Keep the background – change the foreground
Much of the time I spend in the kitchen is devoted to taking a main course or a vegetable and trying to prepare it in new an innovative ways using different flavorings or backgrounds. Lately, though, I’ve found that I’m often thinking in the other direction – keeping a flavor combination steady in the background while inserting different main ingredients.
Right now, the obsession is with slow roasted tomatoes, black olives, and capers. More than anything else, I think is is considered French Provençal cuisine, but I’ve also seen this combination in Italian cookbooks.
I love slow roasted tomatoes and try to make a batch whenever I have the time. It’s worth it, though, because when you finish you have a large-ish jar of concentrated tomato flavor that can be used almost anywhere. When that sweet, acidic tomato flavor is combined with the saltiness of the olives and capers, you can create a complex, delicious context for almost anything.
Recently, one of my favorite things to do is to cook things that you ordinarily wouldn’t cook. I love making panfried (or sometimes roasted) radishes, quick sautéed cucumbers with Chinese flavors are delightful, and arugula can make a potent background note. The other night I had a head of celery that was beginning to show signs of peaking. I’d made sautéed celery before and decided to do it again, differently. The celery is cut into thin diagonal slices (exposing more of the interior) and sautéed in olive oil at medium heat until it just begins to soften. Add the tomatoes, olives, capers, and some black pepper (depending on the saltiness of the olives you may not need to add additional salt). I had some toasted almonds on hand I added for some additional texture and, if you wanted, some hot pepper flakes may not be unwelcome. It was a great accompaniment to an otherwise unadorned panfried chicken breast.
Take two on this theme was almost identical but had its own little twist. We always have green beans on hand because Alex, our Amazon parrot absolutely loves them. For him, two minutes in the microwave and done. When I make them for me and my true love, I usually steam them and then add something like preserved lemons, herbes de provence, or some kind of vinaigrette. This is a little different. First off, I cooked the green beans in the oven instead of on the stove. It gave them a little crunchiness which was most welcome. With the tomatoes, olives, and capers, it was another delicious side dish.
One more and we’ll complete a trilogy. At the market I saw some lovely bell peppers in four different colors and bought two of each color without knowing what I was going to do with them. One of each color got pickled and the results have been a staple of our salads for a few days.
The other four got stuffed. I’d prepared some French lentils the day before (I often have some lentils available in the refrigerator for various purposes). After trimming the peppers, I stuffed them with a mixture of lentils, slow roasted tomatoes, black olives, capers, and toasted walnuts. Put them in 375° oven until the peppers were soft (about 45 minutes). Added some shaved parmesan cheese and put them under a broiler until the cheese started to melt. They were outstanding. We used one each as a side dish to a whole roasted fish, but because of the lentils, these would be substantial enough for a lunch or perhaps even the focus of a vegetarian meal.
There are undoubtedly thousands of ways that a bed of slow-roasted tomatoes, olives, and capers can elevate otherwise everyday ingredients. These are the three I did last week (and the three that have almost exhausted my supply of tomatoes – time to roast some more!).
Recipes
Slow roasted tomatoes
Ingredients
15 plum tomatoes
sugar, salt, pepper, olive oil
Directions
Slice each tomato in half and arrange on a baking pan. Sprinkle with olive oil, sugar, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Roast in a 300° oven until the tomatoes are starting to turn brown but still hold their liquid – about three hours. Let cool, then pack in an airtight container covered with olive oil.
Celery with slow-roasted tomatoes, black olives, and capers
Ingredients
6 stalks of celery (or more depending on size), trimmed and sliced thinly on the diagonal
6 slow roasted tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped black olives
2 tbl capers
olive oil, salt, pepper
Directions
Sauté the celery in olive oil over medium heat until the celery has just started to soften. Add the tomatoes, olives, and capers and mix. Taste for saltiness (the olives may offer enough salt for the dish) and add pepper. Serve.
Roasted green beans with slow-roasted tomatoes, black olives, and capers
Ingredients
1 lb green beans, trimmed
6 slow roasted tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped black olives
2 tbl capers
olive oil, salt, pepper
Directions
Arrange the green beans on a baking pan in a single layer. Sprinkle liberally with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Place in an oven pre-heated to 425° for 5-7 minutes. Remove the pan and toss the beans around a bit with a pair of tongs to insure even cooking. Roast until the beans are showing caramelization and are crunchy.
Place the beans on their serving platter, add the tomatoes, olives, and capers and toss thoroughly. Adding a little more olive oil is optional.
Stuffed peppers with lentils, slow roasted tomatoes, olives, and capers
Ingredients
4 bell peppers, tops, seeds, and white ribs removed
1 cup French lentils
2 bay leaves
8 slow-roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped black olives
2 tbl capers
shaved parmesan (or mozzarella) cheese
Directions
Add the lentils and bay leaves to 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are tender. Remove from the pan, drain, rinse, and remove the bay leaves.
Add the lentils to a skillet. Add the tomatoes, olives, and capers over medium-low heat until the mixture is warm and the tomatoes begin to break down.
Place the peppers in a casserole, baking dish, or other container so that they will stand up straight in the oven. Carefully stuff each pepper to slightly overflowing. Place in a pre-heated 375° oven until the peppers become soft – about 45 minutes. When the peppers are ready, remove and turn on the broiler. Top each pepper with some cheese and place until the broiler until the cheese melts – about 5 minutes. Serve.