My Favorite Squash Gratin: From Fine Cooking

Zucchini and Summer Squash Gratin with Parmesan and Fresh Thyme

This may be my favorite summer vegetable dish. It effortlessly combines the most delicious bounty of the season and it tastes divine to boot. The  addition of caramelized onions on the bottom is a stroke of pure genius. This is great served with any robust meat dish, and can be played around with by adding different sorts of herbs or cheeses. Multicolored fresh heirloom tomatoes are another distinctive addition. It is gorgeous on the table and is an easy knock-out when trying to impress the picky. 

I suspect it would be quite pleasing with goat cheese on top as well. If you are in possession of a decent oven, the stated 60 minutes cooking time is a little excessive - keep an eye on it and pull it at 40 if it is bubbly delicious looking enough for your needs. 

(Yes, I make this a lot). 

Created by Susie Middleton. 

For the onions:

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 medium onions (14 oz. total), thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

To assemble the gratin:

1-1/4 lb. ripe red tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices

3/4 lb. (about 2 small) zucchini or other green summer squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices on the bias

3/4 lb. (about 2 small) yellow summer squash or golden zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices on the bias

3 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp. coarse salt

1-1/4 cups freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To cook the onions: In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently, until limp and golden brown, about 20 min. Reduce the heat to medium-low if they're browning too quickly. Add the garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant, 1 to 2 min. Spread the onions and garlic evenly in the bottom of an oiled 2-qt. shallow gratin dish (preferably oval). Let cool.

To assemble the gratin: Heat the oven to 375°F. Put the tomato slices on a shallow plate to drain for a few minutes and then discard the collected juices. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini and squash slices with 1-1/2 Tbs. of the olive oil, 2 Tbs. of the thyme, and 1/2 tsp. of the salt. Reserve half of the cheese for the top of the gratin. Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the thyme over the onions in the gratin. Starting at one end of the baking dish, lay a row of slightly overlapping tomato slices across the width of the dish and sprinkle with a little of the cheese. Next, lay a row of zucchini, overlapping the tomatoes by two-thirds, and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat with a row of squash, and then repeat rows, sprinkling each with cheese, until the gratin is full.

Season lightly with pepper and the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Drizzle the remaining 1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil over all. Combine the reserved cheese with the remaining 1 Tbs. thyme and sprinkle this over the whole gratin. Cook until well-browned all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 65 to 70 min. Let cool for at least 15 min. before serving.

From Fine Cooking 33, pp. 24-29

June 1, 1999

cafe granada: spanish tapas, mild saline overdose excluded

Cafe Granada
1506 S Carrollton Ave
New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 865-1612

Cafe Granada is a small and open Spanish cafe on South Carrollton, near the restaurant cluster of Cafe Lebanon and Fellini's Italian. Granada specializes in tapas - those Spanish small bites that seem to have infested the menu pretty much everywhere in the known world - but also features Spanish standbys like paella, pollo a la basque, and a tasty sounding Moroccan lamb tagine. If you're one of New Orleans long-suffering vegetarians, the veggie menu is startlingly extensive and really is free of pork fat (gasp!)

Enough description, how's the dang food?



This is a cooked garbanzo bean casserole with aromatic herbs and cumin - $5. Tasted pretty much like Indian garbanzos with less kick. Not heinous, but way too much oil and salt ( a recurring problem here.)



Next we tried the Eggplant Granada, which I will let them describe: Grilled Layers of Eggplant Stuffed with Mushroom Duxelle and Crispy Onions, Placed on Pomegranate and Romesco Sauce, $6.


I liked the sweet and savory combination of flavors and it's a nice looking dish, but the oil content and salt was again too high. It's rich: took a few bites, was satisfied, didn't need too much more. Which may be the point of sharing anyhow.



Being a total clam lover, I sampled the clams Catalan, sauteed with sun dried tomatoes, almonds, spinach, and white wine ($6.00.) These had a good garlicky flavor but again, tone down on the salt, guys. I like the tender clam meat and the sun-dried tomatoes, but where, oh where, was my beloved spinach? Beyond a stray leaf or two?



This is Fabada, composed of fresh fava beans, artichokes, and sun dried tomatoes in veggie broth and Sherry vinegar. See, these, now THESE were smashing: the slow cooked favas ended up tasting rich and savory, almost like cheese. The combo with the artichoke and sun dried tomato flavor was great. I'd definitely order these again.

Verdict? Granada has a healthy selection of inexpensive tapas that, despite good flavor, definitely need to be turned down on the oil n' salt-o-meter. Nonetheless, I imagine I'll be returning to sample that lamb - and it's a great place to hang out and nosh when the weather is good.

balsamic roasted brussels sprouts with shallot and rosemary

ROASTED BALSAMIC BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH SHALLOT AND RED ONION



Brussel sprouts are often maligned. Many an innocent American child has suffered through dismal dinners of boiled and unseasoned brussel sprouts: no wonder they're so often hated. But if treated with respect and love, the brussel sprouts becomes one of the planet's tastiest vegetables. Here's my recipe for roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar, red onion, and shallot. Guaranteed tastiness. Shed thy childhood trauma.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound brussels sprouts
1 red onion
1 shallot
Rosemary
Tsp of kosher salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Artichoke hearts (if desired)

You will need about a pound of sprouts for four people. Round up or down depending on the sprout lovin' proclivities of your audience.



Cut the sprouts and remove the outer leaves and split in half if you are using big guys. Leave them whole if using baby brussels sprouts. As you do this, turn up your oven to 425 degrees.

Finely chop one red onion and one shallot.



Get a bowl or pan and toss in the sprouts and the onion and shallot, as well as some chopped rosemary. Mix with a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil, a teaspoon of salt (more to taste), and a tablespoon or so of nice balsamic vinegar. Make sure the sprouts and the onions are nicely coated.



Get a big flat baking sheet and coat with olive oil or Pam. Spread out the onion and brussel sprout mixture, making sure to even out clumps. If you're like me and deeply enjoy crispy roasted onion bits, you'll want things to lie nice and flat.

Stick those suckers in the oven! My oven takes around 20 minutes to roast these to tenderness: it may take a little less time if you are using baby brussel sprouts.

If you would like to go all fancy with this, about 10 minutes into cooking time, get out a small sauce pan, turn it to high, and add two or three tablespoons of vinegar and a finely chopped shallot, as well as some rosemary and diced garlic. Reduce the sauce to a nice thick level, and toss on the sprouts when they are just about done cooking.



They should look something like this once they're done. Serve the sprouts immediately after they are removed from the oven, making sure to scrape up aforementioned crispy onion bits to sprinkle on top. These brussels sprouts go especially nicely with braised meat or chicken dishes: I like these with lamb shanks, beef short ribs, and other earthy and wonderful winter specialities.

Variant: toss in some cleaned artichoke hearts or mushrooms along with the brussels sprouts. Extra deliciousness!


Next up: smothered okra with tomato sauce and shrimp from Cookin' Up A Storm. Yeah baby.

HOW TO MAKE BHINDI MASALA

Bhindi masala is one of my favorite Indian dishes. Okra, often maligned in American cuisine, is transformed by the addition of Indian spices into as delicious a vegetable as can be imagined. I ate bhindi masala all across India and became quite a connoisseur: I realized, upon my return to the USA, that I was simply going to have to learn to make it myself. Which I did. And now I will tell you. This is a very simple bhindi masala, a rather half-assed variant on a dish that can get very tasty and rich indeed. I use no ghee, I don't grind the spices myself, and I generally exist in a state of pleasant and American laziness. I still think it tastes pretty good. I'll also show you how to make some simple Indian spinach - now that's easy.




First, you are going to need some okra. If everyone present really really likes bhindi, a good pound should feed around three people with leftovers. If there are people present who consider okra to be an agent of Satan, budget for less. Of course, you may convert them.



Cut the bhindi. I like to slice them in half - I think it makes them cook faster. Now, and this is VERY IMPORTANT, wash the heck out of these guys. Wash them once, wash them twice, wash them again. This helps eliminate quite a bit of the dreaded slime factor. You should also chop two whole tomatoes while you're at it.



Cut a white onion , throw it in a pan, and saute until it all starts getting clear. This should be self evident.



Next, throw in about 1 and a half teaspoons of minced garlic and ginger. Add more or less depending on personal preference: I often up the ginger. Cook this briefly until the garlic starts to color.



Now you'll be adding your spices. Toss in: 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 2 teaspoons of coriander, and 2 teaspoons of cumin. Mix it up. DO NOT ADD SALT: it makes okra slimier during the cooking process.



Now add your two chopped tomatoes. Stir, mix up, get a bit of heat on them.



The big moment! Toss in your bhindi, as well as a teaspoon or two of garam masala. Add a bit of water if the mixture looks too dry. Cook on heat for about four minutes or so, stirring continuously. Then, turn the heat down to low and cover. Bhindi is best if cooked for about 20 minutes. Check on it and stir occasionally.



Bam! This is what you should end up with. It is now okay to add salt: it will not activate your bhindi's sliminess receptors.

But that's not all! Here's how I do super-fast Indian spinach.



Get yourself a white onion and slice that sucker up. Throw it in a pan or wok and stir-fry until clear. Add 1 and a half teaspoons of ginger and garlic, respectively. You may also add some whole mustard seeds. If desired, slice and add a tomato, and stir-fry for a bit.



Once that's all together, add your spinach. You will probably need about one bag of spinach a person, depending on the spinach-loving proclivities of your guests. Keep on adding in clumps as it cooks down.



Cook until it wilts and ta-da, you're done! If I was doing this real-Indian style, I'd cook it much longer and run it through a food processor, and add some ghee or milk or cream.

There you go: vegetarian Indian food that any idiot can cook. Go forth and eat!

Ubuntu Round Two: Jes' Keeps Gettin' Better

Ubuntu Napa



This week I was lucky enough to make a return visit to Ubuntu, the Napa valley's excellent and innovative vegetarian restaurant. I am usually an avowed meat-a-tarian but Ubuntu could make a convert out of anyone: incredibly full and exciting flavors are somehow conjured up out of seemingly lowly vegetables, rendering pork fat and schmaltz oddly superfluous. Head chef Jeremy Fox is trying to prove that meat is by no means necessary to produce high-concept and highly delicious food, and from my perspective, he's succeeding. Food at Ubuntu is carefully thought out, carefully executed, and beautifully designed, but retains its soul: this isn't quite molecular gastronomy but it is still food transmogrified into high and exciting art.

What I am trying to say is you should really eat here.



We began with a lovely salad of light fried sunchokes and what I believe was a brussel sprout/choke' puree underneath, accompanied by microgreens and some exquistely small white radishes. This is a nice, thoughtful composed salad and a good way to start a meal here - one advantage of Ubuntu is that portions are small enough that one can order just about the entire menu (and you will want to.)



Next was homemade fregola in a "french onion" broth, accompanied by quenelles of sweet onion and leek ash and a touch of parmesan. This had the nice earthy chewy flavors of good French onion soup, minus the beef stock and the hard raft of cheese and bread: a real revelation. The chewy, squidgy little pasta beads reminded me of a grown up variant on alphabet soup: this is what you think of when you think winter comfort food.



Ubuntu's cauliflower in a cast iron pot with vadovuan and "couscous" is the restaurant's killer app, the menu item that Must Appear at all times or There Will Be Consequences. For good reason: it tastes like nothing you've ever tried before in a really exquisite way: sort of like a creamy, cheesy, buttery dip composed out of cauliflower. The cauliflower is pureed, turned into texturally seductive "beads" and sliced raw: the contrast in textures and temperatures in this dish is something to remember. Ignore the too-hard toast points served with and just scrape this mofo out of the pot (perhaps while menacing your dining companions.)



Next was a sauerkraut and emmental pizza, with apple garlic confit and caraway. This oh-so-German winter special was pretty tasty, although I am no pizza lover: the kraut added an unusual and slightly fermented taste to the rustic, chewy dough and emmental cheese. It almost reminded me of eating a flat meatless reuben sandiwch. I am no vegetarian and will state with confidence this would be much improved by large quantities of fennel sausage.



This was a carrot gnocchi with parmesan cheese and fragrant spices: a beautiful dish to look at. How did it taste? Extremely high end Kraft macaroni and cheese, and I assure you this is a good thing. The soft, gentle flavor of mac and cheese was cut through by the fruity aspect of carrot and the subtle but prevalant spices: I don't tend to like mac and cheese but I can make an exception here. This is a rich dish and I tend to prefer my food more structurally complex, but this is ideal comfort food for the petty bourgeoisie set.

We also tried a dish of smoked grits with hickory and apple BBQ'd brussel sprouts with a kimchi of the leaves - and my camera decided to eat the photos. It was a nice dish with a pretty dense hickory smoke flavor, although a bit more overt then I prefer. The BBQ'd brussel sprouts were interesting and tasty, and I like the astringent and fruity apple-greens kimchi served on the side.



Ubuntu's Deanie Fox makes some interesting desserts, and I advise even the sweet-shunning crowd to pick something out from the menu. I chose the white chocolate ice cream with seasonal fruits and citrus sorbet: an ideal dessert for my citrus loving and sugar-shunning self, with a great interplay between fresh fruit, slushy sorbet, and smooth and melting ice cream. The presentation was also gorgeous, although the bowl was badly weighted: don't eat this too quickly or the person sitting across you may end up wearing it.



We finished up with a few miniature vegan carrot-cake cupcakes. Note the adorable little candied carrots up on top. These were super moist and also super sweet: a bit much for me, although I liked the yogurty tang of the cream cheese dressing. The vegan cupcake continues its unstoppable march across American gastronomy, and I won't stand in its way.

Ubuntu is just plain wonderful. Few restaurants foster so much thinking and discovery as this one: every menu item is a totally new experience and surprise. Although I'll never give up my beloved dead animals, I'll happily go veg for a meal at Ubuntu.

Cafe Rani: Non-Bacon Based Food in NOLA?!

Cafe Rani
(504) 895-2500 ·
2917 MAGAZINE ST ·
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70115




This pleasant little cafe on Magazine has some great vegetarian and light options in a city that is extremely dependent on lard. For that alone, it's gonna see some repeat business from me. Shall we elaborate? (Oh yes!)

The menu relies on slightly foofoo salads, sandwiches, quesadillas, and pastas, with a few interesting appetizers thrown in - I want to try the stuffed artichoke ($7.95) like wow. Prices are wonderfully, magically low - music to the ears of this poverty-ridden college student.



I decided to opt for the Grilled Salmon Salad, primarily because I have never met a slab of pink fish meat that I didn't like. (Not that I am often formally introduced to dead fish.) I was able to substitute sun dried tomatoes for walnuts, and yes, I know I am trapped in an 80's time warp, whatever. The salad was very large indeed and came with delicious, quickly boiled haricorts verts on top - yummy. The salmon filet was less huge then the rest of the salad, but cooked to my specifications and quite tasty. For $8.95, it's a total deal, and it also took me more then five minutes to eat. If you know me, that's impressive. (I come from the inhalation school of eating. I am a delicate fleur.)



My buddy Amanda is a vegetarian, which is not exactly easy to deal with this in this town, where bacon is considered a viable condiment. She was happy to find the Mediterranean Sandwich, containing roasted red pepper, spinach, cucumber, tomato, pesto sauce, avocado, sprouts, red onion, cheese and god knows what else on a nice hunk of ciabatta, complete with a side salad. For $6.95, it was one big ol' sandwich, and she was able to take half home for lunch tomorrow. Definite thumbs up.

Rani boasts a whole bunch of house-made salad dressings, all of which looked tasty: I liked the honey-lemon vinaigrette very much indeed. I'll definitely try out the Pepper-Jelly vinaigrette next time for comparison purposes. Rani also has a full espresso and coffee bar, which could be a nice option if one is inclined to linger over dinner.

The dining area is homey and rather upscale inside, and pleasant and open outside: I liked the large and illuminated tree in the center of the courtyard. We've had pleasant and warm weather here in NOLA of late, and it was a real treat to eat a tasty, healthy meal outside in some nice weather. Rani isn't cutting edge cuisine, but it does scratch the healthy Wednesday-night supper itch I am prone to, and that is a good thing.

Ubuntu: This is What Vegetarian Food Should Be

Ubuntu Restaurant and Yoga Studio
1140 Main St
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 251-5656


Vegetarian restaurants generally don't evoke images of culinary grandeur. Vegetarian food is associated with tofu, brown rice, and distressing, gloppy Hippie Chow - not the kind of scrumptious, decadent cuisine that really stirs the soul.

To combat these notions, I present Ubuntu, Napa Valley's glorious new vegetarian restaurant. Although the restaurant may rather curiously be attached to a yoga studio, the wife and husband chefs (who met while cooking at Manresa) give the place enviable culinary chops. Furthermore, the space is simply beautiful: an open kitchen set next to a well-stocked bar, a huge communal table running down the center of the room. This friendly yet hip vibe suits the restaurant perfectly: Ubuntu serves high concept and delicious food at reasonable prices and replaces Haute Cuisine snobbery with a healthy dose of wonder at what can be done with vegetables.

On our recent visit, we decided to sit outside to enjoy the perfect summer evening. Our server brought us menus, and we were immediately confused and intruiged by the menu: Ubuntu serves completely unique food. We decided to fire away and pick whatever sounded interesting: this proved to be a very good strategy.



First up was the "carta da musica" with truffled pecorino, mushroom chips arugula, and a good splash of super high quality olive oil and saba. Carta de musica translates into "sheet music" referring to the flat and flaky nature of the bread, and this was great: think of the lighest, airiest just baked cracker you've ever had, topped with decadent, delicious pecorino cheese, peppery, sharp arugula, and unexpected, smoothly buttery fried mushroom chips. This is a simple dish and just plain perfect: transforming flat-bread into something light as air and at the same time satisfying.



We moved on to the grilled peach and french bean salad, topped with burrata cheese, basil, and pesto and basil stem vinegar. This was also excellent: freshy and slightly squeaky blanched beans, tossed in a pesto so fresh you could just about feel the basil. The burrata cheese was also delicious, adding a bit of dairy decadence to what could be a slightly insubstantial dish. The grilled peaches are pureed into a tangy and slightly rich spread that goes just perfectly with the pesto, cheese, and fresh green beans: a great and unusual combination. Grilled fruit needs to see more attention on American menus.



This simple looking ramekin contained one of the most delicious things I've eaten this year. The menu describes it as "cauliflower in a cast iron pot," and it's a complex dish: cauliflower is roasted in the oven with vadouvan curry powder, pureed with plenty of cream and butter, and served raw in a granular "couscous", accompanied with coriander and toast. It's a triumph: the smooth cauliflower is almost impossibly rich, and when juxtaposed with the spiced roast cauliflower and the smooth, pleasing crunch of the "couscous" is innovative. This dish is great in that it takes richness away from the realm of animal or dairy preparations and hands it over to a new source: the humble cauliflower. You know you're eating something marvelous when you pause every bite to comment on how damn delicious it is.



We hadn't intended to order dessert - we'd already hit Bouchon Bakery - but Ubuntu's food had blown us away so much that we had to give in. A good call: Ubuntu is doing amazing, amazing things with the sweet side of the menu. Here's roasted strawberries with lavender meringue, lemon cream, and frozen yogurt, presented creatively and gorgeously on a big old piece of slate. This was such an interesting thing to eat: the smooth, tangy lemon cream matched perfectly with the roasted, rich strawberries, creating an impromptu strawberry lemonade flavor - but don't forget the tangy, flash frozen yogurt medallions or the ethereal and sweet meringue chunks either. This is my kind of dessert: light, delicious as anything, and beautiful to behold. I have never wanted to lick a rock more.



Finally, we sampled the frosted feuilletine with bananas, keffir lime ice cream, and rum milk - the server described it to us as "frosted flakes for grownups" which sold us on the spot. And that it was: crunchy little bits of cookie, served with super-fresh banana and tangy, deeply interesting keffir lime ice cream: the way I wish my morning cereal was. The rum milk was served in a little ramiken on the side, allowing you to add it at will: a fun touch to an already interesting dessert. Excellent.

I really can't compliment Ubuntu enough. This restaurant is serving interesting, innovative and most importantly delicious food. Ubuntu also proves handily that thee is no deprivation inherent in vegetarian cuisine: vegetables in the proper hands can be just as deeply, primevally satisfying as meat, and just as pleasing to an avowed omnivore's tastes. I intend to come back as soon as possible to try everything on the menu and see what other surprises these chefs have in store for me. This is more then good food: this is interesting food, working at the edge of what's possible with vegetables and cuisine.