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Onion and Thyme Flan
Onion and Thyme Flan
Sweet onions are key for this dish. If you like, bake it in a crust and call it a quiche. Serves 4-6.
3 large sweet onions
2 TB butter
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh thyme
fresh black pepper
2 TB sherry or Marsala
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
4 oz grated sharp cheese
Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and chop the onions. Melt butter in a large skillet and cook the onions with a bit of salt over low heat until golden and melting soft. This will take about 1/2 hour. Stir gently and often to prevent burning. Add the thyme, pepper and Marsala and stir, cooking until the liquid cooks off. Remove from heat.
Whisk together the eggs, milk and a pinch of salt.
Without a crust: stir the onions and cheese into the eggs. Pour mixture into a buttered baking dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until set and a knife comes out clean.
With a crust, layer 1/2 the cheese then onions in crust and pour over the egg mixture. Then top with remaining cheese and bake as above.
Bacon and Goat Cheese Free-Form Tart
Bacon and Goat Cheese Free-Form Tart
This is one of my favorite recipes from Cooking with Shelburne Farms. One could call it onion and goat cheese tart, however, as it calls for a lot of onions and is also delicious made without the bacon. Or, try adding sliced fennel while cooking down the onions. Though the recipe calls for all-purpose flour, you could substitute 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour in the crust. Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as an appetizer.
For the crust:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
1/2 tsp coarse salt
3 ounces cream cheese, cold and cut into 4 chunks
2-3 TB ice water
milk to brush the crust
For the filling:
1/2 pound bacon
1 TB olive oil
2 pounds (about 4 large) onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
3/4 cup (3-4 ounces) crumbled fresh goat cheese
To make the crust, cut the butter into small cubes and freeze for at least 15 minutes. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, blend the flour, cornmeal and salt. Add the cream cheese and process for about 20 seconds, or until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the butter and pulse until no butter is larger than the size of a pea. Add the ice water and process for about 30 seconds, or until a pinch of the dough holds together. If it doesn’t, add more water, a teaspoon at a time. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Knead just until it holds together in one piece. Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, cook the bacon in a sauté pan or skillet until it is about halfway cooked. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Put the pan with the remaining bacon fat (or 2 tablespoons of butter, if you are skipping the bacon), over medium heat. Add the olive oil and then the sliced onions and salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the onions slowly, stirring occasionally, until they are deep golden brown and caramelized, 35-45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F with a rack in the second-lowest position. On a nonstick baking mat or piece of parchment paper, roll the chilled dough into a rough circle about 1/8 inch thick and 14-16 inches in diameter. (The edges do not have to be smooth and neat.) Lift the baking mat with the crust onto a cookie sheet. Spread the caramelized onions over the crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Coarsely chop the bacon and sprinkle it evenly over the onions, followed by the thyme leaves, and finally the goat cheese. Fold the edges of the crust in over the filling, pleating the edges as necessary. Brush the crust with milk. Bake the tart for 30-35 minutes until the crust is golden. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Apple and Spring Greens Tart with Feta and Sweet Onion-Thyme Confit
Apple and Spring Greens Tart with Feta and Sweet Onion-Thyme Confit
Adapted from the Rebar Modern Food Cookbook by Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz, c. 2001. Rebar is a hip restaurant in Victoria, BC. Savory and sweet strike a nice balance in this tart. A small portion of rich onion confit served alongside is an indulgence, and not necessary because the tart stands on its own (but rewarding if you choose to go the extra step).
1 pre baked whole wheat tart shell
1 TB butter
1 TB olive oil
1/2 cup onion puree
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bunch of greens (original recipe called for spinach - a combo of turnip greens and pac choi leaves would be great)
3 eggs
1 cup light cream (or milk)
1 cup crumbled feta (or blue cheese!)
3 apples
1 egg white, beaten
Heat the oil and butter in a pan large enough to hold the greens and saute the onions just a bit to flavor them up even more. Chop the greens and toss them in with the onions and wilt the greens. Next lightly beat eggs in a bowl. Add cream (or milk), salt and pepper and whisk together. To assemble the tart, evenly distribute the feta over the bottom of the prebaked shell. Follow with the onion/greens mixture. Then pour in the egg mixture over top. Quarter and core the apples and thinly slice each quarter into 6-8 wedges. Starting at the outer edge of the tart, overlap the apple slices, skin facing out in a circle around the edge. Spiral the overlapping slices toward the center of the tart to cover the entire surface. Beat the egg white in a small bowl and brush over the aples. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until the egg is set and the crust has browned. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.
Onion Thyme Confit
2 TB butter
1/2 cup onion puree
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1/3 tsp thyme (or 1 tsp fresh minced)
1 TB balsamic vinegar
Melt butter in a skillet, add onion puree and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook 5-10 minutes on medium-high heat until the onions are golden.
Shepherd's Pie with Carmelized Onions and Cheddar Smash
Shepherd's Pie with Carmelized Onions and Cheddar Smash
From Cooking with Shelburne Farms.
For the Carmelized Onions
1.5 TB Olive Oil
1 lb Onions (about 3 medium), thinly sliced crosswise into rounds
1 tsp kosher salt
For the Potato Smash
1.5 lbs potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
2 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat of a knife
1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 stick butter, cut into 4 pieces
For the Lamb Filling
1/2 TB olive oil
2 medium carrots, scrubbed trimmed and finely diced (about 1.5 cups)
1 lb ground lamb
3/4 tsp fresh thyme minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 TB flour
1/2 TB tomato paste (or ketchup)
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup grated cheddar
Make the carmelized onions (up to one week ahead):
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium hear. Add onions and turn heat down to medium low. Sprinkle onions with salt and cook, stirring frequently to make sure they brown evenly, for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and soft. Set aside.
Make the smashed potatoes (up to 24 hours ahead):
Place a colander in a pot large enough to accommodate it, fill pot with water to bottom of colander, add potatoes and garlic cloves and sprinkle them with salt. Cover, set over high heat, and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to active simmer and steam for 25-30 minutes until they break apart easily when poked. Remove colander from pot, pour water from pot, return potatoes and garlic to the pot. Cover with a clean dish towel and let potatoes dry out for about 5 minutes (but do not let them cool before mashing). Add the butter to the pot and use a potato masher to smash the potatoes and garlic until blended, but not smooth. Set aside.
Make the meat filling and finish pie:
In a large skillet set over med-high heat, heat olive oil until hot. Add diced carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes until softened. Add lamb, thyme, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes until the meat is no longer pink. Pour off the fat and discard. Sprinkle flour over the meat and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Then stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes longer. Pour in the stock, along with half of the carmelized onions. Increase the heat to high and simmer until gravy thickens slightly.
Spread lamb into a shallow casserole or baking pan. Spread potatoes on top. Distribute the remaining carmelized onions over the potatoes, and then sprinkle the cheddar in top. Bake until top is golden and crusty, about 20 minutes.
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.
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