Hello! Ada here. It’s Sunday, and that means it’s time for another recipe roundup - a collection of recipes from around the internet to help you answer the question “What to cook?”. In case you missed it, here is a link to the first roundup which included the likes of turnip dumplings, okra recipes from around the world, and some ideas for your Chinese long beans.
Zucchini, which often suffers during summer’s hottest months, is having a quick comeback before it disappears for the season. Now is the time to relish in the cucurbits before they’re no-more! I love this snack-hack which uses boiled ZUCCHINI, JALAPENOS, tomatillos and onions to make a green salsa, like the kind you get from your favorite taqueria (no avocados necessary).
Over the summer, while listening to a Splendid Table episode, I heard Chef Ashley Christensen make the case for waiting to oil your grilled veggies after you grill it. Here is a simple charred ZUCCHINI & TORN BASIL recipe which uses this simple, but effective, method for getting the perfect flavor, and texture, on your zuk. Fast forward to around minute 20 to hear romantic notions of zucchini-searing, and grilling techniques in general. It may change the way you “deal with zucchini”. . Spoiler: there are ideas on how to grill CUCUMBERS, too.
I make iterations of this Allison Roman CUCUMBER sesame salad all the time . It’s “crunchy, refreshing, and nutty”, and truthfully, is barely a recipe. If I’m looking to make a bigger serving but am short on cukes, I like to add CELERY that’s been sliced on a sharp diagonal to the cucumbers.
Speaking of a sesame, why not make a cold sesame salad, like this one, with thinly sliced BOK CHOY?
Or, if you’re wanting to lean into this cooler weather, here is a video for Soothing BOK CHOY SOUP from one of my favorite cooking Youtube channels, Cooking with Lau.
While BASIL is still here, pesto and all of its cousins, yes. Also, this basil cream, drizzled over roasted TURNIPS would be delish.
A friend of mine who is a vegan chef once made me a delicious jackfruit tortellini that was suspended in a mushroom and coconut broth. The whole bowl was then topped with vibrant droplets of BASIL OIL, like this one, and basil oil, on everything, is a great way to bit summer adieu.
Every couple years I google this recipe for Heidi Swanson’s Magic Sauce which I recently made, adding chopped SCALLIONS. Highly recommended sauce, to top just about everything from a bowl of beans to a baked potato.
Speaking of saucy things, if a plethora of HOT PEPPERS are leaving you scratching your head, consider making an easy hot pepper mash - a fermented pepper condiment that will last forever in your fridge.
WHAT I’M EATING
I took my own advice and made a large nicoise salad for night one of a bachelorette weekend. The leftover GREEN BEANS, tossed with a vinaigrette, were stored in a tupperware and snacked on throughout the week making their way into a breakfast salad, hummus bowl, and also requisite bloody marys.
Also, quick food, because I just got busy: spaghetti with frozen tomato confit (again), topped with parm and canned artichokes that I dried, and threw in an oily hot cast iron. Turmeric-infused chicken soup from the freezer that I made in the Instapot a few weeks ago. I just bought a bottle of very robust and very delicious extra virgin olive oil from Hill Country Olive Co. and have been eating tons of simple salads tossed with the oil, lemon, and salt. Olive oil begins to degrade the moment it's produced, and then again the moment you open the bottle. I’m determined to use this incredible and high-quality oil quickly, making sure I enjoy it while its flavor is at its peak. Olive oil on everything!
WHAT I’M READING (about food)
This recipe booklet called “Recipes from Turtle Island" which Slow Food USA just published to honor the culinary traditions of 12 Indigenous chefs from across North America. Okra would be an interesting substitution in Elena Tery’s (fried) Blue Corn Milkweed Pod recipe. Video here.
Till Next Time!
Ada
Do you have a recipe that you think should be included in the Roundup? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email with “Recipe Roundup” in the subject line. If you have a photo, we’d love to see that, too!
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