Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad

Even though we ourselves were contributing to the traffic and smog, I loved having our car for the trip last week to California. We drove out of the dry Santa Monica mountains on Sunday, dropping right into Malibu on Highway 1.

A toast to the bride and groom

I was craving an egg breakfast after a late night of wedding celebration with sparkling wine and tequila and I kept my eyes alert for the perfect stop. The day was brilliant ocean and sky bright, the highway busy with weekend warrior bikers in full regalia, on “hogs” and road bikes both, with no lack of eye candy in all ways. An hour down the coast, about the time I decided that the granola and soy milk in our ice chest would be just fine, we passed a coffee shop with people waiting outside. “Let’s go there!” Found: cora’s coffee shoppe, at the Santa Monica beach. We grabbed seats at the counter—no line there—and besides, I love sitting at the bar and watching cooks juggle orders; there is so much to see and hear, especially since much of the banter was in Spanish. One glance at the menu and I knew my mojo was working. At the bottom, in bold, “all our food products are freshly made and organic whenever appropriate.” I ordered the burrata caprese omelette; burrata is artisan mozzarella cheese and caprese indicates mozzarella cheese with tomatoes and basil. While we sipped our Illy coffee, a bowl of heirloom tomatoes a foot from my face dwindled its contents to the prep cook in front of us who replenished more for display. He diced the tomatoes and with chiffonade of basil, toppled them over omelettes, and eventually one of them was mine. It came with olive bread toast and a 2-inch slice of baked potato, griddled, golden and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. Where could we get some of those heirloom tomatoes today? Voila! The fellow diner to our right told us about the farmer’s market 3 blocks away. We fed the parking meter again and walked there with happy tummies. Life’s a beach.

Caprese Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Basil

This is salad in the style of Capri Italy—simply dressed to show off the bounty of the season and region.

Red or yellow summer tomatoes, very ripe

Fresh mozzarella cheese balls

Fresh basil leaves

Coarse sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic vinegar (optional)

Slice the cheese into 3/8-inch thick slices. Wash and trim the tomatoes and slice them also into 3/8-inch thick slices. You want as many slices of tomatoes as you have slices of cheese. Select and wash basil leaves—you will need as many leaves as you have slices of cheese.

Place a slice of tomato on a serving platter. Lay over it a slice of cheese, with about 1/2 inch of tomato showing. Place a basil leaf on the cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue around in a circle, arranging like a flower and seasoning each layer of ingredients with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and the vinegar, if using.

Makes as many servings as you wish, figure 2 or 3 slices per person of the cheese and tomato.

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Robbie’s Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

Tacos, especially fish tacos, seem to be on everyone’s menu lately. It’s not that fish tacos are a new invention–they have been universal in Southern California for decades, but has anyone else noticed their recent increase in ubiquity?  Just last Sunday, there was Bobby Flay’s version in the newspaper’s Parade magazine.

On Saturday my niece Tricia married her sweetheart JP, at their friends’ gorgeous estate in the Malibu hills of Southern California, with everyone in my very extended family there to witness, along with 150 other guests. The reception featured 4 food stations, and one was a taco bar with grilled chicken, beef or fish, and juicy beans with multicolored bell pepper strips. I ate 2 fish tacos, on warm corn tortillas, with the beans, guacamole and salsa fresca. At the taco table were rose-pink watermelon margaritas or simply agua de sandia for beverage pairing. Delicious.

Here in Park City, fish tacos are a frequent dinner staple when Robbie cooks. He buys whatever fish looks freshest, or is on sale, and when Copper River salmon are running—our fish tacos are filled with wild Alaskan salmon. He usually pan-sautés the fish, well-seasoned with fajita or Southwestern spice mix. The fish goes into the skillet on a bed of well-caramelized sliced onions. He heats and flavors a can of black beans with some chipotle chile, he dices some fresh tomato and he grates a bit of sharp cheese. He slices green cabbage as thin as he can, and he garnishes all with mayonnaise, like the street cart fish tacos we’ve eaten in Baja Mexico. If I am in charge of the condiments, I premix the cabbage and mayonnaise into this slaw.

Cabbage Coleslaw

4 cups shredded cabbage (about 1 pound)

1 cup grated carrots, optional

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Use your food processor. First, with the steel blade, make the mayonnaise dressing with the honey, vinegar, salt and pepper. Then, right in the work bowl on top of the dressing, using the slicer attachment, shred the cabbage. Dump the cabbage into a separate bowl. If you are adding carrots, switch to the grater attachment and grate them. Toss the vegetables and dressing until well mixed. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.

Makes about 6 servings.

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Chard Frittata

In early June this year I helped cater an organic family-style dinner at Mount Hood Organic Farms.  The weather had been warm, almost hot, for 10 days, but that evening we were surprised with a cold wind and it rained. Thank goodness the guests were in a huge, side-walled tent, though I think the majority of all of us, workers and guests alike, didn’t bring enough clothes. For 3 hours, my job was to prep frittatas with Pierce, the caterer’s husband and a fine, funny friend. We hid in the corner of small open tent, telling stories and jokes– I cracked and mixed the eggs and chard, and Pierce cooked them in brand-new non-stick skillets, 2 at a time, on a portable propane stove that was constantly losing its flame and needed relighting. We followed a recipe copy that Ginger had handed us, a recipe from Alice Water’s cookbook, The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution.

Pierce made 20 some frittatas. They went to the tables cut in 12 wedges, served with a huge family-style platter of mixed greens, red and yellow beets and local goat cheese. Alice’s recipe has a full page of notes and comments, a detailed explanation about frittata-making, variations and serving ideas, so back in Park City, we’ve enjoyed chard frittata warm, in a pool of tomato sauce, per her suggestion. Here is the recipe, pretty much straight from the book. If this is a sampling, we all must buy the book.

1 bunch chard, stems removed and cut into 1/4-inch slices, leaves coarsely chopped

Extra virgin olive oil, for the greens, the eggs, and the skillet

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Sea salt, for the chard and the eggs

6 eggs

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

Some fresh basil would be good  too

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a heavy pan. Add the onion and cook and stir about 5 minutes. Add the chard stems and season with some salt. Add the garlic and cook and stir for 4 or 5 more minutes. Add the leaves and cook until they are tender. Set aside.

Crack the eggs in to a bowl. Add some salt, 2 teaspoons olive oil and a sprinkling of both black and cayenne pepper. Beat lightly. Gently squeeze the chard, wring out most but not all of the liquid. Stir the chard into the eggs. If you have fresh basil, add some. (Ginger and her Orchard House prep crew had cooked the chard, onions and garlic the day before; it was ready for me in a 5-gallon bucket so I just had to wring out the extra moisture.)

Pre-heat a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. After a few seconds, pour in the egg mixture. As the eggs set on the bottom, lift the edges to allow the uncooked egg to flow underneath. Continue to cook until mostly set.

Invert a plate on top of the pan: turn the plate and the pan upside down to turn the frittata out onto the plate. Place the pan back on the burner and pour in a bit of olive oil. Slide the frittata off the plate back into the pan. Cook for about 3 more minutes. Slide onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.

Makes 6 to 12 servings, depending if it is an appetizer or a main dish.

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My Mom’s Potato Salad

There are many potato salad recipes out there and many of them short on flavor. But how do you get flavor into potato salad—so it tastes as good as sweet memories? I follow my mother’s technique. She cut the potatoes while they were still warm, and poured a simple vinaigrette over, so they marinated as they cooled, absorbing the acidity of the dressing. Sometimes these potatoes would rest in the fridge for a few hours, but if she was in a hurry, the marinating time would only be as long as it took to prepare the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to boil the potatoes in amply salted water—potatoes love salt and if you salt early, you won’t want to keep adding salt at the ‘season to taste’ part of the recipe.

2 pounds red waxy potatoes, All Red potatoes, or any potato for that matter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 or 3 stalks celery, cut in 1/4-inch slices

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces, optional

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil, enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch or so. Salt the water, about a teaspoon per quart of water. Add the potatoes and simmer, partially covered, with the lid ajar, until they are just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

Make a vinaigrette dressing: whisk the garlic and mustard with the vinegar. Drizzle in the olive oil, whisking, and season with the salt and cayenne.

While the potatoes are still hot, but cool enough to handle, cut into 3/4-inch chunks. Toss them with the vinaigrette to coat and allow to marinate, covered and refrigerated, for 2 hours or even overnight.

Add the celery, mayonnaise and basil to the potatoes and stir all together. Stir in the eggs, if using. Season to taste with more salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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100 Zucchini Recipes

Well John did it again–zucchini in the box. I hope the 3 recent recipes help but this zucchini page can send you to even more–and they are all blogs–mostly food blogs. Amazing.

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Pan Bagnat and Cilantro Pesto

We have outdoor summer concerts several nights of the week here in Park City. Locals pack their picnic dinners complete with beverages, from elaborate to just-picked-up at the Market. One can pre-order a Deer Valley basket with scrumptious variety, and I happen to know that the chocolate raspberry tart and lemon pound cake in that basket are WOW! Snow Park bakers also make fresh baguettes to go with the Double Cream French Brie.

For my concert dates, I take a baguette and turn it into Pan Bagnat, (pan ban-YAH) a sturdy, packable sandwich popular in Southern France.

Pesto in hollowed baguette

1 length fresh baguette (allow 3 or 4 inches per person)

Cilantro Pepita Pesto or fresh basil pesto

Sliced baked tofu, Roma flavor

Tomato slices

Lettuce or sprout

Sliced cheese, fresh or aged, one or several types, your choice

Pitted olives, sliced

Roasted red peppers

Thinly sliced cucumber or small zucchini

Slice the baguette crosswise a third of the way down from the top. With your fingers, make it hollow by tearing out the softer bready insides. Spread both top and bottom hollows very generously with pesto. In the bottom, layer in the options, aiming for lots of flavor and variety. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper and a bit of red wine vinegar. Place the pesto-ed top of the baguette—it should fit over your layers without too much of a gap. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then fasten with rubber bands, at intervals, to press the sandwich together. Pack in your picnic basket, along with a small cutting surface and a good serrated knife.  To serve, slice the Pan Bagnat right through the plastic. Peel away the plastic as you eat the sandwich.

Cilantro Pepita Pesto

If you don’t have enough cilantro, supplement with parsley.

1 large garlic clove

1 cup stemmed fresh cilantro

1/4 cup lightly toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lime juice

With the motor of the food processor running, mince the garlic by dropping it through the feed tube. Process until it is very fine and has flown onto the processor bowl. Add the, cilantro, pepitas and salt. Process for about 10 seconds, stopping to move things around if they get hung up. With the machine running, pour oil through the feed tube in a thin stream, processing until everything is well blended. Pour in the lime juice. Spread on Pan Bagnat.

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Walnut Paella Salad

Here’s a summery and vegetarian twist on the classic Spanish dish of saffron-flavored rice with a variety meats and shellfish. Bring as a potluck contribution salad or serve over Ranui salad greens; 1 cup of the paella salad over about 1/2 cup of greens, garnished with a sprinkling of the spiced walnuts. USA Rice Federation has a seafood version and the recipe for the Spiced Walnuts on their website.

Steamed Saffron Tomato Rice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup short grain rice (brown or risotto rice)

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups vegetable stock (if you are using risotto rice, use only 1 1/2 cups stock)

1 cup tomato or V-8 type vegetable juice

1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

3 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, cut in halves or quarters

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

1 cup cooked organic shelled edamame beans

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and the onion and cook and stir until both the onion and the rice begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook and stir another minutes. Stir in the vegetable stock, the tomato juice, and the saffron, bay leaf, salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and reduce the heat to very low. Cook until the rice is tender and all of the liquid is absorbed, at least one hour, especially at 7000 feet above sea level. Let the rice stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Turn out into a large bowl and remove the bay leaf.

In a small bowl, whisk the garlic, mustard and sherry vinegar. Gradually drizzle in the olive oil, whisking. Season with the salt and pepper, to taste, then stir in the cilantro and parsley. Pour over the rice. Add the artichoke hearts, garbanzo beans and edamame and stir well. Refrigerate until well chilled.  Just before serving, stir in half of the Spiced Walnuts and sprinkle the rest over the top as garnish.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Spiced Walnuts

1 cup walnut pieces

1 tablespoon walnut oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Drop the walnuts into boiling water, turn off heat and let stand 2 minutes; drain. Heat oil in a large skillet, add the nuts and cook over medium-high heat until toasted, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar, salt, cumin and pepper over the nuts and toss to coat.

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Green Bean Salad with Summer Savory Vinaigrette

We have made these beans the last two weeks with our fresh wax beans—we’ve just varied the vinaigrette according to the current flavor on the refrigerator door.  Use a different acid, like key lime juice, or rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar. Try also switching the oil—using walnut or other nut oil, and changing the ratio of oil and acid to your taste preference. Deborah Madison says savory is so closely associated with fresh beans that it’s nicknamed the bean herb.

Green or yellow wax beans

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped savory leaves or other herb

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper as needed

Snap the tips and tails off the beans. Blanch them in boiling salted water about 5 minutes, keeping them firm to your bite but no longer raw. Drain and “shock” the beans in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and guard the bright color. Drain when cold.

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and savory, and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Just before serving, toss the cold beans in some of the vinaigrette dressing and scatter over salad greens.

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Ginger Coconut Rice

Serve this delicious rice with grilled, baked, or sautéed tempeh. I adapted the recipe from one given on the USA Rice Federation website.

1 (13.5-ounce) can lite coconut milk

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup long grain brown rice

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 cup chopped pineapple (fresh or canned, 1/4-inch chunks)

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted

1 cup sliced scallions

2/3 cup finely chopped parsley

1/3 cup chopped red pepper (1/4-inch dice)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

Pinch cayenne pepper, optional

Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan. Add 1 cup of water and the salt and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice and the raisins. Return to a boil; then reduce heat to very low and cook, covered, 45 to 55 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed. (Resist the urge to stir the rice: to check if the liquid has been absorbed without stirring, tilt the pan to the side.) Let the rice stand for about 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork to separate the grains.

Toss in the remaining ingredients. Season to taste with more salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper, if you wish. Serve warm.

Makes 4-6 servings.

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