Fast, Fresh & Green (28 page)

3 TBSP PLUS ½ TSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

2½ LB/1.1 KG LARGE, RIPE HEIRLOOM BEEFSTEAK TOMATOES
(about 3)

¾ TSP KOSHER SALT

1 TSP SUGAR

3 TO 4 GARLIC CLOVES,
sliced very thinly crosswise

2 TBSP LOOSELY PACKED FRESH THYME LEAVES

½ TSP BALSAMIC VINEGAR

1
Preheat the oven
to 350°F/175°C (Gas Mark 4). Rub a 2-qt/2-L shallow baking dish with 1/2 tsp of the olive oil.

2
On a cutting board
, preferably a channeled one to catch wandering juices, core the tomatoes. If they’re very large (3/4 to 1 lb/340 to 455 g), quarter them. If they’re on the smaller side, just cut them in half. Turn the quarters and halves cut side down and slice them across into ¼-in-/6.5-mm-thick slices, keeping each group of slices (from the same half or quarter) together as much as possible.

3
Starting at one end
of the baking dish, arrange one row of overlapping tomato slices across the pan from one side to the other, propping up the slices slightly against the end of the pan. (It’s easiest to pick up the slices from a tomato quarter or half and fan them out to make a row.) Season the tomatoes with a tiny bit of the salt and sugar and sprinkle the row with a few slices of the garlic and some of the thyme leaves. Arrange the next row of tomatoes so that they overlap the first quite a bit, and then repeat the seasoning. Continue with rows of overlapping, seasoned tomatoes until you get to the end of the pan. Every so often, you can stop and push the rows back a bit toward the end you started with to compact them somewhat. But don’t bunch them up too tightly. Sprinkle any remaining thyme leaves and the balsamic vinegar over all the tomatoes. Drizzle the remaining 3 Tbsp olive oil over all.

4
Bake until the tomatoes
are very shrunken and the juices in the pan have greatly reduced (they should be barely visible below the edges of the tomatoes), about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The edges of the tomatoes near the center will be slightly browned and those around the sides of the baking dish will be a deep brown. The baking dish itself will be very browned from the spattering and reducing juices. Let cool and eat warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4

This isn’t really a version of eggplant Parmesan; it’s just a very tasty gratin with similar flavors. This is what I would call a tian-style gratin (like the Summer Vegetable and Tomato Tian on
page 201
), because the slices of vegetables are arranged in overlapping rows from one end of the pan to the other. It looks pretty when served with a green salad, and, of course, eggplant is a natural with lamb. So I would suggest a composed salad. On each dinner plate, arrange a bit of dressed spinach or arugula with a few slices of grilled boneless leg of lamb and a portion of the gratin tucked alongside. To keep the pieces of the gratin together, use a spatula to lift them out of the baking dish.

The only bummer about most baked eggplant dishes (including this one) is that the eggplant needs to be cooked before assembling. Otherwise, it wouldn’t cook through in the oven. In this recipe, I roast the eggplant first. I like the flavor of roasted eggplant, and cooking it isn’t too fussy. I also think it’s a good idea, in this preparation, to score the eggplant skin with a fork before slicing it, as the skin tends to get tough in the oven.

Once you’ve begun to assemble the gratin, if you find that you have too many vegetables or are coming up short, you can compact or expand the rows slightly as you go.

1 LB/455 G GLOBE EGGPLANT
(about 1 medium-large)

SCANT ½ CUP/120 ML EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

KOSHER SALT

2 MEDIUM ONIONS
(about 10 oz/285 g total), thinly sliced

1 LB/455 G SMALL TOMATOES
(about 3)

4 TBSP CHOPPED FRESH BASIL

²
/
₃
CUP/20 G FINELY GRATED PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO

½ CUP/25 G FRESH BREAD CRUMBS

2 TSP PREPARED BLACK OLIVE TAPENADE

1
Preheat the oven
to 450°F/230°C (Gas Mark 8). Line a heavy-duty sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.

2
Trim the ends
of the eggplant. Score the eggplant skin by dragging a fork down it lengthwise. Repeat the scoring over the whole eggplant. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise; cut each half crosswise into 1/2-in-/1.25-cm-thick half-moon slices. Using a pastry brush, coat the parchment paper with 2 tsp of the olive oil and arrange the eggplant slices in one layer on the sheet pan. Brush the tops of the eggplant slices with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and season with ¼ tsp salt. Roast until the eggplant is tender and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. (The undersides will be slightly browner, and the slices will be somewhat shrunken.) Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F/ 190°C (Gas Mark 5). Set the eggplant aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

3
Grease a shallow
2-qt/2-L gratin dish with a little of the olive oil.

4
In a medium (9- to 10-in/23- to 25-cm) skillet
over medium heat, heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil. Add the onions and ¼ tsp salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are a light golden brown but still have some body, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the onions to the gratin dish and spread them out in one layer. Let cool.

5
Core the tomatoes
and slice them lengthwise (through the stem). Put each tomato half, cut side down, on the cutting board, and cut each half crosswise into ¼-in-/ 6.5-mm-thick slices. Put the tomato slices on a shallow plate and let them shed a bit of their juice.

6
In a small bowl
, combine 2 Tbsp of the basil with the Parmigiano. In another small bowl, combine the bread crumbs with 2 tsp olive oil, a pinch of salt, and 2 Tbsp of the basil-Parmigiano mixture.

7
Spread the tapenade
over the onions in the gratin dish. Sprinkle the remaining 2 Tbsp basil over all. Starting at one end of the gratin dish, arrange the eggplant and tomatoes (prop the first row up a bit against the edge of the dish) in rows with the slices slightly overlapping each other. Alternate between one tomato slice and one eggplant slice, sprinkling a little bit of the basil-Parmigiano mixture over each slice as you go.

8
Season the gratin
with ¼ tsp salt and drizzle 2 Tbsp of the olive oil over the vegetables. If you have any leftover basil-Parmigiano, sprinkle it over the vegetables and then cover with the bread crumb mixture, letting the vegetables peek out a bit.

9
Bake until well browned
all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 60 to 70 minutes. (The edges of the gratin will be very dark.) Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6

Winter is slow to come on Martha’s Vineyard. Because the island is surrounded by warm water, the weather stays mild in the fall. We’re still harvesting corn and tomatoes in late October, and hardy winter greens like kale keep right on growing through December. When I put together this lightly creamy gratin, the red in the sun-dried tomatoes and the green in the kale made me think of Christmas, though I’d be just as happy to eat it on New Year’s Day with a good baked ham. No matter when you serve it, it’s a good way to get smaller people to eat their greens.

I find that the cream and cheese in this gratin mellow the earthy flavor of kale, and with the help of sun-dried tomatoes, they give this dish a very pleasing flavor. You could substitute an equal amount (about 8 oz/225 g raw) of cooked spinach, chard, Russian kale, Tuscan kale, or mustard greens in this, but if you use the mustard greens, keep in mind that they will retain their spicy flavor (see
page 116
for boiling times). Boiling and draining the greens is the only fussy thing here; the rest of this gratin is simple to put together. It’s the quickest-cooking gratin in the chapter; it only needs 20 to 25 minutes in the oven.

½ TSP UNSALTED BUTTER

1 CUP/50 G FRESH BREAD CRUMBS

3 TBSP FINELY GRATED PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

KOSHER SALT

1 BUNCH KALE
(14 to 15 oz/400 g to 425 g), stemmed, leaves ripped into 2-in/5-cm pieces (yielding 7 to 8 oz/200 to 225 g)

1 CUP/240 ML HEAVY CREAM

FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

2 TBSP CHOPPED DRAINED OIL-PACKED SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

1 CUP/110 G GRATED GRUYèRE OR SWISS CHEESE
(use the large holes of a box grater)

1
Preheat the oven
to 400°F/205°C (Gas Mark 6). Rub a 5- or 6-cup/1.2- or 1.4-L shallow gratin dish (or a 91/2-inch/24-cm pie plate) with the butter. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmigiano, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

2
Fill a wide 4- to 5-qt/3.8- to 4.7-L Dutch-oven
three-quarters full with water, add 2 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Add the kale to the boiling water and start timing immediately. Taste a leaf after 5 minutes. It should not be tough or rubbery. If it is, cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Drain the kale in a colander in the sink and run cool water over it just until it’s cool enough to handle. Press down on the kale to remove as much water as possible. Transfer the kale to a mixing bowl by the handful, squeezing each handful again to remove additional water.

3
In a small saucepan
over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil, watching it carefully. As soon as it boils (don’t let it boil over), turn the heat down and simmer until it reduces by one-quarter, about 5 minutes (watch carefully; you should have 3/4 cup/ 175 ml). Remove the cream from the heat and season it with ¼ tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper.

4
Add the sun-dried tomatoes
and the cheese to the bowl of kale. Loosely toss everything together. (The mixture doesn’t have to be too thoroughly combined; just be sure to break up any big clumps of cheese.) Spread out the mixture evenly in the gratin dish. Pour the cream over all. Cover the gratin with the bread crumb mixture, spreading it out as evenly as possible.

5
Bake the gratin
until the crumbs are well browned and the cream has reduced to below the top of the gratin, 20 to 25 minutes.

Serves 4 to 5

This lovely collection of late-summer, early-fall flavors is one of my favorites—a definite farmers’ market special. Sautéed leeks mingle with fresh corn kernels, garlic, thyme, lemon, and Parmigiano (and a little cream) to give butternut squash a big boost. The squash is cut into small dice so that it mixes evenly with the corn and leeks, and so that it cooks through in the gratin. If you buy peeled squash, the prep does not take long.

If you like, you can add a little bit of diced smoked ham or cooked bacon to the mix. While the gratin goes with a lot of things, it begs for crab cakes or even fish cakes.

The squash will absorb most of the cream-broth mixture as it cooks, and as those liquids reduce, they will leave quite a bit of browning around the edges of the pan. When the gratin is done, bubbles from the liquid will be barely detectable around the edges. But you can also check for doneness by poking the squash with a fork or knife.

1 TBSP PLUS ½ TSP UNSALTED BUTTER

1 CUP/50 G FRESH BREAD CRUMBS

1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

KOSHER SALT

1 MEDIUM LEEK
(about 2½ oz/70 g; white and light green parts), diced and washed

1½ TSP MINCED FRESH GARLIC

1
¹
/
₃
CUPS
(about 7oz/200 g)
FRESH CORN KERNELS
(from 2 large ears; for cutting tips see
page 67
)

FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

¹
/
₃
CUP/80 ML HEAVY CREAM

¹
/
₃
CUP/80 ML LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

½ TSP FINELY GRATED LEMON ZEST

1 TSP FINELY CHOPPED FRESH THYME

12 OZ/340 G PEELED AND SEEDED BUTTERNUT SQUASH,
cut into ½-inch/ 1.25-cm dice (about 2½ cups)

¹
/
₃
CUP/10 G FINELY GRATED PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO

1
Preheat the oven
to 400°F/205°C/ (Gas Mark 6). Rub a 5- or 6-cup/1.2- or 1.4-L shallow gratin dish (or a 91/2-inch/24-cm pie plate) with 1/2 tsp of the butter.

2
In a small bowl
, combine the bread crumbs, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and mix well.