In late summer thoughts turn to ratatouille, the classic French dish made with eggplant, tomato and zucchini. Tian, another Provencal classic, uses the same vegetable trinity. Why isn’t it better known? Is it the challenging name: Tian? (Say tee-on to get a very approximate idea.) Look for vegetables similar in diameter: a slim Italian (not Asian) eggplant, a medium zucchini […]
Read moreHere’s another no-cook recipe, for a white gazpacho. We tend to associate gazpacho with tomatoes, but white gazpacho-like soups are beloved in parts of Spain. The usual garnish is grapes, and when local grapes arrive at the market late summer, that’s a wonderful classic to try. Here’s another idea: make a light meal of white gazpacho accompanied by little dishes […]
Read moreToo hot to cook recently, so this week’s recipe involves marination, and minimal heat. Goat’s cheese is often marinated. But we used the appealing, not-too-sharp feta brought by the Farm Institute — a feta even non-feta-eaters can love. The cheese is sold as a neat cake floating in a container of water. Drain the cake and, for this recipe, slice […]
Read moreAs evenings get cooler, we don’t mind switching on our ovens and roasting vegetables at high temperature. You might want to try roasting eggplants while they are still plentiful. Choose the regular glossy dark eggplants for this. The addition of a pinch of turmeric is less for taste than for color – it imbues the eggplant slices with a golden […]
Read moreTomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and olive oil…. All are available now at our market. Together they form the basis of many a great summer dish. Including this one for baked tomatoes, which delivers great flavor with a minimum of fuss. Tomatoes stuffed with basil and garlic 4 medium-large firm ripe tomatoes 2 fat cloves of garlic, halved lengthways 4 large […]
Read moreThe French for garlic is ail, and this week’s recipe if for aioli, a thick emulsion of garlic, oil, and (usually) egg from the Mediterranean. Nowadays you see the name used for all sorts of flavored mayonnaises – wasabi aioli, pomegranate aioli, that sort of thing — but if it’s not thick as butter and redolent of garlic, it’s just […]
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