Fried Green Tomatoes

Make it elegant and serve with creme fraiche and pea shoots.

One of the great things about shopping for produce at the greenmarket versus the supermarket this time of year is the variety and abundance. Right about now, the purple, yellow, and red carrots are being pulled up for market and the varieties of summer squash are vast, ranging in color from pale, pale yellow to deep, dark green. Things you may have never even seen before are available and waiting to be tried. Soon there will be big bunches of dill flowers and hundreds of peppers in every shape, size, and color.

Commune cuisine at its finest!

This past weekend I was reminded of one of my Southern-inspired summer favorites--fried green tomatoes. The hard green tomatoes piled in a crate looking meek and lonely next to the fancy and exotic heirlooms wooed me with their simplicity and humble presentation. I filled a bag right away. Fried green tomatoes are a symbol of summer sun and relaxation to me. Served with some kale, and smoky vegetarian pinquitos beans and rice, these sour and savory morsels don't last long at my table.

Fried Green Tomatoes

10-12 firm, green underripe tomatoes (ripe, green heirlooms are watery and don't come out the same)
1 1/2 c yellow cornmeal
1 c whole wheat or oat flour (or corn flour for gluten-free)

One of those little buggers began to ripen overnight!

1 T Cajun seasoning (opt.but good!)
1 t garlic powder
1 t sweet paprika
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

1 egg (opt.)
1 1/2-2  cups almond milk, soy milk, milk, or water

expeller-pressed canola/sunflower/safflower oil for frying (a cup or so)

I fried it anyway.

Wash and core tomatoes and slice into rounds about 1/3" thick. Set aside. In a shallow bowl or on a plate, combine cornmeal, flour, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.

If using egg, whisk together egg with liquid in a medium bowl. Start with 1 1/2 and as you dredge and fry, add more liquid if you are running low. Without egg, just put the full 2 cups liquid in a bowl.

Heat a 1/2 inch of oil in a frying pan and set up a plate with paper towels for draining. When a pinch of flour sizzles, oil is ready. Dip tomato slices in liquid and dredge in the cornmeal mixture, creating a nice, thick layer. Place in the oil to fry. Continue until pan is full, but not overcrowded.

Fry for about 4 minutes, flip, then fry about 3 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt while hot. Fry remaining slices in batches. Dredging the upcoming batch while a batch is frying will save time.

Tranfer drained tomatoes to a warm oven, uncovered to keep hot.

Serve with hot sauce, ketchup, creme fraiche and pea shoots (my favorite), or mustard. They are great as sandwiches the next day, too.

Tagine Cookery

Looking for a yummy break from takeout and holiday shopping mayhem this week? Hit the spice store on your way home and make a tagine for dinner.

A tagine is a Moroccan/North African dish and also the traditional Moroccan cooking vessel that it is cooked in. Also used in other North African and Turkish cookery, a tagine can be rice, couscous, lentil, vegetable, or meat based and simmered with dried fruit, spices, and nuts. There are many Moroccan and Turkish cookware websites featuring cooking tagines. There are also lots of common stores that carry them. Stores like TJMaxx and Marshall's often carry them at fantastic discounts and top brands such as Le Creuset are making tagines now, too.

Most likely, you can find one at a good price. Here are some links if you feel like browsing. Some of these are so gorgeous! I have also included some spice store links in case you have a hard time finding spices or get inspired and need something exotic. You will probably find the spices for the recipe below in your regular grocery store.

Tagines, Recipes, and Resources:
http://www.tagines.com/
http://www.zamourispices.com/tagines
http://www.africantreasures.com/tagines/default.asp?gclid=CIf4xs2Yw54CFQk75QodY3Nunw
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/search/search.aspx/tagine/?order_num=-1&sstr=tagine&dim=1&nty=1&


Spices:
(In New York, also mail order) --two of my favorite stores!
http://www.kalustyans.com/
http://www.spicecorner29.com/
(In Chicago, also mail order)--never been here, but it looks great! Any feedback, Chicagoans?
http://www.thespicehouse.com/
(In St. Louis, also mail order)--never been here either, Thoughts and feedback welcome!
http://www.myilaaka.com/business.jsp

I got nothing for LA or San Fran--if any of you Californians know anything, please post it!


The difference between cooking with a tagine and cooking in a regular Dutch oven or casserole is the conical shape of the lid. As the dish heats, the hot air circulates within, blending the flavors and simmering all of together to create delectable and complex results. (Almost an early version of the CrockPot...just in a clay vessel... over a fire.) Most tagines can also be cooked over medium heat on the stove, covered, and then transferred to the oven. Even the terra cotta or clay styles are usually tempered for various uses. Check your instructions first. You may have to soak or "season" in the oven before the first use.

If you are not up for the investment, but want to do the recipe, it will work fine in a Dutch oven or covered casserole. You may have to cook it a bit longer and/or stir it once for even cooking.

If you decide to tagine along with me, I hope you find it brings you lots of joy. An excellent buy if you like to entertain, they look fab as serving dishes too!

Here is a rice tagine I made tonight for dinner after dealing with shopping crowds at Herald Square. I just threw everything in and waited for the timer to ding. I combined a few different tagine recipe into one and got this. I served it with Coriander-Lemon marinated Chicken and Flounder Fillets. If you want to, you could actually put meat or fish right into the uncooked rice and liquid just before it goes in the oven. You want authentic? That's authentic!

Spiced Brown Rice Tagine
Digging around my spice shelf, I came across some Utah Basin semi-coarse salt with fragrant spices, so I used that. C'est Magnifique!

1 cup chopped onion
4 T extra virgin olive oil
2 t sea salt
1 t turmeric
2 t garam masala
2 t ground coriander
2 t sweet paprika
1/2 t ground cumin
3/4 cup brown basmati rice
1/2 cup chopped raw cashews
1 cup frozen peas (frozen or thawed)
1/2 cup dried currants

1 1/2 cups water
2 T sweet paprika pepper puree (found in a tube in Mediterranean stores) or use 2 T paprika
1 bay leaf

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint



Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cook onion on low heat with olive oil salt, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, paprika, and cumin for 15 minutes, or until onion is translucent and spices are becoming fragrant.

Add rice, cashews, peas, and currants and stir until evenly distributed. Cook three minutes.

Add water and pepper puree or paprika, and bay leaf and bring to a bold simmer. Add cilantro and mint.

Cover and bake in the oven for about 50-60 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
You should check it at 30 or 40 minutes to see if water is absorbed. If it looks dry and rice is still hard, add another 1/2 cup or so of water.

Serve with meat or veggies. I like serving with a bunch of crushed red pepper or harissa.

Alyce & Roger, I haven't forgotten you

Dear Alyce and Roger of Alyce & Roger's Fruit Stand,

I know after my visit, I promised to write up a nice blog entry of your lovely displays. There really isn't a specific reason it hasn't happened, other than work slammed me and I turned into a cooking machine, temporarily holding little regard for the simple nuance of a gourd or the beauty in a humble heirloom potato.
I haven't forgotten you, though. What a wonderful weekend we had in the Catskills for our friends, Matt and Nicole's wedding. We had a blast, even staying an extra day to fit in some fishing, fruit stands, and a little more fresh air. The highlight of the fall, we returned to the city rested with some gorgeous golden fingerling potatoes and our first fall decor of the year--some quirky and cute miniature gourds.

We promise to return sooner than later. It may not be till spring, but we would love to catch a glimpse of the first herbs, sprouts, and asparagus of the season!

Thanks for the great pics and even better potatoes!

Sincerely, Catherine Hoffman

p.s. Below is my favorite fingerling potato preparation.

If you are ever near Mt. Tremper, NY in the Catskills and want some lovingly harvested produce, stop by Alyce & Roger's Fruit Stand and tell them where you heard about them!

Alyce & Roger's Fruit Stand
Rte. 28
Mt. Tremper, NY 12457
(847) 688-3114

Rosemary-roasted Fingerling Potatoes
This is fast, easy, and good--perfect for this time of year when we are all too busy to mess with intricate weekday meals. Enjoy!

2-3 lbs fingerling potatoes
3 qt. salted water
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t minced garlic
3 T fresh rosemary (dried works if you are in a pinch)
1 t sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1-2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice


Wash potatoes and place in a good sized pot. Fill with water and salt and bring to a boil. Boil 15 minutes and drain in a colander.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes and onions in a single layer in a roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil over mixture and add garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Rub seasonings into potatoes gently to distribute.

Roast for about 30 minutes, uncovered, until potatoes begin to brown and skins begin to wrinkle. When they are fragrant, brown, and wrinkled, finish with a bit of lemon juice and serve!

**If you make this ahead of time, don't finish with lemon until serving time. Reheat in the oven, then finish with lemon.

Pumpkin Soup, NYC Food and Wine Show, Chelsea Market, AND Knives

Silly, silly me. Of all weekends to decide to drag a big bag of stuff on the subway and into Manhattan. I went to Chelsea Market this Saturday to get some knives sharpened. I soon learned that this weekend was the New York City Food and Wine Show. The show is sponsored by The Food Network, which is housed INSIDE Chelsea Market. Oy Vey! Well, I thought, I couldn't very well turn back because I had already made it to the west side on the slow weekend trains and the knife lady was expecting me.

To add to the mess, most lines had limited service due to construction AND when I got off the train I had to plow through the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer to get to my destination. I guess it's a good thing that I had a dozen French knives in my bag--I had a false sense of confidence stomping down the street dragging my bag of sharp stuff and made it through the mess of tourists in record time!

I just wanted to get my knives and my clients' knives to Margery, the knife sharpener who, by the way, is fantastic. She sets up her table outside Bowery Kitchen Supply and is there Wednesdays and Saturdays from 12-6. Her prices are really low and she does a bang-up job! I just added her link, Samurai Knife Sharpening, to my links if you're interested. Oh, yeah, and she's really nice to boot!

So, there I was and decided to make the best of it. Below are some pics taken inside Manhattan Fruit Exchange at Chelsea Market. Yes, this is fresh baby corn and behind them, raw uncured olives. Divine!





Above is a shot of the varied and exotic dried beans, grains, nuts, and pasta offered at very reasonable prices. Just look at the colors!

Anyway, the place was jam-packed, but since I was there, I did my best to do a lap and see what I could see. I didn't run into Guy, Rachel, Sandra, or Alton who were all around giving talks and doing workshops. I noticed Paula Deen wasn't there, but she sent her sons to do a workshop for her, though!?!? I thought that was a little odd, but I'm a little odd myself and shouldn't judge.

I made a point to go to Buon Italia and bought some wonderful semolina pasta and bought some imported fresh sheep's ricotta to stuff them with. Sheep's Ricotta!!!! I also hit Manhattan Fruit Exchange, Fat Witch Bakery, Eleni's, and Amy's Bread before I headed out to get out of the crowd for awhile.

By mid-afternoon, I was back to pick up my super sharp knives and get back to Brooklyn pronto. I did manage to take pics of some impressive carved pumpkin displays and some beautiful shots from the Manhattan Fruit Exchange, though. See photo below for a look at the pumpkins carved to look like Guy Fieri and Rachel Ray. Pretty unbelievable, I would say. I also managed to eat a Pumpkin Walnut Muffin and picked up some homemade brioche hotdog buns at Amy's Breads.
Yes, I do believe it turned out to be a surprisingly fun and tasty day.

To celebrate the season, here is my favorite pumpkin soup recipe that is healthy, seasonal, and oh so dee-lish.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

1 pumpkin, (basketball-sized), halved with seeds removed

1 lg onion, roughly chopped
4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t sea salt
1/3 c raisins
4 c vegetable stock or water
1 T ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
½ t cloves
1 T allspice
½ c maple syrup
1 cup almond milk or coconut milk
¼ c lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet and roast pumpkin halves, open side down for 1-1 ½ hours or until very tender and soft. Remove from oven, flip and let cool a little while you put together the soup.

In a large soup pot, cook onion and olive oil for 2-3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Season with sea salt. Turn heat to low.

Scoop roasted pumpkin flesh from it’s skin into soup pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes and stir.

Add raisins, stock, and spices. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom.

Add maple syrup and milk and remove from heat.

Puree in batches until very smooth. Return to a clean pot, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Finish with lemon juice, taste, and adjust seasonings.