A vibrant salad – both in color and taste. And straightforward – in preparation and flavors. This salad pairs especially well with ribs or other rich, grilled meats.
4 beets 4 tomatoes 1 – 2 balls of fresh mozzarella ½ cup fresh basil leaves 2 – 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 3 – 4 tablespoons EVOO + extra for cooking the beets Salt and pepper to taste.
1. Scrub the beets well. Toss with a little olive oil, wrap in foil and roast in a 400F oven for 20 – 30 minutes, or until beets are tender when piereced with a paring knife. Let beets cool 2. Cut the tomatoes into chunks. Cut mozzarella into chunks. 3. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel and then cut into chunks. 4. Toss the beets, tomatoes, basil, olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Add the mozzarella – either just before serving to maintain its snow white color, or mixed in to let the beets dye it pink.
I love shopping at farmers’ markets, but it always seems that I need to supplement my weekly grocery run with a trip to Whole Foods. But now that the Union Square Farmers’ market has a fish vendor (along with the de riguer produce, as well as cheese, chocolate, bread and meat), My meals have become more diverse and I don’t have to make a second shopping stop. Roasted Clams with Smoked Tomatoes, Corn and Grilled Bread 2 ears corn, shucked 4 slices of crusty bread brushed with olive oil 1 cup apple wood chips, soaked in water 3 tomatoes 2 tablespoons butter 1 onion sliced 3 cloves garlic 2 dozen Wellfleet or other littleneck clams 1/4 cup white wine
1. Light a charcoal fire in the grill. When the fire is hot, grill the corn until it starts to char. Remove from heat and set aside. Grill bread slices for about 30 seconds on each side, until toasted. 2. When fire on the grill starts to wane, drain the wood chips, and throw onto smoldering embers. Replace the grilling grate, put the tomatoes on the grill, and cover. Close the vents on the top of the grill lid. Let tomatoes smoke for at least 20 minutes. 3. Cut corn kernels off the cob. 4. In a large skillet, over medium – high heat, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and cook until they're soft, about 5 minutes. 5. Add clams and toss in butter/onion mix until well coated and the clam shells begin to roast 6. Add smoked tomatoes, corn and white wine. Cover pan, and cook for 5 minutes or until all the clams have opened. 7. Serve clams with grilled bread for soaking up all the yummy juices.
From the farmers’ market: corn, bread, tomatoes, onions, garlic, clams
Wherever I travel in the south, some form of grits graces each and every menu: at breakfast with butter and cheese or at dinner with shrimp, simmered in tomatoes.
In the summer, the grits can be made with fresh corn, the shrimp with fresh tomatoes. In the winter, the dish becomes richer and creamier with cheddar cheese instead of fresh corn and stewed tomatoes instead of the truly vine-ripened available now.
Shrimp and Grits I'm not a huge bell pepper fan, but in this dish they really add a critical element of flavor to the shrimp sauce.
2 tbs. butter ½ cup chopped onion 1 tbs. chopped garlic ¼ cup diced bell peppers ¼ cup white wine 1 tsp. fresh thyme 2 cups stewed tomatoes 1 cup chicken or shrimp stock ½ cup heavy cream 2 tbs. tomato paste Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound shrimp – peeled and deveined
1 tbs. butter (opt.) 1 small shallot, diced (opt.) 2 garlic cloves, chopped (opt.) 1 ear corn – kernels cut off (opt.) 3 cups liquid – a combination of water, milk and chicken stock ½ cup grits ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
Basil to garnish
1. In a sauce pot or skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions garlic and peppers and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and the garlic starts to brown. 2. Add the white wine to the pan. Let it cook down until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Add the thyme, tomatoes and stock 3. Simmer the tomatoes for about 15 minutes, until they start to thicken. Add the cream and tomato paste. Set aside. 4. Start the grits: If using the optional ingredients… melt the butter in a sauce pot. Add the shallots, garlic and corn. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the liquid, and turn heat to high. Season with salt and pepper. If not using the options, heat the liquid in a sauce pot and season with salt and pepper to taste. 5. When liquid comes to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and whisk in the grits. Stir frequently for 3 minutes or until grits swell. Cover to pot and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. 6. Just before the grits are cooked, reheat the tomato sauce. Add the shrimp to the sauce and cook for 2 – 3 minutes, or just until shrimp are cooked. 7. When grits are cooked, stir in the cheese. 8. Serve the shrimp over the grits. Garnish with fresh basil
From the garden: garlic, tomatoes, thyme, basil (and in the background lots of eggplant and broccoli) From the farmers’ market: onions, corn, peppers
This time of year, most farmers' markets and home gardens are bursting with all kinds of tomatoes. Though, I'd like to think I could subsist on tomatoes alone, the reality is I can't possibly eat all the wonderful tomatoes put in front of me. The best way to preserve the summer harvest is to can the tomatoes.
Canning foods safely protects them from rot or off-flavors for 1 to 3 years. Canning used to be how many American families survived through winter before the advent of freezers and cheap (and more boringly flavored) commercial foods. It is still a superb technique to learn and use as part of the repertoire of accomplished cooks. The approach below use tomatoes as an example, but also works well with jellies, jams, and other vegetables packed in an acidic liquid.
The one thing to remember when canning tomatoes (or any other acidic foods) is that you need to boil everything. Boil the jars, boil the tomatoes and boil the tomatoes in the jar. The first two boils are necessary to sterilize the jars and the tomatoes, the third boil is to create a vacuum seal in the jar. This technique also works well for sauces and jams. For more tips on canning, refer to The Joy of Cooking by Rombauer and Becker.
So to be clear, the process goes like this:
Purchase canning jars. We prefer the wide mouth because they are easier to fill. Consider buying a variety of sizes. Even if you are only canning one kind of sauce, the variety will enable you to maximize your tomatoes – if a recipe calls for a small amount of tomato, you open a small jar, instead of opening a large jar that may not be completely used. Also, buy a pair of “canning tongs”. These tongs are specially designed to lift the jars out of the water.
Wash the jars. Put the lids and bands in one pot and the jars in another pot. The pot for the jars should be deep enough that the top of the jars can be covered by at least one inch of water.
Cover the jars completely with water and bring them to a boil. Continue boiling them for 10 minutes.
Cover the lids completely with water and put them on the stove. Bring to a boil, and turn off the heat. Let them sit in the water until you’re ready to use them.
Meanwhile, wash and coarsely chop tomatoes. Put them in a stainless steel (non-aluminum) pot. Bring the tomatoes to a boil, and continue cooking them for at least 10 minutes. Even if you smoked the tomatoes, or make your own ketchup, you still need to boil them.
Remove the jars from the water, draining the water out. Fill each jar with tomatoes, be sure to leave at least a ½-inch air-gap at the top. With a clean towel, wipe the lip of each jar clean.
Drain the water from the lids and cover each jar. Screw on the metal band, but not too tightly.
Return the jars to the boiling water and let boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and let stand for 20 minutes. Remove the band and test the seal of the lids – if it comes off easily, then the seal did not work and you must repeat the process. If the lid is tight, then you are all set! Otherwise, remove lid, and wipe rim of jar clean with a sterilized towel. Reseal jar with lid and band, and return to pot of boiling water for 5 minutes more.
I'll be heading down to the farm this week for my annual trip to can tomatoes.
In the last two years, I've really upped my production — last year I canned 72 jars! Normally, I hoard my stash all winter long, but this year, I still have two dozen jars left of stewed tomatoes. I've become a bit more carefree in my use.
The other night I made a quick ketchup/BBQ sauce; and served it with Seared Foie Gras…
BBQ Foie Gras with Sweet Potato Biscuit and Grilled Onions
1 jar tomatoes 1 small onion diced pinch cinnamon pinch allspice pinch chile flakes 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup cider vinegar 3 fresh onions olive oil 6 – 1 oz. slices of fresh foie gras sweet potato biscuits salt and pepper to taste
1. In a small sauce pan, combine the first 7 ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour. Puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Prepare a charcoal grill. Cut onions in half, lengthwise, through the root, so that the root can hold each half together. Toss onions with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on the grill until roasted and tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Cut biscuits in half.
4. Heat a large skillet over a high flame. Season foie gras with salt and pepper. Press the foie into the hot skillet and let sear for 2 minutes until dark golden brown. Flip over for 10 seconds and remove from pan.
5. Place a slice of foie on the bottom half of each biscuit. Put the top on. Serve with grilled onion and pureed tomatoes.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
3/4 cup milk 1 tsp. yeast 2 cups A/P flour 2 tbs. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 5 tbs. butter 1/2 cup cooked sweet potatoes.
1. Dissolve yeast in milk and set aside.
2. Combine flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Sift or whisk to break up any clumbs and to well combine.
3. Cut butter into chunks and then work the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is mostly combined but still chunky.
4. With a few swift strokes combine the milk and sweet potatoes into the flour mixture so it forms into a ball.
5. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Roll out to 1 inch thick. Cut into biscuits and lay on a cookie sheet. Let rest for 30 minutes or more.
6. Preheat oven to 425.
7. Bake biscuits for 10 – 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Spring in Boston has been spectacular, and winter faded into a distant memory. Even the leeks forgot the 80+ inches, standing tall in the garden as if nary a flake of snow covered their leaves.
(I think the state flower of Massachusetts should be the "Bleeding Heart" in honor of all the liberals.)
Just as I harvested last fall’s leeks, I also cut my first salad of the season.
And to bring it full circle, I served them with smoked tomatoes from last summers’ harvest. How neat to have a completely fresh ingredients with 3 seasons on one plate and in harmony!
Leek and Goat Cheese Tart with Smoked Tomato Coulis This is a great dish as an appetizer, or served with pork or chicken for a main meal.
pie dough 3 slices bacon 4 leeks, cut into rounds and washed 1/2 tsp. curry powder 4 oz. goat cheese 1 cup half -n- half (or milk) 3 eggs 4 smoked tomatoes 1/2 cup chicken broth salt and pepper to taste
1. Roll out pie dough and form into pie tins, or 1 8” pan. Blind bake for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over a medium flame, render the bacon with the leeks. Cook until the bacon is crisp and the leeks are soft. Drain off any excess fat. Add curry powder and cook for 1 minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Dot the goat cheese in the bottom of the pie tarts. Evenly divide 1 smoked tomato and the leeks among the tarts.
4. Mix eggs and half -n- half. Season with salt and pepper. Add enough custard to fill tarts.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 for small tarts, or 40 minutes for a large one.
6. Puree remaining smoked tomatoes with chicken broth. Warm gently on the stove top. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add a touch of cream, just before serving, if you’d like.
So much flavor comes from the bones of meat, fish and the shells of crustaceans. Resourceful chefs learned this long ago, and reserve what otherwise might be discarded to make flavorful stocks and sauces.
Many recipes suggest cooking meat and fish on the bone as another way to preserve some of that flavor. Though, most bones aren’t palatable, they are easily removed (and discarded) once a dish is cooked. With a roast chicken, for example, you can just carve the meat off the bone before serving.
With lobster, crabs and shrimp, I’ve seen chefs cook them first, remove the meat and then use the shells to make a stock. While this maximizes every ounce of flavor, it requires many steps – cooking the lobster separately, then making the stock, and then using the stock to flavor a sauce.
A few weeks ago, whilst visiting a friend on the eastern shore of Maryland, I saw an ingenious way of simplifying this process. He put live crabs in a skillet, toasted the shells and then added the remaining ingredients for his sauce. The crab meat had the benefit of being cooked in the shell and the sauce had the benefit of crab shells cooking in that. Brilliant!
When the crabs were cooked, he removed them from the sauce, shelled the meat and added it back. This technique would work well with any shellfish.
Pasta with Tomato-Crab Sauce
4 live blue crabs 1 tbs. canola oil 1 tbs. chopped garlic 1 small onion or shallot, peeled and chopped ¼ cup white wine 2 cups chopped or jarred tomatoes 1 tbs. butter 1 tbs. fresh basil Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste ¾ pound fettucine
Scrub the crabs clean under cold water. Dry on a paper towel.
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil and then the crabs, upside down. Let the crab shells toast in the oil for a few minutes.
Add the onions and garlic to the crab pan and cook for 2 minutes until they begin to soften. Then add the white wine and tomatoes. If the pan seems dry, add 1/3 cup of water too.
Cover the pan and let the crabs steam for about 10 minutes. Remove crabs from pan, making sure to scrape off and save the tomatoes.
Let the crabs cool and remove the meat.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta for 1 minute less than the package instructions
While pasta is cooking put the crab meat back in the tomato sauce. Add a pat of butter, basil. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
When pasta is done, drain all the liquid except ¼ cup. Toss pasta with sauce.
Serve immediately.
Special thanks to Daniel for taking photos, and to Richard and Michael for an amazing meal and weekend!
With threats of the first frost looming and the race to get the garlic in the ground, I spent the weekend playing in the garden. I gathered all the tomatoes – green, red and everything in between. In between digging up the tomato plants and preparing the soil for garlic, I made green tomato jam.
I scoured the web for recipes: a theme emerged – simmer chopped tomatoes with sugar and vinegar. Some called for additions of apples and/or raisins. Spicing ranged from ginger to cinnamon to a medley of warm spices. I decide to use an old recipe for green mango chutney. I had used it with great success substituting in strawberries and apples, so I figured green tomatoes would work well too!
Did it ever. Wow! I served it last night with swordfish – seasoned with lime and dusted with chick pea flour. The chick pea flour elicited enough of an Indian flare that paired perfectly with the chutney. I preserved the remainder into ½ pint jars.
Green Tomato Jam
6 cups chopped green tomatoes 2 cups sugar, brown 1 small onion, diced 2 cups vinegar – cider 1 in. piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped 6 garlic cloves, chopped 1 – 2 jalapenos, chopped 1 tsp. cinnamon
Put sugar and vinegar in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat until chutney is reduced and thick, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
Here are canning instructions… reposted from here.
Preserving Tomatoes in Jars The one thing to remember when canning tomatoes is that you need to boil everything. Boil the jars, boil the tomatoes, boil the tomatoes in the jar. The first two boil are necessary to sterilize the jars and the tomatoes, the third boil is to create a vacuum seal in the jar.
So to be clear, the process goes like this:
1. Purchase canning jars. I prefer the wide mouth because they are easier to fill. Consider buying a variety of sizes. Even if you are only canning one kind of sauce, the variety will enable you to maximize your tomatoes – if a recipe calls for a small amount of tomato; you open a small jar, instead of opening a large jar that may not be completely used. Also, buy a pair of “canning tongs”. These tongs are specially designed to lift the jars out of the water.
2. Wash the jars. Put the lids in one pot and the jars in another pot. The pot for the jars should be deep enough that the jars can be covered by at least on inch of water.
3. Cover the lids completely with water and put them on the stove. Bring to a boil, and turn off the heat. Let them sit in the water until you’re ready to use them.
4. Cover the jars completely with water and bring them to a boil. Continue boiling them for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, bring the tomatoes to a boil, and continue cooking them for at least 10 minutes. Even if you smoked the tomatoes, you still need to boil them.
6. Remove the jars from the water, draining the water out. Fill each jar with tomatoes, leaving about ½ inch at the top. With a clean towel, wipe the lip of each jar clean.
7. Drain the water from the lids and cover each jar. Seal with the metal band.
8. Return the jars to the boiling water and let boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and let stand for 20 minutes. Remove the band and test the lids – if it comes off easily, then the seal did not work and you must repeat the process. If the lid is tight, then you are all set!
I recall a few years ago, debating with a friend whether “Fried Green Tomatoes” were inspired by the impatient gardener who couldn’t wait until the season began or the thrifty gardener trying to make the most of the season’s last harvest.
Wherever the inspiration came from, you can find them on restaurant menus throughout the season. And a few weeks ago, still during peak (ripe) tomato season, I even saw someone buying 2 *cases* of green tomatoes to make jam for the winter.
As nighttime temperatures drop, the tomato plants turn yellow and the leaves wither. The tomatoes won't have a chance to ripen on the vine, before I need to dig up the plants. I’m confronted with pounds of green tomatoes.
I’ll sort the tomatoes into three categories. The tomatoes which have begun to blush pink (or more) will finish ripening on the counter. The green tomatoes that have a glossy sheen will be cooked into chutney. And the matte tomatoes will get fried.
It's hard to really see in these photos, but …
Here's a green tomato with a glossy sheen:
And a matte finish:
Unlike tomatoes with a glossy sheen, tomatoes with a matte finish will never ripen once picked. They’re ideal for frying because they stay firm and have a bright tartness. Once the tomato transitions into its ripening state by developing the gloss, they break down more easily when cooked. And even though they turn red on the counter, they will never have the same texture and taste as a truly vine-ripened tomato. If you’ve eaten a tomato in February, you know this. These tomatoes are best suited for a cooked chutney.
Fried Green Tomatoes 3 green tomatoes 1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup regular milk mixed with 1 tbs. sour cream ½ cup flour ¼ cup corn meal 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp. black pepper Pinch or more of cayenne ½ tsp. garlic powder ¼ tsp. cumin ¼ cup plain oil or bacon grease
1. Slice tomatoes ½ inch thick. 2. Soak tomatoes in buttermilk. 3. Mix together flour, corn meal, salt and other spices. 4. Heat a large skillet over a high flame. Add oil and/or bacon grease. When hot, dredge tomato slices in flour mix and gently place in pan. Cook on both sides until brown and crispy. 5. Serve with remoulade or tomato salsa.
I shudder to say this, but I’m in a tomato rut. I know I’ll be horrified in February that I could even have such thoughts.
I know, I know… basil and tomatoes are the quintessential food pairing. And this year, both have benefited from the sweltering summer heat. But after weeks of tomatoes and basil, I need to shake it up. Mint and Tomatoes is also a Mediterranean combination with roots closer to Turkey than Italy.
As I thought about dinner last night, I started with mint as my canvas to paint on flavors. Zucchini and bacon came to mind, as did a favorite, Trout with Mint and Bacon.
A simple meal to be sure, but full of bright flavors.
Black Sea Bass with Tomatoes, Mint and Bacon 2 black sea bass filets 1 slice bacon, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped ¼ cup mint leaves Lemon 1 – 2 tomatoes, sliced Canola oil or butter Salt and pepper to taste
1. Season fish with salt and pepper 2. In a large skillet, add bacon. Turn heat to medium and cook until bacon releases its fat and begins to crisp. Add the onions and garlic and cook until they are soft. Remove from pan. 3. Drain all but a thin layer of bacon grease from the pan. Add a little fresh oil or butter, and return the pan to high heat. Sear the fish for 4 minutes on the flesh side. Turn over and continue cooking for 1 minute on the skin side. 4. Remove from pan and serve with a heavy squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of mint and slices of tomatoes. Sprinkle bacony-goodness on top.
