Iron Chef Recipes

I recently participated in a local Iron Chef competition. It was fun, bu difficult and - if I were to participate again - I would probably suggest that the organizers make some changes. But anyway, here are the recipes for the three dishes I created. The secret ingredient was mascarpone cheese.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Mascarpone Soup

1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 T Butter (unsalted)
½ pounds shallots, finely diced
Two quarts of fire-roasted crushed or whole, peeled tomatoes (Muir Glen)
two bay leaves
1 cup white wine (torrentes)
1 cup mascarpone
salt
pepper
smoked paprika (optional)

Add butter and olive oil to the bottom of your soup pan. Once melted and bubbling, add in shallots and cook until translucent but not browned. Pour in tomatoes and add bay leaves. Cook at a rapid simmer until reduced by about ¼ of the liquid. Add wine. Continue to simmer until you have reduced another ¼ of the liquid. Take off heat, remove bay leaves, and blend until smooth. Stir in mascarpone until the soup has a rich and creamy texture. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you cannot get fire roasted tomatoes, smoked paprika can be used, but you will need to keep tasting to make sure you don’t overpower the flavor of the tomatoes.


Tagliatelle with Hot-Smoked Salmon in Caper, Chive, and Lemon Mascarpone Sauce

1 lb tagliatelle

1 T butter (unsalted)
2 T capers, rough chopped
2 T chives, minced
2 lemons, zest and juice
2 cups mascarpone
1 lb hot-smoked salmon, flaked

2 oz salmon roe (optional)

Cook tagliatelle according to package directions.

Add butter to a large sauté pan on medium heat. Once butter is melted, add capers, chives, and lemon zest. Sizzle for about 60 seconds and then squeeze in lemon juice. Remove pan from heat and stir in mascarpone. It will melt into a sauce from the residual heat of the pan. Place pasta into the pan and toss to coat it with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with some of the pasta water. Add in flaked salmon and toss gently. Garnish with salmon roe.

This dish can be served hot or room temperature.


Blueberries with Limoncello Mascarpone Cream

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Limoncello
1/4 cup orange marmalade, melted and slightly cooled
3 cups blueberries

To make the cream, combine mascarpone cheese, whipping cream, sugar, and 1 tablespoon of limoncello. Beat with mixer until smooth and slightly thickened.

In a small sauce pan, combine marmalade and remaining limoncello. Melt over low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Then add the blueberries and toss to coat.

Spoon limoncello cream into dessert dishes and top with blueberries. You can also serve this like a parfait, adding the blueberries and mascarpone in layers to make a delicious dessert.