Tomato Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing

Tomato Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing.

I stumbled across Brinksby on Instagram and immediately knew I had to make his Tomato Salad — it looked too good to scroll past. And I have to say, it was even better than it looked. Amazing, fresh, and absolutely delicious.

Basil, tomatoes, and cheese — what's not to love?

I didn't have any Greek yogurt on hand, so I used crème fraîche 18%, which worked beautifully. Sour cream works just as well if that's what you have in the fridge.

One thing I learned the hard way: don't skip the burrata. I tried leaving it out once and ended up with a very soupy dressing instead of the thick, creamy one the recipe calls for. The burrata is what makes it work.

You can swap the burrata for stracciatella if you prefer, they are two sides of the same coin. Burrata is a ball of fresh mozzarella with a solid outer shell, filled with a rich, soft mixture of torn mozzarella and heavy cream, that creamy filling is actually what stracciatella is on its own.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 heirloom tomatoes. sliced

• ½ burrata

• 1 handfull fresh (or defrosted) peas

• ¼ red onion, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons capers

• olive oil

• a good balsamic vinegar

• salt

• pepper

Dressing:

• ½ Burrata

• 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt, or creme fraiche

• 1 large handfull basil (genovese)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• juice of ¼ lemon

• 1 small garlic clove

• salt to taste

Direction:

Dressing:

Add all the dressing ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend on high for about 1 minute until completely smooth.

Spread the dressing generously across a serving plate. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on top, Tear the remaining burrata into pieces and place on top. Then scatter over the peas, red onion, and capers.

Season generously with salt and black pepper, drizzle with olive oil and a good splash of balsamic vinegar, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Tomato Risotto

Tomato Risotto

Risotto has been a thing I have been reluctant to cook. I have always been convinced that it was a difficult dish to master. But after I have been cooking risotto a few times, I can't see what I was afraid of.  Somehow I might have been cooking risotto for many years. Well, not risotto, risotto. But the classic Danish dish Risengrød, is arborio rice cooked in milk, a sweet milky risotto sprinkled with cinnamon. And I have had Risengrød numerous times through my childhood.

This risotto embodies some of my favorite ingredients, tomatoes, wine, parmesan and basil, And of cause is was delisious. 

Inspired by Martha Shulmans Tomato Basil Risotto.

Serves 2-3 (4-6 as an appetizer)

Ingredients:

• 700 ml chicken stock, or vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 225 g tomato, grated (2 large tomatoes)
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only
• 130 g arborio rice
• 100 ml white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
• 2 tomatoes, without seeds, and diced
• ¾ dl (about ¼ cup) fresh grated parmesan
• 5 basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions:

Grate the parmesan, set aside

Grate the tomatoes. Cut the tomato in half at the equator. Grate on the coarse side of a box grater, with the cut side of the tomato up against the grater. Watch your hands. Set aside.

Slice the basil, set aside. 

Dice onion, and mince the garlic.

Heat the stock, and keep it warm.

Heat olive oil in a wide sauté pan, sauté the onions until translucent. Add rice and garlic, cook while stirring, until all the rice are coated and they start to crackle. Add grated tomato and thyme, and cook until the rice has absorbed most of the tomato liquid. 

Pour in the wine, and let it simmer until the wine is absorbed. 

Start adding a small ladleful of hot stock at a time, letting the rice absorb the liquid before adding more. You want the risotto to cook for a low simmer, stirring constantly. Cook the risotto for about 25 minutes, until the rice are al dente, and they have a little bite, without being crunchy.

Add the diced tomatoes, basil and parmesan, making the risotto nice and creamy. Season the risotto with salt, to taste. Serve Immediately.

Enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato Tart

Heirloom Tomato Tart

I have always had a love love relationship with tomatoes. Tomatoes are one of my favorite healthy snacks. The sweetness and tanginess pairs perfect with most foods. Here late summer the colorful heirloom tomatoes are everywhere, and they are begging us to join them at our dinner table.

I mixed different colors and sizes for my Heirloom tomato tart, and I wished I had taken a photo before I baked it. The tart was so pretty with all the vibrant colors.

Makes 1 large tart.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 150 g all-purpose flour

• 30 g whole wheat flour

• 30 g dark rye flour

• 160 g butter, cold, salted and in small cubes

• 1 egg

• 2-3 tablespoons cold water

• ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leave

Filling:

• 3 eggs

• ⅓ cup (80 ml) cream or milk

• 5-8 scallions, sliced

• ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 3-7 heirloom tomatoes, depending on size

• 4 oz (113 g) goat cheese, crumbled

• fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200 ℃).

Dough:

Mix the flours and thyme with the butter until the mixture has a crumbly wet sand-like texture. Add the eggs and 2 tablespoons cold water, and mix the dough until it just comes together. If the dough wont come together easily, add the additional tablespoon of ice water. 

Roll the dough out, or press the dough into the tart pan, all the way up the sides. I used a 10-inch pan. Place pan with dough in the refrigerator until ready for filling.

Filling:

Whisk eggs, cream, scallions, thyme and salt together and set aside.

Slice the tomatoes, and crumble the cheese. Pour the egg mixture in the tart, place the tomatoes on top, and sprinkle the cheese and fresh ground pepper on top. 

Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and baked through.

Serve the tart with a mixed salad. The tart is also good at room temperature.

Enjoy!