Vegetables TarteTatin

The Tarte Tatin is a classical French cake usually made with apples, brisée pastry, butter and sugar. Its peculiarity is that it is baked upside down. Therefore, the filling becomes soft and caramelized and the pastry crispy.

This colorful Vegetables Tarte Tatin follows the same process, but I replaced the apples with some fresh vegetables. You can use any vegetable you prefer; in this case, I choose baby carrots, zucchini, yellow peppers and baby spinach. So, not only it is a tasty way of serving vegetables but it is also very quick and easy to prepare (to make it even quicker you can use ready to bake brisée pastry).

Vegetables Tarte Tatin

Ingredients for the brisée pastry:

200 gr all-purpose flour

100 gr butter

60 to 80 ml cold water

a pinch of salt

Ingredients for the tarte:

1 zucchini

100 gr baby carrots

1 yellow pepper, roasted

a bunch of coriander

80 gr baby spinach

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano

a pinch of salt

a pinch of freshly ground black pepper

How to prepare:

First prepare the dough for the brisée pastry. Put the flour, the butter and a pinch of salt in a mixer. Mix for a few seconds until you obtain a sandy result. Turn the flour mix on a worktop and make a well in the middle. Little by little add the cold water and knead, until the dough will be smooth. Try not to knead the brisée dough longer than 2 minutes, because you should avoid the melting of the butter. Then wrap the dough in a piece of cling film and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 180° C.

Now wash the vegetables. Cut the zucchini in sticks. Halve the baby carrots. Chop the coriander. Peel the yellow pepper and cut it in stripes.

Parboil the zucchini and the carrots in hot salted water for 2 minutes. Then drain and put aside.

Cover a round tin with baking paper. Brush it with the melted butter. Then sprinkle with the grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Nicely arrange the vegetable in the backing tin, they will be on the top of your tarte: first the carrots and the pepper, then the zucchini and the coriander. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and ground black pepper and, finally, cover with the baby spinach.

Take the dough from the fridge and on a clean worktop roll it out. Cover the vegetables with the dough and with a fork make some holes on the top of it. Then put the tarte in the oven for around 30 minutes.

When the tarte is ready, take it out from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Then turn the tarte tatin on a serving plate and carefully remove the baking paper.

Serve warm with a perfumed white wine.

With this recipe I take part to the contest:

More information at: http://fiordirosmarino.blogspot.com/2012/04/io-le-verdureil-mio-nuovo-contest.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FiorDiRosmarino+%28Fior+di+rosmarino%29

Broccoli and Pumpkin Soup

Healthy food can be colorful and tasty. If you don’t believe it try this delicious soup!

Broccoli and Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients for 4:

700 gr of pumpkin (skinned and cubed)

700 gr of broccoli florets (washed)

2 medium potatoes (skinned and cubed)

800 ml of vegetable stock (or chicken stock)

1/2 clove of garlic (peeled)

4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

4 tbsp of double cream

salt and pepper

How to prepare:

Pour the extra virgin olive oil in a large pot and heat it on the stove at low heat. Add the 1/2 garlic clove and brown it for a couple of minutes. Keep a few cubes of pumpkin and four broccoli florets aside for garnishing. Put the rest of the pumpkin and the broccoli together with the potatoes in the pot. Rise the heat to medium and sweat the vegetables for a few minutes. Add the hot stock. Cover and cook until the vegetables are soft (around 20 minutes).

Take the pot from the stove and, using a blender, whiz the soup until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast the remaining pumpkin cubes in the oven until they start to brown. Boil the remaining broccoli in salted water for 3-4 minutes, then drain.

Serve the Broccoli and Pumpkin Soup in individual portions, garnished with a tablespoon of cream, one broccoli floret and a few cubes of pumpkin.

Chicken, Avocado and Apple Salad

The chicken salad is a versatile dish. It can be an appetizer or a light meal, and it is perfect for a buffet lunch or a picnic.

Chicken, Avocado and Apple Salad

Ingredients for 2:

1 chicken breast (around 500 gr)

1 Golden apple

1 ripe avocado

1 carrot

2 celery sticks

1 white onion

100 gr of lamb’s lettuce

1/2 red onion

2 pita breads

a pinch of salt

a pinch of ground black pepper

Ingredients for the dressing:

3 tbsp of olive oil

2 tbsp of natural yogurt

2 tsp of lemon juice

a pinch of salt

a pinch of freshly ground black pepper

How to prepare:

In a small casserole put the celery sticks (washed and cut in big pieces), the carrot (peeled and cut in big pieces) and the white onion (peeled). Add 2 l of cold water, and put the casserole on the stove at high heat. When the water in boiling add the whole chicken breast, season with salt and pepper, and cook it for 30 mins at low heat covered with a lid.

Then remove the chicken breast from the water and with a knife make a cut in the middle of the meat and check if it is cooked. If in the middle it is still pink, cook it for 10 mins more.

When the chicken breast is ready take it from the casserole, dry it, and let it cool. Cut it into small cubes (2-3 cm) and set it aside.

Wash the lamb’s lettuce and put it in a large bowl. Peel and cut in small pieces the avocado and the apple. Peel the red onion and chop it into slices. Separate the slices into rings. Add the apple, the avocado, the chicken and the onion into the salad bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.

Pour the dressing onto the chicken salad and serve with the warm pita bread. One more idea: serve the salad inside the pita bread.

Vegetables tart

This is a delicious way to eat raw vegetables. It is healthy, tasty and it looks beautifully.

It is an exceptional appetizer and it is perfect for festive days. I prepared this tart for the first time for a New Year’s Eve dinner party. It was a colourful centre piece for my table and the guests just loved it.

Here is the recipe.

The Vegetables Tart

For the brisee pastry:

200 gr white flour
100 gr butter
70 ml cold water
a pinch of salt

For the filling:

250 gr cream cheese (like Philadelphia)
250 gr sweet gorgonzola (or soft blue cheese)
3 cherry tomatoes
5 radishes
A few clumps of broccoli
1 carrot
1 zucchini
1 small leek or 2 spring onions
1 Belgian endive
Chives

How to prepare:

To prepare the brisee pastry: make a well in the flour. Add the butter in small pieces and a pinch of salt. Start to knead. When the butter and the flour are mixed add the water and knead until the dough is smooth. Wrap the dough in a piece of clingfilm and put it in the fridge for cooling (40 mins).

Heat the oven at 180˚.  With the help of a rolling pin roll out the pastry on a piece of baking paper. Then put it on a round thin of 20-25 cm diameter. If needed cut the borders (you can use the exceeding pastry for preparing some small biscuits in the shape that you prefer and later use them for the decoration of the tart). Cook the tart in the hoven for around 20-25 mins checking it from time to time. Then take the pastry from the hoven and let it cool.

To prepare the filling: in a bowl mix the cream cheese with the gorgonzola (you can change the proportion in function of your taste). Wash the vegetables. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves. Cut the radishes in four. Grate the carrot. With a potato peeler slice the zucchini by its length. Cut the leek in clumps. Pluck the leaves of the endive.

To assembly the tart: put the brisee pastry tart on a serving plate. Fill it with the cheese mixture. Then arrange the vegetables on the top. Finally, garnish with the chives and the little brisee biscuits.

You can prepare the tart even several hours before and then store it in the fridge until 30 mins before serving.