Tomato, Walnut & Basil Salad

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Traditionally, I've enjoyed tomatoes sliced and tossed with onions, olive oil and basil.

But recently, I tweaked this tomato salad from Southern Italy by adding walnuts. When I served it to guests, it was a hit. And now, I'm sharing it with all of you - enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 large, vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup chopped, freshly shelled walnuts

4 large, fresh basil leaves, cut in slivers with cooking shears

In a serving platter, lay out the tomatoes in overlapping circles. Scatter the red onion slices over top of tomatoes, followed by salt and pepper. 

Drizzle the olive oil over tomato salad, followed by a sprinkle of walnuts and slivered basil.

Serve immediately with ciabatta bread (Italian slipper bread) or focaccia.

This salad can also be served as a side dish to meat, fish or poultry.

Text and Photograph ©2012 Nancy Real.

Fast and Fresh Plum Tart

Prep time: 30 minutes

Bake time: 30 to 40 minutes

Makes: One 9-inch tart

What fruit are you enjoying these days? Mmm, that's what I thought - plums. If you're buying them from your local farmers' market, then you're getting fresh, ripe plums. And, they're sweet!

For an easy dessert this summer, make or buy pie pastry, slice up those plums, sprinkle them lightly with sugar et voilà. It's fast, fresh and everyone will go, "Wowwww, how beautiful!"

Ingredients:

Nancy's Easy Pie Pastry* (recipe previously posted on this blog)

   -0r- 

ready-made pie pastry

3 to 4 fresh, ripe plums, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices

2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Follow the rolling-out instructions for one sheet of pie pastry and transfer it to a large cookie sheet. 

Lay out the plum slices in concentric circles and sprinkle sugar over them. Turn the pastry edges inward, over the plums.

Cover the pastry edges with one-inch thick aluminum foil sheets.

Place tart on a rack positioned in center of oven and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until plums are tender and slightly bubble. Remove foil strips for last 5 minutes of baking.

Cool on cookie sheet set on counter. 

Serve warm or cold, topped with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Text and Photograph ©2012 Nancy Real.

*Note: Fast and Fresh Plum Tart requires one rolled-out pie pastry. You can either make Nancy's Easy Pie Pastry recipe which yields two pastry sheets; freeze one in double freezer bags and use the other. Or, you can make half the pastry recipe which will yield one pastry  sheet.

Nancy's Healthy Pie Pastry

Prep time: 30 to 45 minutes
Makes: one 2-crust* pie, tart or quiche (cut recipe in half to make one-crust)

The light, flaky texture of this pie crust/tart recipe is due to a high quality oil that I use. Omitting the heavy butter and/or hydrogenated fats, I make my pastry with sunflower or safflower oil.  Use this healthy pastry for sweet pies and fruit tarts, or savory quiches and vegetable tarts.

Ingredients:
2-2/3 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sunflower or safflower oil
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water
Three 2-inch wide aluminum foil strips (to place over pastry edges during baking)

1. In a 4-quart mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the oil and, with a pastry cutter, mix until flour and oil combine to form pea-sized clusters. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time; mix until dough amalgamates and sides of bowl are clean. If needed, add 1 more tablespoon water.

2. Gather dough with hands; separate into two equal balls. Cover each dough ball in plastic wrap and place in freezer for 10 to 12 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, prepare a fruit filling of your choice and set aside.

4. Transfer one dough ball from the freezer to the refrigerator. Unwrap the second dough ball and, on a flat, floured surface, flatten it to a 5-inch circle.

5. Place the pastry dough circle in between two lightly-floured, 15-inch long waxed paper sheets.

6. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pastry from the center and outwards. After two to three rolling motions, peel off the top waxed paper sheet and lightly flour the pastry dough. Replace the waxed paper sheet over the pastry dough. 

7. With one hand over the top sheet and the other underneath the bottom sheet, quickly flip the dough over. Remove the second waxed paper sheet and lightly flour the pastry dough. Cover it with the waxed paper sheet again.

8. Continue rolling and flouring the pastry dough until it is 3 inches larger than the diameter of the pie plate edges. To measure this, lightly hold the pie plate upside down over the rolled-out pastry.

9. Remove the top waxed paper sheet from the rolled-out pastry pastry dough. With one hand underneath the bottom waxed paper sheet and the other hand over the pastry surface, make a quick flip onto the pie plate. 

10. Gently and slowly peel off the remaining waxed paper sheet from the pastry dough. Carefully fit the pastry dough into pie plate edges. Using a fork, poke random holes in the  pastry dough; set aside.

11. Repeat above rolling instructions with the second pastry dough. After rolling it out, keep the pastry dough inside paper sheets and set aside.

12. In the meantime, gently transfer the fruit filling onto the rolled-out pastry dough set in pie plate. Carefully flip second pastry dough over filling; peel off the waxed paper sheet.

13. Trim the pastry to a one-inch overhang. Turn and tuck the pastry edges underneath. With fingers, crimp or pinch the edges, creating fluted shapes. Cover fluted pastry edges with aluminum foil strips.

14. Follow baking instructions for the pie recipe you are making.

*Note: To make a one-crust pie, make a half-recipe by using "half" the ingredients.

Text and Photograph ©2012 Nancy Real