Weekend Herb Blogging: Green Tomatoes And Apples Hazelnut Crisp

A week ago strong winds broke a branch of one of my tomato plants bearing a few green tomatoes. Since there wasn't enough to fry I sliced them and together with two granny smith apples I made them into a fruit crisp. The flavor combination of slightly tart apples, sweetish tomatoes, and hazelnuts is amazing, very very yummy.

These green [yellow variety] tomatoes are surprisingly sweet and there isn't a hint of tartness. Being a tomato fiend (I love to snack on tomatoes since I was a small child) I could eat them regularly straight from the bush or in desserts.

sweet and crunchy green (yellow) tomatoes

Green Tomatoes And Apples Hazelnut Crisp
2 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
2 medium green tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar, more if you prefer it sweeter
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
¼ cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
¼ cup cold salted butter, diced
1 cup roasted hazelnuts
2 - 3 tablespoons Nutella

• In a small bowl mix the apples and tomatoes, drizzle with lemon juice. In another small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon rind, then sprinkle all over the fruits. Toss mixture gently to coat fruits. Transfer into a baking dish. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 20 minutes.
  
• Prepare the topping while the fruits are baking: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, brown sugar, and butter. Add the hazelnuts and process until nuts are chopped fine. Refrigerate until needed. Sprinkle evenly on top of fruits and bake for another 15 minutes or until nicely browned and crisp. Remove from oven and let rest for 2 minutes.
  
• Spoon Nutella in a disposable icing bag and pipe thin strips on top of crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  

I'm submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging which is being hosted this week by Dhanggit. For more info on how to join this weekly event visit Haalo's blog.

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge 13: Focaccia

I was eager to bake Focaccia, 13th recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge but I was sort of disappointed after slicing the bread. Although very yummy and the crust crispy, I find the crumb, which has irregular large and medium air pockets, oddly soft and airy. I prefer very chewy focaccia and the crumb of this focaccia definitely is not, at least to me it isn't.

I don't know where I did wrong because I followed the recipe (using bread flour) accordingly, did not change any of the ingredients or procedure except I baked them pizza-style in round pans. I used 8 ounces of dough in 8-inch pans and 10 ounces in 9-inch pans and they baked to the perfect thickness of 1½ inches. On a positive note, I love the herbed oil and will use it again with different herb combination but I don't think I'll follow this dough recipe next time I make focaccia.

Here is a better recipe, also from Peter Reinhart.

topped with cherry tomatoes (from my garden), caramelized Vidalia onions, and sea salt

I will slice this one horizontally to make into a gigantic sandwich

Rating:
flavor 4
texture 2
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 4
worth 1
Total: 21
Average: 3.5

Black Corinth Financiers

financier bars and frozen black corinth grapes

One of my to-bake recipes is the French tiny almond cookies, Financiers, for oh over two years already but somehow I never found the time to make them. Looking for what other things to do with Black Corinth grapes besides freezing them to eat as fruit ice candies, I saw this and thought now is the time to make financiers and bake them with the tiny grapes. They are very yummy, the edges are crispy but soft inside, not too sweet and I like that the grapes are very mild and don't dominate the flavor of the cookies. The only negative is one recipe makes very few cookies that I want to bake another batch soon, maybe tomorrow.:-)

I baked them in small rectangular loaf pans because I don't have the shallow rectangular ones for baking these cookies and I think they came out a little bit thick, I'm not really sure. I do have those boat tart molds but I can't remember where I kept them.

French Almond Cookies
½ cup melted butter or browned butter
½ cup toasted almond meal
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup confectioner's sugar
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
fresh raspberries or jam, black corinth or regular seedless grapes
mini cupcake pan or boat tart molds

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. If using molds, place them on a cookie sheet.
• Transfer 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into a small container. Brush molds generously with the butter.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the almond meal, sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in the egg whites, the remaining 1/3 cup butter, and vanilla extract. Fill mini cupcake pan or molds almost to the top.
• Bake for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and top with fruits or fruit jam. Return to oven and bake until cookies are golden brown. Transfer into a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Unmold cookies and enjoy with frozen grapes.

fruity gold ingots

black corinth grapes, very sweet and fun to eat when frozen

Beet Greens And Parmesan Bread

I had an OMG! moment halfway through baking this loaf when I opened the oven to rotate the pan for even baking. The bread had an enormous oven rise doubling its height for maybe several reasons: I didn't roll the dough tight enough and so it spilled its gut out from one side, I used a loaf pan that was too small, I proofed the dough too long, or the instant yeast was overly frisky. When I removed the finished bread from the oven I couldn't help giggling like a fool because it looked so friggin' ugly. I was expecting a cavernous interior which the bread thankfully doesn't have, just a little bit, but the slices look funny like a person's profile. It is also not very swirly.

I made this bread when I read about it here; her loaf is so perfect and beautiful and because I love swirly breads I just had to make it. I didn't have chard but I had beets with its greens still attached. After a quick online search I found out that beet greens are edible and they are nutritious too. For this recipe, I used challah dough. The slices are delicious and light as feather; it's like eating a piece of cloud with bits of beet greens, garlic, and savory Parmesan cheese, very good with Beets and Yogurt Salad. I will make this bread again using chard or other greens and hope it will improve in appearance.

the height of the loaf before baking was barely half an inch above the pan


doubled in height after 20 minutes in the oven and its top was pushed to the side

le freak