The week is not complete unless I visit the farmers market on Saturday. My favorite vendors are now used to seeing me early, in my running outfit. Indeed, “as early as possible” is the only way to exercise this time of the year, but, the farmers market is my first priority: how else would I get the best possible zucchini? Or ANY eight-ball zucchini, or the cinnamon rolls? All those disappear quickly. At the farmers’ market the early bird definitely gets the worm (no need to remind me that only the late mouse grabs the cheese…) 😉
I usually buy more than I should, anything that looks great goes into my bag, as part of the fun is getting home and deciding what to make with the beauties. Last week both the golden and magda zucchini were spectacular. I considered many different options, but settled on an “oldie but goodie” from Fine Cooking magazine, June 1999. I remember making it for the first time just after the issue arrived in the mail (hard to believe it’s been 10 years!). You can use any summer squash in the recipe, Japanese eggplant also works quite well.
(receita em portugues na pagina seguinte)
ZUCCHINI AND SUMMER SQUASH GRATIN
(recipe adapted from Fine Cooking, originally written by Susie Middleton)
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
salt to taste
2 small zucchini cut into 1/4 inch slices on the bias
2 small golden zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices on the bias
3 T olive oil
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves (I used lemon thyme from our garden)
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup grated cheese (I used a Mexican fresh cheese)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
lemon juice
First, caramelize the onions: heat olive oil in a skillet, add the onions, salt, and saute’, stirring often, until golden. Don’t let it burn: use medium-heat and pay attention to it. The difference between caramelized and burned is small in time, but huge in taste. You can do this step in advance, as it will take you at least 20 minutes (see my comments after the jump).
Heat the oven to 375F. Put the tomato slices to drain if they are too juicy, discard the juices. In a small bowl, toss the zucchini with 1.5T olive oil, some of the thyme, salt, and black pepper. Layer the cold caramelized onions inside a gratin dish. Now distribute the tomato slices and two colors of zucchini on top, sprinkling some cheese and thyme as you go (see my photo after the jump). Arrange all the slices until the dish is full. Season the ingredients with salt and pepper, add cheese on top, the remaining thyme, and drizzle the dish with 1.5T olive oil and a little lemon juice. Cook uncovered until well-browned, with the juices well reduced. It will take between 50 and 60 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Bewitching Kitchen 
