Rosemary/thyme pear crisp
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: 6 to 9
Note: From Donna Deane.
Ingredients
6 ripe Bartlett pears
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsps. packed light brown sugar, divided
1 cup flour plus 2 Tbsps., divided
1 vanilla bean, split
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsps. finely chopped rosemary or thyme
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Quarter, core and peel the pears. Spinkling the pears with lemon juice as you go to prevent browning, cut each quarter crosswise into one-fourth-inch-thick slices. You should have about 6 cups of sliced pears.
2. Once you have sliced all the pears, add 2 Tbsps. of the brown sugar and 2 Tbsps. of the flour to the pears, tossing to coat. With the tip of a knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean onto the pears and toss to coat evenly. Set them aside while you prepare the topping.
3. Combine the remaining three-fourths cup brown sugar, 1 cup flour, baking powder, ground ginger, kosher salt and rosemary or thyme. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients until it is crumbly.
4. Spoon the pear mixture into a 9-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over the top of the fruit. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and let stand until warm before serving.
Each of 9 servings: 293 calories; 2 grams protein; 50 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 10 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 27 mg. cholesterol; 114 mg. sodium.
Pumpkin Tarte Tatin
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Servings: 6 first courses
Note: Use sugar (pie) pumpkin or cheese pumpkin. The goat cheese can be omitted and the warm tarte served instead with creme fraiche. Puff pastry can substituted for the pie crust.
Ingredients
1 1/4cups flour
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
8 Tbsps. unsalted butter, chilled
About 1/4 small (3 to 3 1/2 pounds) pumpkin
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsps. butter, divided
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
Coarse sea salt
2 Tbsps. chopped fresh thyme, divided
1 Tbsp. pumpkin seed oil (or olive oil)
Pepper
1/2cup heavy cream
1 ounce soft goat cheese
1. For the crust, combine the flour, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and toss with a fork to mix well. Cut the chilled unsalted butter into one-quarter-inch pieces and rub into the dry ingredients with fingertips until the mixture resembles very coarse meal. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsps. ice water and toss until the ingredients cling together, adding 1 Tbsp. more water if necessary. Pull together into a ball and knead very lightly, then pat out into a thick round on wax paper. Wrap the dough in the wax paper and chill it while cooking the pumpkin.
2. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel and seed the pumpkin and cut it into one-quarter-inch-thick slices.
3. Combine the olive oil and 2 Tbsps. of the butter in a 10-inch (measured across the top) nonstick, ovenproof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, salt to taste and half the thyme and saute, stirring often, until very soft and caramelized, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
4. Wipe the skillet clean and add the remaining butter and the pumpkin seed oil; melt over medium heat. Arrange the pumpkin slices in the skillet in slightly overlapping layers, but with most of the pumpkin flat on the skillet so the surfaces will caramelize. The pumpkin should cover the bottom completely. Sprinkle with the remaining thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until the bottom slices start to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover the skillet and cook until the pumpkin is soft but not falling apart, about 10 minutes. Drizzle with the cream and remove from the heat. Crumble the goat cheese and scatter the onions evenly over the pumpkin.
5. Cut a sheet of wax paper into a 10-inch round. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough under the sheet to make a crust, using the sheet as a guide. Remove the wax paper and carefully fit the crust over the pumpkin, tucking and crimping the perimeter to seal it completely.
6. Bake in the top third of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is browned. Using a small spatula around the edges of the skillet to release the crust, immediately unmold the tarte onto a serving platter (place a platter over the skillet and invert it). Cut it into wedges and serve warm or hot.
Each serving: 443 calories; 5 grams protein; 26 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 36 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 91 mg. cholesterol; 108 mg. sodium.
Onion tart with anchovies and olives
Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, plus chilling time for the dough
Servings: 8
Note: Adapted from Alice Waters' "The Art of Simple Food."
Ingredients
6 Tbsps. butter
1 cup flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
Salt
1/4 cup olive oil or butter
2 pounds onions, peeled and sliced thin
3 sprigs thyme
4 anchovy fillets, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup pitted black olives such as nicoise or small kalamata
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk or water
1. Place the butter and flour in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut or work the butter into the flour, leaving some of the butter in fairly large, irregular pieces. This will take 1 or 2 minutes. (Or mix for no more than a minute at medium-low speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.)
2. Pour in 3 Tbsps. cold water, stirring all the while with a fork until the dough begins to form clumps. (In the mixer, turn the speed to low and pour the water down the sides of the bowl, mixing for 30 seconds or less.) Add up to 1 additional Tbsp. water if needed. Form the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic. Flatten it into a disk and let rest, refrigerated, for 1 hour or longer.
3. Heat the oil or butter in a low-sided, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onions and thyme. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and juicy, 20 to 30 minutes. Season with three-fourths tsp. salt, or to taste, and cook for a few minutes more.
4. Transfer the onions into a bowl to cool. If the onions are very juicy, pour them into a strainer over a bowl to drain and remove the liquid.
5. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the tart dough out into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Brush off the excess flour, transfer the dough to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and put it in the refrigerator to firm up for 10 minutes or so.
6. Spread the cooled onions over the dough (removing the thyme sprigs as you go), leaving a 1 1/2 -inch border around the whole circumference of the dough. Fold the border up over the onions, overlapping the edges every 2 inches or so. Arrange the anchovies and olives evenly over the top. For a shiny, more finished appearance, mix together the egg and milk or water in a small bowl with a fork and brush the folded dough rim with it.
7. Bake until the crust is golden brown on the bottom, 45 to 50 minutes. Slide the tart off the pan onto a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Each serving: 254 calories; 4 grams protein; 23 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 17 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 51 mg. cholesterol; 342 mg. sodium.
from the chicago tribune
Grilled radicchio and Honeycrisp apple salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Adapted from a recipe in "The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook."
Ingredients
4 heads radicchio, halved lengthwise
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 Honeycrisp apples, halved
2 shallots, minced
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 to 6 ounces blue cheese
1 3 cup toasted walnut pieces, see note
1. Prepare a grill or grill pan for medium-high heat. Brush the radicchio on all sides with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil; season with 1 /4 tsp. of the salt and pepper to taste. Grill, turning once, until the leaves soften and grill marks are formed, about 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place apple halves, cut side down, on the grill; grill just until slightly softened and grill marks form, about 3 minutes. Remove radicchio and apples to a cutting board; set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, combine shallots, vinegar, remaining 1/4 tsp. of the salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in olive oil until smooth.
4. Cut radicchio into 2- to 3-inch wide strips, discarding the tough core. Transfer to a salad bowl. Core the apple halves; cut lengthwise into thin slices. Add to salad bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the radicchio and apples; toss to coat. Crumble the cheese over the salad; sprinkle with walnuts.
Note: To toast walnuts, place in a small dry skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic, about 5 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving: 234 calories, 70% of calories from fat, 19 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 13 mg cholesterol, 11 g carbohydrates, 7 g protein, 417 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
from the baltimore sun
Southwestern spiced chicken and black-bean stew
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
2 Tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil
3 thick slices bacon
6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 pounds), large pieces of fat trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 cup beer
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) black beans, rinsed (about 2 cups)
1 dried chipotle pepper (optional)
2 cups low-salt chicken broth, plus more if needed
1 lime
3 Tbsps. chopped fresh cilantro leaves (divided use)
Sour cream for garnish
Fried tortilla strips (optional)
1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until it renders much of its fat and crisps slightly, about 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Add half of the thighs to the pan and brown them well on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Brown the remaining thighs and reserve with the rest.
2. There should be 2 to 3 Tbsps. of fat left in the pan; if there's more, spoon out and discard the excess. Add the onion and bell pepper, season well with salt, and cook, stirring often, until the onion softens and caramelizes slightly, about 7 minutes.
3. Raise the heat to high, add the chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Add the beer and cook until it's almost completely reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the beans, the chipotle (if using) and the chicken broth.
4. When the mixture comes to a boil, adjust the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer 2 cups of the beans and broth (but not the chipotle) to a blender, puree and then mix it back into the rest of the broth.
5. Return the thighs to the pot, cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer until the chicken is cooked through (check by slicing through the bottom of one of the thighs to the bone), about 30 minutes. If the stew is too thick, thin it with more chicken broth.
6. Discard the chipotle. Crumble the reserved bacon. Juice one half of the lime; cut the other half into wedges. Stir the bacon, lime juice and Tbsps. of the cilantro into the stew and season well with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, ladling some of the beans and chicken into each bowl. Sprinkle each serving with the remaining cilantro and a small dollop of sour cream. Serve with the lime wedges and fried tortilla strips, if you like.
Per serving (based on 6 servings): 323 calories, 30 grams protein, 17 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 18 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams fiber, 89 milligrams cholesterol, 562 milligrams sodium.
from kcrw.com
Tahitian Squash, Orzo and Pomegranate Salad
Serves 6 - 8
(Courtesy of Schaner Farms)
Olive oil
2 tablespoons minced onions
1 cup chopped, divided onions
1 - 2 tablespoons minced garlic
Red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and pepper
3 - 4 cups cubed Tahitian squash, 1/2" cubes (or butternut squash)
3/4 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or double the amount if using fresh thyme leaves)
1 cup orzo
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 - 3/4 cup toasted pecan pieces
1/2 - 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Make seasoned oil by combining about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of olive oil with the minced onion, one tablespoon of minced garlic and a few red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Keep refrigerated up to a week. The longer it sits, the more flavorful the oil.
In a large mixing bowl place the Tahitian squash and onion. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of the seasoned olive oil. Season with the thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Toss together. Place in one layer on a baking sheet. Roast covered for 1/2 hour. Uncover and continue cooking about 1/2 hour or until soft.
Meanwhile cook the orzo according to the package. Drain and rinse with cool water.
When all the ingredients are done, assemble the salad by combining the squash mixture and orzo in a large bowl. Add the parsley, pecans and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle a little more seasoned olive oil and about one tablespoon of minced fresh garlic, if desired. Toss. Taste and adjust any of the flavors. Best served at room temperature.