Summer Dinners

Nana’s Gazpacho

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 3 Comments

 

IMG_2105My mother, who recently died, was a wonderful cook and baker in her day. When I was growing up you never entertained at a restaurant, but always at home. It was a great treat to be invited to our house which was always warm and welcoming, where you got to engage in lively conversations and where the food was terrific. At the height of summer when the beefsteak tomatoes were big and red and ripe, my mother always made this gazpacho. She was way ahead of the curve since cooking at home in the 1950s and 60s was generally not so sophisticated. She would make this gazpacho (origins unknown I’m afraid, but I had a very similar one in Cordoba, Spain served with grilled prawns) and a delicious paella with flan for dessert. There are many wonderful and inventive versions of gazpacho that I enjoy, but this is still my favorite. You can get as fancy as you like with the garnishes or just go with some finely chopped cucumber and pepper and a sprinkling of cilantro.

Nana’s Gazpacho

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

3 medium sweet bell peppers ( I used orange and yellow but my mother used red and green)

1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced

6 large, very ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 scant Tablespoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black or Aleppo pepper

2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika or 1 teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika and 1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika

1/3 cup EVOO

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 cups cold water

Directions

  1. To peel the tomatoes you can either plunge them into boiling water for 2 minutes and then into ice water OR you can cut out the core and using a sharp knife, grab the peel and start pulling/cutting it away from the tomato. It doesn’t have to look perfect since it will be pureed in any case.
  2. Coarsely chop the onion, cucumber, peppers and tomatoes and mince the garlic. Set aside.
  3. Mix your liquids with the salt, pepper and paprika.
  4. Working in batches, place about 1/3 of the ingredients in a blender and puree, leaving a little texture. In a large bowl, mix everything together so the mix is evenly distributed. Pour into containers and refrigerate.
  5. When ready to serve you can garnish it with finely diced cucumber, bell pepper and cilantro or use croutons.

 

Green Gazpacho

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

Green GazpachoThis is such a refreshing soup. It is like eating a garden in a bowl! I first saw this on the Cooking Channel show Extra Virgin with Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos. I love gazpacho and make a wonderful version that I got from my mother that is tomato-based, but this one intrigued me since there is not a tomato in sight. It also, frankly, is much faster and easier to make. It now has become a staple in our house, particularly on those dog days of summer when the last thing you want to do is turn on the oven.

Green Gazpacho adapted from Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

About 4 cups of green seedless grapes

1 bunch scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped

1.5 large seedless English cucumbers with the skin, roughly chopped

1 large clove garlic

1 avocado

about 2 cups of fresh baby spinach

3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar (I use either Rice Vinegar or Champagne Vinegar)

About 1.25 teaspoons Kosher Salt or to taste

1/3 cup EVOO

1/4 cup cold water

Juice of one lime (optional)

1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted in a dry pan

Directions

  1. Using a good blender or food processor, combine the grapes, scallions, cucumber, garlic, spinach, salt and avocado flesh. Add the vinegar and EVOO and blend until smooth. Add the water and blend again.
  2. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with toasted almonds and crusty bread.

 

 

Bread Salad My Way

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IMG_1647

I could give up many foods without a great sense of loss, but carbs – particularly bread – is not one of them. When the weather gets hot, my husband and I eat a lot of salads for dinner. We eat salad all of the time but in the summer months, instead of salads being a side, they are the main event. What follows isn’t really a recipe; it is more a method. There are almost infinite ways to vary the ingredients, as long as you keep the overall balance of flavors and textures intact.

I’ve read recipes where you soak day-old bread in water and squeeze out all of the liquid. I tried making panzanella that way and frankly prefer the way I do it. Why soak the bread in water when it can absorb all of the wonderful juices from ripe tomatoes? You can use almost any kind of good rustic bread. I happen to have bought a sourdough boule, but I have used multi-grain or whole wheat farmer-style breads successfully as well. Take whatever bread you choose and cut it into 2-inch dice. Place the bread on a baking sheet in a cold oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees F. When the oven comes to temperature, turn it off, but leave the bread in there, with the oven door closed, for at least 20 minutes or overnight. That will form the base of your salad. How much bread you use is really up to you. A half boule can easily feed 4 people.

Several hours before you are ready to serve the salad, place the dried bread cubes in a large bowl. We have entered farmer’s market season so getting beautiful heirloom tomatoes should not be a problem. You want LOTS as well as the lovely little Persian cucumbers, although the seedless English cucumbers will also work. I like to have a thinly sliced onion – yellow, Vidalia or red – and pitted olives and capers. Start cutting up the vegetables and layering them over the bread cubes in the bowl. Once you have these basics, you can play around. I made my salad up to this point and added in a few of the additional vegetables I mention below, set it on my counter, covered, until about 45 minutes before I am ready to serve. My other ingredients and the dressing will go on about 30 to 45 minutes ahead of serving and I will toss the salad. Tonight, I am using marinated cooked shrimp, but some times I use grilled, diced chicken or thinly sliced salami and coppa or jamon. If you want to go vegetarian, just use a good diced cheese – like a fontina or a sharp provolone, cut into small cubes or large julienne.

You will want LOTS of fresh herbs – the more the merrier. I bought some beautiful garlic chives at the farmer’s market on Tuesday, so I am adding lots of that and an entire bunch of flat-leaf parsley. I really enjoy the slightly anise taste of fennel as well as the bright green crunch it provides, so I will add both sliced stems or bulb and the feathery ends that look like dill. If you are not a fan of fennel, you can get the same basic texture by using celery or even Napa cabbage. I have marinated artichoke hearts, but sometimes I will add roasted peppers instead. I hope that you are getting the idea here that you can tailor the salad to your personal tastes and what is fresh and available. The end result should be as attractive to the eye as it is to the palate.

As I mentioned above, about 30 to 45 minutes before I plan on serving, I add my protein and dressing and toss the salad. I like to make a garlicky vinaigrette with fennel seed and some Dijon mustard, but use whatever you like – just make it yourself. When I am ready to plate the salad, I have a bed of arugula which I also picked up at the farmer’s market and which I lightly dress with a bit of my homemade dressing and I pile the bread salad on top. You need nothing more than a glass of a crisp white or Rose and maybe some fresh melon and cherries for dessert. If I have any leftovers, I eat them for lunch the next day. The weather is perfect and our terrace is blooming so tonight we dine al fresco!

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Cool and exotic for a hot summer night

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watermelon salad platter

These are the dog days of summer and at 91 degrees, the last thing I am about to do – even with central air conditioning – is cook. However, we still want to eat and this salad is refreshing and simple to make. All it really needs is some good pita or naan, a glass of refreshing wine and you can dine well without ever breaking a sweat. Fresh, high quality ingredients are key here. You are not masking anything with some slow-cooked sauce and it must be aesthetically pleasing as well.  While I highly recommend making the effort to find watercress, which has a distinctive flavor, you can make this successfully with only arugula, which might be more easily accessible. This salad cools you down in a flash. We may even decide to eat out on our terrace tonight.

Watercress Salad with Watermelon, Feta Cheese and Mint Dressing

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

For Salad:

Half of a seedless watermelon, halved and then sliced, with the rind removed

8 ounces of a full-fat feta cheese block, cut into thin slabs

3 cups of arugula

2-3 cups of watercress

For dressing:

2/3 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves, with about 10 leaves saved for garnish

2 Tablespoons flat-leaf parsley

Juice of 2 fresh lemons

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1/2 cup fruity olive oil

Garnish:

1/4 teaspoon sumac, optional

2 Tablespoons sliced almonds

Directions:

  1. When ready to serve, arrange the greens on a platter.
  2. Make the mint vinaigrette by placing all of the ingredients for the dressing, except for the EVOO in a blender. Puree until smooth.
  3. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the EVOO and process until emulsified.
  4. Toss the greens with a few tablespoonfuls of the dressing. Do not drown the greens! Any extra dressing can be stored in the fridge for several days in a glass jar.
  5. In a way that looks attractive (there is no ONE right way!) layer your watermelon slices over the greens. On top of the watermelon, lay thin slabs of feta cheese. Drizzle some more of the vinaigrette over the top and scatter the fresh, whole mint leaves over that. Voila! (Hopefully your watermelon will be redder and sweeter than this particular watermelon of mine was.)

watermelon salad plated

Who knew that being frugal could taste this good?

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chicken with lentils

One of the very early TV chefs on WTTW Public Television was someone called Jeff Smith aka The Frugal Gourmet. I used to watch him with my mother and I even bought two of his cookbooks. The recipes are generally quite good and he was kind of a kook – fun to watch and read and seemingly unpretentious.

Unfortunately, his name and show went down in flames when it came out that he was also a sexual predator. I seriously considered tossing his cookbooks when I found out, but I came to my senses and realized that the recipes were innocent of any wrong-doing and I had already spent the money years earlier.

I was looking for a particular recipe when I came across the one I am making for tonight’s dinner – Chicken and Lentils. I will serve it with pita and a green saladwith heirloom tomatoes. A crusty bread is also fine. This is real comfort food – meant for family and close friends. It is not highly spiced, but it is deliciously seasoned. One perfect bite and you will just smile.

Chicken with Lentils – adapted from the Frugal Gourmet

Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups lentils, rinsed (I’m using red lentils but almost any kind will do)

1 generous teaspoon crushed or finely minced garlic (You can buy the jars in the produce section. It saves time and I go through it so quickly it stays fresh.)

1 teaspoon salt

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons oregano, crushed between your fingers

1 teaspoon dried dill weed, crushed between your fingers

4 cups unsalted chicken stock (You can use all water if you prefer.)

up to 2 cups water

3-4 pounds chicken pieces bone-in, skin on

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

4 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (Juice of about 2 lemons)

2 cups plain Greek yogurt

3 -4 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

Sumac (optional) for garnish

Directions:

  1. Rinse the lentils and place them in a 6 quart pot with the garlic, bay leaves, oregano, dill, salt and chicken stock. Add enough water to cover the lentils by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, partially cover the pot and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook for about 35-45 minutes until the lentils are very tender but still are holding their shape. (This may vary a little depending on the lentils you use.)
  2. Add the lemon juice to the finished lentils.  Set aside.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  4. In a heavy-duty pan (I love, love, love Lodge cast iron) brown your chicken pieces in Canola oil (or some other oil that can take the heat and won’t add a lot of flavor) after lightly seasoning them with the Kosher salt and cracked black pepper.
  5. Place the browned pieces into a casserole or Dutch Oven.
  6. Pour the lentil mixture over the top. Cover and bake in the 350 degree oven for 1.25 hours.
  7. Serve with a good dollop of Greek Yogurt and some chopped parsley for garnish. Sprinkle with a little Sumac, that wonderful fruity, lemony Middle Eastern spice which can be purchased in Middle Eastern grocery stores or online at Nuts.com. I love lemon so I squeezed on a bit more just before taking that first perfect bite.

Greek Red Lentil Soup

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 3 Comments

finished red lentil soupThe days are so changeable now. One day its 90 and humid and the next it’s in the 60s. Soup is the perfect meal for days like that and this simple, and very flavorful Greek red lentil soup is vegan and totally satisfying. However, if you wish to add some sausage to it or a dollop of Greek yogurt when serving it, I certainly won’t complain. All this needs is good bread and a simple green salad. This soup is so quick and delicious, I have even made it before leaving the house for work! What’s not to love? Afterall, Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of these delicious lentils.

Greek Red Lentil Soup adapted from soup served at George’s Restaurant in Astoria, NY

Yield: 6 -8 first course servings or 4 dinner servings

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons EVOO

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

2 carrots diced or cut into rounds about 1/8 inch thick (about 1 cup)

2 stalks celery, sliced thinly or diced (about 1 cup)

4 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock

1 cup water

2 bay leaves

1.5 cups dried red lentils, picked through and rinsed (try to buy the really small red lentils, although either large or small will work) dried red lentils

1 28 ounce can or 1 large box of Pomi chopped tomatoes, with the liquid

1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

Fresh basil leaves or fresh thyme for serving (optional)

Directions:

  1. In a 5-6 quart pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent – about 3 minutes
  2. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and saute for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally (How much salt you use will depend on several factors: tomatoes and celery are high in natural sodium and I use unsalted stock. I don’t like things heavily salted becasue I want to taste the food not the salt. However, your tastes may be different and you may use stock that is already salted. You can always add salt later.)
  3. Add the celery and carrot and saute for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. lentil soup stage 1
  4. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot partially and simmer for 35 minutes, or until the lentils and vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

NOTE: The soup is ready to go at this point, but if you are serving it as a first course to company and you want it to be a bit more elegant, take an immersion blender (thank you Matthew and Frances for that wonderful GIFT!) and puree the soup to the desired consistency. You can do this in a blender but make certain that the soup is cool and you do this in batches. I learned the hard way about the mess that blending hot soup can make. Garnish with fresh basil leaves or fresh thyme if you have it.

Heirloom Tomatoes and Grilled Vegetables

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Grilled Vegetables with Fresh Herbs

So even though I may be planning for the holidays, we still have to eat everyday meals until then. I have some beautiful heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, zucchini and Yukon Gold potatoes and fresh herbs in pots and when you have gorgeous vegetables (or fish) I always think it is a shame to hide these under sauces. I enjoy a good sauce as much as anyone, but let’s face it, sauces came about to make less than the best quality ingredients edible. When I have really fresh fish, I just want to grill it with a generous squeeze of lime, salt, pepper and a bit of EVOO. Well, I feel the same way about vegetables and grilling them with some EVOO is the best way to bring out that wonderful flavor when they are at the height of the growing season. You can do this on an outdoor grill or you can buy a simple non-stick grilling pan like I have and do it right on your range. There is no recipe. Simply slice your vegetables in a way that looks nice and so the slices are between a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Drizzle them generously (but don’t drown them) with olive oil, sprinkle on some Kosher salt or sea salt and a bit of cracked pepper. Put them in the hot grill pan which has also been drizzled with olive oil and cook them for a few minutes on each side, watching them until they take on some nice grill marks. Adjust your heat as necessary so they don’t burn. Take them off the grill pan when they are finished and generously sprinkle them with whatever herbs you  have on hand and happen to like, Tonight, mine have some lemon thyme, oregano, French lavender and flat-leaf parsley.

Once they are ready, you can serve them over pasta or rice and leftovers are wonderful in sandwiches, especially with some goat cheese. But tonight, they will be served with crusty bread, drizzled with a Sciabica flavored olive oil (thank you, Frances, for introducing me to this wonderful source for olive oils and vinegars!) and thick slices of heirloom tomatoes with nothing but a good sprinkling of Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. If you are not a vegan, a slice of fresh mozzarella wouldn’t go amiss.   Heirloom tomatoes

Ratatouille Nicoise

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RatatouilleIt always REALLY annoys me when a recipe calls for a little of this and a little of that. What am I supposed to do with the rest of the “this and that?” If you read my recipe for savory galette you would quickly realize that you have left-over zucchini and eggplant. Well who wants to waste great ingredients?

eggplants

This ratatouille recipe is the perfect answer. It’s so versatile and delicious that I make it even when I don’t have left-overs – just because! Ratatouille is a savory stew of vegetables and I have used it as a side to grilled meats, fish or an omelette. It makes a wonderful pasta sauce and if you dice the vegetables fairly small, it can make a wow appetizer by filling baked puff pastry cups with it (you might drain a bit of the liquid off when using it this way). It’s equally delicious hot or at room temperature so is a wonderful side to bring to picnics. It stores well in the fridge and actually intensifies in flavor after the first day. The following recipe is one I have been making for decades and I have no recollection of where it originated. I have tweaked it over the years as I do just about everything, but my apologies for not giving credit to whoever first came up with this. And while I do make this in the oven according to the recipe, in the summer when it is hot, I do it entirely on the stove so I don’t heat up the apartment. Truthfully, it’s just as good either way.

Ratatouille Nicoise                                             ratatouille2

Yields: About 10 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup EVOO

2 cups coarsely chopped onion

2 Tablespoons finely chopped garlic

about 1 pound eggplant, trimmed and cubed

2 sweet peppers, any color

6 slim zucchini, any color

1-2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried thyme

26.46 oz. Pomi tomatoes or 28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes crushed or chopped, with liquid

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1/8 teaspoon (or more if you like things very spicy) hot red pepper flakes (Optional)

About 24 imported black olives (pitted makes life easier, but you can put them in with pits – just warn your eaters!) (SEE NOTE)

About 24 imported green olives

2-3 Tablespoons capers

Salt and pepper to taste

One bunch finely chopped parsley

NOTE: Please buy the best olives you can and these days there is no excuse for using those tasteless olives in a can from California. I like the black oil-cured or Kalamatos olives and a variety of the green. If y ou don’t happen to live near a good source of olives, you can now purchase them online in vacuum-sealed bags, imported from Greece from Nuts.com – one of my favorite (and now Frances’) sources for nuts, dried fruits, spices and so much more.

Directions:

  1. Heat the EVOO in a large Dutch oven or heavy oven-proof pot. Add the onions and garlic and cook until they turn translucent.
  2. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring gently about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the sweet peppers and stir, cooking about 1 minute. Then add the zucchini and salt and pepper to taste. Go easy on the salt since you will be adding olives and capers which are both salty. Add the bay leaves and thyme and cook about 5 minutes more.
  4. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and add the olives and parsley. Cover tightly and cook about 10 minutes.
  5. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 30 minutes.

Savory Galette with Eggplant, Zucchini and Feta

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Savory Galette platedOnce you learn certain basic techniques, then you can feel free to experiment. I had so much fun making the tomato and plum galette that I thought I would see what other great combinations I could make. The farmers’ market today had beautiful zucchini and eggplants eggplant and zucchiniand my lemon thyme and oregano plants are quite lush and could do with a bit of judicious trimming. I debated about the cheese, but when I remembered that I still had half of a nice chunk of feta in my fridge, leftover from the green fattoush salad, my decision was made. And here is the delicious result:

Savory Galette with Eggplant, Zucchini and Feta

Ingredients:

For the crust

1.25 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons lightly toasted pine nuts

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (if you have it, use lemon thyme)

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold

2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt (I used Fage 2% Plain)

5 Tablespoons ice water

For the filling

3 cups thinly sliced zucchini and eggplant (See Note)

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

cracked black pepper

1 large garlic clove, minced or crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

EVOO

2-3 Tablespoons of goat or sheep’s milk feta in a chunk

egg, lightly beaten

1 Tablespoon toasted pine nuts

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, basil or oregano leaves

NOTE: (Since I went to the farmers’ market, I was able to get a variety of different colored zucchini and eggplants. If you are using the large, traditional purple eggplant and it has a lot of seeds, you will need to generously salt the slices and lay them out in a colander for about 20 minutes. This removes the bitterness from the seeds. Then rinse them well before using and pat dry. Since I bought eggplants with very few seeds, this step was not necessary. Do not buy the gigantic zucchini. More isn’t always better- it’s just more. Look for slim, straight zucchini with unblemished skins.)

Directions:

  1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, black pepper, thyme and sea salt. Pulse a few times to mix well. Add cold butter (divide the stick into 16 pieces). Pulse until the mixture is the size of frozen peas.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and ice water until well combined. Pour it over the flour mixture and run the machine just until the dough starts to form a ball. Add the pine nuts and pulse once or twice to distribute. It will seem relatively wet compared to other pastry. Don’t worry! Turn it out onto waxed paper or plastic wrap and form a disk. (Make a ball and then flatten it.) Wrap the dough and refrigerate it for at least one hour. This can be made a couple of days ahead if you like.
  3. When ready to bake the galette, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Have a rimmed baking pan ready to use. Remove the dough from the fridge.
  4. Thinly slice the eggplant and zucchini. A mandolin is great for this task, but PUHLEEZE be careful! It is so easy to cut yourself badly. Don’t worry if the slices aren’t all gorgeous rounds – it won’t make any difference to the end product.
  5. Roll out your dough on lightly floured parchment paper to an approximately 14-inch round. Perfect roundness is not essential. However, do try to have even thickness of the dough. Turn the dough disk periodically while rolling out to keep it from sticking and to maintain the thickness.
  6. About 2 inches in from the edge, lightly spread the garlic. Then start layering your vegetables, building towards the center. This is not a Chicago deep-dish pizza. You do not load up the dough with as much stuff as you possibly can. Sprinkle with salt, a few cracks of pepper, the dried thyme and a drizzle of EVOO.               Savory Galette Stage 1
  7. Fold up the edges of the dough and just barely tuck them under to give a rounded look. If you prefer something even more rustic, then just fold the edges up over the vegetables. If the you have to create small folds in the dough, that’s just fine.
  8. Brush the edges of the dough with a lightly beaten egg.           Savory Galette Stage 2
  9. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F, add the feta cheese and bake for 25 minutes.
  10. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and bake for 5-8 more minutes or until everything is golden. Remove to a cooling rack and after it has cooled for a bit then take your fresh herbs and scatter them across the top. If you do it immediately, the herbs will blacken from the heat. Serve with a fresh salad and a nice crisp white or rose wine.

TIP: You will almost certainly have left-over vegetables and you don’t want to waste them, especially if you have lugged them home from the farmers market. These are the perfect left-overs to make a ratatouille – assuming you didn’t thinly slice more than you needed and simply left the remaining vegetables whole. Watch for my wonderful ratatouille recipe!

Finished Savory Galette

So Many Tomatoes – Heirloom Tomato and Plum Galette

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

Tomato and Plum GaletteMy life goes back and forth between extremely stressful and fairly boring. As a way to relax, I read mysteries and look up recipes. I came across this one from a link on Food 52 and thought that I would give it a try. The farmers’ market had beautiful heirloom grape and cherry tomatoes and the plums are at their peak right now. I made the crust Saturday night and refrigerated it until I was ready to finally bake the galette tonight.

Here is my version of Tomato and Plum Galette adapted from a recipe by Elizabeth Stark

Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients:

For the crust

1.25 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons grated Asiago or Parmesan Cheese

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold

2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt (I used Fage 2% Plain)

5 Tablespoons ice water

For the filling

3 cups heirloom tomatoes (I used a mix of grape and cherry)

sea salt

2 medium firm, but ripe, black plums

1/4 cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese, divided into 2 Tablespoon portions

1 egg, lightly beaten

cracked black pepper

1 Tablespoon torn fresh tarragon leaves

Directions:

  1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, cheese, black pepper and sea salt. Pulse a few times to mix well. Add cold butter (divide the stick into 16 pieces). Pulse until the mixture is the size of frozen peas.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and ice water until well combined. Pour it over the flour mixture and run the machine just until the dough starts to form a ball. It will seem relatively wet compared to other pastry. Don’t worry! Turn it out onto waxed paper or plastic wrap and form a disk. (Make a ball and then flatten it.) Wrap the dough and refrigerate it for at least one hour. This can be made a couple of days ahead if you like.
  3. When ready to bake the galette, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Have a rimmed baking pan ready to use. Remove the dough from the fridge.
  4. Slice your tomatoes lengthwise into 4 pieces. Using your fingers, scoop out the seeds and slice away any core. Line a plate with paper towel and turn the tomato pieces onto the plate. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  5. Cut your plums in half along the axis, remove the pit and thinly slice.
  6. On a piece of floured sheet of parchment, roll the dough into a rough 14-inch circle. Brush away any excess flour.
  7. Scatter 2 Tablespoons of the cheese in a 12-inch circle inside the larger dough circle.next, arrange a band of tomatoes around this 12-inch circle. Working inwards, alternate circles of plum and tomatoes, tucking each layer up against the other.
  8. Fold up the sides of the dough (you will have some folds – this is fine). Lightly brush the folded over dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with sea slat and cracked pepper. Galette stage one

9.  Carefully lift the parchment and     galette onto the rimmed baking pan.  Trim parchment as needed. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the galette from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake until the galette is a rich golden brown, anywhere from 20-30 minutes depending on your oven.

Galette stage two

10. Cool for 15 minutes and scatter the tarragon leaves over the top. Serve warm.

Galette slice2