-1 lbs of red potatoes
-1 sweet peppers
-1.5 lbs of yellow squash and zucchini
-1.5 lbs of cucumbers (slicing and kirby)
-1.5 lbs of cucumbers (slicing and kirby)
-4 large tomatoes
-2 large eggplant & 2 Asian eggplant
-2 large eggplant & 2 Asian eggplant
-1 small cabbage
The Sunday right after we got our box I was dying for a classic, all-American, no frills summer meal so we had burgers on the grill, I made a mayo-based potato salad and an apple and poppy seed slaw with the cabbage that was featured in an old Bon Appetit magazine that I can across when I was looking for another recipe in the binders. The only change that I made to the coleslaw recipe was that I swapped out the frozen apple juice concentrate for orange juice (because really who has frozen apple juice in their freezer?) and it turned out great.
I was inspired that weekend while reading the New York Times Sunday Magazine which had a great article by Mark Bittman on "The Proper Way to Treat an Heirloom" and even though the tomatoes that came in the box weren't heirlooms, I knew they would work just fine stuffed with the mozzarella. Mark Bittman's recipes are always super easy and straightforward and he's like that faithful friend that will never stir you wrong when it comes to food. I still miss his weekly "minimalist" columns in the Wednesday Dining Section of the Times but I will sacrifice if it means that he can be part of my Sunday ritual now. These tomatoes were so easy to put together that it took me all of 10 minutes to make the filling and I totally admit that it took some serious will power not to abandon the recipe and just go at the bowl with a spoon because it was delicious just by itself. The only thing that I added to the recipe was a few crushed up cloves of garlic and salt and pepper (it was never mentioned in the recipe so maybe it was just one of those obvious things that people should do?). After a quick 30 minute bake, they were ready to consume and they reheated pretty nicely as well since I had the last one for lunch the next day.
We hit the kale wall earlier in the season after consuming so much of it and I think zucchini is going to be the next one to occupy this spot because the squash just keeps on coming. This week's zucchini recipe was another pasta dish that I loved so much that I actually made another helping of it to take for lunch the next day for when I went to work and I'm sure we'll have it again before the end of the summer. I know I still have a few more good weeks of zucchini in me because we still haven't made the classic Bisquick quiche that my mother has made for so many years, the fried zucchini recipe that Melissa Clark had in the Times a few weeks ago and this very intriguing grilled zucchini ribbon salad from the new Food and Wine Magazine that came in the mail this week. Hopefully I can resist the revolt for a little while longer with this lineup. For now here's the zucchini pasta recipe so you can re-create it in your own kitchen:
Zucchini and Arugula Spaghetti
-In a large frying pan, caramelize a 1/2 of a large onion that has been sliced thin with a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil until it becomes translucent and begins to get that nice golden color. Add in 4 or 5 cloves of chopped up garlic and let cook on low, giving it a stir every once and awhile to avoid it from burning.
-Chop up one large zucchini into a 1/2 -3/4 inch dice and toss with 2 tablespoons of flour which will help it get those nice brown bits on the sides. Toss the zucchini into the pan and let saute until soft about 10 minutes. The flour is going to make things stick to the bottom of the pan. Do not get alarmed, just give everything a stir every few minutes to keep it moving. Season with salt and some crushed red pepper flakes.
-From your pasta pot, add 1/3 of a cup (I usually use my ladle as a measuring cup so it would be one ladle) of the salted pasta water and let it cook for a few minutes, giving it an opportunity to be absorbed by the zucchini a little bit. This will also help pick up some of those nice brown bits from the bottom. Add a few tablespoons of pesto to the pan (I used my arugula pesto that I had in the fridge) and let everything cook on low until you are ready to toss your pasta in.
-Once the pasta goes in, finish the dish off with a generous handful of Parmesan cheese and a few sprigs of chopped up basil.
 |
| the full share before it gets divided up |
The Sunday right after we got our box I was dying for a classic, all-American, no frills summer meal so we had burgers on the grill, I made a mayo-based potato salad and an apple and poppy seed slaw with the cabbage that was featured in an old Bon Appetit magazine that I can across when I was looking for another recipe in the binders. The only change that I made to the coleslaw recipe was that I swapped out the frozen apple juice concentrate for orange juice (because really who has frozen apple juice in their freezer?) and it turned out great.
I was inspired that weekend while reading the New York Times Sunday Magazine which had a great article by Mark Bittman on "The Proper Way to Treat an Heirloom" and even though the tomatoes that came in the box weren't heirlooms, I knew they would work just fine stuffed with the mozzarella. Mark Bittman's recipes are always super easy and straightforward and he's like that faithful friend that will never stir you wrong when it comes to food. I still miss his weekly "minimalist" columns in the Wednesday Dining Section of the Times but I will sacrifice if it means that he can be part of my Sunday ritual now. These tomatoes were so easy to put together that it took me all of 10 minutes to make the filling and I totally admit that it took some serious will power not to abandon the recipe and just go at the bowl with a spoon because it was delicious just by itself. The only thing that I added to the recipe was a few crushed up cloves of garlic and salt and pepper (it was never mentioned in the recipe so maybe it was just one of those obvious things that people should do?). After a quick 30 minute bake, they were ready to consume and they reheated pretty nicely as well since I had the last one for lunch the next day.
 |
| about to be baked |
Zucchini and Arugula Spaghetti
-In a large frying pan, caramelize a 1/2 of a large onion that has been sliced thin with a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil until it becomes translucent and begins to get that nice golden color. Add in 4 or 5 cloves of chopped up garlic and let cook on low, giving it a stir every once and awhile to avoid it from burning.
-Chop up one large zucchini into a 1/2 -3/4 inch dice and toss with 2 tablespoons of flour which will help it get those nice brown bits on the sides. Toss the zucchini into the pan and let saute until soft about 10 minutes. The flour is going to make things stick to the bottom of the pan. Do not get alarmed, just give everything a stir every few minutes to keep it moving. Season with salt and some crushed red pepper flakes.
-From your pasta pot, add 1/3 of a cup (I usually use my ladle as a measuring cup so it would be one ladle) of the salted pasta water and let it cook for a few minutes, giving it an opportunity to be absorbed by the zucchini a little bit. This will also help pick up some of those nice brown bits from the bottom. Add a few tablespoons of pesto to the pan (I used my arugula pesto that I had in the fridge) and let everything cook on low until you are ready to toss your pasta in.
-Once the pasta goes in, finish the dish off with a generous handful of Parmesan cheese and a few sprigs of chopped up basil.
No comments:
Post a Comment