Summer Squash Carpaccio Salad

This is based on "Zucchini Carpaccio" in Light and Easy, an occasional publication from Conde Nast featuring the best recipes from their food magazines.

Zucchini Carpaccio, Light & Easy

Summer Squash Carpaccio--lovely salad or appetizer. Use a mandoline (cheap but very worthwhile investment--got mine at Bed, Bath, & Beyond) or the paper-thin cutting blade on a food processor for slicing squash.

• 4 medium summer squash, total of 1 & 1/4lbs
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan [I prefer the sharper taste of Pecorino]
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves

Cut squash crosswise into slices as thin as possible [see note above]. Spread them out on a large platter (or two large plates), covering the platter completely. Drizzle squash evenly with oil & lemon juice, then sprinkle evenly w/ salt & cheese. Use scissors to snip thin shreds of mint leaves over the salad.  

Summer Squash Butter, by Melinda



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This is adapted from "Jennie Cook's Zucchini Butter" on Food 52 Digest, one of the blogs we follow.

Summer Squash Butter--As the editors of Food 52 Digest comment, "It turns out zucchini [and other summer squash] want to be butter. Grated fine, it cooks down quickly, pooling into a soft, freckly green pile. Spread it on toast in place of actual butter. Cake a thick layer in a sandwich w/ salted tomatoes or soft cheese. Sauce a grilled pizza. Consider it a side dish. Or just eat a big heap of it, right out of the pan...!"  You get the idea.  It's green gold!

• 2 lbs zucchini or summer squash (use less or add extra--cooking times will vary)
• 1/4 cup olive oil or butter
• 2 minced shallots, garlic, or a combination of both
• salt & pepper

Coarsely grate the squash. Let it drain in colander for 3 to 4 min or until you're ready to start cooking. To hasten cooking time, squeeze water out of the squash by wringing it in a clean cloth towel.  In deep skillet, heat oil or butter. Saute shallots or garlic briefly. Add squash & toss w/ salt & pepper to taste. Cook & stir over medium to medium-high heat until squash reaches a spreadable consistency, ~15 min. If you scorch the bottom, turn heat down! (And scrape those delicious dark bits into the butter for added flavor--you can splash in a little water to help deglaze the pan.) The squash will hold its bright color and slowly caramelize into a nice vegetable jam. Enjoy on toast or as a side dish all summer long!  [Note from Melinda: this can be frozen for longer storage.]  (Recipe source from Food 52)

Easy Zucchini (or Other Summer Squash) Tart, by Melinda

Zucchini Tart w/ Sausage & Dijon (source)

Zucchini Tart with Crumbled Sausage and Dijon--The Patty Pan summer squash we're getting, sliced, would make an equally nice tart.  Serves 4.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed [or use hot sausage if you like it]
• about 1 lb summer squash (zucchini, Patty Pan, or other), sliced bite-size
• 1 sheet puff pastry (half a 17.3 oz package), thawed
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard (I strongly recommend NOT using Trader Joe's brand, as it tastes like an extremely hot Chinese mustard)
• green salad with halved cherry tomatoes, to go with the tart

Heat oven to 400. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage & cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until cooked partway through, 3 to 4 min. Transfer to a plate w/ a slotted spoon; reserve the skillet as is. Add sliced squash, 2 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp salt, & 1/4 tsp black pepper to the drippings in the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, 4 to 5 min. Unfold the pastry on a baking sheet & prick all over with a fork, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the dough. Spread the mustard on the pastry, avoiding the border; top w/ squash & sausage. Bake till the pastry is golden brown, ~20 to 25 min. Cut the tart into 8 pieces and serve with salad.

(Recipe source: Real Simple Magazine, August 2013)

Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion & Cumin, by Melinda

I made these last night, and the burgers, together with the sour cream sauce--while neither low calorie nor low cholesterol--were absolutely spectacular!  This is my first foray into middle-eastern cooking (and spices!), so I was thrilled with the outcome. My inspiration was Jerusalem: a Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (I can't recommend the book highly enough--it's beautiful visually, the recipes are fabulous yet simple, and they have another cookbook called Plenty which is all vegetarian!)

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Turkey Burgers--makes ~18 meatballs or about 10 small burgers. Vegetarians can substitute tofu for the turkey, while vegans can do that and also replace the egg and sour cream with vegan substitutes.

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 large zucchini, coarsely grated (a scant 2 cups)
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large, free-range egg
• 2 tbsp chopped mint (from the farm!)
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro (ditto!)
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed (I used a couple of our "fresh garlic" cloves)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• canola or sunflower oil for frying

Sour Cream & Sumac Sauce--While sumac powder may be unfamiliar to you, trust me--it lends a delightfully tart taste to the sauce. Many grocery stores now carry it; as well, you can purchase it online (e.g., click here).

• scant 1/2 cup sour cream
• scant 2/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sumac powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Make the sour-cream sauce first by putting all the ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Stir well & set aside or refrigerate. Ottolenghi makes his turkey mix into smallish meatballs which are seared first for ~4 minutes in a fry pan in canola oil, then baked in a 425 oven for 5 to 7 min. However, as noted above, I made mine into about 10 small burgers & then sauteed them on both sides in canola oil till they were browned and cooked through. So I'll give you those directions.

In a large bowl, mix together all the meat ingredients except the canola oil.  Mash it all together with your hands, mush, mush, mush. (If you use tofu, I'd recommend a soft tofu.) Store in fridge if you're not making the dish right away.

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to make about 1/16th inch of oil. Heat on medium till hot, then add burgers that you've shaped with your hands from the mix (we got 10 from this recipe). Cook till  browned on one side, then flip with a spatula and brown the other side. To be certain the burgers are cooked through, cover the pan with a lid for ~5 min. Cut into a burger to be sure there's no pinkness left. Use a spatula to remove them from the pan and lay them on a few layers of toweling to soak off the extraneous oil. Serve warm or at room temp, with the sauce spooned over or on the side.  Bliss!!!!

Available in stores or online

Week #5 Ruminations, by Angela

Week 5 share

Fret as I may about the rain and overall wetness on the farm, things are looking pretty good.

Week 4 share

Sure the weeds are a bit unruly, as well as the tomato plants that need far more trellising than they have received, but the zucchini is coming in steady, and the corn is growing like bamboo.

Heirloom Tomatoes

I count my silver linings throughout the farm as the corn starts to tassle, the winter squash vines begin to creep, wee bitty eggplants emerge, and so forth. We're going to be fine.

Sugar Pearl sweet corn

Torpedo Onions, Zucchini, and Such-Like, by Melinda

According to "Specialty Produce" (click here), Torpedo onions are an Italian heirloom onion, usually picked in spring and early summer and used "uncured."  Another site notes that they originated in the Italian town of Tropea in Calabria; they were brought there over 2000 years ago by the Phoenicians! Now *that's* an heirloom!

Torpedo Onions (source)

In appearance, they're slender and longish, with a swelled middle that makes them resemble small footballs or torpedoes. Usually their thin skin is pale violet or reddish, occasionally white. If the onions look shiny & are not "cured" (our torpedo onions are uncured), they should be kept in fridge and used within a week.

Roasted Summer Squash with Torpedo Onions--This recipe doesn't specify amounts of certain ingredients because it's supposed to be a kind of laissez-faire dish; roasted veggie dishes are often that way.

• 2 lbs smallish summer squash--i.e., zucchini
• 1 globe eggplant (or substitute turnips to equal about the same amount)
• one lb torpedo onions, trimmed of roots & any papery skin
• fresh basil
• dried Italian seasoning to taste (or chopped fresh oregano, thyme, sage, etc)
• garlic, peeled & chopped in largish chunks
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Chop the veggies, onions, garlic, and basil (and any other fresh herbs you may be using). Coat the bottom of a baking pan lightly with olive oil. Put all veggies into pan & drizzle with more olive oil & balsamic vinegar (to taste) and sprinkle seasonings & salt atop. Toss & roast till veggies are tender and a bit browned. Yum city! Serve as a side, or as a main course over rice or other grains, or pasta. Adapted from the Agricultural Institute (click here).

Easy Grilled Torpedo Onions

• 6 to 8 (1 bunch) torpedo onions
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Trim onion stems to within a half-inch of the onion; remove any skin & root. If small, leave whole. If largish, halve the onions vertically (the half inch of stem should help hold it together). Mix together oil, vinegar, salt, & pepper and brush the onions with this mixture. Grill over low, slow heat, brushing onions from time to time with the mix. (Alternatively, you can roast them in a pan in the oven at a low temp like 250-275, likewise brushing them occasionally with the mix.) The onions should have a chance to caramelize & be tender through; this normally will take 30-40 min. on a slow grill or slow oven.  (Recipe source)

Should you happen to like squid, click here for Grilled Squid and Torpedo Onions with Sorrel!

Concia Zucchini with Mint and Vinegar (from Cucina Ebraica by Joyce Goldstein)

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• 4-6 small zucchini, ~1.5 lbs
• salt
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh mint or basil
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp red-wine or white-wine vinegar

Cut zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds, or to prepare it Veneto style, cut the zucchini lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices (see above). Sprinkle with salt & let stand in a colander for 30 min. to drain off any bitter juices. Rinse & pat dry. In small bowl, combine mint (or basil), parsley, & garlic. Warm olive oil in frying pan on medium-high heat. In batches, add the zucchini & cook, turning as needed, till golden on both sides, 4-5 min. Transfer to shallow serving dish & sprinkle with some of the mint mix & some of the vinegar. Repeat w/ the rest of the zucchini, mint mix, & vinegar. Leave at room temp for 1 to 2 hrs, basting occasionally w/ vinegar in the dish, before serving.

Concia Zucchini (source)

Not enough for you???  For 577 zucchini recipes, see here from RecipeSource!

If for some reason we end up being flooded with zucchini and other summer squashes, see this issue of the Red Hill Root (page 2) for how to deal with zucchini in quantity!

Week #5, Full Share and Tuesday Bi-Weekly Pickups, by Angela

Hiroshige, Driving Rain, c. 1840, woodblock (source)

"Rain, glorious rain.... There is a silver lining someplace in all this rain.  Brendan will be the farmer in the shareroom this week.  For your menu planning, you may anticipate kale, salad mix, zucchini, turnips (without the greens), and onions. Plus, plan some extra time for the U-Pick, as the raspberries, peas, and green beans are all ready for you to pick! (Please check the whiteboard in the shareroom for the U-Pick quantities.)"