On Saturday, I arrived at the Coral Gables Farmers’ Market in time to snag a fat bag of French sorrel, the lemony, herbal green common in Europe and to a lesser extent the Northeast in spring. Although I had never cooked the green, online searches made it clear that its classic partners are egg and cream. I combined the greens with its tried-and-true comrades to make an airy quiche. The sorrel, which takes on a silky (if not slimy) texture when cooked, soft fresh goat cheese and whipped eggs, baked  into pillow-like layers. The quiche’s filling had a mouthfeel more like souffle than quiche, all nestled atop a crisp, all-butter crust (which clearly lacks precision in presentation … oh well).

My final product was a victory, but when I first  opened my pot of steamed sorrel, its transformation took me by surprise. The bright greens had turned into a viscous, murky brown-green mess. The leaves more closely resembled pond scum than greens, but their bright lemony flavor remained—reminiscent of a red-topped weed that I chewed as a child. This ill-looking cooking reaction is the norm. If you’re new to sorrel, don’t look for your sorrel-based dinner to win any beauty contests.

Stil I’m eager to get back to the market early next week and pick up a new bag of sorrel for experimenting—maybe a cream sauce or pesto or soup or salad. I’d also like to report on the friendly farmer who sells the greens. I’ll get back to you.

Sorrel and Goat Cheese Quiche
1 recipe pastry dough
1 pound sorrel, stems removed
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk (or 1 cup milk with 1/2 cup cream)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
4 ounces soft goat cheese
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°. Roll out pastry dough, and place over a deep pie dish, crimping edges. Line the pastry with aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights. Bake until crust turns light golden, 10 to 12 minutes. (I’m lazy, so I poke my pie crust all over with the tines of a fork, leave out the foil and weights and hope for the best.)

Meanwhile, steam sorrel in 2 to 3 batches for 3 to 4 minutes each batch. Drain thoroughly in a fine mesh sieve.

Beat together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.

Once the crust is out of the oven, cover the bottom with hunks of goat cheese. Next add the scallions and sorrel. Pour the egg mixture into the pie dish. Sprinkle Parmesan on top, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 375°, until quiche is set and golden on top.

Let quiche rest 5 to 10 minutes, cut, and serve.

Serves 4

Beets and goat cheese are a classic, if not cliché, combination. So for a weeknight, it doesn’t take much brain power to slap them together and make a delicious dinner.

For this pasta, I roasted beets in the morning before work. An when I returned home, all I had to do was peel the beautiful red bulbs and slice and saute them along with scallions and garlic. I chose to chop the beets into fairly large hunks, because I wanted big earthy bites rather than a homogenous sauce. Ample butter, pasta water, olive oil and goat cheese, coated the noodles, which took on a vibrant magenta hue.

Beet Pasta with Goat Cheese
1 1/2 pounds red beets
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound dried spaghetti
1/4 cup pasta water
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces soft goat cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°. Clean beets, and remove stems and greens, reserving for another use. Wrap each beet in aluminum foil, and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until they can be pierced easily with a knife. Allow beets to cool. (This step can be completely a day in advance.) Remove beet skins, and chop into 1/2-inch pieces.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Lightly brown butter in a large frying pan. Add garlic and scallions, and cook until garlic is light golden. Add beets, and cook 8 minutes.  Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, begin cooking pasta according to package directions. Drain cooked pasta, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.  Add pasta, pasta water, and olive oil to beets. Toss to coat.

Divide pasta and beets into bowls, top with crumbled goat cheese, and serve immediately.

Serves 4

I roasted last week’s CSA eggplant along with yellow squash (from the Redlands as well, thanks to Publix) and red onion to fill a savory galette. Garlic chives and basil added an herbal touch, and a mound of goat cheese pushed the richness quotient to its limits.

I divided the pastry into four small wedges—better proportioned for a light lunch or starter than a main course. But the slices packed sufficient calories and flavor to compensate for the mini portion.

Any number of roasted vegetables would work here. What doesn’t taste good wrapped in buttery pastry and topped with cheese? This recipe from Behind the Skillet, for example, includes eggplant, tomato and a red onion confit that bares a striking resemblance to my red onion jam.

Eggplant and Squash Galette with Goat Cheese
1 recipe galette dough (see onion-leek galette with fresh goat cheese)
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
2 medium yellow squash, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
10 basil leaves, roughly torn
1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic chives
1 egg, beaten

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°. Toss eggplant, squash, red onion and garlic with olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread evenly onto a baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Allow vegetables to cool. Remove skin from garlic and thinly slice (it won’t be full-on mush after the short, 30-minute cooking time).

Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a 15-inch circle; it should be about 1/8 inch thick. Distribute garlic slices on top of the pastry. Then mound the eggplant mixture into the center of the pastry, leaving at least a 2-inch border. Top with goat cheese.

Fold the edges of the pastry over a few inches of the eggplant mixture, leaving the center exposed. Brush the pastry with egg. Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper and then to a baking sheet.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Serves 4

]]> http://www.occasionalomnivore.com/2009/12/15/eggplant-and-squash-galette-with-goat-cheese/feed/ 1 http://www.occasionalomnivore.com/2009/08/22/a-better-plate-of-nachos/ http://www.occasionalomnivore.com/2009/08/22/a-better-plate-of-nachos/#comments Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:26:53 +0000 Caroline http://www.occasionalomnivore.com/?p=841

I crave easy, somewhat unhealthy dinners on Fridays. So last night I piled a mix of Latin ingredients atop freshly fried corn tortillas for a mean plate of nachos.

Instead of salsa, I used homemade guacamole (avocado, lime, cilantro, shallot, mayo and salt). And rather than gooey melted cheese, I used a sprinkle of fresh goat cheese that has a similar texture as queso fresco. Leftover back beans and cooked corn kernels gave extra flavor and necessary fiber. 

These were so much better than the bottled salsa and cheddar versions I’ve made in the past and probably healthier, too. What a humble, sloppy, perfect Friday meal. 

In celebration of National Goat Cheese Month (who knew), I picked up fresh goat cheese from Bee Heaven Farm’s summer share this weekend and graced an onion galette with its subtle, salty presence.

I’m a huge fan of galettes, the free form cousin of the pie. I feel a lot less pressure when I know my pastry dough isn’t going to collapse, and I don’t have to crimp the edges with Martha Stewart-like precision (not that I can anyway). William appreciates that there’s one less dish to clean.

For those reasons and, of course, the potential mouthfuls of sweet, softened onions and leeks topped with cheese and wrapped in a buttery blanket of pastry you should give this galette a go. I chose to mix and match onions, scallions and leeks, because I had all three on hand,  but you could use any number of combinations—ramps, green garlic, chives, etc.

I served a simple raw zucchini salad on the side (thanks to inspiration from my coworker Marie) for a “light” summer dinner. While the portions on this supper are far from large, the caloric density of the galette makes up for it plenty. 

Onion-leek Galette with Fresh Goat Cheese
Pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
4 medium leeks, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions (5 to 8),  white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
2 sprigs thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions
For pastry dough, pulse flour and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and process until the mixture has a sandy consistency. Drizzle ice water into the processor, and pulse until a ball forms. Cover dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, and refrigerate  at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375°.

On medium heat, melt butter in a wide sauce pan. Add onion, leeks, scallions, and thyme to pan. Cook gently for 4 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Pour in wine, stir, and cover, cooking for 10 minutes more. Uncover the pan, and pour in cream. Cook until wine and cream are nearly evaporated. Remove thyme sprigs, season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.

Once onion mixture has cooled, stir in 3 tablespoons of beaten egg, reserving the final tablespoons for an egg wash.

On top of parchment paper, roll pastry into a 15-inch circle; it should be about 1/8 inch thick. Mound the onion mixture into the center of the pastry, leaving at least a 2-inch border. Top the onion mixture with goat cheese.

Fold the edges of the pastry over a few inches of the onion mixture, leaving the center exposed. Brush the pastry with egg. Transfer parchment and pastry to a baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Serves 4

Raw Zucchini Salad
Julienne 3 medium zucchinis and transfer them to a colander. Toss zucchinis with salt, and let them drain for 10 minutes, squeezing out excess moisture with a kitchen towel.

Meanwhile, make a vinaigrette with half a lemon, a few tablespoons olive oil, and one minced clove of garlic.

Toss the zucchini in the vinaigrette, adjusting salt as necessary. Top with Parmesan if desired.

Serves 4

Bread layered with cheese and basil

Pressed and dressed sandwich

This was a playful dinner that made use of homemade bread and fresh basil from my herb garden. For my first try, I used fig jam to accompany the goat cheese and pressed the buttered sandwich between two nonstick pans. For lunch the next day, I assembled a strawberry version and warmed it in a toaster oven at work. (I had to share a bite or two with coworkers, as well.)

I preferred the strawberry sandwich—the fruity jam is a natural partner to basil. And the toaster oven made the cheese adequately oozy, without dirtying two pans.  

Goat Cheese and Jelly Sandwiches
4 slices of crusty peasant bread
3 ounces soft goat cheese
Sea salt
Pepper
1/4 cup roughly torn basil 
2 tablespoons fig or strawberry  jam
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions
Divide goat cheese in half, and place onto two slice of bread. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top the cheese with torn basil. Spread 1 tablespoon of jam on each remaining slice of bread. Assemble sandwiches and heat (you can use a toaster or a skillet with melted butter.

Serves 2