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Cooking
chloebud

Hasselback Plum Tomato Caprese

19 days ago

I saw this on Instagram and thought it was a fun twist instead of a platter or skewers. That is, IF you have some really good tomatoes. Any other ideas you’re using or plan to with good tomatoes right now? Tis the season!🍅


Start with Plum Roma Tomatoes. Get chopsticks or wooden skewers and put them on either side of the tomato. These will add as a guide to prevent you from cutting all the way through the tomatoes. Make several slices down the tomato but do not cut all the way through. Fill each slice with a piece of fresh basil and a piece of fresh mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper and finish with a drizzle of olive oil or Basil pesto. I always like to serve these with a balsamic glaze and let people dress their own with it.

Featured Answer
  • 18 days ago
    last modified: 18 days ago

    I'm sorry if I seem quarrelsome--I just find your recipes interesting. So here's a totally different tomato and cheese recipe I like, to return the favor, for those who feel like cooking.


    https://leitesculinaria.com/101609/recipes-cherry-tomato-tart.html


    Cherry Tomato Tart Leite's Culinaria — Not Quite There See Notes

    leitesculinaria.com

    MAKES: 6 servings
    PREP TIME: 25 mins
    COOK TIME: 1 hr

    This cherry tomato tart calls for a homemade herbed crust, heavy cream, goat cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and tons of tomatoes.


    INGREDIENTS

    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, minced
    1 tablespoon thyme leaves
    3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
    12 tablespoons (6 oz) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
    4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
    3/4 pound (about 35) cherry tomatoes (or more...)
    olive oil
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    2 large eggs
    1 1/4 cups heavy cream
    Handful basil leaves, thinly sliced, plus a few small ones for the garnish
    1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
    3 ounces soft and creamy goat cheese (nb: mild)
    Equipment
    11 -inch tart with removable bottom


    DIRECTIONS

    1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the flour, rosemary, thyme, and salt until blended. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with noticeable chunks of butter no bigger than small peas, somewhere around 13 to 15 one-second pulses.

    2. Dump the tart crust mixture into a large bowl and drizzle with 4 tablespoons ice water. Using a fork, gently mix just until the mixture forms a “shaggy” dough. Squeeze some of the dough in your hand. If it doesn’t hold together, add enough of the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough does hold together when gently squeezed. Form the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

    3. While the dough is in the fridge, position the oven racks in the middle and lower thirds of the oven. Crank the oven to 400°F (200°C).

    4. Toss the tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and season with salt and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in a single layer and roast on the lower rack until they’re split, wrinkled, and releasing some of their liquid, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of your tomatoes. Let cool on the baking sheet.

    5. While the tomatoes are roasting and cooling, roll out the dough into a 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Ease it into an 11-inch tart pan, fitting it snugly against the sides and bottom, and trim the excess. Prick the bottom with a fork and cover with parchment or foil. Fill the tart with or beans. (If the tomatoes aren’t done, slip the shell into the fridge.) Bake the tart crust for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment and bake until pale golden, 5 to 10 minutes more. Let cool slightly.

    6. Whisk the eggs, cream, sliced basil, half the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a pinch each salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour the filling into the baked tart crust and distribute the tomatoes equally in the tart crust. Pinch off bits of goat cheese and place them between the tomatoes. Sprinkle the filling with the remaining cheese. Bake on the middle rack until set and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool until warm. When ready to slice and serve, dot with the teensiest basil leaves you have.


    NOTES

    Better with more crust. Better with more tomatos—no bites without. Very thin custard leaks. Use pan under. My goat cheese too strong. Romano good sub for parm.

    Comments (17)

    • 19 days ago

      I just made a crock pot soup with 8 ripe tomatoes, onion, and Two large red peppers, italian spices, served with heavily buttered garlic bread. Yum!


      chloebud thanked hobbitmom
    • 19 days ago

      I got some really good heirlooms from the farm. Some I just sliced to eat as is as slabs. Some decorated other dishes. Three went with some scallions into a loaf of bread--which was delicious with a good texture, but it got way moldy overnight when it was half finished. Yikes! My breads usually are finished before they mold. Sigh.


      Chloebud, those are really cute, but the pesto ruins the visual for me. I suppose the stylist had to show all the ingredients. I like your idea of the balsamic, to bring out the sweet and acid, but no objections to the taste of the pesto, just the blobbliness of green in the picture. Thanks for sharing this. I don't really go for caprese ,but I like the presentation of this (sans blobbiness).

      chloebud thanked plllog
    • 19 days ago

      Don't wreck good caprese by getting to cute-sy or fancy. No. Just fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and ripe fresh tomatoes with a gentle sprinking of salt and balsamic glaze. Simple and bursting with flavor when tomatoes are at the peak of ripeness.

      chloebud thanked porkchop_z5b_MI
    • 19 days ago
      last modified: 19 days ago

      “…but the pesto ruins the visual for me.”

      The pic’s also blurry from my screenshot that doesn’t help. The text I posted came with it from Instagram. I think the pesto would be good, but I’d be fine without it. Still think the Hasselback idea is nice…not so fancy.

      This is the Instagram link if you can access it…or care.

      Hasselback Tomato Caprese

    • 19 days ago

      BTW, the Instagrammer, Diane Morrisey, used to participate on another cooking forum I belonged to years ago. She’s done quite well with her busy life, including six grown kids. Her cookbook (You Got This!) seems to have done well, too. I always enjoyed her contributions to the cooking forum.

    • 19 days ago

      Maybe this with the balsamic.


    • 18 days ago

      I always judge the practicality of eating when I see new twists on classics. A caprese can be eaten easily, often with a fork alone. The hasselback version requires cutting through the tomato. I'm with porkchop on this idea. Don't mess with a classic. I'd leave off the pesto too. It's already got basil and pesto is very rich.


      chloebud thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    • 18 days ago

      I do like pesto but DH isn’t a big fan. Just the balsamic would work nicely for both of us. Now I need to find some really good plum tomatoes. None in our crop.

    • 18 days ago

      The reality may be different, but tomatoes are every day here and I've eaten masses of them. One of the things I like about this presentation is the knife and forkiness, and also the restriction on the quantity of cheese created by having to fit it in the tomato. Often, you get a whole tomato and a whole ball of cheese, and it's out of balance. I don't make caprese myself because there are other things my people like more, so I'm going on the how others do it knowledge, but I can see myself making this version for a small luncheon or something.

      chloebud thanked plllog
    • 18 days ago

      Definitely a nice luncheon idea. I’ve got something coming up, so I might consider these. Possibly alongside grilled shrimp or chicken.

      If it would appeal, this same Instagrammer has a recipe for a whipped feta dip that we like. Chopped tomatoes on top along with olives, red onion, dill, cukes…whatever appeals.

    • 18 days ago

      Sounds classically Mediterranean. I know they come stuffed that way, but I'm not at all sure about the olives and onons. I only like antique olives, anyway, and they don't want onoins. Perhaps the hybrids are better with it. But then, I don't remember ever using a recipe to make a dip. ;)

      chloebud thanked plllog
    • 18 days ago

      Yes, definitely Mediterranean and always appealing to my crew. Right, no need for a recipe for most of my go-to dips/spreads. I trust Diane so just went with her amounts that all sounded good to me. The ingredients just listed ”feta,” so I used French feta, something I almost always have on hand. Good stuff!👍🏻

    • 18 days ago

      That's intresting. In Europe, the Greeks have a license on the word "feta", so I guess the French version is relabelled for USA sale. :) tend to get Bulgarian in brine. But it's not called feta in Bulgaria either, I think, just by language rather than all feta must be Greek laws. The French only surprises me because feta is Balkan, historically, though for sure French cheesemakers are excellent. Which is an interesting digression. :)

      chloebud thanked plllog
    • 17 days ago

      That sounds very good! I have a couple tomato tart recipes I like with one being very simple. Both have a buttery, herbed crust. I might sub Boursin or feta for the goat cheese. Definitely a pan under for possible leaks! I tend to do that most of the time.

      I saw a recipe recently for a Caramelized Corn and Tomato Tart. Because why not good corn with good tomatoes?👍🏻

    • 12 days ago

      "I saw a recipe recently for a Caramelized Corn and Tomato Tart"


      Ooh, yes! Do you have a link to teh recipe?

    • 12 days ago
      last modified: 12 days ago

      porkchop, I had to go look. It’s actually a tarte tatin.

      Caramelized Corn and Tomato Tarte Tatin

      I see her website also had this galette. I often make crostatas/galettes and always with all-butter crusts. Any crust that appeals would work.

      Heirloom Caramelized Corn and Tomato Galette

      No corn in this one but I bet it’s good.

      Anna’s Tomato Tart

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