Recipe:Zucchini and Pesto Puff Pastry Tart

Today is the beginning of my official return to blogging! Really, I promise this time.  With that in mind, it is also the beginning of summer, fresh vegetables are aplenty and I have a plethora of posts in my head.   I made this zucchini tart so I could experiment with store bought puff pastry.  And let me tell you, there is a significant difference between ordinary not all butter puff pastry and Dufour puff pastry.  I've made puff pastry from scratch, roll, add more butter, fold, roll and repeat- about a hundred times. I did not have my home-made version next to it, but truly- once baked I could not have told the difference.  What I figured out was that some of the other brands have additives and are not 100 percent butter, Dufour is nothing but flour, water, butter. I never said it was low fat- but if you're going to make puff pastry, lets do it right please.  To make this lower in fat, the zucchini can be placed directly on a lightly greased glass pie pan, layered with the mozzarella and then more zucchini with pesto and herbs on top.  Maybe I'll make that another day, (like right before having to hop into my bathing suit!).  As for today though, we're going with the yummy all butter version.

Defrost the puff pastry in the refrigerator, its best to keep it somewhat cool at all times.  If you want it a little more golden brown, you can add an egg wash right before baking.  I used zucchini because it's what's in season, but I think some beautiful heirloom tomatoes or asparagus would work nicely as well.
If I was using tomatoes, I would just slice them thickly and not saute them.  For asparagus, I would lightly blanch them if they are thick or saute just a little if pencil thin.

Zucchini and Pesto Puff Pastry Tart

1/2 cup homemade pesto (recipe in index)
2 small zucchini or summer squash, sliced
1 package Dufour puff pastry, defrosted (I found it at Whole Foods)
Olive oil
coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Assorted Herbs (I used thyme, basil, oregano and parsley)
2-3 large balls freshwater mozzarella


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Roll out puff pastry on a parchment covered baking sheet.  With a sharp knife or pastry cutter, score all around the sides of the rectangle, one inch from the edge.  This will make the sides puff up higher and give the appearance of a crust.

2. In a large saute pan over medium high heat, heat olive oil until almost smoking, a couple of minutes.
Place zucchini in pan, season with a little salt and pepper and lightly brown on both sides.

3. Arrange zucchini evenly over pesto on puff pastry shell.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until shell is puffed ad very light brown.  Remove from the oven and top with freshwater mozzarella slices and about half of the fresh herbs.  Continue to bake until cheese has melted and crust is golden brown.  Remove from oven and top with additional fresh herb chiffonade and drizzle a little more pesto on top if desired. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Recipe: Marinated Grilled Asparagus

This is my photographer friend Arthur's asparagus recipe. The recipe is very simple to make, easy clean up and super tasty. I actually cooked them in the oven, but they can easily be cooked on the grill.

Wrapping the asparagus in foil keeps them from falling between the grill grates and makes clean up easy. Cooking time will vary based on the thickness of the asparagus. Pencil thin asparagus are my favorite, but they are not always available. This time around they were rather thick so they took a little longer to cook. I usually trim asparagus about 2" or a little less, depending on how fresh they are, basically you want to go as high on the stalk to the point that you could snap off with your hands- cutting off the dry area. From start to finish the recipe can be prepared in about 25 minutes.

Marinated Grilled Asparagus:

2 bunches fresh asparagus

1/4 cup chopped red onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

1 lemon, sliced

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1. Trim and wash asparagus and lay on two pieces of overlapped foil (see photo). Pull up the sides of the foil to keep the liquids from running out and sprinkle asparagus with remaining ingredients.

2. Enclose asparagus is foil making sure to seal edges well. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or place package on medium hot grill for the same amount of time.

Creole Polenta with Fresh Corn

Yes, I know...2 weeks since my last post, lets just say things have been a little crazy. But, I think I will amply make-up for it with this little treat. When I make Shrimp creole, I always double the recipe for the sauce and freeze half of it before adding the shrimp. I do this because it freezes beautifully and I have found many ways to use it. Sometimes I heat the sauce and just add fresh shrimp, but this dish is one of my favorites- and oh so very comforting. I am not usually a casserole making type of girl, mostly I think they taste like mush- but this is my one true exception. If you must- it could be made in a casserole dish. I use a springform pan so it's easy to unmold and I get prettier looking pieces. An 8 inch pan will make a taller torte while a 9 inch pan will be just a little flatter- both work well, use what you have.

When adding the second layer of polenta to the pan, be sure to spoon it lightly and evenly so it does not get all mixed into the sauce. If it does- it's OK, it just looks better the other way.

1 ear fresh corn
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 cups polenta
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 t butter
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 cups Creole sauce- recipe found here

1. In a large dutch oven or stock pot melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until they start to brown. Add fresh corn and dry polenta and cook while stirring for about 20 minutes or until the polenta is toasted.

2. Add chicken stock, fresh thyme and continue to cook while stirring for 20 minutes longer. Add whipping cream and cook 10 minutes longer until bubbly and thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and continue to stir for an additional 5 minutes until slightly cooled and thickened.

3. Grease 8" or 9" springform pan and pour half of the polenta into the pan and spread evenly. Add 2-1/2 cups Creole sauce to the polenta in the pan and spread evenly. Cover with remaining polenta by spooning it evenly over sauce.

4. Sprinkle 1 1/2cups grated parmesan cheese over polenta and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool for 30 minutes before unmolding. Serve warm or at room temperature.