Revisiting Some Recipes

Around the time COVID began, I had a lot of changes occur in my life, things were upside down for a time, and then COVID just continued to mess with our lives. And in all of that, I just lost the desire to invent new recipes, hence the very few recipes in my blog since 2019, and the Newsletter just didn't hold an iota of interest. It is now nearly three years since I posted a Newsletter, so I am allowing it to lapse.

However, there were some really good recipes that had been available only through the Newsletter. I had links to most of them in the Index portion of this blog site, but now that the link to those recipes will expire along with the newsletter, I deleted the links to those recipes, and will hopefully get the majority added back in, as I post them here in this blog. 

Goat Cheese Tarts with Fig and Preserved Lemon Jam

The following recipe was a remake of an older recipe, with a new twist or two, and they were so stupendously good, I have to assure that the recipe stays available! These are little bite (or two) sized appetizers I created to pair with a sampling of white wines at a wine tasting evening. If memory serves, they paired best with a Chardonnay. I realize "Chardonnay" is rather generic for the many and varied iterations of that grape, but a nice, buttery type is the best.

I have long had a medium sized, marble mortar and pestle set, and in casting around for something to simplify the forming of tart shells in my mini tart pans, I thought of the pestle. Being marble, it is therefore good for use with pastry dough. I found that making small balls of the dough and setting them in the wells of the pan, the thicker end of the pestle can be used to do the broad stroke of making the dough into a relative "bowl" shape in each little well. Flipping the pestle and using the narrow end, it is perfect for pressing the dough against the sides of the little wells and up to the top edges. Necessity: the Mother of Invention.

Preserved Lemons

Preserved Lemons

Preserved Lemon is an item that most will not have on hand, unless you are a Middle Eastern, Mediterranean or northern African maybe. I have long been acquainted with the taste of preserved lemon, though I hadn't ever seen them sold anywhere in most of my middle-America travels. Recently though, I spotted Preserved Lemons in a jar on the grocery shelf in southeast Arizona! Imagine my surprise. To make preserved lemons, you need a (preferably sterilized) large-ish glass jar with lid, nice, unblemished and well-scrubbed lemons to press into the jar and sea salt or Kosher salt. Extra lemon juice to top off. Cut halfway into each lemon from one pointed end. Cut into the opposite ends in a crosswise manner, as shown. (Or, simply make two criss-crossing cuts down to near the bottoms of the lemons, but not all the way through.)

Making cuts for preserved lemons

Now, using plenty of salt. pack salt into the cut parts of the lemons, using as much as can possibly be pressed into them. Press these lemons into the clean, prepared jar, packing in tightly so a lot of their juice is pressed out into the jar. Once the jar is filled, or you've used all the lemons that fit, using fresh lemon juice, make sure the lemons are covered with the juice. Cover and let set on the counter for about 3 days, then in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks more.

To use the preserved lemons, the rinds should be completely softened, when they are ready. Cut or tear off as much as you might need (a quarter lemon, half) and separate the inner flesh and discard. Wash the rind before using. It can be added to salads, fish dishes, or giving a great flavor to something like this Fig Jam, below! 

Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Tarts with Fig & Preserved Lemon Jam

Makes 35 mini tartlets

Goat Cheese Tartlets
with Fig & Preserved Lemon Jam

TART SHELLS:
½ cup finely ground pistachios
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup cold unsalted butter
4 ounces regular cream cheese

FILLING:
6 ounces goat cheese (Chevre or Montrachet)
½ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems
½ teaspoon finely ground white pepper
1 pinch salt
3 ounces prosciutto, minced finely

FIG & PRESERVED LEMON JAM:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large shallots, cut in half and sliced
8 dried white figs (135 grams), cut in small pieces
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons finely minced preserved lemon, rind only
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems

TART SHELLS: Grind pistachios finely in a spice grinder or food processor. Place the ground pistachios in the bowl of food processor along with the flour and pepper. Pulse briefly to stir. Cut the cold butter and cream cheese into small cubes and add to the processor. Pulse about 20 times, then turn on to process until the mixture comes together. Turn out and form small balls about 1-inch in diameter or slightly less (10 grams apiece). You should have 35 balls. Set the balls of dough into the wells of mini tart pans. Press dough into the wells and up the sides, then freeze. Once frozen, these can keep, well covered, for up to 2 weeks if needed to do ahead.

Making tart Shells, adding chopped prosciutto and cheese filling

FILLING: Place the goat cheese into a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until the cheese is relatively smooth, then add all the remaining filling ingredients except the prosciutto and beat until the mixture is smooth. This mixture can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, well covered, if needed to make in advance. When ready to make the tarts, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the tart shells from the freezer and divide the minced prosciutto between the tart shells. Pour 1 to 1¼ teaspoons of the goat cheese filling over top of the prosciutto in the shells. Rap the pans a few times sharply on the counter to distribute the filling down around the prosciutto. Bake the tarts for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the filling is set and the shell is golden. Cool and remove from pans. The tarts can also be baked ahead and then frozen. Simply remove the baked and frozen tarts from freezer, set them on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 for 10 minutes to reheat before topping with the Fig and Preserved Lemon Jam, just before serving.

Sauté shallots till golden, add figs and thyme, preserved lemon

FIG & PRESERVED LEMON JAM: Melt the butter in a medium skillet and add in the sliced shallots. Sauté the shallots until they begin to turn golden. Add in the chopped dried figs with all the remaining Jam ingredients and cook until the liquid is mostly gone, and the mixture is sticky and cooked through. If making ahead, place the Jam into a clean container with lid and refrigerate until needed, up to 3 weeks. Using two small spoons, top each tart with a small amount of the ‘Jam’ just prior to serving.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.