August 25, 2015 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

tomato toast w/ macadamia ricotta, shiso + black lava salt | dolly and oatmeal

there's something to be said about summer's lacksidasical approach to food and general meal preparation. this summer, more than any other other, i've embraced that notion wholeheartedly; making flavorful but simple salads, mixing in some breezy sauces or dressings to liven up a dish, and cooking from heidi's forthcoming gem of a book. but more than anything else there has been an abundance of open-faced sandwiches served this season. i suppose the inspiration came from my mom and childhood memories. for beach lunches or sunset dinners she would pack a large french baguette along with various cheeses, fruit, nuts, and big green salad. we would rip off pieces of crusty bread and pile it with a schmear of brie, and slices of apple. but my favorite late summer meal most definitely came in the form of my mom's tomato and mayo sandwiches which she served on onion rye bread with a liberal pinch of salt. the flavors and texture, and the juicy ripe tomatoes made it an indulgently simple way to savor the season.

this summer, with a big enough space in the backyard, i grew tomatoes that have provided us with an abundance of fruit for most of july and august. we've been roasting them, tossing them into salads, making quick tomato sauces for pasta, and slicing them for tomato toasts. and while i love a good mayo-tomato toast, we've been making a tahini-yogurt tomato toast, as well as the ubiquitous avocado tomato toast, but there's also been a macadamia nut based ricotta that i've been wanting to share with you that lends a striking similarity to the texture and consistency of a lightly whipped ricotta cheese. so when i was conjuring up a recipe to highlight the black lava salt from ILĀ, i knew the perfect thing to pair it with. the ricotta tomato toast is rich and creamy, and gently kissed with a pinch of salt, that when prepared with fresh garden tomatoes still warm from the day's sun, it is quite possibly the most delightful thing.

i could imagine this toast (or any tomato toast) being the perfect canvas for any one of ILĀ's salts or spices like za'atar, dukkah, cayenne, and smoked paprika, or with their collection of extra virgin olive oil. each one is carefully and intentionally chosen to create a collection of essentials for your kitchen and meals. they have a kickstarter going to help fund the expansion of ILĀ which you can check out here.

i allso have an interview over on one of my favorite blogs, nutrition stripped (link) if you're interested in checking it out :)

hugs + tomato toast! xo

tomato toast w/ macadamia ricotta, shiso + black lava salt (v + gf)

i like to use a variety of heirloom tomatoes for the toast to pile high while also giving some dimension. the shiso adds a bit more of an aromatic vibe, but if it's not available where you are basil or thai basil is great substitute.

macadamia ricotta

1 cup soaked raw macadamia nuts, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons white mellow miso paste
2 small cloves garlic
8-10 tablespoons filtered water
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

tomato toasts

6-8 slices whole grain gluten-free bread (or bread of choice), toasted
1/2 pound tomatoes (see notes), sliced with 1/4" thickness
1/2 cup macadamia ricotta
1/4 cup julienned shiso
a few pinches black lava salt (or large grain sea salt)

method

macadamia ricotta

drain and rinse the macadamia nuts and place in an upright high-speed blender with nutritional yeast, vinegar, lemon juice, miso, garlic, 8 tablespoons of water, and salt. blend on high for 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the blender and adding water a tablespoon at a time, until you reach a fluffy creamy consistency. taste and adjust salt, vinegar, or lemon as necessary. transfer ricotta to a bowl and cover with cling wrap; refrigerate until ready to use.

toasts

remove macadamia ricotta from the fridge and set aside,
top toasted bread with macadamia ricotta, sliced tomatoes, julienned shiso, and a few pinches of black salt. cut the toast in half and serve.

enjoy!

similar recipes:

zucchini-basil chickpea waffles w/ tomato + shaved fennel salad

miso-tahini avocado toast w/ black sesame gomasio

summer socca salad w/ burst tomatoes + roasted zucchini

warm fingerling potatoes w/ garlic-turmeric sauce / August 18, 2015 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

warm fingerling potatoes w/ garlic-turmeric sauce | dolly and oatmeal

raise your hand if there are certain food items that you don't gel with. for a long time i had a strong aversion to cilantro, which i partly blame on a bad guacamole experience when i was younger. however, fast forward a couple years when my husband and i went to costa rica for our honeymoon; we were served cilantro in just about everything, causing me a mild amount of anxiety about whether i wanted to eat most the food there. but after tasting various preparations using different spices and techniques, i was converted forever and now cilantro is one of my favorite herbs.

i mention this because i've had a random week of eating cabbage for almost every evening meal. this is random because i never ever eat cabbage, the taste and smell is something that's never been appealing to me, and many of the cabbage dishes i grew up with were covered in massive amounts of mayo. my distaste for it aside, i decided to pick up 2 baby cabbages at the market the other week, partly because i thought i would experiment with them, but mostly because they were super cute and tiny. they sat in my crisper for the better part of a week before we went out to eat at frank's fave restaurant, hometown, which virtually has zero vegetables on the menu. so naturally, i chose the cabbage slaw. turns out i loved its subtle cabbage-y flavor and the punchiness from what i can only imagine was vinegar. then we made sara's grilled halibut sandwich es and topped them with a good amount of her cabbage and jalepeno slaw, which was maybe the best thing i've eaten in a while!

with 2 very positive cabbage experiences i felt confident enough in my fondness for it. i began conceptualizing this potato dish and thought that their vibrant purple color would play beautifully off the muted fingerlings, plus i was thinking that this dish needed a subtle crunch that the cabbage could surely lend. and that it did. i would confidently say that this is one of my favorite combinations, along with the garlicky turmeric sauce which is punchy, and earthy, and perfectly creamy. i suppose the moral of the story is to never shelf a specific food item; that something can be prepared one way and totally not your thing, while if it's prepared a different way can yield a completely different experience.

happy mid-august, all! xo

warm fingerling potatoes w/ garlic-turmeric sauce (v + gf)

any small potato will work beautifully here, however be sure to adjust the cook time if the potatoes are smaller than your pinkie. the garlic-turmeric sauce gives the potatoes and cabbage a nice creaminess, kind of like a light potato salad. but if that's not your thing, i would suggest maybe using it for dipping.

| serves 4 as a side |

garlic-turmeric sauce

1/2 cup dairy-free cultured coconut yogurt (i use this one)
2 teaspoons tahini paste
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 large (or 2 small) garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh turmeric (or 1 teaspoon dried ground turmeric)
fine sea salt + freshly ground pepper

potatoes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 pound fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut lengthwise
large grain sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1/4 cup chopped chives
a few pinches black or white sesame seeds

method

for the sauce

in a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, tahini, vinegar, garlic, and turmeric, season with salt and pepper. taste and adjust as necessary. place in a lidded jar and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

for the potatoes

preheat the oven to 400*F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. use a pastry brush to brush the paper liberally with olive oil, set aside.
in a bowl, toss together the potatoes and olive oil, sprinkle with large grain salt and fresh pepper. place the potatoes cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 20-22 minutes. use tongs to turn potatoes over and roast until potatoes are golden and tender, about 10 minutes. remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. then toss together with shredded cabbage and chives.
remove sauce from refrigerator and give it a good stir; drizzle potatoes with the sauce and toss together. serve potatoes warm with more turmeric sauce if desired.

enjoy!

more potato recipes

roasted potato salad w/ romesco + herby black quinoa

twice baked sweet potatoes w/ pumpkin seed dukkah

mellow melon salad / August 12, 2015 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

we celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago, not with some blowout dinner or glasses of bubbly, but in a sea-breezy field on a couple of adirondack chairs with 2 crisp beers, just me and frank, and our pup, Quint. we had kind of intended to do nothing since we're planning to take a celebratory trip later on in the year, but going back to where we got married, where this whole lindsey and frank thing started turned out to be the best way to ring in the occasion. we stopped by the farm on long island where we got married , had lunch at our favorite spot, and then took Quint for his first (and very apprehensive) swim in the ocean!

it was great reliving that day with similar sights and smells, but with my life partner and all that has come to mean in the past 2 years. it was almost like looking back on that day and thinking about how long ago it felt, how much we were babies then, but also feeling that nothing has really changed. they say the first year of marriage is roses and cupcakes. however, year 2 felt a bit more like that as our first year married was a lot of figuring out some of the dynamics of what being married meant to us as individuals, and finding compromise and balance within that.

excited for year 3? heck yes! for i feel as though these past couple of years, through the arguments and good times, we continue to accept differences, learn each other's language a bit better, and be fiercely in love with one another - flaws and all!

and now i'm going to awkwardly shift gears to this salad! there's a great deal of flavor and texture highlighted in this salad, all while keeping it super light on preparation time. the corn is lightly charred for a bit of smoky flavor, while the squash is peeled into noodles giving the salad some movement and texture. this is a cool and soothing salad, with a sweet and savory flavor, perfect for hot summer days!

big hugs!

mellow melon salad (v + gf)

while i use melon wedges here cantaloupe would be just as delicious, as would watermelon. the leopard melon indicated in the ingredients list is not so easily accessible, and can be substituted for cucumber, as it has a similar taste and texture. this is great served as a side to any meal, or as a hydrating snack during the day.

| serves 4-6 |

dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon thyme leaves
3 teaspoons maple syrup
1 small shallot
salt + pepper

salad

half of 1 leopard melon (or 1 small cucumber)
2 medium summer squash
2 ears of corn, shucked
2/3 cup grape or cherry heirloom tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped mint
1/2 teaspoon chopped lemon thyme
salt + pepper
half of 1 cantaloupe or honeydew melon, cut into wedges
a small handful of mint flowers

green cantaloupe + snow leopard melon | dolly and oatmeal

method

place dressing ingredients in a mini food processor and blend until emulsified. taste and adjust seasoning. store dressing in a lidded jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.
prepare an ice bath and set aside. peel the skin from the melon (or cucumber) and cut in half lengthwise. using a mandolin, shave each half of the melon and place the pieces in the prepared ice bath to crisp, about 10-15 minutes. drain the melon and place on dishtowel to dry.
using a julienne peeler (or a mandolin) peel each side of the summer squash until you reach the seedy center. place strands in a large serving bowl and set aside.
over a gas top stove, light a burner to a low flame. one at a time char the corn cobs rotating with tongs to evenly cook the corn. set aside and allow corn to cool. once cool enough to handle, stand the corn upright; use a large knife to cut the kernels from the cob. repeat with other ear of corn and place kernels in the bowl with the squash.
to the bowl, add the tomatoes, leopard melon, parsley, mint, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. remove the dressing from the refrigerator and give it a good shake. drizzle a few spoonfuls over the squash noodles, then taste and adjust, adding more dressing if needed.
slice the cantaloupe or honeydew melon into even wedges, then cut the flesh from the skin. plate wedges and top with the summer squash noodles and mint flowers.

enjoy!