I know, I know…it’s early November. I have no business posting anything about summer knee-deep in autumn.
Migliorelli had some beautiful plum tomatoes for about $1.60 a pound. I bought three or four pounds fully intending to make some of Marcella’s tomato sauce later in the week but this post on Mouthfulsfood gave me other ideas.
Tomato risotto
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It has relatives that are more well-known, like spinach, beets and quinoa, and some less known ones such as epazote and Jerusalem oak. It is one of the most nutritious plants available. It grows in abundance in the mid-Atlantic states, yet it is considered by some to be an invasive weed. Its name is lamb’s quarters and in a word, it’s delicious.
Its Latin name is Chenopodium album, meaning white goosefoot, referring to the shape of its leaf and to a mealy white powder appearing on both sides. In Canada it has been widely known as pigweed and bacon weed because it was often fed to pigs.
Lamb’s quarters
The whole plant can be eaten when young. The leaves are good in spring and early summer. After that, the upper leaves are best. The leaves can be used raw in salads or cooked in soups, stews, casseroles, simply steamed or sautéed. Lamb’s quarters dries well and can be reconstituted or powdered for use in winter. It is very good in raw cheese or tofu dishes like quiche, as its wild flavor and high mineral content go well with cool, bland high protein foods.
Here, I’ve given it a slightly Italian treatment. Shrimp are briefly sautéed with garlic, then folded into coarsely chopped lamb’s quarters that have been separately sautéed with garlic, red pepper flakes and breadcrumbs. This is then combined with spaghetti and served with a little Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil drizzled on top.
In a few weeks (if not sooner), heirloom tomatoes will disappear from farm stands in New York City, not to be seen again until next summer. You may have heard of widespread cases of tomato blight that occurred all throughout the eastern seaboard of the United States earlier this year. I know of at least two farmers who had to throw out over $50,000 worth of product during the first harvest in late July.
The expected increase in price hasn’t materialized but I can’t help think that quite a few vendors won’t be returning next year in order to recoup their losses.
Heirloom tomatoes
Tonight’s dinner is loosely based off of this recipe found in this article from this past Wednesday’s New York Times.
Ripe tomatoes are roasted with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, then handfuls of fresh sheep’s milk ricotta are scattered over. The result is a sweet, luscious sauce that conjures up a haunting memory of summer and a taste of a season to come.
Flounder and chicken congee
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Otherwise known as jook, congee consists of rice and (either water or) stock that’s slowly simmered until the rice grains begin to break down. The result is a thick porridge that epitomizes Chinese comfort food at its very best. It’s perfect for a chilly autumn evening like tonight.
There are as many recipes and variations of congee as there might be hairs on a donkey’s tail. This version contains flounder that was marinated in a mixture of sesame oil, rice wine and soy sauce, along with some leftover roast chicken from last week’s chicken dinner.
The beauty of congee is that it can be a flavor vehicle for whatever toppings you happen to have on hand. These may include chopped deep-fried strips of dough, “hundred-year old” eggs, roasted peanuts, minced onion chives and nam yu (fermented tofu).
I rarely cook from recipes unless it’s something I’ve never made before. Then I’ll make it once or twice to get the technique down pat before venturing out on my own. I own a very limited set of cookbooks — 23 at last count. I use them primarily for reference, occasionally as inspiration. Once in a while I’ll prepare something lifted straight from their pages. I find that it’s best when you’ve cooked something that you’ve devised from the ground up. Besides, it’s seriously useful when you’re building your repertoire. There’s a quiet confidence that develops when you can gaze on a basket of food and call to mind ideas for the evening’s menu.
Technique is the most important element when it comes to cooking, in my opinion. Once you’re able to master something, the world becomes an open book.
And of course, nothing is more gratifying than cooking something from scratch and having it come together without a hitch.
Shelled flageolet beans
Le Chevrier vert, also known as the flageolet bean, was first obtained by a French grower named Gabriel Chevrier sometime in the late 19th century. This bean is set apart by its green color, which it holds onto even after the bean has dried in the pod. Though it is technically a white-seeded bean, it possesses the ability to retain chlorophyll much longer than other beans. It maintains its pale green shade even after cooking.
Flavor wise, the bean is creamy, delicate and slightly starchy. It tends to absorb and intensify the flavor of food it has been cooked with. Flageolets are best cooked simply with aromatics such as carrots, leeks and onion in chicken or vegetable stock, or in cassoulet.
According to food historians, wild corn may have been growing in southern Mexico as early as 5200 B.C.E. , while cultivated corn may have appeared as early as 3400 B.C.E. Corn was so sacred to the Mayans that they used human blood to fertilize it. Columbus was introduced to corn by the Arawaks in the Caribbean, and when settlers arrived in the New World, the native Americans taught them how to cultivate and cook corn as well as grind it to make cornmeal. In Europe, corn never became popular for more than animal feed except in isolated pockets, such as northern Italy, where polenta is a dietary staple.
Sweet corn, of which there are many varieties, is the type of corn served on the cob and preserved by canning and freezing. It is picked when immature while the kernels are still sweet and juicy. Field corn (also known as dent corn) is picked when mature and starchy, then dried. Over eighty percent of field corn in the United States is used as livestock feed; the remainder is used in processed food and drinks, as well as non-food products such as plastic and fuel. Popcorn is a field-type corn with a very hard hull. When heated, the kernel’s internal moisture becomes steam and because the steam has nowhere to go, it causes the kernel to explode. Indian (or flint) corn, with its multicolored kernels, is the type used as decoration in autumn. Blue corn, which was nearly extinct in this country in the 1980s, is now a featured ingredient in tortillas, cornbread and pancake mixes, and is also sold as cornmeal.
Sometimes simple is best.
Roast chicken; sautéed peppers and green beans, Tuscan style; steamed rice and heirloom tomatoes
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One measure of a good cook is roast chicken. These days, I prefer Thomas Keller’s method for mon poulet rôti. It’s the essence of simplicity, a philosophy that underlies most of my cooking. Pat a chicken dry with paper towels, sprinkle with salt and pepper throughout (and in its cavity), truss with kitchen twine, then roast in a pre-heated oven at 450 F for one hour. The result: juicy, tender meat paired with stunningly crisp chicken skin. The skin alone is worth the price of admission. It’s delicious with a capital “D”.
I should mention that the chicken was bought at USGM this past weekend. Its provenance is from Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan, New York. The flavor blew me away. There’s simply no comparison to regular supermarket chicken. Score one for local food and sustainable farming.
The best part is a week’s worth of leftovers. Chicken sandwiches, chicken fried rice, chicken pot pie. Long after tonight’s dinner, the carcass gets reborn as the base for chicken stock, some of which will go towards congee, the rest for soup or whatever might strike my fancy. Very little gets wasted in Spamwise’s kitchen.
This is my favorite time of year, foodwise. So many wonderful things are available at the market this time of year. The thin, light meals of summer give way to heartier fare that autumn demands. Yet, there is still time to savor the fruits of late summer before the first chill makes its presence felt.
Heirloom tomato and stone fruit salad
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For this salad, choose a variety of tomatoes and pair them with plums and peaches. Apricots and nectarines are also good choices, if available. Season lightly with sea salt or fleur de sel; dress with lime juice, mint and extra-virgin olive oil and serve at once.
Slow cooking concentrates the flavor of late-summer tomatoes so that no other seasonings, not even salt, are needed in the final product.
Preheat the oven to 200 F.
Slice plum tomatoes in half and arrange them, cut side up, in a Pyrex roasting dish or cookie sheet. Lightly sprinkle each with a mixture of kosher salt and cracked black pepper. You can if you wish, add dried herbs like thyme, oregano or basil. Go easy on them, however. Drizzle each tomato half with 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil.
Roast the tomatoes for 8 to 10 hours. When done, use as desired in pasta, omelettes, as a tomato sauce or as confit.
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The danger with this dish is that you’ll make too few, as I did. I solved that problem by whipping up a batch of pasta. Next time — and there will be a next time, probably next weekend — I’ll make triple this recipe and freeze the whole thing so I can enjoy them during the winter.
Penne with slow-roasted plum tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, tomato oil and herbs
Heirloom tomato and mint salsa
As far as salsas go, this one is pretty basic. 1 cucumber, diced; 3 heirloom tomatoes, diced; 1/2 red onion, finely chopped; juice of half a lime; pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper; 4 tablespoons olive oil; handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint. Toss to combine. Can be made up to an hour prior to service.
Fried eggs, sunnyside-up, with heirloom tomato and mint salsa, served over crispy sourdough toast
This is one of my favorite ways to eat breakfast. It’s also relatively quick. This took about 20 minutes from start to finish (including making the salsa). Can’t beat that. I haven’t included a recipe because it’s so elemental that almost anyone can make it.
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