Well, it’s an Italian-inspired packet today! I spent two late summers/falls in Italy many years ago and some of my fondest food memories originated there. And there are a lot of dead simple recipes—very few ingredients and lots of flavor—this week. And in several you cook the vegetables longer than is often done here in the States—a very Italian technique and a very good one. Buon Appetito!
*because of all the recent rain some of the produce, especially the squash I’ve noticed, can turn more quickly so pay attention to the produce and use the squash earlier in the week.
Slow Cooked Beans and Tomatoes
Chard and Summer Squash “Cake”
Spaghetti with Eggplant Sauce
One-Pan Farro with Tomatoes
Green Salad with Corn
Galette with Corn, Zucchini and Tomatoes (link)
Cornbread with Fresh Corn
Caramelized Corn with Fresh Mint
Slow Cooked Beans and Tomatoes
You need a bit of patience for this dish and some beans and tomatoes, both of which you’ll have. It’s simple and more than the sum of its parts.
½ medium onion, thinly sliced
As many green beans as you want to use (I would use them all), washed, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
2-3 tomatoes (more if you’re using more beans), chopped
Olive oil, plenty
Salt
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons or so of olive oil. Add the onion and cook fairly gently for about 5 minutes. Add the beans, turn up the heat a bit and cook for about 10 minutes until browning and beginning to get tender. Add the tomatoes and several pinches of salt. Stir well and then turn down to medium and cook gently, stirring occasionally for about 30 more minutes. The tomatoes will reduce and eventually coat the beans. You want the beans completely tender and sweet. Taste and adjust seasoning and stir in some more of the best olive oil you have at the end.
Spaghetti with Eggplant Sauce
–adapted from The Wednesday Chef
This dish is not going to win any beauty contests but just like the above bean and tomato dish it is simple, sweet and glorious.
Serves 3 or 4
1 large eggplant, cut into ½ inch slices and then cut into large dice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
2 springs thyme or oregano, chopped
1 cup chicken stock or water
½ cup finely chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons basil, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper
3/4 pound spaghetti
Put the olive oil in a wide, heavy saucepan, add the garlic cloves, and set over low heat.
When you start hearing the garlic sizzle a little and can smell it, drop in your eggplant and stir to coat it all with oil. Turn up the heat a little bit to medium high and add the, thyme or oregano and stir. When the eggplant is turning translucent and softening, add the liquid, let it come to a boil, and turn it back down to medium-low. Let it bubble for a bit and cover it, leaving a crack for steam to escape. Stir once in a while so that the bottom doesn’t stick. Add the tomatoes after about 10 minutes.
After another 1o minutes or so, the liquid in the pan should be mostly evaporated and the eggplant should be soft and melting. Mash it with a fork or spoon, and adjust the seasoning to taste.
Toss the eggplant purée with the spaghetti that you cooked al dente. Stir in the basil. You can gild the lily with drizzling on some more oil. Serve immediately.
Chard and Summer Squash “Cake”
–adapted from RachelEats
This is a classic Italian vegetable custard, richly flavored and smooth. It’s best at room temperature and needs to rest for a while before eating so make this ahead of time if you can and then serve it with a nice cold glass of white wine.
Serves 4 as lunch/dinner, 8 as a starter.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
½ a medium onion, finely diced
2 medium summer squash/zucchini, trimmed, washed and cut into thin-half rounds
Salt
1/3 cup white wine or water
1 bunch chard, leaves well washed, stems removed and reserved for another use
5 eggs
1 cup half and half or cream or whole milk or a combination of any of them
½ cup grated Parmesan
Freshly grated nutmeg
black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350°
Warm the oil and butter in a heavy based frying pan and then sauté the onion until soft and translucent.
Add the squash to the onion and stir well. After a few minutes, raise the heat a little and add the wine/water. Allow it to bubble enthusiastically. Now reduce the heat again and allow the onion and squash to bubble and cook gently – half frying/ half braising, giving a stir and nudge every now and then and adding a little more water if the pan looks dry – for about 15 minutes or until the squash are very soft tender and collapsing and all the liquid has evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
Now put the chard in a large pan with nothing but the water that clings to the leaves, cover the pan and cook on a low flame until the chard has collapsed and is tender. This should take about 7 minutes. Add a little more water if things dry out.
Drain the chard and once it is cool enough, squeeze and press it gently with your hands to eliminate as much water as possible. Chop the chard roughly and transfer to a bowl.
Add the cooled onion/squash mixture to the chard and then using a hand blender or a food processor blitz the mixture into a smooth green paste.
Add the cream and eggs to the bowl and blitz again before stirring in the parmesan, a grating of nutmeg, salt and black pepper.
Pour the batter into in ovenproof sauté pan, buttered baking dish or 10-12 inch deep-pie dish and then slide into the oven. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the cake is set but still with a slight tremble/wobble at the center.
Allow the cake to sit, cool and settle for at least 40 minutes before serving in wedges.
One-Pan Farro with Tomatoes
–adapted from smittenkitchen.com which as inspired by Martha Stewart Living
Below is smittenkitchen’s farro note which I thought I’d include here:
One Farro 101 note, the trickiest thing in writing this recipe was considering the different types of farro (from an Italian wheat strain known as emmer) available — as well as misconceptions, such as the notion that it can be used interchangeably with spelt. (It cannot, as spelt can take hours.). Farro comes whole/unpearled, semi-pearled (semi-perlato) and pearled (perlato); pearling describes how much of the exterior bran is removed, but packages are not always labeled. If your package says it will cook in less than 15 minutes, it’s probably pearled; if it takes around 30 minutes, it’s probably semi-pearled. And if it takes 60 to 80 minutes, it is whole or unpearled. [To make it even more confusing, I’ve been using the Rustichella d’Abruzzo brand, which labels it as “whole farro” but it is indeed semi-pearled, which is why cooking times are the best way to decipher which kind you have.] This recipe will work for all three versions (there are multiple comments below noting results for each, as well as quinoa, couscous, and even rice, just do a word search [Cntrl + f] to find the grain you’re looking to swap) but I’ve defaulted to semi-pearled below, which I find most frequently in stores. In all cases, if your package gives you a different cooking time than the 30 minutes suggested below, default to it instead.
I used farro from the New Seasons bulk bin and let it soak in the water I’d eventually cook it in for several hours. Then it took 65 minutes and an extra 1 cup water to get tender. I’m not sure all the soaking cut down on the eventual time—par-boiling for 10 minutes would probably vastly speed things up so try that if you’re short on time and have the “whole” farro.
Serves: 4 as a side, 2 as a hearty main
2 cups water (or more – see above)
1 cup semi-pearled farro or whole farro (see Note above for farro types)
1/2 large onion, cut in half again and thinly sliced into quarter moons
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
10 ounces tomatoes, cut into thin wedges or large dice (about 2 cups)
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
½ – 1 jalapeno, deseeded (to taste), minced (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Handful of basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
Grated Parmesan, for serving
Place water and farro in a medium saucepan to presoak (I find just 5 to 10 minutes sufficient) while you prepare the other ingredients. Adding each ingredient to the pot as you finish preparing it, onions, garlic, pepper. Add salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, and set a timer for 30 minutes. Bring uncovered pan (no lid necessary) up to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. When the timer rings, the farro should be perfectly cooked (tender but with a meaty chew), seasoned and the cooking water should be almost completely absorbed. If needed, though I’ve never found it necessary, cook it for 5 additional minutes, until farro is more tender.
Transfer to a wide serving bowl. If there’s enough leftover cooking liquid to be bothersome, simply use a slotted spoon to leave the amount you wish to behind. Drizzle farro lightly with additional olive oil, scatter with basil and parmesan. Eat immediately. Repeat tomorrow.
Green Salad with Corn
The other day I made a pizza with fresh corn, onions and roasted chopped Anaheim chilies. I had a bit more corn that I needed so my husband suggested I add it to our green salad. I had forgotten just how fabulous raw, fresh corn is in salads like this. Or I should say how fabulous SIO corn is like this!
It was a simple lettuce salad with some thinly sliced onion, a bit of chopped tomato and a bunch of toasted sunflower seeds and about 1-2 ears worth of corn. The vinaigrette had a bit of Dijon-style mustard, red wine vinegar and olive oil.
Galette with Corn, Zucchini and Tomatoes
I just made this savory tart and it’s ideal for your share this week though it calls for cherry tomatoes but simply substitute slicers or heirlooms. It’s a bit of work but completely worth it. and very impressive to behold and consume!
Cornbread with Fresh Corn
Adding fresh corn to my favorite cornbread recipe is fun this time of year. The texture is more interesting and it’s even moister and a bit sweeter. It’s very quick and nothing beats warm cornbread with honey for breakfast, lunch or dinner and/or dessert. It’s really best within a few hours of baking but it never lasts long around here. I just add two big pieces for breakfast with more butter and honey.
5 ½ tablespoons butter, divided
1 ½ cups cornmeal (if you happen to have local Ayers Creek cornmeal, use it! Otherwise use a medium grind of whatever brand you have)
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg
1 ¼ cups milk
Kernels cut off 2 ears of corn (after you’ve cut the kernels off, use the back of a chef’s knife to extract any more juice and little bits of corn that didn’t come off in the first round. Collect all of that and use it with the kernels).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 4 tablespoons butter and let cool slightly. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking, powder, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk the egg and milk together in a small bowl. Add melted butter and milk mixture to dry ingredients and stir quickly. Do not over mix. Heat a 9 or 10-inch cast iron frying pan over med-high heat. Add the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons butter to the pan. When the butter is melted and foaming pour the batter into the skillet. Bake in the oven until the corn bread is golden and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, between 15 and 18 min. Serve hot out of the oven with butter and honey or just plain. It’s a bit crumbly and you may end up eating it with a fork.
Caramelized Corn with Fresh Mint
–inspired by Julia Moskin
There’s a theme this week—very few ingredients and very simple preparation. I can eat this whole dish by myself.
Serves 2
Kernels form four ears or corn (or more—this is so good you’ll eat as much as you make I guarantee)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
Salt
In a wide skillet, melt the butter over high heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring often, until golden and browned (kernels may begin to pop), about 10 minutes. Stir in the mint and sprinkle with salt. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve while hot.