My Favorite Summer (No-)Cooking Techniques
I’m teaching a kids cooking class at Farm One next Sunday, July 9th! It’s aimed at 7-12s (but younger kids are welcome if helped by a parent or sibling). We’re going to play tasting games with mystery herbs, learn to slice and mix, and make smoothie bowls with edible flowers and mini-forest hummus toasts with Farm One’s speciality micro-greens.
If you’re disappointed that you’re not 8 and want to come to an adult class, let me know — if there’s enough interest maybe we can make that happen in the future.
So I spend all winter dreaming about summer produce and everything I’m going to cook with it…and then suddenly we’re in the thick of it (so thick we can’t see the skyline), berry season has almost flown by, I want to fill my bags with all the shiny squashes and small potatoes and crisp greens but I don’t know if I’ll have the time to use it well and I don’t want to spend much time in my 90° kitchen but we still need to eat and and…inevitably, I fall back on a few of my favorite cooking techniques that mostly don’t involve actual cooking, but open up a myriad of possibilities and variations that I can adjust with what I have and what I feel like eating.
These are three of my main summer techniques — I’ll go through the basic blueprint and then offer ideas for the different directions I’ve taken. Let me know if you want to hear about any other summer produce! And please consider becoming a paid subscriber if you’re into this stuff and/or want to receive recipes that are much more detailed and precise than these :)
Grate a zucchini
Raw grated zucchini is so good and unbelievably versatile. I’ve had it on pizza, where it sort of melts and melds into the cheese, and in a sandwich with peanut-coconut chutney, where the texture somehow made it feel like tuna fish. The key is to salt the grated zucchini to draw out some of the liquid and a little of the bitterness, like you do with eggplant. After that, you can cook it (it’ll cook better with less water) or use it raw in so many ways.
Method
Clean however many zucchinis you want and shred them with the large holes of a box grater. Put them in a bowl or colander with ½ teaspoon of salt per (large) zucchini and mix it up. Let sit for 20 minutes (or longer) and then squeeze out as much water as you can. Taste it and if it’s too salty for your dish, briefly rinse and squeeze dry.
Thai-ish peanut salad — use about 4 zucchinis with 1 small carrot (peeled and grated), some chopped peanuts and cilantro, seasoned with lime juice, a little soy sauce, (vegetarian) fish sauce, and a pinch of MSG. Serve with lots of fried onions sprinkled on top.
Zucchini-tomato-mayo sandwiches — layer the shredded zucchini with big slices of beefsteak tomato and a nice mayo (I got a jar of Duke’s this year). Or if you want to do a little more work, follow my recipe for this Roasted tomato, zucchini, and mozzarella sandwich.
Zucchini peanut chutney sandwiches — This sounds kinda weird, but I swear it pairs so well. Here’s a recipe for the peanut-coconut chutney: Nutty eggplant salad with tomatoes & herbs.
Summer squash pizza - I defer to Deb here. I’ve made this recipe multiple times and it’s perfect.
Zucchini scrambled eggs — Add the zucchini to the pan first to cook out remaining water, then add the eggs beaten with salt and pepper. Cheese would be good here, but not necessary.
Zucchini quesadillas — Just add some of the zucchini into the quesadilla with cheese on both sides to hold it together. It tastes fuller and fresher at the same time.
Greek zucchini casserole — Mix the shredded zucchini with some feta, manouri, or kasseri cheese, a couple of eggs, a little flour (AP or semolina), some chopped parsley or another fresh herb, and black pepper. Put it in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes or until it looks set and the top is golden brown.
Blend some greens
This isn’t pesto (though you can definitely make pesto). It’s looser, less rich, and lets the taste of your greens stand out more, so it’s a great thing to do with a sharp arugula or tasty kale if it’s just a little past salad-crisp (or you don’t feel like salad). I love to take a disparate plate of cold roasted vegetables and marry them by pouring this sauce all over. Again, I’m including it here because it’s so versatile — this could be the base for a kind of palak paneer, or you could mix it into a grain for something like a risotto.
You can use any type of greens here — if they’re more delicate, just leave them raw, but if they’re sturdier you can cook them briefly to help them break down. You can toss in other odds and ends, like a little wilting parsley or the last nub of cheese. Just don’t add too many flavors if you want to really taste the greens.
Method
Leave delicate greens — like arugula or basil or baby spinach — raw. Briefly blanch more sturdy greens like kale or Swiss chard by putting them into boiling water for about a minute and then removing to an ice bath. Then add the greens to a blender or food processor along with some olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. If you have the ends of other random herbs that you think would pair nicely, like parsley or cilantro or dill, you can add them. You can optionally include a garlic clove or some grated parmesan. Blend on high until the mixture is very smooth.
Roasted veggie pile —You can serve the sauce just with boiled or roasted potatoes. Or make it a whole dish by adding cold/room-temp roasted veggies (tomatoes, eggplant, cauliflower, broccolini), something pickled (pickled garlic scapes, pickled onions), and torn chunks of a nice mozzarella.
Pasta Sauce — Add a little pasta cooking water to help it stick to the pasta, and then toss everything together in the still-warm pot. A lot of black pepper and some sharp cheese is very good here.
Bean salad — Toss the green sauce with garbanzos, cannellini, or Royal Corona beans. Use canned or freshly cooked beans, or re-fry them on the stovetop with some olive oil and garlic and then add the sauce.
Green sauce on green vegetables — Blanched asparagus or green beans (that are still slightly crunchy) mixed up with the green sauce is great. It might be quite bitter, but you can balance that with plenty of lemon, or maybe fried breadcrumbs.
Green oatmeal — Mixing green sauce into your oatmeal is like a super easy version of risotto. This would probably be tastiest with parmesan, but if you don’t do dairy, you can cook the oatmeal in almond or oat milk for a little creaminess.
Palak/etc. paneer — Use the sauce as a highly-interpretive version of palak paneer. You could add a little sautéed garlic and ginger and spices like cumin and turmeric. Then serve the sauce with pan-fried paneer, tofu, or halloumi.
Green sauce poached eggs — Pour the sauce in a cast iron pan or Dutch Oven and gently crack some eggs on top. Add feta or another cheese if you want, croutons if you have them, fresh parsley. Cook covered on the stove or in a 375°F oven until the egg whites are set, about 7-10 minutes.
Creamed greens for babies — The main way I get leafy greens into Miro is by blanching them and then putting them in the blender with some cream cheese. So simple, but he eats so much of it.
Freeze a banana
I’m already in the habit of freezing bananas when they start to get soft for someday banana bread, but in the summer we never get to banana bread because I just blend it and eat it. Even though I call it “ice cream” sometimes below, please don’t think of it as some kind of diet-deprivation ice cream. It’s its own cold creamy wonderful thing — perfect on its own or as a base for all kinds of milkshakes or frozen dessert creations.
Method
Peel the banana* and break it into a couple chunks, then put it in a Ziploc bag in your freezer until mostly frozen (or freeze until solid and then defrost slightly before using).
*If you forgot to peel before freezing, let it defrost slightly, then slice it lengthwise into two halves. It should be pretty easy to peel after that.
Banana ice cream — Blend the frozen banana by itself or with Greek yogurt or Skyr (as opposed to a runny yogurt, which will be more like a milkshake). You can pulse in mix-ins like black sesame and Oreos for a cookies & cream flavor, peanut butter and chocolate chips, or chunks of fresh strawberries or peaches. Eat right away or freeze for another hour after blending.
Malted date milkshake — I learned about this idea from the Superiority Burger dessert menu, but I guess it’s a whole Coachella thing? I blend a frozen banana, some almond milk, a heaping tablespoon of malted milk powder, a hefty pinch of salt, and a few pitted dates into a milkshake that’s sweet but sort of tangy and has just enough texture to be interesting.
Banana chocolate bites — Instead of freezing big chunks of banana, peel and cut it into thick slices. Microwave some dark or milk chocolate in 30-second bursts until it’s smoothly melted. Dip the banana slices into the chocolate (lift them out with a fork), and then put them onto a parchment or Silpat-lined sheet tray and put it into the freezer. Once the pieces are frozen solid, you can put them into a Ziploc bag so they take up less space in the freezer.
S’mores ice cream sandwiches — Blend the frozen banana. Use any cookie that’s not too hard — graham crackers or Digestive biscuits or a waffle cookie like I used — and spread one side with Nutella or melted chocolate. Spoon the frozen banana on top. Sprinkle some flaky salt and sandwich it with another cookie. Freeze again for about 45 minutes before eating, or freeze until solid and then allow to defrost slightly so that you can bite into it.
