Found during my family’s holiday travel to Tuscany, this recipe makes great use of a household staple living beyond its freshest of days; stale bread. The end result? A delicious dish that will warm the belly. And the heart.
This recipe was inspired by Gabriella’s Journal; a book celebrating aromas and flavors from the rustic culture of Tuscany.
Foodie Tip:
❤If you don’t have any 2-3 day old stale bread, you can cut fresh bread into bite-sized squares and place into your oven and bake at 225°F until crunchy. Do not use soft bread for this recipe!
Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons | Olive Oil
2-3 | Garlic Cloves, Cut Into Small Pieces
1 | Celery Stick, Chopped Into Small Pieces
3-4 (1 ¾ cups) | Fresh Tomatoes, Chopped (tomatoes may also be peeled)
6-8 | Basil Leaves, Torn By Hand Into Small Pieces
To Taste | Salt And Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
2 ¼ Cups | Boiling Water
1 ½-2 Cups | Stale Bread, Cut Into Bite-Sized Squares
To Garnish | A Fresh Basil Leaf For Each Serving
To Garnish | Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, Shredded
Directions:
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the oil, the garlic cloves and the chopped celery. Stir until the garlic is soft and add the chopped tomatoes, the basil leaves, salt and pepper. Cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.
2. Pour in the boiling water and fold-in the stale bread. Boil, covered, for about 40 minutes over a very low heat, gently stirring occasionally.
3. Serve soup hot in a bowl and top with a basil leaf and some shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
“Raclette” is derived from the French word for racler, meaning “to scrape.” Modern day raclette refers to a classic Swiss dish where cheese is melted under an electric broiler then scraped and topped on a wide variety of ingredients, traditionally roasted potatoes, cornichons (tiny pickles) and onions. My raclette machine has a granite top that – when heated – serves as a grill plus it has 8 removable toaster trays that rest under a broiler to cook the accompaniments, like melted cheese. Check out my suggested ingredients below!
Raclette In Action
Going out on the town is always fun, but hosting small gatherings in your own home served with a stylish and unforgettable presentation of food makes for priceless memories and great times – that’s why entertaining is one of my passions! We love inviting friends and family over to enjoy fun and unique dining experiences enjoyed at home. Our raclette machine is always a big hit as the centerpiece of many fun indoor grilling gatherings.
Let’s watch a brief video of the racelette experience:
Why Raclette Will Make You A Hero
Like fondue, raclette is best enjoyed as a social eating experience. We like to jazz things up and make a big spread of all kinds of veggies, meats and seafood so our guests can get creative … and they do! The culinary combinations are entertaining, endless and delicious.
Sidekicks: Butter, Olive Oil, Pesto, Olives, Bread, Mini Fillo Shells, Seasonings, Wine + Your Favorite Friends And Family
From sweet to savory – once you’ve gathered your ingredients let your inner foodie’s creativity guide your meal: Melted cheese and onion topped on prosciutto, apples with gooey cheese on top, grilled shrimp with bacon, and one self-proclaimed masterpiece we created called “bananas fauxster” – sliced bananas sprinkled with brown sugar, butter, Texas pecans and then toasted. The recipe for this sweet delight is below!
A Few More Raclette Tips
Since you cook-as-you-go when you raclette, it’s usually a fun process that can easily last an hour to several. We like to start with veggies and savory meats … take a break then have a delightful dismount with the sweets.
Mini Fillo/Phyllo Shells were one of my favorite unexpected discoveries. You can find them here in Austin in the freezer section at HEB. They require no defrosting; simply fill the cups with your favorite ingredients and toast them for a few minutes and you’ve made crispy, melty magic. One of my fillo favorites is to pour a bit of Fischer & Wieser Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce into the cup then top with a wedge of melting cheese. Place your dish in your toaster tray under the raclette grill’s lower level. When it toasts up, it’s a-ma-zing!
You’ll undoubtedly have leftover ingredients after the big meal. We tossed small potatoes, onions and veggies into our silicon egg rings, topped with eggs and cheese and made some delicious “omelettes raclette” – you can do this on the raclette itself or on stovetop (see pic below).
So now on to the “Bananas Fauxster” recipe! With origins to the 1950s in what has become a famed French Quarter restaurant “Brennans” Bananas Foster is a delicious ending to any fantastic meal. My raclette version (a.k.a. “fauxster”) adapts the original recipe for the raclette and it incorporates two of my favorite Texas ingredients: Texas Pecans and Pecan Street Rum, which is distilled outside Austin in Pflugerville. Step 1: Place sliced bananas in your raclette tray and top with pieces of butter, some brown sugar and a sprinkling of chopped Texas pecans and a splash of the Pecan Street Rum. Place the grilling tray to the lower level of your raclette and let it toast-up 2-3 minutes or until bubbly brown.
Step 2: Transfer the bubbly banana mixture to a bowl or serve inside a fillo shell. You can also accompany the dessert alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra decadent treat.
Ready To Raclette, Right ?!
If you’d like some suggestions for where to score your very own raclette magic, try these retailers:
If you’re looking for a creative way to make use of those Thanksgiving leftovers consider this mini turkey cornucopia recipe.
You can stuff these horns o’ plenty with almost anything your appetite desires!
Tips:
Don’t overcook the bread; it’s best served fresh from the oven. We found that Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheets cut into long ¼” – ½” strips work well. The number of cornucopias you can yield from your bread recipe will depend on your wrapping technique.
We bought the paper drinking cups at our local HEB but if you’re cupless you can shape your foil cornucopia liner entirely by hand. It will take a little more foil, time and patience but totally doable in a pinch.
A Few Pieces | Nonstick Aluminum Foil
6-10 Small | Paper Drinking Cups
A Few Squirts | Cooking Spray
Your Favorite | Croissants, Puff Pastry Or Bread Recipe
1 | Cage Free Egg, Beaten
2 Tablespoons | Water
1 | Pastry Brush
To Stuff And Serve | Your Favorite Thanksgiving Fixings (turkey, bacon, lettuce, cheese, tomato, pickle, dressing, mayonnaise, mustard, gravy, etc.)
What To Do:
1. To form the cornucopia, wrap a small piece of foil around a small paper drinking cup. Tuck foil around the rim of the cup and shape the end of the foil into a curvy tail as shown below. Spray the foil on the cornucopia with the cooking spray.
2. Using long strips of your dough start at the small end of the foil cornucopia form and closely wrap the dough around the form from tail to top, leaving no foil exposed. You can connect strips of the dough together by brushing a bit of beaten egg to the ends of the dough when forming. Set aside on a greased cooking sheet.
3. Continue wrapping the cornucopia forms with the dough. When all the cornucopias are complete make an egg wash by adding 2 tablespoons of water to your remaining egg. Brush each cornucopia with the wash using the pastry brush and return it to the cookie sheet.
4. Bake the cornucopias according to the dough-baking instructions. Remove from oven and cool. Free the bread cornucopia from the foil base by gently wiggling the cup from the dough – bend/crush the cup if necessary and discard the cup and foil.
5. Let your guests build their own cornucopias to their preference “Subway sandwich style” or you can make them in advance. Have fun with your stuffings – there are lots of possibilities!
Serves 4-6 hungry folks.
Gobble ’till you wobble and make it a great Thanksgiving!
~ Joe Paul Reider
Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.
One of the most important of Italian traditions is to celebrate and welcome friends and family to their new home. This “recipe” is an easy way for you to honor their life event.
The items below have great significance and when combined, make a thoughtful and memorable gift from you to them!
Ingredients:
Bread | So you will never go hungry
Wine | So you will never go thirsty
Salt | Sprinkled around doors and windows, for good luck
Olive Oil | Which represents good health
A Candle | Symbolizing light
Wood | To bring peace, harmony and stability to your new home
Tips:
For The Bread: We like giving an artisan loaf of Rosemary Bread from Central Market.
For The Wine: You can only “go right” with an Italian red. We found this Piccini Chianti at our local Twin Liquors.
For The Salt: We gift gray sea salt; it’s flavorful and prized by cooks around the globe.
For The Olive Oil: Try a first press olive oil in a glass dispenser to show-off it’s distinctive gold and green color.
For The Candle: We put an aromatic candle inside a decorative votive holder.
For The Wood: A high-end wooden cooking utensil – perhaps olive wood – will do the trick and will remind them of you each time they’re cooking in the kitchen. Here in Austin try Sur la Table.
What To Do:
1. Arrange the goodies in a small basket lined with a fabric napkin.
2. Top the basket treats with a handmade card (ours is shown above) with a printout of the ingredients list; when the recipient reads the history and learns the significance of the items, a smile (sometimes a tear) comes to their face.
Enjoy!
~ Joe Paul Reider
Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.
This recipe comes to me from Patrick, who handles marketing here at Home Style Austin. He promised it was one of his family’s tasty time-honored recipes.
He was right! This bread makes for a great morning meal, a side or dessert. Best make two loaves – one for home and one for the office or for a gift. You just scored friends for life.
Ingredients:
1½ Cup | Sugar
½ Cup | Falfurrias Brand Butter
2 | Cage Free Eggs, Beaten Well
3 | Bananas, Mashed Well
½ Cup | Nuts, Finely Ground (I like pecans)
½ Teaspoon | Baking Soda
4 Tablespoons | Buttermilk
1½ Cups | Flour
1 Teaspoon | Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon | Vanilla
What To Do:
0. Preheat oven to 350°F.
1. In a large bowl, mix the first five ingredients.
2. Dissolve the soda in the buttermilk; add to the first five ingredients.
3. Mix the flour with the baking power; add to the ingredients along with vanilla and mix well.
4. Grease the bottom of a baking pan then line the bottom of the pan with wax paper.
5. Pour batter into baking pan and bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Foodie Tips:
This recipe makes good use of “almost-bad” bananas. Try a slice toasted with a “schmear” of whipped cream cheese. You may never go plain again!
~ Joe Paul Reider
Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.
Home Style Austin 