Category Archives: Lunch / Salads / Sides

  • Simple Garden Recipes: Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce

    September 25, 2012

    36 Comments

    Oven-roasted tomato sauce.

    Sometimes when we say “simple”, we really mean it. Ripe tomatoes, a little onion, some olive oil (bacon fat, if you like), salt and pepper. And some time (mostly inactive). What do you get? Sweet and tasty tomato sauce. And what about herbs and other seasonings? We’ll get there, bear with us….

    One of the keys for this sauce is taking the time to roast the tomatoes in the oven before you simmer them in the pot. The roasting caramelizes the tomatoes and adds more sweetness and complexity to the final sauce. The other key is using very ripe, even slightly overripe tomatoes- we just happen to have a bunch of our tomatoes and we need to use them. But many farmer’s markets will have late-season tomatoes, ask for their sweetest, ripe tomatoes. And go ahead and buy the ugly tomatoes- it’s all going into sauce anyway.

    Not necessary, but gets you a smooth texture.

    Making the sauce, as we noted, is easy. Roast the tomatoes (a lot of them). Meanwhile, add some olive oil and/or bacon fat to a big pot and sweat about half an onion. When the tomatoes roast and start to brown, remove them from the oven and add them (and any liquid) to the pot. Simmer at low heat for an hour, add a touch of water if the consistency gets too dry (don’t worry about dilution, plenty of flavor here). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

    At this stage you have a choice. If you like a more “rustic” sauce with skins and seeds, just mash-up any large chunks with a wooden spoon and you’re done. If, like us, you like a smooth consistency there is a bit more work to do. We take an immersion blender to the sauce for a few seconds (a potato masher also works really well) and then strain the sauce through a mesh strainer to remove skins and seeds. We use a ladle to mash the sauce into the strainer to get as much sauce as we can. This sounds fussy, but it only takes 2-3 minutes and you do a get a smooth, glossy sauce. Your choice.

    Finally, how do we serve the sauce? This is where the sauce really shines. We use this sauce as a base and then do a quick cook with any other flavors we want to add, just before service. This time we browned a bit of home-cured bacon, added the sauce, a bit more pepper and a chiffonade of basil at the end. Yum. But a bit of garlic, thyme, oregano and olive oil would be great. Some Italian sausage? Excellent. You get the idea. So make this sauce and then add whatever you like, the sweet tomatoes are a great foundation to work from.

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  • Simple Garden Recipes: Cinnamon Applesauce

    September 18, 2012

    24 Comments

    Cinnamon Applesauce.

    One of the great things about cooking from the garden and orchard is a constant reminder to stick to the basics. If you just spent “x” months growing something (or waiting “x” months to buy it fresh and local), you want to taste what you’ve been waiting for. And most of the time when we stick to the basics the quality and flavor of seasonal produce really shines through. Now, we are still big fans of “brined-balsamic-glazed-sous-vide-nut-crusted-finished-in-a special-artisan-brick-oven” dishes. But sometimes the ingredient speaks for itself. And this is very much the case for apples. We use them all kinds of ways, but in our house the two best preparations are eating out of hand and making cinnamon applesauce.

    And if you don’t think much of applesauce, we suggest you make some of your own (and be ready to change your mind). Homemade applesauce rocks. Good by itself, applesauce is great with pancakes or on toast, and is a common ingredient in many healthy desserts. And applesauce is easy to make (particularly if you have a food mill- more on that later, see Notes). also, if you buy in season, apples are tasty, plentiful and cheap. As for the varieties to use, Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, Jonathan, Golden Delicious and Melrose are all recommended, but most apples will work. We use our Gravensteins…we have a lot of them.

    Making applesauce is a simple process. Cut and core apples, add to a pot with water, sugar and spice, cook, mash, taste, adjust sugar/spice and serve. There are a few tools and tricks that do help, a food mill makes it easy to mash the apples with the skins on, otherwise you need to do it manually with peeled apples (not a big deal, but a time-saver). We also use date sugar for deeper sugar flavor, but white sugar works just fine. And, of course, we put cinnamon in our applesauce for extra spice to balance the sweet apples (and the kitchen smells great when cooking). And once the applesauce cools you have a tasty, healthy snack that will keep in the fridge for about a week.

    So how do we serve our applesauce? As we mentioned, it’s great on toast and pancakes and even better served with roast pork (yes, recipe coming). But mostly, our kids (bless them) will just grab some out of the fridge, pour it in a bowl and eat it. And then they ask, “are these our apples?” and when we say “yes”, they say “cool” and get back to eating. It may not sound like much, but for a home cook and gardener, it doesn’t get much better. Like we said, sometimes it’s best to stick to the basics.

    Cinnamon Applesauce:

    Notes Before You Start:

    • Most apple varieties will work for applesauce, but ask at your grocer or farmer’s market for best available varieties.
    • We use date sugar for a slightly richer, “darker” flavor, but white sugar works just as well.
    • A food mill is a tool worth having for all sorts of uses, but really makes applesauce a snap. They are cheap and available at most kitchen stores. If you don’t have one, peel the apples and then simply mash them in the pot. The texture will be a bit more rustic, but the flavor will be just as good.

    What You Get: One of the best ways to enjoy apples. A great dessert and/or side dish.

    What You Need: A food mill is a big help, but not required. No other special gear needed.

    How Long? About 90 minutes total, with about 10 minutes of active time. Most of the time is to allow the applesauce to cool. This can be an “anytime” dish, but mostly a fun weekend or evening project.

    Ingredients:

    (Makes 3-4 cups)

    • 4 pounds apples, cored and cut into quarters (peel the apples if not using food mill)
    • 1 cup water
    • 1/4 cup date sugar (or white sugar)
    • 2, 3-inch cinnamon sticks (or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon)

    Assemble:

    1. Combine the apples, water, sugar  and cinnamon sticks in a large dutch oven or lidded pot. Cover and cook, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the apples break down. About 15-20 minutes.
    2. Place the apples, in batches, into the food mill and process into a large bowl. Taste. Add sugar and/or water to adjust flavor and consistency (add ground cinnamon, if using). Serve warm, or allow to cool for one hour and store in jars. Will keep in the fridge for a week.
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  • Teriyaki Chicken in Lettuce Cups

    September 13, 2012

    14 Comments

    Teriyaki Chicken.

    Teriyaki Chicken in Lettuce Cups.

    If there is one thing we know about cooking, it is the “80/20 rule”. And in the case of cookbooks, this is almost doubly true. We tend to get more than 80% of our recipes from just 10%-20% of our (ever-growing collection of) cookbooks. So when we get a new cookbook and we find a bunch of good recipes, it is cause for a small celebration, or at least some extra cooking. And it looks like we have a winner with Debra Samuels’ “My Japanese Table“, her book on simple Japanese home cooking. So far we’ve made a number of recipes like Sushi Balls (good stuff and good fun) but often it is the simple recipes that define a good cookbook, and Samuels’ recipe for Teriyaki Chicken is a great example.

    Samuels describes Teriyaki sauce as “the Swiss-Army knife” of Japanese sauces, and that description is spot-on. Sweet, salty and tangy, Teriyaki goes well with chicken, beef, fish, veggies and rice. It just works, and we use it often, particularly as a glaze for fish. But, somewhat shamefully, we never made it ourselves. Happily, Samuels has an easy recipe and we decided to make it, and we are unlikely to ever buy store-bought Teriyaki again, homemade is much better. The homemade sauce has bright flavor with just enough ginger, glossy color and smooth texture.

    Making the Teriyaki sauce is simple. Just combine, simmer and reduce mirin (Japanese cooking wine), sake, brown sugar, soy sauce and fresh ginger. It takes about 45 minutes. but you can make Teriyaki in large batches and it will keep in the fridge for at least a month. But unless you make a very big batch, we doubt it will last that long- you can use Teriyaki on pretty much anything. Basically, you can put this on a shoe and it will taste good…but why not try Teriyaki Chicken, instead?

    And while it seems so “old-school”, good homemade Chicken Teriyaki is incredibly tasty, and a reminder of why many of us fell in love with Japanese cooking in the first place. And it’s easy to make. Simply season and brown chicken breasts (skin on or off) then add some of the Teriyaki sauce and simmer the chicken, turning often, until done. Then, while you rest the chicken, reduce the remaining Teriyaki and chicken juices into a thick glaze. Coat the chicken with some of the Teriyaki glaze, slice and serve.

    And how do you serve Chicken Teriyaki? Samuels suggests with rice, shredded lettuce, some toasted sesame seeds, and a squeeze of lemon, and that will be very good. But we suggest making lettuce wraps (like ssam) with the sliced Teriyaki chicken, Japanese rice (or coconut rice), toasted sesame seeds with a variety of sliced fruits and veggies. In this case we used sliced peaches, quick pickles and avocado. Tasty, and a pretty complete meal. (And while perhaps not traditional, a few drops of Sriracha also work pretty well.) But however you serve Teriyaki, the bright big flavors and beautiful color will remind you this is a dish you should make more often… Continue reading →

  • Simple Garden Recipes: Panzanella

    September 11, 2012

    17 Comments

    Panzanella.

    As we move into Indian Summer, we often find ourselves torn. We start to see sign of fall and are tempted by fall flavors, but in reality our garden is still brimming with tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Happily there are plenty of good summer vegetable dishes to address this late-summer abundance. We already enjoy Caprese Salads and Gazpacho on regular basis. We make Ratatouille  (particularly to use up the eggplant). And whenever there is some country bread around we make Panzanella, a Florentine salad of bread, tomato, cucumbers, peppers, onions and a vinaigrette.

    Make some croutons.

    Mix a quick vinaigrette.

    Now, if you just said to yourself “isn’t that just gazpacho that hasn’t been pureed?” you would be pretty close. And this makes some sense, the Spanish and Italians share a Mediterranean climate and cultivate similar summer vegetables. Odds are, you will see some similar seasonal dishes from these countries / regions (keep going east and you get a Greek salad) . And as we continue to cook from our garden, we see this pattern all the time. We have no doubt many recipes exist because seasonal ingredients often compliment each other and generations of cooks refined what became classic recipes. But we also have few romantic illusions about seasonal cooking, dishes like Gazpacho and Panzanella exist because they are a good way to pawn off use up all of those tomatoes and cucumbers. And usually when you get your tomatoes and cukes, you get a lot of them. Oh, and might as well use-up that old bread as well…

    Chop tomatoes and peppers.

    Add some chopped cucumber.

    And it does help if the dish actually tastes good, and Panzanella is often a delicious dish. But like many “classic” dishes there are plenty of recipes, not always good, and some details that make the most of the ingredients. We use an adapted recipe from Ina Garten that keeps things simple but has a lot of summer flavor (and uses up our veggies). The key step in this recipe is making croutons with the bread, and not just soaking stale bread. The warm, crunchy and salty croutons mix perfectly with the veggies, herbs and vinaigrette. And if you can chop vegetables and make vinaigrette, making the rest of this recipe is as easy as it gets. And if you have other ingredients you want to add, feel free- purists may cringe, but there are all sorts of Panzanella recipes out there. Find one you like.

    Add some onion, basil and capers.

    Toss in the vinaigrette and add the croutons.

    As for the history of Panzanella, it’s been around in some form since the 16th century. Originally Panzanella combined bread, onions and vinegar. While this was probably “ok”, we think we can speak for most people and say adding tomatoes and peppers (and cukes) in the 19th and 20th centuries probably improved the dish. (Gazpacho has a similar history and improved with the addition of tomatoes, IMHO). As it often turns out, an abundance of tomatoes usually makes for better eating, particularly in summer. So if you can’t pickle one more cucumber of bottle one more jar of tomato sauce, take what you have left, grab some old bread, invite a few friends over and make Panzanella. Enjoy the bounty of summer while you can.

    Serve.

    Panzanella:

    (Adapted from Ina Garten)

    Ingredients:

    (Serves 8-12 as a salad)

    Salad:

    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 6 cups country bread (1 small to medium loaf), cut into 1 inch cubes
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
    • 2 sweet red and/or yellow peppers seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
    • 1 cucumber, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
    • 1/2 medium red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
    • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
    • 3 tablespoons capers, drained

    Vinaigrette:

    • 1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
    • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • 3 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar
    • 1/2 cup good olive oil
    • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    Assemble:

    1. To make the croutons, heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan or skillet. Add the bread and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, tossing frequently, until browned. About 10 minutes. Set aside when done.
    2. To make the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together in a small jar or bowl.
    3. Chop all of your vegetables add place into a large mixing or salad bowl. Add the basil and capers. Add the vinaigrette (don’t do it all at once, add half and see what you need to add) and toss thoroughly. Add the bread cubes and toss again. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately or let the flavors meld 15-30 minutes before service.
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