Tomato salad

There were tomato days in the supermarket the other day. Meaning, they offered more than one kind, and other colours than red. OMG, they do really exist! Yellow, orange and green tomatoes – totally crazy…! Well, not really, but around here, that stuff don´t come around to often. Tomatoes is a neglected buisness in Scandinavia, but it´s slowly improving. But of course, the climate does set certain limits… The season is short, and imported tomatoes are picked before they are ripe, and end up here, tasteless and boring. I know I´ve made my tomato complains before in this previous post, BUT, like I said, tomato days! Many kinds! I had to buy a bag of course. Didn´t know what to do with them initally, but I quickly found out. Tomato heirloom salad is obviously a hit at tastespotting at the moment! And the pictures of that salad really looked good. Really good. And I don´t really know what a heirloom salad is (or what heirloom means for that matter), but I knew what I needed to know: I was gonna make a heirloomish tomato salad. Or at least a tomato salad. Since I was planning this for supper, I needed some more ingredients besides tomatoes. Red onion. I think that´s allowed. Heirloom wise. And basil, of course. And some kind of lettuce. Hmmm, what else could I put into this… Google time! And then I found a recipe for heirloom salad at one of my favourite blogs 101.cookbooks, where Heidi roasted half of the tomatoes. And since I´ve tried her recipe for oven roasted tomatoes before in this delcious pasta dish, I knew this would be good. So off I went to get some rather dull, bigger tomatoes to go into the oven. The other ones, were cherry tomatoes in different colours and shapes, so I wasn´t going to do anything to those pretty little things! And what can I say. It was good. It was very good. And simple. And so perfect for today, which was a very summerly day in september. I spent the afternoon walking around the lakes, meeting up for a friend for some ice cream in the sun, talking, laughing and returning home for a light dinner. A heirloomy tomato salad-dinner with home made sour dough bread. Perfect end to a perfect day.

Heirloom Tomato Salad a la Malin – for 1
400 g tomatoes

A handful of torn lettuce leaves

1/2 Red onion

Olive oil

1 teaspoon of sugar

Sea salt and fresh pepper

Optional: Cheese of choice, like mozzarella or ricotta for instance. I guess feta would work too.

(Ok, I realize this is hardly a recipe, and instructions are hardly needed, but here we go!)

First, turn the oven to 180 C (375 F)

Cut half of the tomatoes, and toss them with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and sugar.Toss the tomatoes you will be roasting gently (but well) in a bowl along with the olive oil, sugar, and salt. Arrange them in a single layer, cut side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, without stirring, until the tomatoes shrink a bit and start to caramelize around the edges, 45 to 60 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Tear up the lettuce, cut the rest of the tomatoes and the onion, and toss everything together. Mix in the roasted tomatoes, eventually the chunks of cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper after taste. Serve with good bread and butter.

No knead bread – in a pot!

Making bread has never been easier! Or better! (Because when is easy not better, really?) Bread is not what it used to be. It´s still delicious, warm from the oven with butter melting into it, and a nice crust that holds it together. That hasn´t changed. What has changed, is the making of the bread. If I only knew what I know now… That all that kneading – is not really necessary! I was taught that when making bread, the most important thing is to knead the dough, for a loooong time. And several times. If you didn´t do that, the bread wouldn´t rise, it´d turn into a compact brick-like-bread-wannebe, and without the light fluffy texture you want from a good bread. So, that was the rule! Knead like crazy!

Still, I must admit, I didn´t always have the patience (or muscle strength for that matter…) to do that. I kneaded for some time, but never as long as the recipe demanded. Maybe I could have if I had, like, a pink or turquoise Kitchen Aid…? (Ahem….someone´s birthday is coming up soon…) And do I need that now that I don´t knead anymore! I do… It has other qualities! Besides, it´s pretty! Anyways, back to the bread. I know the no-knead-thing is kind of yesterday´s news around blogland, or any land, I guess. Even this particular kind is to be found on various blogs and sites around the internet, but to me, it was new! This is my first attempt at baking bread in anything else but a bread-pan. You see. The thing is. You bake the bread in a pot! Yup – that´s right! And doing that you get a crackly crust and a moist and fluffy inside – aka – yummy bread!

The simple method involves mixing all of the ingredients, letting the dough rise for a rather flexible stretch of time (8-20 hours-ish), and baking it at a really high heat after some minimal shaping and some extra rising time in a preheated dutch oven. The steam trapped by the pot’s lid contributes to a crispy, chewy crust, while an extremely hot pot assures a high and fast rising.

And the result: A perfectly symmetric round, beautiful tasty bread!
Looks good, and tastes good. And it´s dead easy! (And no kneading involved!)

No knead bread (1 bread)

250 g wheat flour
175 g spelt flour
3,5 dl water
0,5 ts dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt

1: Mix everything together in a big bowl, using a wooden spoon. There´s no need to get your stand mixer out, but if you want to, go ahead using the paddle attachment. When everything´s throughly mixed, and there are no lumps, cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours in room temperature.

2: Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Transfer to a bowl, and let it nap for 2 hours. When you’ve got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 200C/ 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. (Mine didn´t though…but it did increase!) Remove pot from oven. Carefully transfer the dough into the hot pot, making sure not to puncture it too much. It doesn’t matter which way it lands, though. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover – aka remove the lid – and bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden. Remove and let cool on wired rack.

4: Enjoy! (Like most breads, it´s best eaten within a couple of days.)

Red pesto pasta with slow-roasted tomatoes

Wow. Why haven´t I made oven-roasted tomatoes before? That´s the question. Holy tomato, that stuff is good! And what a perfect way to turn dull tomatoes into deliciousness. And dull tomatoes are, unfortunately, the rule rather than the exception around here. Of course you can get your hands on some tomatoes that taste at least of something, but they are a little pricey, as most good things are. Actually, I don´t mind paying for quality, when it comes to food (that´s where I really don´t compromise – life´s just too short not to enjoy good food!) but it´s nice to know there´s an opportunity to make something tasty of the cheap stuff too! Especially for a poor student like myself.

I bought some tomatoes last week – more than I could possibly consume before they would start turning into raisin-like creatures. But I feared not! Because I had great intentions for these babies! Fresh or not – it didn´t matter, because they were going to be roasted – shrunken in size but maximized in flavour! (I didn´t know that at the time, but so I´ve had heard. And that´s pretty much the thing with everything: time equals flavour! I mean, just think of cheeses, wine, parma ham, sourdough….it´s the umami that developes. Umami is the fifth flavour, described as a rich savory meat-bouillon-like taste. Umami exists naturally in tomatoes, but roasting the tomatoes intensifies the flavour to the maximum!) And that´s the magic here! Turning tasteless tomatoes into taste-explotion! Allright, let´s get down to buisness:

Like I said, these tomatoes were bought not only with a particular purpose in mind, but with a particular recipe in mind, too. I had read about oven-roasted tomatoes at the Norwegian blog veganmisjonen.com, and the pictures left me drooling and craving wanting to try this! And I don´t know if I searched for a recipe, or if it just appeared, either way, it was perfect! I found it at one of my favourite blogs 101.cookbooks, and like most of Heidis recipes, this sounded and looked delicious. In her recipe she makes her own pesto, which probably is better, but I had a jar I had to finish. And I don´t have a blender. And this wasn´t about pesto. This was about roasting tomatoes. One thing at a time.

Pasta with red pesto and slow-roasted tomatoes (recipe adapted from 101.cookbooks.com)
Serves 1

80 g whole grain pasta
Red pesto
5-6 sundried tomatoes
12-15 cherry tomatoes
A few slices of red onion
1 teaspoon sugar
A handful spinach
5-6 walnuts
Feta cheese
3 tbs Xtra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Cut the tomatoes in half, and arrange them in an oven-proof pan, hollow side up. Sprinkle with sugar. Roast for 1,5 hours on 160 C (320 F) – starting with a cold oven! (Turn on the oven as you put them in!)
When the tomatoes have shrunken, splash over a decent amount of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn up the oven to 225 C/440 F, and roast them for another 5-10 minutes, until they have a slightly grilled look. But keep an eye on them, you don´t want them to be burned after waiting patiently for them for all this time!)

(Eventually – if you´re in a hurry – you can do the speedy version and bake them for 40 minutes on 200 C/400 F)

Coarsely chop the walnuts, and give them a roast on the pan. (Or in the oven I guess! It´s already turned on) Cut some fine slices of red onion, and some bigger slices of sun-dried tomatoes.
Cook the pasta – al dente, of course, and mix with red pesto, onion and sun-dried tomatoes.

Arrange the spinach on a platter, and toss over the pasta. Pour over the oven roasted tomatoes – making sure you get all the juices where all the flavour lies, and sprinkle with walnuts and crumbled feta.
Enjoy! Trust me – you will!