Provolone Pesto Torte (an Appetizer)

One year, many years ago, my DH and I took a driving trip up to Wine Country, in northern California. We stopped here and there, wineries, the Napa Valley Olive Oil Company, restaurants (Mustard’s was my favorite), and a darling little gourmet market that’s located on Highway 29. I can’t remember the name of it, but it’s still there, on the east side of the highway. They carried mostly gourmet jars, cans, and a lovely selection of cheeses and olives, tapenade, grilled peppers, fresh bread and snacks. I was in heaven shopping in that little store. The clerk behind the counter recommended a cheese torte thing, to make a little picnic lunch we planned. He sliced off a wedge and off we went. Well, since you’re getting a recipe here, you can guess the torte was out of this world.

Once home, I researched a few cookbooks, and found nothing. I knew it had provolone cheese in it, some cream cheese and pesto, but I couldn’t pick out anything else. Weeks and months went by, and then one momentous Thursday morning our local paper (this was in 1989) featured an article about cheese tortes. Aha! I made it immediately, with just a couple of little alterations to it.

It's layers of provolone cheese, a cream cheese mixture, and pesto. It takes about half an hour to assemble it, maybe less, then it needs to rest in the refrigerator overnight. The instructions may seem a bit elaborate, but it's not difficult to make. Honest. It looks like something you'd buy in the gourmet deli, but I assure you, you can make it yourself easily enough.

Leftovers (left): I almost always have some leftovers of this torte, and we can only eat so much of the appetizer night after night. So one time I cut what was left into little chunks (I used a chef’s knife and just chopped and chopped, then tossed it into a piping hot pot of pasta. It’s almost good enough to combine these ingredients without making it into a torte. Everything melts when you toss it with piping hot pasta.

Necessary items: a 7-inch round bowl, flat bottomed, or non-metal bread sized pan or dish. It needs to have sides that are about 3 inches high. You also need cheesecloth - not something every home cook has in her repertoire. But it really is necessary. I suppose you could use plastic wrap, but the torte oozes a little, and the cheesecloth absorbs the fluid.

Cook’s Notes: This is easiest using thinly sliced provolone – maybe thinner than you get as sandwich slices at the grocery store – so ideally buy from a butcher who can do that for you. It makes the molding of the slices a lot easier if they’re thinner. Allow the provolone to sit at room temp for about 30 minutes before starting the assembly, as it's easier to mold it. As you arrange the cheese in the mold, try to press the cheese edges together to keep the pesto from oozing through as you construct the torte. The cream cheese mixture needs to be at room temp in order to spread it easily. Have everything ready and at hand when you begin the layering, and it will come together quickly. For ease, buy ready-made pesto, rather than making your own.

Provolone Pesto Torte
Recipe By: Adapted from a recipe in Orange County Register, July 1989
Serving Size: 30
1 pound provolone cheese -- sliced
1 cup pesto sauce
GARLIC CREAM:
8 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1/4 cup butter -- softened
1 clove garlic -- minced
1 dash white pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts
GARNISH
1/2 c fresh basil
1/4 c pine nuts
1. GARLIC CREAM: In food processor, blend cream cheese, butter, garlic and pepper. Stir in pine nuts and set aside.
2. TO ASSEMBLE: line a 9x5x3 loaf pan (or 7-inch round dish with moderately high sides) with clean, dampened cheesecloth, leaving excess to hang over the sides. Line the bottom and sides with HALF the provolone, slightly overlapping slices and pressing edges to seal. This is important because the pesto will leak through otherwise. Also, arrange the cheese on the bottom layer as neatly as possible, because when it's unmolded, it becomes the top.
3. Divide the remaining cheese slices into 3 portions. Spread half the pesto on top of the provolone in bottom of dish. Make a layer of cheese slices and spread evenly with HALF of the garlic cream. Make another layer of cheese slices, garlic cream and pesto. Cover entire surface with the last of the sliced cheese. Fold cheesecloth over the pan/dish and press firmly to compress it. Refrigerate loaf at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
4. PRESENTATION: Unfold cheesecloth. Holding cheesecloth edges like a sling, gently lift loaf up a little to loosen from pan and release it back into the pan. Invert pan onto a serving platter or suitable tray. Shake pan gently to ease the loaf out and remove cheesecloth. Garnish with branches of fresh basil and pine nuts. Accompany with thinly sliced French bread, Table Water Crackers or other cracker. NOTES: IF you have leftovers, this is absolutely wonderful melted into fresh pasta - it just becomes the pasta sauce all by itself, and it also can be crumbled up in a big green salad, too. You can use pistachio nuts instead of pine nuts, if preferred. I prefer my own pesto - because I use less oil than prepared sauces. In a hurry you can substitute jarred pesto and Boursin-style cheese for the garlic cream portion as well. It will keep several weeks.
Per Serving: 147 Calories; 13g Fat (79.0% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 25mg Cholesterol; 226mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
Printer-friendly PDF recipe.

Italian Grilled Mozzarella Skewers with Pesto

I went to a cooking class a few weeks ago. The subject was tapas, which is always fun. These, however, were all grilled tapas; perfect for the end of summer. The instructor, Tarla Fallgatter, had just returned from a trip to Japan, so she decided to create one Asian style tapas, which she said she ate in several places there. I guess the tapas idea is spreading 'round the world. Somehow, Asian style small plates just doesn't quite fit in my definition of tapas. I didn't care for her version of yakitori chicken skewers. Or the grilled potatoes either. But these Italian skewers were very nice. Different. Kind of fun. Fairly easy.

Serving this as a sit-down appetizer (first course) might be better than trying to eat it out of hand. The skewer required a bit of manipulation to get the food off of it and onto the plate. There was a bed of halved cherry tomatoes, tossed with a little dressing (not included in the recipe) and mixed with a bit of pesto too. The skewers are lightly toasted bread cubes, fresh basil leaves, bocconcini (small mozzarella balls, fresh only), drizzled with a bit of olive oil, grilled briefly and placed atop the tomato salad. A very refreshing grilled starter.

Here are the skewers prior to grilling.

Grilled Mozzie Skewers with Pesto
Recipe By: Tarla Fallgatter class
Serving Size : 6
1 whole Italian bread loaf
Olive oil for bread
8 ounces mozzarella cheese -- fresh bocconcini (small balls)
24 whole basil leaves
1 pint mini plum tomatoes -- halved

4 tablespoons pesto sauce
12 wooden skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes
1. Preheat outdoor grill. Slice bread into 1 1/2" cubes. Coat the cubes with olive oil and set aside. Or, if the bread is fresh, put it in a 350 oven for 2-4 minutes until just barely toasted on the outside. Do not dry them out as you want the bread to be soft in the middle after you've grilled the skewers.
2. Meanwhile, cut up tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and drizzle them with a little olive oil and some pesto. Toss to coat.
2. Thread 2 bocconcini alternately with bread (3 bread, 2 cheese) and basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on the grill. Cover and cook for 3-6 minutes, turning halfway through to toast both sides of the bread and warm the cheese. Remove skewers from the grill. Put a portion of the tomatoes on each plate and lay the skewer on top. Drizzle additional pesto on top of the bread and cheese. Serve while they're hot.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 193 Calories; 14g Fat (65.6% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 37mg Cholesterol; 251mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Pizza with Chicken, Red Onion, Pesto & Olives

How many possible pizza combinations are there, out there? Way too many for me to guesstimate. When California Pizza Kitchen opened up, probably 20 years ago, I was amazed at the variety. It surely swept in with the "California" style of cooking. Lightening up, fresh ingredients, etc. Lots of chicken.

So, when our daughter, Sara, was still living at home with us (probably she was in college then), she had a hankering for pizza one evening, and looked through a cookbook I had. She settled on this one, using a whole wheat dough that was easily mixed up in the bread machine. By the time DH and I got home from work, she was in the middle of this and we all just raved about how good it was. I've made this umpteen times since then, always to good reviews. I don't make pizza often. In fact I don't think we've even eaten pizza in over a year, but it just sounded good.

Our son-in-law, Todd, is still staying with us (he's an electrician, and is wiring the new house for our son and his wife), and he's a pizza fan, so I thought this would be a good choice.

First you make the whole wheat bread dough in your bread machine. You don't have to use whole wheat dough. We just liked it that way from the get-go. It's a mixture of 2/3 white and 1/3 wheat flours. It still has the resiliency and easy rising ability of white, though. The joy of the bread machine is that it makes pizza dough so very easy. You use the machine for mixing the dough and rising it once. Then you remove it and continue by hand. Sara used the recipe from my bread machine's book and we've stuck with it ever since. I used Trader Joe's pre-made pizza dough: I bought one white and one whole wheat and mixed them together.

Meanwhile, you marinate the chicken pieces in some lemon juice, olive oil and oregano. But, having made this plenty of times, if you forget this step, just briefly saute the chicken pieces IN the lemon juice marinade, then you'll get at least some of the wonderful lemony flavor. Thank you, Sara, for finding this gem of a recipe.

Pizza with Grilled Chicken, Red Onion, Black Olives & Pesto Recipe: From "Pizza, California Style" by Norman Kolpas.
Servings: 4
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 pound boned and skinned chicken breast halves -- trimmed, cut in half
3/4 cup pesto sauce
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese -- or Feta
24 whole black olives -- Mediterranean pitted
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese -- shredded
1 medium red onion -- thinly sliced
24 ounces pizza dough
1. In a small plastic bag combine the olive oil, lemon juice and oregano, add chicken and turn to coat evenly. Seal and refrigerate for several hours, or leave at room temperature if it's only for 30-60 minutes. Turn the bag several times.
2. Preheat the oven (and pizza brick, baking tiles or baking sheet) to 550°. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and grill or broil about 1 minute per side, until they are seared but not cooked through. With a sharp knife, slice the chicken into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Place a ball of dough on your work surface that's been sprinkled with semolina. Press down with heels of your hands and flatten the dough. Lift and gently pull the dough to stretch it into a circle about 8 inches in diameter. Press a slight rim around the outside edge. Repeat with remaining dough. Spread 1/4 cup of the pesto on each pizza, right up to the rim. Using about a third of the mozzarella, sprinkle that on the pizza, then add chicken pieces and red onion slices. Top with additional mozzarella, then sprinkle the Parmesan (or Feta) over each and dot with black olive halves.
3. If possible, slide a pizza paddle under the dough and transfer to the hot oven and slide onto the pizza bricks. Bake for 8-10 minutes in a traditional oven, or 6-8 minutes in a convection oven or until the dough is browned and crisp and the cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to sit just a minute or so before cutting into wedges with a big knife or pizza cutter.

NOTES : This recipe uses a whole wheat crust that I make in the bread machine. It uses the standard bread machine pizza dough recipe that calls for about 3 cups of flour. It yields 1& 1 /2 lbs of dough, which can be divided into 4 individual pizzas, or divided in half to make two mid-sized pizzas. When I'm in a hurry I just pour the chicken and the marinade into a nonstick pan and cook gently until about half done, then proceed with slicing, etc. And I think I prefer the Feta cheese to the Parmesan.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 1044 Calories; 59g Fat (50.4% calories from fat); 47g Protein; 83g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 102mg Cholesterol; 943mg Sodium. Exchanges: 5 Grain(Starch); 5 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 9 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
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Ina's Pesto Pea (Spinach) Salad

Sorry about the blurred photo. I enhanced it as much as possible in my photo program, but this is as good as it gets. We had the family for dinner to celebrate Father's Day, and I quickly snapped this and didn't check it before shutting off the camera. When you do a close-up with a digital camera, it's harder to keep perfectly still, so I try to be very conscious of that when I finally click the shutter.

But, that doesn't mean the salad isn't wonderful. I saw Ina Garten demonstrate this on her food network program, probably 2 years ago. It's from her book, Barefoot Contessa at Home. Maybe the peas and spinach seem like an unlikely combination, but it sure works. Over the years I've used pesto in pasta dishes, of course, and to dollop on the top of certain soups, and as a dip, but never would have considered it as a salad dressing. I had some homemade pesto in the refrigerator, so this was a simple dish to throw together. Trader Joe's carries a baby spinach, which is preferable here. Regular spinach is just too big for a salad - the pieces are too large without cutting them. I suppose you could do that, but the baby spinach just makes it so simple. I do tear off some of the larger stems, but most of them stay in the salad.

I find this salad goes so very well with a grilled dinner - chicken, steaks, pork chops, even fish. I hate to sound redundant, but this salad is SO simple. You just have to toast the pine nuts (I use a nonstick frying pan) and I caution you if you haven't done this before - watch the pan very very carefully or they will burn. Pine nuts contain a high percentage of oil, so they burn very rapidly. I keep pine nuts in the freezer at all times, so just remove what you need for a meal.

And, the other thing I do is add more Parmesan cheese (that's my addition to Ina's recipe). Often, I believe, when you buy ready-made pesto, it doesn't contain as much cheese as your own homemade variety, so I add some to the salad itself. It adds some color contrast too.

Pesto Pea (Spinach) Salad
Recipe: Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten
Servings : 4

2 cups frozen peas -- baby peas, if possible
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 1/2 cups spinach leaves -- baby spinach, if possible
4 tablespoons pesto sauce
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1. If you're in a hurry, run hot water over the peas; otherwise, defrost them in the refrigerator for several hours.
2. Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan until golden brown. Watch them carefully as they burn quickly.
3. Place the spinach leaves in a salad bowl. Sprinkle with peas. Add pesto and toss. Sprinkle Parmesan and pine nuts on top and serve.

Serving Ideas : Is a GREAT addition to a barbecue dinner. The original recipe doesn't call for the Parmesan, but I just added a little bit on top and thought it was a nice addition NOTES : If you want to make Ina Garten's pesto for this: In a food processor combine 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup pine nuts and about 9 medium garlic cloves, peeled. Process for about 30 seconds. Add 5 cups of basil leaves, 1 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp black pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour in 1 1/2 cups good olive oil through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese and puree for about 30 more seconds, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Pour into a tall container and float a little olive oil on top and store in refrigerator. Makes about 2 cups - a lot more than you need for the salad recipe. This salad likes a generous amount of pesto - the tendency is to not do enough. However, there's a fine line - don't add too much, either. So, taste as you go.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 171 Calories; 10g Fat (52.3% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 6mg Cholesterol; 245mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
For a printable recipe, click on the title at the top.