8-10-11: You Say Tomato…

8-10-11: You Say Tomato…: "

Sascha's tomato tart.

Audio for this segment will be available by the end of the day.

It’s August — time to put all those tomatoes to use. You can pop them straight in your mouth — or you can also learn how to sun dry them, or use them in a tarte tatin. Our resident foodie, Sascha Wolhandler, of Sascha’s 527, has some suggestions.

Tomato tart tartin

2 pints cherry tomatoes (a mix of yellow & red is nice)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp red wine

Sheet puff pastry

1/4 cup pitted black olives chopped

2 tbsp herbs de provence

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

9 inch skillet

Procedure

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and saute onions until caramelized. In another skillet, combine water and sugar. Cook until mix goes from bubbling white to amber–this is the caramel.

Remove from heat and add the red wine. Careful–it will sputter. Throw olives on top of caramel. Do not touch mixture–it is very hot. Throw the tomatoes on top of the olives. Place the onions on top of the tomatoes.

Cut round from the puff pastry that will cover the whole thing. Place puff pastry over the entire mixture, and carefully press around edges.

Bake for 40 minutes until crust is puffed and golden. Let rest in the skillet for five minutes.

Place large round plate over the skillet and carefully invert onto the plate.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, onions, and tomatoes before putting on puff pastry. Decorate with fresh basil.

Individual tomato tarts

Note: you’ll need 6 individual tart pans with removable bottoms

Use your favorite pastry crust recipe, or storebought flat, rolled-out pastry crust

Non-stick coating spray

4 ripe, beautiful tomatoes, sliced

4 tbsp dijon mustard

1.5 cups shredded cheese — try cheddar, gruyere or crumbled goat cheese

Mixed dry herbs

1 tbsp each of garlic powder, oregano, basil, thyme, salt & pepper

Olive oil for drizzling

Fresh basil for decorating

Procedure

Spray tart pans with non-stick coating. Roll out dough, and cut rounds to fit tart pans. Paint bottom of dough with dijon mustard. Fill with shredded cheese — Place tomatoes decoratively on top. If you use goat cheese, sprinkle it on top of the tomatoes.

Sprinkle dry herbs over each tart and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Decorate with fresh basil, and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

Tomato Jam

1.5 lbs tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp squeezed lime juice

2 tbsp minced ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp salt

Good pinch red pepper flakes

Procedure

Place all ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 45 min to 1 hour until jam-like.

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