Polenta with Mushrooms, Pesto, and Fried Egg; Pan Fried Polenta with Tomato Sauce

Though I prefer the tradition of slow-cooked polenta, I recently picked up a package of the imported Italian "quick" polenta. It requires only five minutes of stirring, as opposed to a forearm breaking 30-40 minutes required for real polenta. The great thing about preparing a big batch is having leftovers. Just spread it out on a cooking sheet and cut it into slices. Pan fry and serve.

Daiya Grilled with Tomato; Dante's Inferno Juice

We've been experimenting with non-dairy daiya cheese. It's definitely not something that you want to eat alone. But it works alright in preparations that require melting. They claim that it "stretches" like real cheese, but I've found that not to really be the case. A "provolone" version worked fine for a grilled cheese sandwich.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce; Edamame

We bid a final farewell to the summer by making a batch of fresh spring rolls. The CSA has been providing some nice edamame. Simply boil in salted water for five minutes and eat 'em right out of the shell.

Fish Cakes with Spicy Remoulade; Tomato and White Onion Salad

Some leftover pan-roasted mackerel formed the basis of these fish cakes, which I simply combined with breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and one small beaten egg. Served on a bed of CSA lettuce with a remoulade of mayonnaise, ketchup, and hot sauce.The tomatoes are still coming... hence the obligatory salad of tomato, white onion, and a simply balsamic dressing.

Tomato Gratin; Oven Roasted Green Beans; Prosciutto di Parma

I really like Jacques Pepin's new book, Essential Pepin. The companion book to his latest TV series, it is essentially a best hits of his long and storied career. Needless to say, there are plenty of gratins... I prefer the ones that don't rely on tons of soft cheese and cream. This recipe has neither. The cheese of choice is Parmigiano Reggiano where a little goes a long way. The only other ingredients are garlic, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Cook at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. The bread soaks up the tomato juices. Simple yet brilliant.

Monkfish Dumplings with Tomatoes and Olives in Parchment

The Stockton Market has a nice little fish market. It comes in handy if we are doing something up that way and want to stop in to pick up the catch of the day. The only problem is the price... 20 bucks a pound is pretty much the lowest price that you'll expect to pay. I picked up some overpriced monkfish and put together this little dish based on a recipe in La Cucina Italiana magazine. 
 
Monkish Balls with Tomatoes and Olives in Parchment

    1/2 cup 1-inch cubes peeled new potato

    Fine sea salt

    1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

    1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs

    3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

    1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh marjoram

    1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

    3/4 pound monkfish, cut into 1-inch pieces

    Freshly ground black pepper

    14 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered

    1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped

    5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    1 large egg white, lightly beaten

    1 cup plus 2 tablespoons basmati rice

    1 cup vegetable broth

-Heat oven to 350º.

-Place potato in a small saucepan; cover with several inches of cold water and add generous pinch salt. Bring water to a boil, then cook until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash with a fork.

-In a shallow bowl, stir together breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons parsley, marjoram and thyme; set aside. -In the bowl of a food processor, pulse fish until finely chopped but not pasty; transfer to a large bowl. Add mashed potato, 1/2 teaspoon salt and generous pinch pepper to fish; stir to combine. Shape mixture into 24 (1 1/4-inch) balls. Roll fish balls in breadcrumb mixture to coat.

-Place 6 fish balls in the center of 1 parchment square; 1/4 of the tomatoes, 1/4 of the olives and generous pinch salt; drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Brush edges of parchment with egg white, then fold paper over filling to form a triangle; crimp edges of paper tightly to seal and enclose filling completely. Place packet on a rimmed baking sheet; prepare 3 more packets in same manner.

-Bake packets until fish balls are cooked through, about 20 minutes. 

Orecchiette with Kale and Ricotta; Roasted Red Peppers Marinated in Garlic and Olive Oil; Heirloom Tomato Salad

The tomatoes keep coming. In recent weeks, we've had tomatoes with every meal. It is almost as if I have to build the rest of the dinner around the omnipresent bowl of tomatoes. I'm not complaining. I won't eat the crap they pass of as tomatoes during the rest of the year, so I want to get my fill when they are in season.

The CSA delivered a nice batch of kale, so I simply braised it and added some leftover ricotta and tossed it with orecchiette and some fresh grated locatelli.

Corn Chowder

I'm a little disappointed that the CSA failed to deliver more corn. We had four ears earlier in the summer... and basta! That was it. I bought some at the grocery store in order to make Mark Bittman's corn chowder. No milk or cream in this one. But equally delicious. 

Braised Lamb Shank Tacos with Tomatoes, Pickled Peppers, and Tomatillo Salsa

The Southwestern Theme continued with some braised lamb shank tacos using Reyna's famous homemade corn tortillas. We have an ongoing battle in our household... I like the corn; K likes the flour. This time, I won out. The CSA provided the tomato, onion, and lettuce accompaniments. I picked some CSA chile peppers by steeping them in a mixture of boiling water, sugar, and vinegar for about a half hour. The sweet-briny pickled peppers added a nice contrast to the other flavors. 

Vegan Green Chile Stew, Tomatillo Salsa, Guacamole

During a recent visit to Reyna Foods - our usual source for dried red chiles - we discovered bags of frozen green chile in their small freezer section. In the past, I've shelled out hundreds of dollars to have the stuff shipped on dry ice from Hatch, New Mexico. This discovery, it appears, will save big money.

The only problem - this chile is HOT. I made up some enchilada sauce, but it was almost too much to handle. A classic green chile stew with potatoes, onions, pinto beans, chicken stock, and oregano was a much better application, allowing me to limit the amount of chile used.

Reminds me of orientation day on the UNM campus ... one day of the week-long affair involved free green chile stew all day long.

Lasagna Stuffed Tomatoes; Roasted Red Peppers; Edamame

What, you might ask, is a lasagna stuffed tomato?

Answer: The most awesome creation of the year.

K had the idea of hollowing out four large CSA-grown tomatoes and filling them with alternating layers of ricotta, sauteed zucchini and onions, and parmigiano reggiano, then topping them with bread crumbs and baking in the oven.

I roasted some red peppers and steamed up some edamame to serve as sides.

Tomato Mac and Cheese; Heirloom Tomato Salad with Onions and Kalamata Olives

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. We've been eating them every night, and I've been taking them to work for my lunches. Believe it or not, I still have not tired of them. Adding some to a macaroni and cheese dish was a brilliantly simple idea, but enhanced the flavor of what I find to be a somewhat boring, insipid dish. Individually baked in the oven, these came out beautiful.

Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes

My brother sent me home from a recent visit with a bag full of home-grown tomatoes from his fecund garden. The variety - cuore di bue, heart of the bull. These heart-shaped beauties have a nice size and great flavor - perfect for a simple no-cook sauce. Simply diced up the tomatoes and toss with some basil, a minced garlic clove, and olive oil. Cook pasta and toss with the raw tomatoes. Reggiano, salt, and pepper to serve.

Potato Leek Soup; Heirloom Tomato Salad

Added some sliced hot peppers as a garnish to this classic soup. I added yogurt to improve the consistency, adding a nice creaminess without the heavy cream.

Potatoes and Eggs; Tomato Salad; Watermelon

In Spain, they call potatoes and eggs "la cena de pobre." Translation: "Poor man's supper."

True that. Even if, like me, you are committed to organic, cage free eggs, the cost of a dinner of eggs and potatoes is miniscule. The other benefit is that it comes together in no time.

A simple heirloom tomato salad and some watermelon (all from the CSA) completes the poor man's meal.

Tomato Soup with Spinach Coulis; Oven-Baked Fries with Avocado Yougurt Sauce

This soup, derived from Jacques Pepin, was simply intended to use up a ton of CSA tomatoes before they went bad. Turned out to be a total acid bomb.

The french fries hail from Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian... They are oven baked, not fried, and turned out pretty well. I made up an avocado yogurt dipping sauce by combining one avocado, a half cup yogurt, some diced onion, a garlic clove, salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice in a blender.

Pasta e Fagioli; Sauteed Zucchini with Balsamico; Oven Roasted Green Beans

Pasta e Fagioli, pronounced in Italian American communities as "pasta fazool," is one of those simple, easy to make comfort foods perfect for a weeknight dinner when you have just returned home with a loaf of fresh bread. I like mine to be soupy. Drizzle with olive oil just before serving.

Crostini with White Bean Pate; Pasta alla Norma

I had the good fortune to work within walking distance of one of Lidia Bastianich's restaurants. I hardly ever ate lunch out, but the option of having a real Italian restaurant nearby always seemed like a nice perk - and a perfect place to take out of town visitors for lunch.

Lidia's used to serve two spreads with the bread basket - one was pesto based; the other, a white bean and garlic pate. I replicate it from time to time, usually as a primo for a pasta course.

Oh, what's that green stuff? Hot peppers from the CSA. I just sliced one up to add to the crostini.

Nicoise Salad

The classic French salad - I use Jacques Pepin's technique. We had a ton of green peppers from the CSA, so I roasted those as one would a red pepper.

Don't do it.