Red Onion and Cherry Tomato Pizza

Dear Devon,

There are some combinations of flavors that should be repeated, and repeated often. For me, red onion and fresh cherry tomatoes with roasted garlic is one of those unbeatable combinations. About two weeks ago, I walked past an artisanal pizza shop. A fresh tray of hot pizza topped with red onions and cherry tomatoes had just been set in the display window. The clean white tiled interior and chalkboard menu drew me into the shop. It was dangerously close to dinnertime, but I bought a slice, anyway, and walked home munching on warm pizza.

Fingers barely wiped clean of grease, I thought to myself: I can do this, and I can do it better. I set a frozen ball of pizza dough out to defrost and made a mental list of ingredients: cherry tomatoes, red onion, garlic, and basil.

Don’t expect to get the most scrumptious results without using the best quality ingredients. Lately, I have been getting some delicious red cherry tomatoes from the local market. Sweet and bright, these tomatoes are great in salads, sauces, or as a refreshing snack. I have taken to eating them cold, straight out of the fridge. My other recent luxury is fresh basil– I was planning to make a big batch of pesto– so a few big leaves made it onto my pizza, as well. A few slices from a wedge of raclette cheese added that last touch to the rich flavors fo the pizza. Requests for a second round have already been recorded!

Red Onion and Cherry Tomato Pizza

Pizza dough
1 red onion
5 cherry tomatoes, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, smashed and sliced
¼ to ½ cup tomato sauce
cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, forming a large disk. Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on the pizza board and set the prepared dough on top. Spread a generous spoonful of tomato sauce over the dough. Top with thinly sliced red onions and garlic. Next, top with cheese and tomatoes.

Bake in the oven until golden brown and the cheese is nicely melted, about 15 minutes.

Botifarra and Onion Marmelade

Dear Devon,

In early December, the Wall Street Journal published an article on botifarra, a traditional Catalan sausage made of ground pork and simply seasoned with salt and pepper. I was not surprised to see botifarra appear front and center on WSJ’s food page. I have been enjoying its rich and meaty flavor for weeks. One bite of this subtly seasoned sausage laced with black truffles will send anyone running to the butcher for more. I am especially fond of botifarra incorporated into tomato sauces or slowly braised with shredded cabbage. But my recent obsession has been in the form of a lunchtime sandwich. I pan fry the botifarra in a bit of olive oil. The links satisfyingly crackle and sizzled on the hot pan, the ends curl, and the skins crisp up nicely.


Found in every meat stall and butcher shop in Barcelona, botifarra at its most basic form is a lean pork sausage, without any of the trappings of luxury. Beyond this, the flavors are limitless ranging from the expected: wild mushroom, eggplant or basil to the wildly adventurous like pizza or chocolate flavors. It comes in four types: fresh, white (made with eggs), a black blood variety, and offal. I prefer fresh or botifarra blanca.

A sausage this good calls for a worthy condiment, something beyond bright yellow mustard or vinegary ketchup. I whipped up a quick dressing that I dubbed caramelized onion marmalade. It consists of sweet, golden caramelized onions mixed with fresh, crunchy diced red onions, a touch of spicy Dijon mustard, a splash of balsamic and a drizzle of olive oil. This marmalade was inspired by some of your creamy and tangy mustard sauces of lunches past.


Baguettes were sliced and toasted and smeared with a generous mound of onion marmalade. For “nutritional” value, I added a few pieces of leafy greens. The just-cooked through botifarra was eased on top, tucked into the lettuce and onions and topped by a second piece of toasted baguette.

For both our sakes, I will forgo tasting details. It would be too tortuous. Let’s suffice it to say that I will be enjoying this for lunch again soon.


Onion Marmalade
1 medium-sized red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup red onion, small dice
2 sprigs rosemary
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp port wine
1 ½ tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

2 sausage links (botifarra, if you can find it)
1 large baguette
lettuce

In a medium-sized skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add onions and rosemary sprigs and turn heat to low and slowly carmelize onions, 15-20 minutes. Throughout the carmelization process, add a touch of port to the onions to prevent scorching. When the onions are evenly browned, take off the burner and allow to cool.

While the onions are cooling, finely dice red onion, place into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add cooled carmelized onions, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Mix thoroughly. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving.

In a non-stick skillet over high heat, cook sausage, roughly 7-10 minutes. The skin should bubble up and be a bit charred.

Halve baguette. Using a serrated knife, slice lengthwise. Spread a generous spoon of onion marmalade onto the bottom slice of each halved baguette. Top with lettuce and sausage. Place remaining slice of bread on top to close the sandwich.

Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Dear Devon,

Despite my attempts to stay on top of food trends and all things culinary, I have been unforgivably lazy since leaving New York. I half-heartedly blame the time difference and our temperamental internet connection, but in the end, it’s the lack of a proper lunch hour. With more thought, I realized that my do-or-die urge to read the entire NY Times in one 45 minute period has vanished, now that lunch lasts three hours. I am no longer addicted to the food section of the Times or to the twenty or so food blogs I love. So, it was with some excitement that I returned to my old surfing routine and found rejuvenating ideas from old favorites.

I love sandwiches, especially hot pressed ones. When I see a good sandwich idea, I whip out a pad of paper and a pen and quickly copy it down, inspiration for a relaxed Saturday lunch on the roof terrace. And so it was that one random Tuesday morning, I found myself on the Tartine Bakery and Café website, drooling over their delectable pastries and excited by their treasure trove of sandwiches. The grilled cheese with carmelized onions grabbed my attention. I threw on a pair of jeans, pocketed my keys, and ran out the door to the market. I had just finished breakfast, but lunch was already on my mind.


Back in the kitchen, I proudly announced my lunch plans, which led the boy to reschedule his library visit. Tartine’s sandwich does not include fried garlic or mushrooms: That inspiration came from the basket of old mushrooms chilling in the fridge. I really had no idea what I was doing. The garlic fried a bit too fast, the onions got a bit dark, the bread was a three days old, the mushrooms could’ve used a bit more fat, and I forgot to salt. But in the end, it didn’t matter. It was the epitome of an autumnal sandwich: savory and dark, complex flavors of sweet onion and melted cheese, punctuated by pungent, aromatic garlic and juicy mushrooms. The crisply toasted bread made a satisfying crunch with every enthusiastic bite. This should definitely be a $10 sandwich.



I am fantasizing about making this for you and Jeff when I come back to New York. All the elements can be prepared in advance and assembled upon your arrival. Throw the sandwiches into the oven at a low temperature to allow them to crisp up. Serve alongside a hearty butternut squash soup, and you’ll have the perfect autumnal lunch.


Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
(makes 2 small sandwiches)

Swiss cheese (Emmental)
1/3 cup onions, thinly sliced
5 large button mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced on a bias
4 tbsp butter
4 slices of bread
2 tbsp olive oil

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sized skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, gently fry the sliced garlic. After 3 minutes or so, remove the garlic. Be careful not to burn, the edges should be light golden brown and the garlic should remain crisp. Set aside to cool. Turn down the heat and add the sliced onions. Slowly cook for 15 minutes, adding a tablespoon of water, if needed, to prevent the onions from burning. Remove carmelized onions and reserve with fried garlic. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet, add sliced mushrooms. Cook over low heat until both sides are nicely browned, 7 to 10 minutes.

Using a large serrated knife, cut four slices from a fresh loaf of bread. Spread each side with a generous amount of butter. Lay carmelized onions over two slices, top with garlic slices and mushrooms. Set a generous slice of cheese over onion-mushroom mixture and top with remaining slice of bread. Heat skillet to medium high temperature. Grill sandwiches until the cheese is nicely melted and the bread is golden brown. A bacon press would work very nicely here.

Four Onion Frittata

Dear Devon,

Did you know that within the Allium genus, there are over 600 types of onions? Not all of them are edible or easily found. In fact, only a handful are cultivated (chives, scallions, garlic, shallots, onions, and leeks). The tasty five onion pizza at Porchetta inspired me to think about onions. The pizza isn't exactly made with five onions, but rather five types of onions. I loved this idea and borrowed it for my frittata.


Saturdays are my days for eggy breakfasts. I love soft scrambled eggs with whole grain toast. But with the taste of five onion pizza still on my mind, I tested my own multiple onion variation. My big concern was too much onion flavor, so I chose softer, sweeter onions: sweet yellow onion, leeks, shallots and scallions. This is breakfast after all. Goat cheese seemed an obvious choice. It pairs nicely with leeks and eggs- plus what is brunch without goat cheese?

I used a cast iron pan because I wanted that lovely brown, crisp edge. The size of the pan was perfect. The pan was deep enough to hold all the yummy onions and eggs but also allowed the frittata to puff slightly. The pan needed to be oven proof. I love the feeling of cooking with cast iron. It evokes a rustic, pioneer-like feeling. I felt this was fitting for this dish.


Fresh from the oven, the frittata was beautifully puffed and speckled with varying shades of green and hints of purple. It had formed a wonderful golden crust and the goat cheese was slightly burned. It looked amazing. The recipe called for eight eggs. I worried that with this many eggs, the frittata would turn out rubbery if over-cooked or too dense. Luckily, eight was the perfect number. The texture was fluffy and light, yet without losing that hearty quality of eggs and onions. I ate it piping hot with a piece of toast and some jam. Later, in the afternoon, it made a wonderful cold snack. In Italy, they make sandwiches out of fritattas and two pieces of sliced bread. It might be time for a picnic!


Four Onion Frittata

1 leek (A. ampeloprasum), chopped
1 1/2 shallots (A. oschaninii), sliced
1/2 yellow onion (A. cepa), diced
2 scallions (A. ascalonicum), sliced
8 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz goat cheese
2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare leeks by removing the root and trimming the leaves along the stalk where they turn a darker shade of green. Halve the leek along the stalk. Rotate 45 degrees and halve again. Run under some cold water to wash out all the sand. Leeks are grown in sand and can carry a lot of dirt in their leaves. Roughly chop, along with scallions, shallots and white onion.

Over medium flame, melt butter and gently saute onions in a large cast iron pan. It will seem like a lot of onion, but it cooks down. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in salt. When the onions are translucent, add the beaten eggs. Cook gently over medium low flame. The mixture will gradually firm up and the edges will get a bit crusty. Dot with lumps of goat cheese. Place the frittata in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the eggs are set. Set frittata under the broiler to get some nice brown color and some crunchiness. I won't give an estimate for broiler time. I've noticed that broilers vary vastly. Some broilers will absolutely char your food in 30 seconds (my mother's super high powered oven does that) while in others, the broiler can be on for five minutes with no effect.