Sometimes, I shop for specific ingredients to make a recipe I already have in mind, but most of the time, it's the fresh ingredients that I find in my supermarket that inspire me to create a recipe. This was exactly what happened two days before the deadline for the TomatoMania contest at Sippity Sup.
First, some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes caught my eye.
Then, I saw, or actually smelled, this living organic basil from Shenandoah growers. The sweet aroma of this basil was incredible!
Finally, I was fortunate to have received coupons for organic Oikos Greek yogurt made by StonyField Farm. I couldn't believe that this creamy and delicious Greek yogurt was actually fat-free!
These ingredients, especially tomato and basil, are typically used in savory dishes. However, we all know that tomato is a fruit. I thought it would be a great idea to explore the sweet side of tomato and create this unique dessert. The candied tomatoes with basil cookies and honey Greek yogurt was definitely a winning combination and the extra basil cookies have disappeared minutes after the tomato dessert.
Ingredients: (4 servings)
Cookies: (about 1 dozen)
1 ½ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 egg
About 1 cup basil leaves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Tomatoes:
2 large heirloom tomatoes
4 tablespoons butter, softened
4 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons honey
Additional sugar
Yogurt:
½ cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
Directions:
Cookies:
Finely chop basil and place in a food processor. Add lemon juice and mix until well blended. Pour into a bowl and whisk in the egg.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In a third large bowl, cream butter and sugar together, then mix in the basil-egg mixture and flour mixture, until the dough forms. Shape in a ball, cover in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Scoop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough and form into small rounds. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Then, bake for about 12-15 minutes.
Tomatoes:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut tomatoes in half and arrange the tomato halves on a baking sheet. Mash butter with sugar and honey to form a paste. Spread ¼ of the mixture on each tomato half. Sprinkle generously with additional sugar. Bake tomatoes for about 15-20 minutes.
Yogurt:
Mix honey and Greek yogurt together.
Assembly:
On each plate place a tomato half, top with a generous dollop of honey yogurt, and add one or two cookies on a side.
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I am excited to share that my tomato dessert was selected as one of the winners for the TomatoMania contest. Please check out the other winners on Sippity Sup as well as his many fabulous recipes and videos!
I also would like to submit this recipe for this month's Royal Joust contest at the Leftover Queen's Forum. It's a perfect match for the red, green, and white colors which is this month's criteria. You can view the other wonderful entries and vote here!
