Tag Archives: Roasted Tomatoes

Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage and Roasted Tomatoes

2 Replies

It’s only mid-October, and already I’m missing those sweet local farmer’s market tomatoes. It’s going to be a long winter!

When I’m craving that sweet summer tomato taste, roasting little grape or cherry tomatoes is the next best thing. Roasting caramelized the tomatoes and brings out their inherent sweetness and can mask any bitterness.

This pasta dish comes together in less than 30 minutes. Start with tossing halved little tomatoes with honey, olive oil, garlic salt and pepper and get them into a hot oven for about 15 minutes. While they’re roasting, remove the meat from the sausage casing and start browning it up in a skillet. To keep things vegetarian, I used Beyond Meat Spicy Italian Sausage. It is plant based, but so closely resembles the real thing, in both taste and texture, it’s amazing.

Put on a big pot of water to boil. Add a bit of tomato paste to the browned sausage and a few cups of jarred tomato sauce. I love Rao’s marinara sauce. They sell it at Loblaws now! Just be sure to pick a sauce with no added sugar. Simmer the sauce while the noodles cook. Save about 1/2 a cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.

Add drained pasta and roasted tomatoes to the sauce. Mix well and stir in some of the reserved pasta water to bring the sauce together. Transfer to a platter and add a few spoonfuls of ricotta. Sprinkle with parmesan and fresh basil. Close your eyes and imagine it’s still summer. You’re welcome.

Click here to print recipe for Rigatoni-with-Spicy-Sausage-Roasted-TomatoesDownload

Blistered Tomato and Spaghetti Caprese

4 Replies

It’s only March and I’m already craving summer tomatoes. If you’re impatient like me, roast up a sheet pan of grape or cherry tomatoes and toss it with some pasta and fresh mozzarella. Close your eyes and pretend summer is here.

Treat the tomatoes with a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil, some salt and a hit of red pepper flakes. Roast in a hot oven for 15 minutes. Once the tomatoes start to burst and release their juices, remove from oven.

After cooking the spaghetti, I tossed it with a bit of tomato sauce. I love Rao’s. They don’t add any sugar or other sweeteners so it tastes like real tomatoes. It’s widely available in the U.S. In Canada, I buy it online. I also like to add about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar for a hit of acidity.

Finish with some fresh mozzarella and basil. This will tide you over until real summer tomatoes arrive.

Click here to print recipe for Blistered-Tomato-and-Spaghetti-CapreseDownload

Falafel Spiced Roasted Tomatoes and Salmon

Leave a reply

Shortly after telling my husband I was working on a recipe for Falafel Spiced Tomatoes and Salmon, I served him the above dish. He poked around the plate and looked at me with a sad face. “Where are the falafels?” he asked. I explained that “falafel spiced” was a qualifying adjective for the roasted tomatoes. There are no actual falafels in this recipe. The tomatoes are roasted in the same spices that are used in the making of falafels. He was pretty impressed with the fact that I was able to name the correct part of speech.

This recipe is inspired by a Joshua McFadden recipe for Falafel Spiced Tomatoes and Chickpeas on Flatbread, that I bookmarked in August of 2015 and have been meaning to make for the past 3 Septembers when heirloom tomatoes are at their most glorious. Given that we are smack in the middle of January, I decided to use rainbow grape tomatoes and just roast them with the falafel spices (garlic, sumac, ground cumin and corriander and red pepper flakes).

I started the salmon fillets, skin side down in a hot pan with melted butter, to get the skin really crispy. Baste the flesh with the melted butter once or twice, then transfer pan to hot oven to finish cooking.
The tomatoes are so flavourful, that I kept the seasoning on the salmon simple, just salt and pepper. Something green on the plate will make you feel virtuous! I went with sauteed green beans and some toasted salted almonds. Some chopped mint, parsley and cilantro, if you like it, are also welcome.

Click here to print recipe for Falafel Spiced Roasted Tomatoes with Salmon.SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Egg-in-a-hole-Avocado Toast

2 Replies

4 toasts 2
Egg-in-a-hole used to be one of my favourite meals as a child. I loved taking the little round piece of toast and poking it into the center of the egg, watching the runny golden yolk ooze out. I had completely forgotten about this egg dish until Tieghan Gerard, over at Half Baked Harvest, had the genius idea to turn it into a new way to eat avocado toast.

She topped hers with mashed avocado, corn, nectarines and feta cheese. We are not quite in nectarine season here, so I decided to roast some little cherry tomatoes with the corn. Mine got a topping of ricotta salata, basil and cilantro. A squirt of hot sauce or some pickled jalapeños would also be quite delicious if that’s more your jam. What you'll need

tomatoes and corn ready for roastingThe tomatoes and corn spend about 20 minutes in a hot oven, getting all golden brown and delicious. This gives you time to mash the avocados and make the egg-in-a-hole toasts.avoeggs in hole2 toasts 1This is comfort food at its finest. It would make a beautiful brunch, but I love it best for dinner. There is something a little bit indulgent about having breakfast for dinner. 1 toast

Click here to print recipe for Egg-in-hole Avocado Toast.

1 toast yolk broken 1 625 sq

A Toast to Summer: Honey Roasted Tomatoes on Whipped Feta Toasts

10 Replies

3 toasts
If I’m being completely honest, I really only have myself to blame. It all started with a trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy in 2011. It was there I first discovered the joys of Prosecco and “Aperitivo.” The literal translation is an alcoholic beverage that is consumed prior to a meal with the intention of stimulating the appetite. It almost always involves a few nibbles to have along with your drink, and I’m not talking about a “happy hour” dish of peanuts.

Depending on your location in Italy, the snacks change. In the south it is typically freshly roasted warm salted almonds, a bowl of spicy marinated olives, home made potato chips, or little squares of pizza.

Several years later we visited Umbria in Northern Italy. Aperitivo here meant little crostini topped with pecorino cheese and drizzled with local wildflower honey, suppli (deep fried breaded rice balls stuffed with cheese) and all sorts of amazing charcuterie.

I decided to adopt Aperitivo hour at our cottage. It was recieved quite well by all our visiting friends and family. (What a shock, I know!) It’s gotten to the point that around 6 pm, my husband, children, siblings and friends will ask, “What are we having for aperitivo tonight?” I have conditioned them to expect a little snack along with pre-dinner drinks. Like I said, all my own fault! Truthfully, I love aperitivo hour. Everyone comes together on the back deck, cell phones are put away into pockets and we chat.

I am always looking for interesting snacks that can be put together without too much fuss or bother. A  few months ago, my sister Bo sent me a recipe for whipped feta. I filed it away, thinking it would be perfect, spread on some crusty bread for aperitivo hour.

I decided to top the whipped feta with roasted tomatoes. Little grape or cherry tomatoes get tossed with garlic, olive oil, honey and thyme.Drizzling tomatoes with honey30 minutes in a hot oven until they are slightly shrivelled and bubbly. You can roast the tomatoes early in the day and just leave them out on the counter until you need them. roasted tomatoesThe whipped feta dip was a recipe from Ina Garten. I adapted her recipe, cut back on the feta and added some whole milk ricotta to the mix. It love the lightness it added to the spread. This can also be made in the morning. Just wrap well and chill until serving time.Making whipped Feta-RicottaStart with some really good bread. A baguette or ciabatta loaf are perfect for this. Good quality bread will have big holes in it like this. I bought a ciabatta lunga from Ace Bakery. Ciabatta LungoIn bread freak lingo, these big holes are known as “an open crumb structure.” They are achieved by a long slow cold fermentation, gentle handling so you don’t deflate all the built up gas and  a high hydration dough.

I like to split the loaf horizontally, toast it gently on a grill or in the oven, and then cut it into serving size pieces before topping them.5 toasts2 toasts with prosecco

Click here to print recipe for Honey Roasted Tomato and Whipped Feta Toasts.

1 toast with a bite taken

 

Blistered Green Beans with Tomato-Almond Pesto

Leave a reply

blistered green beansSome people consider green beans boring. I prefer to think of them as a blank canvas. Their neutral flavour is a perfect backdrop for all kinds of culinary profiles. These blistered green beans are ideal for when you just want to crunch your way through something green.

This recipe was featured in the 2015 Thanksgiving (November) issue of Bon Appétit. I wanted to cook and bake almost every recipe in that magazine. While I still mourn the loss of Gourmet, I think that editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport is doing a stellar job at the helm of Bon Appétit. The magazine feels fresh and modern to me and the photography always leaves me feeling inspired.what you'tt needThe pesto sauce for these beans is a riff on a traditional Catalan sauce made with roasted red peppers and almonds. Roasted tomatoes stand in for the traditional peppers. While winter tomatoes are often insipid, roasting infuses them with tons of flavour.roasted tomatoes The green beans spend about 10 minutes in a blisteringly hot pan, until they become lightly charred but still have some crunch. blistering beansCrunchy, fresh, and tangy-sweet, these green beans hit all the right notes. They are sure to become a regular in your weekday rotation.

Click here to print recipe for Blistered Green Beans With Tomato-Almond Pesto.

blistered green beans in a stack of bowls

 

Israeli Cous Cous Salad and A Generosity of Spirit

Leave a reply

with cheese and slicer 625 sqI was visiting with my nephew and his girlfriend last month and she asked me a question that kind of shocked me and got me thinking. She has been following my blog for a while now and she wondered if I gave out the real recipes, or if I held back and left out an ingredient or a crucial step in the recipe. Huh??

I assured her that I always gave the legitimate recipe and included every step, plus probably a few extra (sometimes my recipes run long!), to ensure success. As we chatted a bit longer I understood where her question was coming from. She was born in Venezuela and the culture in her family was to guard their recipes very carefully. Perhaps the idea of secret family recipes stems from one generation wanting to pass something valuable down to the next. After all , many imigrant families came to North America with nothing of material value. All they had were these recipes from the “old country” to pass on to their children and grandchildren.

This secretive behaviour is the antithesis of how food bloggers operate. I have been blogging since 2009 and have come to discover that most of us approach food blogging with a generosity of spirit. We are a giving bunch, willing to share our knowledge and expertise. There is actually a code of ethics for food bloggers. Acknowledging sources and linking to others that provided inspiration is part of the modus operandi. We are a passionate bunch, but humble as well, fessing up to our flaws and our less than perfect results.

I have found my tribe and I feel blessed to be a part of this generous fraternity of food bloggers. 

This salad was inspired by a similar recipe in the July 2014 issue of Bon Appetit.

While ripe, warm-from-the-vine summer tomatoes are still a few months away, roasting or grilling tomatoes can bring out the sweetness in any tomato. Begin by coating some grape or cherry tomatoes and corn with a few glugs of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. A few fresh rosemary sprigs will perfume the whole lot. ready for roastingIsraeli couscous is 2-3 times larger than the traditional North African couscous. While both are made from semolina and wheat flour, Israeli couscous is toasted while the North African variety is simply dried. The toasting gives it a nutty taste and chewier texture. I like to give it an additional toasting in a bit of olive oil, before cooking it in water. toasting cous cousI decided to serve it on a bed of mixed lettuces (arugula, belgian endive, radicchio and pea shoots), but you could also serve it without. Some toasted sliced almonds add great crunch and a few shavings of Parmesan cheese add a wonderful salty accent. I added some pickled shallots because I love the bright acidity that pickling brings to the party.close up

Click here to print recipe for Israeli Couscous Salad.

In the spirit of generosity, here are some of my favourite food bloggers!
Caroline of The Patterned Plate.
Steph of Raspberri Cupcakes.
Bobbi of Bob Vivant.
Hannah of Honey and Jam. (she has a new cookbook coming out very soon!)
Tara and Maria’s cookin’ and shootin’.
Kellie of Le Zoe Musings.
Wendy of The Monday Box.
Joy of Joy the Baker.
Ashley of Not without Salt. (Her beautiful new cookbook just came out!)
Lindsey of Dolly and Oatmeal.
Rosie of Sweetapolita. (Check out her gorgeous new cookbook.)
Belinda of The Moonblush Baker.
Phyllis of dash and bella.
Jessie of CakeSpy.
Thalia of butter and brioche.
Molly of My Name is Yeh.
Tara of Seven Spoons. (See her lovely new cookbook)