Caramelized Tomato Dessert Food

CARAMELIZED TOMATO SALAD WITH SAN SIMóN CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275°F. Place oil, 3/4 pound tomatoes, sugar, and thyme in 8 x 8 x 2-inch metal baking dish. Roast until tomatoes are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Cool caramelized tomatoes in oil. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer tomatoes to large bowl. Transfer 1 cup oil from tomatoes to medium bowl (reserve any remaining oil for another use). Add vinegar to oil in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Season dressing with salt and pepper.
• Add 1 pound fresh tomatoes, cheese, and dressing to bowl with caramelized tomatoes; toss gently. Top with green onions and chervil. Serve with toasts.
• San Simón_cheese, a smoked cheese shaped like a bell, is sold at natural foods stores, specialty foods stores, and latienda. com. Smoked Gouda can be substituted._

TOMATO TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Cut shallow X in bottom of each tomato. Add 4 tomatoes to boiling water. Blanch tomatoes just until skins at X begin to peel back, 15 to 30 seconds. Using slotted spoon, transfer blanched tomatoes to bowl of ice water to cool quickly. Repeat with remaining tomatoes. Peel tomatoes. Cut out cores, halve lengthwise, and remove seeds.
• Spread butter over bottom of 9 1/2-inch diameter, 2- to 3-inch-deep ovenproof skillet (preferably cast-iron). Sprinkle 3/4 cup sugar over butter. Arrange tomato halves, rounded side down and close together, in concentric circles in skillet to fill completely.
• Place skillet over medium heat. Cook until sugar and butter are reduced to thickly bubbling, deep amber syrup (about 1/4 inch deep in bottom of skillet), moving tomatoes occasionally to prevent burning, about 25 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Immediately drizzle vanilla over tomatoes. Top with pastry round. Using knife, tuck in edges of pastry. Cut 2 or 3 small slits in pastry. Place skillet in oven and bake tart until pastry is deep golden brown, about 24 minutes.
• Cool tart in skillet 10 minutes. Cut around sides of skillet to loosen pastry. Place large platter over skillet. Using oven mitts as said, hold skillet and platter firmly together and invert, allowing tart to settle onto platter. Carefully lift off skillet. Rearrange any tomato halves that may have become dislodged.
• Serve tart warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.

LINGUINE WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND ANGRY TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Fill large pot with 5 quarts water; heat to boiling over high heat.
• Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat. When butter stops sizzling, add onion and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and golden brown. Scatter in pancetta and cook 5 minutes longer or until brown and crisp. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
• Use spatula to clear a spot in center of skillet. Add tomato paste and smear it on skillet bottom. Immediately scrape tomato paste off skillet. Paste should become even darker red, maybe even browned. If not, repeat until you see a color change. Stir tomato paste into onion mixture.
• Add sun-dried tomatoes and crushed tomatoes to skillet. Scrape bottom of skillet to dislodge any stuck bits. Stir in oregano and red pepper. Heat to a simmer and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally, while you prepare pasta.
• When water in pot oven is boiling, add salt if desired. When water returns to a boil, add linguine. Stir immediately to make sure it doesn't stick to itself or pan. Boil linguine 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through but still slightly firm. Drain in colander. There is no need to shake off excess moisture.
• Return linguine to pot and stir in sauce. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly. Sprinkle with cheese; stir to combine. Serve with additional cheese if desired.

CARAMELIZED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Arrange tomatoes in a baking dish.
• Season with salt and pepper, then dot with butter.
• Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes.
• Mix diced veggies with brown sugar and cook over low heat in a medium pan, stirring, for about 10 minutes.
• Make a paste of flour, 1 tsp salt, lemon juice, and a small amount of water (enough to make a paste).
• Stir into the veggie mixture and cook until thick and smooth.
• Pour over baked tomatoes.

CARAMELIZED TOMATO DESSERT

Steps:

• Mix water and sugar in a large skillet. Place over medium heat and allow to simmer.
• Slice 1/2" off the top of each tomato. Carefully, scoop out the interior of each tomato, placing the flesh into a strainer over a bowl. Leave the outer walls of the tomatoes intact. Press the tomato pulp through the strainer with the back of a spoon.
• Peel pears and dice very small. Add almonds and cinnamon.
• Split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add to the pears; place the now-empty vanilla pod into the cooking caramel with the star anise.
• Add orange and lemon zests to pears. Add juice of 1/2 orange, and the tomato liquid to pears.
• When caramel is brown and thick, remove from heat and add 2 1/2 c orange juice. Return to heat and allow to simmer until caramel dissolves into orange juice. Remove vanilla bean pod and star anise pods and discard.
• Stuff tomato shells with pears. Pack tightly and allow to overflow a little. Spoon a little caramel sauce into each tomato. Top with reserved tomato slices.
• Pour a little caramel sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. Place tomatoes in dish and pour remaining sauce over. Bake in preheated 350F oven for 10 minutes. Baste with caramel sauce and cook another 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

BRANDADE CAKES WITH CARAMELIZED PEPPERS AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• For the peppers: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Seed the peppers and cut into thin fingers. Toss with the tomatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper, and spread on a baking dish. Pour over the olive oil and bake the peppers to confit, about 3 hours, and set aside.
• For the cakes: Put the cod, potatoes, and garlic in a pot. Tie the bay leaf, thyme sprig, and parsley stems with string, and add. Cover, just, with cold water, and bring to a bare simmer. Poach until the potatoes and cod are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
• Discard the herbs. Separate the cod from the potatoes. In a mixing bowl, mash the potatoes with the cream. In a separate bowl, shred the cod finely. Then combine the two again, mixing until creamy. Stir through the espelette pepper and the chopped parsley and chives. Check the seasonings.
• Pour an inch of cooking oil into a skillet and heat until sizzling. Shape the cod and potato mixture into 20 small cakes. Just before frying, dip them in the flour or panko bread crumbs to coat. Fry on both sides until very brown, and crisp. Drain on the paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
• For the plate: Top a brandade cake with a few caramelized peppers and tomatoes. Enjoy!

TOMATO, CARAMELIZED ONION, AND STILTON PIZZA

Steps:

• Caramelize onion by melting 3 tablespoons butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook for 15to 20 minutes, or until onion is a deep brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and reserve.
• Sprinkle your rolling surface with a handful of cornmeal or flour. Place dough in the middle of the surface. Roll dough out gently 1/4-inch thick, into either a 12-inch rectangle or circle. Brush both sides with olive oil and set aside until ready to grill.
• If you are grilling on a charcoal grill, set coals on one side of the grill.
• Place dough directly on the cooking grate over medium heat for 1 to 3 minutes, until the crust is well marked and browned. Flip dough and spread tomato slices evenly over crust. Sprinkle onion over top, then sprinkle cheese over the top. Move to indirect heat (for charcoal: the side of charcoal grill that has no coals. For gas: turn off burner directly under pizza). Cover grill and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until bottom is well browned, and cheese is fully melted.
• Remove from grill, season with salt and pepper and slice. Serve immediately

STUFFED CARAMELIZED TOMATOES WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Drop the tomatoes in boiling water for 15 seconds; then, remove and dip in ice water. Peel the tomatoes, and cut a slice from the top to form a "hat."
• Use a small spoon to remove the insides of the tomatoes. Reserve the pulp.
• In a bowl, combine the diced pears, pineapple and apples. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape the contents of the bean into the bowl. Add the pistachio nuts, walnuts and almonds.
• Pour one-third cup of sugar into a saute pan and add a tablespoon of water. Place over high heat, and allow the sugar to melt for about a minute; then, add the fruit-and-nut mixture. Cook for five to seven minutes, until the fruits soften slightly. Remove from the heat.
• Add the lemon and orange zests, the reserved tomato pulp, grated ginger, cloves, cinnamon, anise and mint leaves. Mix well, fill the tomatoes and top with their "hats."
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Place 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water in an oven-proof casserole just large enough to hold the tomatoes side by side. Over high heat, caramelize the sugar to a golden brown. Add the orange juice and bring to a boil, making sure all of the sugar has melted. Boil until the mixture has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Place the tomatoes in the casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes; then, remove from oven. As the tomatoes cool, baste them frequently with the caramel-orange sauce.
• Serve the tomatoes while still slightly warm. Serve two on a plate in a pool of caramel-orange sauce with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

GREEN TOMATO CAKE

Steps:

• Place chopped tomatoes in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Place in a colander, rinse with cold water and drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until creamy.
• Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add raisins and nuts to dry mixture; add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Dough will be very stiff. Mix well.
• Add drained tomatoes and mix well. Pour into the prepared 9 x 13 inch pan.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.