Late-summer Bounty: Tomato, Prosciutto, and Ricotta Tart

Screw Christmas - right now is the most wonderful time of the year! Okay, that was a bit harsh, but I don't see how Christmas can even compete with the glory that is tomato season. Right now, just when you feel like the days should be cooling down but they're readily throwing their 90F temperatures in your face; when all you want to do is start wearing sweaters and roast things, but you can barely stand to cook it's so hot in your house? This is the best part of summer for me. Granted, summer is probably my least favorite season, even though many of my favorite vegetables and fruits are in season, and especially THIS part of summer, garden- and market-fresh tomatoes make it all worthwhile. I can stand the hotter-than-hot afternoons and evenings knowing that a wonderful meal is only a few juicy slices away. This is the time of year I yearn for my own vegetable garden so I could brave the heat only to come back to the kitchen with a basket full of goodies to whip up into a meal like this: Tomato, Prosciutto, and Ricotta Tart.

I'll readily admit that ricotta is my least favorite of all the cheeses. There's just something about the texture and flavor that I never really got on board with. Now, I have made my own ricotta (I did so a couple of years ago for my Ina Garten-themed birthday party, where all the food I made was from The Barefoot Contessa and I even dressed up as her, and one of the dips was a homemade herbed ricotta cheese - it's super easy to make) and it was slightly better; at least it was more milky/creamy than whatever store-bought ricotta tastes like. I figure with this dish I could easily overlook the ricotta for the almost 2 pounds of tomatoes, fresh herbs, prosciutto, and puff pastry. I've always been delighted with the recipes from Sunset magazine and this one is no different. The flavors came together to create this light, and deceptively filling, tart. The fresh juicy tomatoes, the lemony ricotta cheese, the splash of fresh herbs (I went ahead and used BOTH basil and mint for one of the most excellent flavor combinations I've recently encountered), the salty tang of prosciutto, all supported by the buttery crispy puff pastry made for a wonderful summer Sunday meal. While I did groan a bit at having to turn on my oven for this, I soon forgot the heat after I bit into this tart. This is the perfect meal to have for kicking back in your garden with a glass of wine. This is also a perfect appetizer or first-course for a garden dinner party, too! A great thing about this dish is that it's easily vegetarian-friendly. Simply eliminate the prosciutto and you've got a great appetizer (or meal) that'll please just about everyone.

Oh yeah and it made for the perfect individually packaged lunches!

A few things of note:

• Don't even try to adhere to the tart measurements in the recipe. The puff pastry I bought for this (Pepperidge Farms) is two square sheets. Honestly, once thawed and rolled out a bit, it's the perfect size for a party of 4 as meal (or 2 meals for 2 people). I tried piecing together trimmed bits and I was left with the trimmed bits coming apart in the baking process. So not worth the hassle!
• I used a full pound of ricotta cheese and I think it was a bit too much, but measuring out the 1-1/3C would've left me with too little cheese in the package to save. I think I'd go just with the half-pound next time. However, if you like ricotta use as much as you like!
• As I said above, I used both basil and mint, when the recipe called for either/or. I also didn't deal with trimming the "tiny" whole leaves and just chiffonaded both the basil and mint leaves. Believe me, having both makes for a much more complex and refreshing flavor! I also cut too much herbs, so I threw them in with the simple salad I served alongside the tart (mixed greens + arugula, tossed with olive oil and lemon juice).
• I also used a mix of large heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes (the cherry tomatoes were from my coworker's garden - they were delicious!). I thinly sliced the big tomatoes and halved the cherry tomatoes, per the recipe, and it worked out wonderfully. The more colorful the better, really!

Bon appetit!

No Soup for You! Week and the "Ultimate" Cream of Tomato Soup

Happy 40th Post, everyone!  I actually did not commemorate my 1-year anniversary in April, so I thought I would celebrate a different milestone.  I noticed when I logged in that I had written 39 posts, so this one is my 40th.  It's been wonderful writing about the food I've cooked and the experiences I have had in the kitchen over the past year.  Let's hope this year averages closer to a post a week!

Now, to the topic at hand:  soup.  My No Soup for You! week continues with one of my absolute favorite soups.  Growing up, I loved Campbell's Tomato soup more than anything in the world.  I'd make an entire can and armed with saltine crackers and lots of black pepper, I would eat the whole thing myself.  Marshall's not such a huge fan.  He's said, on more than one occasion, that Campbell's Tomato Soup tastes like the sauces used for Chef Boyardee.  While I've never actually had Chef Boyardee, I can't exactly tell him that it doesn't, but this sounds like an insult so I take offense.  So, when I saw the special "Soups & Stews" issue of Cook's Illustrated earlier last year and it contained a recipe for cream of tomato soup--excuse me, ULTIMATE cream of tomato soup--I knew I had to make it and show Marshall that tomato soup can be creamy and delicious.

I was not led astray, nor would I expect any less from my new favorite cooking magazine.  While there were far too many steps in this recipe than I care for, the result was far better than I could have imagined.  It was meaty, sweet, and silky smooth.  The flavor was the most savory I have ever tasted coming from tomatoes, but it still retained that lovely sweetness that comes from tomatoes, as well.  I think a lot of that sweetness comes from the use of whole canned tomatoes, plus tomato paste.  Of course, there is sugar in the recipe, but it is a means to caramelize the tomatoes as they roast in the oven.  I will say this, though, that step is a pain in the ass.  I ended up with what I feel was far too few tomatoes, by the time I was done seeding them and laying them out on a cooking sheet.  I also didn't seem to get the kind of caramelization that I was originally expecting, so I have a feeling I might've overcooked them.  However, this did not detract from the end result.  This soup was definitely the highly sophisticated city relative of its Campbell's canned country bumpkin, but both are equally warming of the soul.  They say chicken soup is the food of the soul, but my soul'll take tomato soup any day.

Bonus time!
So, what does everyone think of when they think tomato soup?  Grilled cheese, right?  Right.  Well, with a sophisticated cream of tomato soup like this, we needed a sophisticated sandwich.  American singles and white bread were not going to cut it with this bowl.  I turned to this one sandwich that Marshall and I absolutely adore.  It's sweet and salty, buttery and just incredibly delicious:  Ham, Manchego, and Fig Tartines.  Leave it to my Gourmet magazine (RIP) to have a last page of the September 2008 to hide these gems of sandwiches.  The French tartine is an open-faced sandwich, but the recipes on this page are far from the original.  This particular sandwich that we enjoyed with our tomato soup leans more toward the Iberian Peninsula, with the ham and manchego cheese.  The fig, too, is very Spanish, and I could definitely see something like this on a tapas menu somewhere in Spain.  I don't know if I could fully explain the richness that is this sandwich.  The baguette, toasted, mingles with the fig (mixed with butter, of course) and infuses the sharp cheese and finally there's this salty jolt from the ham (in this case prosciutto; serrano would be your true Spanish alternative).  The sweet and salty was a great companion to the rich and savory tomato soup.

If you're feeling homesick, but want still want to wear your tiara (or monocle), this is your meal.

No Soup for You! Week continues...Up next time is my personal all-time favorite soup for eating and freezing:  Lentil (Italian-style)!

Cooking with Martha: Seared Fish with Crispy Potatoes and Green Sauce

I do believe I was tardy to the Martha Stewart party when she first arrived on the scene.  To be honest, though, once I became aware of her and her craftiness I never did seek her out.  I thought she had great ideas, but I was never, and still not, in a position to really follow her closely.  I'm not entirely crafty and I found her cooking style to be rather...pompous.  This is, of course, not to say that she has no talent; she's full of it.  I received one of her larger recipe books, Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, and I've made a couple of her recipes.  Funny thing is, I'm not a huge baker.  I love to bake, don't get me wrong, but it seriously stresses me out.  Cooking is comfortable; baking is a challenge.  It's so precise and there are usually so many steps, I lose patience easily.  Anyway, about a year ago, one of my coworkers picked up an issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine from the store.  It's like a digest and I actually don't see them on a regular basis at my grocery store.  My coworker bought it before realizing she doesn't cook nearly as much as I do, so she passed it along to me.  This little issue, entitled "Back to Basics," is riddled with really yummy recipes.  I've made a few of them and they've all turned out to be great successes.  My favorite is this one.

Originally, I first followed this recipe closely and seared my fish.  This time around, it was during the summer months, and I wanted to grill everything and anything I could get my hands on.  So, I grilled the salmon for this, instead of cooking it indoors.  It was equally as delicious, especially since the majority of the flavor comes from the incredibly simple and refreshing "Green Sauce."  The sides for this dish have also been a hit.  The Crispy Potatoes are wonderful.  In fact, I provided this recipe to my mom and she easily made it her own and baked each potato with a bit of blue cheese and bacon, making them incredibly decadent.  I also like the roasted tomatoes, which are a nice compliment to the fish and potatoes.  It has something fresh and sweet to the rather heavy plate.  I recently shared the recipe for the fish and Green Sauce with a classmate to share with me and a couple of other girls we grouped with for a few projects last semester.  It was delicious and everyone loved it.  This is definitely a dish you can eat on a weekday by yourself or with your spouse or dress it up on the weekends with guests.

Best Salad Ever: Bacon, Lettuce, and Cherry Tomato Salad with Aioli Dressing

Everyone knows that bacon makes everything better; I think it's common knowledge by now.  What I think is the epitome of food perfection is making a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich at the height of tomato season.  Soft sourdough surrounding crisp clean leaves of lettuce, sweet juice tomato, with crunchy and salty bits of bacon, all blanketed with creaming mayonnaise.  I don't know what else is better than that.  Oh wait, I do - this salad I found in last July's Bon Appetit!

You can almost forgive the absence of sourdough bread in this salad, although you can do what we did and toast some yummy ciabatta bread brushed with olive oil and scraped with garlic.  This salad is light and refreshing.  The presence of the crispy bacon standing out prominently from the crisp Romaine lettuce and sweet, juicy cherry tomatoes.  What is great is that the aioli dressing on this salad is not over-powering and it doesn't drench the salad at all.  There is just enough dressing to add enough flavor and creaminess to make you reminisce about the equally delicious sandwich variation. 

While you can certainly make this salad all-year-round, you'll miss out on how sweet and tangy cherry tomatoes can be in their height of their respective season.  Living in California, though, we are spoiled and can find rather tasty cherry tomatoes (and other small tomato varieties) even in the dead of winter.

This is a hefty enough salad to stand as a main dish, although can easily  be a side dish.  However, I wouldn't want this as a side dish as I would find myself eating more of this salad than anything else on my plate!