Blueberry "Cheese"cakes, Cherry Tomato Tart

Blueberry "Cheese"cakes
Here's a recent no-bake Blue Zones recipe that I made for yesterday's lunch dessert.  No cheese was harmed in the production of this "cheese"cake dessert!  However, two kinds of nuts were reduced to dust...

Start by putting 2 cups of Cashews into a large bowl and covering them with an inch or so of boiling water.  Let them set for at least half an hour while you make the crust.

Crust
1-1/2 cup Almonds
10-12 Medjool Dates, pitted
1-2 tsp Water

Take the nuts and dates for a spin in your food processor until things are very fine grained.  Add the water and spin another minute or so to combine and the mass starts to clump.

Pan
Use a 12 cup cupcake tin and line the cups with standard cupcake papers.  Put "some" of the crust mix into each cup and press it down.

I used the 2" ladle shown, both as a measure of the amount of crust mix;  and with a damp back, a press to spread the mixture and pack it into the cups.  Put the tin in the refrigerator while you carry on with the rest of the recipe.

Filling
2 cups raw Cashews, from above
1-1/2 cups fresh Blueberries
1/2 cup Maple Syrup (the real thing, not "maple flavored syrup"
Juice of a Lemon
1/3 cup melted Coconut Oil.  If you aren't "into" coconut oil for medical reasons (it's not good for us diabetics), use Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Optional:  My filling wasn't very sweet, so I added 2 tablespoons of Honey to the mix.

Take all these ingredients for a spin until smooth.  It can take several minutes to grind things enough to get rid of any 'gritty' texture.

Ladle the filling into the chilled cupcakes; filling all the way to the top.

Place the filled tin in the fridge overnight until the filling sets up.  Or start by putting them in the freezer for an hour or so and then the fridge for a few hours.

This was a very interesting idea, but blueberries aren't really the best fruit for this application -- they just aren't that flavorful.  The filling tasted more of cashew than blueberry.  It was OK, but not great.  Strawberries, or mango would be much more flavorful; even if they aren't a "super-duper" food like the blueberries.  Next time I'll try mango...


Cherry Tomato Tart
Parse that title anyway you want -- Cherry Tomato Tart or Cherry Tomato Tart.  Either way it's a light and tasty dish, and a wonderful way to use up lots of cherry tomatoes at one time!  I got a huge order of heirloom cherry tomatoes from the SWFL Produce Co-Op this week, an just had to find something special to do with them.  Here goes...

Shortcrust Pastry
This is a classic British tart crust, enriched by one egg.  Best kept cool to cold while you're working the dough.  Best also to weigh pastry ingredients rather than using cups.  And metric is much more accurate for these measures.  This is enough pastry to make a 10" tart crust.

300 grams AP Flour
1 metric Pinch of Salt
150 grams COLD Butter or Lard or a combination
1 Egg, beaten
2-3 Tbsp COLD water ( a cup of water with 3 ice cubes)

Put flour and salt in food processor, add the COLD butter/lard and pulse till it turns to 'breadcrumbs'.  Slowly add the egg as you continue to pulse, then add the water.  Pulse a few more times until the mix comes together as a dough.  Wrap in clingfilm and store in the fridge for 15-30 minutes while the oven pre-heats to 400F.

Roll out the dough and tuck it into your tart pan.  Dock the bottom with a fork and blind bake the crust for 10-15 minutes.   This can be done the day before and stored, covered, in the fridge overnight.

Filling
2 Sweet Onions
Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes
Small Button Mushrooms
Goat Cheese, softened
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Basil

Slice the onions into strips and caramelize them on a griddle or large skillet, with a splash of olive oil.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

Spread a layer of softened goat cheese across the bottom of the tart crust.  Alternatively use softened cream cheese.  Then add a nice layer of shredded mozzarella.  The cheeses melt quickly and act as as a barrier to keep the juices of the mushrooms, tomatoes and onions from making the crust too soggy.

Add the cooled caramelized onions over the cheeses.

Then arrange your tomatoes and mushrooms and top them with more shredded cheese and about 1/4 cup of chopped basil...

Bake for about 30 minutes until the tomatoes are starting to wrinkle and the cheeses are nicely melted.  Remove from the over and rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  Julienne another bunch of fresh basil and sprinkle it overall before slicing.  

YUUUMMMMM!