When Fall hits our small part of the world, amazing deep grey clouds roll in, full of character, and sometimes full of rain. We had two straight days of cold, cold rain last weekend. The weekend my husband happened to be riding in Salt to Saint, a relay cycling race from Salt Lake City to St. George. While my boys and I drove through 200+ miles of rain, my husband and his team rode through it on their bikes. Good thing St. George is always sunny and warm. We met the team at the finish line with homemade cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, apple cider, and the good ol’ St. George sun.
Just in case your Fall is starting out cold and rainy, here’s a gourmet soup + sandwich combo you are going to just love: Creamy Corn and Potato Chowder + Tomato Asparagus Tart.
Sauté the veggies for bit, add stock and let simmer until the flavors have had time to shimmy and the veggies are perfectly soft, then add the half and half at the end until warm and creamy and heated through.
Our town’s Farmers Market runs through October, and we can still find a couple large heirloom tomatoes. I love the vibrant colors of heirlooms–they look just like the leaves! Mop up some of the tomato juice with paper towels while poking holes in the pastry.
Arrange the tomatoes and asparagus, bake, and sprinkle with a little love…aka…chopped walnuts and grated Parmigiano-Regiano cheese…
CORN AND POTATO CHOWDER
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 medium carrot, peeled and diced
- 1/2 medium celery rib, diced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 6 red potatoes, diced
- 2 ears fresh corn, cut from the cob
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 3-4 cups half and half
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
DIRECTIONS
- Coat the bottom of a large stockpot with olive oil and heat to medium. Sauté the carrot, celery, onion, potatoes, and corn, with salt and pepper to taste, until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the stock and parsley, and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are soft and tender, then add the half and half at the end, to get creamy and chowder-ish. {Be careful to not let the soup come back to a simmer or boil, or the milk will curdle and your soup will separate.}
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TOMATO AND ASPARAGUS TART
INGREDIENTS
- 1 store-bought puff pastry
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- 2 large heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- grated Parmigiano-Regiano to taste
DIRECTIONS
- Heat the oven to 425F.
- Prepare a large un-rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the thawed but chilled pastry and lay on the parchment paper. Don’t worry about rolling or cutting or spreading it at all, just unwrap and lay flat on the sheet pan. Poke with holes, using a fork.
- Prepare the tomatoes–they are too juicy and will make the pastry mushy. Prepare by slicing thinly and placing on a paper towel. Gently press the tops of the tomatoes with another paper towel. When ready, arrange the tomato sliced on the pastry, leaving a 1-2 inch border (this allows the pastry to puff; without the border, it won’t puff as nicely). Top with the asparagus.
- Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and bake until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
- Before serving, sprinkle with chopped walnuts and freshly grated cheese.
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MEATLESS MAIN 