Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Tarts

Backyard dinners have a whole new life this summer. With the COVID raging its way through the US, we’ve basically taken to imagining the backyard as a little-known, outdoor cafe where you can escape for a leisurely, relaxing meal beneath the redwoods. The suspension of disbelief gets us through the cooking and the eating; it’s the cleaning and doing dishes bit where the fantasy starts to crumble.

Melissa Clark’s recipes continue to rock my world. These tarts are very summery and worked well with David Lebovitz’s Fennel, Radish, Orange and Crab Salad.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUSTS

• ¾ cup (97 grams) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (77 grams) whole-wheat flour
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks / 141 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes, plus more for greasing
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed

FOR THE FILLING

• 1 pound zucchini, trimmed and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed
• Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup (4 ounces) fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons mixed chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, thyme, and chives
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated or minced
• 5 tablespoons (1¼ ounces) finely grated Parmesan cheese

1. Make the crusts: Using the ingredients listed above, prepare the crust according to the directions on this page, adding the egg yolk along with the ice water. Gather the dough into a ball and then form it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. (Note that this sticky dough comes together best in the food processor—which distributes the butter and egg more evenly—but you can do it by hand.)
2. Heat the oven to 375°F.
3. Grease 8 cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, leaving the other 4 cups ungreased (or use two 6-cup pans). Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, shape each one into a golf ball–size sphere, and roll each ball out to form a ⅛-inch-thick round. Press each round into a greased muffin cup and lightly crimp the edges. Nestle a second muffin pan on top of the first to help weight down the crusts. (If you don’t have a second muffin tin, crumple up balls of foil and place them in each dough-lined muffin cup instead; the goal here is to keep the pastry from shrinking too much.) Transfer the muffin tin(s) to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the top tin (or foil balls) and continue to bake until the bottom of each crust is just dry to the touch, about 5 minutes more. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool.
4. Prepare the filling: While crusts cool, raise the oven temperature to 400°F.
5. In a bowl, toss the zucchini and tomatoes with the rosemary, salt, pepper, and oil. Spread the mixture out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast it, tossing the vegetables occasionally, until they are tender and light golden, about 25 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the ricotta, egg, mixed herbs, and garlic. Season with a large pinch each of salt and pepper.
7. Spoon an equal amount of the ricotta mixture (about a heaping tablespoon) into each cooled crust. Top the ricotta with the roasted vegetables. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top. Transfer the muffin tin to the oven and bake until the tarts are bubbling and golden, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

From Dinner in French by Melissa Clark

Masala Fried Shrimp and Chilled Zucchini Soup

Sticking with the summer theme of light fresh flavors, these two back-to-back recipes from the July issue of Food & Wine seemed like they’d go well together.  Made for a lovely evening of food and wine and the company of one of our favorite people in the world.

Masala Fried Shrimp

INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
• 1 serrano chile, minced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Kosher salt
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, combine the lemon juice, serrano, garam masala, cayenne, turmeric, mustard powder and coriander. Add the shrimp and toss to coat.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until deeply golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until curled and white throughout, about 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and cilantro. Transfer the shrimp to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Just a note, I got a particularly hot serrano at the store so I cut the amount by half.  I also mixed some fat-free Greek yogurt with Vindaloo spices, some lemon juice and salt and pepper and served it on the side.

Chilled Zucchini Soup

Chilled Zucchini Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2/3 cup vegetable stock or low-sodium broth
• Julienned raw zucchini, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the stock and 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a simmer; cook until the zucchini is very soft, about 10 minutes.
2. Working in 2 batches, puree the soup in a blender until it’s silky-smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Serve it either hot or chilled, garnished with julienned zucchini.

MAKE AHEAD The soup can be refrigerated overnight.

As recommended by Food & Wine, the whole dinner works really nicely with a Sauvignon Blanc.

Spaghetti Alla Primavera

Spaghetti Alla Primavera

After reading all the delicious recipes in October’s Saveur magazine and riding our bikes to the farmers’ market this weekend, it seemed like primavera was the perfect choice the the pre-election countdown.  I made a few adjustments to try and curb the point value: half and half for heavy cream and 4 Tbsp of olive oil instead of 6 and whole wheat pasta.  I also left out the pine nuts, much to my chagrin.  Didn’t really get to a low point value on this one, but it’s filled with delicious and healthy veggies and works as a great choice if you have saved up for the day and are ready to splurge on dinner.

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value:  11

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

4 tbsp. olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz. button mushrooms, quartered
1 cup asparagus tips, blanched
1 cup small broccoli florets, blanched
½ cup frozen peas, blanched
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise, cut to 1″ lengths, blanched
1 lb. spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 cup half and half
⅔ cup grated Parmesan
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp. thinly shredded basil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a 12″ skillet over medium heat. Add ⅔ of the garlic; cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Add asparagus, broccoli, peas, and zucchini; cook 3 minutes. Add pasta, cream, Parmesan, and butter, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine; transfer to a platter.

2. Bring remaining oil and garlic, tomatoes, and basil to a simmer over medium heat; pour over pasta.