Must fight the late summer malaise!

I ask myself every day: 'what am I going to do with this all these tomatoes and green beans'? The  answer last week was one my favorite salads ever: a Salade Niçoise. It took just a few tweaks to the original recipe to create something extraordinary with our super-fresh produce.

Traditionally, a salad in the style of Nice has canned tuna, anchovies, hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, tomatoes, olives, and green beans. I omitted the olives and anchovies, but stayed true on other ingredients. Brian had picked up some specialty canned tuna that in retrospect took this salad over the top. I highly recommend finding some good tuna because it's really the showcase piece, and not mixed into a casserole or tuna salad. We found a can of Ortiz Bonito del Norte at Eugene's Marche Provisions market a while ago and, on a whim, decided to crack it open for this salad. I cannot sufficiently describe how succulent this fish is; just like no tuna I've ever eaten. It is definitely worth the extra price tag.

In sum, the planets aligned and we happened to have everything we needed for a filling and healthy Sunday lunch: new potatoes, green beans, heirloom cherry tomatoes, as well as eggs and the ingredients needed for the dressing, a recipe for Julia Child's "basic vinaigrette".

The only problem, per se, with using CSA ingredients is the inaccuracy of measurement since we have no kitchen scale and have no real idea of how many pounds of anything we have. I can only suppose or guesstimate as to the amounts, so please forgive my being vague at times.

Recipe for Salad Niçoise

Ingredients

For the salad base, per person

• 1 hard-boiled egg, quartered
• 1/2 cup green beans, boiled for 3 minutes and plunged into ice bath
• 1/2 cup diced potatoes, boiled until tender, then laid on sheet pan to cool
• 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 can tuna packed in olive oil, drained
• 2 cups more or less (a few handfuls) of mixed greens 

For the salad dressing

• 1/2 Tbsp finely minced shallot or scallion
• 1/2 Tbsp Dijon-type mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp wine vinegar (or, champagne vinegar as we used)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup excellent olive oil, or other fine, fresh oil
• Freshly ground pepper

Steps

1. Prepare the salad dressing, per the steps listed here. 
2. Toss the salad greens in a large bowl with a few spoonfuls of dressing until evenly coated (I use my hands for this step).
3. Toss the tomatoes with a scant spoonful of dressing
4. Toss green beans with a scant spoonful of dressing.
5. Assemble in a large plate or bowl: (1) salad greens, (2) hard boiled eggs in the four corners, (3) tomatoes together on one side, green beans on one side, and potatoes on another, (4) tuna broken apart slightly in the center. 
6. NOTE: If you want, Niçoise olives may be served as well as 2-4 anchovy fillets. Alternately, this salad may be eaten without the salad greens as a light lunch.

Recipe of the Week: The Finest Fresh Tomato Sauce

Somehow, I've made it all these years having never made fresh tomato sauce. Let me tell you: it's easier than you think and just as delicious as any 'pasta al pomodoro' you find at an Italian restaurant. I suppose the caveat is that you need very good, fresh tomatoes. It will not taste the same with a greenish-pink tomato from your fast food hamburger. But, assuming its the peak of summer (as it is currently) and you have access to quality ingredients (either homegrown or from the farmer's market), this dish couldn't be simpler.

Combination of large yellow-red heirloom and some cherry tomatoes

Have you seen a book called The Geometry of Pasta? It's my new favorite cookbook. Written by Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kenedy, it chronicles all of the most popular pasta shapes (of the nearly 1,200 recorded distinct shapes) in Italian cooking and pairs them with appropriate recipes. As I've heard before from Italian cooks, they insist that only certain sauces should be paired with certain pasta shapes. The book has a really sleek and minimalist design, which was enough to convince me to buy, but from everything I've read, it's also held to a high standard of authenticity and the was very well researched. Check out this feature story on NPR.

In the first few pages, they list recipes for tomato sauces, in succession from looser to thicker sauces. The light sauce is composed of entirely fresh tomatoes, the medium has half fresh and half canned tomatoes, and the rich uses entirely canned. For the light sauce (the one I used), Hildebrand and Kenedy recommend pairing with a delicate pasta such as spaghettini — or, angel hair — or a very subtly flavored filled pasta.

For my adaptation, I used the garlic for the purpose of infusing the oil but removed it before continuing with the recipe. It still had a strong flavor but without bits of garlic in the pasta.

The Finest Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• Any combination of small, medium or large fresh tomatoes constituting 2 lbs more or less
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 6 T extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes 
• 3/4 t fine grain salt
• 8 oz. bocconcini (bite-sized fresh rounds of buffalo mozzarella)
• Fresh basil (optional)

Directions

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. 
2. Wash and cut the tomatoes and throw into a food processor or blender - be sure to add all the tomato juice from the cutting board. 
3. In a skillet on Medium heat, add the garlic and 4 T extra virgin olive oil. Cook the garlic until browned (probably 5 minutes) and then discard with a slotted spoon. 
4. Add 1 lb dried pasta to the boiling water and set a timer so that it cooks to al dente.
5. Add the red pepper flakes to the skillet just a moment before the remainder of the ingredients so that it has a chance to bloom, or be cooked in the oil. Add the tomato puree and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer.
6. Cook the tomato sauce for 5 minutes at the most, just enough time for the tomatoes to taste cooked. It's supposed to be very loose and watery. Add the remaining 2 T extra virgin olive oil at the last moment. 
7. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce and bocconcini, and top with torn leaves of basil.

Recipe of the Week: Corn and Avocado Salad

If it weren't for the abundance of fresh corn and tomatoes, I wouldn't believe that it's August already. The summertime weather here in Eugene doesn't really get going until late June, and that just confuses my internal clock which is still set to Midwest seasons. It is indeed summer, though, and the Midwest is feeling it something awful this year. They're consistently having temperatures in the high-90s and an unprecedented number of severe thunderstorms. When I talked to family this weekend, someone remarked that they just want it to end already. Can you imagine, wanting summer to end early? To folks who have only blistery cold and snowy weather to look forward to, that's saying something. The silver lining, however, is that the rain resulted in abundant yields for vegetable gardens.

Classic glass corn dishes and picks from Crate and Barrel

Corn on the cob isn't something I ever really buy; it always seems like too much work. But, we received six ears from the CSA box this week that . The result: a sweetly familiar aroma carrying a flood of memories of home. When I was growing up, my mom would occasionally pick up a big bag of corn in the husk from a roadside farmer's stand for a family meal. It's funny how we used the same plastic green corn serving dishes since before I can remember, as well as the same yellow prongs shaped like corn to stab both ends — they have to be at least 25 years old. And, this is an instance where absence really made the heart (or, my taste buds) grow fonder.

Back in college, I was invited to an end of summer vegan potluck and I made this corn and avocado salad recipe — probably my first attempt to cook vegan. Little did I know that lots of dishes are easily vegetarian and vegan without much effort. I've made it both times now with fresh corn (cut off the cob), but you could probably use frozen roasted or grilled kernels. There are so few ingredients, though, that I wouldn't recommend canned corn. It's more of an opportunity to highlight fresh corn.

The recipe is adapted from Moosewood Restaurant's Simple Suppers. Make the dressing while the corn is cooking. Cut the avocado at the last minute.

 

 

Cilantro Lime Dressing

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

3 scallions, only white and light green parts

1/4 lemon or lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup olive oil

Add all the ingredients except the olive oil in a blender or food processor. Turn machine on and stream olive oil steadily through the lid. 

Corn and Avocado Salad

1 1/2 cups corn kernels off the cob
1/2 cup dressing (see above)
2 avocados, diced

Carefully stir these together in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips or over salad greens. 

Recipe of the Week: Blueberry & Sour Cream Pancakes

Berries have such a short shelf life. We received raspberries in last Wednesday's CSA box, and by Friday they were goners, fuzzy with mold and staining the countertop! I've learned that if you aren't in the mood for berries, you have to either (a) freeze them or (b) make something that will freeze well.

We're ready to flip

On Sunday morning, I decided that a pint of blueberries we purchased was not going to spoil under my watch. I searched a great new website called Gojee, for all their 'blueberry' recipes, and stumbled upon blueberry and sour cream pancakes.

The only problem was that we didn't have sour cream. But, after all the experimenting I've done with pancakes, I figured I would substitute low-fat plain yogurt for the sour cream. And, although the sour cream may have lent a bit more moisture, this recipe creates big, fluffy, soft pancakes. I highly recommend it!

If you're out of sour cream, try substituting yogurt. And really, any berries may be used, fresh or frozen, so long as they're thawed.

A note about freezing: To freeze the leftover pancakes, layer some wax paper on a sheet pan and put the pancakes on the sheet pan. Freeze this sheet pan for a few hours until the pancakes are frozen solid. Then, transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag or container.

Recipe of the Week: Zucchini Fritters with Dipping Sauce

Ingredients: lemon, eggs, scallions, garlic, ricotta, zucchini, flour and olive oil

What's not to love about zucchini and fresh ricotta — especially fried? I needed a dish for a potluck and this recipe caught my eye. I find it's best to save the more decadent recipes for entertaining, so there isn't a whole plate left in the fridge. Luckily, we received fresh garlic from the CSA two weeks ago, and its been drying on the counter waiting to be used. My only alteration would have been to read the recipe properly and grate the zucchini on the coarse side of my box grater (instead of the fine side). And, do wring out the zucchini in a clean kitchen towel, or two. They release a lot of liquid!

With the abundance of zucchini that all you gardeners will have pretty soon, this recipe is a nice way to vary your cooking methods. It written by Mario Batali and published in Food and Wine magazine — you can find it in its entirety here. I do, however, want to add my own touch to this dish and that is in the form of a dipping sauce that I came up with just before leaving for the potluck.

Recipe: Sweet Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Combine the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until a smooth consistency is achieved.

• 3/4 cup low-fat, plain yogurt 
• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)
• 1 T agave syrup (this may be substituted with honey)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Freshly fried fritters