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Apple and Cheese Quiche

10 Oct

My son came up with the idea for this quiche.  No, really.  He came to it completely on his own, with no prodding whatsoever from his food-centric mother.  This may not sound all that impressive to a lot of people, but considering the fact that most dishes invented by children tend to be either a) deliberately revolting (mud pie with worm sauce, or the ubiquitous poo sandwich), or b) something Willy Wonka would have for breakfast (chocolate chip chocolate cake pancakes with chocolate sauce and chocolate whipped cream), I think my son’s rather creative, yet entirely edible, recipe idea is fairly admirable.  Cheese and apples are a classic pairing, and when combined in the custardy filling of a quiche, they’re the perfect savory end to a chilly fall day.

I once read that kids are 65% more likely to eat food that they have helped make.  Though I find most statistics or factoids about children and their habits to be largely misleading (because if there is one thing you never, ever want to do, it’s read up on how old “most” other children are when they master toilet usage or stop lisping the sound of the letter s), my experiences with cooking with the help of children has proven this statistic to be almost universally true.

Kids like to help.  They may not be very good at it (I am being honest here, so try not to gasp too loudly when I say that, look, kids are messy and uncoordinated, so when you cook with them, things are not going to look like they emerged from a professional cooking show), but allowing them to take part in an adult’s everyday activities gives them the confidence to tackle their own activities with a bit more focus and interest.  Even though my kid tends to drop most items I hand him in the kitchen, splash the contents of a bowl against the wall whenever he attempts to handle a whisk, and grow incredibly tired of my repeated reminders to keep his hands away from the burners on the stove, he’s also comfortable in the kitchen and eager to assist.

I am generally loathe to dole out advice regarding the raising of a child (because there are more types of kids than there are varieties of apples and types of cheeses, and what works for a Brie will most likely not apply to a Manchego, if that makes any sense at all) but I will say that leaving a door open for your kid to explore his food, where it comes from, and how it gets made is an invaluable step towards developing a healthy and realistic relationship with food.

This is not to say that we walk around all day harvesting kale and churning our own butter.  We do, however, have a kid who will approach food with creativity, and who will (as this point, at least) agree to take at least one bite of whatever new item shows up on his dinner plate.  Sometimes he never gets past that first bite (sorry, green beans), but other times, as in the case of this quiche, he eats the entirety of his portion, then asks for more.

Apple and Cheese Quiche

1 parbaked single tart or savory pie crust (the recipe for my favorite savory tart and pie dough can be found here, and you can find further information in that same post about parbaking the crust)

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

½ cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

1 medium apple (a somewhat firm variety works best here, but I’d stay away from a super tart variety like a Granny Smith), chopped into ¼ inch chunks, about 1 generous cup

pinch cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until thoroughly combined.  Add in cheeses, apple, and spices, and stir to combine.  Pour filling into a parbaked pie crust set on top of a baking sheet.

Bake quiche on the center rack of the oven for 35-45 minutes, until the center has set and the top of the quiche is puffed up and golden brown.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

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Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart

3 Oct

Let’s just start by stating the obvious: this tart looks peculiar.  There’s pretty much no way around it and, believe me, I have tried to somehow overshadow the fact that, though incredibly delicious, this vegetable tart’s filling also happens to be pink.  It’s the color of salmon.  Truth be told, when I first sliced into the tart, my thoughts were dominated by flashes of the Grim Reaper, bony finger pointed at a tabletop, responding to the query of a very badly-American-accented Michael Palin in drag: “The salmon mousse.”

So, it’s pink. But it is also phenomenal.  When I served it, I found myself defending its rather shocking hue by reassuring everyone that, sure, it looks like something a Disney princess would serve at her birthday party, but it tastes like a dream.  Savory roasted eggplant, fresh tomatoes, a buttery and flakey crust that is so incredible, it actually tastes like a croissant—surely these virtues can make one look past the color, yes?

As it turned out, everyone else was looking past the color.  It was me, and me alone, who was stuck in a permanent state of confusion over the pinkness of my dinner.  Even though I was the person who made the tart, which meant that I knew better than anyone else what exactly went into the tart, the superior taste of the thing was just not enough for me.  After every silky smooth, tasty bite, I would turn to my husband and say, “You don’t think it matters that it’s so…pink?”

And then he look up from his plate, cheeks stuffed full of tart like a chipmunk hoarding rations for the winter, and say, “Whht?  Iss fine.  Iss dlissishus.  So iss pnk…whhro crrrslt.”

And then he would finish his chewing, swallow his bite, and say, “I am now going to eat another piece.”

So, you can thank my husband, he of the only mildly understandable full-mouth-talking, that this tart recipe is seeing the light of day.  And you should thank him.  This tart is wonderful.  The roasted eggplant provides a rich smoothness that plays very well off of the summery taste of the barely roasted tomatoes, and the handful of fresh herbs thrown in does wonders for upping the savory factor.  This tart is totally worth your time and attention, which is good because, a pink tart?  Kind of difficult to ignore.

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart

Flaky Tart Dough

It should come as no surprise to anyone that this savory tart dough recipe hails from Tartine.

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup very cold water

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 5 tablespoons (which is 2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons, or 21 tablespoons total) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

In a small bowl, combine cold water and salt, then stir to dissolve salt.  Place salt water in refrigerator or freezer to keep very cold until ready to use.

To make the dough in a food processor, place the flour in the work bowl, then scatter the butter pieces over the top.  Pulse briefly until the mixture resembles large crumbs, but there are still large pea-sized chunks of butter scattered throughout.  Add the salt water mixture and pulse several times until the dough comes together in a ball, but is not completely smooth.  There should still be visible butter chunks.

To make the dough by hand, put the flour in a large mixing bowl, then scatter the buter pieces over the top.  Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs with several large butter pieces scattered throughout.  Drizzle in the salt water mixture, then toss with a fork until the dough starts to come together in a shaggy mass.  Gently mix the dough until it comes together in a ball, but is not completely smooth.  There should still be visible butter chunks.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into 2 equal balls, then shape each ball into a disk about 1 inch thick.  Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

If not using the dough immediately, it can keep in the refrigerator, well-wrapped, for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 week.

To parbake the dough, roll out a disk of dough on a lightly floured surface.  The dough should be about 1/8-inch thick. If dough is sticky, lightly dust with flour to prevent sticking.  Roll the dough into a circle roughly 1 ½ inches larger than the pan you will be using.

Transfer the dough to a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, pressingly the dough gently against the sides and bottom of the pan.  Trim the dough even with the rim of the pan.  Place the shell in the freezer, and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line the frozen shell with parchment paper, then fill with pie weights (or dry beans, or a handful of loose change—no, really).  Bake until the surface looks dry and pale, about 20 minutes.  Remove the shell from the oven, remove the parchment paper and pie weights, then place shell back in the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the surface just begins to turn golden.  If the dough begins to rise up in the middle, gently pierce it with the tip of a sharp knife, taking care not to make a large hole that will drain your upcoming tart filling.

Remove tart shell from oven until needed.

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Filling

1 large eggplant, about 12 ounces

3 plum tomatoes (I used San Marzanos, but Romas would also work well), cored but otherwise kept whole

3 eggs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh basil and Italian parsley (roughly 1 small handful of each fresh, whole herb)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using the tip of a sharp knife, pierce the skin of the eggplant in several places.  Place eggplant on a baking sheet, and bake until eggplant is completely soft and beginning to emit its juices, about 30 to 40 minutes.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Turn the oven up to broil.  On a heavy baking sheet, broil the tomatoes, turning often, until the skin is charred and split, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven’s broiler.  Remove tomatoes from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

(Both the eggplant and tomatoes can be roasted and broiled ahead of time and then set aside in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

When eggplant is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh of the eggplant and add it to the bowl of a food processor or blender.  Add cooled tomatoes, skin and all.  Blend eggplant and tomatoes until smooth (if you are using a blender for this, be sure to keep the lid of the blender loose, as blending hot liquids with a tight blender lid may cause the lid to blow off in a rather spectacular fashion).  Add the eggs and blend or pulse until incorporated.  Add Parmesan cheese, chopped herbs, and salt and pepper, then blend or pulse very briefly until just combined.

Pour eggplant mixture into parbaked tart shell.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the middle of the tart has set and a knife gently inserted into the middle of the tart comes out clean.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.

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Lime Coconut Tart

26 Sep

It is no secret that my love of tarts and pies, both savory and sweet, rides front and center on this website.  Sometimes I change things up a bit and find myself leaning my affections towards galettes, but, for the most part, tarts and pies are sort of like my best food friends (incidentally, my son’s best food friend would be carbs, and my husband’s best food friend would be all the food, everywhere, all of it).  Not coincidentally, what do I make my actual best friend every year for her birthday?  That’s right.  A pie.

So it should come as no surprise that when I discovered three cans of coconut milk sitting in the back of our pantry that seemed to appear as if from nowhere, my first thought was, “I am going to put this in a tart.”  No, really.  Some people might wonder, “When did I buy these?” or “Who needs three cans of coconut milk?”  But not me.  It should also come as no surprise that my second thought after finding the secret stash of coconut milk was, “I must find the best tart dough in all the land.”

For years I have been engaged in a highly serious search for the world’s best sweet tart dough.  I have found what I think is the best galette dough, I have my favorite pie dough, and there is always, of course, my favorite pizza dough, but tart dough?  That’s something else all together.  Tart dough is difficult.  It is prone to slumping and shrinking, and if it does happen to keep its shape, it is also often hard and bland.  Most tart dough, if not soggy, is too crunchy, almost like a cookie.  A cookie is fine, of course, but tart dough it is not.  Tart dough should be sturdy, but not heavy or tough.  It should also be buttery and only slightly sweet, sort of like a shortbread, only not as crumbly and sandy.  My list of qualifications, as you can see, is long and specific, hence my dedicated search.  Or my former search, because now?  Now I have found what is the best, most fail-proof tart dough around.

The end to my searching was not, as it turns out, all that dramatic.  In what might be called the least shocking news in recent memory, the tart dough I ended up using (and finding perfect in every way imaginable) was found in that bible of all things baking, Tartine’s cookbook.  Of course it was.  I’ve eaten their tarts many, many times, and I am well aware of the utterly transcendent quality of all their pastries.  Why it took me so long to get around to making my own batch of their tart dough—look, it doesn’t matter.  I have no excuse.  And you should not either.  You should go make this tart dough right now, and then fill the tart dough with this fantastically tart, creamy filling of coconut milk, lime juice, and lime zest.  Lightly scented with the sweet taste of coconut, wonderfully brisk from the burst of fresh lime, it’s a nearly perfect tart that also happens to be, as it goes, perfectly tart.

Lime Coconut Tart

Tartine’s Sweet Tart Dough

From Tartine

Makes enough dough for 4 9-inch tart shells

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, sugar, and salt, and mix on medium speed until smooth.  Mix in 1 egg until smooth, then mix in the second egg until smooth again.  With the mixer off, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add in the flour all at once and mix on low speed until well incorporated.

On a lightly floured work surface, turn out dough and divide into 4 equal balls.  Shape each ball into a disk about ½-inch thick.  Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours, or overnight.  If you are only preparing to use 1 of the tart shells, place 1 disk of dough in the refrigerator, and store the remaining 3 disks of dough in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

To prepare a tart shell for baking, on a lightly floured surface, roll out a disk of tart dough about 1/8-inch thick.  Work quickly to prevent the dough from becoming warm.  Cut out a circle 2 inches larger than your tart pan.  If the dough is still cool, lift the dough into the tart pan, gently pressing it into the sides and bottom of the pan.  If the dough is sticky and no longer cool, place the dough in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up before transferring it to the pan. Trim the top of the dough evenly with the top of the pan, then place the pastry shell in the freezer for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using a fork or the tip of a knife, poke many small holes in the bottom of the tart shell about 2 inches apart..  Bake the tart in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes for a partially baked shell, 12 to 15 minutes for a fully baked shell.  A partially baked shell should look dry and slightly opaque, and a fully baked shell should look golden brown.

A baked pastry shell will keep, well wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, and in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Lime Coconut Filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

4 large eggs

1 ¼ cups sugar

½ cup coconut milk

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

2 teaspoons lime zest

pinch salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until well incorporated.  While still whisking, slowly add in the coconut milk, then lime juice.  Whisk in the lime zest and pinch of salt.

Pour filling into partially baked tart shell, then bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the filling is set.  The top should be just beginning to brown, and the center of the filling should jiggle ever-so-slightly when the pan is bumped.

Place tart on a rack to cool completely, then, when cool, unmold and serve.  If desired, chill tart in refrigerator for several hours, or overnight, before serving.

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