Simple instructions to can your favorite vegetables and fruits in no-time
by Bruce Beaty
Since I was a kid, I've always greeted September with mixed emotions. Weather-wise it's my favorite month. It’s still more summer than it is fall, with warm, less humid days and gradually cooling evenings that make for perfect sleeping conditions. It confirms the return to school, a more "normal" lifestyle and a busier daily schedule. It also marks the pinnacle of late summers' harvest. It's the last of the beautiful tomatoes, corn, plums and nectarines whose juicy ripeness can turn into rot in no time.
September's recipes are about the abundance of produce and the scarcity of free time for cooking it. Included here are a few quick, healthy recipes that are geared more toward weekday meals than entertaining for large groups.
While I avoid buying foodstuffs out of season, there’s something comforting and “agriculturally-correct” about opening a jar of homemade tomato sauce or peach marmalade on a cold January day. Since moving to Beacon, I've become a big fan of making preserves, pickles and such, partly because, like making bread , homemade pasta, or pates and sausages, it’s a process that resonates with nostalgia. So for those with either a little extra time or a surfeit of produce, I also showcase a couple of ideas for canning and jarring the last of the season's goodies. I can't help but think about my grandmother Wyatt's larder, replete with preserved foods from any and every time of year, so that nothing would go wasted.
The book Blue Ribbon Preserves, by Linda J. Amendt , a multi-state fair ribbon winner, is an excellent resource for recipes and canning principles. The only point I would make regarding this particular book is that I tend to like not-too sweet preserves, and I generally use about 35-40 % of the sugar called for in recipes and then increase the pectin so that fruit marmalades or jams are not too runny. For proper instructions regarding sterilizing jars and safe processing, refer to this book or go to www.homecanning.com where you can also get everything you will ever need for this addictive endeavor.
Mustard Crusted "Fried" Chicken
Serves 6 as a main course with a salad or side dish
This super-easy, kid-friendly recipe is actually baked, not fried and therefore requires much less attention than traditional fried chicken. It's healthier also but still has that irresistible "baked-on-goodness." I call for chicken legs, bone in and with skin on, as I always do, but feel free to substitute any combo of legs, thighs or breasts you wish. If you sub breasts, specify "French-cut," which means breast bone in and skin on, not pounded cutlets that will dry out before the crust becomes crispy. That would cause "FCT," or "Fried Chicken Trauma."
6 large chicken thighs, 8-9 ounces each, bone in and skin on
3 cups fresh bread crumbs from about 9 slices crustless dense white bread, chopped in food processor
1 3/4 teaspoons fine sea salt, total
3/4 teaspoons ground pepper, total
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
6 tablespoons butter, softened at room temperature
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1. Set oven to 450 degrees. Put bread crumbs on a sheet pan and toast turning a few times until dry but not brown, about 4-5 minutes. Place in a wide, shallow container and add 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, butter, mustard, lemon juice and curry, along with the remaining 3/4 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoons pepper. Add the chicken to the bowl, mix to coat well, then add chicken 1 piece at a time to the bread mix and press to adhere the crumbs well. Place each piece on an ungreased baking sheet pan and bake in the oven until chicken is cooked and golden brown, about 40-50 minutes. A thin knife inserted at the thickest part at the bone should yield clear juices. If chicken browns before it is cooked, tent it with aluminum foil. Serve with a simple salad, green vegetable or the corn-zucchini side dish below
Linguine with Portobello Mushrooms, Goat Cheese, Wilted Spinach and Regianno Parmesan Cheese
Serves 6 as a main course.
Try this pasta when time is scarce, but you still want a satisfying, delicious, mid-week dinner.The recipe takes just about as long as it does to boil the water, cook and drain the pasta. The inclusion of any leftover cooked chicken, steak or turkey would add heft, but it certainly doesn't need it. A simple salad would round out this meal nicely.
1 1/2 pounds dry linguine, fettuccine or spaghetti
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
2 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms, cleaned, interior ribs scraped with a spoon and thinly sliced
2 shallots, very finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
12 ounces flat leaf spinach, thinly julienned
1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock, or reserved pasta cooking water
12 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled and at room temperature
6 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Sea salt and fresh pepper
1. Bring a large pasta pot of salted water to a boil, and cook pasta until tender-firm about 8-10 minutes, drain the pasta and reserve some cooking liquid if you are not using chicken stock.
2. While the water is boiling, saute about 1/2 of the mushrooms and the shallots in 1/2 tablespoons olive oil for about 4 minutes, add 1/2 of the garlic and the spinach and cook another 2 minutes until the spinach wilts, put mushrooms in a bowl and repeat with remaining mushrooms, garlic and spinach. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. After draining the pasta, put the chicken stock in the pasta pot, boil and whisk in the goat cheese until smooth. Add the pasta, mushroom mixture and parsley to the pot and stir to mix well, adding a little pasta water if it seems dry. Season well with salt and pepper and serve. Pass the parmesan cheese on the side.
Olive Oil-Poached Tuna Salad with Chick Peas, Cucumber, Tomato and Red Wine Vinaigrette
Serves 6 as a light lunch or as a dinner with bread and a soup or vegetable
This salad is a hybrid variation on the Italian white bean and tuna salad, and the French tuna salad nicoise. As many different variations of each of these salads as there are, the one unifying constant is that they are invariably made with canned or jarred tuna. This seemingly repugnant practice is forgiven when one realizes the very high quality of the canning industries in France and especially Spain and Italy. While I normally like my tuna seared or grilled rare, the technique of poaching fish in olive oil ahead of time and serving it cold replicates the texture and flavor of those wonderful Mediterranean seaside meals of summer. This technique also works very well with mackerel and salmon. You can use the poaching oil to make your vinaigrette, or strain and freeze it and use it to cook fish.
FOR THE TUNA
6-4 ounce very fresh tuna steaks, about 3/4 inch thick or 3 cans of olive oil packed tuna, drained
1 cup virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
zest strips from 1 lemon
FOR THE SALAD AND VINAIGRETTE
1 shallot, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup virgin olive oil, or poaching oil from the fish at room temp
3 medium tomatoes, cut into medium chunks
1 hot house cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out and thinly sliced
1 cup packed flat leaf Italian parsley leaves, not chopped
1- 15 ounce can of chick peas, drained and rinsed well
9 cups mixed baby greens or mesclun salad
sea salt and pepper to taste
1. Prepare the tuna. In a 10 inch saute pan or skillet, add the 1 cup olive oil and place the tuna steaks in a single layer in the oil. the oil should cover the tuna by about 3/4.Scatter the garlic and lemon zest around, and place the skillet over medium heat. Immediately use a spatula to move the tuna a little to prevent sticking. When the oil begins to bubble and get warm, turn the heat a little lower, never letting it boil or get hotter than 130 degrees. Once bubbling, cook for about 2 more minutes, turn the tuna, and cook another 2-3 minutes. Remove the tuna to shallow casserole or pyrex dish and let cool to room temp. When the oil has cooled, pour oil over tuna , cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.This can be done up to 2 days ahead.
2. Make the vinaigrette. Place the shallot, garlic, mustard, lemon juice and vinegar in a mixing bowl, slowly whisk the oil in to mix well.
3. Assemble the salad. 10 minutes before serving, remove tuna from oil,
drain and break it into bit-sized chunks. In a large salad bowl, toss
the tomato, cucumber, chick peas and parsley together. Add the tuna,
season very well with salt and pepper, add about 1/2 of the dressing
and toss very gently.
Arrange the greens on 6 salad plates, spoon equal portions of the tuna salad over, and pass the remaining dressing on side.
Spicy Garlic Cucumber Pickles
Makes 4-1pint jars
I am always looking for new pickle recipes and this one is a doozy. Obviously some vegetables lend themselves better to pickling than others, and cucumbers and beets are of the former group. I've included recipes and canning instructions for both, but always be sure to consult and adhere strictly to processing guidelines for each recipe because different foodstuffs require different handling for safety reasons. The salting step removes much of the water content of the cucumbers that can cause mushy pickles and makes them really crunchy. Use the classic Mason or Ball canning jars, available at most grocery and hardware stores, when making pickles or preserves.
2 pounds English or kirby cucumbers, washed and sliced into spears or 1/4 inch rounds
8 cups rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
3 white onions, sliced very thinly
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more for salting cucumbers
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1 1/4 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
2 teaspoons whole white peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1. Place the cucumbers in a bowl with ice water, add enough salt so that it tastes " a little salty" but not like sea water. Place in fridge and let sit 2 hours.Drain and rinse cucumbers well, then cover cucumbers with fresh water and let soak 30 minutes, rinse well and drain.
2. Bring a large pasta pot with enough water to cover the glass jars by about 3 inches to a boil. Using kitchen tongs, carefully place the 4 jars into the boiling water being sure to submerge them completely.The jars need to stay in the water for at least 5 minutes prior to being filled.
3. Bring all remaining ingredients to a boil in a 4 quart, non-reactive sauce pot. Meanwhile, place the jar tops in a bowl of qiute warm but not hot water.Carefully remove the jars from the water and pour out any water. Fill the jars with the cucumber slices, making sure to leave 1 inch headspace.Use a ladle to mix the pickling solution well and add to the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headroom.
4. Use a plastic knife to gently stir the cucumbers to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the jar lids and threads clean with a damp towel, cover with the hot lids and apply the screw rings, NOT TOO TIGHTLY. Return the jars to the hot water, making sure they are covered by at least 3 inches. Process the pickles in 180 degree water for 30 minutes. Remove from water and let cool to room temp. Store pickles in a cool, dark place and refrigerate after opening.
Beet Pickles
Makes 4-1 pint jars
These beet pickles use the same pickling liquid as the cucumber pickles
above. They are great in a salad with fresh goat's cheese, some
walnuts and endive. You can use either baby beets or large beets, and
of course any variety of colored, candycane, or chiogga beets will work
well here. Roasting the beets instead of boiling them concentrates
their natural sugars.
4 pounds beets, greens removed stem and taproot cut to 1/2 inch.
Pickling liquid from recipe above for spicy garlic cucumber pickles.
1.Set oven to 400 degrees. If using large beets, wrap each one individually in aluminum foil and place on the oven racks, not on a sheet pan in the oven.If using small baby beets, wrap about 10- 12 beets in foil and plave in the oven as described above.The size, age and variety of beet will determine how long they will take to cook. Cook the beets until a sharp knife inserted through the foil meets no resistance.
2. Remove foil, and when cool enough to handle, use a towel to remove the skins. Cut beets in attractive slices or wedges and process the jars as described above.Boil the pickling liquid and add beets to the jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Ladle the liquid into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Use a plastic knife to remove air bubbles, wipe the jars clean , cover with hot lids and apply screw rings. Process the jars in 180 degree water for 30 minutes. Cool to room temp, store in a cool, dark place and refrigerate after opening.
Basil Puree
Here are two different versions of basil puree that are great ways to
use up extra basil that might otherwise go bad. This is NOT pesto,
which classically includes pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and garlic along
with olive oil. I prefer just basil and olive oil, as I find that the
cheese and nuts detract from the sweetness of the basil.The purees can
be stored with a thin layer of oil on top for about two weeks, or
frozen indefinitely. When frozen, you simply use a soup spoon to scrape
off as much as you need for a meal, it thaws in minutes, and return the
rest to the freezer. These are great swirled into soups, on sandwiches,
tossed with pasta, drizzled over salads or with the addition of lemon
juice, a good "vinaigrette" for grilled or broiled fish.
Basil Puree #1
1 cup packed basil leaves, washed and dried
1/2cup virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
1. Put all ingredients in a blender or a food processor, and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and either refrigerate or freeze
Basil Puree # 2
This fancy-pants version results in a restaurant-style, kryptonite-green puree, nice for decorating plates.
2 cups packed basil leaves, washed and dried
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and fill a bowl with ice water. Add the basil, cook 15 seconds and drain. Immediately plunge the basil into the water and let chill 1 minute. Squeeze the basil very dry with your hands, chop it a little, puree, season and store as in the recipe above.
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