Caramelized Onion and Tomato Tart

 Recipe from LifesaFeast

Ingredients:

For the tart you need:

-Dough (I used puff pastry about 14 oz/400 g), the original recipe called for bread dough (about 14 oz/400 g) or you could simply use a quiche dough for a 10-inch tart. The puff pastry dough needs to be rolled out, line a lightly oiled 10-inch (25 cm) tart dish, pricked and refrigerated for about 30 minutes while you make the filling. The bread dough, if using, needs to stay out at room temp for 30 minutes once you have rolled it out and lined the oiled tart dish.
-Roll out the dough (even the puff pastry) so when you line the tart/pie dish the dough comes up the sides to make an edge just to the top of the dish.

For the filling you need:

-3 yellow onions - peeled, cut in half and thinly sliced
-2 cloves garlic chopped or minced (not too too finely)
-Fresh or dried thyme and basil (I used dried), salt and pepper
-About 6 medium (maybe 2 - 3 inches across) ripe tomatoes **
-A small handful tiny olives, such as Niçoise olives or Greek olives
-A bit of fresh goat cheese or feta, optional
-Olive oil

** you can use about 400 g (14 oz) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half. Instead of brushing the cherry tomato halves with olive oil before baking, toss in 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil before placing the halves in concentric circles, close together, on top of the caramelized onions.

Directions

-While the dough is resting, caramelize the thinly sliced onions in about 2 tablespoons olive oil. After about 5 minutes, when the onions become translucent and just start to color, add the garlic, salt and pepper and the herbs and continue to cook over medium or medium-low heat until the onions caramelized a golden brown. This usually takes about 10 minutes total. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
-Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
-Spread the onions in the tart shell. If using goat cheese or feta crumble or lay slices over the onions, as much or as little as you like but only one thin layer. Cut off and discard the ends of the tomatoes and slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick and lay on top of onions/cheese in concentric circles, pressing the slices closely together in one tight, single layer. Lightly brush the top of each tomato with olive oil, salt and pepper again, a bit of basil and the olives, as many or as few as you like. Bake until the edges of the crust are golden brown about 30 minutes.
-Remove from the oven and allow to cool just a bit before serving in slices. This tart makes a wonderful meal with only a green salad, bread and a cheese platter and a bottle of wine.

Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Custard Bake

This delicious recipe come from the blog Kalyn's Kitchen. Be sure to check it out for many other delicious recipes. Check out the recipe for a creative way to turn chard stems into a yummy dish.

 

Ingredients:
12 oz. Swiss chard leaves, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5-6 oz. goat cheese (Use the soft goat cheese that comes in a log)
1/2 cup milk (I used 2% but lower fat would also work)
8 eggs
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated mozzarella or other low-fat mild cheese
2 T + 2 T grated Parmesan (preferably freshly grated)

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C.  Remove swiss chard stems and save for another use.  Pile up the swiss chard leaves in a stack and slice in 1/2 inch slices one way, then turn the cutting board and slice the other way to make chopped pieces of chard.  (You will probably have to do this in a couple of batches.)  If needed wash the chopped chard in a salad spinner and spin until it's very dry.  Chop the onion into pieces about 1/4 inch.

-Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (big enough to hold all the Swiss chard.)  Add onion and saute 4-5 minutes on medium-high heat, just until the onions are barely starting to brown.  Then add Swiss chard, all at once.  Use a large turner to turn the chard as it cooks until it's all wilted, about 2-3 minutes.  Turn off heat and let the chard cool slightly.

-Combine the milk and goat cheese.  (I did this with the bowl attachment of an immersion blender, but you can let the cheese soften and stir it together by hand.)  In a large bowl, beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are all combined, then season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.  Stir the milk/goat cheese mixture into the eggs and then add the mozzarella and two tablespoons of the Parmesan.  Add the chard and onions and stir so it's well distributed in the egg mixture.

-Spray a round casserole dish or springform pan with olive oil or nonstick spray.   (Use a pan that's 8 or 9 inches in diameter.)  Put the egg/chard mixture into the pan and top with the other two tablespoons of Parmesan.  Bake for one hour, or until the mixture is fully set and lightly browned on top. 

Better Broccoli Cheddar Soup

 Recipe courtesy of Detoxinista

 

Ingredients

-1 Tablespoon organic butter

-1/2 a yellow onion, chopped

-2 cloves garlic

-2 celery stalks, chopped

-2 large carrots, shredded (about 1 cup shredded)

-4 stalks (heads?) broccoli (about 4-5 cups of chopped florets, plus stems)

-6oz. block of raw goat cheddar, shredded

-3-4 cups water

-Pink Himalayan, or sea salt, to taste

-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

-In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat and saute the chopped onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, until translucent.

-Add the chopped celery, and a splash of water to keep everything moving (Using water during the cooking process is a great way to keep the fat content low! no need to add any extra oil or butter!)

-While the onions and celery are cooking (about 5 more minutes) I took the time to shred my carrots, along with the broccoli stems that might otherwise be wasted.

-Add the shredded carrots and broccoli stems into the pot.

-Along with the broccoli florets, adding just enough water to cover. (about 3-4 cups)

-Bring the water to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.

-Once the veggies are nice and tender, transfer the soup in batches to a blender or food processor.If you're using a blender, make sure your batches are

small and BE CAREFUL! Hot soups tend to create a LOT of pressure while blending, so hold the top down tight!!Once it's all blended, return the pureed soup to the stove for the finishing touches.

-Re-heat the soup, and add the nutmeg and sea salt, to taste. (I started with 1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt)

-Shred the goat cheddar, then add to pot and stir