Here’s another version of the classic Caprese salad. This one takes a little bit more prep work than the original post, and it’s a welcome variation because you can eat this one without a knife. Sometimes, the fewer utensils the better, especially when having to carry everything up and down a spiral staircase. This is a delicious side dish for a summer BBQ. To make it a hearty main dish, you can add couscous or quinoa and some toasted pine nuts.
The cherry tomatoes and basil came from my garden in the sky. I was pretty excited that I grew enough tomatoes to make a salad that fed 5 people!
Thanks to The Curvy Carrot for this fantastic recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 medium shallot, minced (about three tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 and 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, torn
- 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese, chopped into bite-size pieces
- Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Toss the tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the sugar in a medium bowl. Set it aside and let stand on its own for 30 minutes.
2. Transfer the tomatoes to a salad spinner and spin them for a few seconds to remove the seeds and extra juice. Make sure you conserve the juice.
3. Put the spun tomato juice/seeds through a fine strainer to reserve the juice and discard the seeds.
4. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat on the stove.
5. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato liquid, the shallot, and vinegar to a simmer. Let simmer until the mixture is reduced to about 3 tablespoons. (I didn;t have that much tomato liquid so I just let it simmer for a while and then decided it was done when I felt like it)
6. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and cool to room temperature.
7. Whisk in the oil and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Add the basil and the mozzarella to the tomatoes. Toss gently to combine.
- 6 ears of sweet corn, boiled for 5 minutes in salted water, cooled
- ½ Vidalia Onion chopped
- ½ Red or Orange sweet pepper chopped
- 24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined cooked for 2 minutes in boiling
- water (preparing shrimp in advance: boil, cool put in sealed plastic bag with a little
- lemon juice and olive oil)
- 1/3 cup Tarragon Vinegar
- ¼ cup Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 large bunch of tarragon. Remove leaves from tough stems, chop finely,
- should be around ¼ cup
- Combine salt vinegar and mustard, add tarragon, whisk in olive oil.
- Add onion and pepper, toss. Cut corn off the cob and add to salad.
- Toss, add shrimp. Store in fridge, and serve cool or room temperature.
When making this salad, I thought it was going to be really weird. Then, I couldn’t stop eating it. The combination of spicy and sweet is definitely addicting, so watch out. Sweet Corn Charlie had arava, which looks like a cantaloupe from the outside and a honeydew from the inside. It is as sweet as candy, with none of the HFCS. I also used cantaloupe. However, you can use any melon you want. The original recipe called for blackberries, but those were not an option at the farmstand , so I used raspberries. The original recipe is from Food and Wine magazine.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 green melon (about 1 1/4 pounds)—halved, cut into wedges, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 orange or yellow melon (about 1 1/4 pounds)—halved, cut into wedges, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup raspberries
- 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tablespoons snipped chives
Directions:
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, and crushed red pepper and season with salt and pepper.
- Arrange the melon and raspberries on a platter. Drizzle the dressing over the fruit. Garnish the salad with the feta and snipped chives and serve.
That is not a typo. This is Mexican Street Corn made with Indiana Sweet Corn. I had my first Mexican grilled street corn in Red Hook by the ball fields several years ago, and now I’m hooked. Clearly not the healthiest of side dishes, it went really well with a lighter grilled tequila lime Amish chicken breasts. (Let me know if you want that Barefoot Contessa recipe)
To make it into a much-less-messy-salad-version, just follow all the directions below and then cut the corn off the cob once it is cool enough to handle. Otherwise be sure to have lots of napkins nearby.
This recipe comes from Cook’s Illustrated’s Summer Grilling 2011 issue.
Ingredients
- vegetable oil for cooking grate
- 1/4 cup regular or light mayonaise
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 4 teaspoons juice from 1 lime
- 1 ounce queso fresco or Cotija cheese , crumbled
- 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 6 large ears corn, husks and silk removed
Directions
- Turn all gas grill burners to high and heat grill with lid down until very hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape and oil grate (Dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate.)
- While grill is heating, combine mayonaise, sour cream, cilantro, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, black pepper, cayenne, lime juice, and cheese in large bowl; set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine oil, salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. Brush the oil mixture onto the corn.
- Grill corn over high heat, turning occasionally, until lightly charred on all sides, 7 to 12 minutes total. Remove from grill and place in bowl with mayonaise mixture; toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately.
Thanks to Food and Wine for this refreshing chilled soup recipe. Here’s the link to the original. I pretty much followed it exactly, except I substituted 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar for the sherry vinegar, as there was no sherry vinegar at the store. Also, I had a hard time straining out the solids, so I didn’t do much more than get a few colanders dirty before giving up on straining altogether.
This is not the kind of soup to make into a meal. Instead, it would be perfect at the very start of dinner or between courses as a sort of palate cleanser (thanks to my husband for that idea). The recipe says it makes 6 servings, but I think this would make more like 8-10 smaller cups. In fact, this would be the perfect thing to use the 12 (!) espresso cups that I registered for 6 years ago, since I’m not usually making 12 cups of espresso at a time.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup stale, crustless 1/2-inch white country bread cubes
- 1 cup white grape juice
- 1 1/4 cups blanched sliced almonds (I used slivered)
- 1 cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber (This was one large cucumber for me)
- 1 Granny Smith apple—peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup seedless green grapes
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar (I used a small amount of red wine vinegar instead)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Shredded mint leaves, for garnish
- Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, soak the bread in the grape juice for 5 minutes, pressing to soften.
- Spread the almonds in a pie plate and toast in the oven for 6 minutes, until lightly golden; let cool. Transfer 1 cup of the almonds to a blender. Add the bread, cucumber, apple, grapes, garlic, vinegar and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Puree until smooth. Strain the soup through into a bowl, pressing on the solids.(or make a mess with colanders in your kitchen). Whisk in the buttermilk and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.
- Pour the gazpacho into cups and garnish with the mint and remaining 1/4 cup of almonds. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
This post is a result of a request from a friend who has great taste in posters. I have a feeling this friend also has an abundance of garlic scapes lurking in her fridge.
Honestly, I don’t remember the amounts. This is really more of a technique. You can adjust the amounts according to your taste. I think this pesto would be great as a bruschetta.
If you have too much pesto, you can freeze whatever you won’t eat that day. I used a few tablespoons of it with some angel hair pasta and a bit of the pasta’s cooking sauce. I froze the rest in ice cube trays for future meals.
Thanks for the inspiration, omnonnombk!
Ingredients:
- Around 5 garlic scapes
- a handful of basil
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts (You can toast these first if you want to get fancy)
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup good olive oil
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Using a food processor, blend together the first 4 ingredients until well combined, scraping the sides as needed.
- Add the parmesan cheese and process again until blended together.
- Use the small hole in the food processor to slowly add olive oil while the blender is going. You’ll need to scrape down the sides a few times.
Thanks to Local Roots NYC CSA for posting this recipe from Kitchn. Here is my adapted version of it. Clearly, I’m on a lemon yogurt kick. I made the farro a day in advance to cut the prep time tonight. With that prep out of the way, the salad took me about 15 minutes to make.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup farro
- 2 cups water
- salt
- 1/2 pound peas, shelled
- 2 baby leeks, white and light green parts only, thoroughly washed (I like to soak it them in a bowl of water a few times)
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (I used Stonyfield Organic Low Fat)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- black pepper
Directions:
UPDATE: I made the salad again, and this time I took a photo of it. I used 1 clove of regular garlic instead of garlic scopes this time around.
I’ve heard a lot of people talking about how to deal with the mess from peeling beets. I know, I know, I am part of some riveting conversations. Below, I explain a trick I learned.
I never cooked with fava beans before. The internet warned me that they are time-consuming, and this is true. However, the internet also let me know it would be worth the time. Also true. Wow, the internet is so smart.
Ingredients:
- 3 medium-sized beets
- 1/2 pound fava beans
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
- 2 garlic scapes
- juice of 1/2 juicy lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. First, you need to get the beets in the oven. Jack Bishop, author of “Year in the Vegetarian Kitchen” suggests heating an oven to 400 degrees, wrapping the beets (cut off any dangling roots and the stalks) in two layers of aluminum foil, and cooking for 1-1.25 hours. After an hour, test your beets to see if a skewer glides easily through them. If so, they are done. Then, allow the beets to cool a bit before handling. Last, take a wad of paper towels to rub off the skin. (that’s the cool trick!) The last step for the beets is to cut them into the shape you want for your salad. Then, place the beets in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Once your beets are in the oven, start to deal with the beans. Get some water boiling. While you are waiting for it to boil, peel off the stringy part to reveal the beans inside. As a bonus, you will discover that the inside of the pod is pillowy. Fascinating! The sad part will be when you realize that you don’t get a heck of a lot of beans for all that work. But you will get over it once you eat the beans (says the internet).
3. Next, put the beans in boiling water for a little under a minute. While that’s happening, prepare a bowl of ice cold water. Then, spoon out the beans and put them directly into the cold water to stop the cooking.
4. One more step before you eat the beans. Pinch off the outer shell to get to the edible part. You did it!
5. In a food processor (I used the mini prep), combine garlic scapes, lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Pour the dressing over the beets and stir to coat the beets
6. Arrange the dressed beets on a serving dish. Top with feta cheese and beans. (You can toss the ingredients all together, but the result will be a very pink salad.) Enjoy!
I was wondering what to do with all my radishes, beyond slicing and sprinkling them over greens. This recipe used up the rest of ours from our share, and the radishes and pickle relish add some great flavor to the potatoes. This is one of several recipes that I made from Food and Wine’s most recent Grilling issue (although there is no grilling involved for this recipe, I’ll be posting the grilled kale recipe soon). I like that it is a make-ahead dish, so it is absolutely no work on the day you serve it. It stays good for two days after you make it.
At this point, I have several recipes on this blog that feature the radish. You can just click on “radish” in the right column, and find other recipes that use this vegetable. Have you done anything exciting with your radishes? Let me know…I’d love to know and share more ways to use these, as I think more are arriving from the farm this week!
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes, halved but not peeled
- Salt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika (I actually used smoked hot paprika because that’s what I had on hand)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 6 red radishes, 1/3-inch dice
- 3 celery ribs, cut into 1/3-inch dice
- 1/2 medium red onion, cut into1/3-inch dice
Directions:
- In a large pot, cover the potatoes with water, add a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cook over moderately high heat until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Shake the pot over moderately high heat for about 10 seconds to dry the potatoes. Transfer the potatoes to a large rimmed baking sheet and let cool completely. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces.
- In a large bowl, blend the mayonnaise with the relish, vinegar, mustard powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, radishes, celery and onion. Gently fold in the potatoes and season with salt (I did not add any more salt at this point, I would wait until you serve it to decide if more salt is needed). Refrigerate the potato salad for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve cold or lightly chilled.
Hooray for the CSA!
This sweet and spicy combination is also a combination of two CSAs. (For my original post about the CSA, click here).For the past few years, I’ve been a member of Dumbo/Vinegar Hill’s CSA. I loved so many things about it: Sang Lee’s incredible organic vegetables, the serene location in Phoenix House’s courtyard, and the neighborhood friends I made while volunteering at weekly pick-ups. I also loved the convenience factor; the pick-up location was just a short and cobblestony walk along the river from my apartment.
Within the last year, I moved a few neighborhoods away, so I knew I would have to switch. I did a little research to find CSAs near my new place (ok fine, so I just read a sign posted outside Stinky). I was intrigued by Local Roots’ slightly different model for CSAs: For example, instead of joining for June-November, the season is broken up into Summer and Fall. There are other differences as well. I also liked the idea of picking up at 61 Local, the locavore-friendly (where I once spotted a dog sipping her weekly Guinness, and was assured that she prefers stouts and only has one per week) bar/restaurant just off Smith Street. Their vegetables come from Rogowski Farm, located in Orange County, NY. We also signed up for a meat share, which will come from Arcadian Pastures. Some friends in the neighborhood also got their fruit share, and I hope to get a sampling of that as well 🙂
And so, although I felt a little bit like I was cheating on Sang Lee, I went ahead to pick up my first share of the season. The vegetables have been delicious so far. The spicy greens are, in fact, very spicy. This strawberry dressing is an interesting contrast. The dressing recipe is from Sang Lee’s recipe blog, so I think of this salad/dressing as a CSA merger.
I used the spicy greens mix from the CSA share, and topped it with some goat cheese. I actually halved this dressing recipe and it was plenty for the week. Since I went a little overboard on strawberries from the farmer’s market a few weeks back, I had fun with canning and freezing a few quarts.
By the way…Do you know that to freeze strawberries you just chop off the tops, lay them on a baking sheet in a single layer with none touching overnight? Then, put in a freezer bag and they will stay good for up to 6 months)
I just let a cup of the frozen guys thaw for an hour or so before starting the recipe.
Strawberry Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, and cut into quarters
- 1 tablespoon sugar or honey (I used honey)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons or more good vinegar — wine, sherry, rice, balsamic–preferred for this recipe (I used balsamic)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
- 6 pieces of mint, finely diced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
- Dice your strawberries and add the sugar and lemon juice to a small bowl. Muddle them together until somewhat liquid. In a blender, add all other ingredients(imersion blender/food processor work too).
- Then add the strawberry mixture and blend for a few minutes to immulsify everything and make the strawberries smooth.
fresh from brooklyn 