I spent my first weekend in a long time back at my apartment and saw many of my friends for the first time in weeks....we had such a nice Simchas Torah, and it was great to see everyone for singing and dancing and meals and desserts and lots of fun!
I ended up not having to prepare too much this weekend and I only really experimented with one recipe. (But....I didn't take a picture!! I don't know why I didn't, but I am going to post a picture of a similar recipe that I found online so you can see what the finished product looks like.)
We got invited out for Shabbos lunch, which was a dairy meal - a welcome change after weeks and weeks of such meat-heavy dinners and lunches. I decided to make a cheese and tomato crostata. A crostata is basically a free-formed pie or tart. You can make a crostata for any course - appetizer, entree, or dessert. Just vary the fillings and you'll have a totally different take on it! Mine was a "caprese" crostata, after my dad's (and my!) favorite salad - a caprese salad. Who doesn't love slices of fresh mozzarella and tomato and sweet basil? Yum yum! Good kosher mozzarella is hard to find, but since this dish is all melted anyway, whatever you can find in your store will be great. I bought a braided log of mozzarella, simply because it mirrored the size and shape of the tomatoes I got, which meant everything would look pretty :-)
I made this as easy as humanly possible. Didn't make my own pie dough, just mixed the filling together, layered on the tomatoes and cheese, folded it up, and popped it in the oven. It sliced up nicely and ended up going over really well! It can be served hot, but mine ended up being served closer to warm-ish (maybe even room temperature) and it was still great. This is a great one for any pizza lovers and is a nice side dish for a dairy or fish meal.
(sorry again about the picture....but this one is close!)
Caprese Crostata
2 frozen pie shells (regular, not deep-dish size)
7 oz. ricotta cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper, to taste
4 roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 16-oz. braided mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 egg
1. Defrost the pie shells in the refrigerator overnight.
2. When the pie shells are completely defrosted, remove them from their metal pans and knead them to form one disc of dough. Roll out the disc until it is a 14-16 inch circle and place it on a greased cookie sheet. (Note: This is easiest to do between two sheets of plastic wrap or in a 2 gallon plastic bag, which you cut at the seams for easy removal.)
3. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Spread in a thin layer over the pie dough, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border around the edges.
4. Starting from the outside in concentric circles, lay down alternate slices of tomato and mozzarella cheese, until the entire layer of the ricotta mixture is covered.
5. Fold the outer uncovered pie dough over the filling, making folds every 2 inches.
6. Beat together the egg and 1 tbsp. of water. Brush this egg wash over the folded dough. Bake the crostata at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the dough is browned and the mozzarella cheese has melted and begins to brown.
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