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FFF | July 8, 2010

Greenmarket Gourmet: Apple & Zucchini Tartine

I have a new love interest that I’m excited to announce, Tartines! Maybe it’s the fact that i’m cooking french food all the time, or that I get so many fresh baguettes from school my freezer is filling up, either way, Tartines are my new go-to lunch choice. Essentially a french open-faced sandwich, Tartine’s can be served hot or cold and can be sweet, savory, or a little of both.

I happen to enjoy them with sweet and savory ingredients melted under the broiler so that the bread is crisp and the cheese, which I always use, is melty and golden. The beauty of these little treats is that you can make them from whatever you have lying around in your fridge or pantry, and they take just a few minutes to prepare. Plus, they look so much more elegant than typical sandwiches.

When I visited the NYBG Greenmarket last week I picked up some sweet Ida Red Apples from the Red Jacket Orchards and these curiously pale green Mediterranean Zucchini from Gajeski Farms. I had originally thought of making an apple and zucchini tart, but I was short on time and making a pie crust wasn’t in the cards. Instead the idea of combining these bright and sweet flavored ingredients with the salty and spicy Monterrey Hot Jack Cheese I bought from Millport Dairy sounded like the perfect Tartine. To top it all off I drizzled some honey to enrich the sweetness of the fruit and sprinkled some chopped basil to give it a clean, fresh finish. Not only did this come out beautiful, the flavors were so crisp!

I encourage you to give this recipe a try, but feel free to get creative. If you don’t have apples or zucchini’s, think about using pears or substituting another cheese like brie. One of my other favorite Tartine’s is simply brie and brown sugar on a piece of bread melted under the broiler, so delicious.

Have fun and bon appetit!

Apple and Zucchini Tartine

Makes 4 Tartines

Ingredients

1/2 apple, thinly sliced
1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced
Lemon juice
EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste
Monterrey jack cheese, thinly sliced
4 slices of french bread, about 1/2 a baguette
Honey
Basil, to garnish

Directions

Turn on your broiler.
Lightly coat each slice of bread with a little EVOO and place under the broiler 30 seconds, or until lightly toasted.
Place the sliced apples and zucchini in a bowl and lightly coat with some lemon juice and EVOO. Season with salt and pepper.
Begin assembling the Tartines by layering slices of apple, zucchini, and cheese in a repeating pattern on top of the toasted baguette slices.
Place the Tartines back under the broiler and cook until the cheese starts to bubble and brown. Keep a close eye on them as they can burn quickly!
Drizzle the Tartines with honey and top with chopped basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Category: Recipes, Seasonal | Tags: apples, cheese, french, greenmarket, zucchini

FFF | October 30, 2009

One comment

Buttery & Golden Pastry Dough

Dough, it’s buttery, crusty, golden, and delicious. I think I actually eat pies and other pastries most of the time just to eat the dough itself. You would think that I would have known how to make my own golden pastry dough, but up until last weekend I had never really tried it. Ever since I got my food processor (which seems to be a common sentence intro) I have been wanting to take advantage of its magical powers, cue the pastry dough!

One of my very dear friend’s Caitlin came to visit me last weekend and I wanted to prepare something special for her for dinner. I had been watching an episode of Giada at Home on the Food Network and really enjoyed her episode on making cheese the main star in your dish. So, I set out to prepare what I thought was a savory Crostata as an accompaniment to our meal. The dish included apples (in season), gorgonzola cheese (yum) and walnuts (in my pantry) so it sounded like a great idea. Plus, it gave me the long awaited opportunity to make pastry dough.

Quick aside: Does anyone else ever do what I do, make a dish for the first time for a guest as opposed to making a classic you know how to make?? I never mean to do this, but it always seems to work out that way. Thankfully I have wonderful friends who like to try my experiments

So back to the dough…I could have gone with Giada’s recipe, but it called for mascarpone cheese, and quite honestly, I didn’t feel like going out to buy it. So, I researched my no-fail foodie goddess Ina Garten and tried my hand at the Barefoot Contessa’s pastry dough. The best thing about making pastry dough is that 1) it requires minimal ingredients you should always have one hand, and 2) it takes almost no time to prepare.

Ingredients as follows:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar or superfine sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 lb very cold unsalted butter, diced

2 tablespoons ice water

Using the steel mixing blade in your food processor, pour in the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse 2-3 times until all the ingredients are nice and incorporated. Next, add the diced butter and pulse again 12-15 times until the butter is mixed in with the flour mixture and is the size of peas, and looks like course sand. NOTE: Make sure your butter is VERY cold for the best results. Helpful trick is to place the stick in the freezer 5-10 minutes before you are ready to use it. Try using it with room temperature butter and you will not be very happy with your finished product.

Next, with the feed tube removed from the lid of your food processor, pour in the ice water while pulsing to combine, about 4-5 times, or until just before the dough turns into a solid mass.

Lastly, flour a cutting board or other firm surface and scoop out your dough mixture. Using your hands, mold the mixture together into a disk, about 2-3 inches thick (see photo). Place the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or, if you want to freeze for later, straight into the freezer where it will last for up to 3 months. If you are planning on freezing it, I suggest wrapping it in an additional layer of wax paper.

Guess what? You just made homemade pastry dough! Now all that’s left to do is decide what to make with it. This dough is great for pies, crostatas, tortes, or anything else you want to wrap in a buttery shell of deliciousness. Which brings me back to my story about the Apple Gorgonzola Crostata…

Thinking this would be a savory dish because of the gorgonzola cheese, I went ahead and prepared it well before dinner leaving me enough time to try it and make sure it wasn’t awful. As soon as I got the apples in the pan with the butter and sugar, I quickly realized this wasn’t going to be anywhere near savory. I thought once I add the gorgonzola it will smooth it out, but unfortunately, while the mixture tasted delicious, it tasted like dessert. Not that this stopped me from continuing on with my dish, but I went to plan b for the side dish.

When all was said and done, this made a great dessert. The goronzola cheese brought an interesting flavor combination to the sweetness of the apples, but in a good way. Perhaps next time around I would use slightly less gorgonzola than the recipe calls for, but thats all a matter of personal preference, after all it is a strong cheese.

Storage tip: Do NOT leave this sitting on your counter for longer than an hour or so after it’s done baking, place right into the refrigerator. I made this mistake and wound up with a mushy smelly mess the next morning that I wasn’t able to finish eating Lesson learned!

Moral of the story: Give pastry dough a try! If you haven’t already, use this recipe to make some yummy pies and treats for the upcoming holiday season. It is fresher and cheaper than a store bought dough and you will have a wonderful sense of satisfaction when you tell your friends that you made the crust yourself!

Click here for the recipe for the Apple & Gorgonzola Crostata