Sassy Southern Cooking with a French Twist

summer squash

Squashing the Most Out of Late Summer Flavor

The Tuesday after Labor Day, which happened to be unusually warm here in Williamsburg, I visited my local grocer to find fall squash situated front and center in the produce section. A colorful, beautifully arranged display of delicata, pumpkins,  acorn squash, hubbard squash and more, it instantly activated my appetite for the rich, nutty flavors these beauties produce when roasted and pureed or function as colorful, flavorful nuggets in seasonal soups. Just beyond, I spied the zucchini and summer squash I’ve been enjoying all season, and was not, and am still not ready to relinquish. I brought home three very fresh, deep green zucchini, and decided to put them to use in a fall-ish spin on a late summer produce favorite. We’re lucky that many summer favorites, including summer squash and tomatoes, enjoy a long growing season and often staggered plantings, so we have them fresh for many months.

Zucchini and tomatoes got me thinking about sauce, and the addition of pasta and beef put me in a more substantial, goulash frame of mind. Traditionally an Eastern European dish tracing back largely to Hungary and seasoned liberally with paprika, this version takes on a more Mediterranean vibe with the zucchini, basil, oregano, and garlic used in the dish. It’s wonderfully easy and prepared all in one pot in less than thirty minutes. The addition of pasta at the end both thickens the sauce and flavors the pasta, and eliminates the need for yet one more pot in your to-be-washed-sink. I had pretty, mini-farfalle in the house, but macaroni would work great, and gluten-free types can skip the pasta all together. It’s a hearty dish that celebrates very much summer, while tempting the beginnings of fall appetites, much like the winter squash I saw at the market. Enjoy this season’s duality while you can!

Summer Squash Goulash

(Makes 8 generous servings)

This tasty, celebration of late summer flavors is a lighter take on traditional goulash, but is hearty and satisfying enough to invite dreams of fall’s sturdier fare.

 

1 pound ground beef (80 % lean/20 % fat)

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 medium/large zucchini, cut into 1/4″ dice, about 2 cups

3 large cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped

2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves (or use double the quantity fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped)

2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves (or use double the quantity fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped)

2 Tablespoons best quality extra virgin olive oil

1 cup good quality dry red wine – suggest Pinot Noir

28 ounce can whole plum tomatoes, lightly crushed, and their juices

2 Tablespoons ketchup

2 cups mini-farfalle (or substitute another pasta shape)

1/4 cup water (as needed)

Fresh basil and grated Parmesan to garnish

Heat a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Break up the beef and crumble into the pan. Stir, two or three times and cook until just browned. Remove from the heat. Drain and discard excess fat. Return the browned beef to the pan. Add the onion, zucchini, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and olive oil. Stir to coat, reduce to medium, and cook until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the wine, increase heat to high, and reduce by half. Return to a simmer over medium. Add the ketchup and pasta, stirring well. Bring up to a simmer over medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just al dente, about 10 minutes depending on the pasta used.  Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve individually or in a large serving bowl, garnishing liberally with fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Bon appetit!

Remember to write me with any comments or questions and keep those Thursday dinners  in mind. They’re coming up fast! Next up is October 24. September is sold out. I would love to see you at my table.

Thursday Dinners with Holly

 

Author, Chef, Cookbook writer Holly Herrick

 

Fondly, Holly and Rocky

 

 

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Farmers’ Market Opening Day – An Early Spring Rite of Passage

Early spring selflessly affords us with so many wonderful things to celebrate. Here, in Charleston,  the air is sweet with the heady frangrances of jasmine, wisteria, and budding trees everywhere. It’s so breathtakingly beautiful, it mandates automatic forgiveness for the pollen that clogs the air and heads of the allergy afflicted masses.  Here and elsewhere baseball season begins, Easter and Passover’s celebrations are underway, marathons are being run, and the thing that makes me happiest of all, Farmers’ Markets are dusting off their tents and setting up shop for another long and delicious season.

Nothing puts spring in my step like farmers’ market opening day. The vendors and farmers are rested from their early winter break (although farmers’ work never ends) and tables are bursting with the bounty of spring – tender, sweet onions, asparagus, fresh-from-the-earth potatoes, strawberries, rhubarb, turnips, greens – some of my favorite things. I’ve long held an internal debate about what seasonal foods I most prefer. As much as I adore the tomatoes and peaches of summer and the squash and apples of fall and winter, I always come back to spring as my #1 top pick. I don’t know if it’s because the silence of the winter season seems so long, but there is something about these foods that render me virtually giddy.

Opening day Farmers' Market Finds

Opening day Farmers’ Market Finds

So, this past Saturday morning, when Charleston’s downtown Farmers’ Market opened, it felt like I was seven years old on Christmas morning, the anticipation level was that high. I pulled out my trusted, striped farmers’ market basket, donned a beaming smile and headed straight for Marion Square. As always, it was a feast for the senses and the soul. The smell of baking bread co-mingled with the sweetness of strawberries, familiar farmers and vendors smiled and sold their wares, even as more new faces and vendors did the same. It was intoxicating!

I loaded up with all my favorites and headed home to figure out how to best put these goodies to use. This was another reminder of why spring produce is especially idyllic. It needs precious little prep or ingredient additions to render it just about perfect. Super fresh produce responds very well to roasting which does a simple and fantastic job of coaxing the sugars and flavors of the supple produce out of them and directly into your happy mouth and stomach. Hence, the recipe that follows.

Roasted Spring Veggie Medley with Bacon and Scallions

(Yield: 4 to 6 servings)

In this delicious and nutritious warm veggie side, potatoes, spring onions, summer squash (though not yet quite in season), spring onions and asparagus are roasted separately (or alongside each other in the same pan) to retain their individual flavors and then tossed together, topped with sauteed bacon and scallions just prior to serving. Look for the freshest, thinnest skinned new potatoes you can find and leave the skin on. They will take just a little longer than the vegetables to cook, but the short wait is well worth the while. Non-meat eaters feel free to omit the bacon.

Roasted Spring Vegetable Medley with Bacon & Scallions

Roasted Spring Vegetable Medley with Bacon & Scallions

10 well-scrubbed small, fresh potatoes, quartered

3 spring onions, trimmed to 3″ length of the green stems, and halved

1 yellow squash, washed, trimmed and cut into 1/2″-thick slices

10 spears asparagus, washed trimmed (cut about 1″ off the bottom) and gently peeled about 3″ up from the base

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish:

4 slices bacon, sauteed and crumbled into large chunks

3 scallions, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 425F. Prep the vegetables. In a large roasting pan, arrange each of its kind together in a single layer, side by side. If the pan is too small, roast any remaining vegetable kind (for example asparagus) in a separate pan. Drizzle the veggies generously with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss each group together to coat. Roast at 425 until tender and barely colored/golden, tossing once or twice. The potatoes will take a little longer than the rest. After 20 – 25 minutes, remove the asparagus, onions and squash with a slotted spoon and transfer to a serving bowl. Keep warm by covering with a piece of aluminum foil. Increase the oven to 450F and continue roasting the potatoes until very tender and just golden, another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, saute the bacon over medium high heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Crumble or chop into a small dice. Toss the potatoes together with the warm vegetables. Topp with the bacon and scallions and serve immediately. This is a delicious dish on its own, or would work magic as a side to poultry, fish, pork or steak.

Mom’s Stewed Strawberries and Rhubarb

(Yield: About 2 1/2 cups)

Me and my siblings were basically sweet and dessert deprived as kids because my mother didn’t believe in them. However, she always obliged when strawberry and rhubarb season came around with this simple and delicious compote. Serve it warm over ice cream or cold over yogurt for breakfast. Unlike Mom, I add a little cinnamon and vanilla, but feel free to omit if you want it “plain.”

4 rhubarb spears, trimmed and cut into 1/2″-thick pieces

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 vanilla pod, cut in half vertically

Generous pinch ground cinnamon

Combine all of the ingredients together in a medium sauce pan. Bring up to a boil over high heat and reduce to medium. Continue to simmer, uncovered, until the rhubarb has broken down into a sauce and the strawberries are still chunky, but very soft. Remove the vanilla pod and discard. Serve warm or cold as suggested above. Refrigerate, covered, for 2 to 3 days. This will also freeze well for several weeks.

Bon appetit!

 

 

 

 

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