the thin chef

So, the tomato extravaganza was a hit. In case you haven’t seen my previous posts, last night’s dinner was part of the monthly Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 event. Four lovely friends came over to help me celebrate this most fabulous of summertime ingredients, and we had a fabulous evening of tomatoey goodness {and lots of good wine}.

Tomatoes are one of my all-time favorite ingredients. They remind me of my dad, who once stayed up all night, burning fires to keep his lovingly cultivated tomato plants warm in a rare Florida freeze. They make me think of my college roommate and one of my best friends, Peyton, whose love of tomatoes permeated many aspects of her life. They bring back memories of summers in West Virginia, sitting with my grandparents eating the scarlet-hued slices sprinkled with salt at their cabin by the river.

It’s nearing the end of tomato season here in the South, so to bid farewell to this oh-so-summery ingredient, I developed a menu with tomatoes at the forefront.

The evening started with glasses of Bailly-Lapierre bubbly and Tomato Gin Fizzes—a combination of homemade tomato juice spiked with lemon and orange, plus gin and club soda. They were refreshing and light, a great summer drink.

First course: A simple stacked salad of sliced tomatoes, marinated cucumbers, and shards of nutty, briny goat’s milk feta, drizzled with purple-basil oil {all ingredients except the olive oil, lemon, and vinegar were sourced from local farms}.With this course, we had a beautiful Rosé, as recommended by the wine expert at Western, a local grocery store.

Up next was a chilled bisque-like tomato soup, suffused with the verdant flavor of dill. No one had dill at the farmers’ market, so really the only local ingredients in this soup were the tomatoes. {The half-and-half came from a Birmingham-based commercial dairy…does that count?} We had the rosé with this course, too. I didn’t get a great picture of the soup, unfortunately…it was a nice pretty pink, echoing the hue of the wine.

The main event was Alabama-raised trout in a wine-based broth called acqua pazza. Teensy cherry tomatoes went into the broth, and I spooned fresh chopped tomatoes on top after the fish was cooked. Alongside, I served golden toasted slices of baguette to sop up the delicious broth.

Our wine was a beautiful Argentinan Viognier that I just couldn’t get over…it was so light, but so flavorful…a really outstanding wine.

For dessert, Tomato-Brown Sugar Ice Cream, perhaps my biggest stretch to get tomatoes into every course. While I really enjoyed the flavor, the girls had mixed opinions. The reviews ranged from “I don’t love it” to “I don’t hate it” to “I like it, but it doesn’t really taste like dessert.” All understandable, of course, because tomato is far from the typical ice cream flavor. I think the next time I make it {and, yes, I will be making it again!} I’ll tweak the flavor, adding some citrus to the mix. To accompany the ice cream, I made lemon-thyme cornmeal cookies, which were crisp, light, and delicious.

It was rainy and dreary outside, the certainty of fall slowly tiptoeing in…but inside, it was still 100% summertime with the sunshiney flavor of tomatoes brightening the whole evening.

A great big thank you to Foodbuzz and Visa Signature for sponsoring this fabulous event.

And now, the recipes:

Tomato-Cucumber Napoleons
Serves 6, but can easily be adjusted up or down

1/2 lemon, juiced
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil
3 to 4 large, ripe tomatoes, sliced
12 thin slices feta cheese or 3/4 cup crumbled feta
Salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Add cucumbers to the bowl, and toss to combine. Set aside for 20 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle cucumbers lightly with salt and pepper.

Place the basil in a food processor; pulse to chop. With the processor running, drizzle in the oil. Set aside.

Place one slice of tomato on a serving plate. Top with 3 or 4 slices of cucumber, overlapping to fit on the tomato. Top with a slice of feta, or 1 tablespoon crumbles. Repeat the layers a second time. Repeat with remaining ingredients for each serving.

Drizzle each salad with 1/2 tablespoon basil oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper; serve immediately.

Creamy Tomato-Dill Soup
Serves 6 to 8 as a starter

4 medium, very ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 red onion, diced
Coarse salt and ground black pepper, to taste
3 whole sprigs plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, divided
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half

Puree tomatoes in a food processor. Place puree in a large, deep-sided skillet or a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer tomato puree until thickened, about 30 minutes.

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat until foamy. Add onions, and cook until translucent and soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the whole sprigs of dill, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in tomato puree, and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Remove and discard whole dill sprigs.

Working in batches, pour soup into a food processor or blender, and puree until no chunks of tomato or onion remain. Transfer soup to a large heat-safe bowl, and stir in the chopped dill. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until soup is cold, 4 to 8 hours.

When soup is chilled, stir in the half-and-half. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Serve chilled.

Trout in Acqua Pazza with Heirloom Tomato Relish
Serves 6

1 large heirloom tomato, diced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon anchovy paste or 1/2 anchovy, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 scallions, chopped (white and light green parts)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
6 8-ounce filets trout or other mild white fish
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon butter

Combine the diced tomato and 2 tablespoons oil in a medium bowl. Toss to combine; sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Heat oil over medium heat in a deep-sided sauté pan. Add anchovy paste and pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute. Add scallions, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Turn heat to medium-high. Add wine, and simmer for 30 seconds; add broth, and stir to combine. Season fish with salt and pepper; add the fish and tomatoes to the pan, and gently shake pan to evenly spread the ingredients in the pan.

Cover, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Uncover, and gently turn the fish over. Cook 3 to 4 minutes longer, or until fish is firm and opaque. Off the heat, stir in the butter.

Place each filet of fish in a shallow bowl, and ladle broth over top. Spoon a small amount of tomato relish over each filet. Serve with toasted baguette to sop up the acqua pazza.

Tomato and Brown Sugar Ice Cream
Makes about 6 cups

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
6 egg yolks at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup homemade tomato paste (recipe follows)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream and milk to a simmer. (Don’t let it boil.) In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar, and salt.

With a ladle, add about 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. Whisk to combine, then slowly add a second ladleful of hot milk to the egg mixture. Whisk to combine.

Add the egg-milk mixture back to the saucepan, and cook, stirring constantly, until custard coats the back of a wooden spoon. If you can pull your finger through the custard on the back of the spoon and the line stays, it’s ready. Note: do NOT let the mixture boil.

Pour mixture into a large bowl. Whisk in the tomato paste. Cool custard on countertop until room temperature, then place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to a day, until the custard is very cold.

Follow the instructions for your ice cream maker. Serve with Lemon-Thyme cookies.

Lemon-Thyme Cornmeal Cookies
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen

6 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, lightly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
1 egg
1/2 cup cornmeal mix
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.

Combine the butter, sugars, and thyme in a large bowl, and beat at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon zest and egg; beat until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal mix, flour, and baking soda. Whisk to combine. With the mixer running at low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 or 4 batches, and mix until just combined. Scrape sides of bowl, and incorporate any flour on the sides.

Scoop cookies by scant tablespoonful onto the cookie sheet, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart. With lightly damp fingers, smooth tops of cookies.

Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let cool on pan for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009 at 6:40 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.