Goat Cheese, Onion, and Tomato Tart

Sorry for the long lull, folks. This recipe is from Gourmet, I'm not sure if it's from the magazine or one of their cookbooks. My dad made it one time when I was visiting, and now it's a summer tradition for me. It's good both hot or cold, and I serve it with a simple side of baby greens tossed with vinaigrette.

You need:

1 (9-inch) prepared pie dough, thawed if frozen
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
6 oz. crumbled goat cheese (1 1/3 cups)
1 lb. plum tomatoes, thinly sliced crosswise

To prepare:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
  
• If necessary, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round and fit into tart pan.
  
• Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang inward and press against side of pan to reinforce edge.
  
• Lightly prick bottom and sides with a fork.
  
• Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights [I use dried beans, it's cheaper].
  
• Bake in middle of oven until pastry is pale golden around rim, about 20 minutes.
  
• Carefully remove foil and weights and bake until golden all over, 8 to 10 minutes more.
  
• Cool in pan on a rack.
  
• While tart shell is baking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook onion with salt and black pepper to taste, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
  
• Preheat broiler.
  
• Spread onion over bottom of tart shell and top with 1 rounded cup goat cheese.
  
• Arrange tomatoes, slightly overlapping, in concentric circles over cheese.
  
• Sprinkle with remaining cheese and salt and black pepper to taste and drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil.
  
• Put foil over edge of crust to prevent over browning.
  
• Put tart pan on baking sheet and broil tart about 7 inches from heat until cheese starts to brown slightly, 3 to 4 minutes.

I've also used a frozen pie crust already in a foil pan and just blind-baked it according to package directions.  I'm considering trying to substitute beets instead of tomatoes for the tomato-haters out there, I'll let you all know how it goes.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

This literally means "spaghetti prostitute style". The story, as I heard it as a child, was that brothels in Italy, long ago, served food to their clients in addition to "dessert", and this spicy sauce came from there. I was looking for this particular recipe months ago and couldn't find it. I ended up with a milder and less tasty recipe than this one; I'm glad I found it again. The traditional recipe includes anchovies, I substitute sundried tomatoes.

You need:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 lb. tomatoes, peeled and chopped (canned is fine)
1-2 tbsp. capers
12-16 black olives (normally the recipe calls for pitted, but honestly, just warn your guests that the pits are still in there, and they'll be fine)
1 hot chili pepper (how hot? your choice. You can use jalapenos, serranos, habaneros, dried red pepper flakes, or whatever you can find locally)
1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped finely
Black pepper
3 oz. sundried tomatoes, packed in olive oil, patted dry, and chopped into small pieces
2-3 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs. spaghetti (you can really serve this on whatever pasta you have around, but this is traditional)
Salt

The instructions:

• Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and saute 2 cloves garlic, crushed, until browned.
• Add the remaining garlic clove, finely chopped, the tomatoes, capers, olives, chili, oregano, and a little black pepper (freshly ground, if possible).
• Cook over a brisk heat for 20 minutes.
• Lower the heat and add the chopped sundried tomatoes, then cook gently for 2 minutes.
• If you used a whole chili, remove it, then add salt to taste.
• If you want things extra spicy, chop up the cooked chili you removed and return it to the sauce.
• Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until tender, drain it, and dress it with the sauce while hot.

I would recommend plating this with not just the chopped parsley, but also a sprinkle of parmesan, and some chopped walnuts.  

Black Eyed Peas and Stewed Tomatoes

This is similar to a recipe my uncle used to make back in Virginia, but without the bacon. These bring good luck for the new year.

Ingredients:

1/2 bag cooked dried black eyed peas (or 1 box frozen), cooked
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tbsp. each dried celery leaves and parsley or 1 sm. bunch fresh minced
Salt & pepper to taste
A few dashes Tabasco sauce
1 tbsp. dried onion or 1 onion, minced
1 green pepper, minced, fresh or frozen

Instructions:

• Cook and drain the peas according to package directions.
• Add the rest of the ingredients.
• Simmer for at least 20 minutes, or place in crock pot on Low 3 to 4 hours.
• Add extra stewed tomatoes if you're going to leave it in the crock for longer.
• To substitute for bacon, add some Liquid Smoke

Red Bean and Tomato Curry

This is mostly what my mother calls a "dump" recipe (as in you dump cans of stuff into a pan), but it's yummy.  I got it from Classic Home Cooking

I made a few small modifications

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. vegetable oil (They call for corn or sunflower oil, I sometimes use olive oil instead)

1 large onion, sliced 

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1-2 fresh green chilies, cored, seeded, and sliced (I used jalapenos, but you could use serranos, if you like pain)

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground coriander

pinch of cayenne

salt (to taste)

13 oz. can of chopped tomatoes

20 oz. can of red kidney beans (drained)

1 tbsp lemon juice

(They suggest fresh cilantro leaves to garnish.  I've never done this.  Instead, for a pop of green color, I add some frozen peas.)

The Plan:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the onion, garlic, chilies, and ginger, and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes, until all the aromas are released and the onion is softened but not browned.
2. Add the curry powder, turmeric, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes with most of their juice and cook for about three minutes.  Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes longer (This is when I add the frozen peas.) or until the beans are warmed through and the sauce is thickened.  Add the lemon juice and serve hot, garnished with cilantro leaves (or not, really).

I also serve this over couscous, since making perfect rice like an Indian restaurant is beyond my grasp.  You can also substitute chickpeas for half of the kidney beans.

Black Bean Quesadillas with Pico

These are a quick, easy recipe I came up with to use up pantry ingredients and add some freshness.

For quesadillas, you'll need:

1 can of black beans with jalapenos added (or one can plain black beans, and a jar of pickled jalapenos)

1 package of shredded cheese, preferably a Mexican blend

1 tsp. or two of cumin 

Salt and pepper

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 package small whole wheat tortillas (in this case, I don't recommend the freshly made ones, since they puff up a lot)

For the Pico, you'll need:

1-2 fresh tomatoes (in the off-season, I like the tomatoes on the vine)

1 red onion

1 bunch cilantro (you won't use all of it)

1 fresh lime or some bottled lime juice

Salt and pepper

The plan:

• Drain the beans and add them to a sauce pot
• If they don't contain jalapenos already, add the desired amount from your jar of pickled peppers
• Begin to heat the beans, then add cumin and salt and pepper to taste
• Cook over medium heat and let it cook down a little
• Set it aside, since this tends to thicken as it cools

Next:

• Chop a tomato or two up into half-inch bites and place in a bowl
• Chop half of the red onion into roughly the same size as the tomatoes, and add to the bowl.  If the onion is small, you can chop up some of the rest of the onion as you wish.
• Chop up cilantro to taste.  I would go for at least a tablespoon or two, but I know it's an acquired taste.  Rough chop is fine.  Add to the bowl as well.
• Add a gentle amount of salt and pepper, then add the juice of one lime and toss.
• Let it sit.  You can actually make this the day before.

Finishing up:

• Heat up the olive oil in a medium non-stick pan
• Add one tortilla, and sprinkle cheese on top.  I like a fair amount, but keep in mind that there will be cheese on the other side, too.
• Add a generous dollop of beans over the cheese and spread them out.
• More cheese on top of the beans, then add another tortilla.
• Keep an eye on the bottom tortilla, when it starts to get crispy and brown, use two spatulas to flip the whole thing over
• Once the second tortilla is browned on the bottom, slide the whole thing to a plate
• You should be able to make two-three servings.  
• Once done with the tortilla assembly and cooking, toss the pico again and taste it.  Adjust seasonings as needed.
• Put a generous scoop of pico de gallo on top of each quesadilla.  You can garnish with sour cream if you need additional "stuff" but frankly I think it's fine without.

Enjoy!