Recipes Files...

Below are the recipes from this week's Produce Club. Enjoy!


Roasted Tomato Salsa

Rick Bayless’ Grilled Salmon Vera Cruz with Lemon-and-Thyme-Scented Salsa

Zucchini Muffins

Sweet Potato and Zucchini Bread 

Crunchy Cole Slaw

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Plum tomatoes have firm flesh that holds up well during cooking, making them a good choice for this spicy salsa. Other varieties can be substituted, but make sure the tomatoes are not overripe. To tame the heat in this versatile salsa, use only 1 jalapeño chili.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lb. plum tomatoes or other firm-fleshed sauce tomatoes

1 or 2 jalapeño chilies

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 large white onion, cut into chunks

10 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

1/4 cup fresh lime juice, or to taste

1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or to taste

Directions:

Have ready 6 hot, clean half-pint jars and their lids. 

Preheat a broiler. 

On a baking sheet, stir together the tomatoes, chilies and 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Broil until lightly and evenly charred, 6 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly. Halve, core and seed the tomatoes. Halve and seed the chilies. Place the chilies in a food processor. 

Preheat an oven to 425ºF. 

On the same baking sheet, stir together the onion, garlic and the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Roast until tender and charred at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the onion to the processor. Squeeze the cloves from the garlic skins and add the cloves to the processor. Process until finely chopped. Add the tomatoes and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a large nonreactive saucepan and stir in the lime juice and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add the cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Ladle the hot salsa into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles and adjust the headspace, if necessary. Wipe the rims clean and seal tightly with the lids. 

Process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 15 minutes. The sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months. If a seal has failed, store the jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes 6 half-pint jars. 

Adapted from The Art of Preserving, by Lisa Atwood, Rebecca Courchesne & Rick Field (Weldon Owen, 2010).

Rick Bayless’ Grilled Salmon Vera Cruz with Lemon-and-Thyme-Scented Salsa

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Happily, this fish dish can be made a day ahead. Simply remove it from the refrigerator and arrange 2 hours before serving. Even better, the sauce also can be made 2 days ahead and kept, well covered, in the refrigerator. It’s from Mexico, One Plate at a Time (Scribner), by Rick Bayless, the celebrated Chicago chef and cookbook author.

ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the grill and the salmon

1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

7 cups diced (1/2 inch) ripe tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1 cup pitted, roughly sliced green olives (preferably manzanillo olives)

1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed

3 pickled jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced

Salt, to taste

6 salmon steaks (7 to 8 ounces each), about 1 inch thick

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Preparation

1. Prepare the sauce: Place oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the tomatoes, chopped thyme, lemon zest, and half of the olives, capers, and peppers. Simmer briskly, stirring, for about 5 minutes to evaporate some of the liquid. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in 1 cup water and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt. Cool.

2. Preheat a gas grill to medium-high or light a charcoal fire and let it burn just until the coals are covered with gray ash and very hot. Reduce the heat on one side of the gas grill to medium-low or set up the charcoal grill for indirect cooking by banking all of the coals to one side, leaving the other half of the grill empty. Set the cooking grate in place, cover the grill and let the grate heat for 5 minutes.

3. Oil the grill and both sides of each salmon steak; sprinkle fish with salt. Cook the salmon over the hottest part of the grill for about 4 minutes, until nicely browned underneath. Carefully flip over the fish onto the cooler side of the grill; cook 2 to 4 minutes more for medium-rare.

4. Spoon the sauce into a deep platter and nestle the fish in it. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour to bring together the flavors of the fish and the sauce.

5. To serve, sprinkle the fish with remaining olives, capers, and peppers; garnish with the thyme sprigs. Serve immediately.

Zucchini Muffins

Before using the zucchini in this recipe, rinse and dry, then cut off the stem end before shredding onto layers of paper towels to absorb some of the excess moisture.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1/3 cup canola oil or almond oil

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 zucchini, 4 oz. total, shredded and drained on _  paper towels

3/4 cup dark raisins or dried sweet cherries

1/4 cup pecans or almonds, chopped

Butter for serving

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 400°F. Grease 10 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray; fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. 

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, marmalade, vanilla and zucchini until blended. Add the flour mixture in three additions and beat just until evenly moistened and smooth. Stir in the raisins and nuts just until evenly distributed. The batter will be stiff.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each no more than three-fourths full. Bake until the muffins are golden, dry and springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins. Serve them warm or at room temperature, with butter. Makes 10 muffins.

Sweet Potato and Zucchini Bread

Bon Appétit  | November 1992

yield: Makes 1 loaf

ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

1 1/2 cups grated peeled sweet potato

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Beat sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla to blend in large bowl. Mix in zucchini and sweet potato. Add dry ingredients and walnuts and stir well.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around bread to loosen. Turn out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

CRUNCHY COLE SLAW  

1 head cabbage

8 chopped green onions

8 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

8 tbsp. sliced almonds

2 pkgs. Ramen noodles (oriental)

DRESSING:

1 c. vegetable oil

3 tbsp. sugar

6 tbsp. rice vinegar

1 tbsp. pepper

2 packets Ramen seasoning

Combine shredded cabbage and onions.

Combine sesame sees, almonds and broken apart noodles in an airtight container. Just before serving, combine all ingredients with dressing. 

Serves 15.