Sweet Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart

Here’s a savory tart that matches the colors of a beautiful Fall day.  Like this one.  The sun is shining in through my window this morning and I love the feel of the heat on my face, even though I know it’s close to freezing outside.

This is my favorite season, and I plan to relish it, outside whenever possible, until every last leaf is gone and snow covers everything.  But you gotta eat.  And if you plan to get out into the great wild wonder that surrounds us, you’ll need some serious sustenance.  This tart really delivers in flavor and nutritional value, with a crispy crust that shatters slightly underneath the tines of your fork, and the creamy goat cheese melting into the pepper combined with the mouthwatering flavors from the herbs.

Try this making this with oat milk, even if you aren’t lactose intolerant.   The oat milk works so well here, adding to the creaminess and creating a lightness in the custard that holds the whole tart together.

It will leave you smiling for hours afterward.  Especially if for some reason there are leftovers and you can have another slice later.

Sweet Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart

Sweet Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart

Heat oven to  200°C/425°F

1.  Make the crust

1 cup / 2.5 dl oatmeal
1/3 cup / 1 dl flour; preferably whole grain (I like barley flour in this; gluten-free flour also works well)
1 large carrot, grated
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and stir to thoroughly combine.  Make sure the carrot strands are mostly separated and covered in flour.  Pour the olive oil over and stir well to combine. Press the crust into the bottom of a tart pan and up the sides.  Bake for 10 minutes until crust is golden brown.

2.  While the crust bakes, make the filling

2 tablespoons rapeseed or other cooking oil
3 sweet peppers (I like to use one each of orange, yellow and red)
1 small onion, diced
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or 1/2 teaspoon each rosemary, oregano and thyme)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 – 200g log of goat cheese, sliced, each sliced halved, and each halved cut into thirds
3 eggs
1.5 cups / 4 dl of oat milk or cow’s milk

Place a heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat and pour in the oil.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until they are tender and translucent.  Add the peppers and cook until the begin to soften a bit; 5-6 minutes.  Add the salt, herbs and pepper, stir to combine, and remove from heat.

Beat the eggs in the bowl you use for the crust, add the milk, and beat again to combine thoroughly.

3.  Assembly

Remove the crust from the oven and turn the temperature down to 190°C/375°F.  Spread the goat cheese across the crust in a single layer, then spread the pepper-onion mixture over the top.  Pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables and cheese.  Place the tart into the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the tart is set.  Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Serve with a side salad.

Serves 4-6.

Nearly ready to bake

Pear, Purple Cauliflower, Walnut & Savoy Cabbage Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

As I look out my kitchen window this morning as I sit writing this blog and enjoying the lingering scent of sourdough pancakes and the energy in my legs after my morning run, I’m forced to accept the fact that Winter is coming.  It’s snowing out there.

Sure, the flakes are light and few and scattered; they won’t stick.  And the trees I see both near my apartment and across the sea are still full of their glorious Fall colors:  mostly yellows, some oranges, and a smattering of red among the steady green of the pine and fir trees.  But the ground is now covered with leaves carrying those same bright colors, meaning that the beauty is fleeting and this colorful season is slowly decaying under the steady onset of the much colder one.

There is never a year when I embrace Winter.  It’s gotten easier for me as I’ve come to mostly understand what is waiting around the corner as the darkness descends and the temperatures drop, but I never really love it.  It’s not the darkness that bothers me; it’s the cold.  The seemingly endless days of subzero temperatures sometimes combined with howling winds make me want to duck my head down, head back indoors, and snuggle in under a warm down blanket until the whole thing blows over.

But when you live in a place where long, cold, dark winters are inevitable, hunkering down for the duration of it is not really an option.  So I am learning to take a deep breath, make some satisfying food, connect with friends, buy a warmer hat, coat, gloves, boots.  Learn to cross country ski!   Ah…but thankfully, not yet.  It’s just a little snow, and it won’t stick.  There are still at least a few days ahead for hikes and runs through the woods, leaves crunching underfoot, and mushrooms to be found.  There are still days where the wind blowing through my hair doesn’t have a bitter freezing chill.  And then there are the dense, satisfying foods of late Fall and Winter that pull us through.

When I bought a giant head of Savoy Cabbage from the Slow Food Farmer’s Market in Fiskars, I had  no idea how much mileage I was going to get out of it.  Cabbage has a long shelf life if refrigerated properly, so mine is as crisp and sweet now as it was the day I bought it.  As I get closer and closer to the center of the cabbage, the color of the leaves gets lighter and (maybe I’m imagining this) even sweeter.

So after putting cabbage into a fall salad with apple, and into a casserole with curry and chicken, I am still left with a sizable piece.  The first salad was so delicious that I decided to make another one, using the theme of winter produce, but pairing it with a  sweet-tangy raspberry vinaigrette, and rounding it out with toasted walnuts.

This is a simple to make and a delight to eat – crunchy, flavorful, and satisfying.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Pear, Purple Cauliflower, Walnut & Savoy Cabbage Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Pear, Purple Cauliflower, Walnut & Savoy Cabbage Salad 
            with Raspberry Vinaigrette

1.  Make the Raspberry Vinaigrette

In a small glass jar with a lid, combine and shake well:
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
4 tablespoons quality extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or you could use liquid honey instead)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Set the mixture aside to allow the ingredients to meld while you make the salad.

2.  Assemble the salad

In a bowl combine:
1.5 cups of thinly sliced Savoy Cabbage
1 cup purple cauliflower (or you could use green or white cauliflower too)
1 large pear, peeled, cored and diced; reserve a few slices for garnish
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted; reserve a tablespoon for garnish*

Pour the Raspberry Vinaigrette over the salad and toss with clean hands to combine thoroughly.  Top with a few slices of pear and a sprinkling of walnuts.

Serves 4 as a side salad or 2 as a main course.

*I find the easiest way to toast walnuts is in a heavy-bottomed frying pan, preferably cast-iron.  Heat the pan over medium high heat.  Chop or crush the walnuts and pour them into the hot pan.  Shake the pan or stir the walnuts frequently so they don’t burn, and toast them until they are lightly browned an fragrant.  Pour them out of the pan and onto a plate, and proceed with the recipe above.

Chicken Coconut Curry Casserole with Savoy Cabbage and Carrots

Fresh from the oven

After the previous (long) discussion on the virtues of and reasons for making your own coconut milk, I wanted to also give you the recipe for which I needed the lovely coconut milk in the first place.

This is the perfect recipe to enjoy after a day spent outside when you are feeling really hungry, or to eat on a day when you need some nice, warm comfort food.  I created a twist on coconut curry by cooking the coconut milk into a curry béchamel, and combined it with the beautiful busiata sicilian pasta I’d picked up in Sicily over the summer.  If you can find busiata, I’ve listed other pastas that will stand in well – basically anything that can stand its own among thick vegetables and sauce.

Ready to assemble

I also threw in Savoy cabbage and carrots, because they are in season right now and taste really amazing in this dish.  You get a little bite of carrot; the cabbage goes nice and soft, the chicken and pasta add a nice bite and the creamy, spicy coconut curry hums in and around pulling the whole thing together nicely.

Enjoy!

Chicken Coconut Curry Casserole with Savoy Cabbage & Carrots

Preheat oven to 375°F/ 190°C

1. Gather your ingredients:

250 g pasta (busiata siciliana, fusilli, farfalle or casarecce – something with twists and turns and heft but no tubes – you want the rest of the ingredients to stick to and around it)
2 cups cooked chicken (see step 2)
3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 cups coconut milk (500 ml can, or make your own)
1 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon of salt
1.5 cups of pasta water
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons mild curry powder
2 tablespoons of cooking oil (I used rapeseed)
1 onion, minced
3 cups shredded Savoy cabbage
4 carrots, peeled and cut into thin rounds
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup coconut flakes

2.  Cook the pasta:

Bring water to a boil.  Add two teaspoons of salt.  Pour in the pasta and boil for two minutes fewer than the package suggests.  Remove from heat.  Reserve 1.5 cups / 3 dl of the pasta water.

3.  Prepare the chicken:

You will need 2 cups of cooked chicken for this recipe.  You can either cut up a previously cooked chicken into a dice, or cook 2 raw chicken breasts.  To do this, dice the chicken breasts into 1/2″ / 1.25 cm chunks.  Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan, place the chicken into the pan, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt, and cook and stir until done.  Pour the chicken onto a plate to cool slightly.

4.  Make the coconut curry béchamel

In a heavy stockpot over medium-heat, melt the butter or coconut oil.  Once fully melted and simmering, add the flour and whisk until completely combined.  Pour in 1/2 cup of coconut milk and whisk vigorously to combine.  Pour in another 1/2 cup and whisk vigorously again until smooth.  Pour in the remaining cup of coconut milk and the pasta water and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the garlic and curry until fully combined. Set aside.

5.  Cook the vegetables

Pour the oil nto a heavy frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until the onion is tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the cabbage and carrot and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt and the black pepper over the vegetables.  Stir; then cover the pan with a lid and allow the mixture to cook for 5 minutes.  Remove the lid and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender.

6.  Assembly

Spread 1 cup of the béchamel over the bottom of a large baking dish.  Sprinkle half of the pasta over the béchamel.  Spread half of the vegetable mixture over the pasta, followed by the chicken.  Repeat by pouring béchamel, pasta, vegetables, chicken.  Pour the remaining béchamel evenly over the entire dish.  Sprinkle with coconut flakes.  Place into the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow the casserole to rest for 10 minutes.  Serve hot

Serves 6.