Farm Fridays: Lemony Ricotta Summer Squash Galette

I meant to post this days and days ago, but I've been incapacitated by a terrible summer cold/sinus infection. I've been on the couch all week, hardly even picking up my laptop (which seems soooo heavy and requires me to actually sit up). I must be feeling a bit better, because I have the energy to work on this now. I'd better be recovering, because I really want to get going with some canning projects this weekend!

I did manage to drag myself up to the farm yesterday morning and was extremely pleased with all the produce. After several sparse weeks, things are finally picking up. The blackberries are ready for picking and they are gorgeous - all the bushes were absolutely laden with huge berries. I also picked up another delicious watermelon, lots of plump tomatoes and pounds of new potatoes. And, of course, the ubiquitous summer squash.

I know that a lot of people get sick of summer squash - once it starts coming in, it can smother you. But I'm more than happy to be drowned in squash. I really only started to eat it two years ago, and the honeymoon stage isn't over yet. There are still tons of great squash recipes out there that I haven't tried. (If the squash plants in my garden actually produced anything, I might be forced to eat my words.)

When this recipe showed up in my August Better Homes and Gardens, I knew it had to be made right away. I'm a big tart person, so a tart with summer squash sounded too good to pass up. While I do love a flaky, buttery crust, I went a bit more healthy with this one and tried out an olive oil crust. It was definitely tougher (on day one, it was difficult to bite through in places), but was much better the next day after it had softened. The filling was awesome - summer squash and ricotta cheese is a winning combination in my book. A slice of this tart and a salad makes for a delicious summer lunch.

Lemony Ricotta Summer Squash Galette
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens August 2013. Tart dough is from Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal.

crust:
2 1/2 c flour
1/3 c quality olive oil
1/2 c ice water
1 tsp fine salt

filling:
2 zucchini or summer squash, thinly sliced (the recipe says two medium-sized squash, which will yield 2 1/2 c, but my two yielded much more than that - I added all the slices I could squeeze onto the tart and then saved the rest for another recipe)
3/4 c ricotta cheese
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg yolk

Mix together the flour, olive oil, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Slowly drizzle in the ice water until the dough clumps together into a ball. Remove the dough, divide in half, roll each half into a ball and flatten into a disc. Set one half aside for another project (I slip it into a ziplock bag and freeze it). Put the half you are using in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour.

Put the squash slices into a colander and sprinkle with salt, tossing to coat. Let drain for 15 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Remove the tart dough from the fridge and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll it into a rough 12" circle (the dough will be tough to roll out, so I like to prep it with a Julia Child technique: literally beat the dough with your rolling pin until it begins to stretch out, then roll. This helps soften the dough without warming it with your hands). 

In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses, garlic, 1 tsp olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a clean 2" edge. Top this with the drained and dried squash slices (I piled three or four layers of squash on there). Drizzle the top with the remaining olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste.

Gently fold over the edges of the crust to keep in all the filling (I also took the opportunity to fold under all the rough, irregular edges from my clumsy rolling).

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk with 1 tsp water. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the crust.

Slide the parchment and tart onto a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden and the squash is tender. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Birthday Tart

Behold, Jeff's birthday tart!

This post is rather late because I got caught up with work and Thanksgiving. Que sera sera.

This is a recipe that I've been working on since his last birthday. Last year, I made the peanut butter pie pictured in this post, from my Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook. As I mentioned in the post, I liked it, but it wasn't perfect. I thought peanut butter filling with a peanuty crust was overkill and, while the Hershey's kisses were pretty, the chocolatey flavor was not well-integrated into the rest of the pie. Jeff and I both loved the concept, but I was sure I could do it better.

As I made other peanut buttery things over the year, I kept this tart in mind, thinking about how I might alter it. These peanut butter cup bars from Brown Eyed Baker were pretty awesome. I thought that a layer of ganache like this could go well on my pie, but while the filling, blended with graham cracker crumbs, mimicked a peanut butter cup perfectly, it was a little heavy for a pie portion.

With that in mind, I decided to make this peanut butter cup tart from Confections of a Foodie Bride for a late summer party. It had a nice layer of ganache, a creamier peanut butter cream and a chocolate crust - all the elements of a perfect peanut butter tart, in my estimation. The ganache was perfect, the peanut butter cream good (although I thought my original recipe was better), but the crust, made from chocolate cookie crumbs, did not meet expectations, as it crumbled into nothingness when the tart was sliced. It was a bit of a mess, really. While everyone thought it was delicious, I still felt I could do better.

So when Jeff's 30th birthday rolled around earlier this month, I decided to put together my own version of the peanut butter tart. I would combine the chocolate ganache, peanut butter cream and a more substantial chocolatey crust. It would be the perfect storm of peanut butter tarts. I chose the chocolate short dough recipe from The Secrets of Baking, the peanut butter cream from the Bride and Groom cookbook, and the ganache from the Foodie Bride tart (although, at the last minute, I thought it would be a bit too rich, so I went with some whipped cream instead).

The result? Excellent. The crust had just enough heft to balance out the lightness of the peanut butter cream. I missed the ganache a bit, but for a tart that the two of us would have to finish in a few days, the lighter whipped cream was a better option. If I were to make this again for a group, for which smaller slices would be preferable, I would totally go for it. And since this is definitely going into my repertoire of bring-to-a-party recipes, I'm sure that day will come soon!

Peanut Butter Tart
Chocolate short dough:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 c butter, softened but still cool
1/2 c powdered sugar

Peanut butter cream:
1 1/2 c heavy cream
3/4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c smooth peanut butter

Whipped cream:
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp cornstarch (I like a little cornstarch to stabilize my whipped cream, but adding too much will affect the mouthfeel)
1 tsp sugar (most recipes prefer powdered sugar, but I usually use granulated. Since I only lightly sweeten my cream, it is not hard to get the granulated sugar to incorporate)

Chocolate short dough:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until lightly creamed. Scrape down the bowl, add the sugar and mix for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl again.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together (about 30 seconds).

Remove the dough and pat it into a disc shape. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days. (I am not sure I like this method - I refrigerated mine overnight and it was hard as a rock - I had to over-warm it to get it soft enough to roll out. Next time I might shorten the refrigeration period.) Lightly flour your work surface, then roll the dough into a 12" circle. Lay the dough onto a 10" tart pan, press into the crevices, and cut off the excess.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Adjust the rack to the lower third of the oven. Prick the bottom of the pastry shell with a fork. Line the tart with parchment paper (crumpling the parchment paper first helps it to lie flat)and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake 15-18 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment and bake another 6-8 minutes. Cool completely.

Peanut butter cream:
In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, combine the cream, sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.

In another bowl, combine the peanut butter with about half of the whipped cream mixture. Fold together with a rubber spatula until well combined (the peanut butter will want to stay lumpy, but keep stirring and spreading it with the spatula and it'll get there). 

Then add this mixture to the remaining cream and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Do not over mix!

Pour the filling into the cooled crust and spread evenly.

Whipped cream:
In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine cream, sugar and cornstarch. Whip until stiff peaks form. Spread cream on top of peanut butter filling.

Enjoy right away or refrigerate until serving!

Rustic Vidalia Onion Tart

I've been a little lax with my posting lately. I've been working on a conference paper that is the first fruits of my dissertation research. It took several weeks to drag all my disparate thoughts together into a reasonably coherent argument, but I was happy with the result and the presentation, which I gave this past weekend, went well. So now I can get back to focusing on cooking (which is really more important, right?). Fortunately for you, I made a killer recipe on Tuesday and actually remembered to take a few pictures.

I really am a baker at heart (my favorite words are "cream the butter and sugar together"), so any opportunity to bring those skills to the dinner table is a good one, in my eyes. This savory, rustic tart is just the thing. A buttery, flaky pie dough filled with sweet, delicate sauteed onions? Come on! Who wouldn't love it? And it's fairly quick - you just have to make the dough in advance. I love it so much, I think I'm going to make it again for the department potluck next week.

The recipe called for store-bought, frozen pie dough, but since I am now anti-prepared foods I threw one together myself. I did not use the savory tart shell recipe that I posted back in October. While delicious, it tends to be fairly difficult to roll out. Every time I've done it I've had lots of rips and tears to fix once it was in the tart pan. Since this is a free-form tart, it needs a sturdier dough than that - one that can handle being moved around without breaking. Instead, I used the basic pie crust from my Baking Bites cookbook, which produced a beautiful, buttery result. With the egg wash on top, it reminded me more of a flaky turnover dough than a tart dough. While I'm sure you could use frozen pie dough for this, I wholeheartedly recommend making your own. The result is better and so much more satisfying!

Single Pie Crust
From The Baking Bites Cookbook.

1 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
8 tbsp cold butter, cut into small chunks
4-5 tbsp ice water (I needed just about 5)

Combine your flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the chunks of butter and pulse until no pieces larger than a pea remain. Add ice water and mix until the dough comes together as a ball. (If you don't have a food processor, combine the butter with the flour mixture using your hands or a pastry cutter.) Form the dough into a small disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for at least one hour before using.

Rustic Vidalia Onion Tart
From the Southern Living Farmers Market Cookbook (my favorite!).

2 tbsp butter
4 medium-sized Vidalia onions, thinly sliced (or any other sweet onion - about 6 1/2 c total, or whatever will fit into your tart - I used three huge onions and it was far too much)
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (I used a large pinch of dried rosemary)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg white, beaten
3/4 c shredded Gruyere, divided
one 9" pie crust

Preheat oven to 425°. Melt the butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, rosemary, salt and pepper (if you have too much onion for your skillet, just put in what fits - it'll be too much for your pie crust, too). Cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes, or until tender (if the onion starts browning, turn down the heat).

Roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured surface into a 12" circle (yes, circle - try to keep it as close to round as you can, since the shape of your dough will end up being the shape of your tart!). Place the pie crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet (I was out of parchment so I just used baking spray and it turned out fine). Brush the dough with egg white. Sprinkle 1/2 c Gruyere around the center of the crust. Spread the onion mixture over the cheese, leaving a 2 1/2" wide boarder. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 c cheese over the onion. Fold the pie crust border up and over the onion, pleating as you go, leaving a 4"-wide opening at the center. Brush the crust with egg white.

Bake at 425° on the bottom oven rack for 17-19 minutes, or until crust is golden (I did it in my small top oven which only has one rack, and it took about 25 minutes to get that golden look). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Thanksgiving Pie Adventures 1

Finally! Thanksgiving pie day has arrived! I've been looking forward to this day for weeks now. And I'm sick.

Not very sick, but sick enough to impede my progress and take much of the enjoyment out of baking. Instead of delighting in the process, I spent most of my time wondering how much longer I had to stand up. I took several lying-down breaks, which helped. It is a let-down, though. I think it also took a toll on my final product. Success in baking has a lot to do with the love and care that goes into each recipe. I was not very strong in either of those categories this morning.

It didn't help that I was making these recipes for the first time. Or that I had to meddle a great deal with the first recipe. For a long time I have wanted to try my hand at a cranberry walnut tart. Trader Joe's sells an absolutely delicious one, and I felt that there was no reason why I couldn't make something equally delicious. The recipe I chose is from Food Network. I've done many of their recipes in the past and they're generally successful, so I didn't expect any complications (but then, who ever does?). Two days ago, after having purchased all my ingredients, I realized that the recipe makes a 7" tart. I have a 10" tart pan. I decided to persevere anyway, simply increasing the filling. Have you ever multiplied a recipe by 10/7? It does not result in convenient measurements. 5/7 tsp vanilla? 10/7 eggs?!?! How does one do such things?

In the end, I did a lot of guesswork and approximation with this recipe. The original tart dough recipe ended up being plenty for my 10" tart (enough that I decided to make a 5" pie as well, to use it up). 10/7 worth of the filling seemed a decent amount for the final tart. From that point, the difficulty lay in the cooking itself. 30 minutes at 350° was not sufficient. No part of the filling had set. I checked on it at five minute intervals. Finally, after over 25 more minutes, the middle seemed set. By this point, the edges had gone from golden-brown to just brown. I wouldn't call them burnt, but they are definitely overcooked. In retrospect, I might have increased the temperature to 375° or so to speed it along. Next time I think I'll try that.

Since I had leftover dough (and half an egg as well), I threw together a cute little 5" pie as well. For this, I halved the filling recipe. I ended up baking it for 25 minutes. The center wasn't quite set when I took it out, but I didn't want to overcook it like the other. It turns out that the center crust didn't completely cook through, so it did need a bit longer.

I suppose this should teach me not to try new recipes for special occasions. But they usually work! I tend to be more successful the first time I try a recipe than the second or third times. Maybe the lesson really is to not play around too much with a recipe I'm making for a holiday. Especially if that playing around involves math. I hate math.

I am providing the original recipe, since I had so much trouble with my adaptation. I'll continue this post tomorrow, when I've added the finishing touches to pie #2 . . .

Cranberry Walnut Tart
From Food Network.

Sweet Tart Dough:
1 1/2 c confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

Cranberry Walnut Filling:

5 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plus 1 tsp flour

1/3 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 c dark corn syrup

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 c whole, fresh cranberries

2/3 c walnut pieces

Prepare the dough:

Combine sugar, butter and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream the ingredients with a paddle attachment. Add flour and salt and mix until combined. Add egg and mix until just combined. Form a disc out of the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes. Lay slightly chilled dough between sheets of plastic wrap and roll into a circle about 1/8" thick. (I found this dough really easy to work with, perhaps due to the plastic wrap. It rolled out very nicely, without tearing, into a shape that was actually round. It just took a few minutes to get it down to the appropriate thickness.) Remove the top layer of plastic wrap and flip the dough into an ungreased tart pan. Press dough gently into the bottom and sides of the pan. Remove plastic wrap and use a knife to slice off any excess dough. Set aside.

Prepare the filling:

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. In a bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add corn syrup, egg, vanilla and butter, whisking smoothly until well combined. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.

Put the tart together:

Pour the filling into the tart shell and bake approximately 30 minutes, until tart is light brown and filling is set. Cool and remove tart from pan. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate up to one week.

Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Tart

I love cauliflower.

This is a recent discovery. I had set myself the task of exploring new vegetables and finding preparations that would be acceptable, and even delicious, to my picky palate. The first time we roasted cauliflower, I fell deeply in love.

Since I am also in love with onions, I felt this tart had the potential to be my soul mate. It is spectacular. Roasted cauliflower, caramelized onions, three kinds of cheese and a flaky crust. A cardiologist's nightmare, perhaps, but worth every bite.

Or is it? As delicious as the tart was (well, is, really - we're taking this one sliver by sliver so it should be around for a while), I didn't long for the finished product the way I longed for the roasted cauliflower itself. When I took the tray of cauliflower out of the oven, I took a little taste. And another and another and another. I find that one is never enough - once I break the seal, I start gobbling it up like a kid digging into some Halloween candy. Except this is good for me. I have always loved picking at food during the cooking process, but in this case it was so bad that I had to have Jeff take over chopping it lest I leave too little for the tart. Then we put the bowl in a high place where I couldn't reach. For once, out of sight was out of mind, and the rest of the cooking went off without a hitch.

So the verdict is . . . absolutely delicious. But the work is not really worth it for an everyday dinner with just the two of us. I will save the tart for special occasions, and leave the roasted cauliflower for everyday.

Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Tart
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

1 small head cauliflower (~1 lb), cut into 1" florets

3 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 tbsp Dijon mustard  (I think I used a bit more than this)

2 large eggs

1 8 oz container mascarpone cheese

1/2 c whipping cream

1/4 tsp black pepper

pinch ground nutmeg  (I forgot to put this in)

1 c grated Gruyère cheese

1/3 c Parmesan cheese

1 savory tart shell (recipe below)

Roast the cauliflower:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss cauliflower with 2 tbsp olive oil in large bowl. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet (I always cover mine with foil when roasting to reduce the mess), sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast 30 minutes, turning florets halfway through. Cool cauliflower, then thinly slice. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

(This is where you would parbake a storebought tart shell. I prefer homemade - the recipe below does not need parbaking.)

Caramelize the onions:

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is caramelized, stirring occasionally. This will take 30-40 minutes (so, for maximum efficiency, it should be done while the cauliflower is roasting). Cool slightly.

Prepare the tart:

Spread Dijon mustard over the bottom and sides of the pie crust (I used the back of a spoon, as if spreading pizza sauce). (Since I used a 10" tart pan, rather than the 9" recommended in the original recipe, I used a fair bit more than 1 tbsp. And since I couldn't taste the Dijon in every bite, I might put even more next time. I would keep it to a relatively thin layer, though, to avoid getting the crust too soggy.) Spread the onion over the mustard and the cauliflower over the onion. Set the tart on a rimmed baking sheet to protect against leaks (I missed this step and the tart did leak a little, but only between the layers of the pan. Lucky for me.) Whisk eggs, mascarpone, cream and pepper in a medium bowl (if the mascarpone is cold, like mine, a whisk might get messy. A wooden spoon worked better). Stir in Gruyère. Pour the mixture over the filling in the tart pan, and sprinkle Parmesan over the top. Bake until tart is golden and center is set - about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool 15 minutes before serving.

I found that more than one slice of this per day could be deadly, but it does stay well. I just reheated the slices in the toaster oven at 300°F for 10-15 minutes.

Savory Tart Shell

Also from Smitten Kitchen.

1 1/4 c flour

1 tbsp + 2 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter, diced

1 egg

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender until the butter is well-blended(generally, no larger than pea-sized chunks). Add egg and mix with a fork until dough comes together. If this does not happen easily(it didn't for me), knead it a bit in the bowl or on the counter, depending on how well it has blended(I still had about a cup's worth of powder in the bowl, so I kneaded it there until it all came together, then did some more kneading on the counter).

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12" circle. (Yeah, right. Mine was a horrible, torn, free-form shape. I found this dough difficult to roll out nicely. However, it was easy to take ripped pieces and use them to patch holes later. This worked fine for me.) Place the dough in a 9" pie or tart pan and press to remove any air bubbles. (Ha! Easier said than done. I started to lift the dough and it immediately ripped. I ended up sliding the tart pan bottom under the dough, lifting it on that and carefully putting it back in the pan. This worked pretty well, and it did fit my 10" pan well enough. I then fixed any extra rips or thin places with the excess dough. It looked like a wreck, but once the filling was in, you'd never notice.) Refrigerate crust for 30 minutes, then proceed with filling of your choice. It does not need to be parbaked.