This is my favorite meal so far. I started with this inspiration. And this jar of tomatoes.
I canned them back in September (I know, I know, I'm Portlandia) and it's been haunting me a bit. Psyching me out. Tomatoes can be a borderline canning food- heirloom ones especially. I picked these up at a farmer's market, not sure the variety. And although I used a dummy-proof method (hot pack, a tablespoon on lemon juice in each pint, etc), I was still terrified about botulism. I'd explain my fears but I don't want to freak you out too.
Today I opened a jar and had a taste. Very lemony. I felt safe on the acidity front. If I stop posting in a few days you'll know why though.
The tomatoes went into a, well, I'm not sure what to call it. Soup? Stew?
Ingredients (approx):
- 1 pint super lemony tomatoes
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/2-1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1/2-1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
- 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
- 1 cup purslane, chopped
- 1/2 cup stock (ish)
- salt & pepper to taste
I need to measure things, but it's hard to do that and also talk to one's roommate.
The onion went into a pot to soften and start to brown. Added the garlic, stirred a little then added the tomatoes. I let those go for a bit to break them down, then added some fresh oregano (which still exists in my fridge, somehow) and rosemary as I had it around. Tasted. Very tart. Added some honey and tomato paste. Thought they might help, definitely didn't hurt. I wanted to give it a broader base, but I'm not sure how one accomplishes that.
This simmered away for a bit, then I added the purslane (whose stems are actually a bit tart, yay) and realized I'd probably reduced the tomato down too far and added a bit of stock leftover from risotto to thin it out.
Let it simmer a bit and finished up the rest of the meal.
As I mentioned in the risotto post I had a plan for some of the leftovers: risotto cakes! Fritters? Unsure what to call them, you know, beyond delicious. I took leftover risotto, which had set and dried a bit after two days in the fridge, and added an egg to bind it. It probably didn't need a whole egg, but whatever.
These got scooped in a hot pan with some oil. They didn't completely want to stay together. I didn't judge.
Post flip toasty goodness.
I had some leftover sourdough, which I ate with the soup but really didn't need.
The risotto cakes were topped with pecorino and sorrel pesto. To make up for the sheer bougieness of this post, I left my soup bowl messy. Can't be too perfect for you people.
So good.
Seriously. Work has been stressful so I haven't had much of an appetite, but these? I could eat a million of them.
Loved that sourdough but really was unnecessary. The thick soup was best just spooned on top of these guys.
I really hope I haven't peaked. But it's going to be hard to top.
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