Tomato Season With Tarte Tatin

Fall is a great season for fruits and veggies. They’re at the peak of their flavor and they’re so diverse, it can get hard to choose between one and the other. Tomatoes are in season and if you’re still buying your tomatoes in a supermarket, it’s that you’re missing out on the real tomatoes that are sold in local markets these days. Whether they’re red or pink, you’ve got plenty of tasty choices and you should take advantage of their cheap price… that’s what happens when the offer is bigger than the demand!

If you’re really into working hard, you should be canning your own tomatoes these days (if you’re Italian, you probably have a family day planned to do so). If you’re into cooking but don’t have that much time on your hands, than maybe you should be cooking something simple made with loads of tomatoes. That was my option last week when I was looking for something original and different to make with the ‘in season’ vegetable. So I made a tarte tatin, which is basically an upside down tart. Traditionally, it’s made with caramelized apples but you can also make it with other fruits and veggies. I chose to make it with ripe red tomatoes. Quite simple to prepare, it makes for an impressive dish. It does take a lot of cooking time but while the tomatoes are cooking, you can do a lot of other things around the house! There’s always a plus to slow cooking food!

On a sunny day (because we still have them in September), try this tart. Have it for lunch with a nice rosé wine. It’ll make you fully appreciate the end of a great summer.

TOMATO TARTE TATIN

Makes 6 servings

 

INGREDIENTS

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

10 big tomatoes

1 onion, thinly sliced

5 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

½ tsp sugar

Salt & pepper 

Black Pepper Pastry

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Pinch of salt

½ cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

About 3 tbsp cold water

PREPARATION

Preheat your oven at 300˚F.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Fill a large bowl with ices cubes and cold water. With a knife, cut a small X in the base of each tomato. Blanch the tomatoes for 1 minute in a large pot of boiling water. Drain and drop into the ice water to stop the cooking. Peel the tomatoes, cut them in half and seed them.

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes with the remaining ingredients. Season with salt & pepper. Place on a 10-inch pie plate. Roast for about 2 ½ hours.

Black Pepper Pastry

Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the flour, pepper and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the pieces are the size of peas. Add the water. Pulse again until the dough just begins to hold together, adding more water if necessary. Remove the dough and shape it into a disk with your hands.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough and cut a circle of 10-inch in diameter. Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Lay the dough over the tomatoes, tucking the edges inside the pie plate. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Invert the tart onto a serving plate.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Rosa’s Juicy And Tasty Italian Veal Burgers

One of the things I like about cooking is finding new recipes. And the best way to find new recipes is by eating other people’s food. Of course, if you like someone else’s recipe, you might have to fight them to get it. Other times, people just enjoy sharing their knowledge or family secrets. I, personally, like to bug people to get their recipes. It’s much better and so much more fun than finding recipes in books or magazines. At least, other people’s recipes have been tested and tried and you can be assured they are close to perfection. I got the following recipe from my mom, who got it from one of her coworkers, Rosa. Of course, Rosa is Italian, and of course, she’s got some amazing recipes to share.

This is one of my favorite burger recipes. Who ever said a burger absolutely had to be made of beef? This one, made of veal, is delicate yet bold in taste. It’s easy to make and even easier to eat. If you feel like making burgers but want to give your sandwiches a little fancy twist, this is the perfect recipe to let yourself go! It’s juicy and savory, just like a Friday night snack should be!

ITALIAN VEAL BURGERS

Makes 4 burgers or 3 bigger ones

Veal Pattie

INGREDIENTS

600gr ground veal

1 egg, beaten

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tbsp sundried tomatoes, thinly chopped

About 1 cup goat cheese, chopped

Salt & Pepper

PREPARATION

In a large bowl, blend together all the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make 4 patties. Set aside.

Sauce

INGREDIENTS

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

2 tbsp sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

PREPARATION

In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Set aside.

Garnish

INGREDIENTS

1 large onion

1 red bell pepper (optional)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

PREPARATION

In a large skillet, over medium-low heat, cook the onions and peppers in the balsamic vinegar until they become tender. It should take about 20-30 minutes.

SERVING

When ready to serve, cook the patties in a large skillet over medium heat. Cooking time should be about 7-8 minutes. You could use a BBQ but because of the filling in the meat, the patties might disintegrate on the grill… so be careful if that’s your choice of cooking method.

Toast a burger bread, put a patty on top. Scoop some of the mayonnaise and top with the onion and red pepper mixture. Serve hot with a crunchy summer salad on the side. 

My Monday Afternoon Project: Lasagna

As some of you may have read throughout this blog, I’m big time pregnant right now. In fact, I could pop any day. I’m basically waiting around at home until the big day comes, which has great advantages. The downside is that I don’t have much energy left in me. Consequently, I’m not always in the mood for cooking. Still, I put a great effort to make sure I do keep on cooking. First, to stay healthy. But also to have great recipes to add to this blog.

You can also imagine that my fridge is pretty much kept full at all times. I’ve been like a small ant lately, making provisions for the hard times to come (because you never know what you’re going to get!). I have all sorts of frozen goods ready to be heated up, either in the microwave or in the oven. There is no way I will be cooking in the first few days after giving birth. Which is why yesterday I gave myself a big kick in the butt and made an astronomical quantity of Lasagna.

Don’t get me wrong, I love lasagna but it’s not something I eat every week. More like twice a year. Yet I find that when you make lasagna, it takes so much time that it’s not worth it if you’re only going to make one. Which is why I made 3 huge ones and froze them. I can keep them all if I want to or, I could give some out if I feel like it. You could do the same.

The following recipe is pretty traditional. If you want to make a few lasagnas at the same time, you’re going to have to multiply the ingredients. With the Bolognese sauce recipe below, you’ll be able to make 3 big lasagnas and you might even have some sauce left over. If you’re not planning on making many lasagnas, you can choose to cut the quantities to make less sauce or, better, keep the quantities and freeze the extra sauce for spaghetti. Same thing for the Béchamel recipe. You’ll have enough to make 3 lasagnas. This sauce doesn’t freeze so you should cut the quantities if you only want to make 1 lasagna. Finally, I like to buy aluminum lasagna pans that I can throw out after one use. There cheap, the perfect size and you can keep your good baking pans out of the freezer.

Oh yeah! I didn't eat lasagna last night so I froze all 3 of them without cooking them, which is why I don't have a great picture of the final result. I'm sure you can imagine what it'll look like once it's perfectly roasted! 

TRADITIONAL LASAGNA

Makes 1 lasagna

(Make sure you multiply the ingredients if you’re making more than 1 lasagna)

INGREDIENTS

Salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

About 12 dried lasagna sheets 

Black pepper

2 ½ cups Bolognese sauce (see recipe below)

1 ½ cups Béchamel sauce (see recipe below)

1-pound ricotta cheese

2 eggs

2 packs of 10z frozen spinach, chopped, unfrozen and dried

3 cups mozzarella cheese

¼ cup freshly ground Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION

If you’re planning on eating your lasagna on the day of preparation, preheat your oven at 375˚F.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the vegetable oil (so your lasagna won’t stick together). Add the lasagnas and cook for about 6 minutes (they have to be all dente). Take the pasta out and pass under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside, covered with a slightly humid towel so they don’t dry out.

In a large bowl, mix together the Bolognese and Béchamel sauces. Adjust taste with salt and pepper if necessary. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, the eggs, salt & pepper. Set aside.

In a 13”x 9” ovenproof pan, spread 1/3 of the Bolognese-Béchamel sauce. Cover with 5 lasagna sheets. Evenly spread the ricotta mix over the lasagna. Cover with spinach. Add 5 more lasagna sheets over the spinach and cover with another 1/3 of the Bolognese-Béchamel sauce. Add ½ cup of mozzarella cheese. Cover with the remaining 5 lasagna sheets. Empty the rest of the Bolognese-Béchamel sauce and cover with what’s left of the mozzarella cheese, as well as with the Parmesan. Put in the oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the cheese makes bubbles on top. 

Notes: I believe real traditional lasagnas should be made with Marinara sauce and separately cooked meat. Since I’m a little lazy sometimes (!), I prefer to make a simple Bolognese sauce so the meat is already integrated to the tomato sauce.

If you choose to unfreeze and cook, make sure you take your lasagna out of the freezer at least 10 hours before heating it. 

SIMPLE BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Makes about 10 cups

INGREDIENTS

½ cup olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely diced

3 garlic cloves (or more if you like!), finely chopped

1 ½ pounds ground beef

4 celery branches, finely diced

2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

Salt & pepper

3 - 36oz preserved tomatoes

2 dried laurel leaves

PREPARATION

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onions and the garlic. Cook for about 8 minutes. Add the beef and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of freshly ground pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the laurel leaves.

Simmer over low heat for about 1 hour or until the sauce has thickened.

Take off the heat. Throw out the laurel leaves. Adjust taste with salt and pepper.

BECHAMEL SAUCE

Makes 4 cups

INGREDIENTS

5 tbsp unsalted butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

4 cups hot milk

Salt & white pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

PREPARATION

In a small pan, heat the milk until it’s just about to boil.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Bring the temperature to medium heat and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the hot milk to the mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until the mixture is very smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Set-aside until you’re ready to use it.