Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a wonderful cold soup that's full of the flavors of late summer.  Most gazpachos are made with red tomatoes, but there are recipes made with yellow tomatoes, green tomatoes, or no tomatoes at all.  This recipe is a traditional one made with ripe red tomatoes.

There are myriad ways to season gazpacho, and you may want to take liberties with this recipe.  Please do.  But be sure to use the freshest, ripest tomatoes you can find.  Today's box contains many good choices between the beautiful heirlooms and even the cherries.

Some folks like to peel their tomatoes for gazpacho.  Personally, I find it unnecessary.  While tomato peels can become bitter when cooked, gazpacho isn't cooked, and the tomato peels give the soup some texture.  However, if you're striving for a smoother product, peeled tomatoes are more likely to provide that.

I use a blender, as opposed to a food processor, for gazpacho.  But either device is fine.  Just be sure to mix carefully to achieve your desired level of smoothness (or crunchiness).  It takes less than a minute to mix it up in a blender.

You'll be tempted to eat your gazpacho as soon as it's mixed up, but resist temptation if you can.  Gazpacho is better chilled (though not ice cold), and best when it sits in the fridge overnight.  Serve it straight, or garnish with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and chopped parsley or basil, or drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Gazpacho

1 lb ripe red tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C chopped, peeled and seeded cucumber
1/3 C chopped red bell pepper
1/4 C chopped sweet or red onion
3/4 C tomato juice
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t balsamic vinegar (the sweeter and thicker, the better)
1-2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T fresh parsley leaves
salt and pepper to taste

1.  In the beaker of a blender, put the chopped tomatoes in first.  Then add the cucumber, red bell pepper, onion, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic, lemon juice and parsley.

2.  Blend for about 10-20 seconds.  Check consistency, and blend more until desired consistency is reached.  If you'd like a thinner soup, add a little more tomato juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste/

3.  Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  Serve cold or cool.  Garnish as desired.

Today's bounty included:

From Jaime Farms:  Red leaf lettuce, kale, basil, and parsley;

From Jimenez Family Farm:  Romanesco squash, green beans, and tomatoes;

From Sage Mountain Farm:  Heirloom cherry tomatoes, baby leeks, salad mix, and arugula;

From Shear Rock Farms:  Heirloom tomatoes;

From Sweet Tree Farms:  Yellow nectarines and dino egg pluots;

Weiser Family Farms:  Melons, small sweet peppers, and beets.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Spicy Tomato Preserves

Tomato season is at its peak.  Now is the time to preserve the great flavors of summer to enjoy after the last ripe tomato is plucked from the vine.  I've been putting up pasta sauce and tomato salsa for a few weeks.  Last week, when I volunteered at the Farmer's Kitchen, Chef Ernest Miller had us make these delicious tomato preserves with fruit from the Hollywood Farmer's Market.

We started with 10 lbs of tomatoes, but you can make make the same great preserves with much less fruit, though you'll need to get a few more tomatoes than we got in today's box.  Fortunately, tomatoes are easy to  come by right now.  Perhaps you or your neighbor have some in your garden.  If not, check out one of our local farmers markets for the freshest fruit.

3 lbs ripe tomatoes
2 C sugar
2 t red chili flakes
generous 1/2 t cinnamon
generous 1/4 t nutmeg
1/3 C fresh lime juice
pinch salt

1.  Remove the core and coarsely chop the tomatoes.

2.  Put the chopped tomatoes and all remaining ingredients in a heavy-duty medium saucepan.

3.  Bring to a boil, stirring regularly.  Then turn down the heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until the preserves thicken, 30-60 minutes, depending on the heat of your burner and your taste.  As the preserves thicken, stir them more frequently, as they're more likely to stick to the bottom of your pan and scorch.

4.  When the preserves reach your desired consistency, turn off the heat.  Cool slightly.  Ladle into glass jars and store in the fridge.  These preserves will keep for months in the fridge.  If you prefer, you can process the preserves in a boiling water bath canner to make them shelf-stable.  Use canning jars.  Leave 1/2-inch headspace.  Wipe the rims and seal the jars, then process for 20 minutes for half-pints.

Tomatoes do not have a lot of pectin, so if you want a firmly jelled product, you may have to cook the preserves to the jell point, which is approximately 220 degrees F.  However, these preserves are delicious firm or slightly soft.

Serve the preserves on toast; or make a delicious sandwich with goat cheese, arugula, and spicy tomato preserves.  Puree the preserves (or not) and use them as a much tastier condiment in place of ketchup with French fries or roasted potatoes, on burgers, hotdogs or with sausages.

Today's bounty included:

From Drake Family Farms:  Chevre;

From Jaime Farms:  Eggplant, green beans, basil, and cilantro;

From  JR Organics:  Heirloom tomatoes and watermelon;

From Sage Mountain Farm:  Starship patty pan squash, chantenay carrots, white and yellow onions, arugula, and salad mix;

From Sweet Tree Farms:  Plums, nectarines, and peaches; and

From Weiser Family Farms:  Beets and French fingerling potatoes.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Pappa di Pomodoro

There are so many delicious ways to combine tomatoes and bread; and Pappa di Pomodoro, or Tuscan tomato soup, is one of them. This soup is so easy to make and it's a great way to use tasty summer tomatoes and stale bread. A hearty wheat bread, like Mark Stambler's pagnol loaves, do best in this recipe. Avoid any bread that's too soft or spongy. If you don't have any stale bread, coarsely chop up fresh bread into cubes and toast in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
4 C chopped red tomatoes
4 T chopped fresh basil
3-4 C vegetable or chicken stock
3-4 C cubed stales bread
2-4 T grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot and saute the garlic until golden and aromatic, being careful not to burn the garlic.

2. Add the tomatoes and basil and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.

3. Add the bread. Bring to boil. Turn down the heat and simmer covered for 30-40 minutes.

4. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil before serving.

Today's bounty included the following:

From Underwood Family Farms: Bi-color corn, green bell peppers, purple bell peppers, Hungarian bell peppers, bok choy, mizuna, yellow seedless watermelon, cucumbers, and summer squash.

From Sage Mountain Farm: Asian heirloom radishes, purple scallions, organic garlic, yellow carrots, arugula, broccoli florets, and zucchini.

From Sweet Tree Farms: nectarines, peaches, and heirloom tomatoes.

Also, goat cheese from Drake Family Farms and arugula and mustard microgreens from Silver Lake Farms.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Fattoush Salad

Fatoush is a wonderful Lebanese salad made with many of summer's best vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. And we got all of them in today's box!


The thing I love most about fattoush is that it has toasted pita chips in it to give it a fabulous crunch. You can buy pita chips at most markets; or you can make them yourself by separating the two halves of the pita bread, brushing them with a little olive oil, and toasting them in a 375 degree oven until brown and crisp. I like using the whole wheat sesame pita, but you can use any flavor you like.


Another wonderful things about this salad is that you can use a variety of greens. I like using romaine lettuce and mixing in some arugula or dandelion greens. Sorrel, with its bright, lemon-y flavor, also goes nicely in the mix.


Fattoush Salad

4-6 C washed and dried salad greens, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 large tomato chopped
1 cucumber, quartered, seeded and chopped
1/4 C chopped sweet onion
1-2 green onions, chopped
1/2 C chopped bell pepper (green, red or yellow - your choice)
3/4 C cubed feta cheese
2-4 T chopped Italian parsley
1-2 C pita chips
salt and pepper to taste
dried Moroccan olives or Kalamata olives, optional


Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl, except the pita chips, salt and pepper.

Mix up the dressing:

2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T finely minced shallot or 1 T mashed roasted garlic
1/4 t salt
pepper to taste


Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Pour over salad and toss. Add pita chips and toss again. Serve immediately.


By the way, sumac is a wonderful herb to add to a fattoush salad. Get some at the Spice Station on Sunset.


Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: romaine lettuce, bi-color corn, orange carrots, Hungarian bell pepper (pic above), yellow zucchini, cucumbers, bok choy, and avocados.


From Sage Mountain: Broccoli florets, collard greens, dandelion greens, arugula, and chard.


Cottage Grove provided the tomatoes - Early Girls pictured above. And Sweet Tree Farms provided peaches, plums, and nectarines.


And Silver Lake Farms provided arugula and mustard micro-greens, as well as new basil and cilantro micro-greens (cilantro pictured above). Sprinkle some of those basil micro-greens over your next Caprese Salad.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Kale and Cannellini Bean Soup

Kale and cannellini beans are a great match. The creamy beans balance the mild bitterness of the kale; and the two contrasting colors - light and dark - make for a visually attractive combination. This hearty soup, based on a Tuscan soup called Ribollita, makes a delicious one-dish meal.

A little advanced planning is needed if you want to start with dried cannellini beans, but the enhanced flavor is worth the extra effort. Canned cannellini beans are a fine, time-saving alternative. Once you've prepared the beans, the soup is a cinch to make.

To start with dried beans: Place 1 C dried cannellini beans in a pot large enough to cover the beans with 3 inches of cold water. That's 3 inches over the beans. Bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Then drain the beans and return them to the pot. Add 5 C water, 1/2 C chopped onion, 2 whole garlic cloves (peeled), 1 bay leaf, and 1/2 T salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour, maybe a little longer. Drain the beans, but keep the cooking liquid.

For the soup:
1 T olive oil
1/2 C chopped onion
2 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 C chopped celery
1 C chopped carrots
2-3 C cooked cannellini beans
3 C cooking liquid from the cannellini beans or stock
1 C canned diced Italian tomatoes in juice
1 bay leaf
1 t dried oregano
2-3 C chopped kale
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic for about 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.

2. Add the celery and carrots and cook for about 2 minutes.

3. Add the cannellini beans, cooking liquid or stock, tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano and kale. Simmer partially covered, stirring occassionally, for about 30 minutes or until the soup thickens.

4. Add the cheese and stir until melted and mixed well into the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a grainy bread.

I like to smash some of the cannellini beans when stirring to thicken the soup. Omnivores might like to add some crumbled Italian sausage, but it's plenty hearty without meat.

Here's what this week's harvest brought us:

Young radish and chard micro-greens from Silver Lake Farms
Satsuma mandarins and Mexican white guavas from Rancho Santa Cecilia
And from Underwood Family Farms: celery, iceberg lettuce, purple kale, white carrots, leeks, French radishes. golden beets, Japanese turnips, and butternut squash.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:

Oranges
Zucchini
Celery
Red chard
Dandelion greens
Cilantro
Dill
Mixed Herbs: Thyme, Sage and Sweet Marjoram
Red leaf lettuce
Red tomatoes
Red bell peppers

And here's what Tara brought down from Underwood Family Farms today:

Saticoy melon
Acorn squash
Corn
Carrots
Blue lake beans
Zucchini
Jalapenos
Pineapple heirloom tomato
Romaine lettuce
Cherokee heirloom tomato
Yellow pear cherry tomatoes

And Silver Lake Farms provided delicious microgreens: pea shoots (pictured above) and radish greens. Thanks Rachel and Bruce! (I love those lanterns Graham made.)

Don't forgot to bring your re-usable container for the microgreens!

It's late tomato season; and I'm in high gear preserving the flavors of summer to enjoy all winter long. One of my favorite recipes is slow-cooked tomato sauce. I learned this recipe years ago from one of my cooking teachers, Carlo Middione. Over the years, I've made a few small changes, but the recipe is essentially his.

It's a cinch to prepare. Just a little work is involved in getting it started; then it bubbles slowly on your stove-top for three (yes three) hours. But once it's slowly simmering, you only need give it a stir now and then. While it's cooking, you can do some gardening, read a book, watch a movie, just plain slow down...

This recipe makes about a quart of sauce, and it freezes beautifully. I re-use quart-sized plastic yogurt containers to freeze batches of this sauce. But you can use quart-sized glass jars if you prefer. In either case, be sure to leave a little head room at the top, as the sauce will expand a little as it freezes. I prefer freezing to canning, mostly because it's a small batch recipe. However, the pH is a little too high to safely can in a hot water bath canner, so I don't recommend it.

Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce

3-1/2 lbs fresh ripe whole tomatoes
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
6 oz. (1 small can) tomato paste
2 C dry red wine
1-1/2 t salt
1/4 to 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
6-8 sprigs fresh oregano or 1 T dried oregano
red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Start with the most delicious tomatoes you can find. Delicious tomatoes will make a delicious sauce. I like to use a variety of different tomatoes, mixing up the flavors and colors to get a balance of sweetness, tartness, and acidity.

2. Peel the tomatoes: This is easier than you think. Fill with water a pot big enough to hold your largest tomato and bring the water to a boil. In the meantime, remove the stems and cores of the tomatoes. With a sharp knife, score an X on the bottom of each tomato. Once the water boils, turn the heat down, gently drop one tomato into the water with a slotted spoon and leave it there for 20-30 seconds. Remove the tomato with a slotted spoon. Wait until it's cool enough to handle, then peel off the skin and put the tomato in a large bowl. The skin should come off very easily. If it doesn't, your tomatoes may not be quite ripe. Repeat with remaining tomatoes.

3. When the tomatoes are peeled, chop them coarsely and process them in batches in a food processor until pureed.

4. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and stir to coat with oil. Cook about 1 minute. Add the chopped garlic and continue cooking until the garlic just starts to turn slightly golden.

5. Turn down the heat. Add the pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, and seasonings. Stir to combine. [You can substitute water if you don't want to use wine, though you might want to add 1-2 t sugar as well.]

6. Let the sauce come to a very slow simmer, just barely bubbling. Cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The sauce should be thick and deep red. Allow the sauce to cool before storing in the fridge or packing for the freezer.

I use this sauce as the base for all of my cooked tomato-based pasta sauces as well as last week's stuffed peppers. When I re-heat the sauce, I usually check the seasoning and add more salt, pepper, and/or oregano, if necessary.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Stuffed Peppers

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:

Summer squash
Carrots
Oranges
Red leaf lettuce
Celery
Dandelion greens
Garlic chives
Basil
Red tomatoes
Purslane
Rainbow chard

And here's what Tara brought down from Underwood Family Farms:
Galia melon
Sharlyn melon
Kabocha squash
Easter radishes
Yellow wax beans
Green leaf lettuce
Eggplant
Orange bell pepper
Chocolate bell pepper
Yellow Brandywine tomatoes

And Silver Lake Farms provided delicious micro-greens - pea shoots and radish!

I love to make stuffed peppers. You can stuff almost any kind of pepper; and you can put almost any savory item in the filling. It's a great way to get creative and use whatever's in your fridge. All you need are some vegetables and a grain; meat and cheese are delicious options, too. With the beautiful orange and chocolate bell peppers in today's box, I couldn't resist making this wonderful treat.

I prefer cutting bell peppers in half lengthwise. One-half makes a nice side dish; two halves make a great main. Depending on the size of your peppers and how full you stuff them, you'll need about 2/3 C filling (or more) per half.

It's best to chop your vegetables into small pieces, but don't mince them. I like to saute all the vegetables before mixing them into the filling; that way some of the water is cooked out and the filling won't get soggy.

A nice, thick tomato sauce in an important component of my recipe. I've been making slow-cooked tomato sauce all summer with tomatoes from my garden. It freezes well for months. If you don't have your own sauce, use whatever tomato sauce you put on your pasta.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This recipe is for 2 peppers or 4 halves. You can double this recipe if you wish.

2 medium bell peppers
1 T olive oil
1/4 lb bulk (or 1 link, casing removed) Italian sausage (optional)
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
1 small carrot, trimmed and chopped fine
1/2 rib celery, trimmed and chopped fine
1-2 small summer squash, washed and chopped into small pieces
2 leaves chard, washed, trimmed and chopped
3/4 C fresh corn kernels, removed from the ear
1-1/2 C cooked brown rice
2-1/2 to 3 C thick tomato sauce
grated cheese, optional
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut peppers in half lengthwise and set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 1 t olive oil and brown the sausage, breaking it up into small chunks as it cooks. When done, remove from pan, chop finely and set aside. Pour off any grease from pan and wipe clean.

3. In same skillet, heat remaining 2 t olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 1 minute. Turn down heat. Add carrots, celery and squash. Cover and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add chard and corn kernels. Cook until chard is wilted and vegetables are just soft. If necessary, uncover and cook off any excess liquid.

4. In a bowl, mix the cooked sausage (if you're using it) and the cooked vegetables together with the cooked brown rice. Add about 1/2 to 3/4 C thick tomato sauce - just enough for the mixture to hold together, but not so much that it's saucy. [If you'd like, you can add some grated cheese to this mixture, but I usually don't.] Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Fill each half pepper with the filling mixture.Place them snugly in an oven-proof baking dish. Top each pepper with 1-2 T tomato sauce and/ or 1 T grated cheese. Pour about 1/2 inch hot water in the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.

6. Remove peppers from baking dish and serve each half pepper with 1/2 C thick tomato sauce. You can serve the pepper in a pool of sauce or pour the sauce over the pepper; or you can omit the sauce entirely if you prefer.

I'll post my recipe for slow-cooked tomato sauce next time.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Caprese Salad

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:

Oranges
Yellow summer squash
Celery
Carrots
Basil, mixed herbs or garlic chives
Roma tomatoes
Leaf lettuce
Purslane

And here's what Tara brought down from Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark:

Yellow watermelon
Butternut squash
Corn
Avocado
Carrots
Green pepper
Leaf lettuce
Cherry tomatoes
Cherokee heirloom tomatoes

And Silver Lake Farms provided delicious microgreens (radish and pak choi).

If you haven't enjoyed a delicious Caprese Salad yet this summer, now would be the perfect time. With the beautiful fresh green basil and plump cherokee tomatoes at today's pick-up, all you need to add is some fresh mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for this great summer treat.

Caprese Salad is believed to have originated on the island of Capri and the green basil, white mozzarella, and red tomatoes are said to represent the colors of the Italian flag. But don't let that stop you from trying any number of variations such as exotic purple basil or the lovely golden cherry tomatoes that were available from our CSA today.

Great ingredients are key, and the mozzarella cheese is an important component of this dish. Be sure to get soft, fresh mozzarella, not the harder, drier kind you'd use on pizza. The best mozzarellas are made from water buffalo milk; however, there are some very fine cows milk mozzarellas, too.

The simplest way to make this great salad is to slice the mozzarella into thin rounds and slice the tomato cross-wise into slightly thicker rounds. Wash the basil and remove the basil leaves from the stems. [Compost the stems.] Using the largest basil leaves, arrange alternating pieces of mozzarella, tomato and basil in an overlapping layer on a plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It's that easy.

If you want to get fancy, you can roast cherry tomatoes and use creamy burrata cheese; or you can cut the basil into thin strips and spread it over the salad. If you decide to roast the beautiful golden cherry tomatoes we got today, be sure to toss them in a little olive oil before popping them in the oven. I like to sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper before roasting, too.

However you decide to make your Caprese Salad, pour yourself a glass of wine, cut a couple of slices great bread, and enjoy the waning days of summer - they won't last long.

Enjoy!

Shelley

One more thing: If you're a real cheese-lover like me, you might get a kick out of a silly game called cheeseorfont. You guess whether a word is a cheese or a font. You can play this game at www.cheeseorfont.com. Have fun!

Purslane Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Shareholders Steve and Zoe in love ... with strawberries

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:

Avocados
Navel oranges
Daikon radish
Russian kale
Beets
Red chard
Onions
Arugula
Dandelion greens
Romaine
Squash blossoms
Garlic chives
Mixed herbs
Purslane

And here's what Tara brought down from McGrath Family Farm, certified organic growers in Camarillo:

Beets
Carrots
Haricot verts
Red chard
Spring onions
Baby arugula
Dandelion greens
Mixed lettuces
Baby summer squash
Strawberries

Purslane has a reputation for being a somewhat ubiquitous weed that's easy to grow, but ironically many people have never heard of it, and even fewer have tasted it. It's a delightful green with a bright, lemony flavor akin to sorrel. It can be eaten raw or cooked; and it's lovely simply thrown into a green or mixed salad.

Here's a simple dish using several of this week's vegetables plus a few more that you might have growing in your garden or can pick up from your local farmer's market. It only takes a few minutes to whip up this light and delicious salad.

Purslane Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

1 bunch purslane
1 large heirloom tomato
2 Persian cucumbers
1/2 small red onion
1-2 small ripe avocado
1/2 C loosely packed chopped Italian parsley
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
2-3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-2 T red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash, dry, and pull the leaves off the purslane. Place in a bowl. Compost the stems.

2. Wash, dry, and coarsely chop the heirloom tomato and place in the bowl with the purslane.

3. Wash, dry, and halve lengthwise the Persian cucumbers, then chop crosswise in 1/4inch slices and add to the bowl.

4. Thinly slice lengthwise half of a small red onion. Then cut the slices in half (or thirds) crosswise and add to the bowl.

5. Halve the avocado(s) lengthwise. Remove the pit(s). Cut the flesh of each half lengthwise and crosswise into medium dice and scoop out from the skin and into the bowl.

6. Add the chopped parsley to the bowl.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

8. In a separate small bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients until well-combined to make the lemon vinaigrette. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss, and correct the seasoning, if necessary.

This salad is also very nice with the addition of chopped fresh mint. Another variation to consider is adding a little minced fresh garlic to the lemon vinaigrette.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Salade Nicoise

What a bountiful week!

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:

Navel oranges
Avocados
Daikon radish
Red radishes
Red & golden beets
Curly green kale (pictured below)
Green chard
Tat soi
Arugula
Romaine lettuce
Dandelion greens
Tomatoes
Squash blossoms
Mixed herbs

And here's what Tara and Danielle brought down from McGrath Family Farm, certified organic growers in Camarillo:

Carrots
Forono beets
Black kale
Red chard
Spring onions (that's what Danielle is holding below)
Sweet corn
Baby arugula
Mixed greens
Green string beans
Strawberries

When I saw the beautiful strings beans at the CSA pick-up this week, I thought Salade Nicoise. I learned to make Salade Nicoise in 1977 in a class on the regional foods and wines of France. In that class, our Salade Nicoise was built on a base of blanched string beans, boiled potatoes, and butter lettuce. It also had oil-packed, canned tuna, anchovies, olives, red onion, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh parsley all in a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Since then, I've enhanced my recipe with the addition of capers, fresh basil, and lemon juice; and I've embraced the California version using fresh, seared Ahi tuna, at least some of the time.

Over the years, I've eaten many Nicoise salads and I've seen other ingredients included such as fresh or roasted red peppers; mixed greens, especially arugula, instead of or in addition to butter lettuce; and balsamic vinegar dressings.

Here's a nice blueprint for this lovely composed salad. Don't sweat it if you don't have (or don't like) all the ingredients, it's a wonderful full-meal salad however you make it.

Salade Nicoise

Serves 2

2 C loosely packed butter lettuce or mixed greens
1/4 lb small or thin string beans, blanched and cooled
4 smallish new potatoes, boiled until just tender and cooled
1 can oil-packed tuna
1 medium tomato,sliced lengthwise into 6-8 sections
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
1-2 T thinly sliced red onion
8-10 black Nicoise olives, or more to taste
4 canned anchovy fillets, or more to taste
1 T capers, or more to taste
1 T chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 T chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

For the Dressing:
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T wine or cider vinegar
1 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste
1-2 t prepared Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

1. Briskly mix together all the ingredients for the dressing until emulsified. Set aside.

2. Wash and dry the lettuces and/or greens. Break into bite-sized pieces. Toss with 1-2 T of the dressing. Arrange dressed greens on 2 plates.

3. Toss the blanched string beans with 1 t of the dressing and arrange half the beans in a small stack on each plate.

4. Slice the potatoes and fan out half the slices on each plate. Drizzle with a few drops of dressing.

5. Drain and flake the tuna. Divide among the 2 plates.

6. Arrange half the tomato sections and one quartered hard-boiled egg on each of the 2 plates.

7. Scatter the finely sliced onion, olives, and capers among the 2 plates. Drape 2 anchovy fillets on each plate. Sprinkle with the chopped herbs, salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with the remaining dressing.

If you don't have Nicoise olives, you can substitute Kalamata olives or dried black olives. If you like your salads more heavily dressed, double the dressing recipe.

Enjoy!

Shelley

What's in the box? Celery Soup

Pick-up #3

celery
carrots
broccoli
garlic
romaine lettuce
red leaf lettuce
thai basil
purslane
mint
dandelion
tomatoes
cilantro
baby spinach
japanese cucumbers

Celery Soup recipe from Beat (my husband):


1. chop 1 onion
3 cloves garlic

2. saute above for 10 min medium heat, then kill the heat with 2 glasses of white wine

3. add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil

4 while boiling, chop 1 big celery
3 potatoes (dice them)
3 tomatoes, peeled and cut in quarters (drop the tomatoes into boiling water for a matter of seconds before taking them out to make it easier to peel them) you could also add the 3 carrots (sliced) and the broccoli (chopped)

5 add chopped veggies to boiling water, add salt and pepper

6 reduce to a simmer for at least 1.5 to 2 hours, if too thick, add water. if too liquid,. reduce

bon appetit!! and have a wonderful weekend.

tara