Best Roasted Tomato Jam

This is a great condiment, sandwich spread and good anywhere you want rich tomato flavor. And, it's so easy to make! When Autumn rolls around , make all you can and freeze it in small batches. You will never regret putting Summer in your freezer and making an anchovy pizza with Summer tomatoes on Christmas Eve for an elegant appetizer! It enhances other flavors as well. One of our favorite add ins : caramelized onions. It adapts to many uses and variations. The main thing is this: you must use extremely over ripe fruit that is too soft to slice. They must be slow roasted in an open shallow pan to encourage the evaporation of water and the caramelization of tomato juices. You must stir them a few times during roasting to stir up the sugars clinging to the pan , not allowing those sugars to burn. If you have to constantly monitor the pan, then your heat is up too high. About 300 is best, depending on your oven.

You can use any tomato variety you wish, but high sugar varieties are best. We love to mix cherry tomatoes and plum . The end product is thick and sweet.

Wash tomatoes and drain well. Cut them in quarters; cherry types are left whole. Oil a cookie sheet or pizza pan well with olive oil and heat. Add tomatoes and salt lightly. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and mix. Add them to the prepared pan and roast slowly until thickened and dry. Cool and mash lightly , leaving it a bit chunky. Taste for salt and add a little oil if it is too dry. A few drops of good balsamic vinegar is great too. Store in the fridge in a glass jar. We use this a lot on pizza and in BLT’s

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Mixed Grain Salad With White Beans And Roasted Pumpkin

We have been successful with all types of grain and salad greens. It is your personal choice which determines what kind of grain mix to use . We usually use brown rice, Israeli Cous Cous, Japonica black rice, hulled whole barley, whole wheat, red and black quinoa, Amaranth. The greens, because of the moisture level of this salad , require a firm leaf to hold up well. We generally use a mix of Romaine, Iceberg, Escarole hearts and Kale leaves. We have also used just Romaine and the results were excellent.This is for approximately 4 servings. As always , these are ideas, methods and combinations for you to make your own. FYI: On lazy days we have used leftover grains prepared from this recipe in a really good vegetable stew. Check it out in our next blog. Terrific and delicious way to utilize leftovers and small amounts of food just waiting to jump into your kitchen creations. Remember: you don't need a strict recipe. You need ideas and good combinations to create healthy gourmet taste treats.

1 small pumpkin
1 cup of mixed whole grain; make extra for another recipe, if desired.
1 tablespoon of fresh pressed garlic
3 bay leaves
2 cups of cooked beans, your choice
Olive oil as needed
salad greens; firm variety is best for this salad, sliced , (plastic knife), or torn into bites
Red onion chopped into small dice
1/4 cup sliced olives
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 carrot shredded
1/2 cup roasted peppers snipped ;can substitute chopped raw bell pepper
1/2 cup of prepared Greek or Italian salad dressing , or your own homemade oil and balsamic
1/4 cup of fresh chopped parsley and basil; you can substitute mint or other herb if you desire
Optional toppings: 3-4 tablespoons of chia
3-4 tablespoons of toasted pumkin seeds, pistachios, or walnuts
Coarse black pepper
Salt , if desired

Soak the grains in 2 cups of water overnight. Drain, add fresh water and bay leaves and simmer just until cooked chewy. Drain well, remove bay. Add salad dressing, 1/2 of the onion, garlic and beans . Chill.
Roast the pumpkin only until soft enough to peel, and cube. Toss with olive oil and salt. Place on cookie sheet and finish roasting until light brown.
Place lettuce in a large salad bowl , add tomatoes, 1/2 of the onion, olives and roasted peppers.
Layer on cubed pumpkin and then top with chilled grain mixture .Sprinkle on chopped herbs, and optional toppings
Serve with extra dressing on the size.

Grilled Lemony Chicken Salad With Baby Kale and Spinach

 2 Boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite sized chunks
1 medium red or Vidalia onion
1 carrot 1 pickling or Persian type cucumber
 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1 red or green pepper
2 medium hard boiled eggs
 8 pitted black olives
1 avocado, cubed
1 bag of prewashed baby spinach/kale mix, or greens of your choice
lemon juice yogurt garlic olive oil Rosemary or Oregano, your choice

Chicken Marinade
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of yogurt
2 pressed cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon of coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon of snipped rosemary
We process all the ingredients, because it's easier and also makes a better marinade; but you can mince and press and snip,if you prefer. Place chicken in a bowl or plastic bag Marinate for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator .

Veggie Prep
Dice the pepper
Dice the cuke
Shred the carrots
Slice the onion
Dice the avocado and eggs as close to serving time as possible
Slice the olives
Keep everything chilled until you are ready to assemble.

Make Dressing
Equal parts olive oil and yogurt, greek style is best
Black pepper
I tablespoon of lemon juice
Hefty pinch of lemon zest
1 tablespoon of grated Italian cheese or a 2 tablespoons of mild Feta

Chill until serving ,
Drain the chicken and discard the marinade. Prepare the grill by brushing with oil, we use an Italian stove top pan. Heat the pan until it's almost at the smoking point. Lower the flame and toss the drained chicken into the pan. Cook until done with nicely browned grill marks .

Assembly 

Begin layering the salad. Place the greens on individual plates or in large shallow past bowls Top with green pepper and then cukes Add the onion and top with chicken Arrange avocado, olive slices and chopped egg all around the edges of the plate Stir the dressing and serve at the table Get yourself a nice seeded loaf or some grilled Flatbread and enjoy

Bellarturo's Roasted Vegetable Bruschetta

We love this ! It's tasty and has so many uses. Just keep it in a glass jar in the fridge, keeping the top covered with olive oil. We use it on toasted Italian bread or Rusks, sometimes covered with cheese. We topped pizza, with or without cheese. I have also used it as a topping on steak, pork chops, chicken cutlets and even hamburgers! Best of all, when dinner time sneaks up on you, add some more oil and dress your pasta with it. Add grated cheese and a nice salad. Dinner is ready! Leftovers? Grab the frying pan and some eggs.

10 firm red plum tomatoes, cut into large chunks
1 medium eggplant, quartered and then sliced
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of cured or jarred capers, rinsed lightly
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
Olive oil

Dressing
Reserved veggie juices
Balsamic vinegar
Oregano or basil; we use about 3 tablespoons fresh
5 tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley leaves, finely chopped or snipped
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata or other olive
Salt to taste, added if needed before serving
Crushed red pepper, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.Wash vegetables and let air dry in colander. Prepare them over a large bowl to catch the juices. Drain and save the juices for dressing them. You will need a large shallow pan that has been lightly coated with oil. Pour 1/4 cup olive oil in the bowl with the chopped vegetables. Stir gently but thoroughly making sure to all are coated. Sprinkle very lightly with salt to encourage the rendering of liquid. These juices will caramelize as the they roast.
Place the vegetables in the pan and place in oven. After 8 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 300. Check frequently , using a spatula to move them around to avoid scorching and to make sure all sides have a turn at contact with the pan. When they are lightly browned, soft enough to eat but still holding shape, remove them from the oven.Transfer to a bowl and scrape the browned bits from the roasting pan.
Using a scissor cut the vegetables into fairly uniform small pieces .
Add the reserved juices , oregano, capers, parsley, and finely chopped olives.
Add the optional pepper, if desired and 2 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar. Add more oil if needed. Store in the refrigerator and let sit at least 24 hours before serving.

Asparagus Pesto

Barbecue season is rapidly approaching and while meat is the main event, we can quickly tire of the same old thing. The perfect foil to the star attraction of course are the vegetables. How perfect then is the timing that this is our main local produce season as well ! The Arthur Avenue market is teeming with the largest and freshest variety found anywhere on a consistent basis. Those readers who have previously visited Bellarturo blog and/or Facebook page already know how we love vegetables.
I have experimented with various Pesto combinations. One of my new favorites is a really simple asparagus pesto. It is so delicious on toasted bread, pizza, salad, pasta, potatoes, grilled shrimp and our favorite: grilled chicken breast. We also love this on homemade gnocchi ! Just keep the leftovers, if any, in ajar in the fridge. As always, keep a little olive oil covering the top to keep freshness in and bacteria out. Recipe can easily be doubled.

1 lb asparagus, stems trimmed
5 cloves of garlic
Italian olive oil as needed
4 tablespoons grated parmegiano
Coarse black pepper, ground fresh
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon(or more if you like), finely grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon of capers, optional
3 tablespoons each of fresh basil and parsley, optional

Place asparagus in roasting pan. Coat them with oil and sprinkle very lightly with salt. When soft, cool and place on processor. Add all ingredients, except lemon peel and optional ingredients, and 3 tablespoons of oil. Pulse until fairly smooth , but not runny. Add oil as needed to keep consistency thick but not runny. It should be the texture of a topping. You can always add more oil if you want to use it on pasta. At this point, if you are using the options, add them and pulse again. Then stir in rind and capers and it's ready to serve or mellow in the fridge.

Yellow Squash Stuffed With Sausage And Brown Rice

This dish can be made year round. Any squash works well. We have used zucchini, yellow, and even green Mexican and all are fine for this recipe. You must pick firm squash though because softer squash can break while you are scooping out the flesh. We use spicy hot Italian sausage as a little goes a long way in flavor. Arthur Ave has many stores selling very good sausage, not at all like supermarkets. It's made fresh and w/o extenders or chemicals, and the variety is endless. You can use a leaner pork product or beef, if you desire. This can be prepared in advance or even cooked and reheated.2-3 squash per serving depending on size and additional menu items

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds of sausage or lean ground pork for about 18 squash)
1 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice ; you can substitute white rice, cous-cous, or quinoa with success.
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
5 cloves of pressed garlic
1/2 cup grated Romano or your preference. If using plain meat instead of sausage, you will need to increase the cheese or add salt.
Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped pine nuts; substitute almonds if you prefer
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons of oregano
1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar
Black pepper
1 large can of Italian crushed tomatoes

Method
Wash the squash well in salt water, rinsing well. Dry them off . Working over a bowl , hold firmly and core each one using the blossom end as a guide. Grasp firmly or it will split. Core one side and then the other. Do not attempt to go straight through to the end.They should look like the photo.

Refrigerate while you prepare the stuffing.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the sausage ,which has been removed from it's casing to the pan. breaking up any clumps. When the meat is no longer pink looking, add the chopped onion and cored squash flesh and continue to cook until the meat is nice and brown. Remove from the heat and press the garlic right into the pan . Add the rice , parsley, cheese and oregano mixing well. Lastly, add the nuts and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning for salt. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Place the finely chopped garlic in a baking pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the crushed tomatoes and a small bunch of chopped basil, or 1 teaspoon of dried and stir well. Using your fingers, gently stuff the squash and lay them in the baking dish. Spoon some tomatoes over the top. Cover with foil and bake about 30 minutes or until the squash pierces easily with a fork.

Serve with a simple green salad and some great bread from Arthur Avenue.