Book of Yum

A few years ago, I read about a little tomato stand in the Santa Cruz mountains called Love Apple Farm with heirloom, organic tomato plants that they sold in the Spring. One unseasonably warm weekend in early Spring, the DH and I made our way to that tomato stand (which turned out not to be so little) and bought some tomato plants that we lovingly installed on our balcony. We also picked up some homemade tomato jam from a woman who later started her own business as Jeannie’s Jams, also on Twitter. That tomato jam was very tasty. Fast-forward a few years. The DH and I have bought a house and that house came with a yard (two yards, actually, a front AND back yard) perfect for growing tomatoes. It is also nice for growing other things, but it is really all about the tomatoes for me. We went a little crazy this year and bought about ten lovelies, each one unique and wonderful in its own way. The season has been cool, but using Cynthia of Love Apple Farm’s special techniques, those tomato plants are gloriously healthy and currently about 10 feet tall, with some gorgeous tomatoes on the verge of ripening. I’ve been tapping my toes impatiently waiting for them to arrive, but at the same time, I know that once they do we’ll be swimming in tomatoes. I may start bathing in the stuff. Finally, my patience was rewarded in the tiniest way when my beautiful Marmande finally yielded first one red tomato, and then a second. This is just the tip of the iceburg, my friends.
So, in preparation for the upcoming bounty, and with thoughts of tarts, cobblers and pies dancing in my head, combined with memories of sweet heirloom tomato jam, I developed a gluten-free recipe for an altogether unexpected treat- a gluten-free sweet tomato tart with nary a nod to the savory. You could make many variations on this, whether by changing out the cream cheese with creme fraiche, tofutti better than cream cheese, mascarpone, or be really fancy with vanilla custard or Creme diplomate. You could also JUST put a thin layer of sugar simmered or slow roasted tomatoes on the bare tart and either top it with a creamy sauce (or whipped cream, or cashew cream) or eat it entirely bare. This is a delicate dessert, so beware when relocating it, and do leave it in its protective tart pan until the last possible minute. It is also a recipe I think I’ll be tweaking in the future, but it was so fun that I had to share it with you as the lead recipe in a gluten-free tart, pie, crisp, or cobbler carnival. I was inspired to make all these cobblers this week by the fruit trees in my yard, and also by the Pie Day Shauna hosted recently. I wasn’t able to participate, but I hope to see some of the participants share their gorgeous creations here so I can live vicariously through them just a little. I hope you enjoy, my dears. My breakfast this morning was a homemade cappuccino and a Sweet tomato tart- or is it a tartlette? Either way, it was a wonderful start to the day.

Other interesting tomato tarts (not Gluten-free)
David Lebovitz’s Savory French Tomato Tart Recipe
101 Cookbooks Savory Fresh Heirloom Tomato Tart in a Parmesan crust
Savory Cheesy Tomato Tart
Tomato Tarte Tatin

And now, the promised Tart, Pie, Crisp, and Cobbler Linky for GLUTEN-FREE recipes. If you have a related recipe that is NOT gluten-free, you can share in comments, but let us leave Mr. Linky for the gluten-free recipes.

Rules: Please link only to Gluten-free Recipes for Pies, Tarts, Crisps or Cobblers. Also, provide a link back to this carnival page on your submitted recipe post so people can find us and add more yummy recipe links! Thanks and I can’t wait to see what you share.

Gluten-free Sweet Tomato Tart Breakfast  Dessert  Alternative Grains  Vegetables  European

Ingredients Tarts (makes one large or 5 or 6 small tarts) 3/4 cup sorghum flour 1/2 cup tapioca starch 1/4 cup potato starch 1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 9 Tb. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1 large egg yolk, whisked lightly Cream cheese layer: 1/2 package (4 oz) cream cheese or possibly creme fraiche (only if using very soft, runny tomato jam) 1/2 tsp. lemon zest dash vanilla 1 tsp. powdered sugar (or more to taste) Sweet Tomato Jam (see notes for the recipe I used) Directions Butter 5 small tart pans OR 1 large tart pan and reserve. Combine flours, sugar, and salt for tart in a food processor and blend to combine.Add your buter and pulse until it is evenly distributed. Add your egg yolk and process until you have smooth dough. Divide into 5 or 6 sections if doing mini-tart option and drop each section into a tart pan. Press out into a tart crust using your fingers, making sure to come up the edges and leave a depression in the middle for the filling. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, Cut out circles of aluminum foil (or parchment paper) for the center of each mini tart. Butter them and place them in the center of each tart. I used aluminum foil but it stuck a little and didn’t leave a pretty, smooth bottom for the tarts, so I’d use parchment next time. Bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown, and then GENTLY remove your foil or parchment circles and bake another 5-10 minutes or until golden. Cool and reserve for use later. I made them the night before assembling. You should put your filling in just prior to serving or the crust could become soggy. Whip together cream cheese layer ingredients and reserve. To assemble, put a layer of the cream cheese in the tart and then gently cover with a layer of tomato jam. Enjoy! Notes Tomato jam for 2-3 small tarts 3 heirloom organic tomatoes (small varieties are fun to combine with larger varieties, just slice in half and roast before adding to preserve shape) 1/4 cup water 2/3 cup sugar dash vanilla 3 tomatoes, either diced or with 1 diced and reserved, and the rest thinly sliced and roasted on 250f for as long as you can stand it. For me, it was about 2 hours. Then bring your water and sugar to a boil and add all of your tomatoes (1 fresh and 2 roasted, or all fresh). Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened but still spreadable.

Rating:  6 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, a work-in-progress. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1563 Added:  July 22, 2011 Last Modified:  July 22, 2011

Welcome back to Cobbler Week at the Book of Yum! This time I’m doing a recipe geared towards those who prefer not to use processed sugar and dairy. I’ll tell you a secret, though. Even though this recipe is allergy-friendly, uses special coconut sugar and contains no dairy, it was met with unbridled enthusiasm from gluten-eaters who can eat any darned thing they like. My Dad who is visiting us right now has fond memories of a neighbor lady’s apricot cobbler that he ate when he was a child. He said this recipe made him feel like a seven-year-old again, knocking at the door of his neighbor’s house asking for cobbler. I never thought I liked apricots that much, but somehow these large, golden fruits fresh off our own tree taste different than they do in the supermarket, and even I gobbled up this cobbler. The DH preferred it over the plum cobbler, and we were all fighting for the last piece. If you don’t have coconut sugar in your pantry, never fear. You can substitute ordinary sugar, but you might want to decrease the amounts in that case. I like coconut sugar because it has a neutral flavor reminiscent of a less sweet brown or raw sugar and gives a mild sweetness to your recipe. After all, apricots are pretty sweet all by themselves.

It is funny the things that having fruit trees change. I dehydrated apricots for the first time, and the DH made apricot freezer jam, and I made this cobbler. And we still have a table covered in apricots. I’m thinking we’ll have to make another cobbler… or two. And maybe even freeze one, if I can pry it away from my Dad and the DH.

I have a fondness for this apricot tree because it was the tree that dropped its leaves on the day Neko left us. And now, every year we enjoy the fruits from this tree, I can remember him.
Look for my Mr Linky on Friday, and add your recipe links for your favorite gluten-free cobbler, pies, and crumbles then!
In case you also have more apricots than you know what to do with, here are some recipes to inspire:
Agave Apricot Quick Bread Recipe (Ratio Rally)
Gluten-free Apricot Power Bar Recipe
Dairy-free Apricot Carob Blondies Recipe
Nutty Apricot Ball Recipe
Apricot Salad Dressing
Crockpot Brie with Apricot Topping Recipe
Apricot Glazed Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe
Apricot Butter Recipe

This recipe shared with Diane’s Real Food Weekly Roundup

Coconut Sugar Sweetened Apricot Cobbler Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1/2 C coconut sugar or regular white sugar (add more if your apricots are under-ripe) 6 C fresh apricots 3 tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot starch 1 tbsp. butter or vegan margarine (optional) 1 tsp. almond flavoring 1/2 tsp. vanilla 3/4 C sorghum flour 1/4 C potato starch, arrowroot or corn starch 1/2 C tapioca starch 1 1/2 tbs coconut sugar or regular white sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 1/4 tsp baking powder 5 tbsp. palm oil shortening 1/2 C milk (dairy-free milk is fine) coconut sugar or raw sugar for garnish Directions Get a deep, ceramic pie pan out of the cupboard and preheat oven to 350F. Pit your apricots and cut into bit sized wedges and place into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch, flavoring and sugar and fold in so they are evenly distributed. Melt your butter or margarine and gently fold into the apricot mixture. Reserve. If you like you can pour this apricot mixture into your pie pan and use the bowl for the cobbler. Combine your flours, starches, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in your palm oil shortening with a fork, pastry cutter, or (my personal favorite) your fingers. When the shortening has been worked into the flour and you have a crumbly texture of dough, fold in your milk. Spoon your biscuit mixture on top of the apricots in your pie pan, sprinkle the top with coconut sugar or raw sugar for sparkle, and bake at 350f for around 35 minutes or until cobbler turns a light golden brown and seems firm on top. Enjoy with a dairy-free vanilla ice cream or plain. Delicious! Notes Cobbler runnier than you like? Store it in the refrigerator and the filling will set up.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1561 Added:  July 14, 2011 Last Modified:  July 20, 2011