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Plum Tomato and Gruyère Tart /
by Judy Kim
Plum Tomato and Gruyère Tart
Yield: 1 (9.5-inch) Tart
This is a tart that you will want to make multiples of. It is great as an appetizer or a light lunch served with a green salad. I use the step sister to the popular heirloom tomato variety, the plum tomato. While heirloom tomatoes are beautiful due to their interesting shapes and colors, plum tomatoes are equally great during peak season and more often found off-season.
INGREDIENTS
Single crust Buttermilk Pie Dough
All-purpose flour, for rolling
1 ½ pounds plum tomatoes (about 5 to 6), sliced thinly, about ¼-inch rounds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces freshly grated gruyere cheese
1 large garlic clove, finely grated
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh basil, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
Prepare the double pie crust recipe, which can be made in advance, save the other half for later or make 2 tomato tarts. If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Let pie dough come to room temperature, about 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out round disk to ¼-inch thickness. Keep dough moving and apply just enough flour to prevent it from sticking. Gently fold into quarters and transfer onto 10-inch tart pan. Carefully push the pastry into the corners and sides of the tart pan using the flat side of your index finger while avoiding stretching the dough. Use rolling pin to trim excess pastry, transfer excess to refrigerator for an optional decorative design.
Lay sliced tomatoes in a single layer on a prepared half sheet pan with paper towels, season with salt; set aside to drain excess water, about 10 minutes. Blot top of tomatoes just before using.
Place oven rack in middle with Baking Steel or a pizza stone and preheat oven to 400°F.
In a medium bowl, combine cheese, garlic, thyme and ½ teaspoon black pepper; spread cheese mixture evenly inside the tart shell. Place tomatoes in an overlapping design until the surface is covered.
Place the tart on a rimmed sheet pan and just before baking, lightly brush pastry with egg wash. Cover only the crust loosely with foil and bake directly on the Baking Steel or pizza stone. Bake for 10 minutes and remove the foil; continue baking until tomatoes are tender and crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Transfer to a wire cooling rack for 15 minutes. Finish with drizzle of olive oil, cracked black pepper and chopped or torn fresh basil. Serve warm or at room temperature.
CRUST OPTIONS:
Leave crust plain, place in freezer until ready to use.
Using a butter knife, score edge of pastry on a diagonal all the way around. Place in freezer for 15 minutes or until ready to use.
Before freezing the tart pan, flatten the top rim of the pastry by pushing your thumb and index finger around the edges; chill in freezer. Roll chilled excess pastry to 1/8-inch thickness, cover both sides generously with flour and cut with pie cutters in various leaf shapes. Place leaves in a single layer on a rimmed sheet pan sprinkled with flour. Chill until frozen. Apply frozen pastry leaf cut outs with egg wash; partially cover the edge in a loose pattern of leaves or create a full wreath crown over the entire circumference. Place in freezer until ready to use.
Heirloom Tomato Tart with Crispy Breadcrumbs /
by Judy Kim
Heirloom Tomato Tart with Crispy Breadcrumbs
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
A great way to use bountiful Heirloom tomatoes at the height of Summer or to celebrate the end of tomato season. Either way, a nice light appetizer to be served with dry crisp champagne or served with a green garden salad for a light lunch.
INGREDIENTS
4 medium to large heirloom tomatoes, sliced 3/8-inch or 1 cm thick
Flaky sea salt, such as Jacobsen Salt
1/2 pound Old Amsterdam Gouda, grated
1/2 pound white cheddar, grated
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 single crust, rustic pie dough
All-purpose flour, for dusting
Optional: 1 egg
1/2 cup chiffonade fresh basil
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven 350° F. Fix oven rack in middle with a Baking Steel, or your favorite pizza stone. I love how the steel makes the pastry so crisp. Eliminates worrying about a soggy crust.
Prepare half sheet pan with parchment paper, I use pre-cut parchment paper when I have it available. Set aside.
Place sliced tomatoes on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt on both sides. Set aside, minimum of 5 minutes. Pat dry to remove moisture.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine all grated cheese and reserve 1/2 cup.
In a small mixing bowl, combine ½ cup grated cheese, breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil; set aside.
Remove Rustic Pie Dough from refrigerator to rest until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour all over the counter and smooth over your rolling pin, I prefer a flat rolling pin compared to a rounded French style. Roll dough evenly into similar dimensions of the sheet pan, about ¼-inch thickness or a bit less. Move dough around as you roll and sprinkle flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. Trim the dough to match the rectangular shape with an additional 1-inch border, for a finished look. Or skip the trimming step for a more rustic approach. To transfer, loosely roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll over the sheet pan.
Sprinkle remaining cheese all over pastry in an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange tomatoes with minimal overlap all over cheese, also leaving a 1 inch border of pastry. Roll edges inward and crimp pastry edges.
Place tomato tart in fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes.
Place mounds of breadcrumb mixture over the tomatoes, especially covering the crust. You can spread breadcrumb mixture all over, but I like to keep most of the tomatoes uncovered since they are so beautiful. Place sheet pan directly on Baking Steel and bake until pastry is golden brown, approximately 40 to 45 minutes.
Optional: Make egg wash, egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water. Brush crust with egg wash just before baking.
Carefully transfer to a cooling rack.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil all over tart, sprinkle with basil and flaky sea salt. Serve at room temperature.
Spring Asparagus and Chive Tart /
DELISH
Read MoreBuffalo Chicken Meatballs /
DELISH
Read MoreGarlic & Dill Yogurt Dip /
by Judy Kim
Garlic & Dill Yogurt Dip
Yield: Approximately 2 cups
Pretty sure I've never met a party dip that I didn't like, this is no exception. I make a version of this dip for almost every party I have. This is a great base that you change up easily by layering on additional flavors such as scallions, chives cayenne or even horseradish. Enjoy this for any gathering or holiday party full of friends and family. Excellent with seasonal vegetables from the farmers market. My all time favorites are carrots, fennel, a variety of radishes and those cute little baby cherry tomatoes when you can find them. It might be fun to make some baked root chips, but we all know potato chips will always be a winner.
Below I make mention to microplane the garlic, a trick I learned from my friend Mark Bello, owner of Pizza a Casa (rockin' pizza school in NYC if you haven't tried it). It's a genius trick I've not been able to stop using. Particularly great in recipes when you don't cook the garlic since it is probably the finest you will ever get the garlic and it's a huge time saver.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup plain whole yogurt
1 cup mayo, such as Hellmann's
2 garlic cloves, grated with a microplane or finely minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together. If possible, make this a day ahead so that all the flavors have time to bloom.
Serve chilled.
Suggest to add 1 teaspoon of French Vinaigrette herb mix from Penzeys Spices.
Gougères /
by Judy Kim
GOUGERES
Yields: Approximately 36 puffs
INGREDIENTS
GOUGERES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons dry mustard
¾ cup whole milk, separated
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup freshly grated parmesan
¾ cup freshly grated Gruyère, separated
FILLING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 cup crème fraîche
¼ cup finely chopped chives
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a small bowl combine flour and dry mustard; set aside.
In a medium sauce pan over high heat add 1/2 cup milk, butter, ¼ cup water and salt; bring to a boil. Add the flour mixture all at once and reduce heat to medium low. Using a wooden spoon, stir vigorously until the mixture forms a thick ball of dough and coats the sides of the pan, about 2-3 minutes. The dough should be smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Beat in eggs one at a time until completely incorporated. Add Parmesan and 1/2 cup Gruyère; stir until well mixed.
Using a small ice cream scooper or 1 tablespoon measure, drop dough on parchment lined sheet pans. Space evenly about 1-inch apart. Lightly brush dough with remaining milk and top with remaining Gruyère. Bake on middle rack until puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate halfway through. Cool completely on wire racks.
Meanwhile, mix filling ingredients together in a small bowl. Spoon filling into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, such as a Wilton 1M tip. Just before serving cut off top quarter of each puff, pipe cream cheese filling and replace top.
Note: Gougères can be frozen after completely cooled, up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven before serving.