11 August 2009, Tuesday Lunch

This week's lunch was based on pie dough. Yep. The old butter crust. Nothing beats it. I had many admirers after this lunch.

I wrote a piece on rustic tarts or galettes for Edible Grande Traverse and Barb and Charlie, the editor-owners wanted a photo to see what they looked like. So I made my basic pate brisée and brought it to the farm. Ella rolled out the dough into 15 or 16 small rounds and we filled them with a mixture of cooked, chopped kale, flat leaf parsley, sautéed onions, garlic and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Dee-lightful.

Perfect Pie Crust

1/2 pound cold, unsalted butter, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
Ice water

Cut butter into flour and salt. I use a food processor. Leave butter pieces pea-sized. Dump into bowl and smear butter into flour into flakes the size of cornflakes. Slowly, tossing and pressing flour-butter all the while, pour in ice water. Be careful. Too much will make dough soft. Drizzle in just enough water for dough to hold together, no more.

Bring dough together into a ball, flatten into a thick log and slip it into a plastic baggie. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

For rustic tarts:
Cut thick log into 6 to 8 equal pieces. Roll each out on flour dusted surface to about 7 or 8 inches diameter. Fill with whatever filling you desire, sweet or savory, leaving an inch or inch and half border. Wet this lightly. Bring it up and pleat it around. Then cup your hands around it and press lightly to seal the pleats.

Chill 30 minutes in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake tart until golden, 30 to 45 minutes.

We also had carrot salad with almond mayonnaise and lots of fresh dill and two cold zucchini soups: one was yogurt thickened, the other was walnut thickened, in the spirit of the first gazpacho--white gazpacho--which is white grapes, bread, almonds, garlic and water puréed together. The almond mayonnaise is from Marilyn Diamond and has long been a vegan favorite.