Showing posts with label heirlooms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heirlooms. Show all posts

Heirloom Tomato and Quinoa Galette with a Farmers Market Salad



    This weekend was the last official weekend for our farmers market. I just cannot believe how time flies. It is almost May, which means we are going to be left without one of the things we look forward to the most every Sunday morning. Luckily, some of the farmers have chosen a close by location to set up stands for a couple more weeks, but not long enough.

    I asked one of the farmers what they do in the summer and she told me, "Go on vacation". I smiled. So well deserved.



    My first stop every Sunday, and definitely one of my favorites, is the heirloom tomato farm stand. Her tomatoes are like no other . Sweet, soft and buttery. Every Sunday we buy about five pounds of tomatoes to last us through the week. A little mid morning snack of sliced tomato with avocado, sea salt and olive oil. Nothing beats that.



    Perhaps because my life has been a little chaotic lately, I have been craving simplicity all around and that includes food. It's not a stretch for me as Basque cuisine is all about ingredients and quality and little about method and technique. All I crave are soups and salads and quinoa has really become a staple in my diet. Quinoa porridge with hemp milk in the morning, quinoa tabouleh, quinoa with watercress and pumpkin seed pesto...

    Our friend P. who is originally from Peru was telling me stories about how they used to make her eat quinoa as a kid. Her parents are taking a trip home soon and she was telling me about all the different varieties they have. Even pink. "Even pink?", I asked. "I must get my hands on some".



    So when we thought about making a quick galette for lunch, I thought of making a quinoa crust for added protein and earthy flavor. We accompanied the galette with a simple salad of watercress, watermelon radish, edible flowers, baby carrots and a lemon vinaigrette.



    Quinoa Pate Brisee

    85 grams quinoa flour
    65 grams superfine brown rice flour
    20 grams potato starch
    3 grams salt
    2 grams xanthan gum
    115 grams butter or non-hydrogenated shortening, cold and diced
    80 grams ice water


    Place all the dry ingredients in the food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the cold and diced butter (or shortening) and pulse about 10 times until butter is cut into the flour into chunks (not too small). Add the water and pulse until comes together. It does not need to form a ball. Just combined.

    Dump the dough onto a board and form it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and flatten it a bit. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

    Heirloom Tomato Galette

    Quinoa pate brisee
    2 lbs heirloom tomatoes
    1 oz goat cheese
    Olive oil
    salt
    Freshly ground pepper
    Egg wash


    Roll the pate brisee to about 1/16"-1/8" thick, forming a circle. You can cut the edges to make a perfect circle or just leave it as for a rustic look.

    Cut the tomatoes in slices that are about 1/4" thick. Place the tomato slices on paper towels to drain some of the excess water. Pat the top also. Place the tomato slices on the rolled pate brisee. Fold the edges over the tomatoes.

    Dab some goat cheese on top. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. brush some egg wash on the edges for a golden brown crust.

    Bake in a preheated 450F on the lower half of the oven for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 400F and finish baking for another 15 minutes until crust golden brown. Make sure the bottom crust is cooked. You can even bake it on a pizza stone if you have one.

    Drizzle with more olive oil and serve with a green salad.

Post Title

Heirloom Tomato and Quinoa Galette with a Farmers Market Salad


Post URL

https://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2010/04/heirloom-tomato-and-quinoa-galette-with.html


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Green Heirloom Tomato and Celeriac Soup



    You might be wondering why in the world I am blogging about heirloom tomatoes in the middle of winter. While most of you are covered in snow and wearing layer upon layer of clothing, it is tomato season here in Florida. Yes, and it is beautiful. It is the season of tomatoes, strawberries, zucchini, peppers... all the things that most of you enjoy during the summer we have them now.



    On Sundays, we get up early, get a quick bite to eat and we load up the kids in the car to go to our local farmers market. It is what we used to do on Sundays when we were kids and I love having that tradition with my own family now.

    The last couple of weeks, the tomatoes at one of my favorites farm stands have been beautiful and we have been eating them in salads about every single day. I just like to slice them and toss them in a little bit of olive oil, sea salt and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice or a drizzle of balsamic. So sweet and buttery. Yes, buttery tomatoes. Do you know what I mean? Such a soft and creamy texture.



    Everyday, when J. comes home from school, he requests the same thing. Soup and sandwich. He is a boy with habits and his soup and sandwich lunch is one of them. So everyday, I try to come up with new ways to incorporate vegetables in his soup. He does not like raw tomatoes, but he loves his tomato soup. Go figure.

    Last week, I made this green heirloom tomato and celery root soup for him and he loved it. The green tomatoes can be a bit acidic so they are balanced out with the sweetness of the carrot and a pinch of sugar. The celery root along with the potato makes this soup creamy as well. I loved the cherry tomato confit and the fried celeriac on top. All finished with some celery salt. Loved it.



    Green Heirloom Tomato and Celeriac Soup

    2 Tbs olive oil
    1/2 leek, washed and chopped
    1 garlic clove, minced
    1 carrot, peeled and diced
    2 medium green tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and diced
    1 medium celery root, peeled and diced
    1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
    1 Tbs fresh thyme
    Salt and pepper, to taste
    Pinch of sugar
    2 cups chicken stock (just enough to cover the vegetables)

    Garnish
    cherry tomato confit
    celery root fried in olive oil
    celery salt
    fresh thyme


    To blanch the tomatoes, bring water to a boil. Score the end of the tomatoes with a paring knife. Submerge the tomatoes in the boiling water for about 15 seconds. Strain the water and shock them in ice. The skin will peel right off.

    In a medium pot, saute the leek, garlic and carrots in olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add the diced tomato, celery root, potato, salt, pepper, thyme. Saute for a minute and add the chicken stock, enough to cover the vegetables. Cook for about 20 minutes until all vegetables are tender.

    Puree the soup and adjust the salt, pepper and sugar as needed. Depending on the acidity of the tomatoes, the seasoning will vary.

    Garnish with cherry tomato confit, celery root fries, celery salt and fresh thyme leaves.

    Cherry Tomato Confit

    1 pint of cherry tomatoes
    Salt
    Pepper
    fresh thyme
    Olive oil


    Cut the tops off. Score the bottom of the tomato. Blanch them in boiling water for about 10 seconds and immediately shock them in ice. Peel the skin.

    Cut the tomatoes in half and place them cut side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper and fresh thyme on top.

    Bake at 225F for about 2-2 1/2 hours until half way dry. Store them in a jar covered with olive oil.

Post Title

Green Heirloom Tomato and Celeriac Soup


Post URL

https://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2010/02/green-heirloom-tomato-and-celeriac-soup.html


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