White Bean Soup

I made this soup the other night and it came out very nicely. I made it up as I went along, but based it on a leek and potato soup recipe....only I used beans instead of potatoes.

Ingredients:

3 cans of white beans (obviously using dried would work too, but that requires more planning)
3 large leeks, white and light green parts only
3 T butter
1/8 cup white wine
1 small white onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 carrots, chopped small
1-2 bay leaves
dash thyme
dash white pepper
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup milk
paprika to garnish

Directions:
Cut leeks and garlic into small pieces and put in large pot with the butter. Cook until the leeks are tender - it will smell really good. Add onion, tomato, carrot, wine, bay leaf. Cook for a few minutes, then add vegetable broth. Heat until simmering, then add beans, thyme, white pepper, black pepper and salt. Let simmer until carrots are tender. Pour soup into a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot and add milk. Heat again, then serve. Garnish with Hungarian paprika - the soup is a nice orange/pink color when it's all done.

Kyle liked this soup enough to have two helpings! So it must be good.

Poblano Eggplant Tart with Corn and Three Cheeses

I bought some beautiful poblanos and eggplants yesterday, and thought they'd make a delicious tart. In my fridge, I had chevre, a bit of ricotta, and some parmesan. I used frozen corn for some nice sweetness, and the yellow heirloom on my counter just begged to be in the mix. Voila!

Yeasted Tart Dough (recipe in previous entry)

3 Japanese eggplants
3 poblano peppers
3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 medium heirloon tomato

3 tablespoons chevre
2-3 tablespoons ricotta
1 big handful of grated parmesan

Prepare the tart dough.

Roast the eggplants and peppers (whole) until soft. Put in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam them out of their skins. When cool enough to handle, peel skins and discard. Discard pepper seeds (don't run the peppers under water to rinse, they will lose a lot of flavor). Chop eggplant and peppers into small pieces.

Lay the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Spread the ricotta in a thin layer on the dough. Add peppers, eggplant, and corn.

Spoon on the chevre in small dollops. Cover with the parmesan. Thinly slice the tomato and lay the slices on top of the tart.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or so.

Yeasted tart Dough

This comes from the Greens Restaurant cookbook.

makes 1 9-inch tart

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 large egg, room temp
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons creme fraiche or unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1. In a bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in the water then move it to a warm place while you gather the other ingredients.
2. If the egg is cold warm it in a bowl of hot water.
3. Combine the 1 cup of the flour, salt, and lemon zest in a bowl and make a well in the middle.
4. Break the egg into the middle of the well; add the softened butter; and pour in the yeast mixture which should be foamy with bubbles.
5. Mix with a wooden spoon to form a soft smooth dough. Dust it with flour and gather into a ball. Set it in a clean bowl and cover with cling film or a kitchen cloth.
6. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk (about 45 minutes to an hour).
7. Flatten the dough place it in the centre of a 10 inch tart ring and using either your knuckles or the heel of your hand press it out to the edge of the ring. Add only enough flour to keep it from sticking. If the dough shrinks back while you are shaping it cover it with a towel and leave it to relax for 20 minutes before you finish pressing it out.
8. It should be thin on the bottom and thicker at the sides, about 1/4 inch above the rim of the pan.
9. It can be filled immediately or refrigerated until needed. Once the tart is filled, bake in the middle of a 375 degree oven.