In the name of the Pooh

Sabine

joschât&tomatoes“Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.” (A.A. Milne)

It´s not a real summer without tomatoes. Firm and sweet and sun kissed tomatoes. All year long, I cherish the time when they´re ripened to perfection, and right now, not a day goes by without them on our table. When we go shopping, my kids – they have a crush on tomatoes, just like me – will always make sure I don´t forget to buy some, just in case: the big red ones for sauces and being stuffed, the small ones for grignoter (as a snack), the yellow, black and green ones… well, because they´re yellow, black and green, if you ask my kids. Each variety may have their horticultural story to tell, but kids, my kids at least, are just fascinated with tomatoes that aren´t red, I guess (at least I keep telling myself that to explain why they have plucked the unripe ones from the poor plants in the garden – all four of them).

Back home, we sometimes like to line up our purchases to start a little tomato tasting, which usually ends up being a contest in search for the perfect pomme d´amour , the perfect love apple (doesn´t that sound good). It´s a stitch-up though: I do have an hunch the jury is biased, for sweet, small & fruity always takes first place – so sorry, green ones!

yellow tomatoes

At the moment, nothing compares to the tiny plum shaped tomates allongées, so sugar sweet and tasty, like an edible dose of sunshine. We love to snack one here and one there while I´m cooking, and gone is a whole pound of them almost every day before dinner. They also gave the idea for this summery roast that has quickly become a favorite: tender veal with black olives, pancetta, garlic, thyme, onions and tomatoes – all the right summer flavors in one big cocotte.

summer veal roast with olives & tomatoes-3But it´s not a real summer without ice cream either. I began making this recipe during our summer vacation, and not having my ice cream maker on hand, I wanted something easy to whip up and wait for us to come home, craving a sweet delight.  The warm flavors of hunny honey and cinnamon make for exactly the kind of ice cream I like, even more so when paired with strawberries. For this ice cream, all it takes is ten minutes to whisk the eggs and a few hours of patience while it freezes… which is the right moment to think of our friend Winnie the Pooh again and get ready to indulge.

honey ice creamSummer veal roast with olives & tomatoes (serves 4):
1000-1200 g veal shoulder, rolled or with bone
1 yellow onion, diced
50 g pancetta, diced
3 or 4 small carrots, diced
20 small plum (or cherry) tomatoes
15-20 black olives, pitted and halved
2 garlic cloves with the skin
a bouquet garni (bay leaf, a few sprigs thyme and parsley)
1/2 tsp dried thyme, optional
salt, pepper, and a dash of piment d´Espelette or ground chili
250 ml rosé or white wine
100 ml veal or vegetable stock
1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil

Take meat out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven 170°C/340°F.

Tie the herbs together to make a little bouquet garni (if you don´t have kitchen twine, tie herbs together with a stalk of parsley).

In a cast iron cocotte, melt/heat butter and olive oil over medium heat and fry onion until translucent and soft, but not browned. Add pancetta and fry for another 2-3 minutes.

Season the meat lightly with salt (keeping in mind that pancetta and olives are salty, too).

Add veal to the cocotte and brown from all sides. Add carrots and herbs and pour the wine and stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 2 minutes, add olives and tomatoes. Season with pepper, piment d´Espelette/chili if using and again a little salt, if needed.

Transfer in the preheated oven (170°C/340 °F) and cook for about 80 minutes, until the meat is tender and cooked through.

honeyicecream&châteauhoney and cinnamon ice cream (no ice cream maker, no churning needed)
2 fresh eggs + 2 egg yolks
50 g sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
60 g runny honey (like sunflower, acacia, orange blossom)
250 ml full fat cream

Using electric whisks, beat the eggs and sugar over a double boiler for 7 -10 minutes, until very frothy and pale /bright yellow. Remove from the double boiler and continue to whisk for another 3 minutes, until the mixture is at room temperature again. At low speed, stir in the cinnamon, honey, and cream.

alternatively, with a slightly less creamy result:  Using a powerful kitchen machine, beat eggs and sugar at high speed for  10 minutes. At low speed, add remaining ingredients as described above.

In an airtight container, freeze for 3-4 hours, until firm, yet creamy. For a bigger appetite, you might double the volumes and count about 6 hours for freezing.

ice cream car&strawberries

37 Comments

  1. I also adore tomatoes. I have a few ripening on my terrace as we speak. They don’t last on the vine as we eat them whenever we see one is ripe. So I too, have to also buy tomatoes as well. I will certainly try out your summer roast! Journées d’été heureux!

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  2. Great idea, we’ll have veal shoulder and honey ice cream (should go well with my favourite pistachio ice cream!) on Sunday. I do not need to think any further, as if I had time to do that. Thanks, Sabine, lifesaver. N xx

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      1. It sounds delicious and just the thing to make this weekend. I can’t live without pistachio ice cream and it is so hard to get a good one these days so I’ve worked on a perfect (ahem, humble) recipe and shall post it sometimes soon, aubergines can wait another week or two…
        N xxx

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    1. What a flattering comment, thanks so much. My kids have recently discovered Winnie the Pooh, so I stumbled over the quote the other day! Thank you again for being here, have a wonderful summer weekend!

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  5. Once again I wish I am eating at your table. I only have tomatoes that grow themselves (volunteers from the compost) and I eat them straight off the vine as they ripen.

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    1. I wish my home grown tomatoes had the chance to ripen on the vines, Mary. But they all ended up being harvested green (–> kids) . Then tried to let them ripen on the kitchen counter, but they never make it until red. One of my kids usually grabs them and takes a bite, out of curiosity (though they actually know green tomatoes won´t taste good …) 🙂

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    1. thank you, Alex! For the ice cream, you actually don´t need an ice cream maker, and you don´t have to churn, just whisk the eggs+yolk really, really well, stir everything together and be a little patient….

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  7. I have to admit to not loving raw tomatoes as much as should. But I do love Pooh. And strawberries. And ice cream. And the bounty of summer. And all your photos!

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    1. You should meet my husband, Michelle! He , and I still can´t believe it, really hates raw tomatoes. WOn´t even eat anything that´s slightly “contaminated”. Tomatophobia!

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  8. Tomaten sind auch meine absoluten Lieblinge. In gewisser Weise esse ich sie jetzt sogar im warmen Zustand. 😉 Daher hört sich dieses Rezept auch mal wieder sehr lecker für mich an. Schön, wie Deine Kinder so vernarrt in die Tomaten und all ihre Farben sind. Ich war ein sehr mäkeliges Kind und musste meist zum Essen gezwungen werden. Das hat sich zum Glück geändert, und ich nun esse für mein Leben gern. Dieses schöne Rezept werde ich unbedingt mal nachkochen. Ich kann es mir auch gut ohne das Fleisch vorstellen. Einfach ein Baguette dazu und glücklich sein!
    Liebe Grüße und ein schönes Wochenende!

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  10. Pour moi c’est pareil, il n’y a pas d’été sans tomates ! J’adore toutes les recettes avec. Ta pancetta avec les tomates et olives pareil délicieux ! Bon weekend Sabine.

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    1. that sounds really good, Gerlinde, a friend who home grows all those beauties. I´d be very glad if you tried out the roast! Thank you once more for your lovely comments – always much much appreciated! HAve a lovely sunday, Sabine

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  12. i find there are many things that mark summer: blueberries, trip to the beach, the 4th of july, zucchinis but to me, summer tastes like tomatoes, and tomatoes taste like summer. i love that your kids relish tomatoes so wholeheartedly, how enchanting.

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  13. Your meal sounds like a wonderful summer treat. Love the ice of honey ice cream that doesn’t need an ice cream maker. This is definitely a meal I can replicate.

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  15. Extremely delicious, loved the sauce and was extremely glad that I was a bit slap dash with wine and stock quantities since I could, as we say in Germany take a bath in it! Hat eine Woche länger gedauert, aber es hat sich gelohnt + leckere Reste.
    Nicole xx

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    1. hey Nicole, wie es mich freut, das zu hören, gerade von Dir! what a wonderful thing to hear! Das mit Wein& co nach längerer Abstinenz kenn ich ;-))

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      1. Ah ja, wieder mal ein Glas, das war auch toll ;-)), aber ich meinte, daß ich etwas großzügiger bei den Mengen für die Sauce war, denn ich liebe Sauce, und diese war sooo lecker, daß man gerne drin baden würde!

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      2. Ach so!! Na, ist immer ein Fehler, wenn man einfach so von sich auf andre schließt :-))) Aber freut mich echt riesig & umso mehr, daß die Sauce Dich zum drin Baden ermuntert hat!

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