Tomato Ricotta Tart

 

This is another recipe from visiting my sister and her husband. You might be wondering about the fact that I'm in another city, yet there are plenty of Pampered Chef products at my disposal. Well, I'm in my 13th year of business, and my sister has been my best customer. In short, cooking at her house is about like cooking in my own. All Pampered Chef all the time. So no, I didn't bring knives on the plane.

Betsy and I sat down and pulled several things we'd like to try from her stack of Cooking Light magazines, and this tart was something we had in mind for a casual sister brunch. That's a funny thought when there's a two-week-old in the house, but ignorance is bliss, right? Well, at least ignorance gets you to buy vine-ripe tomatoes and expensive cheese that you'd hate to see wasted. I had a lunch with a fellow consultant scheduled yesterday, and I didn't want to leave my sister alone without a treat. I was determined to get this cooked and the kitchen cleaned before I left, and I actually accomplished it! Read: This is my disclaimer for the lack of crust prettiness you'll see when you scroll down.

 

 Tomato Ricotta Tart

chefjennylyn.com

 

Crust:

5.6 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)

2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons ice water

 

Filling:

3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, divided

1.5 ounces aged Gruyère cheese, shredded and divided (about 6 tablespoons)

1 pound heirloom tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

 

Preheat oven to 450°.

To prepare crust, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a food processor; pulse 3 times or until combined. Combine oil and 3 tablespoons ice water in a small bowl. With processor on, slowly add oil mixture through food chute, and process until dough is crumbly. Sprinkle dough into a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate coated with cooking spray. Press dough into an even layer in bottom and up sides of dish. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Combine ricotta, egg, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk. Add 1/4 cup basil and 1/4 cup Gruyère cheese, stirring to combine. Spread ricotta mixture evenly over crust. Arrange tomato slices in a circular pattern over ricotta mixture, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle tomatoes with remaining 2 tablespoons Gruyère cheese. Bake at 450° for 25 minutes or until filling is set. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil.

 

 

Above, several ingredients are in the Deep Dish Pie Plate (This one is blue, but it comes in cranberry.), and I've got a Bar Board, a Cutting Mat, The Easy Read Measuring Cups, Measuring Cup Set, and a 4" Serrated Knife ready to go.  Oh, and salt is in a Pinch Bowl.

Have you ever used the Pampered Chef Garlic Press?  If not, let me just tell you it's amazing.  I've had mine since 2000, and it still works perfectly.  You don't have to peel the garlic!  See the garlic coming out of there?  See the picture below with the peel on my Bar Board?  Yep.  Anyway, this is going into the 2-Qt. Stainless Mixing Bowl for my filling mixture.  In the background, I've got the Measure-All Cup and a 1-Cup Prep Bowl.

The Measure-All Cup is one of those products the people who have it want to tell everyone about.  When you go from measuring peanut butter and other sticky ingredients in a standard cup to one that pops it out like a syringe, it's worth talking about.  Here, I've got my ricotta popped and ready to scrape right into my mixing bowl.

I'm just going to admit that Betsy had to help me with her food processor.  I measured out the crust ingredients, but she did the actual mixture for me.  To the right of the processor, I've got Pinch Bowls, Measuring Cups, the Easy Read Mini Measuring Cup, and a 2-Cup Prep Bowl on a Flexible Cutting Mat.  Do you see the nuts we used in the crust?  They're not pine nuts, but have you seen the price on those lately?  When deciding whether to purchase a small jar of pine nuts or twenty ounces of gold, Betsy and I quickly decided the walnuts she already had in her pantry surely couldn't ruin this crust.  You know what?  We were right.

The 4 1/2" Serrated Knife from the Forged Cutlery Collection is my favorite for slicing tomatoes.  The skins are no match for this blade, and the knife is really easy to handle.  I've got the Bar Board for the tomatoes and a Cutting Mat because I just didn't move it out of the way.

This crust could have been pretty, but I was in a rush.  Instead of trying to spread it evenly, I just decided to make sure it would hold filling.  That said, the crust was great!  It can definitely be used for other savory recipes like quiche and... quiche?

Hello, Gruyere!  Ok, so this was delicious!  However, if you already have sharp white cheddar or another cheese you want to try in this recipe, don't feel the need to buy anything else.  The recipe doesn't call for much, and other cheeses will substitute nicely.  I used the Rotary Grater to grate the cheese into an Easy Read Measuring cup.

Spread your filling, layer your tomatoes, grate a little more cheese over the top, and you're ready to bake!  This really was a great recipe, and I can see myself serving it for a fun brunch sometime.  This is woman food at its best!

 

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E-mail me: chefjennylyn[at]gmail.com

Call me up: (205) 585-2464

 



Ham Florentine Braid

If you think this looks pretty, you should taste it! Braiding is a tried and true Pampered Chef technique, and I can remember having my first experience with it back in 1999. Basically, you roll out crescent rolls, fill them with whatever you want, and tuck them around to look pretty. More on that later. For now, let me tell you this recipe is perfect for any occasion or any time of day. I took it to a missions breakfast at church, and it was my solution for people who wanted something warm but didn't do well with the consistency of breakfast casserole. People like me. It was gone before I made it through the line, but I'll survive... I have the recipe.

Ham Florentine Braidchefjennylyn.com

2 packages (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls
8 oz. deli ham, chopped
1 1/4 cups sharp white cheddar, grated
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach (thawed, drained)
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 egg, separated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together ham, 1 cup of the cheese, spinach, mayonnaise, and pepper.

Unroll crescent rolls, and spread on Rectangle Stone. Pinch seams, and roll together. Cut dough in strips lengthwise, and roll seams back together in the middle. Fill middle with spinach and ham mixture, top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese, and "braid" dough strips across using a "lift, twist, tuck" method.

Whisk egg white until frothy, and brush over braided dough. Bake 25-30 minutes.

This is one of the simplest recipes I have in my arsenal, and it's also one of the prettiest. Could things get any better? Didn't think so. The only work involved is prepping ingredients, and that's quick thanks to good tools. My mayonnaise is in the Measure-All Cup (LOVE!), and my cheese is in an Easy Read Measuring Cup. We just introduced the Microplane Adjustable Coarse Grater, and let me tell you - wow! this thing is awesome awesome awesome! The ham is just sandwich meat, and I'm slicing it with the 5" Utility Knife from the Forged Cutlery Collection. This is the knife that comes in the Consultant Kit, and I promise it will change the way you feel about prep work if you try it.

You know what's fun? Colors coming together to make a beautiful mixture. All of my ingredients are in a Stainless Mixing Bowl, and I'm using the Mix 'n Scraper for, well, mixing. This is the absolute best tool ever for thick batters or mixtures! Of course my Pepper is from the Pampered Pantry, and I'm using my Bamboo Grinder.


The nice thing about this recipe is that even if you mess up, you're still going to get a great end result. If you don't cut your strips straight, no one will even notice. My dough is spread on the Rectangle Stone, and I used the Baker's Roller (now it's fancy, but this is the old one) to pinch all those seams together. Then came the Pizza Cutter for slicing it all in strips. Roll the middle back together after the strips are cut.

Behold the "Lift, Twist, Tuck." Lift the strips on both sides of the filling, twist them in a complete circle, and tuck them together, giving them a little pinch. So the word "braid" is used pretty loosely in this recipe, but "Ham Florentine Lift, Twist, Tuck Thing" doesn't have the same ring. Anyway, do this all the way down, and give each end a little tuck to make sure nothing seeps out in the oven. Losing filling would be tragic! I love how this fits the Rectangle Stone perfectly, but you'll get the same result on any of the Stoneware pieces. Well, maybe not the Muffin Pan.

Then comes the egg white. I adore the Egg Separator because it's the best way to keep your hands out of the gag-inducing egg raw egg texture. Besides, it keeps you from having to wash your hands again in the middle of the recipe. Notice how the Egg Separator hangs on the Small Batter Bowl perfectly thanks to the clipper-onner. I frothed the egg white in no time using the Mini-Whipper, a handy little tool that's perfect for your morning shakes, chocolate milk, or egg whites.

After giving the crescent rolls a quick brush of egg white using the Chef's Silicone Basting Brush, this beauty is ready to go in the oven. You can make this without the egg white, but this is what gives it that pretty, glazed look as it bakes. Throw this in the oven for 25-30 minutes, and get ready to be amazed. Whatever you do, DO NOT bake this when you're home alone. There is no way to avoid excessive snacking because no one is there to say, "Really, you're eating a fifth serving?" Trust me on this.

Like the products you saw used?

Shop Online 24/7 at pamperedchef.biz/jennylyn

E-mail me: chefjennylyn[at]gmail.com

Call me up: (205) 585-2464