Walnut Pesto

There were giant bunches of basil staring me down at the farm stand. They said:
"My only desire in my short basil-y life is to be pesto."
And so I acquiesced.
Basil can be very persuasive. 

Walnut Pesto

Makes about 6oz

A couple roasted garlic cloves, more or less to taste

1 ounce fresh basil leaves

1 ounce walnuts

3 tablespoons grated romano or parmesan cheese

1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

juice from half of a lemon

a few pinches of salt

First roast the garlic. (click here to learn how)

Next, combine garlic, basil and walnuts in a food processor and process for 30 seconds or until chopped fairly evenly. While the food processor is still running drizzle in olive oil, then the cheese and lemon juice. Add salt to taste but remember the cheese is salty already.

Toss pesto with warm pasta, or spread on crusty baguette (my favorite way to eat it). Also makes a great spread for sandwiches, a base for bruschetta, or pizza; and it's delicious mixed with ricotta, in calzones and stuffed shells.

An August Sun.

Have you ever noticed how the sun feels different in different seasons or even during the same one. Sometimes it's a gradual change and sometimes it's a quick flip flop. You go to bed one night exhausted from the humidity and wake up the next morning to the forgiving dry heat of late summer. The air is less heavy, the sun is in a different place and, oh my, there is a breeze! Green tomatoes turn red, stone fruits are suddenly sweeter, and basil continues to grow in abundance. The sun is a little lower in the sky than it was at the same hour just a month before, but that's not all; somehow, some way, it's just a little different. You can't quite explain why, it's just different than it was a few days before.

Last saturday, that is precisely what happened. It was still just July 31st but I woke up to an August sun.
For me, August is the summer that I love. It's the month of fresh tomato salads and more local corn that you thought you could ever possibly eat. It's zucchini from one of the only two remaining farms in Nassau County. It's homemade pickles (recipe soon!), long bike rides and ice cream after rock climbing (soft serve please!). Best of all, it's the month of assembling foods instead of cooking them; because the best way to eat foods this fresh, is with minimal alteration.

I stumbled across Shannalees's post about peaches and basil and the recipe looked so good that it was the very next thing I ate. Coincidentally, I seem to want a cool blob of  ricotta cheese on everything that I eat these days and that's exactly what was dropped on top of her open-face sandwich.


Because I have to be difficult, I made a few of my own changes like, adding arugula, leaving off the butter and honey and swapping the sourdough for whole seeded rye (it's what I had at home). I also swapped the peach for a nectarine because, again, it's what I had at home.

Nectarines and Basil on Toast

Adapted from Food Loves Writing. 

Serves one.

One large slice whole rye bread (or whatever sliced bread you like)

Small handful baby arugula or baby spinach

One nectarine, sliced

A couple leaves of fresh basil (I picked it from my garden!)

A few blobs of ricotta (If you're near NYC I like Colabro brand the best)

Sea salt and black pepper

Toast bread. Top with arugula then sliced nectarine and basil. Drop small blobs of ricotta on top and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. 

Enjoy immediately!

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Sometimes I write posts that never get published. They just sit there forgotten and lonely, branded by the orange letters that scrawl out "draft". What is normally a benign word, signifying something saved for further review, seems more like a death sentence. Sometimes these forgotten words make just a sentence or two but sometimes they are whole posts long and detailed. They are stories and recipes I had every intention of releasing into the blogosphere but just got lost in the mix of things. Maybe it's because I hadn't yet typed the recipe or maybe I didn't upload the pictures right away. Sometimes I'm unhappy with the pictures and wait till I make the recipe again or maybe I just lost interest, as I do with so many things and moved on to a new post, a new recipe. Many times I don't revisit these abandoned posts - I'll reread them just a couple days later and they seem like old news. Eventually I say my goodbyes and set them free with a click of the delete button. But every now and then, just once in a while, I'll revisit them. It could be that the recipe is just too good not to share or the experience returns for a second round and suddenly my words no longer taste like stale bread as they roll off my tongue. I think in this case it's a combination of the two.

On my 9 hour flight between New York and Budapest I read a book by Molly Wizenberg called "A Homemade Life". The whole thing. I dog-eared page after page to remind myself of the recipes I wanted to make when I returned home 3 weeks later and sure enough the first one I made was for slow roasted tomatoes. They are deliciously simple and so versatile you'll want to make a big batch. Mix them into pasta,  eat them with fresh mozzarella, toss them in a salad, add them to you sandwich or take Molly's recommendation; turn them into pesto. Whatever you do, just promise me you'll give them a chance okay?

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

The coriander is optional and could be left out altogether or replaced with dried basil, oregano, caraway seeds or cumin. Makes 40 Halves

20 Roma Tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)

Salt

Pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees

Cover two baking sheets with tin foil and set aside

Toss the halved tomatoes with olive oil, coriander

Line them up on the baking trays and sprinkle with a few hefty pinches of kosher salt

Grind a generous amount of fresh black pepper over the top

Place the trays in the oven and roast for 4-6 hours.

The tomatoes when the edges are shriveled but the centers are still moist and they are about half of their original size

Refrigerate in and airtight container for up to a week.

A Wednesday Story

Step One: Shake up a batch of homemade salted butter.

Step Two: Walk to the market for a pound of jambon bayonne

Step Three: Stop at a nearby french bakery for a fresh crusty baguette that is way better than any you've ever made. Get distracted by the delicious-looking lemon squares (they aren't the best you've ever had, a little sweeter than you like, but somehow you always feel compelled to order one anyway). On second thought, you'll just have an iced hazelnut coffee (truly one of the best around) and leave with the baguette you came in for in the first place.

Step Four: Assemble your jambon-beurre; rip or slice open a piece of baguette and spread one side with butter. Lay a few slices of the jambon on top of the butter - not too many, just enough for a thin layer. Throw in a handful of arugula and a slather of imported dijon mustard for a twist on the traditional. Slide the sandwiches back into the paper sleeve.

Step Five: Pack your sandwiches and lots of water into a backpack, take a friend with you, and hike multiple miles up, down and around some mountain trails. Breathe in the clean air, leave behind thoughts of traffic and the suburbs. Don't forget your camera, but try not to get caught up with taking pictures either. Remember, there is no time like the present.

Step Six: Stop at a few overlooks, look out over the edge of the cliffs. 
Step Seven: Sit down onthe smooth rocks near a small waterfall. Take out your sandwich and take a bite. Bask in the saltiness of the jambon and the creaminess of the butter - the way they contrast with the spiciness of the arugula and mustard; completed by the way the crust, that it's all pressed between, shatters with each bite.

Step Eight: Drink plenty of water it's pretty hot outside. 
Step Nine: Look around for the wild blueberries that you know won't be ripe for at least another month - probably two. Search anyway just in case, by some fluke, they are ripe early. Find them, they are still quite green. 
Step Ten: Pack up your stuff and hike to the other side of the lake. Poke your head inside a dilapidated house, stop to notice the flowers, lay out in the sun just a few minutes more.

Step Eleven: Head back to suburban sprawl via an over-crowded highway, don't let the traffic ruin your day.

Jambon-Beurre 

If making you're own butter doesn't appeal to you, just be sure to purchase a high quality fresh, salted buter. Something in a tub not shaped like a stick - preferably freshly packed and local. Imported from France would be okay as well. If you have trouble finding Jambon Bayonne, a more common variation is the spanish version called Jamon Serrano or of course the italian prosciutto. I think that jambon and jamon are both a little drier (in a good way) than the prosciutto available near me. Just be sure to ask the price before they slice it, I almost accidentally ended up with a Jamon Iberico; another spanish variation cut only from black iberico pigs, that was $150 a pound! Serves 2

1 French Baguette

1 lb Jambon Bayonne or Prosciutto

Salted Butter (see headnote)

1 Very Large Handful Baby Arugula

Imported Dijon Mustard (I like Maille or Hediard)

Slice the baguette open length wise and spread the bottom half with butter. Layer Jambon thinly on top of the butter and spread lightly with dijon mustard (on the ham not the bread). Top with arugula and close the Sandwich. 

Old habits die hard.

For the past two months I've kept myself on a pretty steady every-other-day posting schedule but lately I've come to realize everything I do is on a schedule and I'm tired of it. Some things, like my classes, are out of my hands but this blog is surely not one of them.

This Simple Spatula is something I write for fun. I don't want to adhere to a schedule anymore and you know what? I'm not going to. Instead I'm going to post when I have the urge to write something or share a recipe. That means it could be two days in a row, twice a week, or even twice in once day but no promises. Okay, that's a lie, I promise to post at least twice a week.

I guess that's a schedule of it own, huh? What can I say, old habits die hard.

Grilled Balsamic Portobello Mushrooms

Serves 2

1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons minced garlic

salt and pepper

to serve:

arugula

cherry hot peppers

goat cheese

balsamic dressing (balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil)

2 pieces good ciabatta bread (either to make a sandwich or just for the side)

Combinge vinegar, oil, lemon juice, garlic salt pepper and mushrooms in a bowl. Marinate for 1 hour or up to all 1 day.

If eating as a salad toss arugula with a small amount of balsamic dressing and set aside. If eating as a sandwich you won't need the extra dressing.

When ready to cook, prepare the grill (propane or charcoal) and place mushrooms in the center with the smooth side down. Pour some of the remaining marinade into the gills making sure the garlic lands on the mushrooms.

Grill 4-6 minutes each side until mushroom is firm but tender.

Prepare salad or sandwich with arugula, goat cheese and cherry hot peppers. Place grilled mushroom on top and enjoy.

The cooked mushrooms hold up well in the fridge for cold leftovers.