Rich Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted tomatoes, garlic, and dried herbes de Provence give this soup a sweet and savory flavor. Photo courtesy Shutterstock.

Ingredients

• 8 Roma tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly 
ground black pepper
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon water, 
divided
• ½ onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried herbes 
de Provence
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable 
stock
• Sour cream or olive oil, for 
garnish (if desired)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In bowl, toss tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Place tomatoes, cut side down, on prepared baking sheet and drizzle 1 tablespoon water over tomatoes.
4. Bake in oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Carefully peel off skins and discard.
5. Flip tomatoes over so they’re cut side up, and place back in oven until tomatoes are shriveled but not dry, another 30 to 60 minutes.
6. Remove tomatoes from oven and allow to cool slightly.
7. Meanwhile, in large saucepan, saute onion in remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over low heat until very soft, 10 to 12 minutes.
8. Add garlic and herbes de Provence and cook until fragrant, another 1 to 2 minutes.
9. Add stock and remaining ½ cup water and bring to simmer. Simmer 15 minutes.
10. Cool slightly. In blender, puree tomatoes (including any cooking liquid on baking sheet) and stock mixture until very smooth. You may need to work in batches.
11. Strain through fine sieve if very smooth texture is desired.
12. Pour soup back into saucepan, season with salt and pepper, and heat gently.
13. To serve, ladle into cups or bowls and top with either swirl of olive oil or little sour cream, if desired.

Lemon-Ginger Pudding

Ingredients

• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
• Zest of 1 lemon, plus juice of 1½ lemons
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

1. Grate ginger into a medium bowl. Add lemon zest and juice and set aside.
2. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Add milk and half-and-half, and whisk to combine. Bring the ingredients to a simmer over medium-high heat while whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick and starts to bubble, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the ginger-lemon mixture and butter, slowly stirring until butter is completely melted. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and into medium bowl.
3. Cool for 10 minutes before covering flush with plastic wrap and refrigerating (at this point you can also divide the pudding into 4 dessert bowls and cover each flush with plastic wrap). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Sole, Zucchini, and Tomato Napoleon with Tomato-Caper Crudo

Reprinted from the book Ten Dollar Dinners by Melissa d’Arabian. Copyright © 2012 Melissa d’Arabian. Photo by Ben Fink © 2012. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

Ingredients

for Napoleon

• 1 large zucchini, trimmed and very thinly sliced
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 4- to 6-ounce sole fillets, halved crosswise (yields 4 2-inch-wide pieces)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• Good-quality olive oil

for Crudo

• 2 large ripe tomatoes, cored
• 1 small or ½ large shallot, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Napoleon: Place thinly sliced zucchini rounds in colander. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt and toss to evenly coat, then place in sink to drain while you prepare crudo and broil fish.
2. Crudo: Slice cored tomatoes into ⅛-inch-thick rounds. Set 4 best slices aside for napoleon and chop remaining slices into small cubes. Place chopped tomatoes in medium bowl and add shallot, capers, balsamic vinegar, plus salt, if desired. Stir and set aside.
3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat broiler to high. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place sole fillets on top. Season with ¼ teaspoon of salt and pepper and broil until fillets spring back to light pressure, 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
4. Place 1 tomato slice on each plate and sprinkle with a little of remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Arrange zucchini slices in overlapping circle on top of tomatoes. Set piece of sole on top of each tomato-zucchini stack. Use slotted spoon to top each serving with tomato-caper crudo. Sprinkle with basil, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

Rice with Fresh Herbs

Reprinted from the book Ten Dollar Dinners by Melissa d’Arabian © 2012. Photo by Ben Fink © 2012. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra if desired
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, chives, cilantro, mint, tarragon, or combination of many

Directions

1. Bring large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add rice and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain through fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Shake sieve to drain as much water as possible.
2. Melt butter in large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add rice and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and stir with heatproof rubber spatula to coat all rice with butter. Once rice is warmed through, about 3 minutes, transfer rice to serving bowl and add herbs plus additional salt, if desired. Stir with fork to incorporate and fluff rice and serve warm or at room temperature.