2 for the grow; 3 to get ready; now go, veggies, go!
Greetings all! After a particularly long hiatus during which I was preparing cooking demos, applications for medical school, and doing all of those other things that magically seem to steal my time, I AM BACK! And what a great time it is to be back. Despite the beads of sweat betraying the presumed power of the fan blowing full blast right next to me, that great, hot summer sun is also my best friend because it produces some of the best looking, best smelling, and--even more important--best tasting vegetables of the year! So let's get cooking!
As I hinted in this post's title, there are three great reasons (plus many more!) to love vegetables:
1) Cost: on average, vegetables are *significantly* less expensive than meat
2) Growing: you can easily maintain an herb garden indoors at home, and have them at your disposal throughout the year. If you have a little more space--either indoors or outdoors--you can even have fresh tomatoes, beans, and other assorted vegetables without having to put in too much effort. Indeed, I have several herbs growing in my living room window. Moreover, I have a 5-foot tall tomato plant next to them, which I grew from a germinated seed I found inside a fresh tomato I bought at the store. Who would have thought *that* effort would have come to fruition?
3) Preparation: hot or cold; alone or as an ingredient; raw or cooked; seasoned or as naturally flavored. The point is that the possibilities are endless with vegetables. Raw, cold tomato = delicious. Raw, cold chicken = gastroenteritis.
Speaking of tomatoes...
As I mentioned back in wintertime about eating fresh and seasonal, tomatoes are one of those great vegetables--okay! okay! fruits--that truly tastes perfect for only about 2 months out of the year, despite the fact that they are available year round in most areas. Accordingly, to which anyone who has dined with me during the past month can attest, when summer hits, I develop what I shall henceforth refer to as hypertomatoism (come on...a little med school humor!).
Hy-per-to-ma-to-ism
-noun
1. extremely high level of tomato consumption
2. a condition resulting from this, characterized by increased tomato intake and increased development of recipes containing tomatoes
As there is currently no treatment for hypertomatoism--just pure tomato indulgence--I am forced to share a whole series of delicious recipes, each containing my love, the tomato.
Bon appetit!
It surely is *great* to be back!
Andalusian Gazpacho
Andalusian Gazpacho combines the best flavors of summer. It is the perfect soup to eat on a hot day. Gazpacho is very healthy and the majority of calories in gazpacho come from the bread and olive oil. Although it is a very traditional dish in Spain
Time to Prepare: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 as a main dish (or many as an appetizer)
Cost: $2.00 per person
2 slices day-old white bread
2½ cups cold water
2 Lbs ripe tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1 red bell pepper
1 green chili*
4 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
4 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Lemon and Lime juice, to taste
*If you are not a fan of spice, replace the green chili with a green bell pepper.
1. Tear up the bread into large pieces. Place the bread in a bowl with 2/3 cup cold water. Allow to soak for 20 minutes while the other ingredients are prepared.
2. First, the tomatoes need to be peeled and de-seeded. To easily peel the tomatoes, place them in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave them in the water for 30 seconds, and then remove them with a slotted spoon. Allow them to cool to the touch, and then remove the skin, which should easily peel away from the flesh. Cut the tomato in half and then use your fingers to scrape out the seeds. Do not worry about being gentle with the tomatoes, as you should chop them up roughly after they have been de-seeded.
3. Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, and then remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut the red bell pepper and the green chili in half, and remove the seeds from both. Then chop the cucumber, pepper, and chili into large pieces.
4. Remove the skin from the garlic cloves (I like to press down on the clove with the flat edge of a knife blade to kind of "crack" the skin, which makes pulling it off easy), and then chop it into large pieces.
5. Crush all of the vegetables into a blender. If you do not have a blender or food processor large enough to handle all of the vegetables at one time, crush them in batches. If you need some liquid to get the blender going, use some of the starchy water from the bread. After crushing all of the vegetables, incorporate the bread, add the olive oil, and then reduce the mixture to a puree. I like to make my gazpacho a little chunky, so I do not puree all of the way; instead, I pulse the mixture.
6. Add the water from the bread, and more cold water as necessary, to get the desired consistency.
7. Season with salt, pepper, red wine vinegar (about 2 Tbsp should do it), and the citrus juices (about 1 lime and 1/2 lemon is good).
8. Keep the gazpacho in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Give it a good stir to recombine the vegetables juices with the mixture before serving. I like to garnish with ice cubes, homemade croutons (just bread cubes drizzled with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then toasted in the oven at 350'F until golden), and a drizzle of olive oil, which glistens nicely on the ice.
Tomato Goat Cheese Salad
Sometimes simplicity is best, and this is one of the simplest and most delicious salads I have had in years. For added mealtime excitement, use heirloom or different colored tomatoes. If goat cheese is not your favorite, try a milder version like the amazing (and sometimes amazingly expensive) Fleur Verte, a pink peppercorn, tarragon, and thyme coated semi-soft goal cheese from France, feta, or bleu.
Serves: individual portions
Cost: $3.00 per person
Salad:
1 large tomato per person
1 cup Mesclun greens per person*
1 ounce fresh goat cheese per person**
Salt
Black pepper
1 Tbsp freshly chopped herbs per person***
*For the Mesclun mix, you can buy a pre-mixed salad, or you can create your own from any combination of baby greens. Try arugula, radicchio, baby spinach, endive, frisee lettuce, and/or baby green or red leaf lettuces. Dandelion greens and mustard greens add a nice bite and can actually be a bit spicy.
**Fresh goat cheese is sold as a log and pre-crumbled. I *highly* recommend you buy the cheese as a log. Crumbled versions of any cheese tend to be a bit dried out when you buy them and go bad faster.
***I recommend a combination of parsley, basil, and mint.
Dressing:
1 large (or 2 small) shallots
1 Tsp coarse grain mustard
2 Tbsp white vinegar
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1. Mince the shallots finely and place in a tight jar, dressing bottle, or other container good for mixing.
2. Add the mustard, vinegar, and olive oil, and shake, whisk, or mix well until the dressing comes together in a tight emulsion (that is to say, when the oil no longer is a separate layer from the other ingredients, and the dressings looks a bit "creamy"). Refrigerate the salad dressing until you are ready to serve the salad, but not longer than 30 minutes or the oil will start to solidify.
3. Wash the Mesclun greens (baby mixed greens in French) well and dry. Place in the refrigerator, along with your salad plates, to chill until it is time to serve.
4. Wash the tomatoes and then cut into thick slices (about 4-5 slices per tomato).
5. Chop the fresh herbs finely.
6. When you are ready to serve, add about 1 cup of the Mesclun greens onto the chilled salad plate(s). Top the greens with the tomato slices. Then crumble the goat cheese over the tomatoes, and season generously with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad evenly. Finish the dish with a good sprinkling of the freshly chopped herbs. I recommend serving with a nice warm piece of bread and a cold glass of white wine, such as a dry Kabinett Riesling, Chardonnay, or Pinot Grigio.
Tomato, Orange, Basil Salad
Fresh, ripe tomatoes bursting with both color and flavor are one of the best treats of the summer. This Spanish tapas inspired salad can be eaten at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or even as a snack. Enjoy it alone, or even better with fish or chicken. For variety, you can add other fresh herbs.
Time to Prepare: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 as a side dish
Cost: $0.50 per person
2 tomatoes
1 orange
¼ cup basil leaves
2 Tsp Olive Oil
¼ Tsp Salt
⅛ Tsp Pepper
1. Chop the tomato into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl.
2. Peel the orange and cut into bite sized pieces, adding it to the tomatoes with the juices from the orange.
3. Add the salt, pepper, and olive oil, and toss the salad to coat and mix well.
4. After washing and drying the basil well (basil can be quite sandy), stack the basil leaves on top of each other. Roll them up from the bottom to the top, making a little "basil log". Cut crosswise along the length of the roll into thin slices, thereby creating ribbons of basil (this technique is called 'chiffonade', a French cooking term).
5. Add the basil to the salad, stir the salad, and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve, ideally about 10-15 minutes.
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