Eating Green Gate

The Raw and the Cooked… Salad

Everyone loves high-summer produce, and as such this was one of my favorite shares of the season, with the cantaloupe, the corn, the tomatoes… None of this stuff really needs to be prepared, per se. I don’t recommend eating the corn raw, of course. What I mean is, you don’t need a recipe to enjoy these things. Which leads me to… um, a recipe.

The Italians are legendary for understanding the fundamental summer vegetable rule of simplicity. So I bring you a Sicilian recipe that is suspiciously similar in character to my last post—The Salad—but has a totally different flavor due to the predominance of the roasted onions and capers. It’s like a tossed antipasto, if you will, but it works as a meal. I was supposed to wait and make this for an Independence Day picnic this weekend, but it called to me, so I made it tonight.

Serves 6 or more

• 1 pound sweet onions
• ¾ pound red bliss (or other red) potatoes (2 to 6 potatoes, depending on size)
• ½ pound fresh green beans
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil or as needed
• ½ tsp. coarse sea salt or kosher salt or to taste
• ½ cup black olives, pitted
• 3 tbsp. small capers, drained
• 1 or 2 fresh ripe tomatoes (about ½ pound), cored and cut in wedges
• a handful of tiny Green Gate orange cherry tomatoes, to taste
• 1 or 2 heads of Bibb or other green leaf lettuce (about 3/4 pound)
• A few basil leaves, torn
• 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

The cooked:
Peel and trim the onions and slice into rounds, about ¾-inch thick. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle salt lightly on both sides. Lay the onions on a baking sheet and roast in a pre-heated 375° oven for 20-35 minutes, turning once, until slightly softened and nicely caramelized on the flat sides and edges. Cool then separate the rounds into thick rings.

Meanwhile, drop the potatoes, whole with skin on, into a pot with plenty of water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook just until a sharp knife blade slides through the potatoes—don’t let them get mushy. Extract the potatoes and cut them into wedges, about 1-1/2 inches thick. Trim the ends of the green beans and, when the potatoes are out of the boiling water, drop the beans in and cook until al dente, 4 minutes or so. Scoop them from the pot with a spider and drop the beans into very icy water, to set the color. Once chilled, drain and dry the beans and cut or tear them in 2-inch lengths.

The raw:
Slice the big tomatoes in wedges about the same size as the potatoes. Separate, rinse, and spin dry the lettuce leaves.

Put everything in the bowl except the lettuce: onions, potatoes, beans, olives, capers, basil and both kinds of tomatoes. (I like to use a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid, so I can shake it to toss.) Sprinkle over the remaining salt and freshly ground pepper, drizzle over the rest of the olive oil and the red wine vinegar, and tumble the vegetables to coat them with dressing.

Scatter the lettuce on top, tearing the larger leaves in two, then toss the greens with the vegetables gently but continuously for about a minute (or shake in your covered bowl), to distribute the dressing evenly. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if you like, and toss again.

Serve immediately—always including some of the heavier goodies that drop to the bottom of the bowl and hide under the lettuce.

Adapted from Lidia’s Italy by Lidia Bastianich.

Cannellini and Macaroni Salad with Grilled Tomatoes, Basil, and Olives a.k.a. The Salad

Around our house, this is called The Salad. It’s so good, it’s singular. It’s a glorious use of tomatoes (even if they’ve gone a little wrinkly) and if you can get past the herb-chopping, it’s easy. The recipe below divides the recipe into two parts—a pasta salad and a bean salad—which makes for a beautiful presentation. However for a regular weeknight meal, we tend to just mix the whole thing up in one bowl. (I mean, seriously, we don’t need a platter. We are not that fancy.) Also, I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually fire up the grill just for tomatoes. Halving them and throwing them on a rimmed baking sheet under the broiler (cut-side-down, drizzled with some olive oil) for 12-15 minutes does the trick, and leaves you with lots of good juices.

When we made this tonight for the first time this season, P. said wistfully into his bowl, “I missed you, The Salad!”

Ingredients:

• 1.5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1.5 cups small elbow macaroni (about 6 ounces—whole wheat pasta works well in this even if you are a skeptic about whole wheat pasta)
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion (I caution you: more than this is overwhelming)
• 1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives or other brine-cured olives
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, diced -or- packaged in those cute pearl or cherry-tomato-sized balls

How to:

If grilling your tomatoes, prepare grill (medium-high heat). Drizzle 1/2 tablespoon oil over cut side of tomatoes; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill tomatoes, cut side up, until skin begins to char, about 2 minutes; turn over and grill, cut side down, just until heated through, about 1 minute. Alternatively, prepare by broiler method as above.

Cool + cut tomatoes into 1-inch pieces—I like my tomato chunks kinda big and, um, rustic. Yeah, let’s go with rustic rather than lazily-not-very-well-chopped.

Cook macaroni in large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain well. Transfer macaroni to large bowl; cool. Mix in grilled tomatoes and any accumulated juices, 2 tablespoons vinegar, basil, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer salad to large platter (or, if you’re not feeling fancy, just pile the rest of the ingredients from the next paragraph in this same bowl…).

Mix beans, onion, olives, parsley, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 tablespoon vinegar in medium bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper—the olives will be quite salty so be careful not to overdo it. Spoon bean salad over center of macaroni salad and serve.

Adapted from Epicurious, which for some reason doesn’t put cheese in this salad, something I find to be a criminal missed opportunity.

Ribollita, a.k.a. Season-Defying Tuscan Soup

If, like me, you are still harboring what seems to be a fridge full of cabbage, fear not. This soup cashed in another hoarded head, as well as some beautiful chard that had been allowed to wilt a bit, some potatoes, and one of the bay leaves from the branch of them I was excited to pick up at the farm last Tuesday. If you’ve still got garlic and onion from the farm, or carrots that are a little past their prime, here is your soupy salvation.

This soup involves a bunch of chopping and a bit of inactive time (while it’s on the stove), but at the end you’ve got about 8 generous servings of a hearty soup that’s a million times better than the sum of its parts. This dish comes from Mario Batali, who swears (in his cookbook Molto Italiano) that it’s as good at room temperature in summer as it is hot in the winter—and after fixing it last night, I have to agree.

Ingredients:

• 1 can cannellini or Great Northern beans
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 sweet yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and well-rinsed
• 2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, plus 1 whole garlic clove
• 2 three-inch sprigs fresh thyme, leaves pulled off the stem and stem discarded
• 1 4-inch sprig rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bunch rainbow chard, roughly chopped
• 3-4 small blue or white potatoes, peels on, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/2 pound chopped white cabbage, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 or so cups water
• 8 (1/2-inch) slices Italian peasant bread, or however many = a slice for each bowl
• Salt (it can accept a lot) and freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

How to:

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion, leek, carrot, celery, potatoes, sliced garlic, and herbs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, 5-10 minutes. (Don’t worry if they’re still quite firm at this point—it simmers for long enough that the vegetables will have ample time to tender up.) Add the chard and  cabbage and cook until the cabbage has softened and the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper, to taste. Add the tomato paste, and stir until the tomato paste is well distributed throughout the vegetable mixture. Add the beans.

Cover the bean and vegetable mixture with water by 2 inches, and let simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes more. When the soup is close to being done, brush or spray your bread slices (enough for each bowl of soup you plan to serve) with olive oil, then toast or grill the bread until browned. Cut the remaining whole garlic clove in half, and rub the toasted bread with the cut end of the garlic.

Serve the soup hot in warmed bowls with the garlic bruschetta dunked alongside. Garnish with a sprinkling of Parmigiano, to taste.

Adapted from Mario Batali.

White Pizza with Squash and Tarragon

We liked this so much, we made it twice in one week (and still didn’t make much of a dent in our squash collection). I can’t overstate how integral the tarragon is to this recipe—don’t skip it. Or the shallots. In fact, get ye to some yeast and make this ASAP!

The recipe is modified from the original to omit fresh fennel and brie (the fennel because it’s not fresh at Green Gate right now and the brie because, frankly, it just sounds like a strange concept to me on top of the mozz…)—check out the link to the original below if those are ingredients you’d like to add back in.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 recipe of pizza dough (below) or use your favorite dough recipe, or 2 10-ounce tubes refrigerated pizza dough
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 1/3 cups (packed) grated mozzarella cheese or 10 oz. sliced fresh mozzarella
• 2 small zucchini or other summer squash, very thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot

How to:

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 425°F. Roll dough into four 7- to 9-inch rounds. Transfer rounds to an oiled baking sheet or a pizza stone. Brush 1 tablespoon oil over each round; sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon tarragon. Top with vegetables and mozzarella. Brush rounds with remaining oil. Sprinkle with shallot, salt, and pepper. Bake until cheese is bubbling, about 14 minutes. Cut each into 6 wedges, or just eat the whole dang thing out of hand—it’s that good.

Adapted from Bon Appétit.

Pizza Dough

This dough has a more developed flavor than most because it starts with a sponge you let ferment overnight. It’s a good idea to make a bunch at one time when you have the leisure and freeze it. As a result, please note that this recipe makes TWICE the amount you’ll need for the pizza recipe above.

Ingredients:

Sponge:

• 1 cup lukewarm water (110°F to 115°F)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast, divided
• 1 cup all purpose flour, divided

Dough:

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm (110°F to 115°F) water
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 6 cups (or more) all purpose flour
• Olive oil
• Yellow cornmeal

For sponge:
Place 1 cup lukewarm water in large bowl of heavy-duty mixer. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon yeast (reserve remaining yeast for dough) and 1/4 teaspoon flour over water. Let stand until yeast dissolves and mixture looks spongy, about 4 minutes. Add remaining flour and whisk until smooth; scrape down sides of bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge rest at room temperature in draft-free area overnight (about 12 hours; sponge will look bubbly).

For dough:
Add 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 envelope yeast, and reserved remaining yeast to sponge, then add 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating with dough hook to blend after each addition. Continue to beat until dough is smooth, comes cleanly away from sides of bowl, and is only slightly sticky to touch, scraping down bowl occasionally, about 5 minutes. If dough is very sticky, beat in more flour, 1/4 cupful at a time. Scrape dough onto floured surface; knead into smooth ball.

Brush inside of large bowl with oil. Add dough; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; chill 6 hours, kneading dough down when doubled (after 2 hours).

About 1.5 hours before baking, dust 2 baking sheets with flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead gently; shape into 16-inch log. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Knead each piece into smooth ball. Arrange 4 balls of dough on each sheet. Cover loosely with kitchen towels and let rise until almost doubled, 1 to 1.25 hours. If freezing some of your dough, punch it down and freeze it at this point.

If using pizza stone, place in oven.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees for 45 minutes. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, dust dough with flour. Press into 5-inch round, then gently stretch and roll out to 7- to 9-inch round.

If using a pizza stone, sprinkle pizza peel or rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. If not using pizza stone, sprinkle large baking sheet with cornmeal. Place dough round on cornmeal; brush lightly with oil. Top as desired. Slide pizza onto stone or place pizza on baking sheet into oven.

Bake pizza until sauce is bubbling and crust is crisp and brown, lifting edge of pizza to check underside, about 14 minutes.

Adaped from Epicurious. Photo from Gazy Brothers Farm in Oxford, CT.

Garlicky Summer Squash-Strand Spaghetti

Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite recipe blogs, is the provenance of this satisfying recipe perfect for the variety of summer squash you inevitably took home from Green Gate this week. (Five pounds of squash seemed totally reasonable as I was carrying it away from the farm stand…)

We were planning on having a salad alongside this dish, but once it was finished we realized it’s kind of a salad and a pasta in one, since the zucchini (or whatever long summer squash you choose) stays so crisp and colorful. Don’t skimp on the garlic here. We didn’t try the accompanying basil oil last night, as we had a need for speed, but will make up a batch to have on hand for next time. Which, considering the amount of squash in our fridge, might be soon.

Make sure to check out the optional basil oil recipe at the end!

Garlicky Summer Squash-Strand Spaghetti

Serves 4 hungry people

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound spaghetti, capellini, spaghettini, or other strand pasta
• 3/4 pound zucchini and/or other summer squash, ideally the long, tube-shaped varieties rather than the squat, round ones like patty pans
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus a small piece for grating over the top
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente according to package instructions.

While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, cut the zucchini with the fine julienne cutter on a mandoline. If you do not have one, cut by hand into the longest, finest julienne you can—this does not need to be perfect, but part of the fun of this dish is that the zucchini and the pasta are all matchy-matchy. Season with salt and pepper.

If your zucchini is very finely cut, it does not need to be cooked. Otherwise, place in a colander, suspend over the pasta pot, cover the pot, and steam the zucchini until still slightly crunchy, about 2 minutes.

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic and saute briefly until light brown. Add the red pepper flakes. Quickly mix in the basil and remove from the heat. When the pasta is al dente, drain through a colander, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Pour the pasta into the skillet; add the zucchini, the garlic mixture, and 1/2 cup of the cheese, as well as 1-2 tablespoons of the optional basil oil (recipe below). Toss well, adding cooking water as needed to make a smooth sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as needed. Grate about 2 tablespoons Parmesan over the top and serve at once.

Basil Oil

Makes 1.3 cups
Use 4 cups packed leaves to 2 cups olive oil, or, of course, halve at will

In a blender, puree the basil and oil until completely smooth. Put the mixture in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over moderate heat. Simmer for 45 seconds, then pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Don’t press on the mixture, but you can tap the strainer against your hand to get the oil to drip through faster. If you’re totally OCD, you can then strain the oil one more time through a coffee filter, but whatever. Note: Fresh herb oils are better to toss into pasta at the end rather than cook with, so the oil keeps its fresh, uncooked taste.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Cucumber Dill Salad

My good friends D. and A. and I went peach-picking at Psencik Peach Farm in Fredericksburg one day in June a few years ago. We drove in A.’s red pickup truck in straw hats and plaid shirts and rolled up jeans; D. even wore overalls. The peaches were perfect—nearly impossible not to eat directly, illegally, off the tree—and the hot weather and cool conversation were equally enjoyable. Is it strange, then, that what I remember most distinctly is a cucumber salad that came in one of my girlfriend’s picnic baskets? It was store-bought, at that—from Whole Foods—but it was exactly what I wanted on that hot day in the orchard. (We’re going back this weekend!)

Ingredients:

• 3 medium cucumbers, peeled (if desired) and very thinly sliced (good excuse to use your mandoline, if you have one)
• 1 small white onion, very thinly sliced 2 teaspoons sea salt, more to taste
• 2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried) dill

How to:

Toss cucumber and onion slices in a large colander with 2 teaspoons sea salt. Place colander over a bowl to catch draining liquid and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. The cucumbers will shrink considerably as the salt releases their moisture.

Rinse cucumbers and onions under cold running water to rinse off salt. Drain thoroughly. Toss drained cucumber and onion with vinegar, dill and a pinch of salt, if desired. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours more until ready to serve. Or eat immediately, straight from the serving bowl, if it’s been a long day at work and this is the salad you’ve been waiting for since this time last summer…

Adapted from Whole Foods.

Napa Cabbage and Sesame Seed Slaw

This is a good-lookin’ mayo-free cole slaw that you might consider bringing to one of those holiday barbecues this coming weekend. Just don’t everybody bring this same salad to Skip’s birthday party! 

Serves 8

Wasabi Dressing:

• 2 teaspoons wasabi powder (available at Asian markets, specialty stores and many large supermarkets)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup peanut oil (other neutral oil would work)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Slaw:

• 1 large head Napa cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 large carrots, peeled and finely shredded, or sliced in rounds if you accidentally have the wrong blade on the food processor… oops.
• 4 green onions (white bulb and 3 inches of green), finely sliced on the bias (yep, that’s what the original recipe says… I would add “or whatever” to that)
• 1 cup finely sliced snow peas (strings removed and sliced on the bias) (optional—especially for me because I’m not a fan)
• Wasabi dressing (recipe above)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds, toasted (this is the ideal, but just use 2 T of whatever you’ve got)

Combine the wasabi powder and water in a small bowl. Whisk in the garlic, ginger, lime juice, vinegar, oil and honey, and season with salt and pepper. Combine the cabbage, carrots, green onions and snow peas (if using) in a large bowl. Add the dressing and coat well. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Boy Meets Grill, as heard on NPR in August, 2007, and linked from Smitten Kitchen. Don’t you just love the internet?

Grilled Blue Potato and Summer Squash Salad with Herb-Lemon Vinaigrette

And just like that, I’m inspired again. Please, if there is a god, let me be inspired for a turnip dish next. Any ideas? Submit them! I ate this delectable-looking item, which truly was as good as it looked, next to a piece of grilled amberjack.

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram or parsley or basil
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup plus 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound small blue potatoes (such as the ones in this week’s share), unpeeled, sliced to 1/2 inch thick the long way
• 1 pound assorted summer squash, cut on diagonal into 1/3-inch-thick slices
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch-wide strips (optional)

Whisk lemon juice, shallot, 1 tablespoon of your chosen herb, and lemon peel in small bowl. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Prepare grill (medium heat). Place potato slices in large saucepan; add enough cold salted water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until almost tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer potatoes to large bowl. Add squash and bell pepper (if using) in the same bowl as the potatoes; add 2 teaspoons of your herb du jour and 2-3 tablespoons oil (I thought 3 was a bit greasy). Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat.

Arrange potatoes in single layer on the grill or in a grill basket, if that’s your thing. Grill until tender, 5 minutes per side. Grill squash and bell pepper (if using) until tender, turning occasionally, 10 minutes. Transfer squash and potatoes to bowl. Cut bell pepper into 1-inch pieces; add to vegetables. Add vinaigrette; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature (I’m going with warm!).

Adapted from Epicurious.

Pasta with Caramelized Onions, a Fried Egg, and (optional) Bacon

Serves 2

2 bacon slices or Fakin’ Bacon, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
12 ounces spaghetti or linguine
2 large eggs
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

If using real bacon, sauté it in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels and chop or crumble when cool. Or, cook Fakin’ Bacon according to package instructions and then chop or crumble.

Add 3/4 of your oil (or use 1 tablespoon bacon drippings) and return to medium heat. Add onions; sauté until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid in bowl. Return pasta to pot; add onions. Cover to keep warm.

Heat remaining oil in large skillet over medium heat. Crack eggs into skillet; fry until whites are set but yolks are still soft, about 4 minutes. Add cheese and bacon to pasta; place an egg on top (you can toss to shred the egg if you like). Add pasta cooking liquid to moisten if desired. Season with salt and pepper; serve.

Adapted from Epicurious.

Nothing’s Cooking

The only problem with a blog dedicated to what you cook with your CSA produce is that some weeks do not lend themselves to cooking. This past week has been one like that—not that it’s been a bad week, by any means. It’s been one filled with visiting family, lots of swimming, more beer than any one one person really needs to drink, good live music, and some hard work interspersed. Somewhere in there, we threw some Gulf shrimp on the grill.

That’s not to say we haven’t been enjoying the CSA bounty. We just haven’t been cooking anything we’d call inspiring—after a while, a salad is just a salad, even if the lettuce and arugula are the best you’ve ever had. Sauteing your baby Swiss chard in garlic is not new.

Tuesday we went out to see Besnard Lakes, a band from Montreal, at the Mohawk. We needed something satisfying and quick. I had been especially excited about the slicing onions in our share earlier in the day—see above for what we did with them.