Fire Roasted Tomato Puree'

Fire roasted might be a bit of an over statement. You don't absolutely have to have fire for this one, but it helps. Like a number of other recipes you'll find floating around PwF I may meander off into rambling diatribes detailing different routes that can be taken during a recipe to illustrate the simplicity of making vastly different items from very similar processes. This is also a prelude to the post "The Unified Salsa Theory" (Coming Soontm). At it's most basic (gee, I say that a lot don't I), we're tossing cored tomatoes with a bit of oil and a bit of kosher salt and broiling (yes, there's an "r" there) them until they're somewhat blackened and syrupy. Of course, sensibly, this won't take long at all if you using cherry or grape tomatoes 15-30 minutes, but Romas or plumb tomatoes take a bit longer at roughly 40-60 minutes, and good sized slicers or beefsteaks could take as much as 90-120 minutes. Regardless, leave them all alone for the first 20 minutes then check 'em every 10-15 minutes turning the pan as needed, but leaving the tomatoes themselves undisturbed. What you're looking for is about the top 20% of the tomato to be charred. Feel free to drain off any excess juice. I'll often reduce it in a pot and add it back in. Mashed, chopped, or ground these guys are a great base for anything from a Tex-Mex salsa, to tandoori tikka masala, to an Italian pomodoro rustico (throw some browned ground beef or sausage in that and y'all can call it marinara).

Now, more refined schools of thought will recommend concasse'(kawn-ka-SAY), which is French meaning to crush or grind, but tomato concasse' is more of a process than simply crushing or grinding fresh raw tomato. Concasse' is a way to really get to the meat of the fruit, so to speak. The seeds and skins of the tomato can render unwanted flavors and textures. Tomato concasse' leaves us with a product like seedless, skinless, chopped, canned tomatoes, but with less juice and a more concentrated pulp. The preparation for this recipe utilizes the concasse' process.

Fire Roasted Tomato Puree'

Stuff you'll need:
Your most voluminous soup kettle. Hopefully, 12qt or so, otherwise, blanch in batches. In a perfect world this pot has a perforated insert like a colander. If you don't have an insert you'll need a large long cooking spoon or tongs to quickly and safely retrieve the tomatoes from the boiling water.
A bag of ice. Yes, like 7# or so.
A CLEAN kitchen sink filled with the bag of ice and tap water.
A colander inside a mixing bowl
(Stay with me here, it's not as complicated as it sounds.)
A SHARP paring knife and cutting board
5-7# of good ripe hand sized slicer or beefsteak style tomatoes, cored
1/4c Anointing Oil
2 tbls kosher salt (and 1/4c more for your boiling water)
A large non-metallic casserole dish
Food Processor or patience and knife skills



How to do it:
Fill your pot half way with water and set on a stove-top eye running high. Add kosher salt. Allow time for it to come to a rolling boil. Placing a lid atop will hasten this process. In the meantime, using the paring knife, score (this does NOT mean deep cuts, simply enough to break the skin) an "X" across the bottom center (on the opposite side from where the core was removed) of all your tomatoes. 5-6 at a time place them in the boiling water for 15-30 seconds or until the peels begin to pull back from along the lines of the "X". Remove them immediately to you ice water sink, and repeat the process until all tomatoes have been transferred to the ice bath. Remove them to the colander inside the mixing bowl to drain and begin by peeling all the skins which should now be fairly easy remove. Once they've all been skinned, cut them in half, NOT from tip to core, but equatorially, separating tip and core. Once you've cut them, holding a half in a gentle yet firm grip, delicately squeeze out the seeds and discard.

Now, were you to stop here and roughly chop them, Chef would be happy with your tomato concasse', but we are going to press on. Preheat your broiler. Rinse out that bowl that had the colander in it and toss all of your skinned and seeded halves, the anointing oil, and the 2 tablespoons of kosher salt together and layer them all snugly into the large casserole dish (unless you need more than one dish), and slide that baby into your broiler. Check it in about 20 minutes and every 10 minutes thereafter until a layer or char has almost covered the entire dish. Remove from the broiler and allow to cool. At this point you could literally hand crush all of this and it'd be just fine, but if you're still looking for a pulpier puree' place the colander in the sink and dump the casserole into the colander. Let gravity do its thing for a bit and then throw those tomatoes into the food processor and give it a good spin. Viola'! Fire roasted tomato puree.

The Vinaigrette Addendum

The Vinaigrette Addendum

The vinaigrette is a creature of dual nature, at its best forcing together two disparate elements of culinary interplay into a momentary and sublime balance and at its worst an over-processed, chemo-stabilized, pool of sadness and mediocrity. The inclusion of fruits or vegetables (for their pectin as well as flavor), the use of honey, molasses, or agave nectar as sweeteners/balancers, and the addition of varieties of mustard can aid in the longevity of a vinaigrette's emulsion (it's well blended/combined state), but it's always best to keep a homemade vinaigrette in a vessel that can safely be shaken before use. I kinda like old booze bottles myself, but old wine or champagne splits work well to. Buy a couple of bar spout tip inserts at the local liquor store and Bob's your uncle. Just remember to save lids/caps/corks because the bottles will be much easier to shake with these in place

All of that being said, a counter-top blender (NOT a food processor) is probably the "best" way to make a vinaigrette at home. You know, that thing you've only ever used for margaritas and milkshakes. Or perhaps piña colada? Well, it's super awesome for giving things the velvety texture you're looking for in an emulsion, like a vinaigrette. Your second best option is an immersion or "stick" blender coupled with a 4qt straight sided pitcher like one might find sweet tea or kool-aid in at Gramma's house. Lacking those options, a food processor will suffice but pulse all of the ingredients, other than the oil, as smooth as possible before adding the oil slowly into the blending puree' until the total amount has been used. As a last resort you can attempt to caveman it together in a bowl with a whisk, but remember acidity can cause an unfavorable change in flavor due to re-activity with some metals. Use plastic or glass whenever possible. At it's absolute most basic: Oil & Vinegar, roughly 3:1, maybe some fresh herbs and citrus juice, shaken together in a bottle, seasoned and balanced with salt & sweetener. 

It's something to consider that not only does a vinaigrette make a great salad dressing but it can be used as amazing finishing sauce or marinade..

Playing with Food Vinaigrette Recipes:

Caramelized Crimini & Sweet Onion Vinaigrette
Fire Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette
Honey Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Honey Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

If you've read the Vinaigrette Addendum, go right on ahead with this recipe, but if you haven't then follow the link. I'll wait...

Honey Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Stuff you'll need:
The item(s) with/in which you will make your vinaigrette.
The item(s) within which you will store your vinaigrette.
If you no sabe', go back and read The Vinaigrette Addendum.
1/4c honey (Always make sure your honey is the real deal. The best way to do this is find local honey. Google it, I'll wait...)
1/4c braised garlic puree'
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1c apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 3/4c preferred salad oil (A great place to use your Anointing Oil.)

How to do it:
Throw it all in the blender and pulse it real quick about seven times then let it spin on high for a nine count or so. Remove the lid and taste, adjust the flavor as needed for sweet/acid balance and saltiness. This is another great recipe to dress-up in dainty little bottles and give as gifts!

Fire Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

If you've read the Vinaigrette Addendum, go right on ahead with this recipe, but if you haven't then follow the link. I'll wait...

Fire Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

Stuff you'll need:
The item(s) with/in which you will make your vinaigrette.
The item(s) within which you will store your vinaigrette.
If you no sabe', go back and read The Vinaigrette Addendum.
1/2c Fire Roasted Tomato Puree'
2tbls kosher salt
2tbls honey  (Always make sure your honey is the real deal. The best way to do this is find local honey. Google it, I'll wait...)
1/3c balsamic vinegar
1/2c red wine vinegar
3c Anointing Oil

How to do it:
Throw it all in the blender and pulse it real quick about seven times then let it spin on high for a nine count or so. Remove the lid and taste, adjust the flavor as needed for sweet/acid balance and saltiness. This is another great recipe to dress-up in dainty little bottles and give as gifts!

Crimini & Sweet Onion Vinaigrette

If you've read the Vinaigrette Addendum, go right on ahead with this recipe, but if you haven't then follow the link. I'll wait...

Honey Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Stuff you'll need:
The item(s) with/in which you will make your vinaigrette.
The item(s) within which you will store your vinaigrette.
If you no sabe', go back and read The Vinaigrette Addendum.
2/3c Caramelized Criminis & Sweets
3tbls dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbls of kosher salt
1 tbls honey  (Always make sure your honey is the real deal. The best way to do this is find local honey. Google it, I'll wait...)
1c white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1 1/2c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2c Anointing Oil



How to do it:
Throw it all in the blender and pulse it real quick about seven times then let it spin on high for a nine count or so. Remove the lid and taste, adjust the flavor as needed for sweet/acid balance and saltiness. This is another great recipe to dress-up in dainty little bottles and give as gifts!

Caramelized Crimini Mushrooms & Texas Sweet Onions

You can prepare these separately as well, but if you're devious like me the aroma of the two items caramelizing together can send nearby gastrophiles into a strange pseudo-sexual food frenzy. Making minor alterations or additions to the process can result in nigh overpowering aromas of leg-quivering deliciousness. Below is the recipe at its most basic.

Stuff you'll need:
Sharp Knife & Cutting Board
Large Mixing Bowl
A large (12"+) high sided skillet or extra large griddle. Non-stick or well seasoned iron work best.
A dependably consistent heat source set very low
(Alton Brown has the perfect solution for the two items above, here.)
A high temp rubber spatula or good wooden spoon.
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup butter melted
1/3 cup Anointing Oil
5# Texas Sweet Onions (or Vidalia if you're lucky enough to have them available) peeled & sliced 1/4" or so
3# Crimini Mushrooms rinsed & sliced no thinner than 1/4" or so

How to do it:
       On the stove top (unless, of course, you've got one of Alton's fancy Electro-Skillets), preheat your pan to medium . In the large bowl toss together your onions, mushrooms, butter, oil, and salt until the shrooms & onions are well coated. Reduce your cooking heat to low (around 230-250(f) if you have precise control). In layers, fill your cooking surface from edge to edge until you've slightly over-reached capacity. Don't worry, the volume will reduce as your S&Os cook down, and if you were unable to fit some in the first time around you can slip them in during the first couple of turns. Now every ten minutes or so, for the next 45-90 minutes, stir up the whole pan real good and evenly redistribute everything back to the edges of the cooking surface. Once the mixture reaches a pale golden amber remove it from heat and allow it to cool. Keep it in the fridge for a week or so. Freezing it extends the shelf life dramatically.

Best thing EVER: Speaking of leg-quivering alterations.
More stuff you'll need:
A cookie sheet
Paper towels to line the cookie sheet. Use quite a few.
A large-mouth glass jar to reserve bacon drippings
2# Applewood smoked bacon sliced in to thin "bacon bit" strips
7 cloves of fresh garlic crushed (or 1/4 braised garlic puree' stirred in at the end)
2 tbls cracked black pepper
2 tbls of your favorite hot sauce

The Change-Up:
From the original recipe reduce the salt, butter, and oil by 1/2.
Over medium heat in/on your original cook surface, start by crisping the bacon, and pouring off the rendered fat into the jar as it begins to collect. Remove crisped bacon bits to the lined cookie sheet. Once all the bacon is crisp and removed, pour all but roughly 3 tablespoons of the fat off into the jar. Now, begin the original recipe. After the second turn of the S&Os stir in the crushed fresh garlic. After the fourth turn stir in the cracked pepper and hot sauce. After removing from heat stir in the bacon bits. Enjoy!

Eager Beginnings

From the time I was around 9 months old up until about the third or fourth grade I lived in a little community nestled in the Appalachian mountains just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee near Hall's Crossroads. My Pop and I stayed with my grandparents in a neighborhood like many other post-war settlements from the golden era of American Capitalism, an odd mix of suburban & rural with our neighbors across the street having horses and chickens and maybe a pig from time to time but my memory is a bit fuzzy on that point. Of course, the house next door is where I fell from a second story window and landed on my head which might explain the memory loss.


Grandad had purchased 2 lots side by side. On the first sat a cozy 2 bedroom 2 bath ranch with a finished basement. Grandad had finished the second bathroom downstairs for my Pop who had turned the rest of the basement into his hip bachelor pad, and I slept in the second bedroom upstairs. The entire second lot was an AMAZING garden that my Grandad had planted and maintained until he was no longer able to do so. Cancer would take him from us several years later.


I grew up alternately racing through those planted rows, my arms outstretched, jubilant face to the sun (and high-tension power lines I realized on a recent trip back home), and skulking around backstage at any of the many playhouses and entertainment venues that were liberally sprinkled throughout the metro Knoxville area while Pop was completing his studies as a Bachelor of the Arts at UT Knoxville. It was a peculiar alchemy of nature and nurture. I know now that this is where my life long liaison began, pickin' beans, shuckin' corn, & tradin' with the neighbors for fresh eggs or butter.


That was the last time I really remember LOVING vegetables as a kid. Fresh from the garden, fresh from next door, fresh from the stove top, and fresh in my belly made for a robust foundation in what food could and should be. I remember that even as a child I was sensitive to flavors and textures, not in a bad sort of way, but in a curious investigatory manner. Hell, the first thing I ever ordered at a Chinese restaurant as a kid was Moo Goo Gai Pan because it had ALL the vegetables. Sadly, it took roughly 20 years to regain that true appreciation for good fresh food , respectfully prepared, and proudly served.


Don't get me wrong, this was the early 80s and we were swept up in the furor of Reganomics so we certainly weren't opposed to running out to the grocery store, and neither were we so far removed from civilization that it would take more than a few minutes drive in any direction to reach some sort of retail oasis, and there certainly wasn't enough swine being butchered anywhere in the neighborhood to sate my hunger for hog's jowl & belly bacon.

My Gramma's own curious investigation into why the smell of charred flesh and smoke were waking her from a perfectly restful bit of sleep would reveal my own origins into the realm of Obsucra Epicuria Culinaria. Being a young upstanding lad of a robust 4 or 5 years I had elected to provide the family with a fresh hot breakfast of fried eggs and bacon like I had watched Gramma do countless times. She entered the dining room just in time to see the kitchen suddenly illuminated by the flame of a grease fire erupting in her favorite iron skillet, and me scrambling from a precarious perch atop a stack of phone-books resting on a chair. She rushed into the kitchen and expertly contained the fire with a nearby lid and instilled in me two very important elements of kitchen paradigm. Never use water to put out a grease fire, and a burnt pan of bacon is NOT the worst that could happen (contrary to one despondent boy's teary eyed beliefs).


So, eager beginnings, the first stops on our journey: a foundational element, a melange of delicious, and the tomatoes you've been looking for.

   
Recipes:

Anointing Oil/Braised Garlic

Caramelized Crimini Mushrooms & Texas Sweets

Fire Roasted Tomato Puree'

Anointing Oil & Braised Garlic

I'll use this stuff up every chance I get. It's makes an excellent base for dressings & marinades, a flavorful sauteing & stir-frying component, a great dip for crusty breads or a finishing element for a plate. I think the best batch I ever made was with a 20% extra virgin olive oil 80% peanut oil blend, but whatever versatile oil you'd prefer will suffice. You can often find peeled whole fresh garlic cloves in your produce section, but if they aren't available then FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DO NOT use any sort chopped/prepared garlic. Find fresh bulbs, you'll need about 6-8. Then go watch this and learn ChefMajyk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d3oc24fD-c

In my professional kitchens I try to keep this on hand all the time so we make it in 3-5 gallon batches. Remember, YOU ARE WORKING WITH HOT OIL, and a lot of it. Use caution and sense and handle the product coming out of the oven extremely carefully. The recipe below will render you a little less than 2 quarts of oil and a bit less than a pint of roasted garlic puree'.

Stuff you'll need:
A safe  place for hot oil to sit and cool
3-4 quart casserole dish with high sides
Hand sized metal skimmer or strainer
(2) 1 quart jars/bottles/vessels for finished oil
A small metal mixing bowl
A 1 pint container for the finished cloves
2 quarts of oil
2 cups whole fresh garlic cloves
13 branches of fresh herbs bundled with a bit of twine. (I love using thyme, oregano, parsley, rosemary or chives. Be considerate of the fact that some pungent herbs, like rosemary or even chives, can overpower the subtlety of flavor that we're creating and should be used with a lighter hand and paired with a greater amount those herbs of a more delicate flavor.)

How to do it:
           Preheat you oven to 375(f). Put the garlic and herbs in the casserole dish. Pour the total amount of oil into the casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven for 45 minutes. Carefully slide out oven rack and remove the aluminum foil. You are looking for the cloves to all be floating, and to have shifted from their raw pale buttery yellow color to a golden amber. If they've not achieved this state then CAREFULLY slide the rack back into the oven and observe them in 10-15 minute intervals until they reach that nice golden amber shade.
           Once you reach the amber shade you are looking for, immediately skim all the cloves and herbs from the oil and remove then to the small metal bowl to cool, Then CAREFULLY move your casserole of hot oil to it's safe place to cool and forget about it for a couple of hours. Once your cloves and herbs have cooled a bit pick out the the herb bundle (likely leaving a few bits of leaf and whatnot, that's ok) and using the back of a kitchen spoon mash the cloves into paste. Transfer this to your one pint container and store in the fridge. It makes a delicious flavorful additive to all sorts of things!
           Once the oil is completely cool transfer it to your waiting bottles and you're good to go! Double or triple the batch and get some cute little fancy-schmancy bottles to make a great homemade gift that folk's'll request over and over again!

Give it a try! What'd you think? Let me know in the comments below.