Late summer produce lends itself to a range of nostalgic dishes.
I am not generally a fan of zucchini, finding them to be more water than substance and frequently lacking any distinct taste. All too often they are steamed and overcooked, going an unappetising khaki. But this summer my farmers market has been doing a successful job of enticing me squash-wards, with bright yellow zucchini flowers and bags of mixed green and yellow fruit and that other member of the squash family, the scallopini or gem squash. Zucchini or courgette, yellow or green, as long as a marrow or as small as your finger, there is little difference in flavour, only in appearance.
I have happily taken them home as well as to the restaurant and made a number of nostalgic dishes. Grilled ribbons of yellow zucchini, tossed with a salty feta cheese and olive oil reminded me of a salad once served at the old Botanical Garden Tea House in Wellington. Shredding green zucchini on a kitchen grater and gently mixing it with garlic, lemon and chickpeas had me thinking about an American I once worked for who was more interested in his career as a male model than being a chef.
Ideas abound and with a less-jaundiced view I have enjoyed trying them out. Round gem squash look pretty with their scalloped edge, and can be scooped out and stuffed with a filling of breadcrumbs and basil.
Zucchini can be baked in layers as a vegetable lasagne or in a frittata, flavoured with onion and barely held together with egg. The basil can be replaced with whatever summer herb takes your fancy. Frittatas may seem a bit old hat, and this is certainly not a new recipe; it’s merely a reminder of what is a great lunch dish.
Frittata with Zucchini and Basil
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large potato, cooked
200g zucchini
6 large basil leaves
6 eggs
120g grated parmesan
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Thinly slice the onion, and chop the garlic. Melt the butter in a shallow ovenproof frying pan and cook the onion and garlic until softened. Cut the potato into chunks and add to the pan, cooking until browned around the edges. Grate the zucchini, stir into the onion and potato mixture and cook gently for 4 minutes. Finely slice the basil, add to the zucchini, then take the pan off the heat while you beat the eggs and parmesan cheese in a bowl using a fork. Tip the contents of the bowl into the frying pan, fold everything together and return it to the stove. Cook over a low heat until a crust has formed on the bottom. Remove the pan from the heat, then slide it into the oven and cook until the top is lightly coloured. Remove from the oven and use a fish slice to lift the frittata from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve with a lightly dressed salad.
Serves 4.
You’d think fish baked under this crust could be overly salty but it isn’t; instead, it tastes clean and fresh. The idea of a vegetable baked under a thick blanket of herbs and breadcrumbs has always appealed, and it’s something I do with zucchini as well as tomatoes.
Salt-Crusted Fish with Herb-Roasted Tomatoes
1 cup of coarse sea salt
3 egg whites
400g fish fillets
3 sprigs thyme
Olive oil
Tomatoes
2 ripe tomatoes
½ cup of breadcrumbs
2 spring onions
6 basil leaves
4 stalks flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic
2 stalks thyme
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 200°C. In a large bowl whisk the salt and egg whites until light and fluffy. (Do not be tempted to taste it.) Cover a baking sheet with baking paper. Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels, then season with thyme leaves and a splash of olive oil. Cover the fish in the salt mixture, making sure there are no gaps. Place the fillets on the baking paper, then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden brown and hardened. Remove from the oven and let the fish rest. Break the crust with the back of a knife and discard all the pieces. This seems a shame after all your hard work, but you don’t want to eat it. Carefully remove the cooked fish and serve.
To make the tomatoes, use the same oven temperature. Remove the cores using a sharp knife. Cut the tomatoes in half around the equator and give them a gentle squeeze to remove the seeds and juice. Put the tomatoes into a baking dish. Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl. Finely chop the white of the spring onions and 2cm of the green leaves, then add to the breadcrumbs. Chop the basil and parsley and stir through the crumbs. Finely chop the garlic, shred the thyme leaves from the stalks and sprinkle through the mixture. Season with salt and pepper, cover the tomatoes with the mix and splash with a little olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes until golden, then serve.
Serves 2.
The sugary crust of a crème brûlée, the caramelised apples and crisp pastry of a tarte Tatin and the sublime juice-soaked bread of a summer pudding are my idea of the holy trinity of desserts. Consequently, like anything divine, there are a few religious rules to follow. For example, no strawberries should appear in a summer pudding. In the absence of blackcurrants (frozen are fine), use a combination of blackberries and boysenberries. Raspberries are essential and should ideally outnumber the other berries two to one. The bread should be able to soak up all the luxurious juices, so only ever use a sliced white sandwich loaf. Here endeth the lesson.
Summer Pudding
2 punnets of raspberries
1 punnet of blackberries
1 punnet of boysenberries
4 tbsp sugar
8 slices of white bread, crusts removed
Pouring cream to serve**
Discard any mouldy berries. Put the fruit and sugar into a stainless-steel saucepan with a good splash of cold water. Taste the fruit and add a little more sugar if it’s a bit sharp. Bring to a lazy simmer for 8 minutes until you have a crimson-hued syrup, then remove from the heat. Cut all but one of the slices of bread into 3 fingers. Cut a circle of bread from the reserved slice and place it firmly in the bottom of a small bowl, then line the rest of the bowl with bread strips. Pour in the juice and fruit and place any leftover bread strips over the top, sealing in the fruit. Place the bowl on a shallow tray, then top with a small plate and a heavy weight. Refrigerate overnight. Remove the weight and carefully slide a knife between bread and bowl, taking great care not to tear the bread. Place a serving plate on top of the bowl, then quickly invert the pudding, shaking it well to dislodge it. Serve with pouring cream.
Serves 4.