Magic Beans

So truly, we meant to do something creative with the gorgeous purple beans we received today. I mean, look at these beauties!



We had a lentil salad in mind, inspired by a delicious lunch at Public in New York City last month. We were thinking a shallot vinaigrette, perhaps some walnuts, some tomatoes, some avocado. Maybe some basil or mint.

But then we cooked the beans, for about four minutes, in boiling, well-salted water. And here is what happened:




They changed color! And it was so exciting. . . and they were so delicious. . . that we ate them straight from the pot, with just a bit of salt.

Magical!

Midsummer Night's Supper

This week's share from Rushton Farm includes many summer favorites: juicy red tomatoes, bright yellow squash, a flash of deep green basil. Put them all together, and you've got a flavorful summer vegetable gratin. The instructions involve removing much of the moisture from the vegetables before cooking, to avoid a soupy gratin. This extra step is well worth it, and involves merely letting the lightly-salted vegetables rest and drain, giving you plenty of time to prep the remaining ingredients and even to marinate chicken or whip up a chilled dessert while you are waiting.

This makes enough for four vegetarian main dishes (serve with a simple tossed salad and a well-chilled white Burgundy) or six-to-eight sides, perfect with grilled chicken or fish.

Gratin of Summer Squash and Tomatoes
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated (July 2008)

Ingredients
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 pounds summer squash (prettiest with green and yellow, but either works), ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick coins
2 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 large slice white sandwich bread, ripped in four
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
2 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in upper-middle position. Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish (or gratin casserole dish) with 1 tablespoon oil; set aside.

Place summer squash slices in a colander. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt and let rest about 45 minutes. Transfer squash slices to clean, absorbent towels. Cover with paper towels and press firmly to remove as much liquid as possible. You will be amazed at how much liquid comes out!

Place tomato slices in single layer on absorbent towels. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let rest about 30 minutes. Cover with paper towels and press firmly -- but not too hard -- to dry tomatoes. The idea is to dry them without squashing them.

Meanwhile, caramelize the onions: heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, melty and deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Set onions aside.

In a small bowl, mix garlic, 3 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and thyme. Toss dried summer squash in a large bowl with half of oil mixture, then layer in the bottom of the greased baking dish. Evenly layer caramelized onions over squash. Layer tomato slices on top of onions. overlapping slightly if necessary. Top with remaining garlic-oil mixture, spread evenly over tomatoes. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are starting to crisp at edges.

For topping, pulse bread in food processor until finely ground, no more than 10 seconds. (Yield: approximately 1 cup crumbs) Mix bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon oil, cheese and shallots in medium bowl. Remove baking dish from oven and crank heat to 450 degrees. Top the vegetable mixture evenly with the bread-crumb mixture and bake gratin an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is just browned. Sprinkle with minced basil and let rest out of oven 10 minutes before serving.

The whole of summer in each bite.

Presto!

Few things taste of summer quite like classic pesto: that bright, fresh basil, the tang of good cheese, the earthiness of nuts and the spice of raw garlic. Too often, though, the garlic overpowers the other ingredients and, even worse, stays with you well into the next meal. To combat this problem, some recipes suggest blanching the basil leaves to boost their flavor and parboiling the garlic to dull it, two labor- and heat-intensive steps that defeat the spirit of the dish. After all, this is not lasagna; as with all good summer dishes, pesto is meant to be simple to prepare, something to throw together straight out of the garden, with your eyes closed and your oven turned off.

However, because it is critical to toast the pine nuts -- they are bitter unless toasted and have none of the sweetness that makes them such a distinctive and critical component of this recipe -- I will concede that one pan and one burner can be used to prepare pesto. Therefore, I was willing to try this solution, from Cooks Illustrated's The New Best New Recipe: pan-roast the garlic in the same skillet used to toast the pine nuts. The result? Slightly mellower garlic and a classic pesto flavor, without the harsh aftertaste and with only one skillet to clean. Presto!

This pesto is delicious on pasta -- linguine or fusilli hold the sauce beautifully -- but is equally tasty spread straight onto still-warm-from-the-vine tomatoes or good, crusty bread. Any leftovers will keep for a few days in the fridge, especially if you press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pesto.

Basil Pesto
1/4 cup pine nuts (walnuts work nicely, too)
3 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves (optional -- this is mostly to boost the green color)
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Toast the nuts in a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan frequently, until nuts are golden and fragrant. Be careful: they burn suddenly and disastrously. Tip the nuts into the bowl of a food processor to cool.

To the same skillet, add the garlic and toast for about 7 minutes, shaking the pan frequently, until garlic is slightly darkened and fragrant. (For an even mellower flavor, leave the garlic in for a few extra minutes, and the texture will start to be more like roasted garlic, as will the taste.) Let the garlic cool, and then peel it and dump it into the food processor.

Wash and spin the basil leaves (and parsley if using). Make sure they are fairly dry. Dump the dried leaves into a plastic zipper-lock bag, and whack the basil until it is slightly bruised, using a rolling pin, meat pounder or other blunt object. This is kind of fun, depending on the kind of day you have had.

Add the bruised leaves, oil and salt to the food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt.

If you'll be adding this to pasta, this makes about 3/4 cup which should cover about 1 pound of pasta. Cook the pasta in boiling, well-salted water. Drain al dente pasta, saving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Thin pesto with about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water before tossing it with the pasta. Add more water if needed. At the table, pass more freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a large bowl of fresh, diced tomatoes.