Simplest Tomato Tart ever!

Aug 132012
 

When it comes to tomatoes in perfect ripeness, I always keep it simple and let the tomato do the talking. The luscious sweet taste of a perfectly ripened tomato in August is nothing short of restorative.

Are you ready for how easy it is?

1. Sheet of puff pastry spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. I do not even roll it out. Unfold. Done.

2. Spread the top with a thin layer of Dijon mustard.

3. Top with sliced tomatoes. These are from Frillman Farms. Green Zebra, Indigo Rose Black, and Black Cherry are the heirloom varieties that I used. Yum.

4. Drizzle with a light hand some extra virgin oil. Light salt and pepper.

5. Bake for approx. 20 mins. at 400F.

6. Let cool and if desired, you can drizzle with my light pesto (lemon juice, basil, garlic and evoo) or just tear up basil leaves on top.

NOTE: Store bought puff pastry is vegan. This is a vegan dish in case Ellen DeGeneres comes over to your house this August.

Print

Simplest Tomato Tart ever!
This is the simplest tomato tart ever!

Author:
Recipe type: Appetiser
Serves: 2

Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Ingredients
  • 1 Sheet Puff Pastry
  • Small amount Dijon Mustard
  • 5-10 small heirloom tomatoes
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions
  1. Sheet of puff pastry spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. I do not even roll it out. Unfold. Done.
  2. Spread the top with a thin layer of Dijon mustard.
  3. Top with sliced tomatoes. These are from Frillman Farms. Green Zebra, Indigo Rose Black, and Black Cherry are the heirloom varieties that I used. Yum.
  4. Drizzle with a light hand some extra virgin oil. Light salt and pepper.
  5. Bake for approx. 20 mins. at 400F.
  6. Let cool and if desired, you can drizzle with my light pesto (lemon juice, basil, garlic and evoo) or just tear up basil leaves on top.

Nutrition Information
Serving size: 2

 

Enjoy!

Pull up a chair, Elizabeth

Mushroom and Pea Tart (vegan friendly)

Mar 112011
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

I think that everyone should have a vegan recipe or two in their repertoire. Not only are more people choosing veganism, a lot of people have food allergies and dietary restrictions. With my son having food allergies, I am always appreciative when people have something for him at the buffet.

One thing that is hard for me to replicate for Gabriel to experience in food is the creamy texture that dairy and eggs can give a dish. Soy cheeses does not melt as well as my beloved artisan cheeses. They certainly do not have that luscious mouth feel that I crave. I have a passion for quiches and tarts, but they are layered with cheese and eggs. I just want my son to experience this as well, so I decided to challenge myself to create a tart that I liked and Gabriel could eat as well.

So instead of trying to replicate a tart that has to compete with a food memory I have of it, I set out to create something new that has a luscious filling within a flaky crust. The bonus was that it is vegan and heart healthy.  That is how my Mushroom & Pea Tart was born. My son ate a huge piece of this tart while telling me the entire time he was pretty sure he did not like mushrooms. I served it the next day for lunch to a friend along side some poached salmon. Huge hit.

Just a few notes:

When I bake potatoes, I always make extra because I can use then later in salads, make hash browns, etc. When I grate them on a box grater, I do not even peel them. Somehow the peel seems to come right off and I am left with the soft grated inside of the potato. Pretty cool.

You can, of course, substitute the vegan butter and the soy sour cream with the more traditional versions. Beef broth for the vegetable broth.

Serves 6- 8
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil + 1/2 cup for brushing on filo dough
  • 4 tablespoons vegan butter such as earth balance
  • 20 ounces assorted mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 6 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons fresh marjoram, finely chopped
  • 4 tablespoons AP flour
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 2 cups grated baked potato. Approximently 2 medium baked potatoes
  • 4 tablespoons soy sour cream
  • salt &pepper, to taste.
  • 1 cup fresh or thawed peas
  • 16 sheets of filo dough

  1. In large saute’ pan, heat oil and butter over medium heat. 

  2. Add mushrooms, celery, onions and garlic. Cook until tender.

  3. Stir in fresh thyme and marjoram.

  4. Scatter flour over all the vegetables and stir. Cooking for a few minutes, so that the flour has a chance to cook.

  5. Stir in wine and stock, then lower temperature a bit. Stir occasionally while the sauce thickens up.

  6. Stir in soy sour cream. Start adding salt and pepper. The amount will vary according to how salty the stock is and/or what your palette likes. Make sure to taste it along the way.

  7. Turn off heat and stir in grated potatoes and peas. Adjust seasoning again if necessary. Set aside to cool while prepping tart crust or place in fridge until ready to assemble.

  8. Preheat oven to 375F. Brush sides and bottom of tart pan with olive oil.

  9. Place first sheet of filo dough across tart pan, then brush with oil. Make sure to brush the dough that is on the side of the pan. Rotate placement of the next sheet slightly down from the last sheet. Brush with oil. Like it is the minute hand going around the clock face. Continue with all eight sheets around the tart pan. Make sure that the bottom, sides and edge of tart pan are all covered with filo and oil. 

  10. Place filling in tart pan. Cover tart with the next 8 sheets of filo in the same manner as the bottom layer. When finished, use kitchen scissors to trim edges, leaving a 1/2 inch over hang. Then go along edge and tuck edge into pan all the way around.
     

  11. Bake for 35-45 minutes until filo is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool a bit.

  12. When cool to the touch, release edges from tart pan with knife. Then invert on to a platter. Cut into wedges with a surrated knife.

Pour yourself a glass of wine. Make a simple mixed green salad with a lemony vinaigrette, which is a perfect compliment to this earthy creamy tart. You have been good to yourself today… both in your body and soul.

Pull up a chair, Elizabeth

Flank steak with a chilled Oberon…I wish I had some again.

Aug 242009
 
food 2 019

food 2 019

Flank steak is one of my favorites cuts of beef there is because it is fast, lower calorie then other meats and super versatitle.  This whole meal took thirty minutes. Actually I could probably win a Top Chef quick fire round with this dish. LOL!

You have probably figured out by now that my approach to cooking dinner is to first look at what are my ingredients on hand and what is in season and try to build from there. It helps use up what you have. I try never to waste food. I just hate it.

What I have: Oberon (by Bell’s. A microbrew from Michigan) No matter what I cook, I was having one of those. Maybe I should open one right now… it may help me think.

Flank steak: 3 lbs.

Haricot Verts:  smaller, delicate flavored green beans. Fresh

Roma tomatoes: soft, but still good. Not good for eating raw. Need to use in something

Blue cheese: could use later, but it goes so well with beef. Need to figure out how to use it. I love love love blue cheese.

You can marinate flank steak for hours or minutes. I love it grilled and I am just going to keep it simple. Rub worchestershire in to the meat, then salt and sprinkle with creole seasoning( which I buy at the grocery store and use it in everything) and let it sit a room tempurature.  The meat will take about 4 minutes per side for medium rare and it will need to sit 10 minutes before slicing. I want to be done in thirty, so I will start grilling in ten.(Note: I use the oven timer to remind me of each step. When to turn, how long to rest, etc. As I am doing everything else, I would never remember without it and my meat would for sure be over cooked.)

Blue cheese: So I have some nice homemade bread crumbs… I know what I will do. I take vidalia onions that I have in my pantry and cut them in half and place on a baking sheet. I mix bread crumbs, blue cheese, pepper, and butter in a bowl and blend. Then I just packed in on top of the halved onions and stuck in a hot oven at 425F. I will take the entire thirty minutes to get tender.

Roma tomatoes: Cooked down they make a nice pasta sauce. Start some salted water to boil. Then I start a saute’ pan heating over med-high.  I finely chop onions and garlic and the the tomatoes. These are all thrown in the pan with some olive oil and cooked down. You will probably need to turn it down to medium at this point. Water is boiling, so I am throwing in some orzo pasta.  Oh, I have some nice kalamata olives. They are chopped up and thrown in the pan with some fresh basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer while pasta is cooking.

Twenty minutes into the process, pull flank steak from grill. Let rest on cutting surface. Letting meat rest is just really important. If you slice too soon, all the juices run out and you have dry meat. We all have done it.

I use a grill pan for the flank steak, so at this point it has all this nice stuff from the steak. I heat it up over medium heat and throw in the harcot verts. If you grilled your flank steak on the grill, just heat up a pan with some olive oil. Toss them around and cook them until tender. This should take about five- six minutes. At the end, I toss in some balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

My pasta is done, drained and tossed in the tomato sauce. Meat is sliced. (Make sure to go opposite the grain of the meat.) Onions are pulled from the oven. Everything is put on platter and served.

The meal was quick to prepare, but we lingered over the table enjoying the beer and the food for hours. Good conversation is most important ingredient for a successful dinner. This meal I shared with my favorite people… my sons.