tomato

Oven Dried Tomatoes – perfect for cheese

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 1 Comment

Time is running and we have already been in lovely perfect Roswell, GA for 3 month today. Compared to the first month we cook a lot now – actually I think that we cook al lot more than anyone else in our neighborhood. I really don’t understand how some people can eat out  everyday, and sometimes more than one time each day. That is so different from our culture where people eat at home every day and only go out on special occasions.

Well, as i said we cook a lot more now than we did in the beginning of our new US life, but we still need  a lot kitchen supplied to be up to date with our old kitchen back in Denmark. Until we are back at track everything is a little slow – even the blogging. However, I do have some easy recipes that I will try and put up during the next couple of weeks.

This recipe for oven dried tomatoes is one of them and it is one of my absolutely favorites to serve with a good piece of Italian bread and some strong aged cheese 🙂

Ingredients (1 cup)

80 small tomatoes (grapes or cherry), sliced in half

1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, slightly chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (+ extra to pour in the jar)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and pour onto a baking tray covered with baking paper. Make sure that the cutting surface of the tomatoes is turning up – otherwise they will bake differently.

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Place in a pre-heated 250F degree oven and let bake. Check after 2 hours to see if they have dried enough. If not, check again every 8-10 minutes until they have the wanted texture (I like mine to be a little soft , but every one is different 🙂 ).
Pull out of the oven an leave to cool. Transfer to an air tight jar, e.g. Mason and pour Extra Virgin Olive Oil until all the dried tomatoes are covered. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.

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Bon Appétit Friends!

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Creamy and Tasty Tomato Sauce

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Most people buy a pre-fabricated tomato sauce in the super market, because it is easy, comfortable and cheap. But have any you considered how many additives it contains, as it can be stores at room temperature for several years?? It sounds a bit holy, but we are not – we often buy ingredients with 2-3 years expiration.

As we both love to cook and often but organic products, grow our own herbs and a small variation of vegetable (we live downtown and do not have the space to grow an awful lot, so we look forward to moving to place with a huge (vegetable)garden), we have decided to try and cook as much as possible ourselves and only buy things that we are too unexperienced to make ourselves or food from delicacy stores 🙂

The recipe for this tomato sauce is made with the ‘add-and-taste’ method, meaning that different ingredients were added until it reached the perfect taste and consistency. This also means, that we have made many different recipes before ending up with this one and we a portion of 5 cups only lasts for day or two in our household, as everyone loves it and it can be used for many different purposes 🙂

 

Hope that you will love it too!

 

Ingredients (5 cups)

2 large onions

4 garlic cloves

15 sun ripened tomatoes

1/2 cup red wine

1 handful fresh basil leaves

1 tsp. freshly grounded pepper

1 tsp. chili flakes

1 tbsp. butter

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Chop onions, garlic cloves and tomatoes. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan and sauté the chopped onions and garlic cloves for a few minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, stir and let cook at medium heat until the tomatoes has softened – it takes 5- 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the alcohol in the red wine has evaporated (when the smell of red wine has disappeared). Reduce heat and cook for an additional hour.

Remove the cooked sauce from the heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to blender and blend until completely smooth. Store in a sterilized jar in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.IMG_1049

Serve as a healthy tomato soup, as a regular tomato sauce for pasta, lasagna or as shown on the picture below with gnocchi and meat balls 🙂

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Bon Appétit!

Creamy Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 1 Comment

We are in the middle of March and the calendar show spring – so what the F..K is happening with snow outside our windows? We had planned an easter vacation outside on the terrace with a cold beer and some damn good barbecue….

Of cause we can still fire up in the grill, but it would definitely be more fun if we could stay outside for more than 30 minutes without getting to look like a snowman!

This creamy tomato soup is a favorite of ours on a cold and snowy (normally) winter day. It is quick and easy to prepare and taste is just amazing 🙂

If you are not that fond of chilies, you can leave them out or just add a bit at a time. Regarding the grilled cheese sandwich, it is a first choice as a supplement for the soup, but a good French baguette is also good if you will save some calories from the cheese (we don’t believe in low-fat food – instead we try to go the gym as often as possible :-D).

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

1/2 gallon canned tomatoes

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 1/2 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2-3 red chilies, chopped

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tbsp. butter

1/2 cup cream

Salt

Pepper

 

8 pieces sandwich bread

4 slices cheddar cheese

1 tbsp. butter

 

Sauté the chopped onions, garlic, chilies and dried herbes in 1 tbsp. melted butter, for 3-5 minutes.

Add the canned tomatoes together with  tomato paste. Stir until combined and let cook at medium-low heat for approximately one hour.

Add cream and blend it all into a smooth and creamy mass. Season with salt and pepper. Let rest while making the grilled cheese sandwiches.

Spread one side of the bread with butter. Add one slice of cheese on the un-buttered side of every second bread slice. Top with remaining bread  – the buttered side out. Grill 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve with the slightly cooled tomato soup.

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Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

5 tomato cans

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 1/2 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2-3 red chilies, chopped

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tbsp. butter

1.25 dl cream

Salt

Pepper

8 pieces sandwich bread

4 slices cheddar cheese

1 tbsp. butter