Guilty Pleasure

First, let me say that, around here, we do generally respect the season, and do a pretty good job of buying local, seasonal food.  But then, you see, we find ourselves smack in the middle of winter, in the midst of a snow storm nonetheless, and we perhaps have been yearning to consume something bright and, dare I say, reminiscent of warmer days?  Something to eat which may give us a little hope that despite the snow that is falling incessantly...(beautifully, yes, but we're feeling the cooped-up-stir-crazy-thing now, thus incessantly do we deem it)...Something that may be considered downright naughty if we're trying our very damnedest to eat locally.  Oh, hell with it.  Sometimes it's too hard to be idealistic.  Sometimes we have to throw caution to the wind, and enjoy a little guilty pleasure.

Yeah, I know.  Tomatoes in January.  I'm judging myself more than you can possibly be judging me.  But we're going with it.  At least in the flavor department, we'll come off alright.  (Never mind the buying seasonal department.  Some of us are desperate, alright?)  Just how are tomatoes coming off anything other than bland and flavorless in January, you may be asking yourself right now.  Well, I'll tell you.  We are going to slowly roast those anemic, long-distance transports, until the oven pulls from them a rich, powerful depth of flavor.  Reawakening their true taste potential.  And perhaps reawakening some of our hope, that winter won't last forever.

I came upon this recipe for Gateau de Tomates d'Eté in Parisian Home Cooking, by Michael Roberts.  It's an upside-down tomato tart, prepared in much the same way as a tarte tatin.  Only instead of caramelizing apples into a tantalizingly sweet dessert, we're caramelizing tomatoes, into a scrumptious tart.  Perfect.

Upside-Down Tomato Tart - Gateau de Tomates d'Eté - adapted from Parisian Home Cooking
-serves four to six

Ingredients
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
12 firm Roma tomatoes, or 8-10 on-the-vine tomatoes, about 3 pounds
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp dried oregano, or 3 sprigs fresh, leaves only
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Paté Brisée - savory tart dough, recipe follows

Combine the sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan, place over medium-high heat, and boil until it turns dark and syrupy, about 3 minutes.  Set aside.

Core the tomatoes, and quarter them from tip to stem.  Gently squeeze out the seeds.  The kiddos are handy for this job.  Be prepared for the inevitable jokes about guts, however.

Place the tomato quarters in a large bowl, and add the vinegar syrup, salt, pepper, olive oil, and oregano, and toss thoroughly.

In either a large, 7-10 inch cast iron pan (my choice for optimum caramelization), or a 2 inch deep non-stick pan, arrange the tomato quarters in a concentric rose-petal pattern, beginning from the outside, working your way inward, in a spiral.

Place in a cold oven, turn the heat to 375 deg F, and bake for one hour.

Near the end of baking time, roll your chilled pastry dough into a rough circle, large enough to cover the tomatoes.  Remove the pan from the oven, top with the dough, and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Let the tart cool for 20 minutes, then invert it onto a plate.  You may need to loosen the edges somewhat first, if you used a cast iron pan.  If you like, decorate with fresh basil, and serve warm.

It is a rather modest looking tart, but trust me, the piquancy of the vinegar syrup, combined with the sweetly roasted tomatoes and herby oregano, makes for one delicious meal.  A meal that will bring back your faith in warmer days to come.

Paté Brisée - Savory Tart Dough - adapted from Around my French Table

*Note*  I made this tart the first time, using the dough recipe from Parisian Home Cooking, and wasn't satisfied with the flakiness of the pastry.  That recipe called for a mere three tablespoons of butter, whereas Dorie's calls for six.  After making this a second time Dorie's way, the dough was perfectly flaky and buttery.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
6 Tbs (3/4 stick) very cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 large egg
1 tsp ice water

You may use either a food processor to mix the dough, or a pastry knife, or your fingers.  I used a food processor, so I'll give directions for that method.  It's the same method any which way, so adapt accordingly.

Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Scatter the bits of butter over the flour, and pulse a few more times, until the butter is coarsely mixed in.  Beat the egg with the ice water, and pour into the bowl in 3 additions, pulsing quickly after each one.  Don't overdo it!  The dough won't form a ball in the processor.  Your dough should hold together when pinched.  If it's still a little dry, add a tsp of water at a time, being careful not to overmix. 

Dump the dough onto a work surface, and gather it together into a ball, briefly kneading if necessary to bring it together.  If you haven't overdone the mixing and kneading, you'll see bits of butter in the dough.  That's what will give the crust it's flakiness.  Flatten it into a disk, and wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for 3 hours, up to 5 days.  (You can freeze the dough for up to a month.)

When your tomatoes are nearly finished with their one hour roasting time, roll out the dough, and continue on with the recipe above.

Enjoy your guilty pleasure!  I know I did.

 

Out of the Box, Take 8

Before you roll your eyes at the fact that I'm about to deliver another tomato recipe...let me tease you with this one:  there's vodka involved.  And it's not a beverage.  Piqued your interest, have I?

I had a nice stash of cherry tomatoes from our CSA box, and a brunch coming up, what to do?  Ah...the mind instantly heads to Monica's for inspiration, which is where I first tasted these Cheeky Tomatoes.  Monica, the hipster queen of all that is edible, or drinkable.  So, of course she would discover this recipe, which unites two very enjoyable activities:  Eating and Drinking.  How can you possibly go wrong?

Originally, the recipe comes from Gourmet, but Monica found it on epicurious (how I love that site!).  I shortened the moniker to Cheeky Tomatoes, but it's actually:  Vodka-Spiked Cherry Tomatoes with Pepper Salt.  Try saying that with a mouthful of vodka soaked tomatoes.  Not easy.

These are perfect, perfect, perfect for brunch.  May I suggest accompanying these with Bloody Mary's?  And, may I also suggest, once you've polished off those Cheeky Tomatoes, throwing the marinade into a batch of Bloody Mary's?  Oh, yum.  That'll do the trick.

Here you go:

Vodka-Spiked Cherry Tomatoes with Pepper Salt or Cheeky Tomatoes - adapted from Gourmet

Ingredients
3 pints firm, small cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup vodka
3 Tbs white-wine vinegar*
1 Tbs superfine sugar**
1 tsp grated lemon zest
3 Tbs kosher salt
1 1/2 Tbs freshly ground black pepper

*Monica had made me, as a lovely birthday gift, some tarragon-infused vinegar, which is what I used.  Scrumptious.*
**If you don't have superfine sugar, also called caster sugar, give your regular granulated sugar a quick whiz in the food processor.**

Whisk the vodka, vinegar, sugar, and lemon zest together in a medium-sized bowl.  In a very small bowl, something ramekin-sized, mix the salt and pepper.  This will be served alongside the tomatoes, to dip into.

Okay, so the original recipe asks that you blanch and peel all those tiny tomatoes.  Balls on that.  Monica didn't do it, and neither did I.  Plus, I think the staying power of your tomatoes will be significantly longer if you don't peel them.  Up to you, though.  What Monica did, was to pierce each tomato a few times, with a toothpick, so that they still soak up the marinade, yet hold their shape.  (And you're doing a lot less fiddly work.)  I, however, found myself lacking in the toothpick department (I know, shocking, right?), so I was forced to improvise:

Pretty ingenious, if I do say so myself.  And somewhat apropos.  At least in my head.  Anyway...

Give each tomato a few piercings, and toss them into the marinade.  Allow to hang out for at least half an hour before serving.  If you've simply pierced them, as I did, they'll be good to go for a solid few hours.  If you've peeled them, you're probably looking at an hour or hour and a half.  And who wants to put that kind of pressure on guests?

 

Serve them up, in all their gorgeous, cheeky glory, with the Pepper Salt set on the side, for dipping into.  Edible Bloody Mary's.  (Don't forget to use that marinade in a last batch of Mary's, now!)

Oh, yeah...might want to not have these in reach of the little ones.  :)

Have a great day!

While the Getting's Good

I don't mean to lambaste you with tomato recipes...but the way I figure it, it just wouldn't be fair not to share these goodies with you.  We've got to get them, while the getting's good.  And it is oh so good.

Today, I'm coming at you with a Kiwi recipe for Tomato Relish.  That's not kiwi, as in fruit, but rather Kiwi as in the wicked cool folks of New Zealand.  And specifically, my uber-cool mate, and former neighbor, Mim.  Also known as the Goddess of the Garden.  This gal has a way with veggies...and kids...and a serious way with words.  Every time I read one of her verbose and hilarious emails, I catch myself thinking, wistfully..."Oh, to be so witty!"  Check out her awesomeness on her blog, BabyGeek.

Back to the point...after enjoying a little frittata with some of her famous Tomato Relish, I timidly asked for Mim's recipe. Timidly, because it was so delicious I assumed it must be a top-secret family heirloom recipe.  Mim laughed, and said, "'Course, mate!  It's from Edmond's!"

Edmonds Family Cookbook is, to the best of my knowledge, as crucial to Kiwiana as Buzzy Bee, Pavlova, and the AllBlacks.  Or L&P.

I think it's actually required, by law, for every household to own or support all of the above.  (Kidding.  Mostly.)

So, I was generously handed that which, while not exactly a secret family recipe, may still be considered an age-old tradition in NZed:  The recipe to beat all recipes for Tomato Relish.  And it is good.  Made with robust, end of summer tomatoes, bursting with tartness and a bit of heat.  My favorite way to enjoy is simply served up with a chunk of good bread and some dry, sharp cheese.  (Did you know that there is a type of cheese made in NZ, called Tasty?  Not the brand, mind you.  The style.  We'd call it extra sharp cheddar, they call it Tasty.  Amazing, those guys.)  Also brilliant served up alongside a frittata, or with an antipasto plate.  On grilled cheese.  The Mister likes to dip his pizza in it.  (I think that's just wrong.)  Point being, it's damn versatile.  And damn tasty. (ha)

Mim's World Famous Tomato Relish - adapted from (Mim's) Edmonds Family Cookbook
- makes roughly 4 pints

Ingredients
1.5 kg/about 3 1/2 lbs tomatoes, blanched and peeled, then halved

4 medium onions, halved then cut into thirds

2 tablespoons salt

2 cups brown sugar

2 1/4 cups malt vinegar *

1 - 3 chillies (Mim calls for 3, I like about 2...take your pick)

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon curry powder (mild or hot, up to you)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup malt vinegar *

*Since malt vinegar can be hard to find in the US, I have managed to successfully substitute apple cider vinegar.  But if you can find it, it's well worth it.  True Kiwi flavor, you see.*

Place tomatoes and onions in non-reactive bowl, and sprinkle with salt.  Cover with a lid and leave for 12 hours.  This works best overnight, so you don't have that strong onion smell knocking you over the head while you go about your day.  The next morning, drain off the liquid.

Put veggies, sugar, first measure of vinegar, and chillies, into a large pot, or preserving pan.  This is going to be bubbling away for an hour and a half, and smelling very vinegar-y, so I like to start the boil on the stove, then move it out to the burner on the barbecue.  Or you can use a camping stove.  Or tough it up, and do it inside, but you may find yourself opening a few windows.

Boil gently (bit under a rolling bowl, definitely over a simmer, since you're reducing) for an hour and a half, stirring frequently, to avoid sticking.  While this is boiling, get your canning equipment set up and ready to go.

Once the hour and a half has passed, your relish ought to have reduced by 1/3 or more.  Mix together the mustard, flour, curry powder and second measure of vinegar, then add to the relish.  Boil for 5 minutes, then pack into sterilized jars, and follow your regular canning process.

It's well worth the effort to make this a double batch, so you get 8 pints, rather than 4 from a single batch.  We go through the tomato relish fairly quickly around here...so more is undeniably better!

Enjoy!

Redemption

Do you recall that giant box of tomatoes I was lamenting yesterday?

Well, turns out, I've changed my tune.  Redemption comes in many forms, dear friends, and soup is one of them.

After the passata fiasco, I took a wee tomato time out, got my head back on, and then jumped back in the game.  Visited a few blogs and sites on canning.  Toned down the cursing.  Generally sorted myself out.  You know how it goes.

And I learned a few things.  Namely, that I don't have to can all of these tomatoes.  I read here on SouleMama, that she freezes her tomato sauce!  Freezes the sauce!  I have a freezer!  And I don't need to worry about acid levels and botulism, or even buying more lids and jars!  (Although I still may, because mason jars are so cool.)

So there was that bit of inspiration, thanks to SouleMama.  She's just so lovely, and homey, and serene, isn't she?  I suppose that kind of serenity really stands out to me, considering it is often something I am distinctly lacking.  Life's a learning curve, though, and I'm not finished learning yet.

Right.  So then, there was the soup.  I again drew inspiration from Amanda Soule's Carrot Tomato Soup recipe.  (I truly was all over the place, seeking tomato ideas...SouleMama's just where it's at, I guess.)  The main features that I kept was using carrots, and to roast the tomatoes.  Which really deepens and sweetens the flavor.  I did change it up quite a bit though, to suit what we have going on in the King pantry.  I had a bunch of fennel, so I used that, along with onion and carrot.  Oh yum.  And some fennel seeds to further bring out that gorgeous anise hit to the soup.  Fennel and tomatoes complement each other perfectly.  I also threw in a tablespoon of sugar, which perhaps may sound redundant with fresh, seasonal, local tomatoes...but hear me out.  Tomato soup often has a strong acid level, which the sugar mellows, smoothing and rounding out the soup.  Amanda's recipe also called for cream, and believe you me, I love some cream, but I was fresh out.  Remembering a trick from Moosewood Daily Special, I threw two tablespoons of cream cheese in there, when I pureed the soup.  Lovely.

I could eat this soup every day, I tell you.

Roasted Tomato Fennel Soup - serves 6 to 8, as a main

Ingredients
3 pounds tomatoes, blanched & skins removed
few Tbs olive oil
several small stalks of thyme
2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 small heads fennel, stalks and fronds removed, and chopped*
1 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
5 medium carrots, chopped
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
4 cups vegetable stock (you can also use chicken)
2 Tbs tomato paste
2 Tbs soft cream cheese, or neufchatel (the kind that comes in the box, not the plastic container)
celery salt
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

*Save some fronds for garnish.  I also save the stalks for making veg stock, or use them in other dishes.*

Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.  If using large tomatoes, slice in half, then slice each half into thirds or quarters.  If using Roma's or another smallish tomato, halve or quarter them.  Spread the thyme over the tomatoes, season with celery salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil, and roast for 35 to 45 minutes.

Near the end of roasting time, melt the butter over medium low heat in a large stock pot, and add the onion, cooking until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the fennel seeds, chopped fennel, garlic, and carrot, and season with salt and pepper.  Turn the heat up to near medium, and continue cooking until all the vegetables are nicely softened but not browned, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Add in the roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, and stock, and bring just to a boil.  Lightly season again with salt and pepper, and lower to a gentle simmer, for 25 to 30 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, or regular blender in batches, puree the soup.  (If you're rather refined about the whole soup thing, you can sieve it.  I'm not.)  Near the end of blending, add in the soft cream cheese, and puree until well incorporated.  Gently reheat, if you used a blender.  Check for, and adjust seasoning.

Serve garnished with fennel fronds, with some fresh bread alongside.  (Try my rustic loaf, baguettes, or even gougeres.)

Just so you know, this soup makes you happy.  I plan on making a lot of it, to get us through the cold weather.  (You can also use tinned tomatoes instead of fresh, and treat them the same, roasting and all.)

By the way, last night I mentioned to the Mister that I was considering buying another twenty pound box of tomatoes...

You can never have too many tomatoes, you know.

It isn't over yet

This week has been a real kick up the backside, as far as reality checks are concerned.  Those long awaited high temperatures have now dropped by at least twenty degrees.  The heat has been begrudgingly turned on.  The fire is lit in the evening.  But only if we see shivers and goosebumps.  (Put a sweater on, kiddo!  You think heat is free?)  Knitting has begun in earnest, because, after all, Christmas is only three months away.  (Oh, dirty words.)  I've been reluctantly packing up the summer clothes and sandals (sigh), and replacing them with sweaters and shoes.  And I so despise wearing shoes.  I realize this is rather unnatural in one of the oh, um, fairer sex (ha!), but I'd rather be barefoot any day. 

Even as we see all these shifts in our day to day, though, we're still enjoying the fruits of summer.  Because it isn't over yet, people.  Six more days of summer to go, and a whole bloody lot of tomatoes.

Twenty pounds of tomatoes, to be exact.

I do believe my Laura Ingalls complex has gotten entirely out of hand.  You know that thing I do...where I see that my 7 lbs of tomatoes I'm buying for tomato relish, costs nearly as much as a twenty pound box.  So, of course, being ever so economical,  I go for the big box.  

Then, on the drive home, several things hit me.  And I'm talking a serious walloping over the head, cartoon lady with the cast iron frying pan-style.  

Thing #1:  Twenty pounds of tomatoes is really quite a lot of freaking tomatoes.  Especially when I've never canned anything but tomato relish.  Oh balls.

Thing #2:  I've never canned anything but tomato relish.  Oh bollocks.

Thing #3:  I definitely do not have enough lids to can twenty pounds of tomatoes.  Oh crap.

Thing #4:  Not enough jars either.  Oh shit.

So, I said to myself:  Hey, lady, get your Laura on.  If the pioneers could do it with no electricity, or fancy gadgets, you can surely work this out.  And my Laura felt up to the challenge.  Mostly.  Inspired by this SouleMama post on tomatoes, I figured I'd knock out some passata and tomato soup, and use up all those gorgeous (cursed) tomatoes.  Easy-bloody-peasy, right?

Nope.

It started out so well, too.

 

Looks promising, doesn't it?

Turns out, trying to make passata without a food mill, is probably the stupidest move that can be made.  Pressing out all those roasted tomatoes through a fine sieve, let's face it, sucks.  It's the suckiest suck that ever sucked, really.  And it made exactly this much:

Three freaking cups.

Three cups of deliciousness.  But still.  When the Mister looked at the results of my heaving, groaning effort, he said:  "Well, that's a lot of work for not very much return."  No.  Freaking.  Kidding.

It looks like my Laura...that feisty, hard-working gem of a pioneer...well, my Laura...before tackling her daily chores, and canning, just so happened to down a crazy pill with a jug of Mr. Edwards' moonshine.  That's why she's acting all crazy...and making me all crazy, in turn.  Not my fault, you see.

So, because today's passata was a giant Cluster-****-Extraordinaire, I will not be punishing you with that recipe.  I will, however, throw an easy one your way, for celery salt.  I used it on my roasting tomatoes, but you can put it on anything.

Like a Bloody Mary.  Which is what I'm really wishing these tomatoes would turn into, right about now.

Celery Salt & Pepper

Ingredients

1 tsp celery seeds

3 tsp sea salt, large crystals

3/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Put everything into a mortar and bash it about with the pestle until it's all a fine, even consistency.

Well, at least we didn't screw that up.  I do believe Ma and Pa are ashamed of my Laura.  May never forgive her, in fact.

Unless...tomorrow's tomato relish may just change their minds about me.  Barring any unforeseen moonshine, that is.

Out of the Box, Take 5

I do try not to beat a dead horse...I mean, I'm really not into that sort of thing.  But, here we go.  Let the beating begin.

Kidding.  There will be no beatings.  But I am about to share yet another recipe, from yet another French (ish) cookbook.  (There's your horse.)

 

Vegetable Tian, from Barefoot in Paris, by Ina Garten.  I have a whole heap of Barefoot cookbooks, but find myself, at least these days, not consulting them very often.  Perhaps it's the excessive use of butter and olive oil...and you know I love my butter and olive oil, so that's saying something.  Perhaps it's the somewhat unobtainable ingredients.  I live in the way-out-there part of the Pacific Northwest.  Even Seattle is far for me, most of the time.  Perhaps I have an inferiority complex...look, I am nowhere near Montauk's fancy pants food shops.  Or Provence, or Sagaponack...wherever that is. Trader Joe's is generally about as fancy as it gets in these parts.  So we make do.

I do like this cookbook.  Many of the recipes are fairly standard ones, which you'll find in a lot of other French-style cookbooks.  Some are a bit fiddly for me, and some are just perfectly lovely.  Like the Vegetable Tian.

Super easy to prepare, especially with our summer bounty from our CSA box.  A bit of slicing, a bit of layering, drizzle of olive oil and cheese...and Bob's your uncle.  (I had to drop that one.  Look it up.  I love weird slang.)  As usual, I altered the recipe, but only minutely this time.  It calls for Gruyere.  I had none.  But I did have a tasty Toscano peppered cheese from Trader Joe's, which works as a wonderful substitute for parmesan or gruyere, and is also great to nibble from a cheese platter.  Also, I ignored Ina's advice to have all my vegetables be of uniform size, because they weren't.  And I simply wasn't up to a perfection mission.  Perhaps the next time the queen comes to tea, I'll make certain everything is just so...but for the Mister, the kiddos, and myself, it'll do.

There is a somewhat lengthy cooking time attached to this recipe, but because it's so quick to assemble, you can get it ready and pop it in the oven and pretty much get on with other things, until it's ready.  I think it would work perfectly fine to assemble it earlier in the day, but just stop short of seasoning (so the veg doesn't go watery), pop it in the fridge, and bake later that day.

Despite the long cooking time, the vegetables are in no way soggy, and the cheesy top goes all crispy and browned...oh yum.  You really must eat this.

Vegetable Tian - adapted from Barefoot in Paris

-serves 6, as a side

Ingredients

olive oil

2 large onions, cut in half and sliced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 pound medium potatoes, unpeeled (red, yellow, or white, not Russet)

3/4 pound summer squash (I used half yellow crookneck, and half zucchini)

1 1/4 pounds tomatoes

1 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 Tbs fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs

2 oz Gruyere cheese, or Toscano, or a cheese of your choice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Brush a 9x13x2 inch baking dish with olive oil.  

In a medium pan, heat 2 Tbs olive oil and cook the onions over medium low heat, for 8 to 10 minutes, until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

Slice the potatoes, summer squash, and tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices.  Layer them alternately atop the onions, in a spiral pattern, beginning on the outside of the dish, working your way in.  They ought to fit tightly, making only one layer, so each vegetable will have a lovely crispy top.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme leaves and sprigs, and drizzle with 1 Tbs olive oil.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.  Remove the foil and thyme sprigs, sprinkle the cheese over the top, and bake for another half hour, or until browned.  Serve warm.

We served our Tian alongside polenta.  Scrumptious.