Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Pudding Chris's roasted garlic soup. Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Andalusian cold
almond-garlic soup White Gazpacho with almonds and grapes Tuscan-Style Minestrone
Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Pudding
6 cups stale bread of choice, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup raisins (could use half golden raisins) 2 1/2 cups soy milk, rice milk, or other non-
dairy milk
of choice 1 cup apple juice
2/2 cup maple syrup 1 Tbsp vanilla 1 tsp cinnamon
3/2 tsp salt
4/4 tsp nutmeg Lightly oil a 8 x 12-inch casserole dish. Place the
bread cubes in the casserole dish and scatter the raisins over the bread cubes. In a small bowl,
whisk together the remaining ingredients, and pour over the top of the bread cubes. Bake at 350
degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10
minutes before cutting into servings. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature, and can be served
plain, topped with tofu whipped topping, or with a scoop of non-dairy ice cream or sorbet.
* Note: you can substitute other dried fruit for the raisins, and add up to 1/4 cups rum or other
liqueur of choice to the wet mixture before pouring it over the bread cubes. Yield: One 8x12-inch
pan or 6-8 servings Beverly Lynn Bennett
Chris's roasted garlic soup.
40 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed with the blade of a knife(you can use the Christopher (no
relation) brand of peeled cloves, but fresh is much better). Pan roast slowly in a saucepan filmed
with olive oil until barely colored. (about 25 minutes) Add 1 quart of vegetable stock, 1/2 teaspoon
of dried thyme, 1 bayleaf,
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add 4 slices of stale bread,
torn into pieces. Cook another 5 minutes. Blend until smooth (or use wand blender directly in
saucepan). This is truly the best garlic soup I have tasted. It can, of course, be made with less
garlic, and a corresponding loss of intensity. Also makes a wonderful baking sauce for tofu.
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash (serves 4) 1 large spaghetti squash 1 cup dried tomatoes (I use the dry
ones, not packed in oil)
2/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (or porcini) 3 garlic cloves 1 cup bread crumbs (or whole stale
bread) 1 cup fresh button mushrooms, chopped 1 Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and chopped 2 tsp
basil 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp rosemary, crushed dash of salt 1 dash balsamic vinegar (or red wine
vinegar) about 1/2 cup water
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Halve the squash and scoop out the insides. Place cut-side down in a
baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until it begins to get soft. Soak the dried tomatoes
and mushrooms separately in hot water. Throw the garlic into a food processor while the machine is
running. Process until the garlic is completely chopped. Throw in the stale bread and process until
you have large crumbs. Empty into a medium mixing bowl. Add the fresh mushrooms, artichoke, herbs
and salt to the bowl. When the dried tomatoes and mushrooms have softened, chop and add to the bowl.
Turn the squash halves over and fill. Add water to the filling to keep the squash from getting too
dry. Bake another 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes
3) I served the squash as halves. You may also scoop the squash out and serve it like pasta in a
large bowl, mixed with the filling.
4) The filling would also be good if it were lightly sauteed in the balsamic vinegar and water
before adding it to the squash.
5) Any mild-flavored squash would be just as good, such as zucchini. I also have a fondness for
adding pumpkin puree to my spaghetti sauce, which leads me to believe that even the very
flavorful winter squashs may make good containers for this filling.
Andalusian cold almond-garlic soup
6/4 pound blanched almonds
7/2 pound stale crusty country-style bread 1 cup water 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 garlic
cloves, minced 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
8/4 cup white wine vinegar 1 quart ice water Pure almond extract to taste Garnishes, such as green
seedless grapes, golden raisins, peeled and cubed apple or small bread cubes fried in olive oil
Chop the almonds coarsely with a knife and place in a blender. Cut the crusts away from the stale
bread and discard. Tear remaining crumb into large pieces. (You should have about 3 cups of loosely
packed bread.) Put into a bowl with the 1 cup water, turning the bread so that it absorbs most of
the water. Once the water is absorbed, squeeze the bread gently to rid it of the excess. Place the
bread in the food processor; process in brief spurts to a textured cream. Add to the almonds in the
blender. Turn on the blender and slowly pour in the olive oil, blending contents to a thick cream.
Add the garlic, salt and vinegar and blend to mix well. With the motor running, add about half the
ice water. Transfer the soup to a glass or ceramic container, stir in the remaining ice water and
refrigerate (or place in the freezer for an hour so so) until ready to serve.
Before serving, taste and add more vinegar or salt if necessary or a few drops of almond flavoring
to boost the flavor. Thin with more ice water, if desired. Add 1 or 2 of the garnishes - no more.
You don't want to destroy the simplicity of the soup. Makes 6 servings.
Per serving: Cal 537 (80% fat) Fat 48 g (5 g sat) Fiber 4 g No chol Sodium 73 mg Carbs 20 g
Calcium 70 mg
Source: "The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook"
White Gazpacho with almonds and grapes Yield: 6 servings
9/4 cup Blanched almonds 3 Cloves garlic, peeled
10/2 tsp Salt, or to taste 4 Slices stale white bread, -crusts removed. 4 cup Ice water 7 Tbsp Olive
oil 3 Tbsp White wine vinegar 2 Tbsp Sherry vinegar 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 6 Slices white bread,
crusts -removed, cut in cubes 1 1/2 cup Seedless green grapes
Grind almonds, 2 garlic cloves, and salt to a fine consistency in a food processor or blender. Soak
stale bread in one cup ice water, and squeeze to extract moisture. Add bread to processor. With
processor running, add 6 Tbsp oil and one cup ice water slowly in a steady stream. Add vinegars, and
mix on high speed for 2 minutes. Add one cup ice water and mix 2 more minutes. Place in a bowl, add
remaining ice water and mix well. Adjust seasonings with salt and vinegar. Chill for up to 6 hours.
Heat oil and remaining one tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Crush remaining garlic clove and add
to pan with bread cubes, tossing to coat with oil. Cook over very low heat, stirring occassionally,
20-30 minutes, or until cubes are golden.
Serve soup ice cold, garnished with croutons and grapes. Appeared in the Aug. 31, 1994 issue of The
New York Times.
Tuscan-Style Minestrone Makes 12 Servings
Traditionally this soup is ladled into a soup tureen with alternating layers of stale bread just
before serving. The result is a soup so thick that a spoon will stick straight up when plunged in.
Most minestrone are made with water, preferably the cooking water from the beans, but vegetable
stock is great to use if you have any around.
3 quarts water
11/2 head of cabbage, preferably Savoy 1 large red onion, chopped 1 celery rib, chopped 4 garlic
cloves, peeled 1 large carrot, sliced
12/4 cup olive oil
13/2 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves cut into strips, about 3 cups tightly packed 1 large waxy
potato, peeled and cut into one half inch cubes 6 cups vegetable broth, bean-cooking water, or
fresh water 4 medium-size tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 cup drained and seeded
canned tomatoes 1 bouquet garni: 1 fresh rosemary sprig, 8 fresh thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch of
parsley 1 cup dried cannellini or borlotti beans, soaked and cooked, about 3 cups 1 bunch
spinach, stems removed and leaves cut into strips, about 1 cup packed Salt and pepper Slices of
French bread, either stale or lightly toasted
Bring the water to a rolling boil. Cut the cabbage into quarters through the core. Cut the core out
of two of the quarters and slice them as thinly as possible. Boil the sliced cabbage for 5 minutes
and drain it in a colander. Rinse it with cold water. (This preliminary cooking eliminates some of
the strong taste and prevents it from taking over the flavor of the soup.)
In a 4-quart pot, cook the onion, celery, garlic, and carrot in the olive oil over medium heat until
softened, about 10 minutes. Add the blanched cabbage, kale, potato, broth, tomatoes, and bouquet
garni. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
Strain half the cooked beans through a food mill with the finest disk or puree them in a blender or
food processor. Add the puree and the whole beans to the simmering soup. Simmer the soup for about 5
minutes more .....reach in with a spoon and taste a few of the vegetables; make sure the cabbage and
kale are completely soft. Add spinach. Simmer soup for 1 minute more. Add salt and pepper to taste.
The soup can now be ladled into hot bowls, but if you want to present it in the traditional (and
make it suitable for a next-day ribolita or casserole), layer it in a tureen with the bread slices
alternating a ladle of soup with a slice of bread and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
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