It’s high Indian summer here in New York City. So hard to believe that heirloom tomatoes are still on offer. The days grow increasingly shorter; time to take advantage while they’re still around.
Icicle and French breakfast radishes
The thermometer foretold seventy degrees this afternoon. Truth be told, it felt more like fifty-five.
Carpe diem indeed.
Slow-roasted tomatoes are quite easily, one of the cheapest ways to elevate a dish from mundane to sublime. Take two baskets of cherry tomatoes, halve them, arrange in a roasting pan or cookie sheet, sprinkle each with a tiny bit of kosher salt and olive oil, then roast at 175 F to 200 F for 3 hours. You can do this with regular supermarket tomatoes or seasonal produce from the farmer’s market. The best time to cook them this way is now when tomatoes are at their most flavorful. Roast two or three cookie sheets’ worth of tomatoes, use as desired and freeze or can the rest. Prepared in this manner, they provide a taste of summer while we’re in the throes of winter.
I love slow-roasted tomatoes as a garnish to roast fish or chicken, or as a salad ingredient, or passed through a food mill and transformed into pasta sauce. A friend swears by them in omelettes with smoked salmon and chevre. Here, I’ve paired them with corn fritters lightly seasoned with a hint of marjoram, an herb that belongs to the mint family but actually boasts a mild, oregano-like flavor.
Corn fritters with slow-roasted tomatoes and fromage blanc
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For the corn fritters:
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears of corn)
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped
pinch of kosher salt
vegetable oil, for frying
Crush corn kernels with a strong fork or a potato masher. Combine corn, marjoram, flour, egg and salt. Stir well to blend.
Pour oil into a skillet and place over medium-high heat. Form the fritters by dropping the batter in 1-tablespoon portions into the pan, then fry the fritters until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Cook the fritters in batches, adding more oil to the pan as necessary. Drain on paper towels. Serve with a few spoonfuls slow-roasted tomatoes and a dollop of fromage blanc. If you don’t have any fromage blanc, substitute low-fat sour cream.
This will be my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Graziana from Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs).
The seasons might have changed this past Monday but there was precious little evidence of that judging by what was on offer at the Greenmarket today.
Seckel pears — Developed in the early part of the 19th century, seckel pears are a variety of heirloom pear with a dull green cast and red highlights. The fruit is very sweet with a somewhat grainy texture since it is a hybrid of European and Asian pear. Seckel pears are the variety most often found in home orchards.
White peaches — White peaches were known in Europe as early as the mid-17th century, although they were so delicate compared to yellow peaches that they nearly disappeared from commercial orchards. Since the 1980’s, white peaches have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, and newly developed later-ripening varieties have extended the white peach season to nearly match that of yellow varieties.
Indian corn
When you’re making an omelette, you want two conditions: enough cooking fat and a thoroughly heated skillet.
This is about 1 tablespoon butter. If you don’t have enough cooking fat, your eggs will stick to the bottom of the pan. If they stick, the omelette can break apart and lose its shape.
Ideally the pan should be hot enough but not so hot that the butter begins to brown. If your pan isn’t sufficiently heated, the eggs won’t set and it’ll take longer than usual to cook. On the other hand, if you wait too long, the butter will burn. As you can see in the bottom pic, I waited 30 seconds too long before adding the eggs. A perfect omelette should be light and golden throughout without any visible browning.
Allow the butter to sizzle and the foam to subside, then add 2 to 3 beaten eggs and let them sit for about 30 seconds to a minute. With a fork or spatula (assuming you’re using a nonstick pan), draw the lightly cooked egg toward the center of the pan. As you do so, tilt the pan so that any uncooked beaten eggs flow into the bare part of the pan. Repeat this process as you work your way around the pan. After a few seconds, there should be just a little moist egg remaining. Add your filling, if any, then tilt the pan away from you. Tap the handle lightly; the far edge should fall back on itself, then turn the pan over a plate so that the folded omelette falls out.
For the pan-glazed tomatoes: Take a handful of small grape or pear-shaped heirloom tomatoes and toss them onto a hot pan along with some melted unsalted butter or other cooking fat. Cook until the tomatoes wilt slightly and/or begin to burst, about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat; garnish omelette and serve immediately.
Omelette with peperonata filling, pan-glazed heirloom tomatoes
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When Nicole mentioned that she found it difficult to poach an egg, I knew what I wanted to make for dinner tonight. 
And I also thought to myself, what a perfect opportunity to do a demo.
This isn’t THE definitive method on egg-poaching. However it’s a method that works well for me. Hopefully it’ll be of use to you too.
Add 1 t. white wine vinegar to a pot of barely simmering water.
MUY IMPORTANTE!!!: The water shouldn’t be boiling. Bubbles should just barely break the surface.
It’s helpful if your egg is in a ramekin or similar container. Prior to slipping the egg into the water, stir the water vigorously in order to create a “mini-vortex”. This [in addition to the vinegar] should force the egg to coagulate quickly.
Poach the egg for about 2 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon when done.
Click here for a high-res version of this picture.
This is a variation of one of my mainstays — vegetables and cheese served with a poached egg. In the spring, it’s often asparagus tips and shaved Parmesan. In the winter, roasted turnips and carrots with fromage blanc. Fall equates to squash or pumpkin with mascarpone. Midsummer brings to mind roasted tomatoes with feta cheese.
Here, beet greens were sautéed with garlic in extra-virgin olive oil, then tossed with chopped heirloom tomatoes and served with a poached egg and some crumbled ricotta salata. Pour a glass of pinot gris and you’re set.
Left: Watermelon radish and Japanese cucumber salad with ginger viniagrette; right: warm arugula, corn and tomato salad
Sorry I haven’t been posting much — been busy at work these past two weeks.
Corn and tomato sauté, ricotta bruschetta
Click here to view a large-size version of the pic above.
This was two ears of corn briefly sautéed in melted unsalted butter with minced shallots, a pinch of salt and some chopped tarragon. Remove from heat and stir in some diced tomato.
The ricotta spread consists of 4 tablespoons sheep’s milk ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, extra-virgin olive oil and 1 teaspoon chopped lemon thyme. Combine all ingredients and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Can be made 1 to 2 hours in advance; chill in the refrigerator until ready for use. Spread ricotta on slices of grilled or toasted bread and serve.
Well, raw, but not in the way you think.
Spaghetti con salsa di pomodoro*, radish and sugar snap peas with ricotta salata and herbs
*Otherwise known as “thin spaghetti with uncooked tomato sauce” — Yellow Jersey tomatoes, shallot, summer squash, salt, pepper, lemon zest, tarragon and extra-virgin olive oil. Dice the tomatoes, shallot and summer squash. Combine in a glass or nonreactive bowl. Add a pinch of kosher salt, some freshly milled black pepper, the lemon zest and some chopped herbs (basil is best but tarragon or marjoram will do in a pinch). Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil over the vegetables. Stir and check seasoning. Pour the sauce over cooked spaghetti, toss to coat and serve immediately.
Use only the freshest in-season tomatoes when making this dish.
Click here for the radish salad recipe.
I had planned on making a tomato risotto tonight. Had a change of plan though and opted for panzanella instead.
Panzanella
There are several famous Italian bread salads such as cialedd from Apulia and insalata di pane con peperoni (bread salad with roasted peppers) from Sicily. In this salad, the primary ingredients are tomatoes (although I have added seedless cucumber and oil-cured olives because I had those on hand). The success of this salad depends on the quality of the bread. It should contain no added sugar or eggs and must be chewy and substantial, not light and airy, in order to stand up to the dressing. An unsalted, peasant bread is perfect, but it must be stale — preferably one or two days old.
You’ll be tempted to add balsamic vinegar when making the dressing. I implore you not to. I feel that balsamic vinegar, like white truffle oil and sun-dried tomatoes, is an ingredient that’s outstayed its welcome. I confess that I have a bottle in my pantry; however I rarely use it, because it tends to overwhelm a dish when used injudiciously. True aceto balsamico tradizionale is a thick, glossy, deep brown, syrupy liquid that’s been aged for a minimum of twelve years in several wooden barrels of successively smaller sizes. It has a complex flavor that balances the natural sweet and sour elements of the cooked grape juice with hints of wood from the casks. In the United States, a bottle of aceto balsamico tradizionale will cost anywhere from $100 to $400 for a few milliliters. The “balsamic vinegar” that you see in supermarkets is really red wine vinegar with some caramel coloring and a bit of sweetener added — a far cry from the real thing.
If you must use “balsamic vinegar”, then add 3 or 4 tablespoons in place of the sherry vinegar. That’s a sufficient amount in my opinion.
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