Tuscan Bread Salad ~ Che Brava!

Summer is closing up shop and soon farmers will be ushering in a whole new crop of Fall. Ok, not SO soon, but kids are back in school and vacation is now a credit card statement, if you even had one. Another tip-off that Summer is coming to a close: TJ Max no longer has a swimsuit isle and I can't find a pair of weird "lake shoes" anywhere; you know the kind: gummy, spongy shoes you wear to wade through the slime on your way to the speedboat?  Looks like I'll be wearing my Chacos, circa 2000... Because the real reminder that Fall is upon us is Labor Day Weekend; the final hurrah before you are reminded, once again, of how hard American workers' labor for... That's another blog...


So, in an attempt to distract you from the inevitable season change, I thought I would share the simplest salad celebrating Summer's tomato and basil. And don't wait to try this, in fact, make it this weekend. If you wait too long, you may need a can opener...

Tuscan Bread Salad ~ Panzanella

An Italian Tuscan classic, panzanella makes use of hearty leftover bread and very ripe tomatoes; so ripe, the Italians are known to crush them in their hands over torn, dry bread. I added quite a few more steps and surprised myself by how well my stovetop approach worked.
It was too hot to heat the oven so I detoured and heated my iron "grill" skillet in the hopes that it would make the dryest, toastiest bread chunks; a necessity for this salad. And it worked! The bread was perfectly toasted with a lovely char; ready for juicy tomatoes and a garlicky vinaigrette. 

Here she is...

early girls again, awash with basil, ready to be dried

a hearty loaf of sourdough bread, crusts shaved down

save the crusts, they add a nice heft and crunch to the juicy salad

tear with your hands

olive oil and a garlic clove pounded together

dress the torn bread with the olive oil and garlic in a bowl

prepare for "grilling"

the skillet should be heated 10 minutes before, rub the hot skillet with oil and toast the bread 

the bread shavings at the bottom of the bowl should not be wasted and add great texture; fry in a pan and don't forget to toast the crusts too

the toasted tray ready for mixing

core and quarter ripe tomatoes, the more ripe the better

save a couple tomatoes and shave on a grater, saving the tomato juice 

shaved, juiced tomatoes

crush a sliver of garlic clove with one tablespoon of red wine vinegar, juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper; and stream in two tablespoons of good olive oil, to make a vinaigrette

sticky black olives and basil are a nice addition to the bowl with the bread and tomatoes

spoon the shaved tomato over the bread then combine 

spoon the vinaigrette over the salad and toss

che brava!

and with this guy ~ perfecto!

and great as a leftover

 and even better: 

bake in the oven like stuffing(!)

Melon Milk with Honey

Every summer I say I am going to step away from the Charentais and try all of the other varieties of melon. But there are so many I can't keep up, let alone remember their names while lugging them through the farmers market. Just this week I bought and carried three small melons and nearly dislocated my shoulder. Not to mention, it does not help that I am single-handed at the moment: lame. Someone needs a cart!

So, I've been slicing them open and ploughing through them for the last couple of days and here's what I have noticed: they really are the most wonderful things. Tiny and personal I feel like each one was grown just for me. Now if I could only remember their names...

And what could be better post-run than a blend of sweet melon with honey and milk?

I'm not sure and I don't care. Trust me, it's good.

Melon Milk with Honey

This variety may be a Honey Jack??? Sorry...

Blend melon, milk, honey...

You don't need a straw, unless it matches.

Made with love ~ Early Girl Tomato Pan Bagna

I really do love to cook. Outside of the Beatles, It's been my longest romance. Sure, I've loved some great guys over the years but how can they compare to the perfect buckwheat crepe? Or the lightest of gnocchi? Or the sweetest ear of corn in the heart of July? Well, they certainly did compare...

I loved one man so much I called him my Sweet Pie, or maybe that's what he called me... Every summer I would bake him peach pies with blackberries from our bramble of blackberries; and grill flat bread with the ripest tomatoes and basil from our garden. Sometimes I even called him Honey.

For another I made trays of enchiladas with handfuls of grated chili cheese, and crema. And once I made a turkey with stuffing and gravy: it was summer.

Mustard-honey glazed ham with butter biscuits; warm deviled eggs with crumbled bacon; "toasties" bubbling with cheddar-beer sauce and crowned with melted onions. Simple dishes and all in the name of love...

So, you can imagine what romance the farmers market brings me, especially in summer.  The market is loaded with romance: fresh chickpeas still in their husks, sugary Charentais melons, the sweetest Lipstick and Pimento peppers, juicy Lady in Red peaches; and of course, the Early Girl tomato, with her perfect balance of sweetness and acidity.

And thank god she's come to Los Angeles; I've been waiting for her at the farmers markets for the past seven years. In San Francisco she has a cult following, but LA has it's own tomato, the Celebrity-- haha, which is also very good, but... And waiting to make my favorite French sandwich: Pan Bagna. Soaked in olive oil and pressed with a brick, it is typically layered with tuna and egg and olives and anchovies and peppers. It's practically a national dish; eaten all over the south of France.

But I like mine with Early Girl's and soft-boiled egg with olives, lemon and zataar. So, with just a few Girl's left I thought I had better share some of this summer romance with you. 

You're very welcome.

Early Girl Tomato Pan Bagna

~

soft boiled egg, olive, lemon and zataar 

here she is!

halve a roll, scratch with a garlic clove and drizzle with olive oil

lace with thin slices of lemon and pitted olives

zaatar ~ oregano, thyme, sumac, sesame

and sprinkle with zaatar

press the toppings into the bread

layer with sliced boiled egg and season with salt and pepper

sliced tomato, salt and pepper

glaze with more olive oil

weight with a heavy pan, brick, what have you

you can wrap in plastic and flatten in the fridge, too

Haha

after one hour, or more, remove weight

slice and eat

and, if you like, dip into zaatar while you eat

Let the Hunger Begin-- Lettuce and Peas Pasta

I assume we are all familiar with the hungry-angry motivational state, the one we blame for everything: "I was starving! I never eat Double-Double's!". Having pushed you to the point of no return with an oder of Animal Style Fries. But in my experience being hangry can be a good thing, forcing you down a path of creativity and reward; particularly when you are standing in your own kitchen. For me, it's always the same. The hunger is past due and the exclamations begin: there is nothing to eat, there is never anything to eat(!). Followed by the question: why in Hades is there nothing to eat??? With the answer: I am too hangry to care or even think about it... These are the moments when the nearby taco stand feels a million light years out of reach.

Thankfully, a light curse-session is enough to get me in an apron to cook myself something, anything. And wouldn't you know it, that is when the inspiration strikes. Mysteriously, my kitchen transforms into a Top Chef pantry. Open the cupboard and there wait a variety of dried pastas. Pull open the fridge and look beyond the half bottle of vino verde, and a hunk of cheese, and you see a farmers market stash of vegetables bored to death. Crack open the freezer, in the hopes of unearthing the piece de resistance, and a frozen-world of roasted pork ribs, duck fat, Callebaut chocolate bars, hazelnuts, thick-cut bacon, puff pastry, chicken stock, girl scout cookies and of course peas, are ready and waiting. There are no more excuses. Even when there are only frozen peas.

So, on my most recent kitchen adventure I was pretty hangry, and after a small curse-out I re-discovered a meal that would send Colombus into a jealous fit. A bag of frozen peas, a heart of romaine, a handful of frozen leeks from TJ's, an onion, a garlic clove, a brick of rich chicken stock, a pat of goat butter, a bay leaf, and some dried pasta, were my ingredients. Saute' the last sentence in a large skillet and shower with shaved parmigiano reggiano; and my hanger-pains were over.

Check it out:

'Hangry' Pasta

Lettuce and Peas pasta

a brick of chicken stock from the freezer...

frozen leeks, an onion, a clove of garlic with olive oil, and a hunk of chicken stock

the heart of a head of romaine and frozen peas

a perfect side dish for a roasted chicken??? yes!

with pasta and "parmesan"