Father’s Day, 2019: Wandering around the garden, Dad and I discovered two ripe Sun Gold tomatoes, the first of the season. I suppose we should have brought them back to the house and cut them into six tiny wedges to share with Mom and Tom and the kids, but in the moment we didn’t hesitate to pop ‘em in our mouths. Is there anything as good as the first tomato from the garden?
In honor of cherry tomatoes making their way into our gardens, kitchens, and farmers’ markets, here’s a vegetarian recipe that, with a good bread, makes an excellent and filling dinner.
“Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
2 pints (1-1/2 lbs) cherry tomatoes
3 large garlic cloves
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for tomatoes
1/4 - 1/3 cup warm water
1 tsp - 1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste
1-3/4 cups broth (either vegetable or chicken)
2-1/4 cups pearl couscous
1/2 - 2/3 cup chopped Kalamata black olives
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup chopped mint
1 - 2 tsp chopped thyme
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
greens of your choice
Heat oven to 300. Halve tomatoes through stem ends and arrange, cut side up, in one layer on a baking sheet. Add garlic (peeled but whole) to one corner of the pan. Drizzle all with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast until tomatoes are shriveled around the edges, about an hour. Cool in pan for 15 or so minutes.
Bring broth to a boil and stir in couscous, then simmer uncovered for six minutes. Remove from heat and let stand ten minutes. Either let it cool in pan, or spread out on a cookie sheet to cool (it doesn’t stick as much this way).
When tomatoes are roasted, throw the garlic and 1/2 cup of the tomatoes in a blender. Add 1/4 cup olive oil (or more if you prefer more dressing), the water, the lemon juice (I tend to like the citrus on the heavy side), salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
In a large bowl, mix together the couscous, the tomatoes, the olives, the chopped herbs, and the dressing. You can eat at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate, but bring to room temp before eating. To assemble for a meal, serve about a cup of the mixture on top of freshly washed greens. Let your guests sprinkle on their own feta.”
Here’s a blueberry dessert that is totally satisfying and delicious - and EASY. I found this recipe in a 2012 issue of Saveur magazine, which I got from an older lady cleaning out her cooking magazines. It requires a large amount of blueberries, so either save yours up until you have a bunch, or budget for a trip to the farmers market. It’s worth it!
“Blueberry Slump (adapted from Saveur magazine, barely)
2 cups flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
4-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1-1/4 cups milk
1-1/2 lbs blueberries
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
vanilla ice cream, for serving
Whisk together flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter, or use your fingers to rub into the flour mixture until pea-sized crumbles form. Add milk, and stir until just moist. Cover and refrigerate dough until needed.
Heat oven to 400. Put blueberries in a large cast iron skillet. Add remaining sugar, salt, and citrus juices and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove pan from heat, and using two large spoons, portion and form chilled dough into 2-3” oval dumplings, dropping them evenly on top of the blueberry mixture (I make about six). Transfer skillet to oven (might want to put it on top of a cookie sheet or some foil, as it might boil over in the oven a bit). Bake about 25 minutes until biscuits are baked through. Serve with vanilla ice cream.”
Adam has been making a focaccia recipe from Samin Nosrat of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat fame. Click THIS LINK to see the video in which they demonstrate making it. Take it from me, it is the absolute BEST focaccia we have ever had. Adam likes it with oil and vinegar to dip; I like it just warm and plain. SO GOOD.
Happy Cooking!