Vegetable Gratin

At this time of year, we can be positively overrun with fresh, tasty vegetables. This side dish provides another option for enjoying them, and it is an appropriate accompaniment for almost any meal. A vegetable gratin is also one of the most delicious ways to serve eggplant. A little cheese makes everything taste better! Leftovers also taste great the next day, at room temperature, as a salad.

Vegetable Gratin

• 2 small onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 small or 1 medium eggplant, cut into thin rounds
• 4 small or 2 medium zucchini, cut into thin rounds
• 5 small or 3 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
• 2 tsp. fresh minced herbs
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Grated Parmesan cheese to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously rub the bottom of a gratin dish with the cut sides of the garlic. Add the onion to the dish in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and herbs, and drizzle with some of the olive oil. Continue layering with the eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes, again sprinkling each layer with salt, herbs and oil, finishing with a generous layer of Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Remove the foil and broil for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

When Your Garden Gives You Zucchini, Make Zucchini Slaw!

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Yes, it’s that time of year, when we start wondering what we’re going to do with all this zucchini (and why did we plant so much in the first place). Here’s a fresh idea I got from Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day cookbook: zucchini slaw. The main component is zucchini, of course, but this is a fairly adaptable recipe in which you can easily mix up the vegetables to accommodate what you have on hand. I made a few substitutions myself. I enjoyed the sweet-tart flavor of the dressing, which made for a much lighter slaw than the traditional mayonnaise-dressed versions. This slaw would make a great side dish for grilled hamburgers or chicken, a relish for hot dogs or sausages, or pack it in a picnic basket.

Zucchini Slaw

Time to make: ~20 minutes (less if you use a food processor to shred the vegetables)
Yields: 4 servings

• 1 lg. or 2 med. zucchini
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 2 scallions
• 2 sm. sweet or hot peppers — I used an Italian hot yellow pepper, which added a nice subtle heat
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Trim off the ends of the zucchini and carrots. Cut in half or quarters, depending on the length. Then cut into matchsticks, or julienne using a mandoline, or shred using a food processor. (I used the food processor, which made short work of this task.) Set aside in a large bowl.

Trim the root ends and dark green stalks from the scallions. Cut lengthwise into thin strips and add to the bowl.

Halve the peppers and remove the seeds and stem. Cut into thin strips and add to the bowl. Mix the vegetables well.

In a jar mix the vinegar and sugar. Close tightly and shake vigorously until the sugar is dissolved. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the salad and toss well. Serve immediately after dressing.

Garden Goodness: Mixed Sauteed Vegetables

When the garden starts really producing at the end of summer, you need to think of lots of ways to eat up all those lovely vegetables. You can’t go wrong with a mix of sauteed vegetables.

This versatile dish goes with so many things. Use it as a bed for grilled chicken, steak or fish, or top a heap of pasta or rice. Cool, toss with a vinaigrette and serve as a salad, or use them to top bruschetta. Sauteed vegetables also make a nice filling for tacos, omelets or sandwiches.

My favorite garden vegetables for sauteeing are onions, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, summer squash and zucchini. (The pictured mix is onions, cherry tomatoes and diced eggplant, sprinkled with parsley.) But experiment with different vegetables and combinations.

The technique couldn’t be easier:

1. Cut the vegetables into small slices or dice.
2. In a nonstick or well seasoned skillet, heat a small amount of oil over medium-high until the oil is shimmering.
3. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until they are browned and tender. Most vegetables take 10-15 minutes.
4. Season and sprinkle with fresh herbs to serve.

Note: Watch the vegetables carefully while they’re cooking. If they’re browning too fast, reduce the heat.

Simmering: A Technique for Cooking Flavorful Vegetables

There are probably two main ways we all learned how to cook vegetables with liquid: boiling and steaming. But both of these techniques have disadvantages. Boiling vegetables in a lot of water often yields overcooked, mushy results that many of us remember (and hate) from our childhoods. And steaming all too often lets the flavor and moisture escape into the air rather than keeping it in the vegetables.

Lately, I have been simmering vegetables in an attempt to retain moisture and flavor without cooking the vegetables to death, and I’ve loved the results. Simmering is a hybrid of boiling and steaming that takes advantage of the best aspects of both.

Simmering involves cooking vegetables in a smaller amount of liquid than boiling them, and at a lower temperature, enough to keep a gentle simmer going. The pot is covered, trapping the steam and cooking the vegetables in less time so that their vibrant colors are retained.

Liquids other than water can be used to add more flavor. My favorites have been chicken stock, apple cider and orange juice. Flavorings can also be added to the liquid, such as soy sauce, herbs or garlic. Once the vegetables are cooked, if you like, raise the heat, uncover the pan and reduce the cooking liquid to a sauce to retain every bit of flavor.

Here are the basic steps for simmering vegetables:

1. Cut the vegetables into smallish pieces, if necessary, such as cubes.
2. Add the vegetables to the pot with enough liquid just to cover them halfway.
3. Add a pat of butter or a small amount of olive oil, salt and other seasonings as desired.
4. Bring the liquid to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer until the vegetables are just tender (see below for suggested cooking times).
6. If desired, uncover the pot, raise the heat and let the liquid reduce for a sauce.
7. Serve as is or with the cooking liquid, or toss with a vinaigrette, flavored butter or a little lemon juice and fresh herbs.

Not all vegetables lend themselves to this cooking method, but many do. Here are some of my favorites:

• Simmer less than 5 minutes: asparagus, bok choy, corn (off the cob), green beans
• Simmer 5-10 minutes: artichoke hearts, broccoli florets, brussels sprouts, carrots (baby or cut into rounds)
• Simmer 10-15 minutes: cabbage, summer squash, baby zucchini
• Simmer 15-30 minutes: new potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, winter squash

What’s in Season? Summer Squash & Zucchini

Aren’t we awash in squash? They say that if you can grow anything, you can grow squash, and my experience has borne that out. This is our first year having a vegetable garden, we planted one squash plant on purpose, and now I am pulling a full-grown squash off every other day or so. Not to mention “donations” of zucchini and pattypan squash from gardening neighbors.

The term summer squash refers to any squash with an edible skin. This includes zucchini and yellow crookneck squash (also called just “summer squash”), as well as pattypan squash, globe squash, scallopini and chayote, and a host of other varieties. That last one is used a lot in Mexican cooking, but unlike the others, it should be peeled before cooking and can’t be eaten raw.

We got our squash plant from the farmer’s market. It is a type of yellow squash called “zephyr.” I like it because it has a sweeter flavor than ordinary crookneck squash and a nifty two-tone finish (see the photo).

Summer squash keeps well, up to 5 days in the refrigerator. One medium squash or 1 cup sliced equals one serving. Because summer squash has such a high water content, I think they taste best when cooked over a high heat. We’ve all had those diet platters that feature watery, unappealing, steamed squash. Please, keep squash out of the steamer.

Instead, slice them up thick and broil or grill them for about 10 minutes. A little olive oil, salt and pepper, plus any kind of fresh herb to finish, are all you need to season them.

Summer squash also do well sautéed in butter or olive oil. To make them brown better, slice them into rounds, sprinkle with coarse salt and let them drain in a colander for 30 minutes before sautéing. This will drive a lot of the water out. Be sure to wipe the salt off before cooking.

If you’re like me, you may be inundated by so many squash this summer that you’ll come up with many unique ways of preparing them. Here are a few recipes from the blogs that looked particularly interesting:

• Bengali-style Summer Squash (Tigers & Strawberries)
  
• Early Summer Tian (Figs Olives Wine)
• Summer Squash with Goat Cheese & Romesco (Food Wishes)

How to Make the Perfect Stir-Fry

The secrets to a successful stir-fry are organization and preparation, which are also the keys to accomplishing pretty much any complex task. Cooking is a small mirror held up to life (profound, huh?). If you can pull off a good stir-fry, you can probably successfully manage three complex software development projects with deliverables expected in late December, or the equivalent. We’ll see.

Before you even start cooking, you’ll want to get yourself and all of your ingredients organized. When the cooking starts, it goes fast, so you’ll need to have everything ready and at hand. The first thing I do is cook the starch, either rice or noodles, such as Chinese ramen-style noodles or angel hair pasta. The rice will steam and then stay warm while I’m preparing the stir-fry. The noodles will be done fast and then can sit in their pot until I’m ready to mix them in and reheat them.

Second, prepare the protein. I usually use boneless chicken breast for this dish, but turkey, pork, shrimp, scallops, fish or tofu should also work just fine. For 2 people, I use about ¼ pound of protein. Remember, traditional stir-fries are skimpy on the meat and generous with the vegetables. Cube the meat and let sit in a mixture of 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. sherry and ¼ cup water while you prepare the vegetables.

Choose 2-3 vegetables for the dish, enough to make ½ pound. Keeping it simple keeps both you and the stir-fry from getting overwhelmed. Dice or slice each vegetable into as nearly uniform pieces as you can make them. Arrange the cut vegetables in bowls in order of their cooking time, with the longest cooking vegetables first:

1. Mushrooms: 5-10 minutes, depending on type and thickness
2. Cabbage, spinach, other greens: 4-6 minutes
3. Asparagus, broccoli, carrots, green beans: 3-5 minutes
4. Peppers, snow peas, sugar snap peas, summer squash, zucchini: 2-3 minutes
5. Bean sprouts: less than 1 minute

These are just suggestions. You may want to try other vegetables.

In addition, mince 2 garlic cloves and ½ tbsp. ginger root, and place them in line behind all the vegetables.

Next, prepare the sauce. My base stir-fry sauce is a mixture of ¼ cup chicken stock, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tbsp. flavoring, such as a bottled Asian sauce, sake or rice wine, or fermented black beans soaked in sherry. Feel free to experiment. I give a suggested variation at the end of this post.

Finally, get your garnishes together. Chopped nuts, sliced scallions, raw bean sprouts and minced fresh herbs all make good garnishes.

The last step is to prepare a coating for the protein for cooking it. Drain away the marinade and toss the chicken (or whatever you’re using) in a mixture of ½ tbsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tsp. flour.

Now you’re ready to assemble the stir-fry:

1. Heat 1 tbsp. peanut oil in a nonstick skillet over high until shimmering
2. Add the protein in a single layer and cook without disturbing until browned
3. Flip each piece and brown the other side in the same manner
4. Remove the cooked protein to a plate
5. If needed, add another ½ tbsp. peanut oil to the pan
6. Add the vegetables in order of their cooking times and stir-fry, keeping the food moving constantly, until tender
7. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry 30 seconds
8. Reduce the heat to medium
9. Return to the protein to the pan and mix in the sauce
10. Stir-fry until the sauce thickens
11. If using noodles, stir them in and heat through
12. Remove from heat, garnish and serve

Sweet Chili-Garlic Stir-Fry Sauce

Serves: 2

Mix together:

• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. honey
• ½ tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1-2 tsp. chili sauce, depending on taste
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. cornstarch

How to Roast Vegetables

It has turned cold and wintry here this week. The wind is whipping the leaves off the trees, and when I walked my dog this morning, I had to break out my hat and gloves. I expect we’ll have a few more days of this and then we’ll get our Indian summer, which is the bonus we get for living in North Carolina. Until then, though, we’ll warm our tummies with roasted vegetables.

Roasting is a great method because it is low in fat but high in flavor. The sugars in the food caramelize, turning vegetables into candy. I like to use this method for two kinds of vegetables: those with a lot of water, as the dry heat draws out the moisture and intensifies the flavor; and firm vegetables, which become sweet and tender after a slow roasting. In the first category are asparagus, eggplant, mushrooms, summer squash and zucchini. In the second are carrots, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash.

Recently, at the exhortation of Cook’s Illustrated, I tried roasting green beans. They came out shriveled and ugly, but they tasted so sweet. We gobbled them right up. This only goes to show that every now and then you’ve got to try an old method on a new ingredient and see what happens.

Here’s the standard guide for roasting vegetables:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. Cut your vegetables into fairly large pieces, cubes or chunks or thick slices
3. Toss the vegetables with a little oil
4. Spread the vegetables out on a baking sheet (covered with aluminum foil for easier clean-up) and put them in the oven
5. About halfway through the cooking time, shake the pan to redistribute the food or turn each piece over, if you’re the patient sort

This is a good time to add seasoning or herbs, which may burn if added at the beginning of the cooking time.

6. They’re done when they are browned and tender

The only variation to this method is the time each kind of vegetable needs to roast, which is something you learn as you go along. Just keep checking and use your common sense. Firmer vegetables need longer to cook, while thinner vegetables like green beans and asparagus will require only 15 minutes or so. If you’re roasting a lot of vegetables together, which is a very simple and good side dish for any meal, you may have to add them at different times to get them all to come out done together.