Category: Veggies

Roasted Vegetable Tart for #SundaySupper

Roasted Veggie Tart

Despite it being 90° here some days, September is the start of fall for me. I start craving fewer fresh fruits and less grilling. Instead, I become eager for the weather to cool off so that I can indulge in heartier dishes and simple roasts paired with roasted vegetables. Entertaining is a breeze as I throw dishes into the oven to cook slowly, while I enjoy cocktails and easy appetizers with my guests.

This weekend Sunday Supper is celebrating the start of fall with some of their favorite fall recipes. This roasted veggie tart isn’t exactly a quick appetizer, but it’s not difficult at all. And with all of the roasted vegetables, it just screams fall to me. If it’s a little too involved for your fall entertaining, then I’d encourage you to pair it with a side salad and give it a try for a light brunch or lunch.

Recipe Note: I used about 1 c. of butternut squash, carrot, leek, and bell pepper for this recipe, but I encourage you to pick the veggies and ratios according to your own preferences.

Roasted Vegetable Tart

Adapted from Fine Cooking, Issue 131

Roasted Vegetable Tart

Ingredients for the Filling:

  • Olive oil
  • 4 c. fall vegetables, ½-inch dice (i.e. butternut squash, carrot, leek, bell pepper, cauliflower)
  • 1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme

Ingredients for the Crust:

  • 1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour; plus more for rolling
  • ¾ c. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 6 oz. cold cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ¾ tsp. kosher salt

Ingredients for the Assembly:

  • 4 oz. fresh goat cheese, softened
  • 1 large egg, beaten

Make the Filling: Ensure rack is in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, toss all ingredients to combine. Spread in a single layer on a heavy baking sheet or roasting pan. Cover with foil and bake until tender, 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover, and allow to cool slightly.

While vegetables are cooling, make the crust. Increase oven temperature to 400°F.

While oven is coming to temperature, place flour, butter, cream cheese, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the dough starts to come together.

Sprinkle flour over a clean counter. Transfer dough to counter and gently knead with clean hands, once or twice, to bring dough together.

Assemble the Tart: Sprinkle a little more flour onto a large piece of parchment paper. Place dough on parchment paper and roll out, to a rough 16-inch round.Dough should be about 1/8-inch thick.  Gently brush excess flour from parchment paper. Carefully lift parchment paper, with the dough still on it, onto a clean baking sheet.

Spread the goat cheese on top of dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Top the goat cheese with vegetables. Pile a little extra in the center.

Fold edges of the dough over the filling to create pleats, about 1½-inches wide. Brush pleated dough with beaten egg.

Bake until golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool, at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Store leftovers in the fridge.

Breakfast

Appetizers and Sides

Main Dishes

Desserts and Cocktails

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks trying to get used to being back at work full-time. It’s been an adjustment all around. How do I manage to balance work with not just home life – cooking, cleaning, being a wife – but also being a mom? It has been a challenge for sure, but my husband and I are beginning to find our routine, even if that means me going to sleep right after the baby to compensate for her new wake-3-times-a-night habit.

This new schedule has meant that I’m focusing on simpler meals in the kitchen. We’ve been doing a lot of grilling and pairing whatever we grill with fresh and easy sides. This southwest quinoa salad is one of our new favorites. The slight kick from the jalapeno is balanced with sweetness from the mango and red bell pepper. Feel free to toss in a little more mango and veggie than the quantities listed below, I know I do.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Adapted from The Plant-Powered Diet by Sharon Palmer via Skinny Taste

Yields 6 1-cup servings

Ingredients: 

  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 1/2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp. ground tumeric
  • 15 oz. can low-sodium black beans, rinsed & drained
  • 1 c. cooked quinoa
  • 1 c. fresh or frozen corn
  • 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 c. fresh mango, chopped
  • 1/4 c. red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and tumeric in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad, stirring to combine.

Serve immediately (at room temperature) or refrigerate until serving.

Save

Tomato Mozzarella Tart

The day of my evening baking marathon with K (lemon limoncello cupcakes and cosmo cupcakes for S’s birthday), I played hookey from work. I have more vacation time than I know what to do with, so I decided to stay home, read, and play in the kitchen. I knew I wanted to do something fun for our girl’s night, but substantial enough to go with the cocktails I knew we’d be drinking (Limoncello Cosmos, as it turned out!). And, not having the guys there meant that I was able to go meatless. Thus, the Tomato Mozzarella Tart!

I had it both hot and at room temperature. While it was best straight out of the oven, it was also great at room temperature. It was pretty much as expected – sweet tomato, burst of flavor from the basil, warm gooey cheese… it was fantastic! Serve with a side salad as a light meal or, in tartlet form, as an appetizer.

Tomato Mozzarella Tart

Adapted from from Ezra Pound Cake and The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook as seen on Annie’s Eats

Ingredients for the Crust:

  • 1/3 c. fresh basil leaves
  • 1-2 cloves garlic (or 1 tsp. minced)
  • 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 8 Tbs. unsalted butter, chilled
  • 4-5 Tbs. very cold water

Ingredients for the Tart Filling:

  • 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • ripe tomatoes, sliced
  • kosher salt
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 Tbs. minced fresh basil

Make the Crust: Pulse basil and garlic in a food processor until finely minced. Add flour and salt, pulsing until just combined. Add in butter, cut into 1-in. chunks. Pulse until ingredients are incorporated and mixture is in small, pea-sized crumbles. Add water, 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing in between each addition. Stop when dough forms a ball. Remove from processor, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

After an hour (or whenever you’re ready to bake), preheat oven to 425° F. Lightly flour a wooden cutting board or counter and remove dough from fridge. Roll out dough into a 12-in. circle. Lay dough over a 9-in. round tart pan and press into sides, removing excess dough from top. (I used an 8-in. tart pan, and used the extra dough to create 4 tartlets.). Cover with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with baking beads. (I didn’t have any baking beads, so baked without weighing down crust. It came out fine, the only difference was that bottom puffed up a bit.) Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove baking beads and foil, and bake for another 5 minutes, until crust is just set and slightly golden.

Finish the Tart: Remove crust from oven for the second time. Lower oven to 375° F. Arrange sliced mozzarella and tomatoes over crust. Season with salt & pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Top with freshly grated Parmesan and minced fresh basil.

Return to oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Rotate pan and use a paper towel to sop off any extra moisture that has formed. Cook for another 15 minutes. Crust will become golden brown and mozzarella with be bubbly and lightly browned. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Roasted Tomatoes with Pesto

Have I ever mentioned that my hubby is a picky eater? While he’s gotten much more adventurous since we moved in together 3 years ago, there’s still a number of items I can’t make for him. No tomatoes or bell peppers, unless they’re hidden so he can’t see them. No light vinaigrette in salads (Ranch and honey mustard are his favorites). Squash… not so much. Maybe on the rare occasion when we’re grilling. Polish stuffed cabbage? Hell no.

So what do I do when I want to make dishes using tomatoes (like this Greek Pananella) or another one of the banned items? I try to save them for potlucks with friends, but when that doesn’t pan out, or I get impatient, I call a good friend. K has offered to move in, just so I have someone a little less picky to cook for. Thanks K, but I’ll just invite you over for dinner weekly. 🙂

With an invitation to a friend’s secured and all of the ingredients in the house, I gave these roasted tomatoes a whirl. I loved the way roasting the tomatoes made them slightly sweet and super soft. The basil pesto was a burst of flavor. I imagined eating one of these atop a slice of crunchy French bread or making these as a side to a roasted or grilled fish for an extra punch of flavor. The best part? This recipe can easily be adjusted to serve 1 or 12.

Roasted Tomatoes with Pesto

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? (p. 179)
also on Food Network

Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 2 – 2 1/2 lbs. large red tomatoes
  • 3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 2 tsp. dried oregano
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 c. pesto
  • 1/2 c. freshly grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425.

With the tomato stem facing up, slice tomatoes into 1/2-in. thick slices. Place slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano, kosher salt (~1 tsp.), and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes, until tomatoes are beginning to soften, but still hold their shape.

Remove baking sheet from oven. Top each tomato slice with a bit of pesto (~1/4 – 1/2 tsp. on each) and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for another 7-10 minutes, until Parmesan begins to brown and the tomatoes look softened.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with a little more salt (if desired). Serve hot or at room temperature.

Gazpacho

A month ago, I went to a week-long class for professional development. I was shocked when I arrived on the first day, and was told that they’d be serving us lunch. That’s completely unheard of for most of the professional development courses I am encouraged to attend. What was even more shocking… the food was actually good! No tasteless, unidentifiable entrees that are usually on cafeteria buffet lines (at least where I am), but rather carving stations for ham and turkey, a beautiful salad bar with fresh veggies and berries, pitchers of water flavored by the fresh fruit sitting on top… I couldn’t believe my luck, getting into such a class. I enjoyed great lunches all week, but the star, for me, was the fresh gazpacho I had on the first day.

Ever since, I’ve been craving gazpacho but a little hesitant to make it since I’ve never done so before and didn’t have a tried and true recipe on hand. I tried to satisfy my craving with Greek Panzanella, and then the following week with an improvised Greek salad (diced tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers with a little Italian dressing over them). However, I was still craving the freshness of the Gazpacho – a light treat for the warming weather. An added bonus – a great way to get in extra veggies.

Never having made Gazpacho, I was hesitant to change Ina’s recipe too much, as I’ve loved everything that I’ve tried of hers. However, I wanted to make this a little healthier by the olive oil (I used extra-virgin olive oil) in half. I also cut the amount of white wine vinegar by half. (Both changes are reflected below) Even with these minor adjustments, the soup was wonderful and super easy to make (what’s not easy about throwing everything into a blender and then refrigerating?).

Gazpacho

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (p. 79) and on Food Network

Yields 10 serving (1-1/2 c. each)

Ingredients:

  • 8 plum tomatoes
  • 2 English cucumbers, seeded but not peeled
  • 3 red peppers
  • 2 red onions
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 46 oz. (6 c.) tomato juice
  • 1/4 c. white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 c. olive oil
  • 1 Tbs. kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Roughly cut the tomatoes, cucumbers, red pepper, and red onions into chunks, about 1-inch large. Add tomatoes to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped but not pureed. (I left mine a little chunkier, but continue to pulse if you prefer a smoother consistency.) Do the same with the cucumbers, red peppers, and red onions, processing each vegetable individually.

Combine chopped veggies with remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well and cover. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, to allow the flavors to blend, before serving.

Serve cold.

Optional Garnishes: Dollop of sour cream, homemade croutons, sprinking of Parmesan or feta cheese