Zucchini alla Puttanesca

Zucchini alla Puttanesca is a great dish - hot, fast, saucy and spicy, just like its namesake; "puttanesca" is Italian for, ahem, prostitute.

Just 15 minutes is all you need - 5 for prep, 10 for cooking - and you have an amazingly fragrant and fabulous dish. It can be spooned over rice or pasta, stirred into soup, placed into tortillas, served as a side dish ... the choice is yours.

Tom and I found some of the vegetables we needed for this zesty dish at the Wednesday evening Farmers Market, which offers a wide variety of vendors (farmers, bakers, pizza and tamales) and even live music.

Avalon Housing's Edible Avalon program had a table there, which was absolutely laden with gorgeous produce! Everything had been lovingly tended in a Project Grow garden plot, and was being sold to benefit the non-profit and its residents.

The various area farmers' markets are offering an abundance of beautiful vegetables now, and this dish is an ideal way to put them to good use!

Zucchini alla Puttanesca [ah-lah pooh-tahn-ESS-kah]

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
several splashes of cayenne pepper sauce
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup white wine (I used Flip Flop Wines Riesling, a most generous marketing gift!)
1 fat 8" zucchini, cut into 1/2" cubes
8 Kalamata olives, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped

In a large skillet, heat oil, vinegar, and cayenne pepper sauce over medium heat; add garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, salt and wine; cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is just starting to boil. Add zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add olives and tomato; cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Serves 2-4.

Romanesco Zucchini

There is a particular cooking contest that I've never entered, which encourages gargantuan burgers featuring lots of mix-ins, a sauce or two, toppings, spreads, and all sorts of other nonsense which - to my mind - detracts from the basic beauty of the burger. Good beef, a bit of seasoning, some essential condiments and a sturdy bun are all that's needed.

And so, when zucchini is in season I don't want to see it buried in breads or layered with sauces and cheeses. I love it when it's very simply prepared, letting its flavor shine.

This preparation - involving only a few minutes of sauteeing in garlic and oil, just until the zucchini caramelizes a bit - is ideal for small zucchini which are tender (rather than the overgrown ones which become fibrous).

And if you can find them at the farmers' market, the very best zucchini for this recipe are Romanesco zucchini. Any summer squash - yellow or green - will suffice. But the ridges on the Romanesco make for a beautiful, sunburst-like presentation after slicing. It's worth the hunt for this heirloom variety, I assure you!


Garlic-Sauteed Romanesco Zucchini

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 minced garlic clove
2 6" Romanesco zucchini, ends trimmed,
cut into 1/4" slices
pinch of sea salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add zucchini slices in a single layer and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until golden. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then serve.

Serves 1-2.

Summer Vegetable and Bacon Sandwich

Tom and I ate dinner together the other night, and made ourselves a hot, open-faced sandwich very typical of what he eats on a regular basis. Tom often stir-fries vegetables, and he adores sandwiches; so we combined them into one happy dish.

His sister Anne (whom we consider to be our guardian angel) had recently visited from Kentucky and very much wanted to shop at Zingerman's, since she regularly gets their catalogues. So Tom had taken her to the Bakehouse to buy coffee cakes and other treats, both for gifts and for herself ('cause she's worth it!). And, well, of course he couldn't leave there without buying himself a present too - a loaf of Sicilian Sesame Semolina Bread.

So, for our dinner we started with one slice each of the bread, lightly toasted so that it wouldn't be too crispy when we tried to cut into it. We then peered into the refrigerator and found a lovely assortment of fresh vegetables, as well as some fabulous maple-flavored bacon. Toss in a little bit of the white cheddar that I'd contributed to the cause, and voila - dinner!

This was immensely flavorful, easy to make, and was a perfect light meal for a summer evening.

Summer Vegetable and Bacon Sandwich

5 slices maple-flavored bacon, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 small red onion, halved, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise, sliced
6 asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 slices Zingerman's Sesame Semolina Bread
2 slices white cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium until starting to turn golden. Add onion, garlic, zucchini and asparagus; cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender and caramelized. Add spinach, salt and pepper; turn off heat, and let spinach wilt.

Lightly toast the slices of bread.

Place 1 slice of toast onto each of 2 serving plates. Divide vegetable-bacon mixture, pouring it over the toast. Top with cheese and microwave for 30 seconds or so, just until melted.

Serve immediately, with pickles or chips or fruit on the side.

Serves 2.