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Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Tart with Whole Wheat Crust
Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Tart with Whole Wheat Crust
Adapted from a recipe in Food & Wine. Serves 4 to 6.
You can make the dough for the crust up to one day ahead and leave it in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic. Then, roll it out and pre-bake the shell while the onions caramelize. You can make the whole tart up to four hours ahead and serve it at room temperature or reheat in a 350 degree oven. Leftovers are good cold.
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt, plus additional to taste
1 stick (4 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch dice
c. water chilled with ice
2-3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 medium onions (about 1 1/2 lbs), sliced into half moons
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (or 1scant tsp dry)
freshly ground pepper
3 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
In a food processor, pulse the flour and 1/2 tsp. salt to combine. Add the cold, diced butter and pulse until you have a coarse mixture roughly the size of small peas. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture, then pulse again until the dough just starts to come together. It will still look a little scraggly.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and quickly pat it into a disk. Wrap it up and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook stirring occasionally until soft and lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook until lightly browned, soft and sweet, about 10-15 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the thyme and remove from heat.
Meanwhile, roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to a large, 12-13 inch circle. You will have to use some muscle to roll it out, and do not worry about getting a perfect circle. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick and as even as possible. Roll the dough over the pin and lay it into a nonstick (9, 10 or 11-inch) fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the sides of the pan with your knuckles and peel off the pieces that hang over the pan and use them to patch any holes. Your crust may not look pretty now, but it will when the tart is done. Prick the base of the crust all over with a fork and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. I place my tart pan on a large baking sheet to make it easier to handle.
Fill the pre-baked tart shell with the caramelized onions. Strew the crumbled blue cheese all over the onions. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese is lightly melted. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack, remove from tart pan and serve immediately. Can also be served at room temperature.
Pasta with Caramelized Onions and Kale in Blue Cheese Sauce
Pasta with Caramelized Onions and Kale in Blue Cheese Sauce
This recipe came from the blog Blazing Hot Wok. Serves 3
1 large onion, sliced
1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
2/3 cup cream
4 oz of blue cheese, plus some for crumbling on top
a little milk, if necessary
1/2 lbs pasta like spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pecans or walnuts , toasted on a pan or under a broiler for about 5 minutes and lightly crushed (optional, but will add another delicious layer to the dish)
Start by caramelizing the onions in a large pan with a little olive oil. When they are just about done (about 20 minutes or so), add the kale and sauté until wilted. Remove to a bowl and keep warm.
Once your onions are going, put on your pasta water. You’ll want to cook the pasta at least 2 to 3 minutes less than the package directions, since they will get additional time in the sauce.
In the same pan you used for the onions, add the cream and cheese. Once the cheese is melted, add the onions and kale back in and mix well. Turn off the heat until the pasta is ready. Don’t worry if the sauce seems thin. It will thicken up once you turn the pasta in it.
Once you are ready to dump the drained pasta in, put the pan back on the heat and mix everything together. The pasta will finish cooking and absorb some of the liquid and at the same time, the sauce will thicken. If it gets too thick or dry, add a little milk to loosen it. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, topping each serving with some of the crushed pecans and crumbled blue cheese.
Tomato, Cucumbers, Sweet Onion Salad
Tomato, Cucumbers, Sweet Onion Salad
I never get enough of this salad in summer when tomatoes are so fantastic and cukes abundant. I often add feta or goat cheese if I have it. It's like eating dessert. Good balsamic is an important pantry ingredient. I have a couple that are just fantastic and I save them for recipes where their flavor makes a dish special, and I save the lesser grades for cooking with.
2 Tomatoes chopped
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1-2 sweet onions peeled and sliced thinly
a small handful of basil leaves
drizzle of olive oil
drizzle of good balsamic vinegar
Bruschetta
Bruschetta
Such a great bruschetta week with all the tasty things in the share! There are lots of ways to make great bruschetta. I have an easy way that works great for me that I'll share here.
1 Baguette, sliced on the diagonal (for larger slices) or in rounds 1/2 inch thick.
1-2 fresh chopped tomatoes (seeds pushed out with your thumbs first to lose some of the juice)
a clove or two of garlic minced
small handful of basil chopped
olive oil
black pepper
balsamic vinegar
optional - fresh mozz, goat cheese or feta
Toast the baguette slices in the toaster lightly. Lightly is important because you will toast them again. After toasting the first time, brush them with olive oil. Then spoon some of the tomato mixture onto the toasts. At this point you can also place some torn fresh mozz slices or some crumbled feta or goat cheese on top of the tomato mix. Return the toasts either to a preheated oven or toaster oven and bake at 400F for 5-10 minutes until everything is heated through but before toasts start to burn.
Chop the veggies and mix them all together. Taste a spoonful and decide if it needs zing. A bit more black pepper or a drizzle of good balsamic will go a long way.
Fresh Mozz, Basil, and Tomato Pizza
Fresh Mozz, Basil, and Tomato Pizza
Olive oil
a small to medium handful of fresh chopped basil
a couple fresh tomatoes
3-6 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
torn fresh mozzarella
a little salt and pepper
Brush your crust with the oil for the flavor. Put on the basil and garlic, saving a bit of fresh basil for garnish. I think most people put their basil on top for color and presentation effect. I like mine underneath, protected from the hot oven by the other toppings. Then top with tomatoes sliced thin or diced. I like to take the seeds out of mine so there's less tomato juice on the pizza. Then top with slices of the fresh mozz. I like a bit of salt and pepper on mine and sometimes I drizzle on a bit of really good balsamic. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is done. I think most people put their basil on top for color and presentation effect. I like mine underneath, protected from the hot oven by the other toppings. Once the pizza is out of the oven, top dress it with a little extra fresh basil.
Pizza Dough (and Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza)
Pizza Dough
This is my favorite recipe for pizza dough which I make all the time. I make it in batches and freeze dough lumps. A kitchen aid mixer or other device to mix dough makes life a lot easier, but I also made this for years by hand. The yield on this recipe is 3-4 cookie sheet (or baking stone) sized pizza crusts.
3 cups warm wrist temp water
1 rounded TB of active dry yeast
3 TB honey
1.5 TB salt
6-8 cups flour (I use up to 1/3 whole wheat flour and the rest Milanaise (unbleached white) all purpose)
Place the wrist temp warm water in a bowl (or the bowl of a mixer). Sprinkle in the yeast and then honey and give the yeast a few minutes to proof (let it get all foamy/yeasty which demonstrates yeast is working). Mix in a few cups of flour and then the salt. Keep adding flour until the dough is smooth, pliable, not too sticky. Too much flour will yield a dough that is hard to work with and tough. But too little flour is also challenging in that it is hard/sticky to handle and when stretching and if your oven time is not long or hot enough you may have soggy dough in the middle of your pizza. Don't worry though. There's a pretty large margin of error here. Go with your gut, you will be fine. Once the dough feels right, cut it into 4 pieces. At this point you can toss 2 or 3 in the freezer if you'd like (lightly flour dusted and tossed into a tightly sealed plastic bag).
If using your pizza dough, let it rise now in a clean oiled bowl for about an hour until doubled in bulk. Then punch it down and stretch it (lightly dusted with flour) or roll it out on a floured board. I don't have a pizza peel but I do have a stone. My process is this:
Preheat the oven to 450 with the baking stone inside and let it get nice and hot.
I stretch my dough out on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal to prevent dough from sticking.
Then I dress my pizza with toppings.
Next I slide my parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and bring to the oven and then slide the parchment with pizza onto the baking stone.
Bake for 5 minutes until the pizza firms up a bit.
Then carefully, ever so carefully slip the parchment from under the pizza so it's baking directly on the stone.
Then bake for another 5-8 or so minutes until it looks just perfect.
pizza dough
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
4 ounces goat cheese
4 walnuts, shelled and chopped
About 1 heaped cup arugula leaves
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon walnut oil
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone inside, if available. Roll out the dough to fit a 12- to 14-inch pizza pan.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and moist, four to five minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.
