There always seems to be a wild tomatillo volunteer that pops up in my garden. Tomatillos grow like weeds and commandeer an impolite amount of garden space but I love their leggy look and striking lanterns, and hey, what do you know—their taste. The wild varieties of the tomatillo are by far more flavorful than the smaller ones you’ll find in the market and they’re laced with aubergine trim—gorgeous.

This year I found three tomatillo volunteers growing rampant in my garden, so I started to use them for more than cooking and making salsa. Tomatillo salsa, by the way, is amazing, but so are the tomatillo plants in my flower arrangements—I love it when you get multiple uses from a simple garden vegetable. (Check back here on Tuesday for my roasted green salsa recipe.)

Tomatillos work simply with some David Austin roses …

 and conjure up a spooky feel on my Halloween buffet.

My friend, Chef Kim Schiffer (whom I think of as Mother Teresa and Alice Waters all wrapped up into one), recently volunteered to cook a luncheon to benefit Fairview Gardens, the organic fruit and vegetable mecca in Goleta, just north of Santa Barbara. Kim asked me to help her a bit, pre-game, in the kitchen. I always jump at the chance to spend time in the kitchen with her; it’s a spiritual-culinary-inspirational-soothing experience. Our conversation meanders as we prep, chatting about menus, life, what’s growing in our gardens, new finds at the farmers market and dreaming up new concoctions. We are true kindred cooking spirits.

One of my jobs that morning was turning the zucchini into pasta with a great tool called—what else—the Zucchini Noodle Maker & Veggie Slicer. This amazing machine transforms produce with a simple crank of the handle, turning zucchini into wonderful spirals. If you have a garden, if you are gluten free, if you are just into fun kitchen tools, you owe it to yourself to buy one! It’s a fantastic way to turn your veggies into something delicious and super healthy. When Kim asked if I wanted to borrow hers, I thought of the pounds of excess zucchini, carrots, squash and eggplant from my garden and said—yes!

The machine, in all its glory. A bit medieval-looking, yes?

For dinner that night I gave this nifty contraption a whirl and made mock pasta with fresh tomato sauce. With six small Italian zucchinis, my girls helped twirl out a mound of “pasta.” Kim recommended that I toss the twirls in a bowl with salt and pepper and let it rest for a spell while I prepared the sauce.

The zucchinis behaved wonderfully:

And … voila!

While the zucchini pasta was sitting on the counter I grabbed about 2 1/2 pounds of different types of tomatoes from the garden and sautéed them, chunked up in a pan, with 2 cloves of garlic, salt, red pepper and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I let this simmer on medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Fresh, fresh tomatoes:

Simmering. Puréed and back in the pan. Plated.

About ten minutes before dinnertime, I drained the zucchini pasta (some water had accumulated at the bottom of the bowl), spread it out on a cookie sheet, and broiled it for about 5 minutes around 6” from the heat. (This won’t brown the produce, but rather warms it up for serving.) While that was in the oven I puréed my sauce and returned it to the pan to keep it warm. Finally, I tossed the pasta into the sauce and topped it with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Healthy, delicious and a huge hit with the family! Time to buy my own Zucchini Noodle Maker!

]]> http://eat-drink-garden.com/2011/09/zucchini-pasta-with-fresh-tomato-sauce/feed/ 2 http://eat-drink-garden.com/2011/08/simple-summer-tomato-salad/ http://eat-drink-garden.com/2011/08/simple-summer-tomato-salad/#comments Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:48:06 +0000 Valerie http://eat-drink-garden.com/?p=8078

This is an incredibly simple, quick, yet completely delectable tomato salad.  I learned this recipe from my mother who learned it from her mother in Belgium, and it’s been my favorite way to eat fresh, sweet garden tomatoes since I was a child. (Oh God, why does that seem like so long ago?  Don’t answer that!) You can have it for lunch with a scoop of tuna or serve it as a refreshing first course when you’re entertaining. True confession— I actually had it for

This is an incredibly simple, quick, yet completely delectable tomato salad.  I learned this recipe from my mother who learned it from her mother in Belgium, and it’s been my favorite way to eat fresh, sweet garden tomatoes since I was a child. (Oh God, why does that seem like so long ago?  Don’t answer that!) You can have it for lunch with a scoop of tuna or serve it as a refreshing first course when you’re entertaining. True confession— I actually had it for breakfast the other day.

Like most of the recipes here at EDG, what makes this tomato salad special is its simplicity and high quality ingredients. There is no substitute for tomatoes chosen fresh from the garden or farmer’s market along with the best darn olive oil you can find.  I order my finishing olive oil from the Rare Wine Company.  In general, I’m kind of obsessed with tracking down excellent ingredients (I’m pretty sure I spend more time comparison shopping groceries than I do shoes).  For olive oil, Rare Wine Company has, hands down, the best selection I’ve seen worldwide.

I have been known to drink this one neat.

Tomato Salad

To assemble the salad, I slice the Early Girls into wedges (they’re on the smaller side), the Heirlooms into half-circles, and the Cherries into halves to get a range of textures.  Together, they create an interesting contrast of shapes, showing off the character of each variety.

Ingredients

This is not a super technical recipe.  The amounts vary depending on the size of the plate or platter you are working with and your personal preference.  I like to go really light on the vinegar so you can taste the natural flavor of the tomatoes.

A variety of tomatoes (Cherry, Early Girl and Heirloom are the ones I used for my salad pictured above)

A splash of red or white wine vinegar

A drizzle of best quality extra virgin olive oil

A pinch of sea salt

Fresh chives, chopped

Directions

Slice the tomatoes (try varying your slicing technique to get more texture in the salad).  Arrange the tomatoes on your plate.  Splash with red wine vinegar and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and chives.  Serve and devour!

Here are the chives growing in my garden.  They look messy, but taste great!

 

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It’s perfectly normal to be over at your friend’s sister’s house for the first time, go through her cookbooks, and snap a photo of an enticing recipe, right?  I mean, why else were camera phones even invented?  At any rate, that’s how I came upon this recipe, and after a few adaptations, it has become a staple in my kitchen.

The original. Did you think I was joking? I was like one of those bootleggers at the back of the movie theater.

These zucchini appetizers are packed full of flavor, use up the summer veggies that are growing like crazy in my garden, and are a light offering before a meal.  To me, it often feels like the appetizers at parties are so breaded, clunky, and heavy, I’m full before I even get to dinner.  These compact bite-sized bits of vegetables smothered in cheese manage to be savory without weighing you down. Basically, this is a super easy recipe that’s forgiving and great for entertaining (just assemble the entire thing on a sheet tray and pop it in the oven right as your guests start to arrive). I’ve probably made these at least 5 different ways: different cheeses, layered with basil on top, or hidden under the tomato, etc etc. I like this adaptation the best, but if you’ve got a different way of doing things, go for it, and comment!  I’d love to hear all the neat things you guys do with this recipe.

Zucchini Rounds with Feta

Adapted from a mystery cookbook by that entertaining minx of a maven: Martha Stewart.

Serves 40

These can be prepared several hours in advance. Keep refrigerated, then bake at the last minute.

Ingredients

10 small zucchini

Salt and Pepper

4 cloves garlic–minced

½ pound chilled feta cheese, crumbled into small pieces.

2 pints cherry tomatoes, sliced

Baby basil leaves

1/3 pound Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Freshly ground pepper

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash and slice off the ends of the tomatoes, then slice the tomato in half. Discard the ends and place the sliced tomatoes on a plate or bowl for assembly.

Crumble the feta in one bowl and grate the Parmesan in another. Wash and dry your basil leaves, too.  You’re creating an assembly line.

Wash the zucchini and slice them into ½-inch rounds. With a melon baller, scoop out the center of each slice of zucchini, leaving the bottom of each round intact.

Lay the scooped zucchini on a sheet tray covered with parchment paper so the scooped side is up ready to catch your ingredients.

Assemble

Step 1: Sprinkle the zucchini with salt and pepper

Step 2:  Evenly distribute the minced garlic over the rounds

Step 3: Line each round with a piece of basil

Step 4: Fill the holes with feta

Step 5: Place a tomato on top of the cheese

Step 6: Sprinkle the whole tray with Parmesan

Step 7: More Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook and Serve

Bake in your preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes.  The cheese should be melted, but not brown.  Garnish with another fresh basil leaf and serve warm.

With prime tomato season right around the corner, I have had a major a hankering for some fresh tomato goodness.  Sadly, the Basil’s flourishing right now in the garden, but the tomatoes aren’t quite there yet.  This is my simple, early-season answer to caprese.  It’s a delicious way to get your tomato fix with store-bought Romas while you wait for those perfect, juicy, summer fruits.

Part of the fun of this recipe is that it’s really not exact.  Because at the moment, fresh tomatoes lack sweetness, acidity and texture, I add sugar and lemon to counter that, plus I cook the crap out of them.  I know it seems like 6 cloves is a lot of garlic, but trust me, it is so so so good and the divine smell of it roasting will waft through your house.   Really, this is a basic dish you can use for a ton of applications.  If Mozzarella isn’t striking your fancy, serve it over pasta or on its own with a crostini.  This dish is very easily modified to fit the needs of your tomatoes, so have fun with it.

Roasted Tomatoes

Makes 6 side portions (If I have leftovers, I like to puree them and serve over pasta for the kids)

6 Roma tomatoes quartered lengthwise

6 Cloves of garlic minced

A good solid pinch of sugar (like, about 2 tablespoons worth)

A good solid pinch of salt (I mean it)

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

Juice of half of a lemon

Approximately 1/4 cup of olive oil

Heat oven to 350°F

In an oven-safe dish, add the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice.  Toss to incorporate, and drizzle the olive oil over the top.

Cook for approximately 1.5 hours, then stir to make sure they’re done.  You can crush the tomatoes a little with your spoon if you want to release more of the juices, or keepthem whole.

Boiled Mozzarella

3 Balls of Mozzarella, cut in half

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Salt, pepper, and olive oil the mozzarella to taste.  Wrap each halved ball in plastic wrap, tie to seal, and boil in salted water for 5 minutes.

To serve:

Spoon the tomato mixture over the cooked Mozzarella balls and garnish with torn, fresh basil leaves.