friday food/2

this is the second friday food feature which i've just started on avant garde design. fridays i'll feature recipes/photos of things i'd like to make, things i've made & things that other people make.

the mouth~watering food blog what katie ate featured the fact that march, in australia, is/has been in the middle of a meat~free week. the point isn't to turn everyone into vegetarians either. it's all to support free range farms and end factory farming of animals.

since i am a vegetarian, among some of the meat~free dishes katie featured, i'd love to try this...a slow roasted tomato & goat's cheese pesto tart. i like all of those things, tomatoes, goat cheese, pesto and tarts. so...

(image via what katie ate)
here's how katie does it:

ingredients,

for the pesto,

2 large handfuls of fresh basil, leaves, stalks removed
1/4 pine nuts, lightly toasted (5-10 mins in a medium heat oven)
1/4 cup olive oil (note: do not use EVOO for this as flavour will be too strong)
100 g soft goat’s cheese
pinch chili flakes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

for the topping,

3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
extra parmesan cheese for serving
fresh oregano leaves
fresh basil leaves
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 sheet pre-rolled all butter puff pastry
1 egg yolk and a dash of milk mixed together to make egg wash.

the method,

1.preheat oven to 120˚C (250˚F) place all cherry tomatoes (and or any other varieties of tomatoes which you may like to include, halved or quartered) onto a baking tray, cut side up and slow roast for 2 hours. to make the pesto:

2.meanwhile into the jug of a blender or food processor add the two handful’s worth of fresh basil leaves, the lightly toasted pine nuts, grated 1/4 parmesan cheese, goat’s cheese, balsamic vinegar, chili flakes and 1/4 cup olive oil and whizz to form a thick, smooth pesto paste, season to taste with salt and black pepper and set aside. using a standard dinner plate, cut a circle out from the sheet of pre-rolled pastry, then using a smaller plate (1/2”/1.5cm smaller than original) centre it evenly on top of the pastry circle and gently press down to form a grooved smaller circle border within the larger pastry circle.

prick inside the border – aka the middle of the pastry shape with a fork a good few times and brush the exterior pastry border with egg wash. spread the pre-made pesto paste thinly within the inner circle – avoiding getting any on the border then place the roasted tomatoes in the centre. season with a pinch of sea salt and a generous sprinkling of black pepper and roast in the oven at 180˚C (350˚F) until the pastry is cooked on the bottom and golden brown around the edges. Serve warm with shavings of fresh parmesan and a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar.

oh yeah...and eat ;) enjoy this friday food/2 recipe!

david lebovitz. living the sweet life in paris.

so...this is not really a design post but hey it kind of is. i'm not sure how many of you are familiar with david lebovitz or his daily chocolate archives, but you should be. with a who's who of culinary backgrounds and talents, david has appeared on television, had the spotlight on him in numerous magazines such as bon apetit, conde naste traveler, gourmet and the list keeps going. so why am i posting about his site? just for fun really!

david keeps a daily chocolate archive of his travels, his time living in paris, we eat vicariously through him as he tastes, creates and reviews delicious delicacies. check out his site which reads more like a blog, it's constantly updated with funny stories, unusual recipes, links, facts and tours. HINT: read his faq link, soooo funny. ALSO this link if you really want to laugh...he also has a great amazon book link to interesting and beautiful books authored by him and others he admires. so, like i said, just for fun. i finished mid-terms last night and have a week off from classes, so i needed a funday! enjoy :)