Catalan Roasted Eggplant, Pepper & Tomato Salad (Escalivada), and a Few Thoughts on How to Choose an Eggplant

Continuing with the eggplant and bell pepper theme of my previous post, I thought I would write a post today about a salad that features those ingredients. This salad has been on my mind because it was part of a Tapas class that I taught last night.  Escalivada—a simple combination of eggplant, red bell pepper, tomato and onion—is a classic Spanish salad that is frequently served as a tapa.

Every time I make this dish I am surprised by how good it is. I'm sure that the fabulous flavor of this salad is primarily due to the cooking process. The word Escalivada comes from the verb escalivar which means "to roast in the coals or ashes" or "to char". You could patiently and slowly grill all of the ingredients for this salad to make it very authentic, but most recipes that I have come across just roast all of the vegetables in a hot oven. I have seen several recipes that recommend a hybrid approach where the vegetables are first charred—either over a flame or under a broiler—and then cooked to tenderness in a hot oven. This method would probably produce a very pleasant smokiness that is missing from the oven method.

While cooking method is important, of equal importance is the freshness and quality of the ingredients used to prepare the salad. With the simple cooking technique used and the minimal ingredient list, the resulting salad could be very disappointing if it were made with marginal or old vegetables. The good news is that all four of the main ingredients are in abundant supply at the farmer's market right now. It's the perfect time to make it.

Choosing garden fresh eggplant is particularly important when making Escalivada.  Eggplant that has been sitting around too long has begun to break down and produces a lot of bitter liquid when roasted. The recipe directs you to peel the roasted eggplant, halve it lengthwise and place it in a colander to drain away any bitter juices. But the last two times I have made this salad with farm fresh eggplant, there has been almost no liquid to drain—super fresh eggplant seems to still have the capacity to retain its moisture, making for plump, juicy flesh.

When you shop for an eggplant, look for specimens that are heavy for their size and firm, but not hard. When you gently squeeze one, it should feel springy—but there should not be a depression left behind. Don't purchase an eggplant that is soft or bruised or blemished. A fresh eggplant will have a stem that looks recently cut. Also, on older eggplants, the green "cap" can look as if it is beginning to separate from the eggplant itself.

The process of peeling, seeding and coring the roasted vegetables is a bit of a messy, hands-on operation. The vegetables will have become quite soft during their long roast and will tend to fall apart as you work with them. In fact, most recipes simply tell you to tear the flesh of the eggplant and peppers into long strips.  (I like all of the pieces to be bite-sized, so I cut them into large chunks instead.)  The tomatoes will practically fall apart in your hands as you wrestle the firm core away from the soft flesh. Anything that isn't already in a bite-sized chunk after this operation can easily be torn into an appropriate-sized piece.

I like to work over a sieve set over a bowl as I peel, seed and core the peppers and tomatoes. Both will release liquid as you work and it seems a shame to throw this source of flavor away. If the resulting strained liquid is minimal, just add it back to the salad. Sometimes there will be an abundance of pepper and tomato juices. In that case, I take an extra step and put the juices into a saucepan and reduce them until they are syrupy before adding them to the salad. You should do what pleases you.

The measurements for the individual vegetables that make up Escalivada are kind of inexact. I tend to think of it as an eggplant salad with the onion, tomato and peppers acting as supporting players. But you will find recipes with a higher proportion of peppers and tomatoes. It is really not a salad where the ingredients need to be measured at all. If you open your refrigerator and pull out an eggplant and a pepper—or two, depending on the size of the eggplant—and then turn to your pantry to choose a couple of tomatoes and an onion (choosing sizes that look proportionately like they are a good match for the ingredients you have already selected)—you can't go wrong.

As far as the vinaigrette is concerned, you can mix it up separately and add enough to generously coat the vegetables as I have directed in the recipe.  Or, you can simply add each of the individual components of the vinaigrette (garlic, sherry vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil) to the vegetables to taste. Occasionally you will find a recipe that uses red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar, or a recipe without the lemon juice—but by and large the seasonings used in this salad are pretty standard.

A couple of final notes: Make sure that you season the vegetables well when you start to combine them. Because they are roasted whole, it isn't possible to salt them during the cooking process.  Salting them insufficiently afterwards will make for a flat tasting salad. Do try and make the salad an hour (or a day) ahead of time. Not only will this give the flavors time to blend, it will give the vegetables a chance to absorb the salt.

Finally, I have to tell you that when you begin to mix the vegetables you will find that they look decidedly unpromising. At least I think they do. They are in rough pieces and are all mixed together but for some reason they still look sort of separate and individual. Then, something magical happens when the vinaigrette is added. Instead of separate pieces of vegetables, the salad turns into a glistening mass of something that could be called a vegetable marmalade. It is beautiful. And it tastes amazing.

Besides making a great tapa (on its own as a salad, or on top of grilled bread), Escalivada is great served as a side to grilled or roasted meat or fish. Some experts frown on serving it cold (it is generally served warm or at room temperature), but I had some straight out of the refrigerator with a plain cheese quesadilla for lunch one day and it was pretty great. I think it would be good with eggs, too, or maybe with a wedge of Tortilla Española. Make some for yourself and your friends while eggplant is fresh and abundant and I imagine you will find some favorite combinations of your own.

Escalivada

1 medium Red Onion (about 6 oz.)
1 medium to large Eggplant (3/4 to 1 lb.)
1 or 2 Red Bell Peppers (about 1/2 lb.)
2 medium Tomatoes (about 10 oz.)
1/4 c. olive oil, plus more for brushing vegetables
1 T. sherry vinegar
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, smashed to a purée with a pinch of salt
1 t. fresh Lemon Juice (optional)
Salt & Pepper
1 to 2 T. minced flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Rub the vegetables with a light coating of olive oil. Prick the eggplant several times with a fork or sharp knife. Place the onions, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes on a baking sheet or in a baking dish and place in the oven.

The vegetables will take differing amounts of time to cook. Be prepared to remove them as they are ready. The tomatoes, peppers & eggplant will take about 40 to 45 minutes (maybe a bit less for the peppers and tomatoes...a bit more for the eggplant). The eggplant should be soft—a knife will easily penetrate to the center. The peppers and tomatoes should have blistered, cracked skin and they should be tender. The onions will take a total of 1 to 1 1/4 hours until they are tender. Turn the vegetables occasionally as they roast.

While the vegetables roast, combine the garlic and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Season with salt. Add the oil in a thin stream, while whisking constantly. If you like, whisk in the lemon juice. Taste and correct the seasoning.

As the vegetables finish roasting, set them aside to cool until they can be comfortably handled.

Peel the eggplant and place in a colander to drain if there is an excessive amount of liquid; discard the liquid (it can be quite bitter) and cut the flesh into 1 1/2 inch cubes (see the photo above). Peel and seed the peppers, collecting and reserving the liquid from the peppers; cut the peppers into wide strips, halving the strips horizontally if they are very long. Peel and core the tomatoes; tear each into 4 or 5 pieces, collecting and reserving their juices. Peel and top and tail the onion. Halve the onion lengthwise and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch strips.

Place all of the vegetables in a bowl. Toss with enough vinaigrette to generously moisten all of the vegetables. If you like, add some of the pepper and tomato liquid back to the vegetables (as long as doing so doesn't make them too watery). Season well with salt. Stir in the parsley.

Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least an hour before serving. Escalivada may be served warm or at room temperature. You will find some sources that frown on serving it cold, but I think it is delicious cold. As a tapa, serve as a salad or a topping for grilled bread. It also makes a good side dish.   Makes about 2 cups, serving 4.

Printable Version

A Summer Vegetable Pizza (and Why I Don't Put Tomato Sauce on My Pizza)

There is a moment every summer when the market quietly switches into high gear. It is the moment when the eggplant and peppers begin to make their appearance. Thriving on the heat of mid-summer, they will carry us into early fall as the corn, beans and summer squash begin to fade. But for now, all of the vegetables of mid and late summer are present and abundant. This is truly the time of year when I bring home more than I can possibly eat. It is all so beautiful and fresh. And the variety of intensely flavorful foods that can be made with different combinations of eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, summer squash and onions is seemingly endless.

I taught a farmer's market class this week that featured these vegetables of high summer. One of the recipes was for a roasted bell pepper and potato pizza—similar to the kale and potato pizza that I posted about earlier in the season. Although the class also included salad and pasta and dessert, for some reason it was a pizza that I was hungry for the following evening. Maybe it was because I was still thinking about a question I had been asked during class. Someone had wanted to know if I ever made my pizzas with tomato sauce. When I said that I didn't (I can only think of twice in the past several years when I have made a pizza with tomato sauce) they then wanted to know why.

I hadn't really thought much about this before, so I said the first thing that came to mind, which was that a tomato sauce on a pizza seems to be a bit limiting—that it narrows the field of choice for other toppings. As I have continued to think about the answer to this question, I keep coming back to that same thought. To me, the question is—why would I choose to add tomato sauce? What does it contribute? Am I using it out of habit or because it adds to a harmonious whole? There are many classic Italian pizzas that do use tomato sauce—Pizza Margherita and Pizza Napoletana, for example. In each of these cases, the pizzas feature a great tomato sauce. It isn't just a perfunctory supporting player.

The world of possible pizza toppings is so much larger when you think beyond tomato sauce. I want a pizza that I make to be more than an imitation of the typical pizzeria-style pizza. There is of course nothing wrong with pizzeria-style pizza. But when I make a pizza at home, what I'm after is a nice, yeasty, crusty round of thin bread topped with the current season's grilled, sautéed or roasted vegetables. I usually include cheese, possibly some salty condiments like olives or capers and I might even include a little meat. A light coat of olive oil under all of these ingredients (perhaps infused with some garlic, herbs and/or pepper flakes) adds moisture and flavor—flavor that compliments rather than competes with my chosen toppings.

The pizza I ended up making for dinner was topped with eggplant, summer squash, roasted red pepper and the cheeses I had on hand—Fontina and Parmesan. Underneath the toppings I brushed some olive oil to which I had added a minced clove of garlic. It is interesting to me that after the question of tomato sauce came up, the next pizza I made would actually have been nice with the inclusion of a little tomato. But this brings up the other reason I don't generally think to put tomato sauce on a pizza: it adds another step. Pizza is a quick meal for me and it is just easier to brush some olive oil over the crust than it is to make a tomato sauce. Even when I have homemade tomato sauce in my freezer, I still don't think to put it on the pizza...I must have some kind of mental block. If I want to add tomato to a pizza, I will use fresh, cherry or oven-roasted tomatoes.

I should mention that if you like fresh tomatoes on your pizza, they require a little extra attention. Since they exude a lot of water as they cook, you need to get rid of as much of that water as possible before you put them on the pizza. The best way to do this is to slice them thinly, spread them on paper towels and then salt them. Let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes while you prepare the other toppings. The salt will draw out some of the excess moisture. Use another paper towel to blot the tomatoes. Tomatoes treated this way can be successfully added as the top layer of vegetables (under a light layer of cheese) so that any more moisture released by them will evaporate into the oven. Fresh cherry tomatoes don't need to be salted. They can be added to a pizza as long as they are halved and placed cut side up.

I hesitate to give a recipe for the pizza I made, because even a recipe for a pizza like this seems limiting. If you follow the recipe below, you will have a tasty pizza. But if you don't have one of the ingredients, substitute something else. Maybe add a scant layer of sautéed onions under the eggplant and omit the peppers. Or, take away the summer squash and the peppers and replace them with some thinly sliced tomatoes (salted and blotted dry as described above) for an all eggplant and tomato pizza. Feel free to add herbs (minced rosemary, oregano, or marjoram to the oil) or black olives or a scattering of capers or some julienned anchovies. Use any good melting cheese you have on hand—I think 3 to 5 oz. is a more than sufficient amount of cheese. The basic idea of this pizza is a successive layering of sliced summer vegetables, mixing and matching to please your palate and being careful as always not to overload the pizza with a lot of heavy ingredients. A pizza like this should be a celebration of the vegetables of summer on top of a crisp, fully cooked crust.

Eggplant, Zucchini & Pepper Pizza

1 medium eggplant (10 to 12 oz.)
6 to 8 oz. summer squash
1 red bell pepper, roasted, seeded & peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
Olive oil
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 to 2 1/2 oz. coarsely grated Fontina cheese
1 1/2 oz (about 1/2 cup) finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese
Pizza dough for one pizza (see below)

Top and tail the eggplant and summer squash. Slice each eggplant crosswise into 1/3-inch thick slices. Slice the summer squash on the diagonal into 1/3-inch thick slices.

Spread the eggplant and squash on a baking sheet and brush both sides with olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper.

Broil the vegetables until golden brown; turn and broil the other side in a similar manner. Transfer the vegetables to a plate to cool, stacking the eggplant slices so that they will continue to steam one another and cook through. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine 1 T. of olive oil with the garlic. Roll out the pizza dough into a 12- to 14-inch round and transfer to a floured baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle the garlic oil over the dough and spread out to the edges with the back of a spoon or your fingers. If you like, scatter a generous pinch of red pepper flakes over the oil. Scatter all but a few tablespoons of the Fontina over the oiled crust. Beginning with the eggplant and continuing with the squash and then the peppers, arrange the vegetables in layers over the crust.

Scatter the remaining Fontina over the vegetables, followed by the Parmesan.

Place the pizza in its pan on a pre-heated pizza stone in a pre-heated 450° to 500° oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is deep golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. To insure a crisp crust, slide the pizza off of the pan to finish cooking directly on the pizza stone for the last minute or two of cooking. Serve immediately.

Pizza Dough (adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins):

1/2 cup warm water (100º-110º)
1 1/8 t. active dry yeast
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 T. olive oil
1/2 t. salt

Place the water in a large bowl and add the yeast.  Let soften for a minute or two.  Add 3/4 cup of the flour and whisk until smooth.  Add the oil, salt and another half cup of the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough that holds its shape. Sprinkle some of the remaining quarter cup of flour on a smooth surface. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and sprinkle with a bit more flour. Knead the dough, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, until the dough is smooth and springs back when pressed lightly with a finger—about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size—about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a tight ball. Cover with a towel and let rest for 15-20 minutes. The dough is now ready to be shaped and topped.

General Pizza making tips:
• Anything that you put on the pizza should be able to cook in 15 minutes or less; or, should be pre-cooked to get it to that point. Any ingredient that produces a lot of liquid when it is cooked (zucchini, for example) should always be pre-cooked. Some wet ingredients—like tomatoes—should be drained of excess liquid first.
• Have all toppings ready and at room temperature before you roll out the crust.
• Don’t pile on too much topping—too much and the crust will not cook in the center. Sauces should be spread thinly and if there is no “sauce” other than olive oil, you should be able to see bits of the crust through the various toppings.
• Pre-heat the oven and pizza stone for at least one half hour and preferably an hour.

Printable Version

How to Trim a Whole Beef Tenderloin

Recently while trimming beef tenderloins for a private dinner it occurred to me that cleaning a whole tenderloin might be something a few of my readers might be interested in knowing how to do. So, as I worked, I started snapping pictures of the process.  If you are a person who doesn't particularly like to look at raw meat, today's post might not be for you. But, if you would like to be able to purchase a whole, unpeeled beef tenderloin and trim it down to its usable parts, this post is for you.

If you purchase a whole beef tenderloin it will most likely come packaged in cryovac:

Whole tenderloins vary quite a bit in weight. I prefer tenderloins that are less than seven pounds—preferably in the 5 to 6 pound range. In that weight range, the central portion of the tenderloin is narrow enough to produce "filet mignon" steaks that are thick, even when cut into smaller (5 to 6 oz.) steaks, or a center cut roast that is narrow enough to cook quickly and evenly to a nice medium rare.

When you open the cryovac package, make sure that you are over the sink. There is quite a bit of blood in the package and you don't want this all over your work surface (or the floor). Slice open the package.  I usually grab the tenderloin at the small end and hold it upright over the sink while I use my boning knife to slice downward along the length of the tenderloin, carefully sliding my knife in between the meat and the plastic so as not to cut into the meat.  Pull the drained tenderloin from the package and transfer it to your work surface—hopefully a nice large cutting board.

To begin, use your hands to pull away any large chunks of fat. Some of the membrane will also pull easily away. As you probe the tenderloin with your fingers you will discover that there is the main long muscle and a small sinewy, fatty piece that runs the length of the entire tenderloin. This is called the chain and it is attached most securely at the head (the thicker end) of the tenderloin.

The chain has some meat, but it is mostly fat and sinew.  Restaurants sometimes add the chain to beef and veal stocks. At home, if you don't mind going to the trouble, you can carefully trim away the fat and sinew to produce a small amount (about a third of a pound from a 5 1/2 pound whole tenderloin) of scrappy meat.  This meat can be marinated, skewered and grilled, or sautéed quickly for a soft taco or a quick pasta. It is a bit of tedious job for a small amount of meat.  Since I was trimming three tenderloins, I went ahead and did it.  Here is the cleaned chain trim that I got from those three tenderloins:

Before picking up your knife to remove the chain, make sure that your working hand (the hand that will be holding the knife) is clean and dry and that the knife handle itself is clean and dry. If your hand or the knife handle is wet, your hand could slip while you are working and you could cut yourself.

To release the chain from the tenderloin, starting at the narrow end (the tail) and using knife strokes that run in the direction of head to tail, use the tip of your knife to make short, careful strokes between the chain and the tenderloin. Use your free hand to pull the chain away from the tenderloin as you cut. Until you reach the head, it should come away very easily—you should only be using your knife to cut through membrane and fat. When you reach the head, be careful about where you cut—the separation between the chain and the main part of the tenderloin is not so apparent at the head end.

Examine the head where the chain is attached and cut the chain away being careful not to cut too much into the good meat of the tenderloin. There will be a narrow flap of meat left alongside the head of the tenderloin that is not part of the chain. When you have cut the chain away, the chain and the tenderloin that remain should look like this:

Flip the tenderloin over

and begin to cut away the thick chunks of fat by carefully sliding your knife along the length of the tenderloin (again, using knife strokes that run in the head to tail direction).  There is generally a big chunk of fat under the head (at the base of the head) that should be pulled away—doing so will create a bit of a flap but that is normal. After scraping and slicing the most apparent fat away from the tenderloin, there will still be some fat that is visible, but removing it would involve digging into the meat, which is not something you want to do.  Here is the filet after the chunks of fat have been sliced and scraped away (with the pile of fat to the left):

Turn the filet back over and remove the most apparent fat from the top of the tenderloin. All that should be left to remove now is the long thick membrane that runs about two-thirds of the way down the tenderloin from the head.  This is called the silverskin.

The silverskin must be removed. When subjected to the heat of the oven, sauté pan or grill, it shrinks and will cause the filet to curl. It is also tough and inedible. Because the silverskin is tough and sinewy it is fairly easy to remove. Slide the tip of your knife under a portion of it, starting at the head end, and holding your knife at an angle so that it scrapes the underside of the silverskin (your blade should not be angled in towards the meat), run the blade down the length of the filet, removing the silverskin in long thin strips. As you can see from the picture, the silverskin comes away scraped almost entirely clean of meat.

When the silverskin has been completely removed, look over the whole tenderloin and remove any stray bits of fat, sinew and silverskin that remain on the surface. When you are done, you will have a cleaned whole filet that is entirely edible, the chain which may be trimmed further to produce small bits of meat and a large pile of unusable trim (about 30% of the original weight will not be usable).

The usable meat can be cut into the center cut filet, the thin tail and the large and oddly-shaped head. I like to use the center cut filet for roasting whole. Roast center cut filet produces beautiful, uniformly shaped slices that are perfect for serving at formal dinners. A 5 1/2 lb. tenderloin will yield a 2 lb. center cut filet. This center portion (at the bottom of the picture) could be cut into steaks if you prefer.

The tail and head pieces can be cut into steaks and small, roughly 1-inch sized pieces that can be used for a quick sauté (beef stroganoff, for example).  Or, if you look at the head portion (the upper left piece in the above image) you will notice that it is mostly comprised of the central portion of the filet that gets very narrow as you approach the left end, and a fatter, slightly oval shaped piece.   I like to cut the large, slightly oval portion away from the head in one piece.  This resulting piece of tenderloin (the top, center piece in the picture below), when cut from a 5 1/2 to 6 lb. tenderloin, makes a perfect small roast for two. I then cut the remaining portions of the head into steaks and the smaller pieces already described. Occasionally the tail end is too thin and narrow to be cut into a steak (pictured on the lower right in the picture below).  Because it weighs enough to be a steak, it seems a shame to cut it into small pieces.  If you like, this piece can be can be cooked and sliced across the grain--just like a pork tenderloin. 

In any case, what you do with all of these oddly shaped pieces is up to you.  The important thing is to use them creatively so that you can get the most value for your dollar.  Tenderloin is very expensive.  It is always cheaper per pound to purchase the whole untrimmed tenderloin.  And even though there is a large amount of fat and sinew that is trimmed away, if you figure out ways to consume all of the usable meat, you will still end up saving money.

If you prefer, rather than cutting the tenderloin into all of these various pieces (center cut filet, small roast, steaks, sauté pieces) you could simply roast the whole thing. Most butchers will recommend that you tie the tenderloin if you are going to roast it whole. That is, they will tell you to use cotton twine to tie the head end at one to two inch intervals to create a compact roast and that you tuck the tail end under and tie it as well—this way you will have a large tenderloin roast of a more uniform thickness from head to tail.

I don't do this and I don't recommend it. When you tie a tenderloin you are forcing exterior surfaces to become part of the interior of the roast. This is important because exterior surfaces are subject to contamination—salmonella, e coli, etc. Anything that has possibly been contaminated with these types of bacteria needs to be cooked to 160° F in order to make it safe for consumption. I like to eat tenderloin at an interior temperature of about 125°F, so if I tie the tenderloin and cook it to the temperature at which I like to eat it, these exterior surfaces, which are now inside the roast, will not get hot enough to kill any possible bacterial contamination.

It is fine to roast the whole tenderloin, but I wouldn't bother to tie it. Even though the head end is oddly shaped, it will roast to roughly the same internal temperature as the middle portion of the tenderloin—the slices from the head end just won't be perfectly round. I would trim the tail end off and use it for something else, or leave it on (not folding it under) in case there is someone among your guests who would prefer their meat to be well done.

The 5 pound 9 ounce whole tenderloin that I trimmed and cut up yielded the following: 3 lbs. 6 oz. meat appropriate for steaks or roasts (60.7% of the original weight), 6 oz. of small pieces for quick sautés (6.7% of the original weight), 5 oz. of usable trimmed chain meat (5.6% or the original weight), 1 1/2 lbs. unusable scrap (27% of the original weight).

When you are done cleaning your tenderloin, decide how you will want to use it. Then portion it accordingly. Anything you don't want to use immediately, wrap and freeze. I freeze small roast-type and steak portions by wrapping them individually in plastic and putting these individually wrapped pieces into freezer bags. The small bits I package in packets according to what I am likely to use for one meal—in my household of two, these would be packets weighing 8 to 10 ounces.

The day I trimmed the tenderloins was a long day, but I still wanted to take the time to prepare some of the tenderloin for our dinner.  I decided on a couple of the petit filets (from the narrow end of the center portion of the head). I seasoned them with salt, pepper and rosemary in the early afternoon.

About an hour before I wanted to cook them I pulled them out of the refrigerator to bring them to room temperature. I roasted some potatoes and then pan-seared the filets.

While they cooked and rested I made some Peperonata from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques. I sliced the filets and served everything with some arugula dressed with lemon and olive oil.  The flavors were simple and clean and complimented the steaks beautifully.

Roasted Corn & Tomato Salad with Basil & Avocado

Fresh sweet corn is one of the joys of summer. It has already made several appearances on my blog and I'm sure it will appear here again before the summer is over. Of all the ways that I prepare it, the way I like it the best is roasted in the husk. At least once a week, for a quick lunch or a vegetable side for dinner, I serve some version of a roasted corn salad.

If you have never roasted corn in the husk, you are in for a revelation. It is fast, doesn't dirty any dishes and is easier to husk than raw corn—almost all of the silks pull neatly and easily away from the corn with the husks when it has been roasted. I think it tastes better too. Almost everything tastes better when cooked in its "whole" or intact state. Think of meat and fish cooked on the bone—they are almost always moister and definitely have more flavor this way. And like the meat and fish bones, cleaned corn cobs can be simmered in some water with a little onion, garlic and herbs to produce a flavorful broth. Some of that extra flavor must infuse the corn kernels during the roasting process.

To roast corn, preheat the oven to 375° to 400°. Put the corn, in the husk, directly on the oven rack and roast for 20 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, the husks will look a bit singed:

If you are nervous about whether or not it is done, give the tip of the ear a squeeze—the kernels will feel firm, but springy, through the husks. If you were to squeeze it before putting the ears in the oven, the kernels would feel very firm...almost hard. When the corn comes out of the oven, it should be husked as soon as you are able to comfortably handle it.  As long as it is in the hot husk, it will continue to cook. I try not to let it sit longer than five minutes, and if I'm not busy doing something else that requires my attention, I use a thick kitchen towel to hold it so I can husk it immediately. The corn is now ready to be eaten straight from the cob, or cooled and cut and put in a salad or other preparation.

The corn salads that I prepare are generally spur of the moment affairs—dependant entirely upon what I have in the house. Almost always they will include cherry or vine ripened tomatoes, some kind of onion (red onion, shallot, green onions) and lettuces (especially arugula) or herbs (basil, tarragon, dill, parsley, chives...) or both. Sometimes I don't even bother to mix up a vinaigrette—I just drizzle with olive oil and vinegar to taste.

Some recent variations include one with thinly sliced red onions and basil that I served with some cheese and bread for a quick lunch:

Or, a green salad with corn and yellow tomatoes to go with a cheese quesadilla for dinner:

Variations for a fast meal that practically shouts "Summer!" are without end.

Frequently, I will add avocado to this salad. A few years ago I prepared a special dinner for a friend and her family. One of the things that I served was a corn, tomato and avocado salad. Everyone loved it and some time later my friend's sister requested the recipe. Because I improvise variations on this theme so often, I passed along a rough outline of what I had done, thinking that the specifics of the salad I served that day were lost. Then this past week while going through some old dinner notes I discovered that I had written down the specific ingredients and quantities that I used that day.  So this post is especially for Kathy.

As we move through the height of corn and tomato season, give this salad a try, improvising according to what is available and fresh.  You will come up with endless variations. Serve it on individual serving plates—as an entrée, appetizer or side dish.  Or, do as I recently did and take it to a pot luck on a large platter.  It makes a happy and colorful presentation:

Roasted Corn & Tomato Salad with Basil & Avocado

4 ears of corn, still in the husk
1 large or 2 medium shallots, finely diced
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. sherry vinegar
6 T. extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 1/2 c. mixed cherry tomatoes
a handful basil leaves, cut in a 1/4-inch chiffonade
1 1/2 lbs. mixed tomatoes (different colors, different sizes)
2 avocados

Place the ears of corn in a 375° oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and when cool enough to handle, pull of the husks and silks. Cut the kernels from the cob. You should have about 4 cups corn kernels.

While the corn roasts, place the shallots in a small bowl with some salt and cover with the vinegar; set aside to macerate for 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in 6 Tablespoons of olive oil. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper.  Halve the cherry tomatoes. Wash and core the vine ripe tomatoes. Slice some and cut others in wedges. Halve and pit the avocados. Cut each avocado half into 1/3-inch thick slices cross-wise.

In a large bowl, combine the corn, cherry tomatoes and basil. Season with salt & pepper and toss to combine.

Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over and toss until the corn and tomatoes are lightly coated. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt, pepper and more vinegar, if necessary.

To plate the salad: Arrange half of the sliced/wedged tomatoes and half of the avocado slices on a large platter. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with some of the vinaigrette.

Spoon half of the corn salad over the tomatoes and avocados. Repeat these two layers and serve. Serves 4 as an entrée, 8 as an appetizer or side dish.

Note: Salad may be built on individual plates, or a large serving platter.

Click here for a printable copy of the recipe

Zucchini Quesadillas

I imagine that for today's children a cheese quesadilla is as common as a PB&J or toasted cheese sandwich was when I was a kid. But I didn't grow up making and eating them, so they don't seem mundane to me at all. They are one of my favorite things to eat for Sunday lunch.  On busy weeknights they often make an appearance on my dinner table along with some sliced tomatoes or a salad.

I appreciate any food that will function as a blank canvas upon which I can improvise with whatever ingredients the market and the season provide (pizza, pasta, savory tarts and salad greens are other "blank canvas" favorites). Quesadillas have the added charm of being all about crisp, sizzling bread filled with hot, melting cheese—pretty much at the top of my comfort food list.

Many things make good fillings for quesadillas—roasted or sautéed peppers (sweet or hot), cooked black beans, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted winter squash, cooked chorizo, grilled chicken—the list goes on and on. Quesadillas are also a great way to use up leftovers. As long as the ingredients that make up your filling are cooked and well-seasoned, you can hardly miss. Choose a nice melting cheese (Monterey Jack, Fontina, Chihuahua, etc.) to act as a "glue", add some herbs or spices, if you like, and you're done.

I think that pretty much everyone is comfortable making quesadillas (apparently even Napoleon Dynamite), so I will just mention a few things that I think are important to think about so you will end up with a nice crispy quesadilla that isn't soggy or greasy.

Even though a quesadilla is about hot cheese, use a light hand with the cheese. I think a couple of ounces of cheese is plenty for an 8-inch quesadilla. It might not look like much when it is scattered over the tortilla, but when it melts, two ounces is just about perfect. Too much more than that and you end up with a thick, unappetizing wad of melted cheese. Any other fillings you use should be added sparingly as well. Thick fillings tend to make the quesadilla soggy and stodgy.

To cook the quesadilla, a cast iron pan or griddle is ideal, but a nonstick pan will work too. Make sure that your pan is moderately hot so that the tortillas will brown in the amount of time it takes the cheese to melt. Add just enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan—too much oil and the quesadilla will be greasy. To guard against this, you could lightly brush the quesadilla with oil, instead of adding the oil to the pan.

This time of year I am always looking for interesting ways to use zucchini. This quesadilla is one of my favorites. It also makes use of the sweet red onions that are abundant at the market right now and the thyme that is abundant in my back yard.

Zucchini Quesadilla

For each 8-inch Quesadilla:
3 to 4 t. vegetable or olive oil
1/4 cup diced (1/4-inch) red onion
2 or 3 sprigs of thyme, picked
1 small zucchini (about 3 oz.), trimmed, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly (1/8-inch thick) on a diagonal
½ c. (about 2 oz.) coarsely grated Fontina or Monterey Jack Cheese
2 8-inch flour tortillas

Heat a teaspoon or so of the oil in a small sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion along with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, tender and beginning to turn golden around the edges. Stir in the thyme and transfer the onions to a plate.

Return the pan to the heat and add more oil. Add the zucchini and sauté until tender and golden. Season with salt and pepper and add to the onions.

To build the quesadilla, spread half of the cheese over one of the tortillas. Spread the onion/zucchini mixture over the cheese and cover with the remaining cheese.

Top with the second tortilla. The quesadilla can be made to this point a few hours ahead—wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Heat a cast-iron or non-stick pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add a thin coat of oil. Place the quesadilla in the pan and cook until golden brown. Carefully turn the quesadilla over, adding more oil if necessary and continue to cook until the second side is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Serve the quesadilla with salsa as a snack or an appetizer or with sliced vine-ripened tomatoes and avocados for lunch or a light dinner.