3D: Roasted Pepper Lasagna

This post is also available in: French

Today we continue our series of posts, describing the preparations for our Argentinian tango inspired 3D gathering, which will be held around Valentine's Day for ten lovely couples. Learn more in post I and post II.

When developing the menu for the event, I certainly tried to include some flavours of Argentinean cuisine and build on popular dishes. However, the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of Argentina is, well, beef and steak -it's inevitable. Of course in the context of this blog we couldn't go in that direction.

Argentinean cuisine is largely influenced by the European food culture, especially Italian. Pizza and pasta are widely popular.
Here is our version of Italian lasagna, which is light, delicate, and fits into our monochromatic colour theme. Our "pasta" is made of fresh young coconut meat and water, no flour or eggs involved. The result is amazing - the pasta comes out very delicate and subtle in taste and complements the peppers perfectly.

Light roasted garlic creme and toasted almonds complete the lasagna and make it irresistible. If you're not vegan, it is also nice to add some good quality crumbled goat cheese. I did a lot of menu testing on my friends, and the goat cheese variety won the popular vote. Just put a little bit on each layer, together with the rest of the ingredients.


Roasted Pepper Lasagna
(Makes 8 lasagna triangles)

Coconut pasta
3 1/2 cups fresh meat of young Thai coconut
1 cup coconut water, or more
pinch of salt

Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender until completely smooth, adding more coconut water if needed. The amount of coconut water and resulting coconut pasta can vary depending on the coconut meat quality. Thicker meat, from more mature coconuts, will require more water, and therefore will yield more crust.
Spread mixture onto Teflex-covered dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 115F for 2 to 4 hours or more, until pasta is dry enough and ready to be separated from the Teflex sheets. Flip over and carefully peel away the Teflex sheets. Cut each coconut sheet into 4 even squares. Take care, as they will be very thin and delicate, don't over dry them before cutting. Dehydrate for another 30 minutes or so, to make them completely dry. The coconuts that I'm getting lately are pretty thick inside, so I ended up with 3 1/2 14" x 14" trays of pasta, or fourteen large squares. You can start layering the lasagna immediately or store the pasta in the refrigerator, separated by parchment paper.

Roasted Pepper
4-5 large red bell peppers - washed and dried

Preheat your broiler. Place peppers onto a baking sheet under the broiler. Wait a couple of minutes for the skin to start burning. Turn the peppers, exposing uncooked sides to the broiler, until the skin is blackened and wrinkled all over. Check frequently, there is no need to burn peppers longer than you have to in order to remove the skin. Take care not to burn yourself in the process. Let peppers cool completely. Remove the skin and seeds and slice into stripes.

Roasted Garlic
4 garlic heads or more to taste
olive oil for drizzling
sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. With a sharp knife, cut the top of each garlic head exposing the inside of each clove. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with some salt and pepper, wrap it into parchment paper, or place it into a special garlic baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes, or until soft inside.

Roasted Garlic Creme
1 cup raw cashews - soaked 4 hours or more
1 cup meat of fresh young Thai coconut
1/2 cup purified water
1/2 cup coconut oil
roasted garlic cloves - to taste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste

In a high-speed blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth. Store refrigerated.

Assembly
Start with laying down the coconut sheets one on top of another, two pieces at a time. Top each layer with roasted garlic cream using squeeze bottle, pipping bag, or just a spoon. Add some additional roasted garlic and crumbled goat cheese for a stronger flavour. Continue with roasted pepper slices and a few slivers of toasted almonds, followed by another set of coconut sheets. Alternate your layers until all coconut sheets are used up. Finish with a coconut pasta layer, optionally garnish with more cream and toasted almonds. Let it sit in refrigerator for several hours or overnight before slicing. I cut a large square into four even squares, and then cut each of them in half diagonally. You should end up with eight triangular lasagna pieces. The lasagna holds very well in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Although it is very good if served right away, it becomes even better after some time in the fridge, when the flavours are fully integrated.

3D: Fruit and Root Salad

This post is also available in: French
Today we continue our series of posts, describing the preparations for our Argentinian tango inspired 3D gathering, which will be held around Valentine's Day for ten lovely couples. Learn more in post I.

Victoria and Federico, Natalie's amazing tango instructors.

The word goes to Natalie once again:
"Last time, we mentioned that we were not only inspired by the beauty of the Argentinean tango, but by its mechanics. Tango is an almost purely improvisational dance, centered around several basic elements. The dance is like a puzzle, which is put together differently each time. Although it mostly showcases the beauty of the woman, the man does the leading, communicating with subtle body language. The idea is that the female dancer never quite knows how her partner will construct the dance and how he will interpret the music. Both partners have important things to contribute to the dance. It really does take two to tango.

When my husband and I took classes, the very first thing that we had to learn is how to walk the tango. The follower had to walk backwards, holding the shoulders of the leader, with eyes closed. The idea was to move by receiving sensual instruction from the leader. I thought that my "I don't dance" type of guy and I would never be able to accomplish this. But in just a few steps, it was happening. We were amazed.
To me, those mechanics are clearly associated with any committed bond between two partners. Argentinean Tango is like a successful relationship - so hard to master, but once you do, you can Tango through life together."

I, in turn, was inspired by Natalie's idea to hand write our menus on actual music paper, when I worked on the styling of this salad. It's not easy to work within a monochromatic palette (we are only using white, pink, and red this time), especially when making a salad. I chose roots like jicama, fennel, and daikon radish for the white color. Meanwhile, radishes and beautiful organic fuji apples provided some nice reds. The wonderful pink comes from jicama, pickled together with sour cherries and pomegranate. We're also blessed with the growing season in the midst of the winter here in Florida, and I was happy to include some local strawberries, along with pickled cherries and cowberries.

There's a nice balance of sweet, tart, and crispy here, complemented by a dollup of our almond cheese and pomegranate vinaigrette. Despite its striking monochromatic appearance, the salad works best on a bed of baby greens. We've had the most beautiful local greens at our market for the past couple of months. Their freshness and tenderness is incredible - our pay off for hot summer months when nothing grows in Florida.


Pickled Cherries, Jicama, and Daikon Radish
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons raw agave nectar or another sweetener of choice
1 cup or more fresh or thawed sour cherries - pitted (or substitute with fresh pomegranate juice)
1/2 medium sized jicama - sliced or cubed
a few slices or cubes of Daikon radish (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the apple cider vinegar with agave. Pour over the rest of the ingredients and let it sit for thirty minutes. Drain and keep refrigerated in a covered glass container until ready to serve.

Pomegranate Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons of fresh pomegranate juice or pomegranate reduction, for a more intense flavour
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon raw honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
1/4 cup olive or grapeseed oil

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients, with the exception of oil. Add the oil while whisking, in a steady stream.

Fruit and Root Salad
(Serves 2-4)
One or two red crispy sweet apples (Fuji or Gala) - sliced or cubed
1 cup fresh radishes - sliced
salad greens
1 fennel bulb - thinly sliced
1 cup or more fresh strawberries - sliced
few slices or cubes of fresh jicama
pickled cherries, jicama, and Daikon radish
cowberries, or pomegranate kernels for garnish

Place apple and radish slices in a bowl with cold water and some freshly squeezed lemon juice, to prevent apple discoloration and reduce the bitterness of radishes.
Place salad greens in a bowl and top with the remaining ingredients. Include a few dollups of almond cheese and drizzle with pomegranate vinaigrette. Garnish with pickled cherries, cowberries, or pomegranate kernels.

3D: Yerba Mate Infused Sunchoke Soup

This post is also available in: French

Lately, we've been immersed in the work for our 3D gatherings, which quickly turned into a true passion for both Natalie and I. Each event calls for a great amount of research, concept development, and recipe testing. We've decided to share our process and take you along to see the development, from the initial idea to the final product.
Today, we begin our series of posts that describe the main idea and menu for our Argentinian tango inspired gathering, which will be held around Valentine's Day for ten lovely couples.

First we will give word to Natalie, our concept designer at 3D, who came up with the tango theme, colour palette, and decor.
"Besides making things look aesthetically pleasing, it is very important for me to tell a certain story and to convey a message through various elements of décor.
A couple of years ago, right after my husband and I had our firstborn, we were looking for ways to spend time as a couple. We turned to Argentinian tango classes. I had been mesmerized by the beauty of the dance for many years, but once I understood the actual mechanics of it, I was more intrigued than ever. Those mechanics are the key inspiration for our Valentine's day gathering. We will be exploring the fundamentals of Argentinean tango, with all of our senses."

We traditionally work with three seasonal colours at 3D gatherings. For this romantic event, we chose to work with a monochromatic palette in all shades of white, pink, and red.
Nature always dictates our choice of colour, and we work with what we see on market stands. We are very thankful for these colours, as they are quite appropriate for the Valentine's Day occasion.

Our first dish is this light, creamy sunchoke soup, dressed up with a vibrant pomegranate reduction. The first time I tasted Jerusalem artichoke (or sunchoke) was when making dolma, and it was love at first try. I've been waiting for this beautiful root to come back in season in order to try this dish. The soup is wonderfully smooth, mild, and comforting, with subtle aromas of rosemary and mate. The fresh pomegranate reduction brings a very bright note of sweetness to the calm and earthy flavours of the soup.

Yerba mate was used to infuse this soup, as one of the most celebrated flavours of Argentina. I've always loved the energizing taste of mate tea, together with the fact that it contains no regular caffeine.
Victoria and Federico, amazing professional dancers and Natalie's tango instructors, told us a bit about the mate tradition. It is customary to drink Yerba mate from a gourd (dry squash shell), through the bombilla (tea sipper). The gourd must be cured first, in order to seal all the pores and remove any vegetable flesh still present. To do that, one must brew mate in the gourd for 24 hours, empty it, and scrape the inside walls, repeating the process once more. The water for brewing mate should be around 180F, never boiling. The cebador (host) usually takes the first gourd full, after which more water is added and the gourd is passed to the guests. Victoria and Federico compared it with the passing around of the peace pipe, and establishing a connection with your guests.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for part II of our 3D Valentine's event development, coming up next week.


Yerba Mate Infused Sunchoke Soup
(adapted from GKS)
2 lbs Jerusalem artichoke/sunchoke
1 leek (white part only, if you want to keep the soup white in colour) - chopped
3 cloves garlic - chopped
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
salt and pepper - to taste

6 cups steeped Yerba mate tea

Scrape the sunchokes with a sharp knife to remove the brown skin. (I've tried a variety of techniques, such as blanching the roots in order to make the process of removing the skin easier, but scraping is the only one that worked for me.) If you're not particular about the colour of your soup, I've read that it is not necessary to peel them completely, or at all. Make sure to put the peeled sunchokes into a bowl of cold water with some lemon juice, to prevent discoloration. Chop the sunchokes into one-inch sized pieces. Gently heat olive oil in a medium sized pot, add sunchokes, leek and garlic, and saute for a couple of minutes. Add lemon juice, rosemary sprigs, salt, pepper, and about two thirds of Yerba mate. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down, and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove rosemary sprigs (if the colour of the soup is important). In a blender, blend the soup until smooth. If the soup appears too thick, add more of the mate and bring to a gentle boil, then remove from heat. Adjust salt and pepper. Serve with pomegranate reduction.

Pomegranate Reduction
2 large pomegranates

Score the skin of a pomegranate to make 8 parts. Fill a large bowl with water, and break the fruit into 8 pieces, holding it under water (that way you won't get pom juice all over yourself). Separate the kernels from the skin and white parts under water. The kernels should fall on the bottom of the bowl, while the rest will rise on the surface. Discard the skin and white parts, and drain the kernels using a colander. In a high speed blender, carefully pulse the kernels, releasing the flesh and juice, but not breaking down the seeds. Strain through a fine strainer and discard the seeds.
Pour the juice into a shallow dish and place it in the dehydrator at 115F for several hours, until the liquid is reduced to a thicker consistency. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. The reduction can also be done the conventional way, using the stove.

Lady Apple and Cranberry Cookies

We hope you've been having a nice start to the new year. I've been hearing much talk of resolutions, many of them for a healthier diet and all kinds of cleanses.
We surely weren't immune to holiday eating and have been trying to lighten things up, primarily with the help of salads and veggie juices. But even when taking it easy, I have to have some kind of nourishing treat on hand. You know, in case of an emergency.

The other day, I found these lady apples at the market. Tiny, blushed things staring at me from the shelf. Given their size, I figured they would make a nice cookie topping.
Another thing we've been enjoying this season - fresh cranberries. I decided to top the cookies with fresh cranberry jam, followed by vanilla honey soaked apples. After the dehydration, the soaked apples turned out so tasty that I thought they would make very nice apple chips.

This time, the cookie itself was made of buckwheat only. I usually mix in other grains like oats, but I really wanted to try this kind of dough.
I love buckwheat and use it all the time. It's such a versatile, delicious, and wholesome ingredient. And I really enjoy the fact that it isn't technically a grain, but a fruit or berry, which makes it that much better.


Cranberry Jam
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
3 tablespoons agave syrup, honey, or another sweetener of choice
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup Irish moss gel

To make Irish moss gel, rinse Irish moss thoroughly and soak in hot water for at least 10 minutes. Blend in a high-speed blender with enough purified water to reach a smooth gel-like consistency. Keep refrigerated.

To make the jam, blend all the ingredients together in a high-speed blender until smooth. Keep refrigerated.

Vanilla Honey Soaked Lady Apples
Slice lady apples thinly and place in a dish, drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Scrape seeds from a vanilla bean and add to the apples. Drizzle with raw honey and stir to cover. Leave to soak for 1-2 hours.

Buckwheat Cookie Dough
2 cups buckwheat flour
1/2 cup maple syrup powder or powdered raw coconut sugar
1/4 cup Irish moss gel
1/4 cup date paste or honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 or more tablespoons purified water

To make buckwheat flour, soak raw buckwheat groats overnight, rinse well, and dehydrate at 115F until completely dry. Grind in a high-speed blender, or in a simple coffee grinder in batches. Keep refrigerated in an air-tight glass container.

To make cookies, sift together the first two ingredients in a large bowl. In a high speed blender, mix the rest of the ingredients until smooth, adding more water if needed. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture, combining well.
Using a wet spoon, fill about 1/4 of a small silicone or paper cup with the cookie dough. Wet your fingers to even out on top, or use a wet spoon. Continue until all dough is used up.
Top each cookie with the raw cranberry preserve and arrange vanilla honey soaked lady apples in a spiral on top.
Place the cookies in the dehydrator set at 115F for 2-4 hours, until they can be easily removed from silicone cups. Then dehydrate for another 6-8 hours.