Cheese and Tomato Tarte

The last time I visited my friends Greg and Jerry in Winnipeg they made this amazing savoury tarte for me. I now have a lot of beautiful heirloom tomatoes and wanted to make it. The parmesan crust makes this dish.

 

Cheese And Tomato Tart

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

    1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

    1/2-teaspoon salt

    1 large egg

    2 teaspoons (or more) ice water

3-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup coarsely grated Fontina cheese

1 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1-1/2 pounds tomatoes (about 5 medium) cored, cut crosswise into

         1/2-inch thick slices, patted dry

1-1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

     2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

     Fine sea salt

     Freshly ground black pepper

Combine flour, butter, Parmesan cheese and salt in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Beat egg and 2 teaspoons ice water in small bowl to blend; add to dry ingredients.

Using on/off turns, blend until dough comes together in moist clumps, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disc. Wrap and chill 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round.

Transfer dough to 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Trim excess dough to 1/3 inch above rim (let overhang remain). Spread mustard evenly over bottom of crust. Toss Fontina             cheese and cheddar cheeses in a medium bowl to blend. Spread cheeses over mustard. 

Arrange tomatoes, slightly overlapping, in 2 concentric circles atop cheese. Drizzle tomatoes with oil; sprinkle with thyme and lightly with salt and pepper.

Bake tart until crust is deep brown, cheeses are melted, and tomatoes are slightly charred and soft, about 45 minutes. Transfer tart to rack. Let stand until cheese sets up slightly, about 30 minutes. Push up pan bottom, releasing tart. Cut into wedges and serve.

Oven Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes

These are so delicious. Forget the dried out sundried tomatoes. These are so moist and flavourful.

Oven Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes

small heirloom tomatoes
olive oil

Slice tomatoes in half crosswise and place cut side up on a parchment lined baking sheet. When all the tomatoes have been sliced and placed on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil.

Bake in a 225F oven for 4 - 6 hours depending upon how much moisture is in the tomatoes.

Use like sundried tomatoes. To preserve, freeze. I freeze them on the baking sheet and then drop all the tomatoes in a freezer bag. They can be used individually now.

Heirloom Tomato Soup a la Provençal

My farmer friend, Bill, brought me about 20 pounds of heirloom tomatoes yesterday. He has an interesting organic farm nearby. 'Make what you can,' he says. This has a wonderful depth of flavour.

I chose the box of yellow tomatoes for this recipe and it is lovely.  I have large red ones called Flin Flons and some small red tomatoes and a few Romas.

This recipe is adapted from one I found in Gourmet 2006.







Heirloom Tomato Soup a la Provençal

    4 lb tomatoes

    1 medium onion, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise (2 cups)

    1 large carrot, coarsely grated

    1 celery rib, finely chopped

    2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

    3 (3- by 1-inch) strips fresh orange zest, finely chopped

    1 teaspoon dried thyme

    1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes

    1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

    2 bay leaves

    2 tablespoons lovage, roughly chopped

    3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    2 cups water

    2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)

    3/4 teaspoon salt

    1/4 teaspoon black pepper

    Pinch crumbled saffron threads

    1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

    1/4 cup wild rice

Cut a shallow X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife. Blanch tomatoes in batches of 2 or 3 in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling water 10 seconds, transferring with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking.

Peel tomatoes, then halve crosswise. Squeeze halves gently, cut sides down, over a sieve set over a bowl to extract seeds and juices, then press on seeds and discard them. Reserve juice and tomatoes.

Cook onions, carrot, celery, garlic, zest, thyme, red-pepper flakes, fennel seeds, and bay leaf in oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes with reserved juice, water, chicken broth, salt, pepper, saffron, wild rice and 1 teaspoon sugar, then simmer, uncovered, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a spoon occasionally, until rice is cooked, 40 minutes. Discard bay leaf and add sugar and salt to taste.

Grilled Zucchini Hummus

Think baba ganoush. Smokey flavoured eggplant dip is a Mediterranean staple that I simply adore. Then I received a huge zucchini from my school children. Make something! This hummus was outstanding and I will definitely make it again. Puréed in my Vitamix and it so creamy and smooth. If you didn't know, you would think you are eating regular chick pea hummus. My zucchini was huge and dry much like a squash. If you use smaller ones you may want to let the pieces drain after grilling.

Grilled Zucchini Hummus

1 large zucchini

1/4 cup  tahini

3 to 4 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Heat a grill to high.

Trim the ends from the zucchini, then slice it in half lengthwise. If the seeds are large and watery, use a melon baller or small spoon to scrape out and discard most of the seeds from the centre of each half. It’s not critical to get them all. If the inside of the zucchini appears firm and the seeds small, you don’t need to scrape them out.

Place the zucchini on the grill, cut side up, then reduce heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes, or until just lightly browned and starting to get tender. Set aside to cool.

When the zucchini has cooled enough to handle, place it in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients. Process for 1 minute, or until very smooth.

The hummus can be served immediately, or chilled. The hummus will thicken slightly as it chills.

Zucchini and Autumn

Zucchini and autumn is a given in the farm kitchen. You don't have one without the other. I was a substitute teacher at a nearby Hutterite Colony a couple of weeks ago and the children presented me with two huge zucchinis. 'Make something for the market,' they suggested. So I did.

Zucchini Relish

This is so good. It has a sweet and sour relish flavour that would be great with hot dogs. I made some fresh beans and enjoyed them with the relish.

    10 cups chopped zucchini

    2 cups chopped onion

    5 tablespoons pickling salt

    2 tablespoons cornstarch

    2 sweet red peppers, chopped

    1 small hot pepper, chopped

    1 tablespoon nutmeg

    1/2 teaspoon black pepper

    2 tablespoons celery seed

    1 tablespoon turmeric

    6 cups sugar

    2 1/2 cups cider vinegar

Place chopped zucchini and onions in a large pan. Sprinkle salt over them and let stand overnight. The next day, rinse these ingredients well. Stir in all the rest of the ingredients and cook for 30 minutes. 

This can be water bath processed and stored for the winter.

 

Thai Influenced Cold Noodle Salad

This salad is stunning. It is refreshing and satisfying and filling all at the same time. Soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour along with white flour so they are lower in gluten and have a richer flavour. They cook quickly. Ramen noodles could be substituted.

Soba Noodle Salad

Yield 8 servings

    15 ounces (1 package) dried soba noodles

    1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

    1/3 cup rice vinegar

    1/3 cup soy sauce

    juice from one lime

    zest of one lime

    2 tablespoons brown sugar

    2 cloves garlic, minced

    2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)

    1 cup finely grated carrot

    1/4 cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts

    1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, optional

    In a large pot, cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse noodles with cold water, and set aside.

    Pour into a large bowl the sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and lime juice. Mix in lime zest, brown sugar, garlic, and red pepper flakes; stir until sugar dissolves. Toss in carrots, peanuts, and cilantro.

    Stir noodles into dressing mixture. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

    Toss salad again before serving. If dry, splash with soy sauce and vinegar. Serve cold.