Sunday, August 10, 2014

Provencal Vegetable Tian

Thanks to Nicholas for this delicious summer vegetable recipe. I snapped a picture right before we devoured the last bites, but you'll get the idea.


Provencal Vegetable Tian
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, 1/4 inch slice
1 yellow bell pepper, 1/4 inch slice
Herb Sachet (4 sprigs parsley, 4 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leave, tied together)
Kosher Salt
freshly ground black pepper
1.5 tbsp tomato paste
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 Japanese eggplant (or 2 italian eggplant)
4 small (or 3 larger) Roma tomatoes
1 tsp chopped thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf

Preheat the oven to 275 F

Heat about 1.5 tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once the oil just starts to ripple in the pan, add the onions, peppers, sachet, and salt to taste. Reduce the heat to medium low immediately and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are soft and the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste and stir for about 2 minutes, until it evenly covers the vegetables. Remove the sachet and transfer the mixture to a 12 in round baking dish and spread to an even layer (or any baking dish with a similar volume; I use an oval gratin dish). Slice the zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and eggplant into 1/8 in thick slices (slice the eggplant last as it oxidizes quickly). Layer the vegetables and tomato in an alternating pattern (1 slice each zucchini, squash, eggplant, tomato, and repeat) over the pepper mixture, overlapping each slice all but 1/8-1/4 in, working your way around the circumference of the pan. Once you’ve completed a full circle, use the remaining vegetables to fill in the middle using the same overlapping technique.

Combine the thyme and garlic in a small bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle the mixture over the vegetables, along with salt to taste and about 5 grinds of pepper. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, crimping the edges tightly, and bake for 2.5 hours. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes. The vegetables should be completely tender. Remove from the oven and let rest to room temperature. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To finish, preheat the oven to 350 F and bake for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Roasted Rosemary Cashews

Making these is so easy and people do kind of swoon over them, so you're sure to win some points when you serve them. Put a bowl out at your next party and watch 'em disappear. 

They're also a nice addition to lentil or winter squash soup.

Add one package (16 oz, 1 lb or 454g) of raw, whole chestnuts to a bowl. Drizzle them with just enough olive oil to lightly coat the nuts. Add one tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary (pull the leaves off the woody stem before chopping). Add 1-2 teaspoons of good salt.


Mix it all together.


Spread them out on a baking pan.


Roast them in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until they are lightly browned. You'll need to toss them around on the baking pan a few times as the ones on the edges cook faster.


Allow them to cool completely, then pack them up in an airtight container.