Miscellaneous Recipes

[lumierefrere]

RED, WHITE AND GREEN VERRINE

6 Roma tomatoes
Olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
Black pepper
1 teaspoon aged balsamic vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 paper-thin slices prosciutto
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons burrata cheese
Cracked black pepper
Fleur de sel (flower of the salt, a French sea salt)
Total time: about 35 minutes, plus up to 4 1/2 hours roasting time
Heat the oven to 225 degrees. Cut the Roma tomatoes in half lengthwise, and place them cut side up on a rack set on a baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over them. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
Roast the tomatoes for 4 to 4 1/2 hours, until they are very tender and begin to collapse and show some browning. Remove from the oven and let cool, then coarsely chop. Add additional salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
Using a mortar and pestle, work the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a fine paste. Grind in the pine nuts and basil until a smooth paste begins to form. Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil, then work in Parmigiano cheese, mixing to combine. Add to tomatoes. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Add olive oil to a large skillet until the oil fills the pan to about 1/4-inch deep. Heat the oil over medium-high heat, and when the oil is hot but not smoking, add the prosciutto slices; they should sizzle lightly. Cook until nearly crisp, 4 to 4 1/2 minutes. Drain on a paper towel, and let cool before breaking into 6 shardlike pieces for garnishing the verrines.
For assembly, spoon about 1/3 cup roasted tomatoes into each of six glasses, about 3 1/2 inches high by 3 inches in diameter.
Spoon a generous 2 tablespoons of burrata cheese over tomatoes to make an even layer in each of the glasses. Top with about 1 tablespoon pesto in each glass, spreading it to the sides of the glass. Spoon 1 tablespoon burrata into the center of each glass, leaving an edge of the green pesto showing.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the burrata and sprinkle cracked pepper and fleur de sel. Top each glass with a shard of prosciutto.
Makes 6 servings.
330 calories, 13 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 29 grams fat, 9 grams saturated fat, 48 milligrams cholesterol, 584 milligrams sodium