Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Soups - and wine - love rustic crackers. . . . . . . .


There are some great moments when stuck at home in inclement weather. Many revolve around the kitchen. With nothing really pressing regarding elaborate meals on time, one can spend most of the day looking out the windows, photographing birds and squirrels, popping out in pj's to fill bird feeders and melt birdbath water. . . . . or cook!
Well that's what happened here at our home recently, haha!


How about this for a 'rustic cracker'. So quick and easy, almost healthy, and definitely a knockout to look at and nibble alongside one of those steaming bowls of homemade soup we all seem to be making on these Winter days. Also a pretty accompaniment to an aperitif. Here's my version of the recipe in the Jan. 2016 Better Homes & Gardens - they call it Greens Cracker and used kale.

Rustic Cracker
1 rolled, refrigerated, unbaked pie crust - brought to room temp.
1 egg yolk and 2 tsp. water whisked together
2 large Swiss rainbow chard leaves with stems (you may not want to eat the stems as they are a bit chewy with such a short time in the oven - I cut mine off before serving)
1/2 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese 
1/2 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary (this time I used dried Herbes de Provence as I couldn't get to my rosemary bush on the ice).
Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Line large baking sheet with parchment, set aside. On floured surface unroll and fold pastry sheet into quarters. Gently roll into a rectangle, trim edges or leave free form as I did for a more rustic look. Transfer to baking sheet. Brush with egg mixture, sprinkle with herbs. Arrange leaves on top lightly pressing down and sprinkle generously with the cheese. Bake 15 mins. or until golden, watch carefully. Remove, cool on a rack and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and a little sea salt. Slice diagonally to serve (I found a pizza cutter useful). I liked it best still warm and crispy, or you can serve it cold.

Before baking.


Cheers!


15 comments:

  1. This sounds absolutely delicious Mary. I would love this! Hopefully you are digging out of the snow and ice. Our kids in Cary said there was snow, but the ice was not a problem. What a perfect appetizer to eat with warming soup and a glass of wine.

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  2. This sounds wonderful! I love the rustic look of it! Looks like the other Penny and I will be trying this soon!
    Hugs,
    Penny

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  3. Oh I am definitely making this ... All the ingredients I like :)

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  4. Oh yummmm! This looks so simple and delicious! I agree this would be perfect with a bowl of soup.

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  5. Sounds absolutely a great accompaniment for a thick vegetable soup., Do you wilt the chard leaf before or does it cook on the pastry ?

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    1. No need to wilt the leaves - I think the moisture from the cheese melting helps soften them and then they baked to perfection! I'm going to make another tomorrow - I have a bunch of chard to use up - will have it with potato and leek soup I'm making. It's really pretty and would be lovely to share with friends at supper. . . . . I need to entertain more, can you fly over one evening Barbara? HAHA! Actually that would be really fun!
      Mary -

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    2. Thanks for the info. I'd love to be able to join you, for tea , coffee or whatever, we'd have so much to talk about

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  6. Oh my goodness but this looks good!! I have two sorts of soup waiting in the freezer and this would be a treat on the side.

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  7. Looks gorgeous. Rustic is always good and any kind of bread is a good accompaniment to a big bowl of yummy homemade soup. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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  8. that looks absolutely scrummy, as Mary Berry would say. It all sounds fabulous. I envy a creative cook. That is one area we but are determined to improve there and actually get better in the kitchen! Posts like this Definitely inspire!

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  9. This is NOT the thing to read ,mind you, just before hopping into bed! Ha. I made that same mistake last night and quite regretted the two slices of bread and butter I had minutes before I was about to turn in for the night!

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  10. Goodness that sounds fantastic! We often enjoy cheese and crackers after the kids have gone to bed. I recently got a white cheddar cranberry cheese that I adore.

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  11. This looks so delicious and elegant! And easy, too. Cheese, soup and some sort of bread make a perfect meal around here, especially on the weekends.

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