Tag: tomatoes

August 7, 2012 Pasta Salad with Sun Gold Tomatoes, Green Beans and Pesto Dressing

Pasta salad, that ubiquitous summer take along for picnics, barbecues and potlucks doesn’t have to be boring. This particular one was made with fresh ingredients from our garden and a spicy pesto vinaigrette. I picked very sweet and fruity Sun Gold tomatoes and a combination of our second growth of bush beans with the first of the pole beans. I chose penne rigate as the pasta, not just because it was the only acceptable pasta shape we had on hand but the ridges would nicely hold the bits of pesto. The dressing is a slightly deconstructed take on pesto, the toasted pine nuts are added to the salad separately rather than part of the dressing to give the salad some extra crunch. Sun gold tomatoes are a relatively new favorite of ours. They are a tangerine-orange cherry tomato developed in Japan where consumers prefer a tomato that is sweet rather than tart. The recipe is just a canvas to fill in with your own summer ingredients. Choose grilled slices of zucchini, chunks of pepper, cubes of cooked eggplant, or a different variety of tomato. Walnuts would be a good choice to replace the pine nuts and a Grana Padano could replace the more traditional  Parmigiano Reggiano. Just be sure to use freshly grated cheese, not pre grated or the stuff that comes in a green can!

Pasta Salad with Sungold Tomatoes, Green Beans and Pesto Dressing

Created using the Fine Cooking pasta salad recipe maker

Serves eight

Ingredients

For the Vinaigrette

  • 1 1/2 c lightly packed basil leaves
  • 1/2c extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 c or more fresh, finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 3T red wine vinegar
  • 2T fresh lemon juice
  • 2t  finely chopped garlic
  • 1/2t finely grated lemon zest
  • 1t kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

  • kosher salt
  • 1 lb green, purple and wax beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
  • 1/2 lb small chunky pasta
  • 1T olive oil
  • 2 1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved (l love using my Cutco steak knife for this)
  • 3T pine nuts, toasted
  • Freshly ground pepper

Directions for the Vinaigrette

  1. Put the basil, olive oil, Parmigiano, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and lemon zest in a blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Directions for the salad

  1. In a large pot bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil over high heat
  2. Drop the beans into the boiling water and cook until they are just crisp-tender, about 4-5 minutes. Remove beans from pot with a slotted spoon and place in colander. Rinse with cool water and transfer beans to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain and cool.
  3. Return the water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, following package instructions. Drain the pasta thoroughly in a colander and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Toss the pasta with the olive oil to prevent sticking.
  4. Transfer the cooled pasta to a large serving bowl. Add beans and cherry tomatoes and toss. Add just enough vinaigrette to moisten the pasta, do not over dress. Add the pine nuts and toss again. Let the salad rest for 20 minutes or so to allow the flavors to blend and then taste the salad again. If needed, add a little more vinaigrette, salt and pepper. Grate a little extra cheese on top if desired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The little green bean at the bottom left of the picture will eventually turn as purple as the blossoms!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun Golds at various stages of ripeness.

July 26, 2012 Chicken with Eggplant, Tomatoes and Almonds

Chicken with eggplant, tomatoes and almonds is a dish I revisit every summer. It gave me the opportunity to use the last of our frozen roasted tomatoes from summer 2011 with our garden’s first eggplant, a Rosa Bianca. One of the pleasures of gardening is the interesting varieties of vegetables that are available to you. In the past few years some of our newer favorites are from an Italian seed company, Franchi Seeds. We have found several unique varieties of zucchini, candy striped Chiogga beets and Rosa Bianca eggplant to name just a few. The Rosa Bianca is a teardrop shaped Italian heirloom variety of eggplant with rosy lavender skin. It has milky-white flesh that is denser than most eggplant. No need to salt and weight this eggplant to get rid of bitterness. When cooked, it has a delicate creamy flavor. In this dish it cooks down to almost a sauce. Aromatic spices make this a dish that smells as good as it tastes.
This is a good make-ahead meal, keep the chicken and the eggplant separate until finishing the dish. When eggplants are plentiful, I will double up on the amount of eggplant I use in the recipe. A can of drained chickpeas would be a good addition. Serve with Israeli couscous or basmati rice to sop up all the wonderful juices.

Chicken with Eggplant, Tomatoes and Almonds

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

  • 3 T olive oil, divided
  • 1 ½ c thinly sliced onions
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 ½ t Hungarian sweet paprika
  • 1 ½ t coarse kosher salt
  • ½ t turmeric
  • ½ t ground coriander
  • 1 t fennel seeds, ground
  • 1 t freshly ground pepper
  • ½ t ground cumin
  • ¼ t ground ginger
  • 1 28 oz  canned tomatoes or one quart roasted tomatoes
  • 1 ½T fresh lemon juice
  • 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 large eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 T fresh oregano
  • ¼ c slivered almonds
  • Chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

  1. Pat chicken thighs dry. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat 1 T olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering, not smoking, add chicken, skin side down, do not crowd. Cook on first side until skin is golden, 4 to 5 minutes. With tongs, flip on other side and cook for an additional 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
  3. Add onions cook until soft, about 6-8  minutes. Add garlic to pot and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add paprika, salt, turmeric, coriander, fennel, pepper, cumin, and ginger; stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes with their juices and lemon juice, bring to a boil.
  4. Arrange chicken in a single layer in the Dutch oven, spoon some sauce over the chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes turning chicken pieces with tongs halfway through cooking, While the chicken is cooking, preheat oven to 400°F. Brush a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Place eggplant and 2 T olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread eggplant out on prepared baking sheet and bake until soft and brown, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes.
  5. Stir eggplant and oregano into chicken. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes to heat through and blend flavors. Season to taste with more lemon juice, salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to shallow serving bowl. Sprinkle with almonds and cilantro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Rosa Bianca eggplant.

March 24, 2012 Quick Chicken Saute with Asparagus, Peppers and Tomatoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t wait for the produce to start appearing in the farmer’s markets and in our garden. Until then I will have to make do with what looks reasonable in the supermarkets. Last night’s dinner was inspired by a recipe on the Fine Cooking  magazine website. The original recipe was titled, Quick Chicken Saute with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes and Lemon Pan Sauce. A good foundation that I would make some changes to.  Quick sounded good to me, I could have all the elements ready and just wait for Joe to tell me he was on his way home. The recipe called for chicken breast, I chose to use chicken thighs. I have found that chicken thighs are moister in a sauteed dish. I doubled the asparagus, added a julienned yellow pepper and substituted readily available cherub tomatoes for the definitely seasonal cherry tomatoes. Any leftover vegetables, and there were not many, could be added to the next morning’s omelet or runny egg dish. The dish also called for some minced fresh basil at the end, but I would prefer to wait until it is really in season. I substituted sun dried tomato pesto to amplify the tomato flavor.  The result was a quick, tasty weeknight dinner. The only change I would make next time would be a grating of fresh Parmesan cheese to the finished dish.

Quick Chicken Saute with Asparagus, Peppers and Tomatoes

Serves two

  • 3 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 T plus 2 t  olive oil
  • 12 small “cherub” tomatoes
  • 12 medium asparagus spears, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 2″ pieces
  • 1 yellow pepper cut into julienned strips
  • 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 c low sodium chicken broth
  • 3 T fresh lemon juice
  • 2 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 T  sun dried tomato pesto
  • Fresh Parmesan cheese to grate over the dish
  1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 T oil in a medium saute pan over medium high heat. Add the tomatoes, pepper and asparagus and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have softened, and asparagus and pepper are golden brown around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and keep warm.
  2. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the pan and add the chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add chicken to the vegetables.
  3. Reduce heat to medium and heat remaining 2t oil in the pan. Add garlic and cook until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add chicken broth and lemon juice and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits in the pan and blend into the sauce, stir in the sun dried tomato pesto.  Simmer sauce for three minutes, reduce to medium low and add the butter. Stir in the chicken, vegetables and the juices that remain.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Grate a little Parmesan over the dish if desired and serve immediately.

Notes-the cherub tomatoes have a tougher skin than cherry tomatoes so they may need to be “coaxed” to burst with the tip of a sharp knife. Other vegetables may be added or substituted, zucchini, mushrooms etc.