End of the Summer Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

This week at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you can look forward to summer produce from Good Food Easy at Sweetwater Farm, pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm, and beautiful fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company.

Don't let the last sunny days of the summer slip away without enjoying an insalata caprese. Simply slice tomatoes and mozzarella and layer them with fresh basil leaves. Sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar to taste, and enjoy in the sunshine. 

Sichuan Green Beans

This week at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you can look forward to summer produce from Good Food Easy at Sweetwater Farm, pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm, and beautiful fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company.

Sweetwater Farm has a lovely selection of beans including these yardlong beans, which always get a giggle out of my kids when served full length. I like to blanch them, save some in their full splendor, and chop the rest to stir fry in Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichan green beans from Every Grain of Rice. This recipe involves a secret ingredient of Tianjin preserved vegetables, available at Sunrise Market, which add a salty pungency. And with so many pretty spicy peppers at the market, I substituted fresh for dried. Blanching the beans first, as Dunlop does in this version of her recipe, means that they require less oil so that the dish tastes fresh and not too greasy. A great side dish to have in your repertoire, and a great reason to stock up on fall beans.

Sichuanese Dry-Fried Green Beans

from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice

3/4 pound green beans or yard long beans
4-6 dried chiles
2 scallions, whites only, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
An equivalent amount of ginger, sliced
2 tablespoons Sichuanese ya cai or Tianjin preserved vegetable (optional but recommended; see note above)
1/2 teaspoon whole Sichuan pepper
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil

1. Trim beans; snap them in half. Then snip the chiles in half and shake out and discard the seeds. If you're using the Tianjin preserved vegetable, rinse off the excess salt and squeeze it dry. 

2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add beans and blanch until just tender, then drain. 

3. Put your wok over high heat. Add the canola or peanut oil, then the chiles and the Sichuan pepper. Stir-fry just until the chiles begin to darken, then add the scallion, ginger, and garlic and cook for a few moments more. Add the preserved vegetable and stir a few more times. Then add the beans and stir-fry for a minute or two longer, until coated in the oil and the seasonings. Add salt to taste. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve.

Zucchini Butter

This week at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you can look forward to summer produce from Good Food Easy at Sweetwater Farm, pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm, and beautiful fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company.

I've been on a zucchini kick this summer. It's funny because I remember distinctly how unenthusiastic I was about this vegetable when I was young, a sentiment shared by my children, who view a zucchini as a failed, soggy attempt at a cucumber. But these days I can't seem to get enough of these summer squash roasted, stir fried, or on pizza, so I couldn't resist Erica's bargain bag of zucchini at the market last weekend. 

Faced with this hefty zucchini haul, I decided to try out a recipe I'd been eying for zucchini butter from the food52 genius recipe series. It called for shallots, but I used a lovely slender leek from the market. You simply shred your zucchini (easiest to do in a food processor for a big batch), and cook it down with a generous portion of olive oil or butter (I used both) until the squash melts into a rich spread, which is delicious on crackers or as the base for a sandwich with sliced tomatoes. The best part, for those facing a zucchini glut, is the sense of satisfaction when you see your huge stack of squash reduced to a manageable pot of spread.

Zucchini Butter

adapted slightly from Jennie Cook's genius recipe

makes about 2 cups

2 pounds zucchini or assorted summer squash (feel free to use less or add extra -- cooking times will vary)
2 Tbsp olive oil 
2 Tbsp butter
1 small leek or 2 shallots
Salt and pepper

1. Grate the zucchini in a food processor or on a box grater. Toss with a generous pinch of salt and let it drain in a colander for 3 to 4 minutes or until you are ready to begin cooking. Mince the white part of the leek or the peeled shallots. Squeeze the water out of the zucchini (you can do this with your hands or by wringing it in a clean cloth towel). 

2. In a deep skillet, heat the olive oil and butter. Sauté the leeks or shallots briefly. Add the zucchini and toss. Cook and stir over medium to medium-high heat until the zucchini reaches a spreadable consistency, about 15 minutes. If you scorch the bottom, turn the flame down! (And scrape those delicious bits into the butter for added flavor -- you can splash in a little water to help deglaze the pan.) The zucchini will hold its bright green color and slowly caramelize into a nice vegetable jam. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3, Enjoy on crackers or toast, or as a side dish all summer long!

Roasted Collards with Chorizo and Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

This week at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you can look forward to summer produce from Good Food Easy at Sweetwater Farm, pastured meats and eggs from Fair Valley Farm, and beautiful fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company.

The season's bounty is reaching its height of outrageous beauty, like these blush tomatoes and purple tomatillos. With produce this pretty, it seemed a shame to roast the tomatillos for my usual salsa, so I blended them up fresh with cilantro and a hot pepper.

Even as the produce is reaching its peak, the days are getting cooler, and it's not hard to justify turning on the oven. For less glamorous looking collard greens, I made a version of these pot-roasted collard greens with chorizo. Cooked for an hour in a low oven, the collards' flavors soften and deepen, the onions melt into a sweet jam, and the chorizo infuse the dish with a decadent richness.

Layered on top of tender Lonesome Whistle Farm beans, these rich collards made a delicious bed for a fried Fair Valley Farm egg, topped with the bright notes of the fresh tomatillo salsa and slices of blush tomatoes to make the plate outrageously pretty.

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

1 pint tomatillos
1 small jalapeño or other spicy pepper
1 handful cilantro leaves
1 pinch salt

Hull and rinse the tomatillos. Halve them and toss them in a food processor. Halve and seed the jalapeño and add it to the food processor along with the cilantro and salt. Pulse to chop into a salsa of the desired coarseness. Reserve.

Roasted Collards with Chorizo

1 large bunch collard greens
1 medium onion
2 chorizo sausages (about 5 ounces)
2 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Rinse the collard leaves, cut out the stems, and slice crosswise into 1/2 inch strips. Peel and dice the onion. Cut the sausages into quarters lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/2 inch chunks.

2. Heat a large heavy bottomed pot with a lid, such as a Dutch oven, over medium heat. Add the oil, the onions, and a pinch of salt, and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the sausage pieces and continue cooking until the onions are very soft. Add the collard green strips and stir to coat in the oils. Place the lid on the pot and transfer to the oven. 

3. Cook for about an hour until the contents are deeply roasted and caramelized. Stir, taste, and add more salt if needed. Cover until ready to serve.