Tomato Bounty in Venice

Another month that I will not be able to join the Daring Bakers' challenge.  I have to say I am happy being where I am though, spending time with my family and old friends.  I apologize for the lack of posts, I will resume shortly and hopefully show you some pictures when I will be able to sort through them.

Particular of a little statuette my dad has in his house

I spoke a little about my dad before, a tough man with an avid passion for food.  In my opinion he would rank high as a chef is he had gone that route instead of working as a chemist, everything he makes tastes amazing.  He is not scared of unusual ingredients and because of his experience with WWII and his mom's upbringing he cooks a lot of so called "cucina povera", simple cuisine based on humble ingredients.  

My dad's other passion is gardening, especially when it comes to growing ingredients for the kitchen.  His "orto", or vegetable garden, gets bigger and bigger every year, slowly taking over what was my beloved grandmother's garden.  

There are lots of gold fish in this little pond

I used to spend hours gardening with my nonna Anita, mostly weeding when she was too old to plant anything new, so this space is really dear to me, even though it resembles very little the manicured garden my nonna used to tend.  

 

 

This year my dad must have planted more than 50 plants of tomatoes, which I just picked since he is away for few days.  What a treat!    

The varieties all have Italian names but one is clearly a San Marzano and another a Beefsteak.

  Ready to be turned into tomato sauce

I leave you with a picture of one of the most breathtaking sunsets I have seen in my life, taken from a terrace in Radicondoli, a stunning little Tuscan town near Siena.

Happy Summer!

Panzanella-My way

I just spent two hours picking my tomato plants clean of ripe tomatoes, cutting many of the leaves to allow for more sun to hit the remaining fruit, and harvesting lots of basil before the cold weather kills the plants. It is a warm and sunny Autumn day in the Bay Area, so I am hoping for more ripe tomatoes in the next week or so. Every year in July I tell myself that I will not plant that many tomato plants again, but then in September and October I change my mind when I get to eat the fruit of my labor.

Panzanella is a summer salad originated in Tuscany, and like many dishes of the "cucina povera" (literally poor cuisine), it is a way to use stale bread, Ribollita is another example. A little olive oil and balsamic vinegar turn this simple dish into something delicious. I don't know you, but I could eat tomatoes all summer long.

There are many versions of this dish and traditionally the bread is soaked in water before adding it to the tomatoes. I like mine with plenty of basil and a shallot vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar, which is a little French I guess. Sometimes I add cucumber, string beans, or corn to the salad.

Panzanella

2 C bread, cut in cubes
1 T extra virgin olive oil

3 C tomatoes
1 medium shallot
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T extra virgin olive oil
Basil, salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle the bread cubes with 1 TBS of oil and bake at 350F until dry and lightly colored. While the bread is in the oven, mince the shallot and add it to the vinegar (this will soften the onion and impart a nice flavor to the vinegar), marinate for 30 minutes. Add the remaining oil to the vinegar, mix well, add to the tomatoes and their juices, toss with the cooled bread cubes, and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Serves two.

Buon Appetito!

Tomato Corn Salad

I live on tomatoes in the Summer, and wish I could grow them year round. These beauties, a Cherry Gold variety, are the best cherry tomatoes in my opinion. They are very sweet, not acidic at all, and they grow beautifully and plentifully. Two years ago the first plant I grew took over and started growing on everything, including an oak plant nearby, very prolific indeed. It was also the last plant standing after it got too cold for the other tomato plants to survive the Fall, very hardy.

This salad is very simple, you can put it together in 15 minutes and is very refreshing. It would work as a pasta sauce, slightly sauteed with some garlic. You can use any cherry tomatoes, but I love the contrast of the orange, the yellow, and the purple of the basil leaves.

Tomato Corn Salad

1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 ear of corn
EVOO
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Basil, chopped

Cut the kernels off the cobb, and boil for two minutes. Cool the corn in ice water, then toss with the rest of the ingredients.

Tomato Cheese Tart

I love making this galette in the summer when the tomatoes are at their fullest. It is a sure crowd pleaser, it travels easily and is perfect for a picnic. The crust is what makes this galette memorable, it is a very buttery dough, and has the added crunch of cornmeal. I love using stone ground organic cornmeal I buy in bulk, but you can add any corn flour you can find, even polenta would work. I found this recipe in the book Baking with Julia, which I have gone back to many time for inspiration because it is loaded with great recipes from well known chefs and food professionals. The book is based on the PBS series hosted by Julia Child and written by Dorie Greenspan, another wonderful author. Each recipe in the book is written clearly, each step well explained, and all the things I have tried turned out perfect (the sticky buns recipe gets a 10). One of my absolute favorites is the fig and raspberry crostata with a linzer crust, so look for the recipe when the season will come, it is one of the best things I have even eaten.

I often make this tart for clients, because it makes people rave. For bigger catering jobs I make the tart in half sheet pans and cut it in squares, they lose the side crusts, but it still tastes terrific.

The original recipe was contributed to the book by Flo Braker, so it is no wonder the dough is so good, Flo is a master baker whom I have learned a lot from. I modified the recipe slightly by omitting the water and adding more buttermilk, and with the addition of fresh herbs. The crust is easy to put together, easy to roll and very sturdy. I like to brush it with olive oil before baking it to prevent drying.

Tomato Galette
serves eight

For the crust
4 tablespoons buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3.5 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2 inch cubes

For the filling
4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 oz mozzarella cheese, cut in small cubes
1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into strips
4 to 6 ripe tomatoes, roma or cherry (pick tomatoes that are not too juicy), sliced thin

Mix the dry ingredients in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the blade attachment. Add the cold butter and mix until the butter pieces are the size of peas. Add the liquid and mix only until the dough comes together. Pour the content on a floured top and push the dough together with your hands, without overworking it. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate an hour or overnight. Roll the dough into a circle, trying to roll as thin as possible. If the dough gets too warm, put it back in the fridge to chill the butter again. Add the cheeses to the bottom of the crust, leaving a 1.5" edge. Arrange the tomato slices in circles, sprinkle the basil, and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Fold the edge of the crust over the tomatoes and brush it with some more EVOO. Bake at 375, until the crust is golden and the liquid from the tomatoes and the mozzarella has almost completely evaporated.

Bread Baking Day #19, a fun event created by Zorra, is hosted this month by the wonderful Cinzia of Cindystar. She choose a fun theme, spring country breads, or anything you would bring to a nice spring country picnic, the ones we have so often in Italy. I am not bringing bread or anything made with yeast, but this is something that everyone would enjoy at a country picnic. I actually made some olive panini with a starter I just developed, and they looked and tasted horrible, so I would be ashamed to bring those to a picnic. I have not been having any luck using a starter to make bread, I am about to give up and go back to dry active yeast.



Buon Appetito!