Summer jewels - tomatoes

I know it has been forever… it is not that I stopped cooking, quite the opposite, I have been cooking non-stop from August until last week, because the markets were flourishing with produce. Without a doubt, however, tomato is the jewel of August harvest (perhaps a ruby:))
Beef steak, heirloom, champagne, green, stripped, Roma – each of these varieties is dramatically different from the other. Once, a Brooklyn farmer told me he does not eat tomatoes until there in a full bloom to get the best of the best. So before, you turn into tasteless watery winter grocery store tomatoes, try these recipes to seal the sweet, tangy, meaty, and bright flavors of summer fruits. 

Honey roasted tomatoes with basil olive oil

stems from a bunch of basil leaves

2 tbsp. olive oil

Pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp. local honey

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 250°.
Arrange tomato halves cut side up on an aluminum foil—lined baking sheet. Whisk together remaining ingredients in a bowl and then drizzle over tomatoes. Bake until tomatoes are half-dried and concentrated, 3–4 hours.
Serve on top of the pizza, in salads, tossed with pasta.

Fiery tomato sauce

3 ounces rich olive oil

2 garlic cloves

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

10 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a small sauce pan combine olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes. Over a very low fire, heat up the olive oil mixture. Once the oil is hot, turn off the heat and let the oil cool for about 1 hour.

Strain the oil discarding pepper flakes and garlic. Pre-heat the oven to 400. Arrange tomato halves cut side up on an aluminum foil—lined baking sheet. Drizzle with the infused olive oil, sprinkle over with salt and pepper

Roast for 1 hour or until tomatoes “collapse”. Transfer tomatoes and all the juices into a bowl (for immersion blender) or a blender. Blend the tomatoes until the sauce is smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to your liking.

Crepe with ricotta and fall fruit compote

Crepe can be tricky and tedious to make.  They are especially tedious if you are making them for a hungry family of 5 good eaters.  The woman patient enough to do it would be our mom. She made the most delicious crepe that were so lacy and practically see-through you coule could wear one as a scarf.  It was by far our favorite breakfast. It took at least an hour.   During that hour, my siblings and I stalked around the kitchen, peering into the skillet, and even "stealing" the imperfect crepe, which did not please mom at all.  She would send us away, threatening to never make crepe again if we didn't leave her alone, and then call us back once she needed someone to apply melted butter to the edges to keep them soft. Then we would dig in, slathering the already rich crepe with sour cream and honey, rolling them up and dipping in sugar, tearing them into pieces and eating plain. It was quite possibly the least nutritious breakfast we were allowed and we loved every carb-loaded bite.

Every time I make crepe, I travel back to our childhood kitchen.  Except now, I want balance in my breakfast, so I fill them with fresh ricotta cheese and top them with sauteed apples and pears sweetened with local honey.  Considering that I'm not cooking for a family of 5, I eat leftover crepe throughout the week, often drizzled with honey and a squeeze of lemon or smeared with Justin's chocolate and hazelnut butter.

The point is, although a little demanding, crepe will make you and the people you care about very very happy.   Crepe are best made at home in a non-stick skillet that you easily pick up and turn to evenly distribute the batter.

Crepe with ricotta and fall fruit compote

1. Make the crepe (adapted from Epicurious.com)
1 1/3 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
3 large eggs, whisked
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided to add 3 tablespoons to the batter and using 1 to brush the skillet
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix the ingredients together in a blender  or whisk in a medium bowl until smooth and let rest for at least 30 minutes or overnight.  Warm your favorite non-stick skillet (anywhere between 7 and 10 inches should work) over medium-low heat.  Brush the skillet with a bit of melted butter, pour in 1/8 - 1/4 cups (depending on your skillet size) of batter in the middle of the skillet and quickly swirl it around the skillet.  In about 1 minute, the crepe will be lightly browned and set on the underside.  Flip the crepe with a wide spatula and cook for another 30 - 45 seconds.  Remove to a plate.  Crepe can be stacked and they won't stick.


2. Make the fruit compote
1 large apple, cored and sliced into 8 wedges
1 large pear, cored and sliced into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Couple dashes of ground cinnamon

Warm the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat and add the apple slices first.  Saute, turning occasionally for 2 - 3 minutes until the apples start to soften. Add the pear slices, give it a good stir, and cook for another couple of minutes.  Add the maple syrup, the lemon juice, and the cinnamon and let the mixture simmer for another 5 minutes until the apples are soft and the pears start to break down.  Turn off the heat and serve warm.  This compote is also lovely on pancakes or even plain yogurt. 
 
3. Make the ricotta filling and fill the crepe. 
1 cup fresh ricotta, store-bought or homemade
Zest of 1 lemon
2 - 4 tablespoons of good flavorful honey
2 tablespoons of butter


Mix the ingredient together.  Place 2 tablespoons of the filling in the middle of the crepe and fold the edges over like a pouch.  Repeat until you run out of filling.  Warm 1 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat and brown the crepe pouches on both sides. Repeat with more butter until all the crepe pouches are browned.  

Serve with fruit compote and honey and lemon for the extra crepe.  Mom pouring milky tea is optional. 

Turkish stuffed eggplant (Imam Bayildi)

Summer has definitely come to an end in New York, as evidenced by apples at the farmers' markets, rainy runs among the changing leaves in Prospect Park, and my cat jumping into bed in the middle of the night.  Fortunately, some remnants of summer are still around, like small eggplants and field-grown tomatoes, and I intend to enjoy them for as long as I can before it is all brassicas and squash (oh, and those wonderful New York apples).  

Imam Bayildi is a Turkish dish that combines the lovely small eggplants with tomatoes, caramelized onions, and plenty of rich olive oil.  It is usually served at room temperature as a meze (an appetizer), but I think it also tastes great hot as a side to some fish or lamb or just on top of bulgur wheat with yogurt.  As much as I love olive oil, Imam Bayildi can be a little heavy, so the recipe here cuts down on the oil and lets the natural flavors of eggplant and tomato show.  Stewy and soft, I think this dish makes the perfect bridge between shorts and corduroys, light cardigans and cashmere sweaters.  

Imam Bayildi 

Adapted from Clifford A Wright

2 small eggplants

1 medium onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced across 

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

2 - 3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/4 cup of chopped parsley, divided

3 - 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves pulled off

1/4 teaspoon dried mint

4 tablespoons of good olive oil, divided

Juice of 1/4 lemon

1/4 cup of water

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut off the stem portion of each eggplant, cut it in half lengthwise, slice off a little bit of skin from the side of the eggplant to make sure it sits well in the skillet, and cut a deep slit down the flesh, without cutting all the way through.  Generously salt the eggplant and let it sit on a paper towel, flesh side up, for 15 minutes, then flesh side down for another 15 minutes.  

Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet. When the oil is almost smoking, pat the eggplant dry and sear, flesh side down, in the skillet.  Once the eggplant is well-browned, sear the other side, and remove to a plate.

Warm another tablespoon of olive oil in the same skillet and saute the onion and the garlic over medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to help onions turn golden and make sure you don't burn the garlic.  Combine the caramelized onions, the diced tomatoes, most of the parsley (reserve the rest for garnish), the thyme leaves, the dried mint in a small bowl and season well with salt and pepper.  Pour the last tablespoon of olive oil into the skillet, put in the eggplant, flesh side up, and sprinkle the eggplant with the lemon juice.  Fill with the eggplant with the onion and tomato mixture and pour the remaining filling into the skillet. Add the water, bring the boil and simmer on low heat for 45 - 50 minutes until the eggplant is soft.  Check the skillet occasionally and add more water if it seems dry.  Serve hot or let cool. As with most stewy dishes, this one also tastes great in a day or so.  

David meets Jenny at the Walker Jones Farm

Not too long ago I started volunteering at the Walker Jones Farm. The Farm at Walker Jones is an emerging urban farm based on Walker Jones Education Campus, a DC Public School. I discovered the farm during a bike ride and was stunned by the diversity of the crops grown on such a small plot of land. Here, you can pick tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins right from the vine. The freshness of vegetables beats the traditional farmer’s market produce. So if you want to get the freshest vegetables in DC or simply help the team of talented farmers and dedicated volunteers, stop by on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 6PM and on Sundays from noon to 4PM.

Before heading to the farm last weekend, I was flipping through the August issue of Saveur and almost jumped off my chair when I saw the recipe of Jenny’s Splendid Ice Cream. Ok, let me tell you this ice cream is soooo good that I am willing to go to Columbus just to have some fresh Jenny’s (by the way of you are in let me know, we can totally make this happen). Immediately, I scratched the plan to make scones in the evening to test Jenny’s ice cream recipe.

Few hours later, while taking a break from harvesting spaghetti squash, I noticed a beautiful bush of mint, and the ice cream idea started to come together. The final recipe combines David Lebovitz’ chocolate chip technique and Jenny’s eggless ice cream base resulting in an airy ice cream with a fresh mint flavor and a dark chocolate crunch.

Fresh mint chocolate chip ice cream
2cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
¼ kosher salt
2 cups fresh mint

¼ cup whole milk
4 tsp. cornstarch
3 tbsp. cream cheese

6 oz. dark chocolate

Mix heavy cream, 1 cup of milk, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and mint in a large pot. Cover and bring to boil. Boil for 1 minute, turn off the heat. With the lid closed infuse the mixture for 2 hours.

Strain the liquid into a large bowl and press the mint through a chinois/fine mesh strainer to extract the mint flavor. Discard mint and pour the liquid back into the pot. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil.

While the mint liquid is getting warm, mix cornstarch and remaining milk until the mixture is well combined. Stir the liquid into the pot and cook until the mixture thickens for about 2 minutes.  The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon. Turn off the heat.

Place cream cheese in a bowl and pour in ¼ cup of hot mixture, whisk until smooth. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pot and stir the base for a minute. The ice cream base is almost finished.

Fill a large bowl with ice water. Pour the ice cream base into a large Ziploc bag. Place a closed bag into the ice water. This will allow the base to cool just in 10 minutes.

Once the base is cool, transfer it into the ice cream maker and follow manufacturing instructions.

Several minutes before the ice cream is ready and your ice cream machine starts to sound like an old Soviet train, melt the chocolate in a microwave or a water bath. Turn off the ice cream maker.

Drizzle the bottom and the sides of a large plastic container with melted chocolate and top with a layer of ice cream. Drizzle more chocolate over the ice cream and top with another layer of ice cream. Using a dining knife, break frozen chocolate into small chips. Continue layering chocolate and ice cream breaking the chocolate every 1 or 2 layers.

Freeze the ice cream for at least 2 hours and enjoy on a hot summer day after few hours of farming.