Salsa is a terrific snack. Its primary components are vegetables and its acidity, heat, and natural sweetness satisfy in a guilt-free way. It is no wonder that every grocery store sells so many varieties of salsa. We can walk down the condiment aisle and expect to be able to choose from a variety of roasted, tropical, and green salsas, each one suiting a different menu and mood.

For those savvy to a few tricks in the kitchen, salsa is also appealing because it is so easy to prepare. And the beauty of making fresh salsa is that you can combine the sweet roasted flavor of tomatoes with the soul-appeasing crunch of fresh peppers and onions.

With the recipe below, you will be such a star of your next Cinco de Mayo party with so little effort that you will find yourself trying your own tropical and tomatillo versions of this recipe. When you do , share them with us, because there is always occasion for a good salsa.

Ingredients

• 3 fresh tomatoes
• 2 sweet bell peppers, preferably a some combination of red, orange, or yellow
• 1 sweet white or yellow onion
• 1 jalapeno
• The juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• Salt, to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Cut your tomatoes into quarters and remove the core.   Toss them in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread them on a baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes or until they are caramelized and soft.  When you remove the tomatoes from the oven, allow them to cool and then, using a pairing knife, gently remove the skins.  Place in a bowl and gently crush.

Cut your sweet peppers and onions into 1/4 inch dice and place into a mixing bowl.  Finely dice your jalapeno and cilantro and add them to the mixing bowl.  Add the roasted rushed tomatoes and lemon juice.  Season with salt to taste.

Serve with chips or with your favorite Mexican entree.  Yields 3 cups.

As the last scrumptious jars of Green Goddess Organics Heirloom Tomatoes disappear from my shelves I am reminded of the misty fresh sea air in Monterey. Last fall, just before moving back east, my buddies Katie, Robin, Gerick and I canned a heaping pile of the most juicy ripe tomatoes we could find to carry us through the winter.

The tomatoes of choice were a mixture of the five heirloom varieties (Red Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine, Marvel Stripe, Black Crimson and Cherokee Purple tomatoes)  grown by Green Goddess Organics in Hollister and Salinas. This exquisite farm is owned by Madeleine Clark and run by Jerry Simpson. This 3-year-old farm is certified by the Tri-County Organic Farmers’ Cooperative, growing a variety of delicious orange-flesh honeydew melons, icebox watermelons, broccoli, peppers, green onions, summer squash and beets.

We canned about 80 pounds – most of which were “seconds”, secured by our awesome friend Aretah. “Seconds” usually have some surface blemishes, splits or cracks on them. Since they cannot be stored as well and don’t look as pretty as the “firsts,” farms will often sell them at reduced prices when tomatoes are in abundance. The cracks in the tomatoes are usually caused by too much water, when I see them I know it means the tomato is super juicy!  So these are perfect for canning.

It took an entire evening of chopping and sterilizing. Gerick and Robins generous use of their kitchen complete with functioning dishwasher made sterilizing the jars a cinch! We ended up with about 50 quart size jars which we’ve been cooking into soups, pizzas, sauces and salsas throughout the winter – stay updated for recipes!

Photos:  Green Goddess Organics tomato fields off Riverside Road near Hollister, CA; canning galore

When I was a kid, I was an exceptionally good eater.  Perhaps this was due to the amount of time I spent with my mom in the kitchen, watching her create beautiful and aromatic dishes, helping her dice and stir and season.  How could I not eat something that I had just spent the last hour helping to prepare?  This is undoubtedly the reason I was requesting things like grilled sauteed spinach and lamb chops for dinner before I was ever able to even spell these things.  I am grateful to my mom for this.

As sophisticated as my palette was, however, the only food I remember having a real gripe with was eggplant.  I think this is a pretty common ingredient for a child not to like, but lately I have heard many adults claim they, too, dislike the flavor of eggplant.  The reason for this, I am certain, is that, in this country especially, not everyone knows much about what to do with these big, strangely colored and even more strangely textured vegetable.  And, eggplant is bitter in its raw state.  When an eggplant is not cooked enough, that bitter flavor remains, and sticks with the exposed taste buds long enough to discourage a person from ever eating it again.  I understand!  I, too, was victim to this aversion, but I have since learned that, when prepared properly, eggplant is the incredibly sweet and mild in flavor, and I believe that if first tasted in this form, most people would find it hard to resist.   I now think upon my childhood years with shame, just thinking of how many perfectly good eggplants I turned away from in disgust.

My rule of thumb for eggplant is the softer it becomes, the sweeter and more delectable it is, and this is achieved not by salting, as most people claim, but by steaming.  And this cooking method, which comes from a Moroccan dish I found in Food and Wine magazine, will get you there every time.  So put down the salt shaker for now, as this recipe calls for no pre-salting.   Try instead a new way.  And if you have yet to introduce your kids to eggplant, do them a favor and start here.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants (the big, dark purple ones work best for this recipe)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4-6 heirloom tomatoes of mixed shapes, colors, and sizes, chopped (could be substitutes with a can of whole tomatoes, chopped, in winter)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Poke your eggplants in a few places with a fork.  Place them in a large, heavy bottomed pot, over medium high heat and cover.  Let them steam this way for twenty to twenty-five minutes on each side, turning once.  When they are soft throughout and the skin is slightly charred, remove them from the pot and place in a colander to drain in the sink for ten minutes or so.  Then, scrape the insides out of the skin, mash with a fork or wooden spoon, and set aside.  You may need to add some water to your pot and return it to the heat to scrape up some of the charred bits of skin before the next step.

Heat the olive oil in the same pot.  Add the onions, and allow them to sweat through for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then, add the garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and salt.  Continue to stir and cook for another three to four minutes or until the onions are translucent.  Add the eggplant and the tomatoes and stir well to combine.   Reduce the heat to low and add the parsley and cilantro.  Taste for salt.

Continue to cook over low heat until the tomatoes are soft and their liquid has evaporated a bit, another ten minutes or so.  Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a little bit of chopped parsley if you would like and serve immediately.

This dish is great with rice and is a good compliment to chicken, white fish, or lamb.

Italy in summer is hot for sure, but that heat that beats down also produces some of the best vegetables known to man, most importantly the epic tomatoes, which proprietors of small restaurants around the south of the country grow in small pots outside of their kitchens.  I can’t tell you how unique an experience it is to literally see the chef walk out of his kitchen to the back patio, pick some cherry tomatoes off of his cherry tomato bush and bring them back in to make our bruschetta in the heart of Positano on the Amalfi Coast.

Of course, what many don’t realize is that like any great sandwich being all about the bread, bruschetta is no different.  Great, fresh bread has such a great flavor, and paired along with the olive oil, herbs and tomatoes creates one of my favorite appetizers ever.  The Italiens have (not surprisingly) perfected this, and a big part of it is this simplicity.  It’s literally 5 ingredients, plus a sixth (herbs of your choice), but those are optional.  I’ll keep this post short and simple, the way this recipe should be and keep dreaming about those evenings walking around town looking for the fresh tomatoes and other crostinis – we couldn’t stay away from this dish and sampled it almost everyday.  Here’s how we re-create it at home:

• 2-4 Tomatoes depending on how much bruschetta you’re making.  Remember that this dish is aggressively seasonal.  I wouldn’t dream of making it in the winter time, or any other time besides peak tomato season, which in New England runs from around July to mid-September.  You can use cherry, heirloom or any good looking tomatoes for this dish.  NEVER REFRIGERATE YOUR TOMATOES!!!
• 1/2 – 3/4 loaf fresh crusty bread
• Extra virgin olive oil – the fresher the better
• A few pinches of salt
• 1-2 cloves garlic – peeled and left whole
• Fresh herbs of your choice – I use a combo of oregano and basil, but thyme works well too (optional!)

Somewhat simple construction of this dish.  Simply dice the tomatoes into rough chunks.  Delicately place the tomatoes into a large bowl and add a pinch of salt and a generous splash of olive oil.  Remember to use the best olive oil you got for this dish, it really makes a difference!  Mix in the herbs you’re using with the tomatoes and set aside to rest.

Next, cut the bread to the desired width – I really like mine a little on the thicker side, but not too thick.  Toast the bread in the toaster until golden brown but still soft in the middle.  You’re looking for a good crunch, but still a chewy middle.  Don’t overlook this step!  Remember to toast the bread well and you’ll be happy.

Once the bread is done, take your clove of garlic and rub it generously on each piece while it’s still hot from the toaster.  You then want to drizzle a little olive oil right onto the bread, over the garlic.

Top with the tomato mixture and serve immediately!  Enjoy -

When you have just suffered a day of unbearable heat, and your house is still stagnant with the day’s humid air, sometimes the last thing you feel like doing is increasing the temperature in your house by flaring up the stove.  Often during these nights you can’t even tell whether or not you are truly hungry, even though your grumpy mood insists that you are.  Well such was the case when I concocted this delightful sandwich.

I decided one pot, one burner was my max, so I picked up a piece of beautiful of fresh sockeye salmon from The New Deal fish market here in Cambridge.  I kept thinking about what to serve with the salmon when a thought occurred – why not just make a delicious sandwich to encase the entire dinner and call it a night?  Sounded simple enough.

If you are just going to have one thing for dinner, you want it to satisfy, so good quality ingredients are key.  Lucky for me it was Monday, the day of the farmer’s market that is less than a block from our house (I know, we are lucky, lucky, lucky and very grateful!).  I picked up a nice crusty sourdough loaf, some fresh tomatoes, and a nice bunch of fresh basil that I thought I would use to whip up a basil mayonnaise.  I was ready for dinner!

This sandwich turned out to be simple but so unbelievably satisfying.  If you are having guests, perhaps just a simple salad might compliment this sandwich nicely.  We were cooking for two, and loved the idea of eating the whole darn meal with our ten fingers, and I must say, that wasn’t a bad way to do it.  Total prep time was around 20 minutes and one pot made the dish load very manageable.  A successful cure for the sticky hot, summertime Monday blues!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 lb. of fresh salmon per person
• Good quality crusty sourdough bread
• 1/4 cup of mayonnaise per two people
• 1 lemon
• 1 large ripe tomato
• 2 tablespoons of fresh basil,chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Pat your salmon very dry, especially if you like to eat the crispy skin, and season it with salt and pepper.  In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter and add the oil.  Place the salmon skin-side down in the skillet, and leave it alone until you can see that the salmon is cooked about halfway through and the fish moves freely from the pan, about 4 minutes, depending on thickness.  If it sticks, do not fight it, just give it another minute or so.  Then, flip it and cook another three or four minutes until it is just shy of done.  It will finish cooking as it rests.  It may take a bit longer if it is a thick piece of salmon.  Remove from the skillet and set aside to rest.  Squeeze half of the lemon over the salmon to keep it moist and to add acidity.

In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, basil, and about a teaspoon of lemon juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside for assembly.

To assemble the  sandwiches, cut the bread to about 1/2 inch thick slices.  If you insist on toasting it, be my guest, but down blame me when the sandwiches innards end up all on your lap.  Add a generous layer of the basil mayonnaise, the salmon (skin removed if you prefer), and nice, thick tomato slices.  Cut in half to make them easier to eat, and enjoy!

Ketchup has always held a special place in my culinary eye.  As a kid, I put the stuff on literally everything – even chicken, steak and pork chops – rather than just the standard french fries and burgers (which I of course enjoyed also).  These days, I’ve cut way back on my ketchup consumption, but I still like it on the standard stuff.  In fact one of the times I really enjoy it is at breakfast time on eggs and omelets.

Don’t get me wrong, I do think the Heinz company makes a great product – their ketchup really hasn’t wavered in quality over the many years – they’ve stayed very consistent which is great.  I’ve always been tempted to make my own ketchup and when I found Jamie Oliver’s recipe in a recent cookbook, I thought hey, why not give it a shot.  My recipe is a lot like Jamie’s, with a few variations.

Being winter time, I unfortunately had to opt for standard grape tomatoes, instead of those awesome multi-colored heirloom tomatoes that will enable you to create cool looking yellow and green (or even purple) ketchups. This variation turned out really well, though I may have added a little bit too much vinegar.  The straining of the sauce through a sieve is a critical step in the cooking process, as it gives the condiment that great clean sheen and smooth texture.  Do this multiple times if you can.  Here’s how to make your own ketchup happen:

• Around 2 cups of cherry tomatoes (best quality you can find) or the equivalent amount of awesome heirloom tomatoes – halved or chopped
• 2 medium sun dried tomatoes – soaked for at least 45 minutes in hot water, then chopped finely
• 1/2 bulb fennel – chopped
• 1 large onion – roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1 large celery stick – cubed
• 1 large clove garlic – diced
• 1 Tbsp. ginger – peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp. dried basil flakes
• 1 tsp. red chili flakes (more if you want it spicier)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar – start with 1/2 cup and add more to your taste
• Salt
• 1 Tbsp. white pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Start by prepping your vegetables.  Once your onion, fennel, celery, garlic and ginger are ready to go, add them to a heavy bottomed pot such as a dutch oven and add the olive oil ahead of time.  Add in the coriander seeds,  pepper flakes, basil, sun dried tomatoes, salt and white pepper and cook the combination slowly over medium/low heat.  Soften the vegetables, stirring often for somewhere in the range of 20-30 minutes.  Be sure not to brown the vegetables at all if you can help it.

Next, add the tomatoes into the mix, stirring to incorporate.  Add around 1 cup of water into the pot as well and bring the liquid to a boil (turning the heat up a bit).  Reduce the liquid a good amount (by about half).

Next add the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree for a minute or two until all of the chunks have been reduced to almost nothing.  Add the puree to a medium fine sieve and strain through the sieve into a clean pot – do this a couple of times at least to get the right texture.  Bring the heat back (on low) and add in the vinegar and brown sugar, stirring to incorporate.  Cook down as you wish to the right texture and consistency.  That’s it!  Can this sauce as you wish and enjoy the tomato goodness.

Summer has come and gone and as usual, I’m wishing for more of the nice weather and great fresh, simple ingredients and recipes.  Fall season is here though, and with it brings the awesome earthy, organic flavors of squash, apples and mushrooms.  I gotta say, it might be my favorite season of the food calendar.  The nights get shorter, the beer gets darker and so does the food.  Bring it on!

Our local farmer’s market is still hanging on to some of the last fruits of the summer though, as there was still an abundance of summer squash, as well as some late season tomatoes, which I’m happy for as I try to wrap my head around doing some canning for the winter.  This recipe really was thrown together at the last minute and the final product was good, so I’ve decided to post it – if for nothing else then as another good idea on using summer squash – an ingredient that I find sort of difficult to innovate dishes around.  When in doubt – make a pasta, it is really hard to screw up.

The dish is sort of similar to one of Aimee’s classic pasta recipes like Linguine with Little Neck Clams and Chorizo Sausage or Pork, Spinach and Feta Ragu with Vodka Sauce. The one thing that differentiates this dish from the rest is some of the ingredients, the fact that it doesn’t include any meat (hence the ‘Primavera’ aspect of it) and the combination of summer and fall flavors.

I also added some Marscarpone cheese to the dish to finish it, as it added a layer of creaminess to the dish, something I like with veggie pastas.  The other tip I want to share is a method of finishing a pasta, something I will always do now (especially after reading Bill Buford’s book ‘Heat’).  This method entails actually under-cooking your pasta somewhat in the pot, then removing it and finishing it in another pan with a tablespoon or two of your pasta water.  This really creates an awesome binder between the flavors that are in play and will make any pasta better, I promise.  The pasta itself will finish cooking and your final result will be perfect!  Here’s how it went:

For the tomato sauce first:

• 1/2 a large white onion (1/2 for the sauce, 1/2 for the veggie portion)
• 1 medium carrot – shredded on large holes of a box grater
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup good (at least decent) red wine
• 1 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 – 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes (optional and add based on your own heat preferences)
• 1 tsp. fresh oregano (optional)
• Salt and fresh pepper
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil

Start the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion and carrot and season with salt.  Sweat the onion and carrot and let them cook for 5-10 minutes.  Add the garlic, oregano, a little more salt and red pepper flakes and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so.  Add in the wine and let it reduce by half to 3/4.  At this point, you should start the rest of your dish!!!  Add in the tomatoes and the bay leaf with a little more salt and pepper, reduce the heat to low, add a little water and keep the sauce at a slow simmer while you cook the rest of the dish:

• 2 medium summer squash or 4-5 small round summer squash – shredded on a box grater
• 1 bunch red kale (or green) – chopped
• 1 small head fennel – sliced lengthwise
• 1/2 a large onion (large dice)
• Small bunch of basil, 1/3 to 1/2 a cup – roughly chopped
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup almonds – whole and chopped, then toasted in a small pan over low heat until golden brown
• 1/2 cup good dry white wine
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese, ricotta, feta…)
• 1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 tbsp. olive oil

Start a large pot of boiling water.  In another large skillet (aside from the sauce) over medium/low heat, add the butter and olive oil.  When they’ve come up to temperature, add the onions and fennel and cook them for around 10 minutes, until they begin to caramelize.  Add in the kale and combine it with the other veggies – it should wilt a little as it cooks down.  Before adding the squash, turn up the heat on the pan a bit and make some room for it on one side of the pan.  Add it in and let it brown a little bit before mixing it together with the rest of the veg.  Finally, add the basil and cook to combine.

In a small separate pan over medium/low heat, add in the almonds and brown them until golden, then take them off the heat.  When the water comes up to a boil, add a few pinches of salt and the pasta, stir and cook until it’s JUST al dente and kill the heat but don’t drain it!

Meanwhile, when the veggies are cooked to a desired doneness, add in the wine and cook off until there’s very little left.  At this point, add in the tomato sauce that you made in the separate pan to the veggies and cook together for a few minutes.  Remove the bay leaf and adjust the seasonings to your liking.  Add in the marscarpone and mix together.

So now you should be ready to combine the sauce and the pasta.  The way I do this is in a separate pan (the one I used for the sauce).  Simply ladle around a cup of the sauce into the pan once it’s gotten hot, and grab a bunch of pasta with tongs and add it to the pan and combine it with the sauce.  Next, add in around 1-2 tablespoons of the water you cooked the pasta in to the pan and mix together.  Serve the pasta on a dish of your choice and top with grated Parmesan.  Buon appetito!

Finally.  BLT season is here!  Easily one of my favorite food seasons (along with stone fruit season, green garlic season, etc…).  I freely admit that for the last four days I have eaten a BLT at least twice a day.  Now obviously, most people can figure out how to make a BLT.  I thought I would share some personal opinions (and a few facts) that might make your BLT just a little bit better.

First, a set in stone fact.  DON’T REFRIGERATE TOMATOES.  Just like stone fruits, pears, etc… refrigeration does bad things to great product. Here I give you fact from the author of the bible (a.k.a. Harold McGee, author of “On Food and Cooking” Scribner 2004 revised edition).

“Tomatoes came originally from a warm climate and should be stored at room temperature. Their fresh flavor readily suffers from refrigeration. Tomatoes at the mature-green stage are especially sensitive to chilling at temperatures below about 55ºF, and suffer damage to their membranes that results in minimal flavor development, blotchy coloration, and a soft, mealy texture when they are brought back to room temperature. Fully ripe tomatoes are less sensitive, but lose flavor due to the loss of flavor producing enzyme activity. Some of this activity can come back, so refrigerated tomatoes should be allowed to recover at room temperature for a day or two before eating.”

Basically, just don’t do it.

Next up, I like to marinate tomatoes for at least half an hour before eating them (though marinating for a few hours, certainly isn’t going to hurt). I typically peel my tomatoes. To do this, cut a very shallow, small X on the bottom of the tomato, just deep enough to break the skin. Put the tomato in boiling water for five to ten seconds depending on ripeness. Remove the tomato and let it cool for a minute or two. The skin where you made the X should be peeled back slightly. Use a pairing knife, pull the skin away from the flesh.

Cut your tomatoes into slices or wedges, whichever you prefer, and sprinkle with chopped shallot, basil, pepper, and some good olive oil.  I would do the same thing for most dishes using raw tomato.  In the picture, I used Fino Verde basil, which has very small leaves, and Tasmanian pepper (an extremely floral pepper that can be obtained through Le Sanctuaire http://www.le-sanctuaire.com/)  Another idea would be to use garlic oil. To make this, submerge peeled garlic cloves in olive oil and cook in a 250ºF oven until the garlic is soft.  You now have garlic confit and garlic flavored oil.

Now, the bacon.  The only trick with this one is finding the best.  I am partial to Benton’s from Tennessee, but if there is a good local pork producer, it is hard to go wrong.

Lettuce.  Boston Bibb is a good lettuce for BLTs, but I like something with a little more spice.  My favorite is mustard greens.  Dark purple and vibran green with an intense mustard flavor.  You probably wouldn’t want to eat a salad made solely of these as they are so spicy, but on a sandwich they’re great.  In second place is a very spicy wild arugula.

Like the bacon, the bread is all about finding a great product, except being local is even more important.  We all know how quickly bread can transform from sublime to mundane.  Search out a local bakery and look for a soft crusted bread.  When you are making a dish with only three or four ingredients it is imperative that you use the best.  With such a tight focus, any mediocre product is going to stand out.

Dressing.  Now this one is open for debate.  My two current favorite spreads for my BLT are guacamole or Kewpie mayo.  I know I use the stuff in half my recipes but it is because it is so damn good.  Pick some up already.  And lose that “Ewwwwww” face.  Seriously, it’s delicious.