Chocolate Coconut Tart

Whenever I’m in Italy and the mood for gelato strikes (ok, let’s get real – when doesn’t the mood for gelato strike?), I’m likely to get a flavor that’s called “Bounty” –  coconut ice cream punctuated with small chocolate bits. It’s named for the eponymous candy bar available there, but here in the states, there is a similar candy bar called “Mounds.”

A few years ago I ate a slice of cake in Bellagio that had the same flavor profile, and I was determined to duplicate it at home.

I finally got around to it recently, and while I’m not sure it’s exactly the same, it’s really, really good, especially if you’re a dark chocolate and coconut lover, as I am.

I made two of the cakes, one half the size of the original one, since I was serving the larger one to my Italian chit-chat group and wanted a second, small one to serve guests after dinner the following night. A bit of gold leaf on top makes a nice decoration, but so would a simple dollop of whipped cream.

If you’re making just one tart according to the recipe below, the coconut layer will be thicker than in the photos above, since I made 1 1/2 times the amount of the chocolate cake part, but I spread the coconut quantity over the two cakes (the larger and the smaller version.) I hope that makes sense to you. If you’re still confused, send me an email and I’ll try to explain it better.

Just a word of caution – the chocolate ganache will not stay this glossy if you refrigerate the cake. So if you want to serve it with that sheen but want to make the cake ahead of time — just make the cake without the ganache and place it in the refrigerator (still in the springform pan), then a few hours before you want to serve it, remove from the refrigerator and top it with the ganache while in the springform pan. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes for the ganache to solidify, then release the side of the springform pan. Don’t refrigerate it again or you’ll lose the sheen.

Enjoy! It’s almost like eating a chocolate covered, coconut-cream Easter egg.

Chocolate Coconut Tart (Bounty Torta)

Recipe Type: dessert

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

A rich, brownie-like cake, with a coconut layer and a topping of chocolate ganache.

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE LAYER:
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted.
• 3/4 cup white sugar.
• 2 eggs lightly beaten.
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons espresso coffee
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.
• 1/2 cup flour.
• 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.
• FOR THE COCONUT LAYER:
• 12 oz sweetened condensed milk (I think the can was closer to 14 ounces)
• 2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 4 oz semisweet chocolate

Instructions

1. FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE LAYER:
2. Mix sugar and melted butter, with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 9 inch springform pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
3. FOR THE COCONUT LAYER:
4. Put the coconut in a food processor and shred into small bits.
5. Add the condensed milk and combine.
6. When cake is cooled, spread coconut layer on top.
7. It will be very dense.
8. FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
9. Heat cream and remove from heat.
10. Add chocolate.
11. Let sit for a few minutes then stir to blend.
12. Pour chocolate over coconut layer a couple of hours before you serve it and leave it out at room temperature in order to keep the chocolate glossy.
13. You can refrigerate it if you want, but it will lose some of its gloss.
14. Remove the ring from the springform pan, and serve.

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Lemon Sole in Browned Butter

When I feel like having fish for dinner, I never know what I’ll choose until I get to the store and see what looks freshest. On this particular day, the lemon sole at the fish market was particularly appealing – good size filets that were white as snow and looking quite firm and fresh.

Flounder or fluke, caught in the Atlantic Ocean, are also delicious in this recipe, although they’re not as delicate as sole. However, on my first ever deep sea fishing trip recently, I caught a large fluke that also turned out to be the biggest catch on board that day. So I not only hauled in a great meal, but also the cash prize (the pool) for the largest fish caught. I don’t know how much it weighed, but it was big, as you can see from the photo, and we enjoyed two meals from it.

I didn’t get good photos of our meal that night, so when I saw the beautiful lemon sole for sale at the fish market, I knew I wanted to try to capture better photos and write a blog post about this recipe. Incidentally, if you’re puzzled as to what’s the difference between flounder and fluke, click here to decipher it. I’m still confused, but as long as they both taste good, who cares?

If you’re looking for a quick and delicious way to enjoy fish filets, with this recipe, you can be eating diner in ten minutes from start to finish. Start by seasoning the filets with salt and pepper, then dredging them (and shaking off the excess) then sautéing them in some olive oil and butter. Brown on one side, then carefully flip over and do the same on the other side.

Meanwhile, sauté the slivered almonds until they’re a toasty golden brown, and make the brown butter sauce, keeping a close watch on it so it doesn’t burn.Place the filets on a platter, then pour the sauce onto the fish through a sieve, so you don’t get any of the dark solid bits that settled on the bottom of the saucepan. Scatter the toasted almonds on top, and a little parsley. If you’ve got lemon balm, try it instead of parsley in recipes like this one. It grows like a weed in my garden and comes back each year with a vengeance. I’m forever finding it springing up in beds all over the yard, where I yank it out, but I try to keep a little patch going for culinary use.

And now — for what in the journalism business is called “burying the lede,” here’s the biggest news of the week.. the month… the year! –  the birth of my granddaughter, Aurelia Jean. Welcome to the world, amore.

Lemon Sole in Browned Butter

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 2 pieces of filet of sole, or flounder, or fluke
• flour for dredging
• salt, pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• FOR THE BROWN BUTTER SAUCE;
• 3 tablespoons butter
• juice of half a lemon

Instructions

1. Make the toasted almonds first:
2. Take the slivered almonds and put them in a saucepan on medium high heat without any butter or oil.
3. (If you use butter, the solids will turn brown and make the almonds look “dirty.”
4. Toss the almonds in the pan until they are light golden brown. They will burn quickly so don’t leave the pan for a second.
5. Remove the almonds to a clean plate, while you cook the fish and make the brown butter sauce.
6. Sprinkle the filets with salt and pepper, and dredge them in flour, shaking to remove the excess.
7. There should be just a light coating of flour.
8. In a frying pan, melt the butter and add the olive oil.
9. When they have reached a sizzle, turn up the heat to medium high, and add the filets.
10. Cook for just 2-3 minutes until the bottom has turned a light golden brown.
11. Carefully flip and repeat on the other side.
12. To make the brown butter sauce, place the butter in a saucepan and turn up the heat to medium. Melt the butter and let it continue to sizzle in the pan. Be careful to keep a close watch on it, because it can go from yellow to dark brown in an instant.
13. When it is a golden brown color, turn off the heat and add the lemon juice.
14. Pour over the cooked fish, using a strainer to eliminate any dark solid bits.
15. Sprinkle the almonds over the cooked fish, and some parsley (or lemon balm) and serve.

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Meatless Eggplant Meatballs

I’ll be the first to admit that I like a sizzling steak, a juicy pork chop, or a well roasted leg of lamb. I also love vegetables, but don’t think I could ever become a vegetarian voluntarily. But every once in a while, I eat a dish – like this one – that could sway me to the other side. Aside from the health benefits of vegetarian diets (discounting the oil these were fried in), I had further reason to make this dish. We had a bumper crop of eggplants in our garden and it’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to try for a long time.

It’s a traditional dish from Calabria, although plenty of other regions have notable eggplant dishes (caponata from Sicily, for example). Calabria, the region my father’s family is from, was historically one of Italy’s economically poorer regions, so housewives had to be creative with meat so scarce.

This particular recipe is adapted from my friend Domenica Marchetti’s book, “The Glorious Vegetables of Italy,” one of the many authoritative books on Italian cooking that she’s authored.

Start by roasting the eggplant whole, in the oven, until it looks shriveled. It took about an hour and a half to achieve this:

Peel off the skin (it comes off very easily using just your fingers), then scoop out the insides and either use a potato masher or knife and chopping board to mince the flesh finely. Don’t put it in the food processor or it will become too mushy.

Add the rest of the ingredients – bread crumbs, pecorino cheese, eggs, and seasonings. Mix it all together with a spoon by hand.

Roll into balls the size of a golf ball. Make them smaller if you like, and they’d be great cocktail munchies.

Roll them in bread crumbs.

Fry in hot oil until browned. They’re delicious right out of the frying pan, but they also make a wonderful substitute for real meatballs with spaghetti or bucatini. Drop some in your favorite tomato sauce aand serve over a heaping bowl of pasta.

Eggplant “Meatballs”

Recipe Type: main

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Ciao Chow Linda (adapted from Domenica Marchetti’s “The Glorious Vegetables of Italy”

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon slat
• 3-4 ounces grated pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• breadcrumbs for dredging
• vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. Prick a large eggplant with the tines of a fork and place the eggplant on a roasting pan.
2. Set the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and roast for about one and a half hours, until the skin looks shriveled and the interior is completely cooked through.
3. Let the eggplant cool, then strip off the skin.
4. It should peel off easily with your fingers.
5. Mince the flesh with a large chopping knife, or use a potato masher to mash.
6. Add all the rest of the ingredients (except the breadcrumbs for dredging and the vegetable oil), and mix everything together.
7. Roll into balls the size of a golf ball or smaller if you want to serve them as hors d’oevres.
8. Dredge the balls in the breadcrumbs and fry in sizzling hot oil.
9. Turn the balls over to brown the other side, then remove and drain on paper towels.
10. Serve as is, with a sprinking of parmesan or pecorino cheese, OR, transfer the eggplant meatballs to a pot with simmering tomato sauce, and serve over pasta.

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