basil Archives - Tartelette

My voice is raspy. My eyelids are heavy. My clothes are still in a pile by my bed. And I still have to find my slippers. Yet, my heart is full, my memories wonderful and my mind is a big mumble jumble of pressure drop, happiness and everything that is good and wonderful.

Clare and I held our first 3 day workshop together this passed weekend and I still have to process it all. To say we had a great time would not do it justice. We met one of the most wonderful group of women we had had the chance to instruct in everything food photography related. One word that I have used so far to describe the workshop and this weekend is "generosity". I will go back to that when I post more about the workshop in the next couple of days.

As I mentioned, I still have to process the emotions and thoughts of this weekend. All wonderful. All making me completely aware that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. What I have set out to do and giving it my all everyday. Food photography allowed me to become my own. It is my responsibility to nurture that path.

For Clare and myself, the workshop was both a way to nurture the attendees' interest and skills in food photography as it was a way to offer them the time and the place to unwind and focus for a few days. Something we don’t always have the opportunity to do in the midst of careers, families, children, etc… We wanted to take care of them. We made them work. We made them laugh. We fed and wined them.

One of the lunches we prepared consisted of several salads and quiches. One of them was a variation on the one I am posting here today, a Squash Blossom Quiche with Feta and Basil. Unusual and completely tasty. Squash blossoms are in season here right now and every where at the farmers market these past couple of weeks. I can’t get enough of them. Simply chopped and tossed in salads. Slightly grilled and sprinkled with sea salt. Filled and pan fried until crisp. It’s a love affair I hate to see end in a few weeks when they will disappear from the stalls.

Another love affair of mine lately is with radishes. Watermelon radishes, heirloom French radishes (Jaune D’or radishes), French breakfast radishes, early Scarlet, Sicilian reds, etc… Raw with a sprinkle of salt, roasted with a sprig of rosemary. Or simply dressed with a drizzle of pungent olive oil, celtic salt and freshly ground pepper. I bought many bunches to use during the workshop and they were the perfect peppery or spicy touch to the giant salads that accompanied all our dinners.

We are very lucky to have the folks at Lowland Farms grow as many interesting varieties of radishes, greens, kales, etc…with that much care and passion. A simple radish salad was the perfect buttery-peppery partner to the soft and delicate squash blossom quiche.

Time to unwind, get myself situated again and get ready for the busy weeks ahead. All by nurturing creativity and self with good food and good people…

Squash Blossom Quiche With Feta And Basil:

Serves 6 to 8 (I used a 9.5-inch round Le Creuset pie pan and had plenty for 8)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (or same amount of Jeanne’s gluten free flour mix)
generous pinch sea salt or kosher salt
1 stick (115gr) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/4 cup ice cold water, or enough to just hold together the pastry
1 egg wash – yolk, pinch salt, splash water, blended together

For the filling:

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

8 to 10 squash blossoms

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic blade, pulse together the flour and salt. Add the cold butter all at once. Pulse until the flour is the size of tiny peas. Drizzle the ice water through the mouth of the food processor, while pulsing. Stop just when the pastry begins to come together. Empty the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and form into a disk using your hands. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This can be done up to 2-3 days in advance. You can of course, do the whole thing by hand.

Once the pastry has rested, preheat the oven to 350F. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

In a food processor, pulse together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and basil leaves until the basil gives the filling a light green color. By hand, nutmeg and feta. Do not pulse but stir them in with a spoon. Pour at the bottom of the refrigerated pie crust and top with the squash blossoms in a circle all around the filling.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the quiche is golden brown. Let cool slightly before eating.

As I have said before, summers here are hot and muggy. Very. And usually hot, muggy and wet in the late afternoon when thunder rolls in and we get caught by quick rain showers. Except these past few days. Rain has been around pretty much from sunset ’til dawn.

And we love it. Our backyard loves it. Our pecan tree is digging it. Bailey is literally jumping in and out of the creek to catch rain drops. On the other hand, Tippy gives me this look of "Hey! Can you do something about this rain? Really cramping my style now" every time we go for a walk. I suspect though that he enjoys the towel drying time afterwards.

The sun will trick you into forgetting your umbrella. The heat will convince you that you don’t need to take your rain coat. We have gotten soaked more than once lately and we really just laugh it off. It actually feels good. Being neither hot or cold feels darn appropriate after our temperatures were steadily hovering between 100F-110F down here. Sunny with a side of rain? We’re in!

The only problem with this weather is what it does to our eating habits. Braising, stewing, roasting are very much kept to a minimum. We love to be reminded that seasons are here for a reason and to take full advantages of the changes and new rituals they bring about. Thus, we are grilling and enjoying cold or warm fares a lot. Our favorite lentil salad is now served cold. Cooked and cooled rice gets a boost from freshly chopped basil and some feta chunks.

When the weather turns to rain as it has these past few days, all we really want is to sit down in front of a warm bowl of soup. B’s favorite, tomato soup, quickly became mine too when I started making it from scratch with some basil and cream. As years went on I replaced the cream with eggplant which gave the same creamy results as well as a boost of nutrients and flavor.

This time, I picked up loads of local San Marzano tomatoes at the market, as well as some zebra eggplant, baby Vidalia and garlic, roasted them all together one evening and pureed them the next day into a soup. I served it at room temperature with some homegrown basil and a splash of tea seed oil (gift).

We have a wonderful pork purveyor at the market, Meathouse, operated by Jason and his wife Katie who always have freshly made Butifarra, Italian and andouille sausages, fresh cut applewood smoked bacon, and one of our favorites, freshly smoked and perfectly seasoned tasso ham. It is perfect with the creamy soup and you could substitute thick cut bacon if it’s easier. I think it took us every bit of restraint not to polish off the entire pot on our own.

Before I head out, congratulations to J M. Smith from Do It All for winning the Threadless tee-shirt and BlogAid Cookbook! Send me your mailing address at mytartelette [at] gmail [dot] com. Thank you!

Roasted Tomato and Vegetable Soup With Tasso Ham

Serves 4-6

2 pounds fresh tomatoes
2 small zebra eggplants or one medium regular eggplant
1 head of garlic, cut in half
4 small vidalia onions, cut in half
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2-4 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil
olive oil or tea seed oil, avocado, walnut or pumpkin (optional)
1/2 cup diced tasso ham or thick cut/slab bacon, cooked and drained

Preheat the oven to 450F.
Slice the tomatoes and eggplants and place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Place the garlic and onions on a separate baking sheet and drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil (if you have room left in the first pan, skip that step and add the garlic and onion to the tomatoes and eggplant). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place both baking sheets in the oven and roast the veggies until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool.
Peel the garlic off its skins and place with the rest of the vegetables, saving a few tomato slices for garnish, in a food processor. Add about 1 to 2 cups of water and puree until smooth. Add enough water to reach your preferred consistency. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with reserved tomato slices, drizzle of your favorite oil and some basil. Add some tasso ham as desired and serve.

basil

Squash Blossom Quiche With Feta & Basil

Roasted Tomato & Vegetable Soup With Tasso Ham