Tag Archives: summer tomatoes

Tomato Gruyere Galette

The war on summer needs to stop. I’m looking at you pumpkin spice lovers. Stop flooding my Instagram feed with #PSL. You know, fall does not officially start until September 22. I don’t understand why some people feel the need to rush headlong into fall.

Early September is the time to be gorging on tomatoes and corn.

I refuse to be rushed into the new season. I’m one of those people that continue going sockless well into November. I have been known to slip into my winter boots, barefoot. To be fair, they are fur lined (well fake fur). To be honest, I have trouble with transitions. I always have. So I am here today to prolong your summer as long as possible with a glorious tomato galette. A galette, for the uninitiated, is French for lazy-ass tart 😉. It is essentially a free-form pie. No tart or pie pan needed.

The problem with many pie or tart doughs is toughness. When flour and water are mixed together, water molecules hydrate the gluten-forming proteins in the flour and too much gluten formation can lead to a tough crust. But, when we add fat into the mix, the flour protein molecules become coated with that fat. They provide a barrier that keeps the water molecules away from the protein molecules. Sort of like when you apply frizz-fighting cream into your hair. It coats the hair strands and when dried, protects your hair from moisture in the air.

My galette dough boasts two types of fat, butter and sour cream, leading to a very tender and flaky AF crust. The dough for this galette is so simple to make. It comes together in the food processor in about less than 30 seconds. It is extremely versatile and can be used for both sweet and savoury galettes. The dough freezes beautifully. I usually make extra, roll it out and tuck it into the freezer for when I need a galette fix fast.

The dough is spread with a bit of Dijon mustard for tang and then covered with nutty Gruyere and sliced tomatoes. I found some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes at the supermarket, but any local tomato will be delicious. Finish with drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of thyme and a generous shower of salt. Add fresh basil after baking. Galettes need to a hot oven to brown up that bottom crust. It’s perfect hot, warm or even at room temperature.

Click here to print recipe for Tomato and Gruyere Galette.

Fried Green Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Late Summer Tomato and Burrata Pasta

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Tomatoes don’t reach their prime until mid-late August. That’s when the farmstands and markets are full of juicy, ripe, warm from the sun tomatoes. And if you’re anythig like me, you buy way too many because we have waited so long for them to arrive. If you happen to have a surplus of ripe tomatoes, this pasta is a fantastic way to use them up.

A mix of different kinds of tomatoes is fine. If you can find any heirloom varieties, they are perfect for this dish. Just halve or quarter the little ones and dice the larger ones into a 1/2 inch dice. There is a no-cook sauce. When tomatoes are this good, heat is not needed. Mix up a marinade of garlic, anchovy paste, red pepper flakes, olive oil, red wine vinegar and capers. Let the tomatoes macerate in this liquid while you cook the pasta. Use a good quality, fruity extra- virgin olive oil here. And don’t be afraid of the salt. Tomatoes need lots of salt.

Cook up a pound of pasta. Penne, rigatoni, fusilli, orecchiette or any short pasta will work here. You need a hollow pasta or one with lots of curves, to catch all the flavourful liquid. Toss the drained pasta into the bowl with the tomatoes. The warm pasta will absorb all that delicious liquid.

This pasta can be served warm or you could let it sit for a few hours and serve it at room temperature. Add a few dollops of burrata cheese and lots of fresh basil just before serving. If you can’t find burrata, fresh mozzarella would also be delicious. Check out this article if you’re wondering about the difference between freh mozzarella and burrata.

Click here to print recipe for Summer Tomato and Burrata Pasta Salad Download

Sicilian Haricots Verts and Tomato Salad

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This is the quintessential summer salad. Tender crunchy green beans and sweet, sun-kissed tomatoes. Sadly, we are still several months away from those beans and tomatoes, but we can fake it.

Most of the year, green beans look so full of promise, all bright and green, but in truth, they are imposters. Once you cook them, they disappoint. If you try to cook them briefly, they never have that fresh snap of summer beans, they just come out tough and leathery. If you try to cook them longer, to get them tender, they just end up mushy. And let’s not even talk about winter tomatoes. Red cardboard, disguised as a tomato. Enough said.

To satisfy my craving for verdant crunch, I bought haricots vert, those skinny pricey green beans. I’m sure my carbon footprint is huge, because they were probably from Kenya or Guatemala, but I wanted that tender crunch. Getting sweet tomatoes out of season is as simple as buying the little grape or cherry tomatoes. They have much better texture and flavour than their big sisters. Bonus points if you can find the rainbow baby tomatoes.
With the addition of toasted pine nuts, olives, capers and some ricotta salata, this salad had a decidedly Sicilian bent. For the dressing I whisked together anchovy paste (please use it even if you don’t think you like anchovies, it adds a powerful umami punch without tasting fishy), dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Don’t forget to garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Click here to print recipe for Sicilian Haricot Vert and Tomato Salad.

“Grate” Tomato Sauce

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Last week, it occurred to me that my husband has become much more sociable, while I am have become considerably less so. It seems like every few months he comes home regaling me with a tale about a recently acquired friend. Our kids joke about dad’s new BFFs.

I don’t think I have made a new friend in over 25 years, unless you count Kelly Rippa. My daughter tells me that Kelly is only my friend in my mind. I believe that Kelly would really like me if only she knew me. We have so much in common. Both of us fly into a rage when our husbands chew fruit in close proximity to our ears. It’s a documented disorder, check it out.

I was reading an interesting article about how smartphones have destroyed a generation and it got me thinking about what constitutes a real friend. Do you have to have face to face contact to be real friends? Over the past few years, I have gotten to know a fellow blogger, Wendy (The Monday Box) through reading and commenting on each others blogs. I consider her to be a new friend.

Last weekend, one of my husband’s new friends came to visit us at the cottage. He and his wife arrived bearing a huge basket of vegetables from their garden. It was such a thoughtful gift. I have been cooking with it all week. There were 4 huge heirloom tomatoes in the basket and a few bulbs of garlic. I was inspired to make a batch of quick tomato sauce. When mother nature gives you gorgeous produce, don’t mess with it too much.

I have only made my own tomato sauce once, and that was many years ago with my friend Marla. We bought a few bushels of plum tomatoes from the market and spent all day peeling and seeding them and then proceeded to cook them down for hours. The kitchen looked like a crime scene. There was red pulp and juice everywhere. It cured me of canning forever.

When I saw in Bon Appetit magazine, how Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen makes her tomato sauce, I was encouraged to try making it again. No peeling or seeding. She just grates the tomatoes on a box grater and cooks them very briefly. No fuss or muss. A generous amount of garlic and olive oil meet in the pan for a few minutes. A few sprigs of rosemary are added and then in goes the grated pulp from 4 large tomatoes. Make sure to salt with abandon. Tomatoes and salt are best friends and depend on each other to shine. I added a small squeeze of Mike’s Hot Honey. I seem to be possessed with a desire to add it to everything I can. Chef Ashley finishes her sauce with 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter. I whisked in just 2 teaspoons and felt it was delicious with just that small amount. Enriching tomato sauce with butter is Marcella Hazan‘s trick and it’s glorious. I kept it simple and added just a few tiny fresh tomatoes, basil and Parmesan cheese.

Click here to print recipe for _Grate_ Tomato Sauce.

Margherita Socca Pizza (Socca Palooza: Chapter 4)

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The final entry in my Socca Palooza is the classic Margherita; roasted cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. Start with some sweet little tomatoes, assorted colours are pretty.Cut them in half, mix with olive oil, salt and a bit of minced garlic. Roast them for about 20 minutes. Top the soccas with roasted tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. Pop it under the broiler to melt the cheese. Finish with fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. This is a drippy messy socca. Serve with a knife, fork and lots of napkins and dig in.

Salt and Serenity

Tales from my kitchen