Simple Summer Party Food

The universe set our daily temperature to broil and I was heading to a community center birthday party where everyone was asked to bring something to the table. So I did a little rehearsing for an island lawn wedding reception next week: easy, elegant, exciting.  Zucchini is one of the most ubiquitous and cheapest veggies in farmers' markets right now so why not jazz it up?

Greek Zucchini Fritters to serve with tsatsiki or minted yogurt

You don't have to stand over a hot pan frying fritters. The secret is to bake them on large oil covered trays in the oven. You get the same end effect plus quick clean up if you use parchment paper on the trays. So here's my oven baked version of Greek zucchini fritters: Kolokithokeftedes. Among all the food on the tables, these were the first to disappear totally. What's so terrific is these can be served hot or at room temp.

makes about 60 medium (2") sized and about 80 mini ($.25 size) fritters.

2 1/2 lbs zucchini, grated (you can buy the big baseball bat ones for this)
2 sm red onions, grated or chopped in a processor*
3 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped*
10 oz. feta cheese, crumbled is best but you can cut up a block*
1 tbsp lemon zest*
Freshly ground black pepper to your taste*
2 tsp dried oregano*
1/3 c cooked cannellini (white) beans*
salt to your taste *
2 c fine breadcrumbs
2 tbsp good quality olive oil plus 1/2c for baking
2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped*
2 eggs

*you can combine all this in a food processor and smoosh it all at once: easiest way.
                                                         Preheat oven to 425º.   

Put the grated zucchini in a colander with a pinch of salt and let it drain for 30 minutes.
Squeeze the zucchini or use a potato masher to get out all the water you can.
In a large bowl blend the grated zucchini with all the chopped ingredients * above. Stir in 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 c breadcrumbs. Add the eggs and 1 c breadcrumbs and blend everything into what feels like a tight paste.  Use more white beans or breadcrumbs if the mixture feels too watery.

Line 3 large sheet pans with parchment and liberally oil the parchment: the oil is what will cause the baking fritters to "fry." Using a round teaspoon or similar, scoop out batter, roll into a ball to tighten and then flatten into a pancake. Mini should be the size of a quarter; otherwise 2" at most so they can be easily picked up without utensils. You don't have to leave much space between the fritters as you place them on the oiled baking sheet. As soon as one sheet is full, put it in the oven and continue until all the mixture is gone.

Bake at 425º about 20 minutes until you see the dark brown or black on the bottom edges indicating crispness. remove tray from oven and flip the fritters over. continue to bake another 10 minutes or until they are crisp on both sides.  Remove from the oven. Let the fritters cool 5-10 minutes. With a spatula move them to your serving plate.  Serve with tsatsiki or minted thick (i.e. Greek) yogurt.





Apricots Stuffed with Mascarpone

I made this up in a pinch when people stopped in for drinks and I didn't have any nibbles to put out. I did have a few apricots hanging around waiting to be a tart and I had some mascarpone left from making a caviar pie and bingo! With some crushed salted almonds on top, they were a huge hit.  So I made them again, only this time for the large crowd, I cut the apricots in quarters instead of the original better looking halves.

1 apricot for every 2 people for small party or 1 for every 4 people larger group
1 tbsp rosewater
6-8 roasted salted almonds, crushed or chopper processed to little bits
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  2-4 oz  mascarpone, depending on how many apricots you use (containers are usually 8 oz.)

Wash and dry the apricots and cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the pits. Put them in a large shallow bowl and sprinkle the rosewater over them. Let them sit 10 minutes to absorb it. Meanwhile take the mascarpone from the fridge to soften it.

Turn the apricots cut side up--the pit indent should be on top. Using a small icing spatula fill the indent and cover the top entirely with mascarpone. If you are serving them in halves, arrange these on your serving platter.  If you need to cut each half, do it after you've put on the mascarpone and arrange the quarters on your serving platter.  When every apricot has been finished, sprinkle on the nutmeg and then the crushed nuts.  Refrigerate if you are not serving within the hour.


Hummus with Ginger, Cinnamon and Chili
This was recently posted by Yotam Ottolenghi: hummus with Indian spices for a new taste sensation that adds pizzazz to what's become ho-hum trite.

2 14 oz cans cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2" fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp good quality olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 thin strips lemon peel
Sea salt

1/4 c olive oil
1 red chili, deseeded and sliced as thin as possible
1 lg garlic clove, peeled and sliced very thin longwise
1" fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced longwise
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbsp cilantro leaves, finely chopped

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, 2" ginger, olive oil, 1 garlic clove, 2 tbsp lemon juice, the peel, salt to your taste and 1 tbsp water. Whiz 2 minutes into a smooth paste, stopping twice to scrape down the sides.  

Heat the 1/4 c olive oil in a med sauté pan over med heat. Over med/low heat sauté the chili, garlic, ginger and cinnamon stick 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Continue until the garlic is light brown. Using a slotted spoon remove these solids from the oil and sprinkle with salt. Save the oil.

Arrange the hummus on a large plate. With the back of a wooden spoon create a large well into the center. Spoon the hot oil into the well and drizzle the remaining tbsp lemon juice into it. Top the hummus with the fried cinnamon, ginger et al. Then top everything with the chopped fresh cilantro leaves. Serve with pita or flatbread. For those panicked about gluten, serve with cucumber disks cut on the diagonal so they're oval.


And finally, if you are out of time and out of ideas but need something spiffy in a flash, get yourself a quart of fresh farm strawberries--do not buy supermarket strawberries as they are grown in poison gas. Get yourself some creme fraiche. Wash, dry and hull the berries. Put the creme fraiche in a shallow dipping bowl and put the bowl in the middle of a basket or serving platter. Pile the strawberries around it.  Garnish with fresh mint leaves. You'll be the hit of the day.