Lots of cilantro, basil, corn, zucchini, chard, carrots, and tomatoes around lately. I’ve been enjoying putting them together in various ways. I have made gazpacho twice, and both times it has turned out well. On Saturday last I made a (for me) fairly ambitious vegetarian meal, culled from the pages of Mark Bitman’s “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.” Flush with corn, we had Thai Corn Pancakes; pan-grilled corn kernels with chopped jalapeno; a couple of “sauces”—a cilantro-mint chutney, similar to one often dispensed at Indian restaurants, and a coconut-ginger raita, a yogurt-based condiment; and gazpacho.
I also made a Swish Chard Tarte: short crust, layered with tomato sauce, sautéed onions, grated swiss cheese, and sautéed chard, finished with more cheese and baked. It ate almost like a pizza, but resembled a quiche, and was very good.
Finally I also recently made a Vietnamese chicken salad, Goi An. Traditionally the base is chopped cabbage; I had none, so substituted blanched, crispy green beans from my CSA. The rest was shredded chicken (one leg and thigh, leftover from the previous week’s roast), julienned carrots, lots of cilantro and mint from our garden, and a dressing made from fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, ginger, garlic and shallot. It’s finished with finely chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts—and it was pretty yummy. We got cabbage in this week's CSA delivery, so after I grill our final local free-range chicken, I'll make this again the "proper" way.
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