And Now For Something Completely Different...

Cue the Monty Python's Flying Circus music!

Pickled Strawberries?

I've grown, picked/hulled/eaten strawberries all my life, and never heard of pickled strawberries until the other day! These puppies are the brainchild of Houston chef Chris Shepherd, who seems to be on a mission to pickle and serve almost everything! Makes about 2 cups.

1 Tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1/4 cup hot Water

1/2 cup White Wine Vinegar*

7 oz. (1-3/4 cups) Strawberries (about a dozen nice sized berries)

1 Rosemary sprig*

* Herbs and vinegars can vary according to personal whim. Think basil, rosemary, marjoram or mint for herbs; sherry, apple cider, white balsamic, or rice wine vinegar...

In a pint-sized heatproof glass jar, stir the sugar and salt with the hot water until dissolved. Add the vinegar and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the strawberries and add the herb sprigs; the strawberries should be covered by the brine. Cover and let stand for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 day in the refrigerator.

Well, you know me – anything worth doing is worth overdoing; so I let my strawberries pickle a few extra days.  In retrospect, this may not have been such a good idea...

Farinata – Garbanzo Bread

I've been a fan of unleavened breads, for quite some time. Especially those cooked on a griddle or grill rather than in an oven, I found this recipe in The Mediterranean Diabetic Cookbook by Amy Riolo, which Sally picked up for me at a recent diabetes educator conference. The recipe is Italian in origin and quite simple to make and cook.  Originally farinata was cooked on a copper pan over a wood fire; using your oven broiler gives a similar result.

1 cup Chickpea flour

¾ tsp Kosher Salt

2 Tbsp EVOO

1-1/2 cups Water

Black Pepper to taste

Stir everything except the pepper together in a bowl and let it rest for at least two hours so that the flour can totally absorb the liquids.

Fire up your stove's broiler with a shelf 4-6” below the elements; or if you have a grill, get it roiling hot instead.

Give the rested mixture a stir – yes it's very runny. Pour the mixture into a lightly greased or sprayed baking sheet, spread the batter out a couple millimeters thick, and set in under/on the heat. If using the broiler, keep the door open a crack while cooking.

Cook for 15-20 minutes until nicely browned. Lay on a little butter, then dust with black pepper (or Italian Seasoning), and serve hot; it's OK an hour later, but not good the next day. Amazingly, even though the bread is less than 1/8” thick, it still has a nice spongy internal texture and a great crust (sort of like a soft cracker), and a great nutty taste.

Tomato & Green Olive Rustic Tart

Sally found this recipe in a Better Homes & Gardens magazine, and it sounded realllly good. The original called for a special crust that would have been more like a short crust for a pie; I used a tube of pre-made pizza dough because I was feeling lazy.

1 tube Pizza Dough

1 package Cherry Tomatoes

Fresh Rosemary

1/4 cup Alfredo Sauce

3 oz Goat Cheese (Feta might be good too)

7 oz jar Green Olives (pitted but not pimento stuffed)

Italian Seasoning

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Slice the tomatoes and olives in half. Spread the pizza dough out on a baking sheet and dock the bottom with a fork, leaving a 3/4” rim. Pre-bake the crust 10-12 minutes until just starting to brown.

Brush warm crust with the Alfredo sauce. Artistically arrange the olive and tomato halves, and dot with bits of sliced goat cheese. 

 Scatter rosemary leaves across the top and lightly dust with Italian Seasoning. Bake for an additional 15 minutes until GB&D. Serve with a small Mediterranean salad (lettuce, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, feta, oil & vinegar).

No-Fail Tart Crust

Pretty much what the title says. . . just don't break those yolks!  This is the recipe from BH&G magazine.  Makes a nice 12” round, flat tart, the 9” deep dish shown below, or a 9x11 rectangular “rustic” tart crust.

1-3/4 cup AP flour

1 stick unsalted Butter

1/2tsp Salt

2 Egg Yolks

3 Tbsp Ice Water

Preheat the oven to 450F In your food processor, take the flour salt and butter for a spin until the mixture looks like fine crumbs (takes 10-20 seconds of pulsing). Don't overdo it!

In a small bowl whisk together the water and the yolks. With the processor running, add the yolk mixture and stop spinning as soon as the dough comes together in a ball – about 5 seconds!

Roll the dough out between sheets of waxed paper to fit your tart pan; transfer to said pan, and tuck the dough into the corners, if any. Dock the bottom with a skewer or fork, and bake it for 10 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 350F and bake another 8-10 minutes until the crust is nicely browned. Let it cool completely before adding toppings.   

Rich and buttery, this a great crust, suitable for both savory and sweet tarts.  Here I used it for a savory dinner tart:

Asparagus-Yam Tart

The tart pictured above has the crust brushed with thick bleu cheese dressing, then a layer of thin pre-cooked yam “coins” is laid down. The coins were cooked about 3 minutes in the microwave. The yams are topped with pre-cooked asparagus tips (again about 3 minutes) and then the whole thing was sprinkled with shredded cheese (I used a 7 Cheese Italian blend). Bake the completed tart 10-12 minutes @ 350 F to warm things up and melt the cheese.

Pickled Strawberries in a Salad

To accompany the Asparagus-Yam Tart, I made a light salad with red leaf lettuce, carrot and Cubano pepper shreds, a sprinkle of sunflower seeds, and the Pickled Strawberries which I made earlier in the week.

The strawberries were the feature, of course! Tart-salty-sweet, the flavor is “interesting”... not unpleasant, but it'll take eating a few more for me to really come to like them, I think. Definitely worth the try.  They would not have been so salty had I stopped the pickling after a day (or overnight) in the brine rather than a week.