Sautéed Onions and Roasted Beet Tart

Whenever I have extra onions in my pantry, this simple and delicious recipe makes a no-brainer tasty appetizer or snack. Typically, when I host a dinner party, I offer some variation of an onion tart or flatbread, which is always a big hit with guests.

You can make this tart with just onions and cheese, or add roasted vegetables of your choice (also see my earlier post "Free-form Butternut Squash and Sautéed Onion Tart").

This time I had extra beets, and thought, why not?

Ingredients:

1 medium red onion

1 medium yellow or sweet onion

Extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a medium sized pan, and to coat the beets)

1 red beet, cubed into 1/4 inch cubes

About 8 oz. of goat cheese or another cheese of choice (for example, sweet gorgonzola, blue cheese, fontina, fresh mozzarella, alone or in combination)- sliced into 1 inch pieces

A handful of micro-greens, or sweet pea shoots

Salt and pepper to taste

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (I used Trader Joe’s).

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Coat the cubed beets with olive oil and bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, for about 15-20 minutes, turning once. Be careful not to burn. Sprinkle with salt.

In the meantime, prepare the onions. Cut off the top of each onion and place cut-side down on a cutting board. Cut the onion lengthwise (vertically) in half, and remove the peel and outer layer.

Place the flat half back on the cutting board, and again lengthwise, slice  each half into relatively thin slices (about ⅛ inch thick).

Heat the olive oil in a medium size frying pan, add the sliced onions, and saute’ until translucent, for about 15 minutes, covered about ⅔ of the cooking time, stirring occasionally. To prevent the onions from burning, you may add about 1/4 cup of water about halfway through, and allowing it to evaporate. Once cooked, add salt and pepper to taste.

Gently unfold the thawed pastry, and if you see any tears or holes, use your fingers—and a little water if necessary—to gently squeeze the pastry back together.  If the dough appears to stick together, put it back in the refrigerator to cool, before attempting to roll it out again.

Lay the unfolded pastry square on a floured surface, and rub some flour on a rolling pin, which you will use to roll out the square to the desired thinness (but not too thin).  Roll the dough out with gentle outward motions.   Run a ravioli wheel or a knife along each side to create more even lines. The left over pastry dough can be molded together and flattened again, and shapes can be carved out to top the tart during baking.  

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and carefully lay the thinned pastry dough on it, and with a fork prick the surface of the dough (like you would a regular pie crust).

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and spoon the sautéed onions (after draining off any of sautéing liquid) evenly over the lightly baked pastry. Top with the roasted beet cubes and cheese, and any pastry shapes made from the left-over pastry.

Bake at 350-375F until golden brown (about 20minutes).Slightly cool, sparsely add the micro-greens, slice and serve.

May be refrigerated for up to 3 days,  and reheated. 

For a vegan option, use vegan puff pastry and omit the cheese, or use a vegan cheese of your choice.

Rustic Artichoke and Stracchino Cheese Tart

While visiting my parents' vineyard, I was put in charge of a couple of dishes in occasion of the family gathering, using the produce that we had in our pantry. 

My mom informed me that we had artichokes, so I decided to make a rustic tart, which would be simple to make, easy to serve, and delicious to enjoy.

However, these are the artichokes that were presented to me, which, even if visually pleasing, 
they  resemble those we find in the US, which are normally roasted and served with most of the leaves removed, as they are tough and fibrous. 

But I had to make due, and still proceeded with my plans, so even though I utilized mostly the hearts, the tart was delicious, and a big hit with the crowd.

Ingredients:

4-6 medium artichokes or 8 baby artichokes

1 onion

1/2  glass of dry white wine

1/2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 

1 cup of non-MSG vegetable stock  or water

Olive oil-enough to coat the bottom of a pan

Salt and pepper to taste

Stracchino cheese. If unable to find stracchino, you can substitute with good quality mascarpone cheese, although it is a bit heavier. Alternatively, one can use some kind of melting cheese like Fontina.

Homemade or store bought puff pastry (1 roll)

To clean the artichokes, I cut most of the stem off, leaving about an inch, and trimmed off the green part. I removed most of the leaves by pulling them off,  since they were too tough. However, if using baby artichokes, which are more tender, one can keep many of the leaves on, and then slice off the thorny ends.

After slicing off the ends of the remaining leaves, I quartered the artichokes, and with a knife removed fuzzy hair coating the hearts. Then I sliced the quarters into halves or thirds, and placed them in water containing freshly squeezed lemon juice, which prevents oxidation. Keep the artichokes in the lemony water until ready to use, then strain.

Slice the onion and saute'e in olive oil until translucent. Add the strained artichoke pieces, turn up the heat, toss in the pan for a minute or so, then add the wine and allow to evaporate. 

Once the wine has evaporated fully, add  1/2 the water or broth, and cook down for a few more minutes, tossing occasionally. Add the balsamic vinegar and deglaze,  cooking the artichokes until they are slightly browned on each side. If necessary, add more water and cook down again and drizzle a bit more of balsamic and deglaze again. Maintain a relatively medium to high heat the whole time, as we want the artichokes to maintain their firm texture, and not "poach". Salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange the artichoke saute' on top of the rolled out pastry and top with stracchino  or other cheese, and bake in the preheated oven at 350F for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Slice and serve.

Can also be served at room temperature.

Methi (Fenugreek) Leaves Crostini

It all started with a trip to the Indian grocery store, where I typically buy okra and curry leaves. I was intrigued by the mehti and decided to try to prepare something slightly different from the South Indian version. So I came up with this tasty and wholesome appetizer that is a fusion of Indian and Mediterranean (Indo-terranian) cuisines. 

Ingredients:

Mehti- 1 bunch
1 red onion, chopped
3 garlic gloves (finely chopped)
1 inch piece of ginger (finely chopped)
Urad dahl (1/2 tablespoon)
black mustard seeds (1 tsp)
fenugreek seeds (ground in mortar and pestle)-1/2 tablespoon
cumin seeds (1/2 tablespoon)
mustard leaves (5)
in pinch of sugar
grape tomatoes (about 10, chopped)
garam masala powder (approximately 1 tsp)
the tip of 1 green chili, or red chili to taste (depending on the desired heat level)-optional
2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt (optional)
oil for sauteing (enough to cover the bottom of a pan)-I use olive oil
and a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil to top the crostini
salt and pepper to taste
sliced artisan bread (preferably multi-grain), toasted or grilled 

Directions:

Separate the methi leaves from the stalk by pulling them away from the stalk with your fingers. Wash the leaves thoroughly and chop them on a cutting board
Heat the oil in  a pan then add mustard seeds, urad dahl, ground fenugreek powder, garam masala powder, and cumin seeds. 
Allow the mixture  to splutter (be careful not to burn it),  and then add green (or red) chili, if some heat is desired, the curry leaves, and onions and saute' until translucent. 
Add the chopped ginger and garlic, and saute' for an additional minute.
Then add the chopped methi leaves, 1 pinch of sugar,  and cook down for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add salt
Pour in a food processor and pulse a few times.
If desired, mix in the yogurt and pulse a few more times until incorporated.
Spoon the mehti mixture on lightly toasted bread slices. To serve warm, bake in the oven for a couple of minutes at 350F. 
Remove from the oven, add freshly ground black pepper, and drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil.

Serve and enjoy.
    

Seared rib-eye with Vietnamese style reduction and glazed snow-peas

I made this dish on a whim and it turned out delicious.

I had a piece of rib-eye steak in the refrigerator and decided to do something fun with it.

In a small saucer, I made a reduction with sauteed red onions (in grapeseed oil, but you can use vegetable or canola), low sodium soy sauce, Mirin, rice vinegar, fish sauce   a pinch of brown sugar and a small star anise. I did not measure the doses, but I was careful not to use too much of the vinegar and fish sauce. I cooked the mixture down until thick and set aside.

I seasoned each end with Chinese five spice, Himalayan sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
I seared both sides and then sliced on a cutting board, plated with the soy reduction on top, and served with miso and ginger glazed snow-peas, baby green dollops, and onion rosettes.


And voila', flavorful fun on plate.