Farm to Fork

Summer Squash, Just In Time for Fall

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:57:38 GMT

Posted by Sarah Breckenridge

It's a cliche of New England gardening that late summer equals drowning in zucchini—there are all the jokes about trying to surreptitiously unload a bounty of zucchini onto neighbors, or turning the squash into everything from bread to cookies. Well, this summer has been strangely zucchini-less for me and my fellow members of the Sport Hill Farm CSA.

Things started well around May, and we were getting as many as five fruits a week. But then, says Patti, the bugs got to the crop, and we've seen nary a squash since about June. Finally, this week they made a reappearance: one small green squash and one small yellow one. And boy was I ready. Since I'd been expecting an onslaught, I've been fantasizing all summer about what to make with zucchini. Last night, I hollowed out zucchini canoes and stuffed them with a mixture of ground lamb, chopped mint, and feta, flavors perhaps more suited for high summer, but hey, better late then never.

Ironically, the first winter squash also showed up in this week's share—two tiny butternuts, which Patti said she'd had to pick a little early because of, yep, the bugs. I think these guys are the perfect size for stuffing too—but that's a story for another day.

Zucchini Stuffed with Lamb, Feta and Mint
Serves four.

2 small-to-medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
Kosher salt
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 lb. ground lamb
2 Tbs. plain dry breadcrumbs
Pinch of ground cumin
Pinch of ground coriander
freshly ground pepper
3 oz. feta, crumbled
2 Tbs. chopped fresh mint, more for garnish

Scoop out the seeded flesh from each zucchini half. Sprinkle the insides of the zucchini shells with kosher salt, turn them upside down, and let them drain for 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 375°F.

Turn the zucchini right side up, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until just softened. Add the lamb and cook until browned. Add bread crumbs, cumin and coriander, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the feta and chopped mint.

Mound the ground lamb mixture into the zucchini boats, and return them to the oven. Bake until the filling is just browned on top and the zucchini are completely tender, about 20 minutes more. Sprinkle with a little chopped fresh mint.

The Light in the Pizza

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:48:14 GMT

Posted by Sarah Breckenridge

Cooking from the CSA at this time of year is odd. The tomatoes and eggplants are still going strong, but the salad greens, chard and cabbage are starting to make a resurgence. So our dinners have a weird schizophrenic quality: last night we had a lush panzanella with heirloom tomatoes and basil, tonight, the chill in the air got me thinking in more of a fall direction.

Earlier this summer, I was trying to come up with a summery preparation for cabbage, but now is the time to embrace its wonderful affinity for bacon. And since I’ve been grilling pizza all summer to avoid turning on my oven, when trying to come up with a dinner idea I quickly thought of tarte flambée, the Alsatian flame-grilled tart of onions and bacon. Cabbage isn't a traditional topping, though it's very much a part of Alsatian cuisine. The sweetness of leeks and cabbage make a terrific foil to the salty, smoky bacon, and the whole dish reminds you that, though the days are still hot, fall is on the way.

Tarte Flambée with Melted Leeks and Cabbage
Serves two.

1/2 lb. pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)
3 strips thick-cut bacon
3 medium leeks, white and light-green parts only, sliced into thin half-moons
1 small head green cabbage, quartered, cored and sliced into thin strips
Salt and freshly ground pepper
All-purpose flour, for dusting
vegetable oil, for brushing the grill
2 Tbs. crème fraîche

Shape the pizza dough into a ball and let it proof at room temperature while you make the topping.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until it’s crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Reserve the bacon fat in the skillet. Add the leeks to the skillet, season with a pinch of salt, and cook until fragrant and just softened, about 1 minute. Add the cabbage to the skillet, lower the heat to medium low, and cook, partially covered, until the cabbage and leeks are completely soft and the leeks are just turning golden-brown, about 7 to 9 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat a gas grill to medium heat. Dust your hands with flour and stretch the pizza dough into a roughly 12-inch round. If the dough becomes resistant, let it rest on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes before stretching further. Cut the bacon crosswise into 1/4-inch strips.

Brush the grill grates with oil. Place the pizza dough directly on the grates, making sure it’s flat on the grill. Cover and cook until the bottom has nice grill marks, about 5-7 minutes. Flip the crust and cook until just golden-brown on the other side, about 5 minutes more.

Flip the pizza crust back to its first side, spread the crust with the crème fraîche, followed by the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with the chopped bacon. Lower the heat to low, cover the grill, and cook until everything is warmed through, about 5 minutes more. Slice the tart into wedges and serve.

Off the Cob

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:25:03 GMT

Posted Sarah Breckenridge

Since the height of summer, I've been enjoying fresh corn in my CSA share every other week, even though Patti doesn't grow the corn itself. Instead, she trades with a neighboring farm so that her CSA members get one of summer's essential vegetables.

This corn is a far cry from what you find at the supermarket—full of real corn-y flavor, but it's not one of those super-sweet hybrids that stays improbably sweet for days on end. In fact, on pick-up days I've taken to blanching and refrigerating whatever corn we won't eat that night, to freeze or use later in the week.

But last week I was inspired by Mark Bittman's blog to try a new cooking method for all that corn: grilling. Sure, I'd grilled corn on the cob before, but usually just enough for one meal. Bittman, on the other hand, has several good ideas for using leftovers, including corn fritters. His version is meant to evoke Thai flavors, but I wanted my corn pancakes to have all the hallmarks of elote, that delicious grilled corn on the cob sold by Mexican street vendors and slathered in lime, cayenne, and cotija cheese (or in my case, feta, since that's what I happened to have in the fridge).

I was pretty happy with the results, although I would have liked them a bit crisper. I think I may try using all flour next time instead of Bittman's cornmeal-flour blend. With all those grilled kernels, these pancakes were plenty corny as it is.

Mexican Grilled-Corn Pancakes
Yields about six 4-inch pancakes
BTW: Since the eggs from my CSA are unusual sizes, a small one was the perfect amount for this recipe. If you only have large eggs, use half of a beaten egg, or use a whole egg and double the rest of the ingredients.

1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups grilled corn kernels
1 small garlic clove, smashed
1 small egg
1 lime
1/2 minced serrano
vegetable oil, for cooking
1 Tbs. butter, melted
cayenne pepper
1/3 cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, 1/2 tsp. salt and a few grinds of pepper. Put 1 cup of the corn kernels, the egg, garlic clove, and juice from half of the lime in the carafe of a blender. Blend until the mixture is a thick puree (not perfectly smooth).

Add the puree, minced serrano, and the remaining 1 cup of corn kernels into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Heat a cast-iron griddle to medium heat and oil it well. Drop roughly 1/4-cup spoonfuls of the batter onto the griddle and cook, turning once, until golden-brown on both sides. Transfer pancakes to a platter, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cheese and cayenne. Cut the remaining lime half into wedges and serve the pancakes with lime wedges on the side.

Cantaloupe for Haters

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:51:13 GMT

Posted by Sarah Breckenridge

Though my CSA is plentiful and varied, I'd never gotten any fruit. Until last week, that is, when Patti handed me the cutest little cantaloupe I'd ever seen. It was so sweet and ripe that it perfumed my whole car on my drive home.

But we had a little dilemma, because neither my husband nor I are the biggest fans of cantaloupe. In fact, fragrance notwithstanding, it's one of the few foods (along with cilantro) that I'd categorically say I don't like.

But we weren't about to pass up the first fruit of our CSA, so I decided to make the cantaloupe into a chilled soup. I thought back to the few times I have enjoyed the melon—namely when it's super-sweet and ripe, wrapped in salty prosciutto. So I decided to top the soup with crisped shreds of prosciutto, borrowing that touch from a gazpacho I made a few weeks earlier. I also had a cucumber in my box share, so I added it to the soup, figuring that since the two are botanical cousins, they'd complement each other well.

Brian and I sat down to our bowls of soup and took tentative sips. Not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, with this soup in my arsenal, I wouldn't mind getting a few more cantaloupes in our share.

Cantaloupe-Cucumber Soup with Crisp Prosciutto
Serves two as a first course.

1 small cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3 Tbs. fresh orange juice
Pinch of sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 thin slices prosciutto
3-4 medium basil leaves, cut into a thin chiffonade

Put the cantaloupe chunks, half of the cucumber, the yogurt, orange juice, and sugar in the carafe of a blender. Puree until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and more sugar if needed. Refrigerate the soup until well chilled, at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto and cook, turning once, until it's crisped on both sides. Transfer the prosciutto to a paper towel, and when it's cool enough to handle, pull it into shreds.

Divide the soup into two bowls and top with the remaining diced cucumber, the prosciutto shreds, and the basil.

A Sunny Soup for Dinner

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:27:22 GMT

Posted by Sarah Breckenridge

Tomato season is now in full swing at Sport Hill farm, and on Monday I filled my bag with plump little Sungold tomatoes the color of egg yolks. Once again, the minute I saw the overflowing tomato bins, I knew exactly what I wanted to make: chef Ana Sortun's yellow gazpacho. When I first made it years ago, I remember shelling out something like $6 for a measly quart of the tomatoes at a tiny farmer's market, but here they were...overflowing and free! (well, prepaid at any rate)

The stroke of genius in Ana's recipe (which is from her cookbook Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean) is that she purees some of the calyxes—the little crown of leaves on the top of the fruit—along with the tomatoes themselves, which lends the gazpacho that haunting tomato-leaf fragrance. A touch of sherry vinegar adds a brightness with nutty undertones.

Since I was having friends over, I put out all of the condiments separately to let everyone dress their own soup: no prosciutto for my pregnant friend, no bell peppers for my pepper-phobic husband.

We had so many tomatoes that I actually made a double batch, so the only remaining question is whether that lovely, summery flavor will survive the freezer.

Sungold Tomato Gazpacho
Adapted from Spice by Ana Sortun
Serves four

2 pints sungold tomatoes (leave calyxes on the tomatoes that have them)
1/2 small pita bread, torn into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup sparkling mineral water
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. sherry vinegar
1/4 tsp. turmeric

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Condiments
1 small cucumber, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small red onion, seeded and diced
1 cup toasted croutons (toast torn pieces of rustic bread in olive oil)
2 thin slices prosciutto, crisped in a skillet and shredded

Put the tomatoes, pita bread, mineral water, olive oil, vinegar and turmeric in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids with a spatula. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Chill until the soup is cold. Serve the soup with condiments passed separately so each diner can choose their own.