SUMMER SQUASH CARPACCIO WITH PECORINO, ALMONDS, AND MINTROAST CHICKEN BREASTS MARINATED WITH HERBS, ALLSPICE, AND LEMON
-SWEET RED ONION RELISH
SUCCOTASH OF SWEET CORN AND FRESH SHELL BEANS WITH PESTO
GINGERSNAPS, VANILLA ICE CREAM, BOYSENBERRIES, AND GOLDEN PLUMS
Summer is ease and light…well, poetically, at least. These are the qualities we often crave in summer food--we prefer to cook relatively quick and easy dishes, and the heat can diminish our appetite. It was a hot Fourth of July weekend; I wanted to make a menu of dishes celebrating the holiday, utilizing the early summer bounty, and reflecting those poetic summer qualities of ease and lightness. Starting with a traditional Texas Fourth of July menu—barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans with chopped fresh onion, salad, and ice cream—and rearranging the elements, adding a few California embellishments, we come up with a beautiful, festive meal that is relatively easy and light, and, in its own way, just as comforting as the traditional one.
What better way to begin our meal than with a stunningly simple work-of-art-on-a-plate? It’s early summer, and the markets are already laden with colorful, young summer squash: zucchini, yellow crookneck, Italian round, pattypan, and many others. Later in the season, I love to cut these in chunks, toss them in cornmeal, and stir-fry them in bacon fat or olive oil, but with the first squash, I like to show up their delicate, sweet flavor by making them into a kind of salad called a carpaccio. Carpaccio, traditionally, is a plate “tiled” with paper-thin slices of raw beef, and drizzled with a simple mayonnaise-based sauce. But once, back in my restaurant-cooking days, I saw a summer squash carpaccio with pecorino on a Chez Panisse menu, and quickly made it my own: I served my version at both Liberty Café and The Moosse in Mendocino. Next, a simple herb-marinated chicken recipe that could be considered a template for creating your own chord of flavors, with a sweet red onion relish adding visual and gustatory brightness. Now begins the harvest of local sweet corn, and the first shell beans, so why not stir up a savory succotash (a template for other vegetable sautés), and drizzle a little pesto over, to accompany the chicken? To conclude, a dessert that reminds us how very, very good something easy can be: kicky little gingersnaps, together with vanilla ice cream, fresh boysenberries, and little yellow plums from a very old tree in my backyard.
SUMMER SQUASH CARPACCIO WITH PECORINO, ALMONDS, AND MINTSERVES ABOUT 4
To shave the squash paper-thin, a mandoline is the ideal tool. Alternately, using oblong varieties of squash, you can use a vegetable peeler to make long ribbons.
about 2 ounces almonds (or walnuts)
about 10 fresh mint leaves (or basil)
4 to 5 small, very fresh summer squash, assorted shapes and colors
a small block of pecorino cheese, for shaving
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
white balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Lightly toast the almonds or walnuts in a 325-degree oven until they are very lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. While the nuts are still hot, toss them with a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil, and a good pinch of salt. Let the nuts cool, then chop coarsely. Stack the mint leaves together, and cut into fine ribbons with a sharp knife.
Wipe the squash clean with a damp towel, then shave paper-thin, using a mandoline or a vegetable peeler. Arrange the slices, slightly overlapping, on 4 plates. Using a vegetable peeler, shave 4 or 5 long strips of pecorino cheese over each plate of squash, then lightly drizzle each plate with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar. Season each plate carefully with salt and freshly-ground pepper. Strew almonds and mint over each plate, and serve immediately.
ROAST CHICKEN BREASTS MARINATED WITH HERBS, ALLSPICE, AND LEMONSERVES 6 TO 8
This chicken would be even better, and summer-appropriate, cooked on the charcoal grill. Feel free to experiment with different herbs.
4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 6 to 8 pieces), preferably all the same size
2 ¼ teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons whole allspice berries, coarsely crushed
2 to 3 pinches hot red pepper flakes
½ bunch fresh thyme
½ bunch fresh oregano
zest of 1 lemon
freshly-ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Toss the chicken with all the ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate, and let marinate overnight, tossing the chicken around 2 to 3 times. Heat the oven to 450 degrees, and let the chicken come to room temperature. Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet, skin-side up, the pieces at least 2 inches apart on the sheet. Bake the chicken for about 30 minutes, or until the skin is golden-brown, the meat feels firm throughout, and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 to 165 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of a breast. No pink color should remain on the inside. Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes. For easiest serving, if you like, carve off the bone from the underside of each breast, slice the meat thickly, and arrange on a platter, with the following onion relish nearby.
SWEET RED ONION RELISHSERVES 6 TO 8
2 large sweet summer red onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup red wine vinegar
juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons capers, drained, rinsed, and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
Cut the tops and bottoms off the onions, then cut them in half lengthwise, along the “grain” of the onion. Slice the onions lengthwise thinly, but not paper-thin. In a wide skillet, heat the tablespoon of olive oil over a medium-high flame. When it shimmers, throw in the onions with the teaspoon of salt and quickly sauté until the onions are just beginning to wilt and be translucent. Remove the pan from the heat while the onions are still slightly crunchy, and let the onions cool slightly in the pan. Transfer the onions to a large bowl, and stir in the vinegar, lemon, capers, and extra-virgin olive oil. The vinegar will turn the onions bright pink. Taste the onions, and add enough salt to balance the sweetness and acidity. Stir in freshly-ground pepper to taste.
SUCCOTASH OF SWEET CORN AND FRESH SHELL BEANS WITH PESTOSERVES 6 TO 8
Both corn and beans love the herby punch of pesto.
for the succotash:
about 3 pounds fresh cranberry shell beans
olive oil
salt to taste
about 8 ears of sweet corn, white or yellow
1 large yellow onion, cut in medium dice
2 tablespoons butter
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
for the pesto:
2 cloves garlic, inner sprout removed
2 big pinches of salt
about 2 tablespoons pine nuts (or walnuts)
1 bunch fresh basil, largest stems removed, coarsely chopped
about 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
freshly-ground black pepper
First, cook the shell beans for the succotash: shell the beans, cover them with water in a large, heavy pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to a lively simmer, and cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are soft to the bite, but not falling apart. Season the beans well with salt, add a good glug of olive oil, and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Remove from the flame and let the beans sit in the liquid.
Meanwhile, make the pesto: If you are using freshly-harvested summer garlic, the cloves may be used whole, but with older garlic, if there is a tough inner sprout in each clove, this should be removed for preparations such as this, where the garlic will be consumed raw. Put the garlic, salt, pine nuts, and half the oil into the bowl of a food processor, and process until the garlic is very fine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently throughout the process. Add the basil and pulse the machine until the basil is mostly incorporated. Add the Parmesan, remaining oil, and pepper to taste, and pulse briefly to a chunky puree. Taste the pesto for salt. Cover and let sit at room temperature while you finish the succotash.
Shuck the corn, cut the kernels off the cobs, and scrape the cobs with the back edge of your knife to extract all the germ and milk. Collect the corn (and all the milk) in a large bowl as you work. In a large pot over a medium-high flame, melt the butter. Throw in the onion with a good pinch of salt, and sauté the onion, tossing frequently, until it is softened, but not brown. Add the corn and all its liquid to the pot with a pinch or two of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until the corn is hot. Drain the shell beans, retaining the liquid, and add the beans to the corn. Heat thoroughly, adding back enough of the bean liquid to achieve a moist, but not soupy consistency. Add freshly ground pepper to taste, and taste for salt—with the sweetness of the corn, it may well need a little more. To serve, either pour the succotash in a dish and drizzle and swirl with pesto, or pass succotash and pesto separately.
GINGERSNAPSABOUT 8 DOZEN 2-INCH COOKIES
Be sure your spices, particularly the ginger, smell fresh and lively. To serve these as we did in the class, set out vanilla ice cream (temper it in the refrigerator for an hour first), and bowls of washed boysenberries and plums. The flavors are wonderful together—the sweetness of the cookies and ice cream is balanced by the tart fruit.
1 ½ sticks salted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ cup full-flavored molasses
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
3 ¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl—the small amount of water in the butter will partly dissolve the sugar, contributing to good texture in the cookies. Beat in the eggs, molasses, and vinegar. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper, and add to the butter mixture, mixing just until the dough is uniform. Spread the dough out on the sides of the mixer bowl, cover, and chill for at least an hour. Alternately, for the neatest results, you can roll the dough into 3 logs of equal size and diameter, wrap in plastic wrap, chill, and slice for baking.
Heat the oven to 325 degrees, and lightly grease 3 baking sheets. Shape the dough into 3/4-inch balls, placing them at least 1 ½ inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until crinkled and no longer moist on top. Remove the cookies to racks—they will become crisp as they cool.
Comments