Recipe Files

One of our Produce Club members, Mo Ray, shared this photo with us of all her vegetables from the week- roasted and delicious!

This week's Club Recipe Files Include:

Greek Gazpacho

Herbed Sweet Potatoes with Feta

Grilled Yellow Squash

Lemon Broccoli Risotto

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Greek Gazpacho (Serves 8 - 10)

Copyright 2007, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved

2 thick slices day-old bread, such as ciabatta or peasant white, crusts removed 

6 large cloves garlic, chopped 

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped 

2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley 

5 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

5 tablespoons good olive oil 

1 red bell pepper, seeded chopped 

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped 

2 red onions, chopped 

1 seedless cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and chopped 

4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped 

¾ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped 

1 (46-ounce) can Sacramento tomato juice 

4 teaspoons kosher salt 

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper 

8 ounces good Feta cheese, small-diced not crumbled 

Place the bread, garlic, oregano, and parsley in a food processor and process until everything is finely chopped. Add the vinegar and olive oil and process again until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. 

Place the peppers, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives separately in the food processor and process until each one is very coarsely chopped. Add to the mixing bowl. Add the tomato juice, salt, and pepper and stir well. Taste for seasoning, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Fold in the feta and serve cold.

Herbed Sweet Potatoes with Feta

This simple preparation of sweet potatoes would make a wonderful accompaniment to roasted meats.

Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into slices 1/2 inch thick

3 Tbs. olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/4 lb. feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup pine nuts

1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh thyme

Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Season the sweet potatoes

Preheat an oven to 400ºF. 

Place the sweet potatoes in a 2-quart gratin or baking dish. Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread the potatoes in a single layer. 

Bake the sweet potatoes

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle evenly with the cheese, pine nuts, and thyme, and continue to bake, uncovered, until the cheese is golden and the sweet potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven, drizzle evenly with the lemon juice and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6. 

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, One Pot, by Carrolyn Carreño (Oxmoor House, 2008).

Grilled Yellow Squash

By: Sarah Stephan

Ingredients

4 medium yellow squash

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the grill for medium heat.

Cut the squash horizontally into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick slices so that you have nice long strips that won’t fall through the grill.

Heat olive oil in a small pan, and add garlic cloves. Cook over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle and become fragrant. Brush the slices of squash with the garlic oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Grill squash slices for 5 to 10 minutes per side, until they reach the desired tenderness. Brush with additional garlic oil, and turn occasionally to prevent sticking or burning.

Lemon Broccoli Risotto

Gourmet  | November 1991

yield: Serves 2

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

ingredients

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 pound broccoli, cut into flowerets, quartered if large, and stems cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups rice (short, medium, or long grain)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

In a large saucepan bring the broth and the water to a boil and in the broth simmer the broccoli flowerets for 3 minutes, or until they are just tender. Transfer the flowerets with a skimmer to a bowl and reserve them. To the simmering broth add the broccoli stems, the zest, and the lemon juice and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. While the stems are cooking, in a large heavy saucepan cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened and stir in the rice, stirring until each grain is coated with the oil. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth, stems included, and cook the mixture over moderately high heat, stirring constantly, until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding the broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each portion be absorbed before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still al dente. (The rice should take about 20 minutes to become al dente.) Stir in the reserved broccoli flowerets and simmer the risotto, stirring, until the flowerets are heated through. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Fresh marjoram has a delicate floral flavor that blends beautifully in many Italian dishes. It is cousin to oregano, which is sometimes called wild marjoram, but its flavor is more subtle than oregano’s. Both herbs are traditionally paired with tomatoes in Italian cooking. While meatballs in tomato sauce are a traditional Italian dish, in Italy they would always be served as a second course. Spaghetti with meatballs has become a classic combination among Italian Americans.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 lb. pork sausage, casings removed

3/4 lb. ground beef

1 egg

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 large shallot, minced

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

Fresh marjoram leaves, chopped, plus whole 

  sprigs for garnish

3 garlic cloves

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Olive oil, as needed

1 yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 large can (35 oz.) plus 1 small can (12 oz.) 

  plum tomatoes, chopped, with juices

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 lb. spaghetti

Directions:

To make the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk and mix well. Add the sausage, beef, egg, ricotta, one-third of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the shallot, nutmeg, cloves, a good sprinkling of marjoram and 1 garlic clove, minced. Mix briefly with your hands just until the ingredients are well distributed. Season well with salt and pepper. Form the mixture into small balls 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter.

In a large fry pan over medium heat, pour in the olive oil to a depth of 1/4 inch. When it is hot, add the meatballs (in batches, if necessary) and brown well on all sides. Transfer to a paper towel-lined tray to drain.

Discard the oil in the fry pan and wipe out any burned bits. In the pan over medium heat, warm 3 Tbs. olive oil, add the onion and sauté until soft and lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Slice and add the remaining 2 garlic cloves and sauté about 1 minute more. Add the wine and simmer until it is almost completely evaporated. Add the tomatoes and juices. Then add the broth and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the meatballs, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the meatballs are cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), 7 to 9 minutes. Drain the pasta well and put it in a warmed large, shallow bowl. Add a sprinkling of chopped marjoram to the sauce, remove the bay leaf and pour the sauce over the pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and toss gently. Garnish with the marjoram sprigs and serve immediately. Pass the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the table.

Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Pasta, by Erica De Mane (Simon & Schuster, 2001).