Puy Lentils with Oven-Dried Sungold Tomatoes and Gorgonzola

From Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. Serve these lentils at room temperature over a bed of arugula.

-Preheat your oven to 130 degrees.

-Cut 1 basket of Sungold cherry tomatoes in half or you can use 5-6 slicing tomatoes cut into 4ths the long way. (A mixture of both?)

-Place skin-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

-Drizzle with 1 TBS olive oil and 2 TBS balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with sea salt.

-Roast for 1½ hours until semi-dried. Let cool.

 -Very thinly slice 1 red onion and put it in a medium sized bowl.

-Pour over 1 TBS red wine vinegar and sprinkle with 1 tsp Maldon sea salt and let sit for a few minutes until the onion softens.

-Boil 2½ cups of water, then add 1½ cups of Puy lentils, the water should come about ½ inch above the lentils.

-Cook the lentils for 20-30 minutes until tender.

-Drain well, then while still warm, add to the sliced onion.

-Then add 3 TBS olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic put through a press and some freshly ground black pepper.

-Stir to mix and leave aside to cool down.

-Once cool add ½ bunch chopped cilantro, flat leaf Italian parsley and/or basil.

-Taste for salt and pepper.

-Crumble up 1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese.

-To serve, pile up the lentils on a large plate, integrating the Gorgonzola and the oven-dried tomatoes as you build up the pile.

-Drizzle the tomato cooking juices on top and serve.

Penne with Escarole, Sungold Cherry Tomatoes and Romano Cheese

-Bring a pot of salted water to boil.

-Add 1 pound penne pasta and cook according to package directions until just tender.

-Slice 4 spicy Italian sausages into rounds.

-Chop up 1 fennel bulb.

-Melt 1 TBS of butter in a large sauté pan.

-Add the sausage and fennel and cook stirring often until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes.

-Cut 1 head of well-washed escarole into thin ribbons.

-Add to the sausage along with ½ tsp fennel seeds.

-Sauté another 8 minutes.

-Add the pasta to the sausage and fennel and mix.

-Halve ½ pint of Sungold cherry tomatoes or chop up 2 slicing tomatoes.

-Add to the pasta and toss gently.

-Season with salt and pepper and serve with grated Romano cheese and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

Oven Roasted Sungold Cherry Tomatoes Packed in Oil

-Cut 1-2 pints of Sungold Cherry tomatoes in half.

-Place cut-side up on a baking tray with sides so they are just touching.

-Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

-Turn oven on to 200 degrees, or "warm" and place tomatoes in center of oven, cracking open the door of the oven a bit. 

-Slow roast for 4- 5 hours or until the tomatoes are quite shrunk, but not crunchy.

-Crack your oven open, so that the moisture can escape while they bake.

-When the tomatoes are cool chop up the following:

1 good size clove of garlic

Some herbs (basil, rosemary or parsley)

-Gently stir together the tomatoes, garlic, herbs and more sea salt.

-Pack into a quart size canning jar. 

-Slowly pour extra virgin olive oil over them until they are completely submerged. 

-Place in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours to let marinate, they will last 1 week in the fridge.

-Serve with crackers and cheese or as an antipasti dish.

Grilled Summer Squash and Sungold Tomato Salad

-Heat your grill to medium hot.

-Cut 2-3 large summer squash in half crosswise and then lengthwise so you have four quarters.

-Brush the cut sides with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

-Grill for about 5 minutes total, depending on the thickness of the squash. Flip once so that the outside also gets grill marks.

-You want the squash hot through and juicy, but not too soft.

-Cut up the squash into bite-sized pieces.

-Cut ½ pint of Sungold cherry tomatoes in half and toss with the squash.

-Toss with the following;

10 Castelvetrano olives, pitted and chopped

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and pepper to taste

-Grate up 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese or 1/4 cup feta cheese and sprinkle over top.

-Serve the salad at room temperature.

Broccoli, Red Onion and Sungold Cherry Tomato Pizza

-Chop 1 red onion into thin rings.  
-Cut up some broccoli into bite sized pieces, you want about 10 broccoli florets in all.
-Heat 1 TBS olive oil then add the onions and broccoli and sauté for 2-3 minutes.  
-Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic, season with salt and pepper and cover.  
-Cook for about 2-3 minutes more, stirring once. Set aside.
-Roll out one defrosted/frozen whole wheat pizza dough, place on a pizza stone or baking sheet and rub on a little olive oil.
-Grate 1 large summer squash on a box grater then put the grated squash in a clean kitchen towel and tightly squeeze to drain out as much water from the squash as possible.
-Spread the grated squash over the pizza crust then top with some pizza sauce (we like Muir Glen).
-Cover with 1½ cups of grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (crumbled feta would be nice too).
-Spread out the red onion and broccoli on the pizza then add a handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half. 
-Bake at 500 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.