Oven-Dried Tomatoes and My First Pizza in Paris

I'll be perfectly honest... I've seen so many recent blog posts for oven-dried tomatoes that I was hesitating to post this... but ultimately, I figured I should. I mean, I did mention them in my last post. I'll try to make it interesting...
 

With the heat of summer comes the plentiful bounty of the ever delicious tomato. I would have to say that tomatoes are near the top of my list of favorite foods... in a salad, oven-roasted, in salsa, for sauces, or just plain off the vine... I love them any way they come. One of the things I'm really missing at the moment is my little urban vegetable garden that I had back in Atlanta. My tomato plants grew like wildfire during this part of the year, yet, I never could seem to get enough. I made a rockin' marinara sauce with them(which I'll post one day) and since then vowed never to buy canned spaghetti sauce again.

Luckily, tomatoes are just as bountiful here as they were in my garden... and so many more varieties than I'm used to. La Grande Epicerie has a fairly small, but beautiful selection of heirloom and zebra tomatoes, which I have yet to play with... and the markets and local grocery stores always have a big selection of the usual types. We've had a number of picnics recently, where in the tomato often makes an appearance. It's an easy, healthy snack, and it never hurts that I usually end up with a basket or so left over.

So I've been experimenting, as I am with all other foods these days, on new ways to use the tomato. I've roasted tomatoes multiple times before... but have recently come across numerous blog posts for oven-dried tomatoes. Not too much different from roasting... just at a lower temperature, and for much longer. Easy enough, I figured I'd give it a try.

Turns out oven-dried tomatoes are pretty damn good. I'm used to the intense, salty nature of sun-dried tomatoes, and thought that these would be similar, but they are completely different. The tomato flavor when oven-drying becomes very sweet, and the flesh of the tomato is so soft, I would almost even describe it as creamy. It was delicious. I topped my Mascarpone BLT Tartines with them and oh la la... magnifique.

 

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

1 pint of small-sized tomatoes(plum, roma, cherry, etc.)
extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil and rub extra virgin olive oil on the foil.

Slice the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. Place tomatoes on the baking sheet and sprinkle salt over top of them. Place in the preheated oven for 2-3 hours, depending on the size of your tomatoes. The tomatoes will be done when the edges are shriveled but the center flesh is still a little soft. Store in plastic bags in the freezer or immersed in a container of extra virgin olive oil.

On another note, I had my first pizza in Paris! Mushroom, cheese, and an egg on top. Yum.

Lentils with Lardons and Tomatoes

In my attempts to eat more healthily, I fell in love with this very delicious, and very versatile lentil salad. I was never really inspired by lentils until recently, as I was flipping through a French cookbook I bought last winter in Paris. In Françoise Bernard's "ma cuisine d'aujourd'hui", there is a recipe for Lentilles en Salade. Now, I am definitely one who eats with her eyes first... and the photo of this recipe caught my attention. It was just a simple bowl of lentils, shallots, tomatoes, a hard boiled egg, and parsley. It looked bright, clean, and refreshing... exactly the opposite of my usual fried chicken and cheeseburgers.

I had some lentils lying around the house, so I figured I'd give the recipe a shot. I didn't have exactly the same ingredients as it called for in Françoise Bernard's recipe, so I improvised with what I had in my kitchen. In place of fresh tomatoes I used sun-dried tomatoes, and instead of hard boiled eggs, I used black olives. The salad was so delicious that I ate it every day for lunch for two weeks straight. Hot or cold, it was good either way. And you want to know the best part? I lost 7 lbs. without even trying!!

So now that I've tried this recipe a few different ways, I figured I would post the most recent combination. This time I used cherry tomatoes and lardons(yeaaaah Lardon My French!!) and it was just as delicious. I made this the other night for Quentin's family, and to fancy it up, we served it with Coquilles Saint-Jacques(Scallops).

Lentils with Lardons and Tomatoes

Adapted from Françoise Bernard "Ma Cuisine d'Aujourd'hui"

2 cups french green lentils, washed
1 pint cherry tomatoes(I used yellow and red ones, but you can just use red ones if that's all you have)
1/3 cup of lardons(if you don't have access to lardons, you can always just use bacon that's cut into small strips)
fresh parsley, for garnish

For the Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
zest of half a lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

I first start with the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. While whisking, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl until the vinaigrette emulsifies. Set aside.

Rinse lentils in cold water. In a large pot, add lentils with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until done. Strain in a colander and place back into the pot. Add vinaigrette while the lentils are still hot, and gently stir to combine.

Cut cherry tomatoes in quarters and remove seeds. Then cut each quarter in half cross-wise.

Heat a saute pan on medium to medium-low heat. Add the lardons(or bacon) and slowly render out the fat until they are browned and crispy. Place lardons on a paper towel to soak up any extra grease.

You can either wait until the lentils cool to add the tomatoes and lardons, or add them while they are still hot. Both ways are delicious. Add chopped parsley, and fold to combine. Serves 4 to 6.

This recipe works really well with seafood, hard boiled eggs, or even just on it's own. If you don't have all of the ingredients, feel free to add whatever you want... this really is a "whatever you have in your pantry" kind of recipe.