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Heirloom Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe & Technique

By + on September 19, 2012 in heirloom tomatoes, Recipes, Techniques
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Heirloom Tomato Tartin from HeathGlen

After discovering that the sweet and umami flavors in a tomato jam are a winning combination, I wanted to use our heirloom tomatoes in something else that featured a sweet background to the tomatoes.  There were several recipes out there for a Tomato Tarte Tatin, and after reviewing several I realized this dish was not going to be quick and easy.  Bon Appetit included pictorial directions, which is the way I like to learn any truly new dish, so I went with their recipe.  I have made this twice now, once with great success and once not-so-much.  Here is Bon Appetit’s recipe for Tomato Tarte Tatin, modified to reflect what I learned from the failure.

This is truly a unique taste treat that will surprise and delight you.  The heirloom tomatoes cook in the caramel until tender, but they manage to retain their fresh tomato flavor at the same time.  Combine that with a sweet crunchy pastry crust and it is definitely my pastry of choice for the morning cup(s) of coffee!

Tomato Tarte Tatin

(slightly adapted from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs. heirloom plum or roma tomatoes (I used Amish Paste but Opalka or San Marzano would work great also)
  • 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-oz package), thawed, corners cut to make very rough 9-10-inch round

Directions:

  1. IMG 3546 300x269 Heirloom Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe & Technique

    Peeling tomato skins

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring large saucepan of water to boil.  Cut shallow X in bottom of each tomato. Add tomatoes to boiling water. Blanch tomatoes until skins begin to peel back (30-60 seconds).  Using slotted spoon, transfer blanched tomatoes to bowl of ice water to cool quickly.

  2. Place room temperature butter in 12-inch cast iron skillet and place on burner that is off, but still slightly warm from the boiling water for blanching tomatoes.  Let in slowly melt in pan while working with tomatoes.
  3. IMG 3549 300x225 Heirloom Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe & Technique

    Coring and seeding tomatoes

    Peel tomato skins off.  Cut off end of tomato, slice in half lengthwise, and remove the hard white core if there is one.  Remove most of seeds with finger (I left some seeds in, as they are connected to the tasty tomato gel).

  4. Spread melted butter over bottom of skillet as evenly as possible and sprinkle 3/4 cups sugar over the butter.  Arrange tomato halves, rounded side down and close together, in concentric circles in skillet to fill completely.
  5. Place skillet over medium heat.  Cook until sugar and butter are reduced to thickly bubbling, deep amber syrup (about 1/4 inch deep in bottom of skillet), moving tomatoes occasionally (and gently) to prevent burning, about 25 minutes.  The first time I made this I loosened the tomatoes as they cooked and it came out beautifully.  The second time I just let them cook in the caramel and they stuck to the bottom when I inverted it and it was a mess (a tasty mess however).

    IMG 3556 300x225 Heirloom Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe & Technique

    Caramelizing Tomatoes

  6. Remove skillet from heat and immediately drizzle vanilla over tomatoes.  Top with the pastry round.  Bon Appetit tells you to tuck in the edges of the pastry with a knife, but it worked much better for me when the pastry was just laid on top of the tomatoes with about 1/2 inch ring of caramel exposed around the pan.  When I tucked it in, the pastry puffed up and made a rounded tarte bottom rather than flat.  Cut 2 or 3 slits in the pastry also
  7. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until pastry is deep golden brown, about 24 minutes.
  8. Cool tart in skillet 10 minutes.  Cut around sides of skillet to loosen pastry. Place large platter over skillet and, using oven mitts as aid, hold skillet and platter firmly together and invert.  Allow tart to settle onto platter.  Hit bottom of skillet several times with end of knife to loosen the tart also.  Carefully lift off skillet. Rearrange any tomato halves that may have become dislodged.
tomato tartin 300x223 Heirloom Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe & Technique

Heirloom Tomato Tartin from HeathGlen

Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy for dessert.  Enjoy in the morning with coffee.  Enjoy!

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Quinoa Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes: Tomato Recipe Series 2012

By + on September 11, 2012 in heirloom tomatoes, Mediterranean, Recipes
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Quinoa with Roasted Tomatoes, Pine Nuts & Olives

Quinoa is an ancient grain that has recently regained popularity in the foodie world.  I had been hearing a lot about the health benefits of quinoa, but was also hearing accolades on its excellent nutty flavor profile.  Apparently it is still in a  “niche”, as it took me a while to find it in the local grocery stores.

As I was researching different ways to use some of the heirloom cherry tomato varieties we grow, I stumbled across this quinoa salad recipe on a blog called  www.eatliverun.com that looked like the perfect foil for the abundance of cherry tomatoes we have this time of year.  It was.  Jenna, the author of the eatliverun blog is a trained chef, freelance food writer and recipe developer.  This is her recipe, only slightly modified by me:

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Pine Nuts &  Olives

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 16 oz cherry tomatoes (heirloom cherries are great, but mix it up for color and flavor)
  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin, freshly ground if possible
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or, to taste)
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts, roughly chopped (she used walnuts)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Spread the nuts out on a foil-lined sheet try and toast for 3-5 minutes, until golden. Remove and place toasted walnuts in a mixing bowl.
  3. Spray foil with cooking spray and place cherry tomatoes on top. Roast tomatoes for about 30 minutes, or until they have burst and charred.  Cool slightly and place the tomatoes in the same bowl with the walnuts.
  4. Combine the quinoa, vegetable broth and spices in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid.
  5. Add the quinoa to the nuts and tomatoes and stir in the olives. Season with salt to taste.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

This kept its flavor well, even after refrigerating it with the tomatoes.

Enjoy!  Next up is some kind of  Tomato Pie.  Do you have any favorites for tomato tartin or tomato pies?  I’d love to hear from you on any of your favorite tomato recipes.  We have about one month left for the fresh tomatoes, and then it’s on to the dried Principe Borghese and the tomato chutney recipes!

 

 

 

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Tomato Borscht: Heirloom Tomato Recipe Series – 2012

By + on August 29, 2012 in heirloom tomatoes, Mediterranean, Recipes
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Tomato Borscht with Golden Beets and Heirloom Tomatoes

I’m always looking for innovative ways to use the heirloom tomatoes that are so prolific on our farm this time of the year.  When I ran across a recipe for Tomato Borscht, I was a little confused.  Wasn’t  borscht a beetroot soup?   I was intrigued.

A  little research confirmed that borscht is indeed typically known as the Ukrainian soup made with beetroot as the main ingredient.  In some Eastern and Central European countries however, borscht is made with tomatoes as the main ingredient with beetroot as a secondary ingredient.  Apparently other non-beet varieties also exist (such as green borscht made with sorrel), but I’m focused on tomatoes right now, so I thought I’d try the tomato version of borscht.

I had recently bought some golden beets at the farmers’ market, so I made the soup with those rather than red beets.  Golden beets are a little milder than red beets, and I think next time I make this I would use red beetroot for a more intense color and flavor.

Tomato Borscht

(recipe adapted from Sofia Larrinua-Craxton)

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 medium raw beets (about 10 oz.), peeled and finely grated
  • 1 tsp freshly ground toasted cumin seeds (see note)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2-3 medium red robust heirloom tomatoes (like Box Car Willy, Thessoloniki, etc.), skinned and chopped
  • 1 cup tomato juice
  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (can soak in warm water first to soften before chopping)
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in heavy pan over low heat. Gently cook onion for 4 minutes and add garlic and cook for another minute.  Add beets and cook gently for 10 minutes longer, stirring from time to time, until softened but not browned.
  2. Add ground spices, tomatoes, tomato juice, and sun-dried tomatoes, then pour in the stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until all vegetables are soft. Remove from heat and let cool down a bit. Blend or process until velvety smooth. Add soy sauce and then add salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Serve either chilled, at room temperature, or slightly warmed. If you serve warm, reheat the soup gently over low heat. To serve, spoon into soup bowls and add a spoonful of sour cream or creme fraiche, and garnish with toasted cumin seeds

Note: For the best, most flavorful results, toast whole cumin seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes until golden and aromatic. Grind to a powder and use immediately.

I liked this soup best at room temperature, as chilling food masks some of the flavor of foods in my opinion.  I’ve never really cared much for beets on their own, but really enjoyed them in this soup.  My husband thought it was a bit bland so I might add a little more cumin or other spices next time.

As always, I’d love to hear your comments on this soup or any other “borschts” that you have tried and enjoyed.

Dorothy

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Andalusian Gazpacho & Breakfast Tomato Bread: Reconstructed from Spain travels

By + on August 2, 2012 in heirloom tomatoes, Mediterranean, Recipes, Slow Carb (4-Hr body) Diet, slow carb diet recipes, Spain - travel & recipes
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Senora’s Andalusian Gazpacho

Trying the classic and authentic dishes of Spain was a priority for me last year while visiting my daughter in Granada, Spain.  And what cries authentic and classic in Southern Spain more than gazpacho?

Alas, we were visiting Spain in the spring, and it was still rather cool, so many of the restaurants were not featuring gazpacho.  When my daughter’s host mother found out I was going to pay four euros for a bowl of gazpacho in a restaurant in the Sierra Nevadas, she was outraged and wouldn’t allow it.   She had lived in the Andalusia region of Spain her whole life, raising 3 children and cooking for hundreds of study-abroad students.  “She” would make me an authentic gazpacho ( and “it certainly wouldn’t cost 4 euros!”).

She was on, and I couldn’t have been more pleased.  It was the best gazpacho ever, and I can’t imagine a restaurant making a better one, even for ten euros.

Senora was not an Andalusian grandmother that cooked with recipes however.  There was not one recipe book in her house and when I asked her about her cooking, she just pointed at her head and smiled.  Ah-h, would that I could cook out of my head like that!

Back in the states, I tried to replicate the memory of that gazpacho, but all I had was tomatoes from the grocery store to work with.  It was close, but I tried to imagine it with my farm’s heirloom tomatoes.  So, now that the bold, high-acid tomatoes have ripened, I have tried it again.  Thankfully I wrote down what I remembered when I first got home from Spain.  Here is my version of Senora’s gazpacho.  I wish I could let her taste it and give me her critique.  She was the best host mother my daughter could have hoped for!

Senora’s Andalusian Gazpacho

gazpacho 4 best 300x225 Andalusian Gazpacho & Breakfast Tomato Bread: Reconstructed from Spain travels

Senora’s Andalusian Gazpacho

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs. heirloom tomatoes, peeled, chopped roughly
  • 1 jar roasted red bell peppers (or 2 fresh red peppers, roasted)1 poblano pepper
  • 1 red onion
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, chopped roughly
  • 2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • 3/4 cup olive oil (the best quality you have)
  • 1 – 2 tsp roasted fennel seeds, ground OR
  • 1 – 2 tsp roasted cumin seeds, ground

Directions:

  1. Process each vegetable separately and then combine them in a large bowl. Add salt and sherry vinegar.  Let it sit for a couple of hours.
  2. Blend half of the vegetable mixture in a food processor at medium speed, drizzling in 1/2 cup of oil through the top while processing. Pour out into large bowl.
  3. Blend the other half of vegetable mixture in processor, drizzling in 1/4 cup of oil, along with the roasted, ground fennel seeds (or cumin). Pour both mixtures together in a bowl and stir to mix.  Chill
  4. Before serving, bring to room temperature.  Garnish with fresh avocado.

Definitely a great Spanish dish for hot summer days in, yes it’s true, Minnesota!

Senora’s Breakfast Tomato Bread

While I knew that gazpacho was a classic Spanish dish, what I didn’t know was that the classic breakfast in much of Spain was the simplest tomato dish of all, which Senora called “tomato bread”.  My daughter had this daily for breakfast, and it was prevalent in many of the restaurants that we went to (that is if a restaurant was open for breakfast).  Senora made this in the simplest of ways:

IMG 3193 300x225 Andalusian Gazpacho & Breakfast Tomato Bread: Reconstructed from Spain travelsIngredients:

  • tomatoes
  • olive oil
  • crusty, robust bread (baguette or similar)

Directions:

  1. Grate 2 or 3 tomatoes into a bowl, using the large grate size of a box grater
  2. Add salt to taste, and let it sit for about 15 minutes
  3. Meanwhile, bake the bread if it is take & bake, or toast it if it is soft
  4. Drizzle some olive oil into bowl of grated tomatoes (sorry no measurements, just drizzle some in)
  5. IMG 3198 300x223 Andalusian Gazpacho & Breakfast Tomato Bread: Reconstructed from Spain travelsSpread it on the bread and enjoy the simplicity of a good, fresh breakfast.

 

So, it’s that time of the year.   Transport yourself to Spain with gazpacho and tomato bread!

Cheers,

Dorothy

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Smoked Tomato Martini Recipe – rimmed with sun-dried tomato salt

By + on February 17, 2012 in heirloom tomatoes, Recipes
PinExt Smoked Tomato Martini Recipe – rimmed with sun dried tomato salt

Bartending in Portland Oregon got me through graduate school and I do believe I’ve used those bartending skills more in post-college life than the skill set of  my urban planning degree (especially if you include the people skills you pick up while bartending).

syrups A 768x1024 Smoked Tomato Martini Recipe – rimmed with sun dried tomato salt

fruit beverage syrups

 

Now would be an exciting time to work behind the bar, as bartening has evolved  into mixology, and mixing a good cocktail now is far more creative.  I used to pride myself on speed and memory, but those traits are now shadowed by what you can do with flavor and fresh ingredients.  Fortunately, I did retain a flavor memory of the various liqueurs, and now use that memory of flavors to enhance the different fruits in the jams I make.

Some of the beverage syrups in this picture use liqueurs also, but most of them are non-alcoholic so you can mix them with carbonated water.  Ever since I got the SodaStream Smoked Tomato Martini Recipe – rimmed with sun dried tomato salt, which makes carbonated water out of tap water in an instant, I’ve been experimenting with these syrups.

This winter I have been working with sun-dried and smoked tomatoes however, testing all the ways you can use them in food, and a serendipitous product resulted….tomato water.  The smoked tomatoes usually require a 20-minute soak in warm water and are then drained.  The flavor of these smoked and dried tomatoes is so intense that I thought the soaking water must retain a fairly high flavor.  It did.

salt martini C 768x1024 Smoked Tomato Martini Recipe – rimmed with sun dried tomato salt

sun-dried tomato salt

 

 

Now, what to do with tomato water?  I’m sure there are many uses, but of course the first that came to my mind is a martini.Especially because I had all of this tomato salt I had made, and thought that would be perfect around the rim.  The tomato salt is 50/50 sun-dried tomatoes and Maldon sea salt.  Lately I’ve been using it on everything, from eggs to chicken to cocktails!

 

 

 

Add a little lime juice and a dash of smoked paprika, garnish with smoked mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, and…

 

Voila!  

martini A 1024x768 Smoked Tomato Martini Recipe – rimmed with sun dried tomato salt

smoked tomato martini

I don’t really drink very many cocktails, especially at home, but I have to say it was a lot of fun greeting my husband as he came in from work with a rimmed martini in hand.  There’s a reason the show Mad Men is so popular.  It felt very chic…not like the baseball cap and dirty hands I usually have from working on the farm.  Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Smoky Tomato Martini

2 oz. Absolut Peppar Vodka

2 oz. tomato water (water left over from drained sun-dried or smoked tomatoes)

fresh squeezed lime juice (I used a couple of tsp., but flavor to taste)

pinch of smoked paprika

tomato salt for rim

Directions:

1) Combine vodka, tomato water, lime juice and paprika in tumbler with ice

2) Stirred, not shaken (see this post from Jerry James Stone for an interesting article on the difference between shaken and stirred martinis)

3) garnish with cherry tomato, fresh mozzarella balls, and fresh basil

4) Sip and enjoy!

Cheers,

Dorothy

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