Here are some fast recipes to satisfy that feeling of ok, so there is a severe hurricane warning, which I think is going to blow over into nothing, but just in case, I have plucked every blooming thing from the garden…now what to I do with it all?
1.) Slice It
Flash Grilled Vegetables
You’ll need:
Vegetables (something along the lines of eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, onions, peppers, you get the idea)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
A grill (gas, charcoal, whatever you’re working with)
A long fork or spatula
This recipe is unbelievably easy (once you get the grill going -- charcoal grilling is a bit of a labor of love, but we do love it). Take any of your heartier, woodier vegetables, slice them thinly, and throw them on the grill with some salt and pepper and olive oil, and that’s it, done deal, just cook until tender and crispy. They are delicious served hot, or save them for another day. Chilled, grilled vegetables are a lively addition to any salad. Tonight we served up grilled eggplant, onion, and garlic scapes, and once the vegetables had been pulled from the grill, my mother very gracefully demonstrated how she removes the veggie basket from the Weber – by inserting the spatula between basket and grill, and flipping the former end-over-end onto the gravel driveway where is can cool down properly. For the record, her methods may not be orthodox, but my mother is an excellent griller, and in the Grill Basket Olympics, I would rate tonight’s dismount a very perfect 10.
2.) Dice it
Fresh Bruschetta
You’ll need:
Tomatoes (cherry, heirloom, whatever you picked will be delicious)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Basil
Garlic
Good bread, sliced
The proportions of this recipe are entirely dependent upon the amount of tomatoes you are using and how much you really like garlic. First, slice your loaf of bread, lay the pieces out on a cookie sheet and drizzle them with olive oil, then put the pan under the broiler. Don’t forget about it! The bread will be perfectly toasted in just a few moments. Once golden and crisp, remove the bread from the broiler and rub a clove of garlic over the slices for a little extra flavor. Slice and dice your tomatoes into generous chunks. Drizzle a little olive oil over the tomatoes for flavor, but the majority of the liquid in this dish should simply come from the beautiful tomato juices. Finely chop several cloves of garlic, one clove to about every three meaty-sized tomatoes is usually appropriate (though I have been known to implement a 1:1 ratio), and add in a fistful of fresh basil, also chopped finely. Eat immediately, or whenever you feel like it. The bruschetta is beautiful served cold, and is also a great salad topping.
3.) Puree It
Pesto
You’ll need:
Basil
Garlic
Olive Oil
Parmesan
Salt and Pepper
Pine Nuts
A Food Processor
Really, you can mix these ingredients together in any quantity that is appealing to you to get a consistency that you also find the most pleasing. I personally like my pesto to be thick and have little liquid. My favorite recipe, and the one I have reproduced below, is from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and creates a thicker pesto with quite a satisfying bite. Use the pesto immediately, or freeze it in ice cube trays to be thawed out in individual portions at a later date.
Pesto
4 cloves garlic
2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Process all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth (or not, I think pesto is best left a bit chunky). Also, having just run through my pine nut stash from last year, I headed to the grocery store only to discover that I must have taken out a small bank loan the previous summer in order to have been able to afford what is, apparently, a rare delicacy. Pine nuts in the grocery store run about $10 for an amount too small to mention, Trader Joe's offers a slightly larger package for $9, but truthfully, if you want to make a lot of pesto, you should find yourself a grains and spices wholesaler to stock up. Or, if you’re pressed for time and cash, do what I do, which is to substitute sunflower seeds (only $1.49 for a whopping 1lb bag at Trader Joe’s!) for the nuts. The texture is indistinguishable and I enjoy the flavor as well.
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