Peach + Blackberry Summer Panino

I cannot believe I have not shared a recipe with either blackberries or peaches yet! I am also behind on the tomato, cucumber, pepper, and eggplant front too. Oh, and corn. Oh me, oh my. These are just some of my favorite things about summer, and I have been a little selfish keeping these things to myself. You see, I always get a bit torn between eating the juicy, summer fruits like these tart blackberries and sweet peaches in their uncooked virgin state and then actually cooking with them. I sometimes feel like they should be appreciated as nature intended them to be- simply washed and maybe sliced, as in the case of the peaches.

But then I go and make something like this amazing sandwich, combining these fruits with an aged sharp cheddar and a tangy, salty goats' milk feta. Add a little basil for an unbelievable aroma and fresh taste, and a drizzle of honey to bring it all together. One bite, and I wonder why I have not been cooking with these little summer jewels all along.

This recipe is for one, but it is really just a template and the proportions I used. Feel free to make a whole bunch of them to share with your friends and family. If you are not a vegetarian, this would be delicious with a little ham- even better if you can find some from some friendly, local farmers. But it really is quite tasty as written.

What are your favorite ways to cook with peaches and blackberries?

Peach + Blackberry Summer Panino

2 slices of your favorite bread (I used a seedy multi-grain)
1/2 small peach, thinly sliced
4-5 blackberries, sliced in half
1/3 cup grated aged sharp cheddar cheese (I used Cabot Extra Sharp)
1/4 cup crumbled goats' milk or cow's milk feta
2-3 basil leaves, roughly torn
3/4 teaspoon local honey
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat a panini press.

Assemble the sandwich. Drizzle one side of both pieces of bread with olive oil. Flip one slice over so that olive oil side is down. Layer on the cheddar cheese, then peaches, halved blackberries, basil, and feta. Drizzle with the honey. Place the other slice of bread, olive oil side up on top.

Move the sandwich to the panini press, and carefully close the top down, being sure not to smush all of the ingredients out of the side. Grilled for 4-5 minutes or until cheddar has melted and bread is golden brown. Enjoy! Makes 1 sandwich.
 
**If you do not have a panini press, heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot and sandwich is ready, add sandwich to skillet and place a plate on top of the sandwich to weigh it down, grill for 3-4 minutes. Flip carefully, returning the plate to weigh sandwich down and cook until bread is toasted on both sides. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Zucchini Confit with Miso

So I have a bit of a crush on the editors of Food52. It is a beautiful food site with a wealth of amazing food ideas. I always find myself learning a little something whenever I peruse their site, that is if I do not get sucked into browsing their gorgeous online shop. I was pumped to go to a free event with fellow foodie and blogger, Grace, at the Free Library of Philadelphia the other night that featured Merrill Stubb, co-founder of Food52, and Kristin Miglore, executive editor and the writer of their weekly Genius Recipes column. They were promoting their new book Food52: Genius Recipes. I honestly did not know too much about the book before going, but I left completely inspired (and still thinking that they have the coolest job ever and wish I had said coolest job).

The idea behind Genius Recipes is that each recipe features a little tip, technique, or ingredient combo that will really up your cooking game. They may seem a little odd at first and perhaps go against normal cooking rules, but then they totally, magically work. They discussed how lemon juice can turn cream into a magical dressing for figs, how salt on yogurt is their new go-to breakfast, and how cooking broccoli forever is actually not the worst idea ever.

This recipe is inspired by the recipe they discussed, Roy Finamore's Broccoli Cooked Forever. You can find the recipe in their new book, but it also here on their site. You blanch broccoli, add it to an olive oil, garlic, anchovy, and chile mixture, and simmer it on the stove, covered, for 2 hours. After 2 hours, you find murky green broccoli that they describe as a "miraculous substance" that can be smeared on bread, pureed in soup, tossed with pasta, or just eaten by itself. Supposedly all the cruciferous funkiness mellows and broccoli almost becomes a little sweet. Seems pretty awesome, right?

Considering I had no broccoli but loads of zucchini, I decided I would have to try this sort of vegetable "confiting" with my zucchini. And boy, is it delicious. And foolproof. And low maintenance. But also, a little ugly. This is most definitely one of those don't-judge-a-book-by-it's-cover recipes. It looks pretty anemic, but I promise that the flavor is not. I did not have any anchovies so I decided to mix in some miso paste instead, and I love the umami richness it gave. I let it cook for about 80 minutes, less time than the broccoli because it is a much softer vegetable. Because it cooked for so long though, the miso takes on a  bit of sweetness, too. You could make a big batch of this and find all sorts of uses for it. I served it on crostini here, but I tossed it in with some cooked brown rice and feta cheese a little later. And I'm planning on smearing it on a pizza before the summer ends.

And if you find this intriguing, check out Grace's beautiful rendition with summer greens from her backyard garden.

Zucchini Confit with Miso

1 1/4 pound zucchini, washed, dried, and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon miso paste
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, use your fingers to smear the sliced zucchini pieces with the miso paste as best as you can. Heat the olive oil and sliced garlic over medium heat in a large skillet. When the garlic begins to sizzle, add the chili flakes. Add the coated zucchini pieces and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, stirring every so often to distribute the zucchini, being careful not to mush zucchini. Remove from heat, uncover, and let cool. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy warm, at room temperature, or slightly chilled. Makes about 2 cups.

Two Potato Salad with North African Spiced Yogurt

In the summer, we find a lot of excuses to use the grill. We grill a lot of vegetables -corn, broccoli, zucchini, you name it, but there's also my Aunt Jackie's famous grilled flank steak that marinates for days, hand-mixed burgers, local sausages, and even fish if we can find a sustainable source for it. We are always looking for fuss-free, make ahead dishes to tag alongside. Grain salads are always fun to whip up, but potato salad can be really comforting. It's cool, creamy, and the ubiquitous summer cookout food. 

I grew up with the traditional mayonnaise and mustard version where the ratio of dressing to potatoes always seemed way too high. It was always a little disturbing when the "salad" would need soup bowls to contain it and soup spoons to eat it. Not being a mayonnaise aficionado either, I mostly avoided it. Then I was introduced to the German version where I was relieved to find oil and vinegar as the main ingredients. Not being a bacon lover, however, I would leave it out. The grainy mustard, punchy vinegar, and fresh parsley gave plenty of flavors to the potatoes. This oil and vinegar version has become the standard genre of potato salad we make in the summer, but I think this recipe takes things to another level.

Boiled potatoes become little sponges for whatever you dress them in, and this recipe dresses them in a beautiful and delicious dressing that pairs so well with the mix of yellow Yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes that I used. I stumbled upon a Moroccan Potato Salad that Mike from the food blog The Iron You, made a a little while ago, and it looked too interesting to not give it a try. He uses olive oil, vinegar, AND Greek yogurt for a hint of creaminess and tang that works beautifully with the warm Ras el Hanout spice blend. If you are not familiar with Ras el Hanout, it is a North African spice blend with a variety of different spices such as coriander, turmeric, cardamom, clove, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon, and nutmeg, but it can vary from brand to brand much like a curry blend can. It can also vary on spice level, so be sure to test how spicy yours may be before being too generous with it. The one I had on hand from was from Seasoned Pioneers and featured galangal root, dried rose hips, and even ginger, but you can also make your own at home from a recipe here. It is a lovely, surprising ingredient that will really add some interest no matter where you use it.

I modified a few things from the original recipe, especially since I like more green with my potatoes and a little less spice (as in heat), but the template is a winner. I also used a mix of sweet potatoes and Yukon Golds because I love sweet potatoes and it also was quite beautiful when mixed with the yogurt and citrus dressing and herbs. The dressing is a delicious dip, too, so feel free to make extra. They key to this salad, as Mike mentions, is to not overcook the potatoes. You want them to hold their shape rather than turn to mush so keep checking them a few minutes before the timer goes off. This only gets better as it sits, so you can make it several hours before or even the days before and all of the flavors will soak in. I hope you try it at your next cookout!

Two Potato Salad with North African Spiced Yogurt

2 pounds potatoes (I recommend a mix of sweet potatoes and Yukon Gold or red potatoes
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used 2%)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh herbs (I used equal parts mint, parsley, cilantro, and a few scallions)
1 tablespoon red wine or white wine vinegar
zest and juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange
3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 teaspoons Ras el Hanout
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the potatoes. Wash the potatoes, peel them if you would like, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. I like the peel so I chose to leave it on. Place chopped potatoes in a pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring water to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer and cook until just tender, about 6-8 minutes, checking around the 5 minute mark. Drain, sprinkle with salt, and set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. In a small bowl, mix the yogurt, herbs, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest and orange zest, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare the spiced oil. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the Ras el Hanout and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour the oil over the cooked potatoes and stir to combine. Add the yogurt mixture and stir to combine, careful not to break up the potatoes. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy! Serves 6-8 as a side.

Kohlrabi and Lentil Lettuce Cups with Olive Vinaigrette

We are finally getting a break from the heat here in Philadelphia, but for a few days, it seemed like nothing I did could cool me down. I even resorted to looking up alternative solutions to staying cool at night with no clear winner. The worst suggestion: dampen a towel, freeze it, and then lay it on the bed prior to sleeping. Who thinks these things up? I can just use my imagination to know that that is a horrible idea. Not only would I probably still be hot in the middle of the night, I would now have a soaked mattress.

Basically, turning on the oven was not an option. These lettuce wraps were the perfect nearly no-cook solution to this heat wave. Crunchy, salty, punchy, and fresh, the filling in these little cups can be made ahead of time and scooped in your choice of green whenever you are ready. Or forgo the lettuce leaf and eat the filling all by itself.

Kohlrabi is one of those vegetables that I would see at the farmers' markets but could never could commit to buying. I never knew what to do with it. It was not until my mother decided to grow some in her garden one year where we had no choice but to figure out how to use it. Once you start cooking with it, you will see that it has a lot of potential. It comes from the cabbage family and is mild in flavor, but it has a wonderful crunchy, almost starchy texture. In these wraps, it fills in for the rice or grain that I would typically go for and has a wonderful clean flavor.

The filling is punchy. Fresh parsley, Dijon mustard, kalamata olives, and red wine vinegar really give a lot of flavor. Roasted red peppers, beluga lentils, extra-virgin olive oil and toasted walnuts help round everything out. It is vegan as is, but I am sure this would be delicious with some crumbled feta, goat cheese, or fresh mozzarella sliced on top.

Kohlrabi and Lentil Lettuce Cups with Olive Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
11/4 cup chopped, pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup chopped roasted red pepper (about 1/2 pepper)
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 kohlrabi (1/2 pound), peeled and diced into 1/2-cm cubes
1 cup cooked beluga lentils*
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons, chopped, toasted walnuts
1 head of red leaf or romaine lettuce, leaves separated, washed, and dried
salt and pepper to taste

Make the dressing. Combine the red wine vinegar, mustard, olive oil, and olives in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, combine the parsley, chopped red pepper, minced red onions, diced kohlrabi, cooked lentils, and chopped walnuts in a bowl and stir to combine. Pour dressing over mix and stir until everything is well coated.

Fill lettuce leaves with vegetable mixture. Enjoy! Serves 4.

Magical Hummus

Really delicious hummus is hard to come by. Mediocre hummus seems to be everywhere, taking up grocery store refrigerators and lounging in vegetable platters at barbecues and potlucks. The problem with most hummus dips is that they tend to be too thick and taste a bit tinny. One solution to this "tinny" problem is to cook your own chickpeas rather than rely on the canned version. If you have the time to cook your own chickpeas from the dried bean, it makes a world of difference. Every few weeks, I cook a large potful of chickpeas. I drain them, freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and then pour them into a freezer bag for easy scooping into recipes. To thaw, I just pour hot water over them and let them sit for a few minutes. This method is even easier than using the canned version once you get used to it.

The canned chickpea problem solved, the other problem is often the texture of the hummus is way too dense. I like a smooth, pillowy hummus, almost fluffy. I find that a generous amount of tahini whipped into hummus can help achieve this fluffiness while adding a rich flavor. Yotam Ottolenghi's homemade hummus, one of my favorites, for example, has just under 1/4 cup of tahini per 1 cup of chickpeas. My favorite hummus here in Philadelphia is Michael Solomnov's hummus. He even has a whole restaurant devoted to hummus, called Dizengoff. I have a feeling that the ratio of tahini to chickpeas in his version is fairly high as well since it taste prominently of sesame.

This magical version has a surprise ingredient that gives this hummus a luscious texture that does not sacrifice on flavor. It takes a few notes from a hummus that appears on the amazing Food52 website in their Genius Recipes column. It was inspired by a recipe from Tara Duggan who wrote Root to Stalk Cooking and draws from other recipes like babaganoush and roasted red pepper spread that use softened vegetables as their base.

The original recipe calls for no chickpeas- just Swiss chard stems, garlic, olive oil, tahini, salt, and lemon juice, but I think that chickpeas are a must if you are going to call it hummus. I also like the extra bulk and protein they provide. And again, if you manage to cook your own chickpeas, even better. I also add lemon zest and an extra garlic clove because I like the zing they both give. I love that I have a new use for my chard stems- not just in pickled form! 

Magical Hummus

1 pound Swiss chard stalks, washed and chopped (I used rainbow chard)
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
2 small garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the chopped chard stems, and cook for 15-20 minutes over medium heat or until chard stems are very tender. Remove from heat and drain.

In a food processor, combine chard stems and remaining ingredients. Process until smooth consistency is reached. Add more salt as necessary. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil before serving. Enjoy! Makes a little over 1 cup.