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Vegetable Tacos with Roasted Tom Tom Sauce
Vegetable Tacos with Roasted Tom Tom Sauce
Once the prep work is done, this can be a quick, casual supper for a late summer night. The portions are approximate, so adjust according to your family's needs. This recipe is geared towards what you have in your share this week, but it's open to suggestion. Add lemon or lime to the tom tom sauce to cut some of the sweetness that the roasting brings out of the tomatoes and tomatillos. You can add some heat with roasted poblano chiles or add chopped cucumber to cool it down and create a bit more crunch. -elena
Serves 3 or 4
Roasted Tom Tom Sauce
1/2 lb tomatillos
1/2 lb tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup Walla Walla onion, minced
Handful of fresh arugula, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable Tacos
12 corn tortillas
4 T sunflower oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Walla Walla Onion, sliced into thin rings
1 medium bell pepper, sliced into 1/2 thick strips
1 cup broccoli florets and stem, chopped
1/2 cup zucchini, sliced into 1/2 rounds
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Sauce:
1.Set your broiler to high. Wash and rinse tomatoes and tomatillos. Line a cookie sheet with foil, lightly brushing it with oil. Broil the tomatoes and tomatillos for several minutes, turning occasionally, until the skin turns black. Pull out and let cool until easy to handle.
2. Roughly chop the tomatoes and tomatillos, mixing with the garlic, onion and fresh arugula. Salt and pepper to taste.
For the Tacos:
1. Heat the sunflower oil in a cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Saute the minced garlic and onion for 3 minutes until fragrant. Add the bell pepper and saute another 2 minutes. add the broccoli and zucchini, cooking until
bright green but still crunchy, about 2 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Heat the tortillas over a low flame on the stove or in the oven at 325F for until soft and hot. Serve immediately, spooning the Roasted Tom Tom Sauce over the vegetables.
Maple Vinegar Glazed Parsnips
Maple Vinegar Glazed Parsnips
from Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider
these are sweet and rich, a nice counterpoint to the greens above.
2 lbs parsnips, peeled and cut in even chunks
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 c water
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp cider vinegar
black pepper
Preheat oven to 400. In a large roasting pan, toss parsnips with oil and salt. Set pan on a burner over medium heat and add water. Bring to a simmer. Place in oven and roast until tender, turning frequently. This could take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. When fork tender, drizzle with maple syrup and vinegars. Toss gently; roast until deeply browned and glazed, turning once or twice, about 10 minutes. Serve with fresh ground black pepper.
Refrigerator Pickles
Refrigerator Pickles
Looking through Andrea Chesman's book, Pickles & Relishes, From apples to zucchini, 150 recipes for preserving the harvest, it was difficult to decide which recipe to include in today's newsletter. I chose to adapt this one, as it required no sterilizing or hot water baths. If you would like to preserve pickles for the winter, you should check out her entire book. This recipe yields 1 pint, but is easily doubled.
3 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 garlic scape, cut into 1 pieces
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 tsp pickling salt
1/4 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
In a glass or crockery bowl, alternately layer the cucumbers, onions and scape. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the honey, vinegar, salt and spices. Bring to a boil, and stir to combine. Pour the syrup over the vegetables. Cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.
Summer Vegetable Ragu
Summer Vegetable Ragu
This is how Heather prepares summer's bounty of vegetables. It's something like ratatouille, but you can use any vegetables you have on hand. It's great served with pasta, polenta, or rice, with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta. It also makes a yummy, if juicy, sandwich in a baguette! Serves 4-6.
4 cups or more of uniformly cut vegetables, such as beans, zukes, cauliflower, peppers, eggplant, and/or summer squash
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB oil
3 tomatoes, chopped (2 cups)
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs, basil/mint/oregano
Salt & pepper
Heat oil in a deep wide sauté pan and cook garlic and onion until soft, fragrant and beginning to brown. Add vegetables, except tomatoes. Season with salt & pepper and sauté until nearly tender, with some brown flecks. Add tomatoes and herbs. Simmer gently until the tomatoes are saucy and the vegetables are cooked to your liking.
Raw Summer Squash Salad
Raw Summer Squash Salad
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 “courgette, as the Brits call them. Serves 2.
4 small summer squash, a mix of zucchini, yellow squash and patty pan
3 TB sunflower oil
2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 small hot pepper, seeded and minced fine
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped basil, mint, and/or parsley
Use a horizontal, or “Y-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.
Eggplant-Polenta Stacks With Tomato Sauce
Eggplant-Polenta Stacks With Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Epicurious.com. Serves 4.
1.5 lb. tomatoes
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 large eggplant or 1 small, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Coarse salt
1 large zucchini, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Additional olive oil
4 large fresh basil leaves
4 1/4-inch-thick slices mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
To remove tomato skins, core the tomato then submerge in boiling water for 20-30 seconds, until the skin begins to pull away. Immediately dunk into an ice water bath until cool to the touch. Remove from water and peel skin. Puree tomatoes in blender. Strain into a heavy small saucepan. Add 1/4 cup water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer tomatoes to reduce, about 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Combine 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Gradually whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until polenta is very thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Parmesan and butter and stir until melted. Mix in cayenne pepper. Spread polenta in 9-inch-square pan. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. (Sauce and polenta can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
Prepare grill (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Brush eggplant and zucchini with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil until tender, about 2 minutes per side.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil large baking sheet. Cut polenta into 4 rounds. Place rounds on prepared baking sheet. Top each with eggplant, 2 zucchini slices, basil leaf and mozzarella slice.
Bake eggplant stacks until cheese melts and begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to plates. Rewarm sauce. Spoon around eggplant stacks. Sprinkle with chopped basil and serve.
Spinach and Sorrel Soup
Spinach and Sorrel Soup
Adapted from the book Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider. Serves 4 as a first course.
2 tsp olive or sunflower oil
1/2 sweet onion, minced
3/4 lb small, tender spinach, stems removed
5-6 ounces sorrel
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
salt and pepper
1 1/2 TB cornstarch
big pinch of ground nutmeg or ground anise
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
lemon juice
6 TB heavy cream
Heat oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add onions and saute for 3 minutes, until translucent. Add greens and stock. Bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer until soft, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Puree soup until smooth with an immersion blender. Or, transfer to a blender or food processor and puree. Stir together cornstarch with 1/4 cup of the puree. Combine in pot with remaining soup. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly. Add nutmeg, zest and juice. To serve, ladle into bowls. Drizzle 1 1/2 TB heavy cream onto each, then swirl gently with knife tip or fork to form a pretty pattern.
Pasta at My House
Pasta at My House
This is my kind of veggie week. I really never tire of fresh veggies and pasta and fortunately, neither does my family.
4 cloves garlic minced
1 bunch garlic scapes - chopped
2-3 tomatoes chopped
1 zucchini sliced or 1 head and stem of broccoli - stem sliced and florets broken off
1 bunch basil
Olive Oil - 2 TB
salt and pepper
1 lb pasta
Bring pot of salted water to boil on the stove for pasta. Meanwhile prepare the vegetables. When the water comes to a boil add the pasta and cook to al dente according to directions.
Heat Olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and garlic scapes the pan and cook for just a minute or two without browning garlic. Add the tomatoes, and simmer a few minutes more. Add the zucchini or broccoli and anything else you'd like to toss in (greens? olives?). Simmer some more until tomatoes have thickened and vegetables are crisp tender. Taste sauce and add salt or pepper to taste.
Drain pasta and mix in the veggie/tomato sauce with the pasta. Add a glug of olive oil if you need to moisten a bit more. Then add chopped basil. Serve with some grated parm and even feta if you'd like.
Roasted Summer Vegetables
Roasted Summer Vegetables
This is a great simple dish to serve on it's own or alongside meat or with bread or rice or couscous. Other vegetables work well too - fennel, young beets, salad turnips, garlic, etc.
8 Baby carrots - cut in half lengthwise and then cut into 2 lengths
10 pearl onions, peeled
3-4 new potatoes - scrubbed and cut into 1 chunks
3 small zucchini - quartered or halved and cut into 2 lengths
a few sweet peppers cut into 1'2 to 1 wide strips
3-4 TB olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
15 Cherry tomatoes or tomato wedges
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the squash, onions, potatoes, and carrots in a roasting pan and toss gently with the oil, coating all vegetables well. Season with salt and pepper. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 4-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and stir ingredients. Return pan to the oven and continue this process until the vegetables are fork tender, 15-20 minutes. Approximately 5 minutes before the vegetables are done, add the tomatoes.
Basic Stir Fried Vegetables
Basic Stir Fried Vegetables
Great stuff in the share this week for a stir fry! This recipe is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. There is of course room for endless variations here. You can swap in and out different veggies, add nuts to the final minute of cooking, add dried chiles or chile paste for heat, add tofu or tempeh (even better if cooked and browned first), or up to 1 TB sweetener (honey, maple syrup, etc).
2 TB oil
1 TB minced garlic
1 TB fresh ginger
1/2 cup onions or scallions
1 medium zucchini, cut into slices or chunks
2 cups Napa cabbage
1 large carrot
2 stalks celery
1/2 lb green beans (preferable parboiled and then quickly cooled)
1/4 cup stock or water
2 TB tamari
1 tsp sesame oil (preferably dark)
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil , and almost immediately the garlic, ginger, and scallions or onions. Cook stirring for about 15 seconds, then add carrots, celery, snow peas and stock and raise the heat to high.
Cook, stirring constantly, adding liquid (water or stock) if mixture is totally dry, until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Then add the sesame oil and soy sauce.
