Ratatouille Bake

This bake is one of Terry's favorites! From a cookbook called Rolling Prairie Cookbook by Nancy O'Conner, which was written especially for her CSA members. Enjoy!


Ratatouille Bake

1 tbsp olive oil

3 to 5 cloves

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups eggplant, peeled and dlced

2 cups zucchini, or other summer squash, diced half inch or so

1 large green or red pepper, diced

2 to 3 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

8-10 oz package frozen filled tortelloni or ravioli

4 ounces Mozzarella cheese, grated


Heat oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, and eggplant and saute for several minutes, stirring constantly. Add zucchini, pepper, tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt and pepper.  Stir well and cook over medium heat several minutes more. Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook until vegetables are tender and flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. While vegetable are simmering, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Lightly oil a large casserole and line bottom with cooked pasta.  Cover with hot ratatouille. Top with grated cheese. Broil until nicely brown on top.  Serves 6.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Tomato season is upon us and the farm store is filled with them. We have several heirloom varieties which we are proud to grow along with some favorite red varieties and delicious, sweet cherry tomatoes. A little more on the heirloom varieties: while their interesting shapes and sizes make them unappealing for most stores to sell them, we find that their taste makes up for the appearance. Not to mention that we have pick them when they are just ripe enough to eat, so they don't store for more than a few days at a time. But just in case you don't get to them and they get a little too soft to enjoy raw, here is an excellent sauce recipe that Terry made on Saturday and we have all been enjoying since. Use any variety of tomatoes.

Roasted Tomato Sauce
In The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

4 pounds of tomatoes
1 pound sweet onions, chopped
5 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, to taste
3 tablespoons basil leaves, chopped

Use very red summer tomatoes (12-16 medium tomatoes). Peel the tomatoes in the usual way: cut a cross in the bottom of each one with a sharp knife and put them into boiling water for 1 minute. Remove them from the hot water directly into cold water, then slip off their skins and trim them over a bowl, catching all juice. Cut the tomatoes into large chunks or wedges.

Peel and chop the onions. Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Toss together all the ingredients, including the juice of the tomatoes, and spread it all evenly over a large baking sheet with edges.

Put the tomatoes in a 375 degree oven and roast them for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring once after the first hour, then every 30 minutes or so. Most of the liquid will cook away and the tomatoes will melt into a soft, thick, slightly caramelized marmalade.

Serve this on pasta, with rice, on pizza, with polenta, in soups, in a quesadilla, in an omelet, or alongside anything that goes well with tomatoes.

'The only way to eat zucchini' pancakes

3 to 4 zucchini, grated and pressed to remove some of the water
1 egg
1 heaping Tbsp flour
2 heaping Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
small handful of minced herbs (chives, parsly, basil)
freshly ground black pepper

Beat the egg with flour and add all the other ingredients and stir lightly.
Melt a bit of butter in a pan that is lightly coated with olive oil. Drop the batter in the pan as you would regular pancakes. Brown on both sides. Salt after the cakes cooked as salt will cause the batter to be watery. Serve the cakes with a tad of butter, a sprinkle of parmesan and a smile!

Orzo with Summer Squash and Toasted Hazelnuts

1 1/2 cups orzo (10 oz)
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 finely chopped shallot (0r use leeks or half a sweet onion)
2 medium zucchini cut into 1/3 inch dice
2 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/3 inch dice
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
3/4 cup hazelbuts, toasted, loose skins rubbed off and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsely
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2tsp finely grated lemon zest

Cook orzo in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain orzo in colander. While orzo is cooking, heat butter and oil in a deep 12 inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then saute until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in nuts, parsley, basil and zest. Add cooked orzo to skillet and stir gently. If mixture seems dry, moisten with some reserved cooking water. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

from Gourmet, August 2003 via www.epicurious.com

Layered Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing

2 large heads of garlic
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup coarsley chopped basil
2 large heads of Romaine lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 16 cups)
1 large fresh fennel bulb, halved, cored, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 15-15 1/2 oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed, drained
1/2 cup pitted coarsely chopped kalamata olives
12 oz grape tomatoes, halved
2 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into 1/8 inch rounds (about 2 cups)

Preperation:

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut off top 1/2 inch from galic heads. Place garlic heads in foli, cut sides up. drizzle each with 1 tsp olive oil. Enclose garlic heads in foil. Roast until soft, about 1 hour. Unwrap;cool. Squeeze galic from skins into blender. Add mayonnaise and buttermilk; puree. Add basil; blend until chopped. Season with salt and pepper.
Place lettuce in bottom of large glass bowl. Top with fennel slices, then garbonzo beans, olives and tomatoes. Spread zucchini salad, covering. Spread dressing over zucchini. Cover; chill at least 1 hour.

Can be made 8 hours ahead. Just before serving, toss salad.

Light Spinach Soup with Basil and Dill

Adapted from Molly Katzen's Vegetable Heaven

2 medium sized russet or other potatoes (about 1 lb), cut into cubes (peeling optional)
2 cups chopped onion
1 heaping teasponn minced garlic
5 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt (or more if preferred)
1 tsp dry mustard
2 lbs fresh spinach cleaned and chopped (up to half can be chard)
1/2 cup fresh minced dill
A small handful of fresh basil leaves (optional, if available)
Freshly ground pepper to taste

OPTIONAL, for the top:
a little yogurt
mild praprika

1. Place the potatoes, onions, garlic, mustard and salt in a soup pot or dutch oven. Bring to a
boil and then cover and simmer very slowly for 20 minutes
2. Use a food processor or blender to puree the soup with all its solids, adding the spinach and fresh herbs along the way
3. Return soup to pot and cook very slowly. Add black pepper to taste. Serve hot with a bit of yogurt and dusting of paprika if desired.

Time: 50 minutes (about half of that is active)
Don't substitute dried herbs for fresh, it just wont taste the same
This soup freezes well if kept in an airtight container