This is a sandwich that I first tasted when traveling in Spain. What a treat!
- Start with some high quality bread - it can be a stale baguette or Zingerman's Farmer's bread is good. It should be crisp - so if it's not stale, toast it. Slice the baguette in half or make pieces for a sandwich from your round loaf.
- Peel a garlic clove. Rub the clove on both sides of the bread. Watch out - a little really permeates the sandwich.
- Drizzle a little high quality olive oil over the garlic.
- Either place a slice of tomato on the bread or take a roma tomato and cut it in half and rub the tomato on the bread which leaves the essence of the tomato but not all of the juice.
- Top the tomato with a thin slice of fresh mozarella
- Top the cheese with a thin layer of Jambon Serrano or other proscioto or even thinly sliced salami or a chorizo (optional). I like Morgan and York for their Jambon Serrano - it's expensive but you don't need to buy much to make this - and they have a great meat slicer which results in the paper thin strips that are best for this. If the meat is too thick, it's difficult to eat.
- Follow with a layer of basil.
- Top with the other piece of bread, cut into manageable pieces and enjoy!
A true summer treat!
Grilled Summer Squash
One of our favorite ways to enjoy summer squash is by grilling it. Larger squash are excellent for this as they're less likely to fall through the grill.
Take one or more summer squash - any type. I enjoy crook neck squash which has just started to form bumbs on the skin. At this point the skin isn't too tough but it's a bit nutty and the seeds are still relatively small. Also Cozelle is very tasty (this is a zucchini with ribbing and stripes). But any summer squash is good. At any rate, take your squash and cut lengthwise in 1/4 to 1/3" slabs. Lay the slabs into a baking dish and drizzle on a little olive oil. Smear it around to cover the slab and salt with sea salt from your grinder. Flip the slab and repeat. Continue to layer the squash into the pan, oiling and salting each layer. Let it rest for 20 minutes or so. You can also add a little sprinkling of thyme for a change.
Grill the squash on medium heat for 5 - 7 minutes per side. Maybe more, maybe less. It's OK if it's a little brown but you don't want it to fall apart.
Serve & enjoy!
Take one or more summer squash - any type. I enjoy crook neck squash which has just started to form bumbs on the skin. At this point the skin isn't too tough but it's a bit nutty and the seeds are still relatively small. Also Cozelle is very tasty (this is a zucchini with ribbing and stripes). But any summer squash is good. At any rate, take your squash and cut lengthwise in 1/4 to 1/3" slabs. Lay the slabs into a baking dish and drizzle on a little olive oil. Smear it around to cover the slab and salt with sea salt from your grinder. Flip the slab and repeat. Continue to layer the squash into the pan, oiling and salting each layer. Let it rest for 20 minutes or so. You can also add a little sprinkling of thyme for a change.
Grill the squash on medium heat for 5 - 7 minutes per side. Maybe more, maybe less. It's OK if it's a little brown but you don't want it to fall apart.
Serve & enjoy!
Summer Squash Soup with Salsa Verde
Summer Squash Soup with Salsa Verde
Serves 4 to 6
Sheryl forwarded this recipe to us - it's from Deborah Maddison's book - Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It's one of the best soups I've had in a long time - the Salsa Verde makes it!
2 tbl. olive oil or butter
1 ¼ lbs. Summer Squash
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch scallions, including half the greens, chopped
2 tbl. raw white rice
½ cup chopped parsley
6 cups vegetable stock, or water
Salt and freshly milled pepper
Lemon juice
1/3 cup Salsa Verde
Heat the oil in a soup pot and add the squash and onion, and sauté over high heat until squash begins to color, then add scallions, rice and parsley. Add stock and 1 ½ tsp salt and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Let cool briefly, then puree. Taste for salt, season with pepper, and add lemon juice to taste. Finish the soup by swirling in the Salsa Verde or pesto.
Salsa Verde
2 shallots finely chopped
½ cup finely chopped parsley
1/3 cup chopped mixed herbs-- tarragon, chervil, thyme, marjoram, dill
2 to3 tbs capers, rinsed
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 small clove of garlic, minced
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 tsp of champagne vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1 hard cooked egg, optional
Salt and freshly milled pepper
Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper. Mash the yolk until smooth, adding a little of the sauce to thin it. Finely chop the white. Stir the yolk and white back into the sauce, season with salt and pepper, and adjust the amount of vinegar if needed.
Vegetable Stock
A recent posting reminds me that I don't have any vegetable stock in the pantry. In general, I make pints of stock - both poultry and vegetable - and store them in the pantry. They're handy to have when cooking throughout the year but especially in the winter when you're waiting for the ground to thaw.
Presently, I find myself with a surplus of limp root veggies in the fridge. I went through my bin and found soft beets, carrots and a few kohl rabi that I had forgotten about (of course they are about as fresh as when I dug them, a month or so ago - little gems). I also have mini onions that I haven't wanted to throw away but never used, a mountain of drying herbs, etc. So, time to make stock.
Use your largest soup pan. Mine is about 10 quarts. I have filled it 1/2 full with water.
This is what I'm doing - you can modify to use what you have.
- 6 Q water
- 3 - 4 T kosher salt (will taste and add more later)
- 10 peppercorns
- A sprinkling of basil blooms (I let the basil bloom last year and pulled it right before the frost. Dry the plants in the garage and keep the blooms in a jar to use for seasoning.)
- A few sprigs of dried rosemary
- A few sprigs of dried tarragon
- 2 kohl rabi, peeled and sliced in 1" pieces
- About 12 3-4" carrots, cleaned but not peeled
- 3 small onions, cut in half
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 pound greens, stems and all. Cleaned and cut up a little bit so that it fits in the pan. I used collards but you could use kale or chard too.
- 2 overgrown summer squash, cut in 2" chunks.
- One head of split cabbage, cut in large pieces, core and all
- Three tomatoes, cored and cut in half - one red, one yellow and one green, all mature
- 3 bay leaves from my smaller bay leaf plant that I forgot to water. It's not dead yet but it shed its leaves - they're still full of flavor even though they're dead.
Heat to a boil. Simmer for 2 - 4 hours. Clean jars and lids, fill to within 1/2" of top and screw on lids. Process using pressure cooker. I follow the instructions from the Ball Blue Book when canning. Let your jars cool over night, remove the rims, wipe down the jars with a soapy rag and store.
Presently, I find myself with a surplus of limp root veggies in the fridge. I went through my bin and found soft beets, carrots and a few kohl rabi that I had forgotten about (of course they are about as fresh as when I dug them, a month or so ago - little gems). I also have mini onions that I haven't wanted to throw away but never used, a mountain of drying herbs, etc. So, time to make stock.
Use your largest soup pan. Mine is about 10 quarts. I have filled it 1/2 full with water.
This is what I'm doing - you can modify to use what you have.
- 6 Q water
- 3 - 4 T kosher salt (will taste and add more later)
- 10 peppercorns
- A sprinkling of basil blooms (I let the basil bloom last year and pulled it right before the frost. Dry the plants in the garage and keep the blooms in a jar to use for seasoning.)
- A few sprigs of dried rosemary
- A few sprigs of dried tarragon
- 2 kohl rabi, peeled and sliced in 1" pieces
- About 12 3-4" carrots, cleaned but not peeled
- 3 small onions, cut in half
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 pound greens, stems and all. Cleaned and cut up a little bit so that it fits in the pan. I used collards but you could use kale or chard too.
- 2 overgrown summer squash, cut in 2" chunks.
- One head of split cabbage, cut in large pieces, core and all
- Three tomatoes, cored and cut in half - one red, one yellow and one green, all mature
- 3 bay leaves from my smaller bay leaf plant that I forgot to water. It's not dead yet but it shed its leaves - they're still full of flavor even though they're dead.
Heat to a boil. Simmer for 2 - 4 hours. Clean jars and lids, fill to within 1/2" of top and screw on lids. Process using pressure cooker. I follow the instructions from the Ball Blue Book when canning. Let your jars cool over night, remove the rims, wipe down the jars with a soapy rag and store.
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