(I am sneaking out of town, so this is a repeat of a Food Friday column from a couple of summers ago. Enjoy!)
As we mosey into summer, we need to conserve all of our energy, and we don’t want to heat up the whole house with a wayward oven, or sweat in an embarrassing and unnecessary fashion. We are too cool, after all. We require shade and comfy pillows and a good long book.
I was trapped in the grocery store the other day by an early summer thunderstorm. The rain fell in loud torrents onto the flat roof and it felt like I was inside a steel drum. Luckily I was meandering in the produce department – which is always a great source of inspiration – and I found an artful display of fat, healthy red tomatoes. Now I don’t live near Brooklyn, so the hip, green market vibe, with young artisanal entrepreneurs growing organic heirloom tomatoes in their back yard allotments, isn’t my current shopping style. Sigh. Mostly I see bland, cotton-y, grocery-store variety, hothouse tomatoes. I am so glad it is finally tomato season and I can visit the farmers’ market on the weekend and stock up on the good stuff!
Still, these were beautiful and intriguing. Just look at those jewel tones! I brought a few home to try out with one of my favorite Martha recipes. This is one to try, and then use in the dinner menu rotation during the warm summer months. You may be tired of it by October, but that’s OK, because by then you will be eager to have sauces simmering on the back of the Aga. Now there are too many nighttime walks to take with the dog while watching the moonrise over the river, or outdoor concerts, or going downtown to eat ice cream and window shop. Get out of the kitchen! Get out of the house!
https://www.marthastewart.com/904229/pasta-fresh-tomato-sauce
Sometimes in the summer we almost forget to eat, or are just too lazy to be creative. One of my favorite last minute meals (are there anything but last minute meals in my house?) is almost a snack. I do not suggest it for a first date. Wait until you know someone well enough to allow him/her to wipe the drip of olive oil from your chin. I take a baguette and cut it down the middle and broil the halves lightly. Once they have cooled I rub a clove of garlic over the toasted tops, generously wave the olive oil container, add tomato slices, layering them with basil from the back yard basil farm, and then I top it all with fresh mozzarella, or buratta, or feta cheese. Dizzle some more oil, pop them back under the broiler for a moment or two, and be sure the wine is nice and cold. A nice warm salad sandwich. And cold is fine, too.
Or you can chop up the tomatoes and make a bruschetta.
This next recipe requires that you boil a pot of water and cook some tortellini. And then you have to cut corn off a couple of cobs, but it is summer vacation now, and those young ‘uns need to make some memories. Send them outside to shuck some ears of corn on the back steps.
https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tortellini-and-tomato-salad-50400000113912/
Do you remember when this seemed like an exotic and unfamiliar meal? Yumsters! https://localfoods.about.com/od/salads/r/caprese.htm
Mark Bittman, who is my new household god, has mined the mother load here, with stunning graphics. Good bye, Martha! I can’t decide what we will have tonight – the B.L.T. Style Salad or the Stuffed Tomato. Such decisions!
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/08/07/magazine/mag-07eat-recipes.html?_r=0
Martha Rose Shulman is coming in as a close second household god. This sounds divine. But I am going to wait for a rainy day, when I won’t mind being in the kitchen while baking the focaccia.
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hall says
FRESH TOMATO PASTA
This is one of our Summer favorite dishes, a delightful change of pace for pasta lovers. It is meant to be a “fresh from the garden” taste experience, that does not need the typical overload of garlic, spices and onions associated with the usual spaghetti sauce. Serves 2
6-8 FRESH large tomatoes
1 bunch fresh basil
4 ounces vodka
4 tablespoons butter (more or less to taste)
½ cup aged Asiago or Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and fresh ground pepper
½ pound angel hair spaghetti
Optional: substitute cream for 2 tablespoons of butter
Peel, core and chop the tomatoes. Roll cut the basil into slivers. Cook the tomatoes in a sauté pan just enough to break down the chunks (10 -12 Minutes). Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti.
Add 2 ounces of vodka to the sauce (reserve 2 ounces for the chef) and cook another 2 minutes. Turn off heat and swirl butter into the sauce, then add the basil, cheese, salt and pepper. Drain the pasta, place in individual bowls, and spoon the sauce over the pasta.
Serve with a mixed green salad and bruschetta. A fruity red wine. A beaujolais, pinot noir or a good sirah, goes well with this dish.
Jean Sanders says
We especially like the concern you have for the well-being of the chef! Thanks! Can’t wait to try this!