Shoestring Foodie

The imposing performance graduates with my highlight.

yep. uh, huh.

Sopa Paraguay is not a soup, its not cornbread and its not a quiche. It is part of my childhood culinary vocabulary. My mother served this creamy cornbread with almost every meal. This and meat empanadas were the go-to foods in my home- always available for snacking.

This is my mother’s recipe as I remember it. It certainly tastes like my mom’s anyway…

Sopa Paraguay

1.5 cups or chopped onions (tahnk you david for pointing out that i left this off the ingredient list!!)
1.5 cups frozen corn
1.5 cups water
1 tblsp coarse salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine- softened
2 eggs
1 cup fresh cheese  (1/2 queso fresco or ricotta salata or fresh farmer’s cheese & 1/2 queso chihuahua or mozzarella or oaxaca)
1 1/2 cups corn meal
1/2 cup milk
1 tblsp cream

Combine the onions and water in a pot, simmer. you can also do this in the microwave- set the onions and water in a bowl and cook for 5 minutes.  Set aside until the water is room temperature.
Combine the corn meal with the  butter and blend with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size butter lumps wrapped in cornmeal.
Add eggs and mix.
Add milk and cream and mix.
Add cheese, and mix (for this particular pan I used a mixture of mozzarella and pepper jack)
Add the onions and water, and mix.
Add frozen corn, and mix. (Yes- frozen- as this cooks the steam from teh ice and butter will give it some lightness- otherwise this bread is as heavy as brick)

The batter looks like a soupy chunky unincorporated mess at this point. Don’t worry. When cooked, alot of the cheese will float to the top, and the interior steam from the frozen corn will lighten the dough.

Pour into a greased and floured 8 or 9 inch round baking dish. (I use Baker’s Joy)

Bake in convection oven (400 deg. F) for approx 50 minutes.

This past month, we have eaten more strawberries  than ever before in my entire life. Honestly, strawberries are something I just didn’t notice as I wound my way around the produce section. In fact, I have to admit that the last time I ate strawberries was in London 10 years ago with clotted cream and Sainsbury scones.

Then the April Gourmet arrived.

And with the price of strawberries at  2 lbs for $3 at Central Market in Houston, I think we will keep eating…

I did have to make some adjustments. Mascarpone can be very expensive- depending where you buy it it can cost up to $5 for 8 ozs*. The recipe below has the full rich creamy mascarpone goodness recommend by Gourmet but the recipe doesn’t suffer much if you decrease the mascarpone by half.

I also substituted balsamic vinegar for the port. I like port but I don’t keep any around the house. And I hate confectioner’s sugar. I don’t keep it in the house. I used regular granulated sugar throughout.

{This photograph  was enough to  1.) make me run out and buy strawberries and 2.) make me want to photograph food. Call it “Food Porn” if you must…}

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Balsamic Glaze

For tart shell:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons cold water

Make tart shell:
* Before you start the tart shell,  this is probably a good time to sugar the strawberries and place them in a refrigerator. (See Below)

Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Beat together yolk, vanilla, lemon juice, and water with a fork, then drizzle over flour mixture and stir with fork (or pulse) until mixture comes together.

Gently knead with floured hands on a lightly floured surface until a dough forms, then gently knead 4 or 5 times. Press into a 5-inch disk. Place in center of silicone pan and cover with plastic wrap. Using your fingers, spread and push dough to evenly cover bottom and side of pan. Prick bottom of tart shell all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

I don’t have pie weights so I covered the tart shell with foil, then placed a second baking pan. The result was a bit uneven but definitely edible.

Bake at  375°F in a convection oven until side is set and edge is pale golden, about 10 minutes (regular oven 20 minutes). Carefully remove foil and the 2nd pan and continue to bake until shell is deep golden all over, about 10 minutes more (regular oven 20 minutes). Cool in pan, about 45 minutes.

For filling:

1 1/2 pounds strawberries (about 1 1/2 quarts), trimmed and halved lengthwise
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 pound mascarpone (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make filling while tart shell cools:
Stir together strawberries and granulated sugar in a bowl and let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
Strain in a sieve set over a small saucepan, reserving berries.
Add Balsamic to liquid in saucepan and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk together mascarpone, confectioners sugar, lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until stiff.

Assemble tart:
Spread mascarpone mixture evenly in cooled tart shell, then top with strawberries. Drizzle Port glaze all over tart.

The original recipe: Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Port Glaze published in Apr 09 Gourmet.

* Phoenicia has the best price I have found for mascarpone- a 16 oz tub was just under $5.00 and they carry specialty  items I have not foudn anywhere elese, like rose petal preserve and young walnut preserves. I don’t much like their prepared foods but their bakery is top notch and they carry the very best selection of imported pasta and spaghetti in Houston.

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