the peppers, discarding the skins and seeds, but reserving the peppers and juice. Put the peppers in a strainer over another bowl to catch the drippings, as the juice can be added to soups (great in vegetable soups). (Freeze those drippings if you're not making soup soon, to use in soup at a later date.) For one recipe of Red Pepper Puree, roast as directed above: > 4 lb. red peppers (left whole until roasted)
Add the following to your food processor, processing until smooth: > Drained, seeded, skinned, roasted red peppers (4 lb. before roasting) (OR substitute canned roasted red peppers) > 1/3 c. olive oil > 3/4 tsp. salt > 1/8 tsp. cayenne > 1/2 tsp. dry thyme (or use twice as much fresh)
You now have "red pepper puree", which is best stored in the freezer in pint containers until needed. Measure 1 2/3 c. puree into each pint container, if using for the tartlet recipe.
Making Red Pepper Caviar
Red Pepper Caviar is the actual filling used to make the tartlet appetizers. It is easily mixed together when you have the red pepper puree on hand. Another feature of Red Pepper Caviar is that it also can be made ahead of time, as it will store up to ten days in the refrigerator. This recipe will make 48 tartlets, but that's a lot. I made 24, and used the extra in other dishes later in the week.
In food processor, process the first five ingredients for 10 seconds, gradually adding the olive oil while motor's running: > 1 2/3 c. red pepper puree > 1 lg. egg yolk, (or 2 small) > 1/4 tsp. salt > dash cayenne > dash black pepper > scant 1/3 c. olive oil
Making Red Pepper Tartlets
Makes 24 tartlets
Let one recipe of red pepper caviar get to room temperature while you prepare the tart shell dough. For dough, process the following in a food processor just until crumbly: > 1 1/2 c. flour > 1 1/2 sticks cold butter, sliced into pieces
With motor running, quickly add, mixing just until blended: > 2-3 TBS. cold water
Let tartlet dough "rest" in refrigerator for an hour or so for easier handling, then press into tart pans. Refrigerate 20 min. or so, then lightly press some foil into the dough to keep the edges from burning. At this point, you can wrap the tart pans up and freeze them for days, until needed. Bake empty shells (even frozen) at 350 for 15 min. Take foil off and continue baking 3-5 min. more, until golden brown. Frozen shells may take a bit longer. Let cool.
Finally, fill baked tart shells with the room-temperature red pepper caviar. On top of caviar, sprinkle on: > 1/4 c. grated parmesan
Broil for 1-2 min., 4-6 in. from the broiler, until cheese is bubbly and golden, serving warm or at room temperature.
Red Pepper Puree Ingredients:
- 4 lb. red peppers (left whole until roasted)
- 1/3 c. olive oil
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne
- 1/2 tsp. dry thyme (or use twice as much fresh)
Red Pepper Caviar Ingredients
- 1 2/3 c. red pepper puree
- 1 lg. egg yolk (or 2 small)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- dash cayenne
- dash black pepper
- scant 1/3 c. olive oil
Tartlet Dough Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. flour
- 1 1/2 sticks cold butter, sliced into pieces
- 2-3 TBS. cold water
- 1/4 c. grated parmesan
Making Red Pepper Puree
Yields approx. 2 pts. (1 ⅔ c. puree per pt.) You really don't have to make this much. But I do find it handy to do an iron pan full of the peppers at a time. The puree is a gourmet spread to add to sandwiches, omelets, or appetizers; makes a great "Cream of Red Pepper" soup as well.
Roast whole red peppers in oven on hottest temperature, checking every 10-20 minutes, until blackened on top. Turn peppers to cook undersides as well. When well-roasted, remove from pan to cool in a covered bowl. When cool enough to handle, de-skin the peppers, discarding the skins and seeds, but reserving the peppers and juice. Put the peppers in a strainer over another bowl to catch the drippings, as the juice can be added to soups (great in vegetable soups). (Freeze those drippings if you're not making soup soon, to use in soup at a later date.) For one recipe of Red Pepper Puree, roast as directed above: > 4 lb. red peppers (left whole until roasted)
Add the following to your food processor, processing until smooth: > Drained, seeded, skinned, roasted red peppers (4 lb. before roasting) (OR substitute canned roasted red peppers) > 1/3 c. olive oil > 3/4 tsp. salt > 1/8 tsp. cayenne > 1/2 tsp. dry thyme (or use twice as much fresh)
You now have "red pepper puree", which is best stored in the freezer in pint containers until needed. Measure 1 2/3 c. puree into each pint container, if using for the tartlet recipe.
Making Red Pepper Caviar
Red Pepper Caviar is the actual filling used to make the tartlet appetizers. It is easily mixed together when you have the red pepper puree on hand. Another feature of Red Pepper Caviar is that it also can be made ahead of time, as it will store up to ten days in the refrigerator. This recipe will make 48 tartlets, but that's a lot. I made 24, and used the extra in other dishes later in the week.
In food processor, process the first five ingredients for 10 seconds, gradually adding the olive oil while motor's running: > 1 2/3 c. red pepper puree > 1 lg. egg yolk, (or 2 small) > 1/4 tsp. salt > dash cayenne > dash black pepper > scant 1/3 c. olive oil
Making Red Pepper Tartlets
Makes 24 tartlets
Let one recipe of red pepper caviar get to room temperature while you prepare the tart shell dough. For dough, process the following in a food processor just until crumbly: > 1 1/2 c. flour > 1 1/2 sticks cold butter, sliced into pieces
With motor running, quickly add, mixing just until blended: > 2-3 TBS. cold water
Let tartlet dough "rest" in refrigerator for an hour or so for easier handling, then press into tart pans. Refrigerate 20 min. or so, then lightly press some foil into the dough to keep the edges from burning. At this point, you can wrap the tart pans up and freeze them for days, until needed. Bake empty shells (even frozen) at 350 for 15 min. Take foil off and continue baking 3-5 min. more, until golden brown. Frozen shells may take a bit longer. Let cool.
Finally, fill baked tart shells with the room-temperature red pepper caviar. On top of caviar, sprinkle on: > 1/4 c. grated parmesan
Broil for 1-2 min., 4-6 in. from the broiler, until cheese is bubbly and golden, serving warm or at room temperature.
Home / Deli Menu / Catering / Shop / Cooking Video / Media / Newsletter / Contact / FoodBlog / PeaceBlog / HealthBlog
Recipes & More at PCCUISINE.COM, Copyright 2006-2010, by Jennifer Cote