Tomato tart! Now with spinach and caramelized onions!

I quickly settled on making a tomato tart. It’s not too difficult and the tastiness factor is pretty impressive. Underneath that layer of tomatoes hides wilted spinach, caramelized onions, and feta and ricotta cheeses. A few sprigs of thyme is all you really need to add some extra flavor to it.

You could make your own pie crust for this, but I opted for puff pastry. Roll it out a couple times so it doesn’t have the urge to puff as high and pre-bake it weighted with dry beans. It’s not that pie crust is hard to make, it’s just that it’s one of those things that puff pastry can easily replace will no ill effect. Just don’t use one of those pre-made pie shells in the foil. Those are usually sweet and won’t give the proper effect here.

What else could I stuff into this?

Anyway, back to the tart at hand. There are really only 5 ingredients here, but there is some prep work to do. Fortunately, the prep work can be done ahead of time or while the crust is baking. The onion has to caramelize, not difficult, but takes some time. I like to do several onions at once because it freezes delightfully well. The other prep is wilting spinach, which frankly, is a stretch to call it work. It cooks down quickly and easily. All that is required of you is to stir it. Click through the link for the full recipe and more information.

Tomato Tart with Spinach and Onion
Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced
2 cups spinach
3-4 fresh tomatoes, cut about 1/4 inch thick
4 ounces feta
4 ounces ricotta
and a few sprigs of thyme
1 sheet of puff pasty (plus some flour for rolling it out)

Other equipment
A 12-inch tart shell with removable base simplifies things
pie shell weights or dry beans

Directions
Tart shell
1. Preheat the oven to 450F
2. Thaw the puff pastry and fold in half and half again with a tiny amount of water to help bind the folded areas (just a small, even sprinkling will suffice). Roll out the dough to about 13 to 14 inches. Place in a lightly greased tart pan and fold the lip back into itself and press to seal. Prick evenly with a fork. Line with foil and fill with beans or pie weights.
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the beans and foil and bake for 10-20 minutes more, until crisp and brown. Allow to cool on a rack, still in the tart pan.
Tart filling
Onions can be made a day or two ahead, or even while the tart shell is baking.
1. Heat a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil and all the onions. Stir to coat everything in oil, then reduce the heat to medium and stir occasionally (leave uncovered. If it starts to burn or have caramelized bits stuck to the pan, add a splash of water and get those tasty bits clinging back onto the onions instead of the pan. It may take half an hour or more depending on the amount on onions you have. When they are soft and brown, you are done. (See here for more info.)
2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Add all the spinach at once and stir the pot. Stir frequently so the leaves at the base don’t burn and so the ones at the top cook down. It should only take a couple of minutes. Stop when all the leaves are wilted together.
3. Combine the feta and ricotta in a bowl. Add the onions and the spinach. Mix with a few cracks of black pepper.
And now the tart assembly
1. Spread the cheese mixture into the bottom of the cooled tart.
2. Layer the tomatoes slightly overlapping over the filling. Add some fresh thyme to the top.
3. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Can be eaten at room temp or reheated.

Notes: If the tomatoes are very juicy, blot them with a towel so that you don’t end up with a soggy tart.

Tomato Soup

My deep dish pizza recipe already cribbed from Cook’s Illustrated, so why stop on Tuesday. This is their version of a creamy–creamless–tomato soup, and boy did they nail it. It’s a smooth, thick soup that puts the tomato flavor front and center. The thickness comes not from cream, but from torn pieces of bread that disintegrate into the soup and are then further blended into it. Not entirely unheard of, but still clever. All this makes for a delicious, but still low-fat and low-calorie soup.

A quick note though, this may be a tomato soup, but this is not vegetarian. Cook’s Illustrated uses chicken stock create a richness and depth to the soup. Vegetable stock would work to make this vegetarian and vegan friendly. The only thing that would be missing is the gelatin normally found in small amounts in real chicken stock. Go nuts though, there probably isn’t much gelatin in the store bought stuff anyway—just another good reason to make your own.

Tomato Soup

Creamy –creamless– Tomato Soup
From Cook’s Illustrated. [http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=16872]
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
3 med garlic cloves, minced
Pinch hot red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
2 (28-oz) cans crushed tomatoes (muir glen organic with basil is my favorite)
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 large slices sandwich bread (get something good, tear off the crusts)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I don’t need to say it again, but homemade is best)
2 tbsps brandy (I don’t know why Cook’s Illustrated says it’s optional, it’s excellent)

Instructions
1. In a large pot over high heat, put in 2 tbsps olive oil. Add the onion and red pepper flakes, cook for 3 to 5 mins, stirring often, until the onion starts to get translucent. Add the garlic and bay leaf, cook for a minute more.
2. Add the tomatoes and their juice and mix well. Bring to a simmer. Tear the bread into chunks and stir it, and the sugar into the soup. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until bread starts to disintegrate, about 5 mins. Remove bay leaf.
3. Blend in batches with 1 tbsp oil and process until soup is smooth. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the chicken broth and the brandy. Taste, add salt if needed.
4. Serve with cracked black pepper.

That, my friends, is all that is needed for an amazing sandwich.

BLT

It’s summer, so homegrown tomatoes are in abundance. A coworker has more than she knows what to do with, so she has been giving them away at work. I’m all to happy to lend a hand. The key to a great BLT is sourcing the best B, L, and T you can get. So, with the T already in hand, the L is next.

When I make a BLT, I tend to go with iceberg lettuce. It’s not the most flavorful or fancy lettuce, but I think it’s classic. That fresh crisp lettuce is great with the salty warm bacon and the juicy tomato. The relatively neutral flavor doesn’t compete with the rest of the flavors.

And finally B. Ah yes, bacon. In a sandwich with so few elements to it, it is vital to get the best, thick-cut, bacon you can get. If you can get it from a butcher instead of those pre-sliced supermarket packs, you’ll be better off. Day-to-day, most of my bacon comes from the quality name-brand packs. Many are quite good and the price is a bit easier on the wallet too.

Other than that, you need mayo and bread. There are some heated discussions on the interwebs about which mayo is best, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try them all, so go with what you like. As far as bread, this time I used wheat bread. I like the mild sweetness it contributes and find that the earthiness compliments the tomato and bacon nicely. Otherwise a crusty sourdough or other hearth bread works well. Just be sure you toast it. I am also a fan of giving the pepper mill a light crack over the sandwich before closing it.

But that’s it. Grab a drink, some chips, and eat. Excellent, cheap, and super tasty.

BLT & Beer

This simple, straightforward sauce can be enjoyed on its own or adapted in any number of ways. Add some broth or water to make a thin sauce, add large amounts of vegtables to make a refreshing spring/summer pasta, add some meats, spices, herbs, whatever you have–don’t be afraid to experiment.

A pot of basic marinara sauce.

I typically use canned crushed tomatoes to cut down on the amount of processing I have to do. The small chunks that remain make the sauce appear more rustic and traditional than if it is blended smooth.

For a simpler sauce, omit the carrots and celery, use only one onion, and add a few tablespoons of some herbs like thyme, basil, and parsley. (I usually avoid oregano as it’s more Greek than Italian and quickly overpowers the other ingredients of the dish.)

This recipe makes plenty of sauce (about 6 cups, 48 ounces) but I sometimes double it if I am making a batch to freeze.

The sauce is also vegetarian/vegan friendly.

Basic Marinara Sauce:
You get extra points if you replace the crushed tomatoes with whole canned Italian tomatoes, remove the seeds, and crush them with the back of a spoon.
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 to 6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Directions

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion softens (2-4 minutes).
3. Add the carrot, celery, salt, and pepper to the party. Stir occasionally and saute until everything softens (5-7 minutes).
4. Next add the tomatoes, basil and bay leaves. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about an hour to thicken. (If it doesn’t thicken after an hour, continue simmering with the lid off.)
5. Fish out the bay leaf and taste. Some canned tomatoes are more acidic than others, so tasting is crucial. If the sauce is acidic, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, mix in and taste again. Repeat if needed. (Alternatively, I’ve also seen other recipes call for a pinch of sugar–sugar will keep it vegetarian/vegan.)
6. I typically leave as is, but if a smoother sauces is needed, blend in batches in either a food processor or blender.

Sauce can be frozen in portions in plastic freezer bags. To thaw, place the bag if the fridge overnight, or if in a hurry, soak the bag in warm water.

Close up of sauce.

You just went to the trouble of making pizza dough. If you wanted the easy way out, just order a pizza. Show this dough some respect and put something a little better than processed, bland pizza sauce on it.

Quick and easy pizza sauce.

I’m not going to ask you to oven-roast your tomatoes, or even use fresh tomatoes, but by all means go ahead. This recipe is about getting the best possible flavor for the least possible effort. We are going to stick with canned tomatoes. The quality is consistent year-round and probably better than what you can get in the off season.

Canned tomatoes.

This sauce will be more vibrant and will taste fresher – nothing like the dull paste of whatever is put into the prepared, preserved pizza sauces. So pick up a can of crushed tomatoes, some olive oil and a few herbs and spices that you probably already have in your panty. Mix, heat, and spread on your pizza.

Fans of simple recipes will like this one. There is all of one step.

Ingredients

1 (28-oz) can Muir Glen Organic Crushed Tomatoes (with basil)
3.5 tbsp olive oil
3-4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 3/4 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper

1. Combine everything into a large skillet and bring to a simmer over medium to medium low heat. Let simmer, uncovered, for about 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced slightly and looks thicker.

To save some time and to get the process moving quickly you can follow these steps:

1. Everything but the garlic and tomatoes goes in a pan on med-low heat. The spices will infuse their flavors into the olive oil.

2. Mince the garlic, add it to the pan. Let cook 30-45 seconds (just the time it takes to do the next step!).

3. Open the can of crushed tomatoes and stir into the skillet.

4. The sauce will thicken after about 20 minutes.

If you like a less chunky sauce, blend all (or just half) in a blender after it has cooled. I like my sauce to have small bits of tomato, so I skip this step. I also don’t want to clean a blender. Anyone want to buy me a stick blender?

One teaspoon of red pepper flakes doesn’t make for a particularly hot sauce, but if you really don’t like heat, reduce this to about 1/2 teaspoon. Don’t eliminate the red pepper completely though, as there is just something about red pepper flakes that completes a pizza sauce.

If you have a splatter screen, use it. Otherwise you will end up with red splashes all over your stove top from the bubbling tomato sauce. If you don’t have a splatter screen, you can make the sauce in a large pot. Most of the bubbling will splash onto the walls of the pot instead of your stove top.

This recipe will make enough for several pizzas. I make the full amount and freeze the rest until I need it.

Two Birds, One Stone: I’ve also used this as a pasta sauce in a pinch…