Super Natural Every Day (31 page)

Read Super Natural Every Day Online

Authors: Heidi Swanson

225 g small–medium strawberries, hulled

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon port wine

A few drops balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4) with a rack in the middle of the oven.

It is important to use a rimmed baking tray or large baking dish for this recipe—you don’t want the juices running off the tray onto the floor of your oven. If you are using a baking tray, line it with baking paper.

Cut each strawberry in half. If your strawberries are on the large side, cut them into quarters or sixths. Add the berries to a mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, olive oil, and salt. Pour this over the strawberries and very gently toss to coat the berries. Arrange the strawberries in a single layer on the prepared baking tray.

Roast for about 40 minutes, just long enough for the berry juices to thicken, but not long enough for the juices to burn. Watch the edges of the tray in particular.

While still warm, scrape the berries and juices from the tray into a small bowl. Stir in the port and balsamic vinegar. Use immediately or allow to cool and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

MAKES ABOUT 140 G

Oven-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

	I make these constantly when cherry tomatoes are in season. The tiny tomatoes collapse and caramelise, while their flavour concentrates tenfold. I keep them in glass preserving jars in the refrigerator, to add little explosions of flavour to any dish that needs them.
When selecting cherry tomatoes, choose a mix of colours—red, orange, and yellow. I love the combination of colours, but using all red cherry tomatoes is just fine, too.

500 g cherry tomatoes, stemmed

60 ml extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon natural (unrefined) cane sugar or maple syrup

Fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4) with a rack in the top third of the oven.

Slice each tomato in half and place in a large baking dish or on a rimmed baking tray. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, and a scant ½ teaspoon salt. Pour the mixture over the tomatoes and gently toss until everything is well coated. Arrange the tomatoes cutside up and roast for 45–60 minutes, until the tomatoes shrink a bit and start to caramelise around the edges.

If you aren’t using them immediately, let the tomatoes cool, then scrape them into a clean glass jar along with any olive oil that is left in the dish. Sometimes I top off the jar with an added splash of olive oil. The tomatoes will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator.

MAKES ABOUT 170 G

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

S
O MANY OF THE PEOPLE
who helped me bring this book to light have been part of my life for years, and for that, I’m fortunate and thankful.

To Wayne, for inspiring me to reach and to imagine what isn’t always obvious. And for sharing a number of your beautiful photographs of our life and our city.

To my dad, for making sure my sister and I always had a homecooked meal to come home to—whether we were 13 or 30. And to mum, Heather, Mark, and Jack, I’m lucky to have all of you nearby.

Thank you to my Ten Speed family. Aaron Wehner, for being so much more than a publisher; Julie Bennett, for wrangling my words and ideas into something fit for print; and Toni Tajima, because few things make me happier than to be working together again on the design of a book—your work is beautiful. To Kristin Casemore, Michele Crim, Patricia Kelly, Andrea Chesman, and Dawn Yanagihara, for your support, input, and insight along the way.

Special thanks to the friends who have inspired a number of the recipes in this book. The creations coming from your kitchens helped drive what was coming from mine: Jess Thomson, Jennifer Jeffrey, Malinda Reich, Karen Merzenich, Olivia De Santis, Carrie Brown, Lori Narlock, Steve Sando, and Molly Watson.

A number of you welcomed the recipes in this book into your homes early on. Your honest feedback and suggestions made this a better book. Heartfelt thanks to my lifelong friend, Nikki, and the entire Graham clan—Amai, Emre, Kiah, Azia, and David—for putting a bunch of these recipes through their paces. Thanks to Lulu LaMer, Quyen Nguyen, Heather Gibbs Flett, Ross O’Dwyer, Monika Soria Caruso, Allison Yates, Anna-Lisa Palmer, Shay Curley, and Britta Garcia.

Thanks to Owen Seitel, Amie Ahlers, Gwen McGill, Lanha Hong-Porretta, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dorie Greenspan, Melissa Clark, and Kim Boyce. And thank you to all of the 101 Cookbooks readers—the way you build on ideas and make recipes work in your own lives and kitchens is continually inspiring to me.