Pear-Almond Tart

I bet a lot of you are recovered from any Easter celebrations by now. If so, you will want to try this excellent pear tart that I made for Easter. I, on the other hand, am in recovery from a weekend of delicious meals at my favorite Boston restaurants. Here's some of the things Mike and I ate over our anniversary celebration weekend:

- Shabu shabu plus skewered hardboiled quail eggs wrapped in pork belly
- Fried New England-style clams with a side of steamed broccoli (it's all about balance)
- The gorgeous antipasto platter plus a great carbonara at my favorite Italian restaurant
- The best pad Thai and Drunken Noodle
- Exquisitely delicious and creative Mediterranean Middle Eastern food here
- Shanghai-style dim sum
- Tapas

It was a long weekend, okay. And it wasn't actually gluttonous. We don't order too much when we go out, and we do tons of walking and jogging along the Charles. The worst thing about the weekend, nutrition wise, was probably the coffee and donuts from where else that we ate for breakfast more than once.

So, I'm taking it easy this week with my oatmeal for breakfast, tuna sandwiches for lunch and healthy dinners, heavy on the vegetables. If the air-conditioning in the building had not gone unexpectedly down today, I would be making soup. But with the moist 80 degree indoor temperature, I'm craving something light and really spicy...hmmm.

Despite my healthy resolve, I have no trouble talking about how good this pear and almond tart is. From my beloved Gourmet, a magazine that really appreciates the food art form known as the tart, this one is both beautiful and delicious. The key is a custard made with pear brandy, or what's apparently known in the Alsace region of France as eau-de-vie.

Just 2 1/2 tablespoons of brandy may not seem significant, but you really can taste it. It sets the tart apart and complements the low level of sweetness with a more complex, mature flavor. It is the kind of thing you would want after an elaborate meal because it's so light and worthy of the indulgence.

The recipe appealed to me because of this lightness and because we always have Belle de Brillet, a gorgeous pear cognac, in our liquor cabinet. We discovered it in a cocktail called the Naughty Au'Pear served at a great lounge in Boston, now sadly closed. If you like this kind of brandy (cognac is brandy made in a specific region of France), I highly recommend it. But there are other pear brandies that may be easier to find in any well-stocked liquor store. Don't substitute a very sweet liqueur like pear schnapps, as it has less alcohol and more sugar than pear brandy. However, other potent liqueurs like Amaretto might work. If you don't want to buy pear brandy just for this, I think the best bet would be plain brandy or cognac, possibly with an extra 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

I followed the recipe from the March Gourmet with one (sort of) big change: I substituted reduced fat sour cream for "2/3 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream." I wasn't in the mood to splurge for creme fraiche, and I know that sour cream is a lot more similar to it than heavy cream. I'm right, aren't I? I'm not sure why they suggested heavy cream because my sour cream worked absolutely perfectly - and is much healthier too.

Additionally, I have a large, 11-inch tart pan, which caused me to fret that I didn't have enough dough, but it turned out okay. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose, and I reduced the butter in the pastry by one tablespoon. I guess I was already anticipating my weekend of eating out in Boston.

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Brussels Sprout-Chestnut Tart with My Favorite Whole Wheat Crust

Well, Thanksgiving is closing in, and I'm happy to say that our recipes are finally decided, and all that's left is the actual cooking. For our big family dinner, Mike and I are going to contribute Broccoli with Sicilian Sauce (a recipe by Lynne Rossetto Kasper in Nov.'s Saveur) because there just has to be something green and nutritious on the table, in my opinion. But, since I always advocate balance in eating, we're also going to make Dorie Greenspan's "All-in-One Holiday Bundt Cake" from Baking: From My Home to Yours. The picture, as well as all the holiday flavors packed into the simple cake, won us over. I will take some pictures and report back after the holiday.

If you're still searching for Thanksgiving inspiration, consider this tart. Overflowing with shredded Brussels sprouts, chestnuts, and pancetta, loosely held together by a simple custard made with one egg and a splash of milk, this tart is substantial enough to serve as an entree and special enough to be part of your Thanksgiving spread. The flavor is so nutty and buttery, yet the inherent nutritious attributes of the Brussels sprouts aren't hidden, but enhanced. I coax out their natural sweetness by cooking them with caramelized shallots glazed with apple cider vinegar--a trick inspired by an otherwise overly complicated recipe I saw in Bon Appetit magazine.

I made this tart twice in the past week and a half. I wouldn't have done so if we didn't absolutely love eating it, but I also needed to perfect the filling. On the first attempt, I did not use the custard and therefore, nothing kept the scraggly hash of Brussels sprouts from spilling apart when the tart was cut. I needed a binder that wouldn't dull the flavors of the ingredients. I had done a tart with a milk custard before, so I thought I would try something similar here. I mixed up just enough to create a cohesive filling that wasn't too eggy and quiche-like--problem solved!

If you're not much for tart-baking, or just need a light vegetable side dish, please try the Brussels sprout-chestnut mixture on its own. Both times I made the tart, I bought more sprouts than I needed and reserved a little tupperware container of the filling (minus the milk and eggs) to munch on, and I would not hesitate to make that portion of the recipe as a side dish anytime. It's so good!

It's been ages since I've participated in a food blogging event, and I'm really happy to get back in the habit by contributing this recipe to "Waiter, there's something in my..." hosted this month over at the blog, Cook Sister. The theme is Topless Tarts--perfect. I'll post a link to the round-up sometime late next week so you can see what other bloggers came up with too.

Favorite Whole Wheat Savory Tart Shell
After some experimenting, I think this is the combination of flours that produces the tastiest, flakiest whole wheat tart shell. I absolutely love this pastry, and it’s very easy to work with. You can jazz it up by adding fresh herbs or spices to the dry ingredients.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz.), cut into small cubes and chilled
1/4 cup ice water, plus 1 to 2 tbs. as needed

In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse until you have a sandy mixture with pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture, then pulse again until the dough just starts to come together. It will still look a little scraggly. If the dough does not easily adhere when you press a bit between your fingers, add one more tablespoon of ice water and pulse. Repeat if necessary until the dough is moist and cohesive, but not wet.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press it together, kneading once or twice, to form a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to a large, 12-13 inch circle. To do this evenly, roll in the direction of 12 o’clock, then 6 o’clock, then 9, then 3, then in the directions of the diagonals (1:30, etc.). The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick. Roll the dough over the pin and drape it into a nonstick (9, 10 or 11-inch) fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the sides of the pan with your knuckles and peel off the pieces that hang over the pan and use them to patch any holes. Prick the base and sides of the crust all over with a fork, place tart pan on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. If you want to cook this crust all the way through for a different recipe, bake about 30 minutes total.

Brussels Sprout-Chestnut Tart
This is excellent reheated, as long as you do it in the oven, not the microwave. It's worth the little bit of effort to re-crisp the delicious, buttery crust. Loosely tent with foil and heat at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until hot.

nonstick cooking spray
2 (1/4-inch) slices pancetta, chopped into small bits (or 6 slices bacon)
olive oil, as needed
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs. apple cider vinegar
4 tsp. granulated sugar
1 3/4 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1 tbs. unsalted butter
1 cup chopped chestnuts (from a jar of whole cooked chestnuts)
2 oz. grated sharp cheddar, gruyère or comté cheese, grated (about 1/3 cup loosely packed
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (lowfat or whole)

Coat a large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray and heat to medium-low. Add pancetta and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove to a paper towel to drain, leaving the fat in the pan. If you're using bacon, drain on paper towel, then crumble into bite-size pieces.

If necessary, add some olive oil to the pan so you have about 1 tbs. of fat. Add the shallots, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat if shallots started browning too quickly. Add the cider vinegar and sugar to the shallots, stirring until shallots are coated with glaze, about 2 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and stir until combined well with the shallots and slightly wilted. Turn up the heat to medium and add water to create a thin layer of liquid at the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring often, until water evaporates and Brussels sprouts are soft, but still sweet and firm to the bite (overcooking is what makes them bitter, but don’t worry, it’s not easy to do). Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the chestnuts and pancetta.

Meanwhile, scatter the cheese over the base of the par-baked tart shell.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg together with the milk and season with salt and pepper. Add the Brussels sprout mixture and toss to coat. Add the Brussels sprouts mixture to the tart shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, or until set. Let tart rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.


More Brussels sprouts recipes from other bloggers:

Cream-Braised Brussels Sprouts on Orangette
Brussels Sprouts Dijon on Seriously Good
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic, Parmesan and Pine Nuts on Kalyn's Kitchen
Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts on 101 Cookbooks
Roasted Brussels Sprouts (with shallots) on Use Real Butter
And (even though it's not really a side dish) Brussels Sprouts with Orecchiette on An Endless Banquet, because it looks awfully tasty!

Cranberry-Almond Crostata

I can hardly describe what a relief it is to finally feel an oh-so-slight chill in the air when you live in Fort Lauderdale. We’ve been regularly having temperatures above 80 degrees, but yesterday that hint of coolness finally crept into the air. Of course, Mike and I still went to the beach on Sunday morning. It was nice enough to lay out in a bathing suit, but I did have my legs covered with a towel for most of the time.

The first weekend of November was a very appropriate time to get our first “cool snap”--it was the weekend when we set back the clocks bringing on shorter, darker days, AND it was the weekend I started rolling out the holiday recipes. There are so many wonderful things to cook and bake during the much-too-short holiday season, so I spread it out over a bunch of little feasts. Since we are going to spend Thanksgiving with the O’Hara side of Mike’s family in Connecticut (a fabulously fun T-Day tradition), I took this weekend to make some Thanksgiving favorites in my own kitchen, and try out a few new recipes from my many food magazines.

I almost never follow a recipe exactly, so when I do, it had better be perfect. Okay, I made a couple hardly-worth-mentioning tweaks to this Cranberry Crostata from November’s Gourmet and still it was flawless. Really just a cross between a pie and a tart, this dessert has incredibly vibrant flavor from the fresh cranberry filling and richness from the almond pastry, but none of it is too sweet or flabby to enjoy after a big holiday meal. I highly recommend it for a Thanksgiving dessert or an anytime holiday treat--it kind of reminds me of a big Linzer cookie now that I think about it!

Here are my tweaks: I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of all-purpose. It’s a natural with the nutty crust, both for flavor and color. The recipe calls for 10 ounces of fresh cranberries, but as you may know, the standard bag of Ocean Spray cranberries in your neighborhood supermarket is 14 ounces. We picked out the smashed or dubious-looking berries, and used all that remained with no problems whatsoever. The dough is very soft and tender and doesn’t depend on being chilled during mixing. Follow Gourmet’s directions for rolling it out between parchment paper, and don’t worry about piecing it together in the pan. My lattice strips broke apart during transfer, but this didn’t matter much in the end. I also used turbinado sugar instead of granulated for sprinkling because I like the crunch. Click here for the recipe on Gourmet's website. What holiday recipes have you already tried?

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In case your cranberry appetite is never sated, here are some more mouth-watering cranberry desserts from blogs I love:

Cranberry Linzer Tart on Orangette
Maury Rubin's Cranberry, Caramel and Almond Tart on The Wednesday Chef
Cranberry-Orange Cookies (with pistachios!) on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Cinnamon Cranberry Rice Pudding on The Perfect Pantry
Cranberry-Raisin Pie on David Lebovitz
Cranberry Ribbon Cake on Coconut and Lime
Apple-Cranberry Pie on Simply Recipes
Cranberry Banana Bread on Chocolate & Zucchini

Technorati Tags: recipes, thanksgiving, tart, cranberry, almond

Zucchini and Braised Lettuce Tart with Tapenade

Those Green Monster Peanut Butter Cookies sure did the trick! Five days later the Red Sox have swept the series to become world champs...woohoo! I thought I would have to make more Boston-themed food to cheer them on, but hardly got the chance.

This past weekend was spent exclusively on my birthday festivities, and that made the Red Sox sweep even more fun. We saw a great scary movie, went out to my current favorite restaurant in Miami, laid out on the beach (in October!), went shopping in a mall with a Legal Seafoods so we could eat oysters and New England whole-bellied fried clams, and had a rich, gooey mocha cake that Mike made for me last night. My actual birthday is today, but Mike and I both believe in prolonged celebrations...we have so much fun, I don't mind getting older at all. Well, how old are you, you may be wondering...I'm 29, and I'm already sad that I have to wait a whole year for my next birthday!

Now, finally, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite things I've made, ever. This tart is from a recipe in Eric Kayser's Sweet and Savory Tarts, which I read about in this post on the beautiful blog, Kuidaore. If you are a tart junkie like me, get this book. It's creative, it contains a picture of every tart, and it has great master recipes for many types of French pastry dough. I made this as a side dish for pepper-crusted steak, and it totally stole the show. Many of Kayser's tarts have a custard base, but this is lighter, and perfect as a special side. I have cooked lettuce before with good results, but the braised butter lettuce here is so indescribably savory, sweet and lettuce-y...I've never tasted anything like it, and I love when a recipe leads me to rethink foods I eat all the time, like greens.

Tapenade serves as a salty, garlicky base for the lettuce and zucchini. To simplify life, I bought prepared tapenade, and it was nice to have that component take care of. I'll probably make my own next time, just because I like to. Kayser's recipe did not call for anything more, but I felt this light tart needed a little hit of richness, so I shaved Pecorino-Romano cheese over the top...perfect.

If you haven't tackled savory tarts, this one is a cinch. If you're looking for something different, this is it. I have quite a few tarts on this blog, like
- Caramelized Onion-Blue Cheese
- Mushroom-Asparagus-Ricotta
- and Swiss Chard-Pine Nut Custard Tart, but this is my current darling.

Kayser's book has loads of fruit and sweet tarts too. In a great coincidence of the blogosphere, many wonderful baking bloggers tried Kayser's Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart recently. Take a look at some versions on Peabody's, Ivonne's, Veronica's and Fanny's blogs. If I was forced to take sides, I'd have to choose savory over sweet tarts, but luckily I can have braised lettuce one day and milk chocolate the next...life is truly delicious.

Zucchini and Braised Lettuce Tart with Tapenade
Adapted from Eric Kayser’s Sweet and Savory Tarts

Pâte Brisée is the same as pie pastry, so I deviated from Kayser’s method of mixing the room temperature ingredients by hand, and used made the pastry as I would make a pie crust--mixing cold ingredients in my food processor. I highly recommend using a scale to weigh your dry ingredients when baking. This book provided weight and volume measurements, but they were shockingly inconsistent (seriously--if I went by volume, I would have used nearly twice as much flour). If you go by weight, you can’t mess up. Kayser recommends unbleached all-purpose flour, but I used half AP and half whole wheat pastry flour. You can’t tell the difference, and it’s nice to know the pastry is a little more wholesome.

Makes 1-8 or 9 inch square tart (round or rectangular tart pans also work)

For the Pâte Brisée:
210 grams flour
5 grams salt (about 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and chilled
1/4 cup ice water, plus extra as needed

For the tart:
2 large zucchini, or 3 small, sliced lengthwise, about 1/4-inch thick
cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 heads butter lettuce (or substitute 1 head romaine)
1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken broth
4 oz. tapenade
Thinly shaved Pecorino-Romano cheese

Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse for a few seconds to form coarse crumbs. Turn the processor on and pour 1/4 cup ice water through the chute, running just until the dough starts to come together. Feel the dough between your fingers to insure it is moist enough to stick together, but not wet. If needed, sprinkle on another tablespoon water and pulse. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and bring it together to form a ball. Knead for a few seconds, press into a thick disk, wrap in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes, or overnight. If you chill the dough for several hours or more, remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before rolling.

Set the broiler to high. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the zucchini on top. Spray the zucchini and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until soft and beginning to brown, then flip and cook on the opposite side, about 10-12 minutes total.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough out 1/4-inch thick and two or three inches larger than your tart pan. Fit the dough into the pan, gently but firmly pressing dough into the edges and sides of the pan. Trim off excess and prick all over with a fork. Lay a piece of parchment paper over the dough and fill with pie weights, dried beans or rice. Bake for 30 minutes, or until dough is cooked through and edges start to color. Pastry will be quite pale even when it is baked. You may pre-bake the pastry several hours ahead.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for one to two minutes. Add the lettuce and stir to combine. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add more if necessary to keep a thin layer of liquid on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook two to three minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring often, until all the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Pour off any excess liquid, remove from heat and set aside.

Spread the tapenade over the bottom of the pastry shell. Layer half the zucchini, all the braised lettuce and the remaining zucchini. Place tart pan on a baking sheet, return to oven and bake for five minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, top with thinly shaved Pecorino-Romano cheese and serve either warm or at room temperature.


Technorati Tags: recipes, tarts, Eric Kayser, zucchini, Main Course

Spring Vegetable Tart with Herb Whole Wheat Crust

I can't believe it's almost summer! I have always felt that summer kicked off with Memorial Day weekend (the last weekend of May in the U.S.). However, since I moved to Florida a few years ago, I often find myself forgetting what time of year it is due to the near constant sunshine and tropical climate. I am not complaining, just explaining why I happen to be a little late with my "spring" tart. At least I snuck it in before the holiday weekend!

Although I think of asparagus, green onions and mushrooms as spring vegetables, they are available year round just about everywhere. If you are lucky enough to get hold of some fresh wild mushrooms, like chanterelles, they would make this tart extra special. The simple ricotta and feta cheese filling makes the tart substantial enough to be a main course and would be a great base for other vegetable tarts-- a summer version with eggplant and tomato comes to mind.

I have done several variations on my whole wheat tart crust in the past few months, and I think I have settled on this one as my favorite. I love adding rosemary to the dough for extra flavor and fragrance. I like to freeze the dough in the tart pan before I bake it because this seems to encourage it to hold its shape when it hits the hot oven. If you can't get enough tart-making, here is another savory option.

Spring Vegetable Tart with Herb Whole Wheat Crust
Makes 1-9 to 11 inch tart

1 c. whole wheat flour
½ c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz.), cut into small cubes and chilled
¼ to ½ c. ice water

1 tbs. olive oil, divided
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz. cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
8 oz. Portobello mushrooms, cut into 2 inch pieces
5 scallions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 ½ c. ricotta cheese
½ c. crumbled feta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a food processor, pulse the flours, 1⁄2 tsp. salt, and rosemary to combine. Add the cold, diced butter and pulse until you have a coarse mixture roughly the size of small peas. Sprinkle ¼ c. of the ice water over the flour mixture, then pulse again, adding additional water as needed until the dough just starts to come together. It should still look scraggly and a little sandy at this point. You don’t want to get it so wet that it forms a ball in the food processor.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, pressing and kneading it together and forming it into a disk. Roll the dough out into a 12 or 13 inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick, with a floured rolling pin, keeping the dough moving on your floured surface so it does not stick. Drape the dough over your rolling pin and transfer it into a 9 to 11 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the sides of pan and trim any excess dough hanging over the edges. You can use these extra pieces to patch any holes. Prick the dough all over with a fork and freeze for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Bake the frozen tart crust for 20 minutes or until just beginning to color.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling: heat half the oil in a large skillet to medium-high. Add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until soft. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a bowl. Add the remaining oil and the mushrooms to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add the scallions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the asparagus, add the fresh thyme and gently stir to combine the vegetables.

In another bowl, combine the ricotta and feta. Season with pepper and just a pinch of salt (because the feta is salty). Stir in the egg. Spread the cheese mixture over the surface of the tart crust. Pour the vegetables over the cheese. Bake the tart at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is slightly puffed. Cool for 10-15 minutes and serve.

Technorati Tags: recipes, tarts, vegetarian, Main Course

Swiss Chard Custard Tart with Yeast Crust

As I enthusiastically declared last week, I love savory tarts. This one is really different, as it is make with a yeast dough, sort of like a more elegant deep dish pizza. The dough can be made in advance, and puffs up to form a soft, golden crust. It is filled with healthy sautéed swiss chard leaves that are baked in a light custard flavored with lemon, saffron and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I came across this recipe on The Wednesday Chef, a great blog full of recipes that constantly appeal to my taste. It is by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Deborah Madison from her The Greens Cookbook, and came via the Los Angeles Times food writer, Russ Parsons who printed it in an article back in December. I love the tart recipes in Madison’s book, Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen, which I reviewed here, so I was sure that this one would be great too.

As I poured the liquid custard mixed with tons of sautéed chard into the shell, I wondered how something so wet could possibly firm up into an attractive tart. But Madison’s recipes have always worked for me, so I should not have worried. After just over 30 minutes in the oven, the crust was crisp and golden and the chard was suspended in the tender, just-set custard. I love hearty greens, and the eggs, pine nuts and soft dough make them taste rich. I really loved having the leftover slices for lunch on the days that followed. You can eat this tart with your morning coffee or a glass of wine; it is delicious around the clock.

Swiss Chard Custard Tart with Yeast Crust
Adapted from The Wednesday Chef and the Los Angeles Times; originally by Deborah Madison published in her Greens cookbook.
I doubled the recipe for the tart dough and put half in the freezer after letting it rise and kneading a few times. Now I can pull it out and make another one soon!

Makes one 9-11 inch tart

For Dough:
1 tsp. active dry yeast (1/2 package)
¼ c. warm water
pinch sugar
1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour, plus additional as needed
½ tsp. salt
1 egg
3 tbs. light sour cream

Proof the yeast by gently mixing with the water and sugar in a small bowl. Let it sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add the flour and salt to a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the egg, sour cream and proofed yeast mixture to the flour and process until the dough comes together into a ball, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. If the dough is very sticky or does not form a ball, add more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough is soft and smooth enough to handle. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead several times. You can roll out the dough and shape into your tart pan right now or lightly cover the dough with platic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature before shaping.

Coat a 9 to 11 inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Flatten the dough into a large disk and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Drape over your rolling pin and lay the dough into the tart pan. Fit the dough into the sides of the pan. The edge of the dough should come about ¼ inch over the rim of the tart pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Put the tart pan on a large baking sheet, fill with swiss chard mixture and bake as directed.

For Swiss Chard:
1 tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 large or 3 small bunches swiss chard (about 8 c.), spines removed and leaves roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ tsp. coarse salt, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
1 ½ c. milk (I use 2%)
Large pinch saffron threads, soaked in 1 tbs. hot water
½ tsp. grated lemon zest
3 tbs. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Pinch nutmeg
3 tbs. pine nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the chard, in bunches if necessary, and fold it in the skillet until it begins to wilt and cook down, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, ½ tsp. of the salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then stir in the milk, saffron and water mixture, lemon zest, Parmigiano, nutmeg, the remaining salt and some pepper. Fold the chard into the egg mixture and pour into the tart shell (put your tart pan on a baking sheet to make it easier to handle). Scatter the pine nuts over the tart and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the center is no longer liquid. Serve hot or at room temperature. The leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven.

Technorati Tags: recipes, tarts, vegetarian, Main Course

Caramelized Onion Tart with Blue Cheese and Whole Wheat Crust

I love savory tarts! The buttery homemade crust makes them taste rich, and the vegetable fillings are replete with flavor and nutrition. A simple slice on a plate with lightly dressed greens or crisp roasted vegetables is such an elegant meal that feels very European to me. In the way that the frittata carries an element of breakfast over to lunch and dinner, so the savory tart brings a little intimation of dessert to those main meals. And that certainly can’t be a bad thing.

I think I say this about a lot of things on this blog, but savory tarts really are easy to make, considering the elegant results. After you do your first tart, it will become second nature. The crust is a snap and involves far less stress than pie crust, in my opinion; keep it quick and cold, and you’re set.

This tart recipe comes from the February issue of Food & Wine. There was no picture in the magazine, but I didn’t need one. The name and ingredients were more than enough to appeal to my tastes. I have recently discovered that taking the time to truly caramelize onions—I mean a good 30-35 minutes—produces insanely good results, as you will see if you give this a try. I was surprised and happy to see that the recipe’s creator, chef Dede Sampson, used all whole wheat flour to make this crust, and I was anxious to see how it would turn out (for the record: crisp, buttery and warmly wheaty).

I can honestly say that we loved eating this and savored every bite. I was sad to eat the last piece, but I know I can make it again soon! The recipe is a winner for the crust alone, but the sweet onion filling dotted with mild, creamy blue cheese and hits of fresh thyme was utterly delicious too.

I have been in a baking mood lately, so I have another wonderful, but very different, savory tart in the blogging pipeline. And I think there will be more where these came from!


Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Tart with Whole Wheat Crust
Adapted from Food & Wine and Dede Sampson
You can make the dough for the crust up to one day ahead and leave it in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic. Then, roll it out and pre-bake the shell while the onions caramelize. You can make the whole tart up to four hours ahead and serve it at room temperature or reheat in a 350 degree oven. I recommend eating the leftovers at room temperature.

Serves 4 to 6; 8 as a first course

1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
½ tsp. salt, plus additional to taste
1 stick (4 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch dice
¼ c. water chilled with ice

2-3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 medium onions (about 1 ½ lbs), sliced into half moons (I used 2 red and 2 sweet onions, but any combination will work)
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
freshly ground pepper
3 oz. blue cheese, crumbled (I used a creamy Danish blue, brand name Rosenborg)

In a food processor, pulse the flour and ½ tsp. salt to combine. Add the cold, diced butter and pulse until you have a coarse mixture roughly the size of small peas. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture, then pulse again until the dough just starts to come together. It will still look a little scraggly.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and quickly pat it into a disk. Wrap it up and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook stirring occasionally until soft and lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook until lightly browned, soft and sweet, about 10-15 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the thyme and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to a large, 12-13 inch circle. You will have to use some muscle to roll it out, and do not worry about getting a perfect circle. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick and as even as possible. Roll the dough over the pin and lay it into a nonstick (9, 10 or 11-inch) fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the sides of the pan with your knuckles and peel off the pieces that hang over the pan and use them to patch any holes. Your crust may not look pretty now, but it will when the tart is done. Prick the base of the crust all over with a fork and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. I place my tart pan on a large baking sheet to make it easier to handle.

Fill the pre-baked tart shell with the caramelized onions. Strew the crumbled blue cheese all over the onions. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese is lightly melted. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack, remove from tart pan and serve immediately. Can also be served at room temperature.

Technorati Tags: recipes, vegetarian, tarts, Main Course

Meyer Lemon Tart

Before I continue the love affair with Meyer lemons, I want to apologize for not posting as often as usual for the past few weeks. This is not due to any drama in my life, but to the new Blogger software. I’ve only been able to publish sporadically because they are having a problem accommodating blogs who have their own domain and use an FTP program. Right now, all we can do is manually upload new posts through our FTP program, but I can't receive comments because Blogger sets up the comment message board. As always, you can email comments to me at aminglingoftastes @ gmail dot com. Thank you for bearing with me…now, on to the tasty stuff.

The first time I had even heard of a Meyer lemon was in one of the many food magazines I read, and since then I have wanted to test their miraculous lemony properties for myself. As I attempted to illustrate in the previous post, Meyer lemons contain pure lemon flavor that exists in the absence of acidity. In icy-cold martinis, as well as in baked goods, this can be quite a boon.

Unless you’re going for sour, in a key lime pie for instance, that tongue-numbing, lip-puckering, cheek-burning citrus kick is not going to do you any favors. True, a tart made with regular lemons is not going to send anyone running from the table. But, when I used the Meyers in this simple tart, it was all lemony sweetness, and the lemon flavor tasted more complex without the sour tang that tends to take over.

This recipe comes from the blog, baking bites. I’ve made two baking bites recipes in the past month (the other was these pear muffins), and both have been perfect. Nicole calls this tart “foolproof” and I think she’s right. I was a little impatient and did not handle the buttery, lemon-flavored dough with much finesse, and the finished product still looked and tasted wonderful. The only change I made to the recipe was adding a scant ¼ tsp. of salt to both the pastry and to the lemon filling. I also used an 11-inch tart pan instead of a 9-inch to no detriment whatsoever. With only two of us around to eat it, this tart was kept for a full week at room temperature and did not suffer at all from overly soggy crust.

If you don’t go for lemon tarts, look through the baking bites archives and see what else strikes your fancy. And go get some Meyer lemons before they are gone till next year!



Technorati Tags: recipes, desserts, Meyer lemon