Well, with vacations July almost got away from us... here are the recipes from the newsletter for July.Recipes for July 9, 2008: Sweet Corn Soup and Blueberry Granita
Sweet Corn Soup
Last week, when contemplating a fine haul of goodies from the market, I invented this soup. With the exception of the spices (salt, pepper, and Espelette pepper), cream and olive oil, all ingredients come from the Oakmont Farmers Market and all are available this week. I generally don’t like to brag, but this soup was really tasty. However, I also know the reason it tasted so good was the ingredients – not my cooking, alas. Espelette pepper is something of a specialty item (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espelette_pepper) and not easy to find, but you can substitute smoked paprika.
Ingredients
4 ears of fresh sweet corn, preferably white (from Fruitwood Orchards)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, finely diced (available from Blueberry Hill Farm and Wimer’s Organics)
3 cups good-quality chicken stock (I make my stock from Lindenhof chickens but you can now buy ready-made (frozen) stock from Lindenhof directly, and thus make your life a tad easier)
½ cup half and half cream
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves (from Wimer’s)
¾ teaspoon Espelette pepper (use only 1/2 teaspoon if using smoked paprika)
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation: Heat a large pot of water until boiling and cook the cleaned corn ears for several minutes (no more than 4; you don’t want to cook them completely). Pull them out of the water and let them cool. When cool enough to handle, place in a large bowl and using a sharp knife, cut the kernels from the cobs. Put corn kernels aside until needed for the soup.
In a medium-sized stock pot heat the olive oil and add the diced onions. You’ll want to cook these over a medium/low heat until they are brown and caramelized (about 15-20 minutes) – don’t heat them too quickly or they will lose their sweet flavor and become bitter. When they are caramelized add the stock and the reserved corn kernels, and turn the heat back up to medium. Allow to simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, then, using an immersion blender, blend until creamier but still chunky. (Alternately, you can place the soup in a regular blender and process for a few short bursts and replace the soup in the pot). Add the Espelette pepper, salt and black pepper to taste, and the cream, and stir. Turn off the heat. Add the cilantro and stir again, and serve. Four servings.
Blueberry Granita
This is a very simple dessert and is an elegant, tasty and light finish to a meal.
Ingredients
4 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup sugar
The grated zest of a lemon (about 1 teaspoon)
Juice of one lemon
Whipped cream for serving
Preparation: Put three and a half cups of the blueberries and all of the sugar into a blender or a food processor and blend until smooth and fully integrated. Strain through a fine mesh to eliminate the seeds – be sure to press through all the juice.
Add a scant cup of water and the lemon zest and juice to the blueberry puree and pour out onto a shallow baking tray. Place in the freezer and stir with a fork every hour for four hours. Fluff the granita with the fork just before serving, then place in 4-6 chilled bowls or glasses and sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top of the granita. Add a dollop of whipped cream and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Note: this recipe can be played with – add a touch of chopped fresh mint or thyme (lemon thyme would be nice, I suspect) or top with lemon curd in place of the whipped cream, etc. The possibilities are practically endless!
Recipe for July 16, 2008: Peaches in Red Raspberry Sauce
Oh, this looks like one of the most decadent and delicious fruit desserts I have ever seen. And it is easy to prepare! It’s from Joanne Harris’s cookbook The French Market, which is available at Jessica’s Biscuit:
http://www.ecookbooks.com/p-8431-the-french-market-more-recipes-fr.aspxIngredients
6 ripe peaches
12 ounces fresh raspberries
1 ¾ cups sugar
½ cup toasted sliced almonds
Preparation: Plunge the peaches in a pot of boiling water for 40 seconds. Drain, cool for a few seconds, and peel off the skin with a paring knife. Cut each peach in half and remove the pit. Place each peach in its own serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate to chill. Puree the raspberries and sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a blender, and then rub through a fine wire sieve to remove the seeds. Pour the raspberry sauce over the peaches, sprinkle with almonds, and serve chilled.
Recipe for July 23, 2008: Minted Zucchini SaladMinted Zucchini Salad (Gourmet Magazine, August 1999)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/MINTED-ZUCCHINI-SALAD-101998Ingredients
1 tomato
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virginolive oil
1/3 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup packed fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves
3 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs
Preparation: Cut tomato into 1/4-inch dice and transfer to a small bowl. In another small bowl whisk together lemon juice, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. In a food processor finely chop mint and parsley. Replace chopping blade with shredding disk and shred zucchini over herbs. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Drizzle three fourths vinaigrette over zucchini and toss with salt and pepper to taste. Pour off any juices from diced tomato and toss tomato with remaining vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste. Divide zucchini salad among 4 plates, mounding it, and make an indentation in center of each mound. Fill indentations with tomatoes and garnish with mint.
Recipe for July 30, 2008: Summer’s Delight Mediterranean Chickpea and Vegetable SaladThis is a favorite recipe that you can make easily and almost entirely from produce available at the market. It’s very quick to make, very healthy and can be either vegan or vegetarian, and it will please everyone, even the picky eater. It’s really that tasty!
Once again, I’m providing the recipe as I make it, so amounts are approximate. What I do with salads of this sort is walk through the market and see what looks the tastiest, and then combine everything to make a delicious, healthy and light dish. With the addition of oh-so-healthy chick peas (garbanzo beans) you have additional fiber and protein – a perfect light meal for a too-hot day. Adding sliced or chopped hard-boiled eggs makes it even more substantial.
Ingredients:
A mixture of diced raw vegetables such as bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh raw zucchini, sweet or green onions, carrots and radishes – use a small dice, no larger than ½ inch.
One or two cans of ready-to-eat chickpeas or garbanzo beans
Several small handfuls of herbs, chopped fine: try a mixture of parsley, mint, cilantro, oregano, basil, thyme, etc. The idea here is to figure out which combination you like best (I’m very fond of a mix of parsley, basil, cilantro and mint, with just a touch of oregano, which has a strong flavor so less is needed)
Dressing: make a simple olive oil and lemon juice dressing: three parts oil to one part freshly-squeezed lemon juice, then add salt and pepper to taste (fresh lemon juice makes a real flavor difference in salads of this sort). You can, of course, substitute vinegar (preferably white wine vinegar) in place of the lemon juice, and it might be a better choice if all you have is bottled lemon juice. Alternately, you can add additional spices to this dressing, such as chili peppers, powdered cumin or coriander seeds, or even a pinch of curry mix. Sometimes I use a Middle-Eastern spice mix called za’atar which adds a lovely flavor. Experiment to find out what pleases you! (I realize I’ve provided no amount of dressing; again, I encourage you to experiment with the amount you prefer; I like my salads somewhat dry but you might want more dressing….)
Hard boiled eggs, diced or chopped
1 head of lettuce, with leaves washed and dried and kept whole
Preparation: mix together all of the diced vegetables, and stir in the chick peas. Add the herbs and mix well. Add the dressing, and stir thoroughly. Allow the salad to sit for about 20 minutes so that the vegetables absorb the dressing and the flavors blend. Then, add the eggs (if desired) and stir again (alternately, you can place the eggs on the top of the salad right before serving). Finally, plate the salad individually by placing each portion on several whole lettuce leaves or to serve family-style, tear the lettuce leaves into bite-sized pieces and cover a serving plate with them and mound the salad on top. If you want to get really fancy you can dust with more chopped herbs. Add a cool slice of fresh melon for dessert and you have a perfect light dinner or lunch dish for these hot hot hot late summer days.
Janet Chrzan, HTFMA
