The Purloined Recipe

from Molly Beverly

6 servings

Hurray… summer squash. Official beginning of summer.

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds summer squash, diced
4 heaping Tablespoons finely chopped white onion
3/4 pound tomatoes, chopped (or substitute 1 cup canned, chopped tomatoes)
2 Serrano chiles, more or less to taste
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 Tablespoons epazote leaves (optional)
4 Tablespoons Mexican queso fresco, crumbled or muenster or jack cheese grated
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Heat oil in a large skillet and add squash, onion, epazote and salt. Stir and sauté until just tender, about 10 minutes. Blend tomatoes, chiles and garlic in blender.

Add to squash mixture. Cook until squash is soft and vegetables are moist but not runny. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with crumbled or grated cheese.

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(Cream Of Squash Blossom Soup)

A delicate, creamy soup flecked with gold.

Serves 4

3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 pound squash flowers (40-50), chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups light chicken stock
1/3 cup sour cream
2 Anaheim chiles or sweet peppers, charred, peeled, seeded and chopped

Melt butter and sauté onion and garlic until translucent. Add chopped flowers and salt. Cook over low flame, covered for 10 minutes or until flowers are tender. In blender buzz flowers with 1 1/2 cups stock.

Return to pan and add remaining stock. Cook over low flame for 8 minutes. Stir sour cream until smooth and add to soup. Reheat soup but do not boil, adjust seasoning and serve garnished with chopped chiles or peppers.

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1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Jalapeño chile, finely chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix vinegar, juice, chili, garlic and mustard together. Whisk in oil and season with salt and pepper.

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2 cups mashed potatoes
2 cups frozen corn kernels (thawed) or cooked corn cut off the ear
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup canola oil (for frying)

In a medium mixing bowl, combine potatoes, corn, egg; mix with spoon.

Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Using clean hands, form mixture into 1 1/2inch diameter patties; dip each patty in bread crumbs, coating both sides.

Over medium heat, in a large non-stick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil until hot. Fry the patties, a few at a time, for 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom; flip and cook another 2 minutes on the second side. (If flatter, more crispy cakes are desired, flatten cakes while cooking with spatula).

Transfer finished cakes to a baking sheet and keep in a warm oven (200 degrees) until all cakes are cooked. Transfer cakes to a serving platter and serve with salsa, if desired.

For the Salsa:

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion

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from Lester Darazs

Ingredients:
¼ cup extra light olive oil (or lard, or what ever shortening preferred)
4 cups of onions, coarsely chopped
6 cups of white Hungarian (Gypsy) peppers, or bell peppers, cut to about 1” pieces
8 cups of vine ripened tomatoes blanched and peeled, chopped to I” pieces
2 tsp salt, l tsp coarsely ground black pepper, 1 tbsp of Hungarian paprika.
1 pint tomato juice
1 Ring of Polish sausage, or Hungarian sausage, or Chorizo
2 Tbsp sugar
2 teaspoons or more crushed chile, optional
In a large nonstick pot (about 6 qt) sauté the onions in the olive oil, under lid, until the onions are slightly limp, about 8-10 mm. med.

Heat. Do not brown.

Add paprika and stir quickly to coat all the onions with the paprika, and quickly add the tomato juice, all of the tomatoes, stir to just mix, and spices and sugar, stir and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to mix it all up, and cover, Cook for about 30 mm on medium heat, stir occasionally to keep from burning on the bottom, reduce heat to low and simmer partly covered for another 30-45 mm, or until the Lecsó gets to the desired consistency.

Adjust to taste.

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Serves 6

At first glance, you may think that these vegetables are overcooked to death. Long slow roasting though allows the individual flavors to intermingle. The potatoes are meltingly tender without becoming mushy, the onions are marvelously sweet and the spices have mellowed. The smoked cheese adds a meaty quality so although this is a great side dish for grilled poultry and pork, it is also substantial enough to satisfy a hearty vegetarian appetite.

2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. yellow zucchini, cut in 1/3-inch rounds
½ lb. small red potatoes, scrubbed, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
3 large ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
1 each red and green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares
1 Serrano pepper, seeded and minced…(use your Chilepenos)
6 ozs white mushrooms, sliced ¼-inch thick
1 Tbs. each fresh thyme and basil leaves
¾ cup white wine
4 ozs smoked mozzarella, shredded
½ cup Parmesan, freshly shredded

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a roasting pan and place onions and garlic in pan.

Add olive oil and coat the vegetables. Cover with foil and roast for 30 minutes.

Remove and add remaining ingredients except cheese. Cover again and bake or 45 minutes. Cover and roast for another 45 minutes.

Remove cover, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese has melted. Serve hot or just slightly warm.

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In sterilized pint jars put

1 tsp dill seed
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 clove garlic
1 Serrano pepper (optional)

Pack tight with okra. Make a brine with the ratios (you may want to reduce this for less quantity) 8 cups water, 8 cups white vinegar, 3/4 cups salt. Heat brine to just boiling. Fill jars with brine. Cap and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Enjoy (best after two weeks of curing)

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from www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu

Serves 4

This is a home-type dish that is as simple to prepare as “scrambled eggs with…” but much more nutritious. Serve as a side dish, a brunch main dish or as a filling in tortillas and pitas.

1 cup purslane
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium-size ripe tomato, chopped (not skinned)
1 SERRANO or jalapeno chile, finely chopped, or freshly cracked black pepper, according to taste
2 to 3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 egg beaten

Set aside a few raw sprigs of purslane for garnish. Steam or blanch the rest until tender-crisp (three to five minutes). Drain thoroughly, transfer to a plate covered with several layers of paper towels and blot dry.

In a large pan, sauté garlic and onion in vegetable oil until soft. Add tomato and chile, and sauté until the mixture becomes sauce-like.

Season with soy sauce. (If you aren’t using the chile, add freshly ground black pepper.) Sauté until mixture is warm and the flavors marry.

When ready to serve, add the beaten egg to the warm mixture in the pan and mix gently. The egg will bind the mixture loosely but should not harden into scrambled eggs. Garnish plate servings with reserved sprigs.

PER SERVING (estimated): 91 calories, 4 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 68 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 68 percent U.S. RDA Vitamin A, 77 percent U.S. RDA Vitamin C.

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(recipe from Seasons of My Heart Cookbook, by Susana Trilling,  used with permission of the author.)

6 servings

Seasons of My Heart

4 Tablespoons safflower oil
2 pounds summer squash, diced
12 ounces tomatoes, broiled OR 1 1/2 cups canned
4 heaping Tablespoons finely chopped white onion
2 Serrano chiles, charred
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 Tablespoons epazote leaves
4 Tablespoons grated cheese: añejo, romano or jack (optional)
1 teaspoon salt

Heat oil and add squash, onion, epazote and salt. Stir and sauté until just tender, about 10 minutes. Blend tomatoes, chiles and garlic. Add to squash mixture. Cook until squash is soft and vegetables are moist but not runny.

Adjust seasoning. Garnish with grated cheese.

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(recipe from the book Local Flavors used with permission of the author, Deborah Madison)

Serves 6 as an appetizer.

I’ve been making Sun Gold tomato soups ever since sipping one that was astonishing at Casablanca restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The little yellow-orange tomatoes are so sweet that you really have to have the vinegar.

(At the restaurant they used a full-bodied Spanish Chardonnay vinegar.)

You needn’t serve more than a taste of this sweet-tart soup. It makes a stimulating,
eye-opening start to a summer meat on a hot day.

2 pints Sun Gold cherry tomatoes
2 shallots, finely diced
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons Spanish Chardonnay vinegar or champagne vinegar, plus a few
drops sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons finely diced and seeded Serrano chile, optional
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 firm avocado, finely diced
1 tablespoon chopped basil or cilantro

1. Pluck the stems off the tomatoes and rinse them. Add them to a heavy
   saucepan with a tight-fitting lid with half the shallots, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 cup
   water. Cook over medium-high heat, keeping one ear inclined to the pot. Soon
   you’ll hear the tomatoes popping. Take a peek after a few minutes to make sure
   there’s sufficient moisture in the pan you don’t want the tomatoes to scorch. If the
   skins are slow to pop, add a few tablespoons water. Once they release their
   juices, lower the heat and cook, covered, for 25 minutes.
2. Run the tomatoes through a food mill. You’ll have about 2 cups. Chill well, then taste for salt.
3. Just before serving, combine the remaining shallots in a bowl with the vinegar, chile if using, oil, avocado, and herbs. Season with a pinch or two of salt and some pepper. Spoon the soup into small cups, divide the garnish among them,
   and serve.

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