Wikipedia says that THE Oxford Dictionaries (online version) defines it as “a willingness to suspend one’s critical faculties and believe something surreal; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment.” Yes. Sign me up. First, who really needs a foam maker? Second, more cream, dairy and oil products? Third, you have to strain out the pulpy stuff, which is actually quite tasty. But WOW. By the way, look up the synonyms for “frivolous,” some may come to mind as you read this.
My tomato tart is based on several recipes in Jack Bishop’s The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook. Including the olive oil tart crust, the basil crust, and the tomato tart.
Mediterranean Whipped Cream (with Tomato Tart)
4 tablespoons pesto, salsa verde, or chopped garlic/capers/lemon/parsley olive oil mix
1 cup cour cream
1/4 cup water
2 quarters of marinated artichoke hearts
10-12 pitted olives
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- Mix all of the ingredients in a food processor, blender, or bowl and puree using the processor, blender or immersion blender, until the mix is uniformly mixed and is like a runny milkshake.
- Pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup and use a spatula to press the liquid from the solids into the cup. Alas, discard the solids unless you can think of something else to do with them.
- Pour the strained mix in the whipper. Charge it, shake it, spluudge it on the plate.
Preferably with tomato tart or something else equally piquant, cheesy, and demanding of the mediterranean kiss.
Tomato Tart
Note: This is a versatile recipe. You can substitute a mix of leftover cheese, use 3 tablespoons pesto instead of the garlic, basil and parmesan in the crust, use garlic scapes instead of garlic, and play around with the type of bails you use. You can also cook this until it becomes a deep golden brown or stop cooking when the cheese gets bubbly. The merchandise in the crust remains slightly chunky and turns into caramelized bits that are like the adult version of getting marshmallows in your cereal.
Ingredients:
4-6 cloves garlic (use 6 if cloves are small and 4 if larger)
1 cup fresh basil leaves – rinsed, shaken dry and loosely stuffed
2 cups flour
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup + 3 TBS olive oil, separated
3 Tablespoons cold Water – (or as needed)
1 ½ cup grated semi-soft to firm cheese (can be only one type or a mix of cheddar, feta, mozzarella, gruyere, manchego, pepper jack, or other similar cheese)
3-6 large ripe tomatoes (you need enough to cover with slices so depends on tomato size)
Salt to taste (about 1 ½ teaspoon) – preferably coarse kosher salt
Freshly cracked pepper to taste (1-2 teaspoons)
Crushed red pepper to taste (1 teaspoon unless you like hot pepper)
Directions:
- Coarsely chop garlic in food processor; scrape down bowl. Add basil and process for until leaves are coarsely chopped (you may need to scrape down bowl once during this chop). Add flour and Parmesan cheese to bowl. Process to mix well and scrape down sides of bowl. Add ½ cup olive oil and pulse a few times until it is the consistency of coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons of cold water and pulse a few times. You want the dough to form loose ball; if it does not then add more water a teaspoon at a time until a ball forms.
- Turn the dough into the tart pan and press it into the pan evenly to form a shell that covers the bottom and sides of the pan. Chill for 30 minutes until firm.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place tart pan on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Spread grated cheese over bottom of tart shell, covering it completely. Slice tomatoes a generous ½ inch thick and layer on top of cheese. I try to lay a circle of whole tomato slices around a smaller center slice and then fill in the gaps with pieces of tomato slice. The tomatoes will shrink as the tart cooks so cram them in. Drizzle the remaining 3 Tablespoons of olive oil on top of the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt, freshly cracked pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. I go light on the salt but liberal with the peppers. Place tart in the oven and bake for 1 hour until tomato slices look like oven roasted tomatoes and both cheese and crust are golden brown. If you can, allow the tart to cool to room temperature and serve – but I usually eat it hot.