Tomato Brown Butter Recipes

Steps:

• To make the soup:
• Combine the dried beans and kombu in a large container and cover with plenty of water to soak for at least 4 hours or overnight; skip this step if using fresh beans.
• Drain the beans and kombu and add them to a large pot with enough water to cover by about 1 in. (if using fresh beans, add the kombu now). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; meanwhile, halve the tomatoes and cut the celery, carrot, and leek into about 3 in. pieces. As soon as the water boils, decrease the heat to medium-low and add the vegetables to the pot, along with the whole shallots and minced garlic. Continue to cook at a gentle simmer until the beans are very creamy, 60 to 90 minutes for dried beans and about half that for fresh.
• Remove the pot from the heat and use a slotted spoon to reserve the tomatoes; remove and discard the other vegetables.
• Set up a sieve over a heat proof container and strain the beans (there should be about 3 cups or 480 g), reserving all the cooking liquid.
• In a blender, combine 1 cup (160 g) of the cooked beans with 2 cups (480 ml) of the cooking liquid, plus the tomatoes, anchovies, oil, maple syrup, salt, red pepper flakes, and mustard. Purée until extremely smooth, pour into a large bowl, and fold in the reserved cooked beans by hand. At this point, you can serve it right away or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days, gently rewarming over medium-low heat when you're ready to serve.
• To make the baked beans:
• While the bean soup is cooking, preheat the oven to 325°F. Cut the bacon into ¼ in. lardons; reserve 3 whole beans for garnish and cut the rest into 2 to 3 in. pieces.
• In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, spread the bacon in an even layer and cook over medium-low heat until it starts to turn golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces but leave the fat behind.
• Increase the heat slightly, and sauté the shallots until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped beans, bacon, and red pepper flakes. Cover with a lid or a tight layer of foil and bake until the beans are very soft, 60 to 90 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, juice, and garlic as soon as the beans come out of the oven and cover again; the residual steam will cook the garlic.
• To make the salad:
• Thinly slice the pickled green beans on the bias. Combine with the cherry tomatoes, oil, and vinegar.
• To serve, ladle the bean soup into bowls with a big spoonful of the baked beans on top. Garnish with the pickled green bean mix, a swirl of tomato brown butter, crumbled feta, and torn fresh herbs. Leftovers can all be refrigerated in separate airtight containers, though the green bean salad is best on the day it's made, when the beans are most crisp and the tomatoes are fresh.
• Basic wet salt method:
• This works for any amount of dense vegetables or dense, underripe fruit, either whole or cut up, such as carrots, turnips, beets, winter squash, onions, green beans, Brussels sprouts, green tomatoes, small apples, underripe peaches, and whole baby cabbages. Peel off any tough skins, such as on beets, winter squash, and onions, and trim the tops. Leave the vegetables whole or cut them into the desired finished shape. Place the vegetables in a nonreactive container and pour water to completely submerge them; as you do so, keep track of how much water you're adding since the amount of water will dictate the amount of salt (generally 3.5 percent salt by weight of the water for most vegetables, although cucumbers can handle 4 to 5 percent and the increased salt assists with keeping their texture crispy). With a long wooden spoon, stir kosher salt into the brine (or add the salt, cap the jar, and give it a hearty shake) until the salt is dissolved. Place a weight on top of the vegetables to keep them submerged in the brine. Seal the container, using a lid with an airlock if you have one. If you don't have an airlock, you'll just need to open the container every few days or so to release carbon dioxide buildup and check for mold. Place the container in a clean, low-light area with an ambient temperature of 60°F to 68°F until the pickles taste sour, about 3 weeks. Refrigerate indefinitely.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven's broiler to high heat.
• Place the tomatoes on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet, and place on a rack about 6 inches from the heating element.
• Broil tomatoes until they start to brown and release their juice, shaking the pan occasionally, so the tomatoes brown all over, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the tomatoes cool to room temperature.
• Drain tomatoes and place in a food processor. Add thyme, oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Pulse until finely chopped, but not completely smooth.
• Cube the butter and add to the food processor. Blend until butter is completely incorporated into the tomato mixture, scraping down sides of bowl, if necessary, 25 to 30 seconds.
• Transfer the butter to a small covered dish. May be served immediately or stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Steps:

• 1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, cream, salt, red pepper flakes, celery seed, oregano, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.
• 2. Remove from the heat and puree in batches in the container of a blender. Return the soup to the pot and reheat to a simmer, seasoning to taste with more salt and pepper.
• 3. Meanwhile, to make the brown butter croutons, preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat the butter in a small pan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the butter is golden brown and aromatic, about 3 minutes after the butter melts. Remove from the heat. Put the bread cubes in a bowl and pour the brown butter over them, tossing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss again. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Bake until the croutons are toasted and golden, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the oven.
• 4. Serve the soup hot, garnished with the croutons.

Steps:

• Place the tomato in a blender and purée, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve; you should get about ½ cup (120 ml). Add the butter to a large skillet and gently cook over medium heat until it starts to brown and smell nutty. Stir in the smooth tomato purée (be careful; it might spatter) and simmer for another minute or so. You're looking to slightly cook the purée but keep its brightness. The mix won't emulsify, which is fine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
• Meanwhile, using the large holes of a box grater, grate the cut ends of the tomato into a large bowl. Discard or compost skins. Grate the butter into the bowl as well. Using the small holes of the box grater, grate the garlic into the bowl. Add the red-pepper flakes, and season generously with salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Return the drained pasta to the pot, along with the bowl of grated tomato and butter. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and glosses the pasta, 2 to 3 minutes (the sauce will thicken as it sits). Add pasta water as needed to emulsify the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with more red-pepper flakes, black pepper, basil and Parmesan as desired.