One of my favorite shows this year has been Jamie at Home. The show features Jamie Oliver, of Naked Chef fame, at his country home in England. He cooks much of his food straight from the garden. His appreciation for fresh, local ingredients and non-fussy preparation is the highlight of every show. Recently, I saw this recipe on an episode featuring the humble zucchini, or â€œcourgette, as the Brits call them. Serves 2.
Use a horizontal, or â€œY-peeler to make long ribbons from the zucchini and yellow squash. Keep slicing down the long sides of the squash, all around, down to, but not including the soft seed center. Discard the seed center. Use the peeler to make strips of the patty pan. In a large bowl toss the squash ribbons with the sunflower oil, lemon juice, hot pepper, salt, pepper and herbs. Toss with your fingers to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings. Jamie served this salad with fresh grilled fish.
This recipe is from The Sustainable Kitchen: Passionate Cooking Inspired by Farms, Forests and Oceans, by Stu Stein with co-authors Mary Hinds and Judith H. Dern. According to the authors, This fruit salad (remember tomatoes are a fruit) showcases what we think summer is all about: intense flavor, colorful ingredients and playful flavor combinations.
Preheat a grill. Toss the onions in a bowl with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Remove the cores from the tomatoes and cut them in various shapes and sizes (wedges, round slices, half-moons, etc.) and reserve. Place onions on the grill over medium heat and grill until the onions are tender and caramelized, about 10 minutes.
To make vinaigrette, in the bowl of a food processor, purÃ©e garlic and salt until a paste is formed. Add pine nuts and basil and process until a fine paste formed. With motor running, add vinegar and then slowly add oil in a thin stream until the mixture is emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Arrange the tomatoes on the plates. Season with salt and pepper. Place several slices of grilled onions on top of the tomatoes and drizzle with pesto vinaigrette. Arrange several basil leaves on and around tomatoes and sprinkle with additional cracked black pepper.
Adapted from Epicurious.com. You can roast and peel red and yellow peppers following the directions below. The skins on purple and green peppers may be too thin for this method. Instead, consider roasting them at a lower temperature and skipping the peeling step. Serves 6.
Place potatoes in large pot. Cover with water. Boil until potatoes are just tender. Drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in white wine. Char red or yellow peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Wrap in paper bag and let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed. Rinse if necessary; pat dry. Alternatively, grill green or red peppers at a lower temperature to color and soften, without a lot of char. Cut peppers into 3/4-inch squares. Transfer to medium bowl.
Adapted from a recipe at Epicurious.com. To make a vegetarian version, omit the bacon, increase the caraway seeds by 1/2 teaspoon, the oil to 3 tablespoons and use balsamic vinegar to add extra flavor. Serves 6.
In a heavy skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat until it is crisp and transfer it to paper towels to drain. Heat the fat remaining in the skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute for 2 minutes. Increase the heat to moderately high heat, add the Brussels sprouts with the caraway seeds. Saute, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender and pale golden. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the oil, the vinegar, and the sugar, and add the spinach. SautÃ© the mixture over moderately high heat, tossing it, for 1 minute, or until the spinach is wilted. Season the salad with pepper and sprinkle it with the bacon, crumbled.
Nothing like it's summer counterpart, this fall salad celebrates the flavors of autumn. Serves 8.
Whisk cider and vinegar in bowl. Add minced shallot, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in oil. Rewhisk before using. Preheat oven to 450°F. Melt 2 teaspoons butter in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of squash wedges. Cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer squash wedges to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat 2 more times with remaining butter and squash wedges. Sprinkle squash with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, toss mizuna with half of dressing. Divide among plates; top with squash. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with dried cranberries.
Seeing the Eating Well recipe for the cilantro lime vinaigrette (below) inspired me to create this Mexican leaning autumn salad. Serves 4-6.
Preheat oven to 400F. Place cubed squash in a roasting pan and toss with cumin, salt and oil. Roast the squash for about 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, until beginning to caramelize and fork tender. Remove from oven and cool.
Place the greens in a large salad bowl and toss with about 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette. Arrange squash, pumpkin seeds and chopped salad turnips on top of greens. Drizzle with a bit more vinaigrette and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
While in Chicago for the Thanksgiving holiday, we checked out Mado, a new restaurant in the city focused on farm-fresh local foods. Their raw shaved Brussels sprouts were a refreshing departure from a traditional preparation and renewed my appreciation for these mini-cabbage heads. Serves 2.
Slice sprouts into very thin ribbons. If you have an adjustable blade slicer, use it, watching your fingers closely. Toss cut sprouts into a bowl to separate layers. Whisk together oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, then toss with the sprouts. Garnish with the shaved parmesan.
Carleton from Champlain Valley Creamery suggests using a sweet vinaigrette on salad made with the triple creme. Serves 6.
Place all vinaigrette ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until ingredients are completely combined. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
Place greens in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Dress with vinaigrette to taste. Toss and serve.
Adapted from The Silver Spoon Cookbook. Serves 4.
Place sliced turnips in a salad bowl. Peel and core apple and cut into wedges. Using a very sharp knife, cut the wedges into water-thin slices and add to the turnips. Combine the yogurt and a pinch of pepper in a bowl, add to the salad, toss, garnish with parsley and serve.