Tater tots are a mid twentieth century (1953) invention born out of the frugality of brothers F. Nephi and Golden Grigg. Co founders of Ore-Ida, they were looking for a way to use the potato pieces left over when making their french fries. The pieces were used as feed for the livestock on the family farm or just tossed in the trash. The brothers Grigg knew that there had to be a way to consume the discards.They chopped the potato pieces, added seasonings and salt, put them through an extruder where they got their tot shape then into the deep fryer.
Fast forward to the twentieth first century and Americans consume 70 million tots a year. They are loved by young and old alike, everyone from high end chefs like Daniel Boulud to mommy bloggers. Mommy bloggers have taken tots beyond the potato. To their delight they discovered that their little ones would eat veggies they wouldn’t touch before when they were presented in tot form. Broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets and zucchini have all been used to make tots.
So it was time for me to take on the tot. I chose two things we have in abundance, zucchini and basil. Basil is in season so why not make some pesto? Whatever vegetable you choose for your tots it is important to squeeze as much water out of the shredded vegetable as possible. A clean linen dishcloth is what I recommend. If time is short and you don’t have time to make the tot shape, divide the mixture evenly into well greased mini muffin pans. Make a double batch and freeze half for later. To eat, place frozen tots on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F 10-15 minutes, until heated through.Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, zucchini pesto tots make a great snack or side dish.
Shredded zucchiniShredded zucchini after squeezing
Zucchini Pesto Tots
Ingredients
1¼ lb zucchini
2-3 T basil pesto
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ c panko bread crumbs
½ c grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Grate the zucchini with the large holes of a box grater.
Transfer the grated zucchini to a large dish towel and strain out as much liquid as possible.
Transfer the grated zucchini to a large bowl then add the pesto, egg, Parmesan and kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Mix together until well blended.
Spoon a generous tablespoon into your hand and roll it into a cylinder. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining zucchini mixture.
Bake 18-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through, until golden brown. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Whether you spell it zhoug, zhug, zhoog, or schug, they all describe the fiery Middle Eastern answer to pesto that has become the favorite accompaniment to Israeli street food. Zhoug didn’t have its origins in Israel. It was a staple of Yemeni cuisine and first brought to the newly created state of Israel (1948) during operation “On Wings of Eagles” that airlifted 49,000 Yemeni Jews to Israel.
Traditionally zhoug is made in a mortar and pestle, but you can make it in a food processor in minutes. The word is zhoug is translated “ground” so use a light touch with the processor. The result should be a thick, slightly chunky paste. The basic ingredients are cilantro, garlic, hot peppers, green jalapeno or serrano, olive oil, salt and pepper. You can make it with half parsley half cilantro, or all parsley if you dislike cilantro. The addition of dried spices makes the sauce unique, cumin, coriander, cloves and an unexpected one, cardamom.
As with all hot pepper preparations, wear gloves and keep your hands away from your face. Use as many peppers as your taste buds allow, it is a hot sauce and the flavors blend and mellow out after the sauce is refrigerated. Place all of the dry ingredients into a food processor. Pulse the mixture, scraping the sides down periodically until it resembles a pesto-like consistency. Taste a bit of the mixture and adjust seasonings accordingly.
Zhoug is good with so many things, grilled lamb chops, roasted potatoes, stirred into yogurt for a delicious sauce, in your pita with falafel, any time you want to add a spicy kick.
Cardamom in its different forms.I used whole frozen jalapenos from last summer’s harvest and yes they are just as hot!!
Zhoug
Makes about a cup
Ingredients
2 ½ cups cilantro leaves
3-4 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp cardamom seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
¼ tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled
½ c extra virgin olive oil
Fresh lemon juice to taste
Directions
Add cumin, cardamom and coriander seeds to a small dry skillet over medium heat. Toast the seeds, stirring frequently until they smell fragrant and toasty.
Grind spices either with a mortar and pestle or a mini processor/grinder.
Place the cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, toasted spices and salt into the food processor. Pulse the mixture, scraping the sides down as needed until a chunky texture is reached.
With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil and lemon. Taste and adjust with salt and lemon as desired. Store in fridge for a week.
Green zhoug is zhoug yarok, the red variety is zhoug adom.
Rain happens. And when it does day after day I am less likely to make my way out to the garden. Unfortunately that doesn’t stop the veggies from growing. A prime example of this is the bush and pole beans Back in the early spring it’s easy to dream of vines loaded down with beautiful slim beans. Haricot Verts, as the French call them, only need a quick steaming, finished with butter, garlic, thyme and squeeze of lemon.
The beans I picked that first day without rain were well beyond their haricot verts stage but still usable. Since we love just about every other vegetable roasted, why not green beans? Using the method I use for other vegetables, I was certain they would turn out great.
Start with about a pound of beans, we have green, yellow and purple beans this year. Purple beans are pretty on the vine but when you cook them they do not stay purple, they become a very dark green color.
After you have rinsed the beans lay them out on paper towels and pat them dry as possible. This will allow for the beans to be thoroughly coated with the olive oil. Place the beans in a bowl large enough to toss them in. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and toss the beans well.Then add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and toss again. Place the beans on a lined baking sheet spread out as evenly as possible.
Roasting time is a function of how old your beans are. Slimmer beans may only ten to fifteen minutes, larger ones fifteen or more. When I made the first batch I timed them for ten minutes and rotated the pan, then every five minutes so they wouldn’t burn. As soon as the beans are close to being done, take them out the oven and sprinkle with cheese. Return the pan to the oven to melt the cheese. Serve warm.
Joe is growing both bush and pole beans.One days pick.
Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan
Ingredients
1 lb green beans, medium to large in size
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
½ c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F
Rinse beans in a colander with cool water. Removing all stems and blemishes, then blot with paper towels to remove off excess moisture.
Transfer beans to a bowl large enough to toss them in. Use enough oil to lightly coat all the beans. Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and toss them again to coat.
Put beans on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the beans evenly on the sheet.
Roast for ten minutes, then pull out the oven and toss the beans in the pan again.
Return the beans to the baking sheet and continue to roast until the beans are browned in spots.
Remove pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle with Parmesan as evenly as possible. Return pan to the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve warm.
Nothing is more refreshing to start a meal on a hot and humid summer day than a chilled soup. It’s even better when those ingredients can go right into the blender, no need to spend time cooking over a hot stove. This recipe combines crisp juicy cucumbers and creamy avocado with tangy lime and garlic chives.
All the “green” in the recipe is courtesy of the garden, except the avocado and possibly in the future we will have those as well. Our wonderful and very thoughtful sister-in-law Jody, gave Joe an Avoseedo, an ingenious seed starting device that helps you sprout an avocado pit. With minimal attention, changing the water every 1-2 weeks, in a few months you will have an avocado plant. He’s planted two in pots so far. Certainly beats the old toothpick over a glass of water method. Be sure to use a ripe avocado for a smooth puree.
This is primetime for cucumbers in our garden, just wish they didn’t come in all at once. Since our cukes were more mature they were a bit seedy and the skins thicker, I peeled and seeded them for this recipe. First trim the ends, peel, then cut in half. I found a melon baller (small side) to be the best way to scoop out the seeds. Cut the sections into half-inch chunks. I used three cups of peeled and seeded chunks.
The jalapeno and other hot peppers are making an earlier than usual appearance in the garden. That’s good but there is a rabbit that is taking a bite out of quite a few of our peppers before we can harvest them. Time to put up the chicken wire. Half of a jalapeno added to the soup was the right amount for our taste. Peppers can vary in heat so taste a small piece of the pepper first and add accordingly. Our Persian lime tree is producing the most fragrant and juicy fruit, about two dozen on the tree at last count. Fresh lime juice adds the right acidity and brightness to the soup.
Garlic chives, also known as Chinese chives are the perfect herbal accent for this soup. If you are not familiar with them, common chives are tube-shaped and bright green while Chinese chives are a darker green and flat. Common chives have pinkish-purple globe like flowers that appear in the spring while Chinese chives have white star-shaped blossoms that are only starting to appear now. The flavor as the name indicates, is garlicky, but milder than a garlic clove.
The soup couldn’t be simpler to make, put all the ingredients in the blender and puree until the soup is smooth. Add yogurt to your liking, anywhere from a half to a full cup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for 4-6 hours to allow the flavors to blend. Before serving you may need to thin the soup out with a little water or milk. Garnish with chopped garlic chives and flowers. Makes a delicious first course or light lunch.
Garlic chives in the garden.
Garlic chives are flat with white flowers.The heat in the jalapeno comes from the white ribs.I used the smaller end of the melon baller to scoop out the cucumber seeds.Chop into 1/2 inch pieces.Into the blenderPuree until smooth
Spicy Cucumber Avocado Soup
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
3 cups cucumbers, peeled and seeded, cut into ½-inch chunks
1 medium ripe avocado
½-1 c Greek style low-fat plain yogurt
2 t fresh lime juice
½ chopped jalapeno (or to taste)
2 T chopped garlic chives
kosher salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Peel and pit the avocado. Cut into chunks.
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if desired. Thin the soup out with a little cold water if necessary.
Refrigerate the soup for several hours to blend the flavors. Serve garnished with chopped garlic chives and flowers.
After a cold, very rainy spring, summer has arrived with a vengeance. We are experiencing temperatures in the upper 90’s with humidity that makes it feel like 100 degrees plus. With no real rain in the foreseeable future, drip irrigation and sprinklers are keeping the veggies and berries happy. We’ve had a few Sungold tomatoes, bright yellow blossoms are now producing the first zucchini of the season, tart juicy raspberries are beginning to ripen and we have the earliest eggplants ever.
As you enter the garden, there is a large planting of Swiss chard. Not only delicious and nutritious, the stems and veins bring a pop of brilliant color to the garden. Earlier in the spring, Joe planted the faster growing spinach in between each row of chard. The spinach was harvested first before it had a chance to bolt. Now we are enjoying a daily harvest of chard. The leaves are always a dark green but the stems can be white, red, yellow and even an orangey color. Very small leaves can be used in salads, larger leaves need to be separated from the stems but both parts are edible. You can read about more of the basics of chard in this post.
In season, I love making frittatas with ingredients straight from the garden. They are versatile as an on-the-go breakfast, lunch or a no-fuss light supper. In this recipe I take a basic frittata recipe I use as a guideline and use Swiss chard, both stems and leaves, a little Canadian bacon and, why not, a Swiss cheese. When I say Swiss most people are thinking of Emmenthaler, the mild holey cheese that is paired with ham in a sandwich. But there are other Swiss cheeses and Gruyère is one worth trying. Firm and dense, as in, no holes, Gruyere has a rich, creamy, slightly nutty taste.
Some important tips to remember when you are making this or any frittata. Cook any raw vegetable you will be adding to the frittata first. Even quick cooking vegetables like spinach and mushrooms exude water when you cook them. So cook them completely, no one wants a watery frittata! You also should adjust the amount of salt you use based on the saltiness of the ingredients you use like cheese and cured meats.
A heavy bottomed oven safe non stick skillet or a well-seasoned cast iron pan is absolutely necessary to make the frittata. Before you proceed with the recipe be sure the skillet fits comfortably under the broiler without a great deal of maneuvering. The handle on my skillet was a bit high and made getting it in and out of the oven quite challenging. Have thick potholders at the ready so you don’t burn your fingers pulling the pan out of the oven. Once out, leave the potholder over the handle to remind yourself the pan is still hot. Use a spatula to loosen the frittata from the pan and transfer to a platter or cutting board. Of course, there are countless variations of the frittata and as the season moves on my add-ins will change. Whatever you put in yours, it’s a great quick weeknight supper to serve alongside a simple green salad.
Our section of chard.
The colorful stems are good to eat as well.
Everything but the bacon.
Swiss Chard, Gruyère and Ham Frittata
Makes one 12″ frittata
Ingredients
12 large eggs
3 T half and half
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 t olive oil
8 c chard leaves roughly torn into 1″ pieces
½ to 1 cup thinly sliced chard stems (optional)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
¾ c shredded Gruyère cheese
¼ to ½ c finely diced Canadian bacon or ham
Directions
Adjust oven rack to upper middle position, about 5 inches away from the heating element. Heat broiler.
Whisk eggs, half and half, ½ t salt and a grind of pepper in a medium bowl until well combined, about 30 seconds. Set eggs aside.
Heat oil in a 12-inch non stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering; add stems first if using and saute until softened a bit, 3-4 minutes. Add chard and continue to cook until leaves are wilted and soft, another 4-5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook until fragrant.
Stir shredded Gruyère into the egg mixture. Add egg mixture to the skillet and cook, using spatula to stir and scrape bottom of skillet, until large curds form and spatula begins to leave wake but eggs are still very wet, about 2 minutes. Shake skillet to distribute eggs evenly, cook without stirring for 30 seconds. Sprinkle Canadian bacon over the frittata surface.
Slide skillet under broiler and broil until the frittata has risen and the surface puffs and turn spotty brown, three to four minutes. Remove skillet from the oven and let stand 5 minutes to finish cooking.
Using a spatula, loosen frittata from the skillet and slide onto a platter or a cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve.
When I exercise on our elliptical machine I catch up on my version of “must-see t.v.”. Right now I am watching the current season of Iron Chef America. For those not familiar with the show, two chefs, a world-class “Iron Chef” competes against an up and coming chef. The chefs create a menu in one hour from appetizer to dessert that prominently features that week’s secret ingredient. Two weeks ago it was ” Battle Kobe Beef”. This weekend I tuned into “Battle Carrot”. The show is fun to watch and also stimulates my own creativity in the kitchen. I’m pretty sure when I went to the farmers market after my workout I had carrots on the brain. So along with all the other goodies I found, a lovely bunch of recently harvested carrots went into my bag.
My plan was to roast the carrots and in the spirit of “root to stem” cooking, use the greens as well. Carrot tops are edible and rich in vitamins A,C, calcium, iron and dietary fiber. They have an earthy, herbal, slightly bitter taste. Carrot top pesto was a success last year, this time I was looking for something a little bit different. Chimichurri sauce was a natural for this dish. This rich herby sauce from Argentina was already a favorite of ours. I have served as an appetizer at parties, spooned over rare beef tenderloin on crostini. It was easy enough to swap out the parsley in the original recipe for carrot tops. After all they are both members of the same plant family, along with fennel, dill and coriander.
Wash the greens well and pat dry with paper towels. The most time-consuming part of this recipe is separating the leaves from the slightly harder stems. Aim for a lightly packed cup, if you want this thicker to use as a dip, either cut back on the olive oil or add a quarter cup more of leaves. Blend all of the ingredients until smooth in a food processor. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Give the chimichurri at least an hour to fully combine the flavors, over night is even better. If you don’t have carrot tops, substitute the traditional parsley or a combination of parsley and cilantro.
I served my chimichurri over roasted carrots. Traditionally this is served with steak but I think it would be just as good as a sauce with grilled chicken or lamb chops. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
A cup of lightly packed carrot leaves.Everything goes in the food processor.
Carrot Top Chimichurri Sauce with Roasted Carrots
Makes about a cup
Ingredients for Chimichurri Sauce
1 c lightly packed fresh carrot top leaves
¾ c extra virgin olive oil
3 T red wine vinegar
1 T dried oregano
2 t ground cumin
1 t salt
3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
½ t smoked paprika
½ t dried crushed red pepper
Directions
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Refrigerate for at least one hour but tastes even better the next day. Store in an airtight container. Use within a week.
With temperatures consistently in the eighties and more than our share of rain, it was time to do a final harvest of the spring vegetables. The heat, rain and deer damage sadly ruined our edible pod pea crop. On the positive side we have enjoyed a variety of lettuces, spinach, radishes and small white Japanese turnips. Also in the harvest, those funny looking space alien looking vegetables, kohlrabi.
Translated from the German, cabbage turnip, it is the bulbous above ground stem that gives the “turnip” name to the crispy green and sometimes purple vegetable. Oddly enough, it doesn’t taste like cabbage or turnips. When young, about the size of a tennis ball, it is thin-skinned, sweet and juicy with a mild flavor reminiscent of broccoli stems. Older, larger kohlrabi should be peeled, and the flavor is still sweet but a bit peppery.
Kohlrabi is a natural shredded or julienned in a slaw. This time I combined it with another ugly ducking vegetable, jicama. “HEE-kah-mah” is the edible tuberous root of a vine native to Mexico. Resembling a round potato, the papery brown skin needs to be peeled away before eating. The texture of the flesh is similar to an apple or a pear with a flavor that is mild and slightly sweet.
You can either shred or julienne the vegetables. Since the kohlrabi I used was on the small side, I shredded it in the food processor. The kohlrabi were still young and tender, so there was no need to peel, preserving the purple color. Larger kohlrabi with thicker skin should be peeled.
I was looking for a new twist on dressing the slaw so I turned to The Flavor Bible for some inspiration. I saw that both mustard and lemon were compatible flavors so I thought a honey whole grain mustard dressing would add the right texture and tang to the recipe. A little juice from one of our Ponderosa lemons gave the dressing brightness.
This simple slaw is a great addition to any buffet or picnic because it stays crisp long after it is dressed.
Kohlrabi ready to pick from the garden.Just picked kohlrabi, love that purple color!Jicama surrounded with purple kohlrabiThe kohlrabi need to be trimmed before they are shredded.A recent harvest of Ponderosa lemons.Nicknamed the “five pound lemon” they usually weigh two to four pounds. Ponderosa lemon is a citrus hybrid of a pomelo and a citron.
Kohlrabi Slaw
Serves 4-6
Ingredients for slaw
3-4 small or 1 large kohlrabi
1 small jicama
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Honey Lemon Mustard Dressing
Ingredients for dressing
2 T honey
2 T whole grain mustard (can add another T if desired)
3 T olive oil
¼ c freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of salt
Directions for dressing
Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
Directions for slaw
To prepare the kohlrabi, trim the root stem to the base. Cut the leaf stems from the globes. Wash leaves if using in another preparation. If the kohlrabi is mature, peel, if smaller leave skin on.
To prepare the jicama, peel.
Grate kohlrabi and jicama in a food processor or on a box grater. Squeeze out any excess water with your hands. You should have about 6 cups total.
Place shredded vegetables in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss to combine. Season to taste with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
It’s a great time of year to try out some new eggplant recipes. Whether from the farmers market, your local CSA or your own garden, freshly harvested eggplants are at their best. Our garden has produced an amazing array of colorful eggplants this summer. Bright fuchsia Asian Bride, slender dark violet Farmer’s Long, pure white Charming, beautifully variegated Listada de Gandia, all the varieties we have harvested this year have thin skin and minimal seeds.
During the eggplant season I have time to revisit the classics, eggplant Parmesan, caponata, moussaka and to look for new ways to serve this versatile vegetable that’s actually a fruit, but I digress. Stir fry recipes are quick and relatively easy, so why not shrimp and eggplant? Cook’s Illustrated magazine tests recipes countless times to understand how they work and in turn, offer the best version. So I knew I could try their recipe for stir fried shrimp with garlic, eggplant and cashews with confidence.
In perfecting this recipe they discovered several things that make this recipe stand out.
Soaking the shrimp for 30 minutes in salt, oil and aromatics yields a deeply flavored and tender finished product. The salt enters the flesh, allowing the shrimp to stay juicy. The oil picks up the flavor of the aromatics, in this case garlic,and distributes it over the shrimp. They also address the issue of the typical home stove that lacks the high heat of restaurant burners. This problem is solved by cooking the components of the dish in batches and trading in the wok for a skillet to ensure maximum surface area for even cooking.
As with all stir fry dishes, everything should be ready and portioned out when you start the recipe. Soak the shrimp in the seasoned brine. Whisk the sauce together next. My personal trick here is when you are making a sauce with both wet and dry ingredients I measure out the dry ingredients first since they will not stick to the measuring spoon, like soy sauce does.
The components of the dish are cooked in batches. First, the eggplant and scallion greens are cooked until lightly browned and transferred to a bowl. Next in are the aromatics, thinly sliced garlic and scallions. Cook until browned, don’t burn that garlic! To the aromatics, add in the shrimp. The shrimp are cooked to a light pink on both sides, then the sauce is added to the pan. Raise the heat to high to thicken the sauce and finish cooking the shrimp. The eggplant is returned to the skillet and tossed, ready to absorb the flavors of the sauce.
I made some changes to the original recipe. I used one tablespoon of sugar instead of two in the sauce, the oyster sauce adds its own sweetness. I also used more eggplant than called for since it cooks down considerably. Serve with white or brown rice, this is a dish that is quick to execute and quite delicious.
A recent harvest of all the varieties of eggplant we are growing.
Stir Fried Shrimp with Eggplant and Cashews
adapted from Cooks Illustrated
Serves 4
6mediumgarlic cloves, 1 minced or pressed through garlic press, 5 thinly sliced
1poundextra-large (21-25) shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
3 T vegetable oil
½ ttable salt
2 T soy sauce (I use low-sodium Tamari)
2Toyster sauce
2Tdry sherry or Shaoxing wine
1Tsugar
1 T toasted sesame oil
1Twhite vinegar (I use rice vinegar)
1/8tred pepper flakes
2tcornstarch
6largescallions, greens cut into 1-inch pieces and whites sliced thin
½ ccashews, unsalted
1mediumeggplant (about 3/4 pound), cut into 3/4-inch dice
Directions
Combine minced garlic with shrimp, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and salt in a medium bowl. Let shrimp marinate at room temperature 30 minutes. Depending on your particular brown rice (regular, instant, etc.) start your rice as appropriate.
Meanwhile, whisk soy sauce, oyster sauce, sherry, sugar, sesame oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch in small bowl. Combine sliced garlic with scallion whites and cashews in another small bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet or a wok over high heat until just smoking. Add eggplant and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, 3 to 6 minutes. Add scallion greens and continue to cook until scallion greens begin to brown and eggplant is fully tender, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer vegetables to medium bowl.
Heat remaining tablespoon oil to now-empty skillet/wok. Add cashew mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until just beginning to brown, about 30 seconds. Add shrimp, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp are light pink on both sides, 1 to 1½ minutes. Whisk soy sauce mixture to recombine and add to skillet/wok. Return to high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Return vegetables to skillet, toss to combine, and serve.
I couldn’t bear to do it, smash the cucumbers and green beans as called for in this recipe that is. This very easy and flavorful dish from the June issue of Bon Appetit uses a technique popular in many Asian countries. Smashing the cukes and beans with a cleaver or a rolling pin tenderizes them and makes lots of nooks and crannies for the dressing to permeate. But not with the first green beans and cucumbers from the garden this season. Maybe in a week or two but for now I will use a more traditional approach. This recipe is quite similar to pau huang gua, a Sichuan cucumber salad, typically served with rich spicy food.
Start the recipe by peeling the cucumber, I like to leave a small strip of skin for color contrast. Chop into bite sized pieces and toss with a little salt to draw out excess moisture. The beans were an interesting addition, the original recipe in Bon Appetit didn’t call for cooking them, I presume they thought dressing them would do the job of tenderizing them. I chose to blanch the beans for just a few minutes to make them crisp-tender and ready to absorb the dressing.
The dressing couldn’t be easier, the ginger, garlic and serrano pepper are all grated, a Microplane makes quick work of that. Combine these ingredients with white miso, rice vinegar, olive and sesame oil. Miso is a fermented soybean paste traditionally used in Japanese cooking. White miso will provide a more delicate flavor, switch in a red miso for a stronger and saltier flavor. You will find miso in the refrigerated section of Asian grocery and health food stores.
Place the well-drained cucumbers and green beans in a bowl and toss with some of the dressing, just enough to coat the vegetables. You will have more than enough, which is a good thing. Toss sautéed eggplant and zucchini with halved cherry tomatoes with the dressing for another version of this dish.
Cucumber vines in the greenhouse, circa 2015.Joe is growing both bush and pole beans.
Green Beans and Cucumbers with Miso Dressing
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 Persian cucumbers or 1 English hothouse cucumber
Kosher salt
1 lb green beans, stems trimmed
1 1½ piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 serrano or Fresno chile, finely grated
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1/3 c unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ c white miso
¼ c olive oil
½ t toasted sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds and scallions or thinly sliced shallots for serving
Directions
Peel cucumbers and chop into bite-sized pieces. Toss with a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Let sit to allow salt to penetrate.
Bring a medium sized pan of water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Add beans and cook until just tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain beans in a colander.
Whisk ginger, chile, garlic, vinegar, miso, olive and sesame oils in a medium bowl until smooth.
Transfer the beans to a bowl for serving and toss with the dressing. Drain cucumbers well and add to the bowl, toss again. Top beans and cucumbers with toasted sesame seeds and scallions.
Toss cucumber chunks with a pinch of salt to extract excess water.The beans I used were just picked, blanching them for a few minutes tenderizes them and brings out their flavor.The original recipe used scallions, I used shallots from our garden.
Spicy chipotle shrimp with chorizo and zucchini is an entrée that is flavorful, easy to prepare and uses only one pan. If that isn’t enough, it’s a great way to use that July abundance of zucchini and yellow squash from your garden or farmers market.
I always have some frozen shrimp on hand for a quick dinner. Though my local seafood market on occasion has fresh (never frozen) Florida shrimp, in my area of the country (mid-Atlantic) frozen shrimp is not a bad thing. The shrimp you see sitting on ice at the supermarket seafood counter have been thawed out. Convenient yes, but you can’t be certain how long they have been sitting there. I prefer to buy individually quick frozen (IQF) shrimp in 1 or 2 pound plastic bags, then I can just defrost what I need in 15-20 minutes. I prefer larger shrimp because there is less of a chance to overcook them. Look for the count of shrimp per pound, in this case 21-25 count, rather than a size designation like extra-large or jumbo.
Easy peel, meaning the shell is split down the back and deveined is the easiest way to make this or any recipe calling for shrimp. Always devein shrimp before cooking, many an eliminated Chopped contestant rues the day they didn’t. It’s not hard to do, either use a small pairing knife or the tool specifically made for that purpose. It’s not actually a vein but the shrimp’s digestive tract and when it is dark in color, it is filled with grit. Removal is not essential, nor will it make you ill, deveining just makes for a more attractive presentation.
Pat the shrimp completely dry with paper towels before cooking. Any extra moisture on the surface of the shrimp prevents them from searing and browning. Preheat your skillet for a few minutes before adding the oil. Wait a minute until the oil is shimmering before adding the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a single layer, leaving a little space between each. Don’t be tempted to flip the shrimp too soon, give them time to brown on the first side, a little pink will start to show, now flip. You want the shrimp to be slightly underdone since they will be added back to the pan later.
Transfer the shrimp to a plate, add the second 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan along with the diced chorizo. Spanish chorizo is a dried and cured (fully cooked) pork sausage seasoned with smoked paprika, garlic and other herbs. There is also Mexican chorizo that comes in casings and must be cooked before eating. It is used in tacos, tortillas and often served at breakfast with eggs. I would definitely say that the Spanish chorizo is the best choice here.
Add the cubed zucchini, onion and yellow squash, cook until the zucchini starts to brown, 3-4 minutes. Now it’s time to add the broth mixture. A chipotle chili and adobo sauce give it a real kick and the tomato paste and brown sugar mellow out the heat. Chipotles are small jalapeños that are dried by a smoking process that gives them a dark color and a distinct smoky flavor. They are canned in a red sauce, adobo, that has a smoky flavor as well. Start with the quantity given in the recipe and if you really like it hot, add a little more. Just remember it’s easier to add heat than take it away. Since you will not be using the entire can, store the remaining chilis in adobo in a well labeled plastic container or zip-loc bag in the freezer. I wasted too many opened cans of chilis before I got in this habit.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce it to medium low and add the shrimp back in along with the lime juice and parsley. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, the zucchini should be tender and the shrimp opaque throughout. You can check for doneness by cutting a shrimp in half at its thickest point. It should be creamy white, firm and springy but still moist. You can add some strips of red pepper to the recipe and swap out cilantro for the parsley. Give a final seasoning with salt, pepper and more lime juice. Serve immediately garnished with the rest of the parsley on a bed of rice.
Spicy Chipotle Shrimp with Zucchini and Chorizo
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
½ c low-salt chicken broth
½ small chipotle, seeded and minced, plus 2 T adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo
1 T tomato paste
1 t brown sugar
1 lb shrimp (21-25 per lb), peeled, deveined, rinsed and patted dry
1 t kosher salt; more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ c olive oil, divided
¼ lb chorizo, cut into ¼ inch dice, a little less than a cup
3 c combination of zucchini and yellow squash, cut into ½ inch dice
1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
¼ c chopped parsley or cilantro
2 T fresh lime juice; more as needed
Directions
In a one cup measure, whisk together chicken broth, chipotle, adobo sauce, tomato sauce and brown sugar.
Sprinkle the shrimp with a ¼ t salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. Put a skillet (not non-stick) over medium high heat, when the skillet is hot, add 2 tablespoons oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the shrimp in a single layer. Cook the shrimp undisturbed until it browns nicely, a little less than 2 minutes. Flip and brown the shrimp on the other side, about 1 ½ minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a plate, it should be slightly under cooked.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the chorizo to the pan and cook, tossing occasionally, until it starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add the zucchini, yellow squash and onion, sprinkle with a little salt. Cook, tossing frequently, until the zucchini starts to brown and is tender, about 4 minutes.
Add the broth mixture to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir in the shrimp, half of the parsley and the lime juice.
Cook, stirring often, until the zucchini and squash are tender and the shrimp are opaque, 2-3 minutes. Cut one in half to check if necessary. Season to taste with salt, pepper and more lime juice. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining parsley.
