Summer is here! The colors in your share are getting brighter and more varied. Lots of quick and salad or salad-like recipes again this week as it’s going to be hot. Enjoy!
Carrot, Dill and White Bean Salad
Carrot and Seed Salad
Simple Zucchini Sauté
Torpedo Onion Notes
Torpedo Onion and Potato Frittata
Green Salad with Torpedo Onions and Dill Buttermilk Dressing
Chard Pesto
Braised Chard
Carrot, Dill and White Bean Salad
–adapted from 101cookbooks.com
A beautiful and delicious combination.
Serves 6 as a side
1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
More olive oil for cooking
3 cups sliced carrots, cut 1/4-inch thick at an angle
3 cups cooked white beans (home-cooked or canned)
generous 1/4 cup chopped dill
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey)
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and onions in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.
In your largest skillet over medium high heat, toss the carrots with a splash of olive oil and let them cook in a single layer (if you can)- they’ll give off a bit of water at first. Keep cooking, tossing every three or four minutes until the carrots are deeply browned, probably about twelve minutes.
Add the beans and dill to the skillet and cook for another five minutes, or until the beans are well heated through.
Place the contents of the skillet in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle with the brown sugar and pour the 3/4 of the lemon-olive oil mixture over the top. Toss gently. Let sit for ten minutes. Toss gently once again, taste and adjust with more salt or sugar or lemon juice if needed to balance the flavors. Serve warm or at room temperature and finish by sprinkling with the almonds just before serving.
Carrot and Seed Salad
–inspired by Breakfast Lunch Tea by Rose Carrarini
Serves 6 as a side
I’ve included versions of this salad before but usually with other herbs. Dill and carrots get along so well though that I’m including the “dill” version this week.
With a simple frittata, like the Torpedo onion an potato one below, this makes a lovely dinner.
1 cup sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 generous pinches of kosher salt
6 medium carrots, grated
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped dill
Dressing:
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus possibly more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons honey or sugar
about 3 tablespoons sunflower or olive oil (I used a good olive oil)
Preheat oven to 350.
Toss the sunflower seeds with the tablespoon of oil and several pinches of salt and roast on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes, turning frequently, until they are crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
Place the grated carrots in a serving bowl. To make the dressing whisk together the lemon juice, salt, pepper and oil. Pour the dressing over the carrots and mix well. Sprinkle with the dill and the seeds, mix again, and adjust seasoning and serve.
Simple Zucchini Sauté
I either make this when the first zucchini arrive each summer. This is not really a recipe, just a technique that I never tire of.
3-4 zucchini/summer squash (however many you have/want to use
Olive oil
Salt
Grated Parmesan, for serving (optional)
Wash the zucchini and trim the ends. Cut them into ¼-inch rounds at an angle. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat in the largest skillet you have (you don’t want to crowd them too much as they’ll steam instead of browning if you do). Add the zucchini and couple of pinches of salt. Toss them around in the hot oil a bit and then let them cook on high heat for just a few minutes and then turn the heat down to medium-high or a bit lower. You want to get a good bit of browning right away. Continue cooking and gently flipping/stirring occasionally until they’re nice and tender. Adjust seasoning with salt, drizzle with a little more good olive oil if you’d like and enjoy. A good grating of Parmesan would not be amiss here either.
Torpedo Onion Notes & Torpedo Onions Roasted under Salt
This delicious crisp sweet onions are from Southern Italy and are also called Tropea Onions (after the town in Calabria where they originate). They are wonderful grilled simply with olive oil and salt. They are also delicious made into an onion jam, cooked slowly and then finished with a little balsamic or sherry vinegar. They would also be delicious on a burger or any sandwich or salad.
I found this fun blog post and cooking technique while brushing up on these wonderful onions. I haven’t tried this method but it sounds wonderful.
Torpedo Onion and Potato Frittata
As usual, please adjust the ingredient quantities to your liking as this can easily be scaled up or down and you can change the ratio–more onion/potato per egg or vice versa.
Coupled with the Carrot and Seed Salad above this would make a lovely dinner.
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 (or more) Torpedo onions, trimmed, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into thin half-rounds
3 medium potatoes, well-scrubbed (no need to peel) and cut into small (1/2-inch) chunks or dice
6-8 eggs (or whatever you have or want to use)
some crumbled feta (optional)
Salt, pepper
Heat the oil in a heavy sauté pan or well-seasoned cast iron pan or non-stick (if it’s heatproof and can go in the oven). Add the onions and potatoes and a few generous pinches of salt and sauté them over med-high heat, stirring often so as not to burn, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 10 minutes.
Set your oven to broil.
Lightly whisk the eggs until they’re just broken up—no need to get them frothy or really well mixed. Add a few more pinches of salt and several grinds of pepper. Add the feta, if using. Pour eggs over the potatoes and onions and tilt the pan to evenly distribute the eggs. Cover and cook on medium heat for a few minutes. When the eggs are beginning to set take the pan off the heat and set under the broiler until the eggs are cooked and slightly puffed and golden.
Let sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving. It will come out of the pan much more easily that way and is more flavorful. Serve with a slice of good, crusty bread and salad.
Green Salad with Torpedo Onions and Dill Buttermilk Dressing
This is a simple, fresh salad with the sweet, juicy onions and the tangy dressing.
However much lettuce you want/need to use, well washed and dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
½ Torpedo onion (or 1 whole one if you like onion!), very thinly sliced and soaked in ice water for 10 minutes
Dressing:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup mayonnaise, sour cream or Greek yogurt
Good squeeze of lemon juice or splash of white wine or champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ clove garlic, finely minced or mashed
Freshly ground pepper
Drain the onion and pat dry and put in a large salad bowl with the lettuces.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together and toss the salad with some of it. Add more as needed and adjust seasoning. You’ll likely have leftover dressing.
Chard Pesto
Give chard leaves a quick blanch and make a savory treat you’ll want to spread on/dress everything or just eat by the spoonful.
It’s a very adaptable recipe. It will be wonderful, loosened a bit with warm water, tossed with boiled or roasted potatoes and/or carrots in this week’s share. I also use the pesto, stirred in to scrambled eggs or a savory bread pudding, as a sandwich spread, on quesadillas, as a dressing for pasta of course or for rice salads (be sure to loosen it with about 1/3 cup of hot pasta cooking water before tossing it with pasta). You can spread it on fish or meet before grilling or baking. You can mix it with goat cheese for a lovely little crostini.
Like many of my recipes, the quantity of ingredients can be adapted to your taste and what you have on hand. This pesto keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days so feel free to make a bigger batch if you have everything on hand.
1 large bunch chard, well washed and stems removed and saved for another purpose (you can add them to the onion and potato frittata above for instance)
1-2 small cloves garlic
1 good-sized handful of hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts or pine nuts (either raw or toasted—but cooled first if you toast)
2 oz of hard, aged cheese such as Parmesan or Asiago Stella
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice (not too much as it can easily overwhelm the delicate chard flavor)
Roughly chop the chard leaves. Bring a large pat of salted water to a boil. Add chard and cook for a 2 minutes. Drain, let cool and squeeze out all the water with your hands. Place cheese and nuts in food processor and process until finely chopped, add chard and garlic and salt & pepper, process until well integrated. Drizzle in the oil and periodically check for consistency and flavor. Add a little lemon juice, to taste. Adjust for salt – it takes a good amount of salt!
Braised Chard
This is a bit of an atypical way to cook chard since you cook it for a quite a long time. It is well worth it though—silky and rich.
Wash a large bunch of chard. Separate the leaves from the stems and reserve stems for another use. Cut the leaves into 1-2 inch ribbons. Slice 2 Torpedo onions into thin half-rounds and begin stewing them in some olive oil in a good-sized pot or pan. When the onion has softened a bit add the chard, season with salt and pepper, cover and stew, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes. You can add garlic, bacon, or lemon zest but just by itself it is sweet and wonderful.
I’ve used this as a pizza topping with some feta, as a pasta sauce or just a side to whatever else I made for dinner. Also wonderful with eggs.