the moderate epicurean

a quest for measured pleasure...

Friday, August 04, 2006

Queen of Tarts! That's me, baby, I love a good tart. Takes one to know one, I guess, ha.

Why am I inside baking on a gorgeous, sunny day? I don't know...felt like it, I guess. And I wanted to make a dent in the abundance of produce piling up around here! So I've baked two tarts (rich and flaky sour cream crust recipe yields two crusts), one savory, one sweet. The savory is a cabbage tart - yes, a cabbage tart. It's lovely and delicious, tender cabbage, garlic, onion, parmesan, a bit of creme fraiche, with a pinch of nutmeg. The sweet is Nathan's Favorite Peach-Blueberry Tart. I made a small one a few weeks ago, with crust scraps from a tomato zucchini tart, and he's been asking for another ever since. Not particularly good timing, since he's away all weekend - but I'll make sure there will be several pieces left for him by Sunday night. The Tinsk! (Recipes posted in comments, below.)

I dropped off a slice of the cabbage tart at Suz's when I popped over to pick up more copies of the incredible photos that Cory took at Nathan's game on Wednesday. One was of Isabel, hitting the ball, which made a perfect team gift for her mom, Team Mom Kristi. There are several amazing pics of Nathan too, so fun. Yay, Cory! His beautiful photos have made gift-giving pretty easy this past year...

3 Comments:

At 3:09 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

Cabbage Crème Fraiche Tart
Stephanie Levy
Serves 6 as a main course, 8 as a first

Sour Cream Crust (recipe below; makes two crusts, you only need one for this recipe)
1 ½ heads of white cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
salt
4 Tbsp. butter
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ c. crème fraiche (substitute sour cream if you can’t find it; crème fraiche is often available in the sour cream section of the grocery store)
1 c. freshly grated imported parmesan cheese
¼ tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper

Prepare Sour Cream Crust. While it chills, prepare the filling. Put chopped cabbage in a Dutch oven or stock pot, cover with cold water, add 1 tsp. salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly in a colander.

In a large sauté pan, heat butter and add onion and garlic. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add cabbage, stir thoroughly, and sauté for a few more minutes. Remove from heat, stir in crème fraiche, parmesan, and nutmeg. Taste and season as needed with salt and a few grinds of pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out ½ of the chilled Sour Cream Crust recipe on a lightly floured board to a 12-inch circle. Transfer crust to a tart pan and trim edges. Fill the crust with the cabbage mixture. Bake for at least one hour, perhaps a bit more, until cabbage is very tender and starting to brown in spots, crust is nicely browned, and juices are bubbling. To serve warm, cool for 10 minutes before serving. Or, cool and serve at room temperature.

Sour Cream Crust
2 ½ c. flour
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks cold butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
8 oz. sour cream

Place flour, salt, and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly, several times, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sour cream and process briefly, just until dough forms a ball. Remove the dough ball, shape it into an even disk, and cut it half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

 
At 3:22 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

Nathan’s Favorite Peach-Blueberry Tart
Stephanie Levy
Serves 8

Sour Cream Crust (recipe below; makes two crusts, you only need one for this recipe)
3 ripe peaches, sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces (I don’t peel the peaches)
1-12 oz. package frozen wild blueberries (or 12 oz. of fresh blueberries)
½-1 c. brown sugar (depends on how sweet your fruit is; if it’s on the tart side, go closer to 1 c., if quite ripe and sweet, closer to ½ c.)
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Prepare Sour Cream Crust. While it chills, prepare the filling. Toss peaches, berries, sugar, spices, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out ½ of the chilled Sour Cream Crust recipe on a lightly floured board to a 12-inch circle. Transfer crust to a tart pan and trim edges. Fill the crust with the peach mixture and bake for one hour, perhaps more, until crust is nicely browned and juices are bubbling. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes (or to room temperature) before serving.

Sour Cream Crust
2 ½ c. flour
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks cold butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
8 oz. sour cream

Place flour, salt, and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly, several times, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sour cream and process briefly, just until dough forms a ball. Remove the dough ball, shape it into an even disk, and cut it half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

 
At 9:14 PM, Blogger Suz said...

OMG, this cabbage tart! For those of you who start a bit at the thought, fear not! It is AMAZING! MMMMM!

 

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