Mid-Week Brunch

Yesterday, I visited the farmer's market with my step-daughter. We picked up grapes and a variety of berries, corn, green beans, swiss chard, and a rainbow of cherry tomatoes. The late summer produce is abundant, and the return of figs, pears and apples to the market remind us that autumn is around the corner. The end of summer means the return to school for the kids. Today, my step-daughter is flying home. My step-son has decided to stay with his dad and I for the school year.

I made a quick and healthy brunch celebrating some of the gorgeous vegetables we picked up from the market. Using fresh corn, cherry tomatoes and green beans I created a salad that I topped with poached eggs. I finished with bits of bacon on top, but you could keep this meal vegetarian by substituting crumbles of feta.

 Summer Vegetable Salad with Poached Eggs

(Serves 2)

 

Ingredients: 

1 handful green beans, about a cup

1 ear of corn

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Red wine vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

2 pieces thick-cut bacon

4 eggs

Directions: Trim green beans and cut into bite-sized pieces. Blanch in salted water 2-3 minutes, then shock in ice water to stop the cooking. Cut the kernels off the corn. Halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes. Cook off the bacon. I used the microwave for this, but you can pan-fry it or bake it in the oven if you prefer. For the poached eggs, I use a high-sided pan with a few inches of water in it. I set it over medium heat until the water is just simmering. I add a bit of salt and about 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water. Swirl the water with the back of a spoon before adding your eggs. Swirling plus the vinegar will help the whites coagulate and stay together. I crack my eggs into a separate dish and gently place them into the water. I cook the eggs for a few minutes, until the whites are done but the yolks are still runny. I take the eggs out and drain them onto a paper towel. When the eggs are done, dress the vegetables with a splash of red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss together, then divide onto two plates. I top the salad with two poached eggs and some crumbled bits of bacon. I sprinkle a touch of salt and fresh cracked pepper on top and serve.

Sunday Dinners, Marinara Sauce

My little vegetable patch has been giving me some beautiful tomatoes this summer. I have 2 Black Krim heirloom variety plants and a Roma tomato plant along one edge of a 4x8' raised planter. They have been wonderful in salads and on burgers and sandwiches, but I was left with a growing pile of uneaten tomatoes on my countertop, so tonight I made a big batch of marinara sauce to use them up. Homemade tomato sauce is so rewarding, and with the right tools, not even that much work. Start with sautéing your base vegetables and some garlic, add chopped tomatoes and a splash of white wine, season, simmer, and process and finish. That's basically all there is. You can make a lot or a little based on the amount of tomato you have available, and it keeps wonderfully in the freezer to have homemade tomato sauce when flavorful summer tomatoes are long gone.

Marinara Sauce
Makes about 2 quarts
 Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions
3 ribs celery
1-2 carrots
Garlic, 4-8 cloves, minced
Tomatoes- I used around 16 Roma and 10 Heirlooms
1 cup leftover white wine
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and Pepper
Optional: fresh basil, red chili flakes

Directions: Heat a large pot over medium-low heat, add olive oil. Dice the onion, celery, and carrots and add to the pot to sweat. I use a mirepoix ratio with these vegetables, with 2 parts onion to 1 part celery and carrot. After the onion is translucent and just starting to caramelize, I add the minced garlic. Depending on how much garlic you like depends on how much you add. We really like garlic in our tomato sauce, so I probably added about 1/2 a head. Next add the wine to deglaze the pan and add all the tomatoes, roughly chopped.

My little one loves tomatoes, and was underfoot during this process, so it took a little longer than usual.

Since I own a food mill, I don't bother blanching/shocking/peeling my tomatoes and just add them to the pot diced up. The food mill separates the skin after the sauce is made, eliminating a couple steps and a few hours of prep work. If you don't own a food mill, removing the skin before adding to the sauce is necessary, since it won't break down while cooking and can negatively affect the texture of your sauce. I season the sauce with a little dried oregano, salt, and pepper, and let it cook down for about an hour, or until its reduced by about a third.

Pass it through the largest hole setting of your food mill and taste for seasoning, adjusting if necessary. If you don't own a food mill you can pulse though a food processor or a blender in batches, but the texture will be a bit smoother. If you find that your sauce is a little too watery after you pass it through the food mill, feel free to return it to the stovetop to let reduce a bit more.

Tonight we used our fresh marinara sauce over some store-bought cheese tortellini. I ladled about 2 cups of sauce into a large pan and added some fresh basil and let it reduce a bit more while the tortellini were cooking to al dente. I then tossed the tortellini into the sauce with a ladle of the starchy pasta water and grated some fresh parmesan on top. We topped our pasta with a little extra sauce and cheese and ate it with a crusty loaf of garlic bread.

I put the extra tomato sauce in pint containers since I plan to share, but you could also freeze it flat in gallon bags to have your own tomato sauce year-round or for middle-of-the-week suppers.