Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Non-dairy, non-soy cheesecake with sauteed apples and vegan caramel in a maple-oat crust

So needed to make a dessert that was dairy, gluten, almond, and egg free. I really could have sliced up some apples and tossed together some cinnamon sugar to dip, but I thought: can I make a dessert people with no restrictions will still like? Also, I'd need to go to the grocery store, but I didn't want to be hunting specialty ingredients.
 I spent some time thinking about techniques and googling vegan and Paleo desserts and this is what I came up with. This recipe is neither of those, but could be made that way with some alterations - it's especially close to vegan, if something else is used as a stabilizer. It could be paleo pretty easily, too, with something else to sweeten.





Okay. So. I won't lie, this is a process. It's for a special occasion, when you really want to go all out.
The cashews need to soak overnight. The gelatin gets bloomed, heated to liquefy, and tempered in. It needs taste-testing along the way - I've only made this once and I was tinkering as I went, so the amounts of some things, like sugar, lemon juice, and spices, are approximate. Also, you'll need to factor in time for making the crust, the caramel, and the apple topping, and letting it chill to set.  This should in no way be seen as a tested, prescriptive recipe. These are just my notes, and you can use them as a guide if you want to.

Things I'd consider changing, if I do this again:
1. Less cashew. Just, like, less. This made a ridiculous amount - we're talking a 10" spring form pan, full almost to the top.
2. Chocolate version! Melt some dark chocolate with the coconut oil and milk. Reduce lemon juice, leave out cinnamon. No apples in the topping, maybe toast up some coconut shards for a decoration on top of the caramel. I'm probably making this version for Christmas. UPDATE: I did, and it wasn't that good, proceed at your own risk.

Autumn Cheesecake (without gluten, dairy, egg, soy, almonds, pecans), or Creamy Firm
Cashew-Coconut Pudding With Maple Oat Crust, Coconut Caramel, And Sauteed Cinnamon Apples.

The crust, caramel, and topping can be made in advance.



The crust:

This is based off of the oat steusel in the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook. If you don't need to be gluten free, use whatever crust you like.

-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-3 tbsp maple syrup
-Oats: I used a mix of oat flour and baby oatmeal because I had them, but normally I would have just whizzed some rolled oats. I think I'd like this better with oats the texture of quick-cook, no more grinding.

Mix oil and syrup. Add oats a little at a time until you have a rubble. Let it cool until the it firms up a bit - a few minutes in the fridge. Line the bottom of a springform with parchment or foil and grease lightly. Press crumbs into the bottom of the pan and chill again until cool. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or maybe longer, checking it frequently. When it's toasted, take it out and cool it completely.


Cheesecake:
2 cups raw cashews (make sure they're raw, or they won't get as creamy, and it'll taste very cashew-y)
2 cans coconut milk
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
Juice of 1 big, heavy lemon, or two small ones
3/4 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon


The day before you bake, dump cashews in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with water by a few inches. Put it in the fridge, and forget it. The next day, when you're ready to make the filling, put the bowl in the microwave and nuke it until it's boiling...or dump it all in a pot and do it on the stove. Get out your food processor or high powered blender and plug it in. Drain cashews in a colander and immediately dump hot nuts in the machine, and whirl it up. You will need to stop it to scrape down the sides. If it's too thick for the machine to handle, open one of your cans of coconut milk and add some until it loosens up. Process it until it's very creamy and smooth - it'll get there!

In a medium bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2c cold water and whisk out lumps. Let it sit until it's gelled up, a few minutes or less. Microwave as little as possible (10 second intervals), stirring in between, until it's liquified. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a big bowl you'll use with a hand mixer), put the sugar and half of one of the cans of coconut milk. Turn it on, and pour in the liquified gelatin mixture, making sure there are no lumps. If there are, strain it - you don't want those gummy bits in your cheesecake. Once the mixture is homogenized, add a few tablespoons of the lemon juice, the vanilla, salt, and cinnamon, and the rest of the coconut milk and melted coconut oil, and mix. Start up the food processor again, and slowly add this to the cashew puree. Taste, and adjust seasoning as you like - probably more lemon juice. When you like how it tastes, pour mixture on to the crust in the springform and chill until set, a few hours. If you have too much filling, chill it in other containers - it's tasty to eat as pudding.

Toppings:
These are easy. The apples are just like cooking up mushrooms in a pan. The caramel is just like making regular caramel stuff, just instead of butter and cream, you use coconuts that have been processed and refined into various forms.

Sauteed apples

3 apples
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp coconut oil

Dice apples into rough 1" dice; peel if you want, I didn't. In batches, saute in coconut oil until browned. Don't overcrowd the pan and don't stir too much; you want some color on them. Toss with cinnamon.

Coconut caramel:

1 3/4 c white sugar
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 can coconut milk
Pinch of salt

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the sugar. If you prefer to use a wet method, do that, or do it dry. When the melted sugar is a nice caramelly color, turn off the heat and add the oil, salt & milk. It'll sputter and froth! Whisk until smooth and then turn the heat on and cook until it reaches soft ball. Let cool a bit, so it's still very liquidy but not scalding hot, and pour it over the chilled cake, tilting so it conver evenly. Chill until firm, top with apple mixture, and serve!

Ugly but good (bonus: low carb!)

Like most white people, I'm very certain that most of my ancestors ate a lot of cabbage, beige carbs, and pork. They can be combined in many ways, and this one's very easy, inexpensive, filling, and so, so ugly.

I'm too lazy for cabbage rolls, and the phrase "unstuffed cabbage rolls" makes me roll my eyes hard enough to be heard the next state over, so I layered this in protest. It all mixed together in the bowl anyway so it might as well have just dumped the rest of it on top of the shredded cabbage.

Add whatever you want. Use more rice, or leave it out and put it over a carb of your choice (but your choice should be egg noodles.) Use canned tomatoes in any form and feel free to use sour cream, labneh, etc instead. Add some sweet peppers, carrots, or whatever before. Replace all of the rice with cauliflower crumbles for really low carb.



Shannon's Fictionalized Ancestors' Hotdish
We ate this for dinner four nights in a row. I made some quick pickles one night, rough tziziki another, and mashed beets another. The pickles were the best. A dollup of lebneh, sour cream, or Greek yogurt at the end would not be terrible, and showering it with chopped scallions or parsley will help with visual appeal.

1 large head cabbage, shredded or roughly chopped
1lb ground beef
1lb ground pork
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried thyme or some? fresh
1 cup instant brown rice. Any leftover grain while be fine, as well
2 cups cauliflower crumbles - fresh or frozen. If frozen, thaw florets and chop finely, if fresh, whiz in food processor or chop.
3 15oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
2/3c (FINE, it was just some big dollops) Greek yogurt
3tbsp Apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp white miso*
A few shakes of fish sauce*
Salt to taste
Generous amount of black pepper


 *No, my Irish, Slovenian, French, and English forebearers did not have these, and they're optional, because if you don't have them, going out to get stuff especially for this is against the spirit of this dish. If you have some bullion, a bit of tomato paste, some MSG, or any other umami booster, put some in, or just salt it more.


Cook the meat in a large pan, crumbling as you go. When there's more grey than pink, add the onions, thyme, and some grinds of black pepper. Continue cooking until the onions are very soft and browning and the meat is sizzling and browning. Add garlic and stir, and then add cauliflower and thyme. Splash in some water and scrape up the frond, and add vinegar. If using instant brown rice, add it now with a bit more than the amount of water recommended on the package. If using cooked leftover grain, just add a splash of water to loosen it up. Separately, mix the tomato, cream, and yogurt, and season.

In at least one big casserole, or maybe two (eyeball it based on your pile of cabbage and pan of meat/rice), line the bottom with all of the shredded cabbage, and sprinkle with salt. Top with the meat mixture and then pour the tomato micture on top of that. Bake until the cabbage is soft and the whole thing is bubbly and browning... maybe half an hour at 350.