Summertime gratin

Posted in Veggies by sallybr

ready1

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)

For caramelized onions:

2 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
salt to taste

For gratin:

1 + 1/4 lb ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
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.

Bon Appetit!

for comments, more photos, e receita em portugues click here

5Jul2009

Tomato Confit with Arugula and Zucchini

Posted in Salads, Veggies by sallybr

The recipe comes from “Simple to Spectacular”, a great cookbook by Vongerichten and Bittman. The book picks one basic ingredient and shows 3 or 4 recipes of increasing complexity. I was looking for a nice dinner salad and came across their “tomato confit” series.

The tomato confit is essentially a slow-roasted tomato, but if you say you made “tomato confit”, your friends will be a lot more impressed. 😉

The preparation of the confit might seem too long, because you need a couple of hours to make it. But it’s 120 minutes of just waiting for the oven to perform its magic…no work. Plus, it is a low oven (275F) that won’t overheat your kitchen. Trust me, the results are worth every minute of the time. If you are not yet convinced to try this recipe, then make sure to read my additional comments.

tomatobefore

Choose ripe (but not overly ripe) tomatoes, make a small cross-cut on their skin, drop in boiling water for 20 seconds, then shock them in cold water to peel them easily. In the oven, together with garlic, thyme, and olive oil, they will be transformed into delicious bits of sweet and juicy red jewels that will amaze your taste buds and shine in many different kinds of recipes. Yes, I am in love…

click here for the full recipe and additional comments

23Jun2009

FROM BACKYARD TO KITCHEN

Posted in Veggies by sallybr

zucchini2

Two of our three zucchini plants got so sick I had to cut them, but the other one seemed to shape up, maybe afraid of following the neighbors’ fate. Yesterday, as I stared at the pantry considering my options for a quick dinner, it occurred to me to go check our veggie garden. I knew the cherry tomatoes had to be ripe by now, but the two cute zucchinis were a nice added bonus. Let’s hope this is just the beginning of a great harvest! 😉

Veggies fresh from the garden (as well as from farmer’s markets) are so much better than those tired beings at the grocery store, that I like to keep their preparation very simple. One of my favorite quick dishes for zucchini comes from a great blog, Smitten Kitchen. I make it quite often, actually, changing it slightly according to my mood.

Here is yesterday’s version, served as a side dish for barbecued brisket that will definitely show up on Bewitching Kitchen sometime

QUICK ZUCCHINI SAUTE WITH ROASTED PEANUTS
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen, original recipe from Red Cat, New York)

2 small zucchini (preferably from your own garden!)
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
squirt of lemon juice
lemon zest to taste
1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts

Julienne the zucchini, not too thin (zucchini tends to turn into mush fairly easily). Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan until you can detect a little smoke forming. Add the zucchini, salt and pepper. Saute until it starts to get light brown in some spots. Lower the heat, add a squirt of fresh lemon juice, some lemon zest, and incorporate the roasted peanuts. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary.

wait, there is more to read!