Free Nuts in the Kitchen by Susan Herrmann Loomis Page B

and arrange the fresh herbs on top.
     
    4. Bake the tomatoes in the bottom third of the oven until slightly golden on top and caramelized, about 1 hour. Remove and let cool for at least 10 minutes before proceeding. Remove and discard the herbs.
     
    5. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F (220°C).
     
    6. Remove the pastry circles from the refrigerator and prick them several times with a fork. Bake in the ovenuntil light brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on wire racks.
     
    7. Assemble the croustillants by arranging three slices of tomato overlapping slightly in the center of each pastry round. Let sit for about 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Just before serving, drizzle each croustillant with ½ to 1 teaspoon of pistachio oil and sprinkle with an equal amount of pistachio nuts.

 
     
    Fiona’s Almond and Olive Sandwich
    Makes 4 servings
    When my daughter, Fiona, doesn’t have school on Saturday morning, she and I can be found pursuing a well-trodden path through our farmers’ market. One of our stops is at Makram’s stall. Makram is a big, burly Tunisian, with a smile like the sun and velvet brown eyes. He is what the French call a baratineur —what some might call a “bluffer.” He hails me like long-lost family, clasps his hands, and looks to heaven when he sees Fiona. All of his customers are made to feel they have caused the sun, moon, and stars to come out and shine for Makram. The response is, of course, big sales of all his products, from olives to taramasalata.
    Makram is smooth and obvious, but both Fiona and I play right along with his game. Makram delights in Fiona’s clear blue eyes and listens to every word she says to him. When she told him about the sandwich she makes with his herbed cheese and almond-stuffed olives, he laughed out loud and then asked her exactly how to make it. As she explained, he made one, with all his long line of customers looking on. When he was finished, he wrapped it in a napkin and handed it over the counter to her, with a flourish. “For you, my Fiona,” he said.
    9 ounces (250 g) very soft fresh goat cheese
    1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
    One 9-ounce (250-g) baguette, sliced lengthwise almost in half, so that when you open it it remains attached along one side
    4 ounces (110 g) green olives, cut in half and pitted
    ¼ cup (40 g) raw almonds, coarsely chopped
    Note: You can adapt Makram and Fiona’s sandwich by adding sun-dried tomatoes, lots of freshly ground black pepper, fresh lettuce, thin-sliced cucumber, and freshly sliced seasonal tomatoes. You may also want to vary the herbs, though a good herbes de Provence mixture is hard to beat. Note, too, that there are dozens of varieties of green olives. Makram’s are Tunisian, fleshy and firm, and marinated in a salty brine.
     
    1. Place the cheese, the olive oil, and the herbes de Provence in a medium bowl and mix. Taste to be sure you’ve added enough herbs for your taste.
     
    2. Thickly spread each side of the baguette with the cheese, using all of it. Arrange the olives on one side of the sandwich, the almonds on the other, pressing them firmly into the cheese so they’ll stay there as you eat the sandwich. Firmly press the halves of the bread back together, then cut it into four lengths on the bias. Serve with a big green salad alongside.

 
     
    Almond Soup
    Makes 6 to 8 servings
    This gorgeous soup is the culinary “La Marcha Real” of southern Spain, where it is a cornerstone of the cuisine. Smooth and luxurious, it tastes distinctly of the almonds; the olive oil and garlic are a foil. The result is a combination of the elegant and the exotic. Though its origins are simple, it is a soup for all occasions.
    ¼ pound (110 g) rmly textured day-old bread
    3 new or very fresh garlic cloves or 2 mature garlic cloves, peeled
    1 cup (140 g) Marcona almonds, skinned
    ½ cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil
    2 ounces (60 g) seedless