Winter Squash Tart

Is it a tart? Quiche? Pie?

There is no combination quite like that of sweet and tender caramelized onions, aromatic sage, nutty browned butter, and (well, at least this cucurbitaceae) golden sweet pumpkin.

My favorite dish of all time (pre-gluten-free days) is a variation on this – smooth butternut puree mixed with sweet crumbs of amaretti cookies, wrapped up in little handkerchiefs and then served atop thin slices of salty prosciutto, garnished with chunks of toasted hazelnuts, and a healthy drizzle of browned butter.

I was craving these cappellacci con zucca the other day, but had to turn to my gluten-free sweet potato gnocchi from Agata and Valentina, tossed in a browned butter sauce, garnished with crispy sage leaves – and of course, that prosciutto.

‘Twas not sufficient. That squash and sage hankering came back with a vengeance. Luckily I was armed with a rather large Rouge Vif De’Temps (in my book, the best cucurbitaceae member out there) with the most brilliant orange flesh that tasted most sublimely sweet, like sugar.

Initially, I panicked. What to do?

I’d already said no to sweets – can’t fuel that fire. This has got to serve as a meal. 

No risotto – have had enough of that over the past 9 weeks.

Muffins? Cake? Bread? Oh wait, I’m a glutard… and don’t have freezer space like I used to.

Soup? Don’t forget about the soup you've got in the freezer already, remember? (And then there is this soup... and pasta...)

Then those handkerchiefs floated back into my head. Must. Have. Now. But rather than pasta, can I create that combination of flavors in a savory tart?

This is less eggy than a quiche, heartier than those delicate tarts I love from Once Upon a Tart in NYC. Consider it a savory pie, good enough for lunch or dinner, but with a creamy filling, it’s surely satisfying enough to stand in for it’s sweeter sibling.

Armed with two basic tart recipes as research, and my no-fail tart shell favorite from Alice Waters, I set off to work late Friday afternoon (armed with a bottle of wine, of course). While my tart shell was a failure*, the pie itself was a huge success.

Winter Squash Tart (Pie)

Tart Dough
1 cup all-purpose flour, gluten-free if necessary
6 tablespoons very cold butter (I like Organic Valley’s Pasture Butter)
Salt, if desired
Herbes de Provence, as desired
Water, if necessary (Start with a dribble)

Click here for instructions – this is the same dough I used for a caramelized onion-black olive galette. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough and blind bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tart Filling
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Olive oil, for cooking
2-2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, still warm, from a roasted pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream (I like Robie Farm’s Raw Heavy Cream)
1/3 cup sage leaves, fine chiffonade
3 eggs, beaten well
Salt, to taste

In a large sauté pan, heat oil and cook onions until browned and meltingly tender. Set aside.

While onions cook, remove flesh from cooked pumpkin and let cool. Meanwhile, combine heavy cream and sage in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let steep.

Once cool, combine the pumpkin with the eggs and mix well. Add in the cream and sage leaves, then season to taste.

Top the blind baked tart shell with the caramelized onions. Pour over the pumpkin mixture. Set the pie plate atop a baking sheet in case the filling drips. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until the filling is just set in the middle.

Let sit for 10-15 minutes, and then serve with a side salad topped with salty prosciutto crisps. Then refrigerate your leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

*(I’d experimented with King Arthur Flour’s gluten-free all-purpose blend, which has no cornstarch or other allergens for me. It works for pancakes and such, but the crust seemed to melt into a puddle rather than brown. Never fear, because the filling set nicely once baked, but this is a mystery I’ll have to experiment with this winter.)

Magnificent Meal under Moonlight

Every summer, my parents mastermind monthly moonlight kayaks on one of the beautiful rivers near our home in Rhode Island. It's been a tradition for them for as long as I can remember (well, at least 12 years now, as that is how long we've had our ocean kayaks). These magical evenings consist of 5 or so couples meeting either at our "yacht" club in Westport, MA, to kayak up the East Branch of the Westport River, or at Little River over in South Dartmouth, MA, to kayak up the Slocum River. Going with the tides, they go up the river to a pre-determined meal spot, where they are greeted by candlelight, cocktails, and a delicious, summery 3 course meal (appetizer, dinner, dessert). They then strap on their glow sticks and return to their starting point, later in the evening, under the light of the moon.

Now, this is a strictly parental event. Us "kids" are the labor. My mom sets the menu and helps prep what is needed for the Typically, my baby sister orchestrates the set-up, service, and break-down for the meal portion of the event (dear-old-dad is in charge of the kayaks, picking them up, strapping them on our trailer, etc). However, this summer a family friend and I orchestrated the July kayak on the Westport River. And the August kayak? Well, all of us living in the Northeast know what the weather has been like the last few days. Last night was the full moon here, but it wasn't dry. It wasn't even cloudless! So, in anticipation of the lousy weather, we celebrated the full moon with a kayak Saturday night -- and my sister and I (eldest and youngest) were even allowed to paddle one leg of the trip!

Saturday's event was a kayak on the Slocum. My mom and I set up the dinner, while my baby sister and father kayaked the first leg. We set dinner up near some picnic benches, with torches creating a lovely ambiance under the tree tops. The menu?

To start: proscuitto and mortadella with Cleron cheese and fresh baguettes from Seven Stars Bakery, and a homemade onion tart I made (inspired by Alice Waters and an earlier tart I made; recipe below)

Dinner: Alice Water's Ratatouille (I've made this one before, SO good!), Grilled Marinated Flank Steak (a family favorite), Ina Garten's Fresh Corn Salad, along with a hearty green salad courtesy of a family friend, and plenty of Seven Stars bread and butter to go around. And vino, of course!

Dessert: Local peach blueberry crisp with vanilla ice cream.

The evening was a magical one. The food was delicious, company divine, and the paddling? We could have used a bit more moonlight, but we all had fun. I certainly did. Was having fun testing out the stability of my kayak while waiting for others to catch up. Rocked a little too far left and rolled the boat! After escaping the cockpit (wish I was wearing a skirt...) and not attempting a roll, I had lots of fun taking on water while trying to get back in. Laughter all around, but lesson learned. Don't try to roll your boat after 10pm at night!

Recipes (will be updated later tomorrow)

Onion Tart, adapted from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food
Makes 2 tarts, serves 16 for appetizer

1/2 stick butter
4 onions, peeled and sliced thin (1/8" or so)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 c flour
2 tbsp Herbes de Provence
1 stick salted butter
1/2 c ice cold water

Heat the butter in a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until translucent. Add the rosemary and cook for about 45 minutes, until the onions are golden, super tender and sweet. Set aside and let cool.

For the tart dough, add the flour to a bowl and mix in herbes. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and cut the butter into the flour, until about pea sized. Add in water, 1 tbsp at a time, until dough almost comes together. Turn out onto floured marble surface and knead for a couple of minutes, until it comes together. Divide into 2 pieces and let rest, wrapped in plastic, in the fridge for 30 minutes. When ready, roll each piece into a 13" circle, about 1/8" thick, and place on silpat-covered baking sheet. Add onions to the center, leaving a 3" ring around the onions. Fold the sides of the dough over the onions, a la rustic crostata. Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden, about 45 minutes.

Ratatouille - see my earlier post here

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak, from The New York Times Country Weekend
Serves 25

4 cloves garlic
4 onions, peeled and quartered
6 tbsp peeled ginger, cut into chunks
1 tbsp hot pepper sauce
1 1/4 c soy sauce
1 1/4 c honey
1/2 sesame oil (not toasted sesame oil!)
1 c canola or peanut oil (I like a neutral peanut oil, preferably organic)
12 lbs grass-fed flank steak

Using a food processor or Vita-Prep (my new favorite toy at home), blend the marinade ingredients together. Place steak in a large bowl or baggie and let marinate for 24 hours, turning occasionally. Grill the meat, about 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Let sit 5 minutes before slicing across the grain into strips.

Fresh Corn Salad, adapted from The Barefoot Contessa
Serves 6

5 ears fresh corn, picked that morning preferably (I'm a huge fan of Coll Walker's corn)
1 red onion, finely diced
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup lightly packed basil leaves, julienned


In a large pot of boiling water, cook the corn until fragrant and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Drain and let cool. Once cool, cut off the kernels with a serrated knife, cutting close to the cob. Toss the corn with the onions, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Right before serving, stir in the basil.


Peach Blueberry Crisp
Serves 12-16

Fresh peaches
Fresh blueberries (love wild Maine blueberries)
4 tbsp melted butter
1 c rolled oats
1/4 c flour
1/3 c light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Slice peaches and toss with blueberries in a baking dish, about 9 x 13". Mix together topping ingredients with fingers and crumble over the top. Bake at 350, until the topping is slightly golden and the fruit is bubbly. Serve with vanilla or ginger ice creams. **You can adapt the ingredients as you wish -- it's a lot of fun to experiment with crisps!

The Best o' Pesto!

Photo courtesy of http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001570.html

One of my all time favorite foods, along with apples, peanut butter, bananas, and granola, is pesto. I do not even recall the first time I tried the food. By 7th grade, however, I was hooked. I remember many times, when I was over at my friend Annie's house, when we feasted like queens on pesto pasta. A couple of years later, after the publication of Ina Garten's first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, my sister often snacked on pine nuts, peas, and Parmigiano. Following in her flavor combination, I upped the ante, snacking on (what is even today a comfort snack) pesto, pine nuts, peas and Parmigiano.

This past weekend, my mom was having friends over for lunch. We had an amazing raw tomato "sauce" made from locally grown, organic tomatoes from Wishing Stone Farm. I had picked up some delicious locally made cheese raviolis from Nonni's in Tiverton, RI. The perfect compliments? A salad of greens and beans from our garden, a crusty durum stick of bread from Seven Stars, and my pesto, made with love from our lovely locally grown (outside the kitchen door!) basil.

Basil Pesto

Ratios derived from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food

6 garlic cloves
Pinch salt
3/4 c lightly toasted pignoli nuts
2 bunches fresh basil
3/4 c freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Olive oil

In a food processor, puree garlic and salt until a chunky paste. Wipe down sides and add in toasted and cooled nuts. Process again until a chunky paste. Add the basil, in batches, chopping down into 1/4" or so chunks. Add the cheese, process again, scraping down the sides before and after processing. With the food processor on, add in oil, blending until you get the consistency you prefer. For the batch I just made, I kept the pesto thick, so I could spread it like a tapenade on crostini. When I want to toss it with warm, fresh pasta, I can just save a cup or so of pasta water to thin out the pesto into a sauce of proper consistency.

Rainy Day Ratatouille

From: http://thesaltystudent.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/feature_ratatouille.jpg

Watching Ratatouille on a rainy day you mean? No -- not the movie (in which, I learned last week, Thomas Keller was involved in designing and outfitting the kitchen and the food cooked in it)!!

I mean the famed, classic French vegetable dish, composed of bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes (and sometimes summer squash) slowly cooked together. I know, vague, right? I guess I have just had my fair share of ratatouilles in my life, each of which was made in a different way. Ratatouille in college was a slow cooked mess of the above vegetables, probably seasoned with some dried oregano of sorts. A pretty tasty cooked vegetable for a college dining hall in the dead of winter in VT (yes, in September we ate like kings: fresh organic baby lettuces and ruby red tomatoes grown in the school's Organic Garden. In March, not so much...).

Then there was the life-altering ratatouille omelette experience in Provence. It was 3pm on a given day, and we had been visiting the market in St-Remy-de-Provence. We were driving back to our villa in Cadenet, but failed to do anything for lunch. We came across a lovely fine dining establishment we had read about, and hoped to get a bite to eat, only to learn the kitchen had closed. In despair, we were about to get back in the car and resort to a lunch of cheese and cracker, when the news delivered was taken back. They would love for us to dine with them, if we were okay with eating omelettes and bread. All I can say is that no other omelette has yet to compare (even the lovely french omelettes rolled by my dear French chefs at FCI). The magic ingredient? The most amazingly tender and sweet ratatouille filling. The vegetables were cut in dainty slices, cooked all the way through, yielding an almost caramelly flavor.

And then, one of my favorite experiences, making ratatouille at culinary school, only to have Chef Jacques Pepin come in and tell us all about the "proper" way to make ratatouille. We were going along our merry way, preparing our vegetables and cooking them slowly over the heat of the stove in a large pot, until all of the different textures of the different vegetables broke down to yield one uniform texture, and uniquely blended flavor. Chef Pepin corrected our technique, instead informing us that a truly French ratatouille was made by slowly roasting each vegetable independant from one another, and then combining it to finish.

Though I have still yet to find out which technique is the true, traditional way, I've gone on to make my own version. Like the ratatouille in my omelette in Provence, I love a caramelly flavor, and a texture that is more compote-like than chunky-saucy. However, in the summer, when organic produce is abundant from the garden, I like to keep the cooking-down of the vegetables to a minimum, leaving the zucchini cooked yet still retaining its sense of identity and form, and the tomatoes and peppers identifiable in their similar red states.


Without further ado, my ratatouille recipe, inspired by the recipe from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.

Ratatouille

1 medium eggplant, cut in 1/2" dice

Salt

2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium yellow onions

4-6 garlic cloves

1/2 bunch basil

Pinch chili flakes

2 sweet bell peppers

2 medium zucchini

3 medium tomatoes

6 basil leaves, chiffonade

Toss eggplant in salt and let drain for 20 minutes in a colander. Drain. Saute in oil over medium high heat and set aside. Heat 2 more tbsp oil in a 6 qt saucepan and saute the onions over medium high heat for about 7 minutes, or until they are translucent. Add the garlic, half bunch basil (keep whole, tied together with string), a pinch of salt and chili flakes. Cook for about 2-3 min. Add the peppers and cook 3 minutes more. Then add the zucchini and cook another 3 minutes. Lastly, add the tomato and cook 10 minutes more. Add in the cooked eggplant and cook for about 10-15 min more, or until the mixture has reached your preferred consistency (if you wish to take the long and slow path, turn your heat down to a simmer and let the pot go, checking every so often and giving it a stir. I like cooking it over heat until the zucchini is barely cooked through, and then letting it sit, off the heat, for another 10-20 minutes to carryover). Check seasoning and serve at room temperature or warm, as you wish, garnished with basil chiffonade.

A sweet and salty marriage

As my post yesterday briefly mentions, I was in a bit of a culinary craze Saturday night. I couldn't quite get enough of the kitchen, which, as I think about it now, is hilarious given the fact that come Monday through Friday, when I'm working nearly 12 hours a day on my feet (or schlepping about the steamy Manhattan streets), I don't even want to set FOOT in a kitchen come 7:30pm and a hot shower. Glass of wine, and a comfy chair, now that is more my style.

Anyways, back to my escapades Saturday. I had already whipped up an amazing gazpacho. I had been busy in the kitchen at work on Thursday, making a vegetarian chili that I shared with my parents for lunch Friday as they were unpacking their new apartment in Greenwich Village. I had also swiped a half pint of a caramelized onion mixture, more of a compote or jam, with the intentions of something along the lines of a pissaladiere, but with a tart dough (um, kind of craving it. Which is pathetically sad, given it is essentially butter and flour. Only me). A quick brainstorm, and I pulled out Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food. She's ingenious, and when I'm looking for a simple yet foolproof and tasty recipe, I always consult this book. Sure enough, she's hit the nail on the head as usual this time and I found a perfect savory tart dough recipe that would suit the ideas flowing around my head.

So, my thoughts: a savory tart dough, speckled with a healthy scattering of herbes de provence. Spread on top a thick layer of caramelized onion (and I later learned some finely chopped olives) jammy compote, and a scattering of nicoise olives (sadly, my local market's were uber salty...). Folded crostata style, very impromtu and simple. A quick dusting of freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano. And voila! Served warm, this little bugger is a perfect complement to a hearty green salad for a light lunch for four (or for a lunch for two, if you've got the appetite I've had today).

Without further ado, more tasty images and of course, the recipe:

Caramelized Onion and Olive Tart

1/4 c ice cold water
1 c flour
6 tbsp salted butter (I am obsessed with Organic Valley's Pasture Butter)
Healthy bit of Herbes de Provence (I used about 2-3 tbsp)
Onion jam
Herbed nicoise olives, pitted

Make a well in the flour in a small mixing bowl. Add the butter, diced in 1/2" chunks, and use your fingers to mix the flour into the butter, creating pea sized pieces. Add a tablespoon of water, and mix (I didn't need much water to bring the mixture into a flakey ball). Once you can kind of bring the butter/flour/water mixture to a ball formation, turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured marble surface (use a pastry cloth if you don't have a suitable kneading surface, and have some bench flour nearby). Knead dough until it comes together into a ball. You can let it rest for 30 minutes, but I was in such a rush I quickly rolled the dough out into roughly a 13" diameter circle. I spread my jam mixture in a 10" circle, and folded over the bare edges of the dough, crostata style, for the tart edges. Scattered the olives on top and popped it into a 375 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes, but watching for when the edges got golden. As soon as it came out, I let it cool for 10-15 minutes, and grated some fresh parmigiano on top. Et voila! Bon appetit!