More Quick, Easy and Tasty Fixes for Farm Food

A few more simple, elegant and extravagantly yummy recipes for the end of August and start of what feels like autumn. Some will help you preserve the bounty into the chill of winter. Coming next: zucchini and its summer cousins.


 Zesty Corn and Chili Pepper Chowder with chorizo
 A quick, tasty and very comforting soup that's all about the end of summer. Serves 4-5

3 lg ears corn, shucked clean
4 sm/med (2") new potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into bite-size pieces
2 tbsp butter
1" piece of chorizo, coarsely chopped
1 sm red onion, minced
1 lg celery stalk, finely chopped
1/2 sm poblano pepper, diced
1 sm green chili pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 tbsp chopped red pepper or pimentos (roasted red peppers)
pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried sage
salt to your taste
2 c vegetable broth or corncob water
12 oz can evaporated milk unsweetened
handful chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Cut the corn off the cob and save in a bowl. Put the cobs in a pot, cover them with 2 cups water and bring it to a boil. Lower heat and cook 5 minutes while you proceed with the soup. This will give you flavored corn water for the soup if you don't have broth.

In a medium/large heavy gauge pot, melt the butter. Add the chorizo, onion, celery, poblano and chili and red peppers. Sauté on medium heat until the veggies start to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add the seasonings and potatoes. Stir to blend. Add the corn kernels and blend. Pour in the broth or corncob water, bring to a boil, lower heat to med/low, cover the pot and cook until potatoes are soft, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the evaporated milk. Leave on the heat just long enough to warm it in the soup, don't boil. Remove from the heat, add the fresh cilantro and serve immediately. It also tastes good the next day because the flavors really mingle.

Armenian Vegetable Roast
I'm reprising this because it's always so appropriate. Carrots, celery, fennel, cauliflower, cabbage, purple onion, yellow squash and red peppers roasted til they char and release their sugars, topped with tomatoes, roasted, then topped with fresh dill and mint. Colorful, picturesque, very tasty nourishment. Great beside whatever you grill.

1 sm cabbage, sliced into 3 wedges (keep the core in – it’s the best bit)
1 med/lg carrot,  peeled and thickly sliced
1 zucchini thickly sliced
2 lg celery sticks thickly sliced crosswise
1 med red onion peeled and quartered
1 sm cauliflower stalks and florets, chopped
1 med red pepper  cored, deseeded and roughly chopped in strips
3 tbsp olive oil

pinch of ground cinnamon
1 beefsteak or other large firm tomato thickly sliced
1 tbsp fresh dill chopped
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

Preheat the oven to 425º. Place all the vegetables except the tomato in a large roasting pan. Pour over the oil and season well with salt and pepper and pinch of cinnamon--just a hint. Mix everything together with your hands and bake for 30 minutes until the edges of the vegetables start to char.

Arrange the tomato slices on top, season with salt and pepper and continue to bake another 15 minutes. Sprinkle over the chopped dill and serve.

Peach Pecan Chutney

This sweet and sour recipe is for a small batch of 3-4 4oz canning jars. Double it if you'd like or have a pile of peaches to preserve.
7-8 small local peaches, pitted and chopped
1/3 c chopped pecans, roasted
1/4 c raisins, preferably white but dark will work too
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
pinch ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cinnamon
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c raspberry vinegar (if you don't have use balsamic and throw in a few raspberries or blueberries)
1/2 c brown or raw sugar
Put everything in a stainless or ceramic pot, bring to a boil and boil away until it starts to thicken. Seal in sterilized jars.  Enjoy all winter with roasted turkey or chicken or beside a grilled cheese sandwich.

Tomato Pie
This is a recipe from Italy.

(Serves 8)

Oil or butter, for greasing

1 packet chilled short crust pastry (or make your own)

Flour, for dusting

4 tbsp wholegrain mustard

8 large tomatoes (about 2 lbs), thinly sliced

2 tbsp grated gruyere cheese

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350º placing an oven rack in the lower part of it. Grease a 9” detachablebottom tart pan. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface until it is large enough to line your tart pan. Spread the mustard on the bottom of the pastry case. Place some sliced tomatoes around the edge of the case, making sure they overlap, then fill in the middle.

Sprinkle the cheese over the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with the oil.

Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake on a low oven rack 40 minutes. Take the tart out of the oven and carefully slip off the outer ring, leaving the tart sitting on the base. Return to the oven on the baking sheet for another 5–10 minutes so the sides get really crisp.

Wild blueberry muffins

These are the best ever blueberry muffins because they're packed to the gills with fresh wild blueberries. Recipe makes 10-12.

2 c wild blueberries (these are the small ones)
1 stick butter plus 1 tbsp to grease muffin tins, cut into pieces
2/3 c sugar (a pinch of brown adds zip)
2 extra lg eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional: 1/2 tsp orange flower water
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch salt
2 c unbleached white flour
1/2 c plus 1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp white sugar mixed with a pinch of ground cinnamon for topping

Using butter, heavily grease 12 regular muffin tins (that's 2 tins of 6 muffins). Preheat oven to 375º.
In a mixer or mixing bowl, beat the butter til it's fluffy. How fluffy determines how high your muffins rise.
Beat in the sugar and keep beating to keep it all very fluffy and light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla, optional flower water, baking powder and nutmeg. Make sure everything is combined. Very slowly beat in 1/2 c flour. Then get out a spatula and hand fold in another 1/2 c. Add the milk and fold it in with the spatula. Add the remaining flour and carefully fold it into make dough. Fold in the blueberries.  Using an icecream scoop, fill the muffin tins about 1/4" below the top. sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of each muffin. Bake at 375º 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the tins 10 minutes, then remove the muffins from the tin.  These can be frozen wrapped in tin foil and then put into freezer bags. 

Roasted Eggplant salad

I've made this up as a combo of Romanian eggplant and traditional baba ganoush. It needs a small bulbous eggplant, maybe 4-5". Serve with fresh pita or flatbread or spread on deli rye. It should delight up to 6 people.

1 sm Italian eggplant (the bulbous kind)
1/2 sm red onion
1/4 tsp ground Aleppo pepper or a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tbsp tahini
2 garlic coves
a 1/4" wide, 4" long strip of green bell pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
plenty of freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp top quality olive oil

If you have a grill char the eggplant slightly. I use the gas burner of my stove on medium for 5 minutes, turning the eggplant with tongs once or twice.  Roast the eggplant in an oven at 450º til soft: about 20 minutes. Cool. Remove the skin. Put the eggplant in a food processor and add everything else. Process into a paste, not a drooling puree. Adjust seasonings to your taste and enjoy.

Back in the Kitchen: Simple summer gourmet, August

Fruits and vegetables are flowing at high tide through farmers' markets everywhere. It's hard to know what to pick and sometimes harder to figure out what to do with it when you get home. So here are some really easy "fixes" you can treasure for seasons to come. Next time: tomatoes, beets, eggplants, fruits..

Korean Carrots

Now is the time to take full advantage of all those gorgeously colored carrots: purple, yellow, bright orange and red.  Grab a few of each because this is really picturesque and delicious when you do--as you can see. And there's hardly any calories to make you worry about bathing suit images.

for 6
7-8 med/lg carrots of all colors
1/4 c rice wine or cider vinegar
3-4 tbsp honey (you want the sweet and sour to match so you have to taste and figure it out)
1 small green chili, seeded and minced
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander or coriander seeds
Sea salt to your taste.
Chopped cilantro.

Using a peeler, peel the carrots, then continue using the peeler to create long wafer thin carrot strips. You can do this over your serving bowl.  Let the carrots sit a few minutes and then squeeze down to remove any water in the bottom or the bowl.

While they are sitting, in a dry frying pan toast the sesame, cumin and coriander seeds or powder for 2 minutes until the seeds turn brown and you can smell their fragrance.  In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar and honey. Pour the vinegar/honey over the carrots, then stir in the seeds, minced chili and salt. Let this sit a few hours so carrots absorb the powerful flavors--which means you can make it way ahead.  Garnish with cilantro to serve.

Roasted Cauliflower with chimichurri
I try to buy the smallest whole cauliflower in the pile so it roasts quickly and doesn't leave leftovers. There are too many other veggies waiting to be enjoyed. You can make the chimichurri--Argentina's favorite steak sauce, essentially parsley with vinegar, while the cauliflower is roasting. For this particular preparation I prefer the bright white traditional cauliflower for its striking contrast with the powerful green sauce.

To roast a cauliflower, remove all outer leaves. If it is small, you can leave it whole. If it's large, cut out the core and pull apart the florets.  Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet, sprinkle it with olive oil and sea salt and roast it at 450º until it starts to feel tender. How long depends on whether you use the whole cauliflower which obviously takes much longer, or the florets, whether you do it in an oven or toaster oven, with gas or electric but in general think about 12-25(the whole shebang) minutes.

Chimichurri, Argentina’s famous parsley steak sauce  
Make Ahead. The chimichurri can be refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.

1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley (leaves of 1/2 bunch) 
3 tbsp red wine vinegar 
4 large garlic cloves, minced (2 1/2 tbsp) 
2 tbsp oregano leaves 
2 tsp crushed red pepper 
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
In a food processor, combine the parsley, vinegar, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper. Process until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and pour the olive oil over the mixture. Let stand for at least 20 minutes.

Celery Date Salad
I'm posting this again two year later because it's still so perfect in every way right now: crisp, crunchy, colorful, cool and cooling.

serves 6

8 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal. Chop the leaves too.

6 fresh dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

1/2 c roasted almonds, halve. Whole is okay too.

1/2 sm red onion, diced

2 tsp minced fresh mint leaves

pinch red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 oz shaved Parmesan cheese 

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 c extra good olive oil

Combine celery and leaves, dates, almonds, onion and pepper flakes in a serving bowl. Moisten with the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cheese and olive oil and lastly stir in the mint leaves.
Darjeeling Green Beans with Sesame, salad

This is a recipe from the cookbook I'm working on: the Himalaya, a Cook's Tour gives an ordinary vegetable extraordinary oomph and character. People will notice. Best of all, It's simple, quick, tasty and remarkably nutritious. Little wonder it's a summer favorite in the Himalaya.

1 lb fresh green beans

1 tbsp + 1 tsp sesame seeds

1-2 green chilies (Serrano)depending on how hot you like

1 tbsp mustard or corn or canola oil

salt to your taste

juice of 1 lemon

Cut the green beans on a slant into 1 ½ pieces. Put them in a pot, cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cook 5-8 minutes until the beans are just tender. Add water if necessary. Drain. Put into a serving bowl.

Dry roast the sesame seeds in a small frying pan. Grind to a fine powdery paste.

Half and seed the chilies. Then carefully cut them into very thin long strips.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan and add the chilies. Fry 3 minutes until they start to get crisp. Pour the contents of the pan over the green beans. Put 1 tbsp sesame paste, salt to your taste and the lemon juice on the beans and blend everything. Let it sit at least 10 minutes before serving so the flavors merge.

Seriously tasty corn chowder

Sooner or later you've got to stop gnawing on all those delicious cobs summer brings but still want to eat corn while it's fresh from the farm. And sooner or later there's a cool night or a rainy day. So here's the perfect no sweat soup, a glory of New England.

  Serves 6

2 tbsp butter or ghee

1 sm piece salt pork or Spanish chorizo (if you want fire in the flavor)

1 lg onion, peeled and diced

1 poblano pepper, roasted, skinned and diced

1 Serrano or other hot chili, seeded and diced

1 tbsp dried sage

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground chipotle chili

1 tsp cracked or freshly ground black pepper

3 cups corn kernels (4-5 fresh ears)

3 celery stalks, cleaned and diced

2 cups water

3 medium potatoes (any color), peeled and cubed

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp. diced pimento (roasted red pepper)

2 cups vegetable broth

12 oz. evaporated milk (not sweetened)

4 oz heavy cream

For garnish: chopped fresh chives, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded jack or cheddar cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds

Cut the corn off the cobs and put the cobs into a pot with 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and simmer while you work.

Melt butter in a medium soup pot or casserole. Add meat, onions, poblano and chili peppers, sage and oregano. Sauté over medium heat until onions are golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.

Stir in coriander, chipotle chili powder, black pepper and celery. Continue to sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Puree one cup of corn with 1 tbsp vegetable broth and add to the pot, stirring to blend. Add potatoes, salt and the rest of the vegetable broth. Blend ingredients, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add 2 cups corn kernels, pimentos and if you have boiled corncobs in water, remove the cobs and pour the corn-flavored water into the soup. If you didn’t do this, simply add two cups of water. Continue to simmer covered on medium low heat for 5-8 minutes. (You don’t have to be exact.)

Taste for salt and adjust to preference. Stir in evaporated milk and heavy cream. Cook over medium low heat uncovered until the soup is warmed thoroughly. Do not bring to a boil once the milk and cream have been included.  Stir once to blend all flavors.

Ladle into large soup bowls and garnish with any or all of the ingredients listed above. 

And lastly here's another repeat performer because there's always zucchini to use up:

Zucchini Flan

 

1½ pounds zucchini, thinly sliced

 Salt and pepper

4 eggs

2 ½ cups milk or half-and-half

 Pinch of grated nutmeg

1 tsp chopped thyme

 A few torn basil leaves

1 tbsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley 

2 tbsp butter for greasing baking dish

4 oz grated cheese, such as Gruyère or Jack

Heat oven to 375º. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add zucchini and blanch for 1 minute. Drain and spread zucchini out to cool on a towel. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Beat eggs and milk with 1/2 teaspoon salt, then add nutmeg, thyme,  basil leaves and parsley.

Butter a 2-quart low-sided baking dish, and arrange blanched zucchini over bottom. Scatter cheese over zucchini, then pour in custard.

Bake for 30 minutes or until custard is still a bit jiggly, but an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool to room temperature before serving.