Spiced Tomato Cooler With Herb Salad And Goat Cheese Toasts Recipes

SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND HERB MARINADE OVER GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• The night before, in a bowl, mix all ingredients together except the goat cheese. Stir until well mixed. Use enough oil to fully saturate with some extra settled on bottom of bowl.
• Cover and refridgerate overnight. You can occasionally take it out of the fridge and shake it up a bit.
• About an hour before serving, take out of fridge and bring to room temperature. It's ready to go when the oil is no longer gelled.
• Chop mixture in food processor just enough to blend together. Pour over log of goat cheese. Serve with toast rounds.
• Cooking time means to marinate overnight.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar and mustard together in a large bowl. Add the oils in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly, until the dressing is creamy and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomato wedges and gently toss to coat.
• Add the herbs and goat cheese and toss to coat. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide among chilled serving plates. Top with the greens. Serve immediately.
• microgreens
• Microgreens are the plant's first true leaves and are exceptionally tender. The young seedlings are harvested when less than fourteen days old, often with the stems attached. The tiny leaves are exact miniatures of how they would look if left to mature. They are often very intense in flavor. Common varieties include arugula, basil, beet, collard, mustard, daikon, chard, and celery. Microgreens are available at upscale and natural grocery stores such as Whole Foods and many farmer's markets.

SPICED TOMATO COOLER WITH HERB SALAD AND GOAT-CHEESE TOASTS

Steps:

• In a small sauté pan over medium heat, toast the pumpkin seeds or pepitas with a little salt to just heat through and color a bit. Set aside for the salad.
• In the same pan, heat the oil with the garlic clove and the cumin, paprika and cayenne, stirring until it smells spicy. Take care not to burn. Set aside.
• Pass the tomatoes through the medium plate of a food mill set over a nonreactive bowl. (If you don't have a food mill, use a cheese grater.) Add 1/4 cup cold water.
• Scrape the spices and oil into the tomato purée, discarding the garlic. Stir in the salt, pepper, lemon juice, Angostura bitters, Worcestershire sauce and cilantro sprigs. Taste for seasoning, cover and refrigerate.
• Assemble the salad: Put the sautéed pumpkin seeds, celery, watercress and arugula, scallion, cucumber and cilantro into a bowl. Dress with the oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss lightly.
• Divide the salad among 4 plates, with 2 toasts on each. Gently spoon a teaspoon or so of goat cheese onto each toast. Divide the tomato juice (discarding the cilantro stems) among 4 tumblers. Add a sliver of lemon, a couple of ice cubes, a grind of black pepper and a sprig of cilantro over each and serve.