Remember, during the pandemic, when we decided to grow our own scallions from leftover bulbs? Unfortunately, mine didn’t really grow, so I bought a bunch for scallion biscuits and pancake testing. While I got the technique and flavor down, the texture wasn’t quite right. I needed more flakiness. Enter: Clarice Lam’s recipe from her new book Breaking Bao. She, too, sought after flaky layers for scallion pancakes and ended up with a roti canai recipe.
I came up with this easy summer brunch tomato tart recipe based on my favorite bagel combination: Everything bagel, scallion cream cheese and fresh slices of tomato on top. Instead of the bagel as the base, it’s a puff pastry shell with a border of Everything Bagel seasoning. Watch the Everything bagel tomato tart assembly.
During the summer months, I often spend twice as long at the farmers’ market. You can find me at the tomato stand sorting through heirloom tomatoes. I like to have a variety of colors. The deep red, almost purple ones are especially pretty. As far as shape, the knobbly, deeply ridged ones are fun, but for this tart, I selected the more traditional round shape.
In the morning, I crave savory more than sweet so here is my take on a savory Dutch Baby, inspired by Dorie Greenspan. Hers has mixed herbs and scallions but I swapped the scallions for a sprinkling of my favorite cheese on top just before baking. It adds a nice color and saltiness. I also increased the volume of the batter to fit a 12″ pan. Happy brunching!