Good Simple Things: Early Summer
GOOD SIMPLE THINGS, if I had to sum up my approach to cooking and eating, that pretty much does it. This is the first of a once-a-month-ish newsletter that will be dedicated to celebrating the simple, good things of the season. Inspired by the some of my favourite food writers such as Elizabeth David, the recipes will be presented more as suggestions or ideas without strict measurements or cook times. I always feel so liberated and inspired by this way of reading about food, I hope you will too!
Zucchini Flowers
The joy of eating flowers never gets old, and there is something about finding nourishment from something that would otherwise be forgotten that just feels so good. I have fried them in tempura batter twice this season- once stuffed with herbs and goat cheese, the other served alongside cold soba noodles and mensuyu broth. Not exactly simple to make, but also not difficult, and very much a seasonal pleasure worth trying at least once! I’ll save that recipe for a more in-depth newsletter next week, in the meantime, these are some other ways I have been enjoying zucchini flowers:
Stirred though gnudi (or pasta): fry them with a little olive oil and butter, then add a few cloves chopped garlic, a spoonful or two of capers and a good lug of white wine (and a splash of cream if you have it) for a nice pasta sauce: top with a handful of chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, oregano, mint or basil or all 4 of them.
In an open-faced omelet: crack a couple of eggs into a dish and add a good splash of cream and a generous pinch of salt. Cook the flowers in a pan with plenty of butter and a little sage and then pour over the eggs, allowing to just set on the bottom before lifting and tilting the pan to allow the egg to run underneath, then continue this rest, tilt and lift until the egg is almost completely cooked, but still glistening on top. Turn off the heat and top with plenty of finely grated Parmesan (or small dollops of good goats curd) and fresh black pepper. I love to serve this topped with a pile of peppery arugula dressed in olive oil.
On toast with fresh ricotta: Sauté a few zucchini flowers and sliced up zucchini in a pan with a good lug of olive oil and big pinch of salt. Towards the end of cooking throw in a little chopped garlic and some pine nuts if you have them- chili flakes are also nice if you want to sprinkle some in. Grill or toast a piece of good bread then rub all over with a clove of garlic. Spread with a generous layer of ricotta and then pile on the zucchini and flowers. Top with fresh herbs (I love oregano with this, but basil or mint are also great) a good amount of pepper and a little drizzle of honey if you fancy.
Fresh Ricotta
I love fresh ricotta at this time of the year because it goes so well with all of the fresh fruit and vegetables that are starting to come in. A piece of toast simply slathered in ricotta and topped with some fresh fruit and maybe a little honey is a perfect breakfast. A little ricotta can be just what a salad of fresh greens and fruit such as figs or plums needs to add sustenance without overpowering. It is also great with tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant…all the good summer veg that are starting to roll in.
It’s not necessary to make your own ricotta, I think most ricotta you buy in a tub a the store is just fine, but it’s handy to know how to make it in case you ever have a glut of milk and when it is good, it’s really pretty special. I’m not going to lie, sometimes I don’t nail it- I am prone to accidentally boiling it which make the curds a little harder than ideal- but in that case I just whizz it with my stick blender or food processor to a smooth creamy spread and its great.
All you really need is a pot and a fine strainer. If you also have a piece of muslin or cheesecloth to line the strainer, that is really ideal. I generally use lemon juice as an acid, but apple cider vinegar or even buttermilk works in a pinch.
Bring a pot of milk just to the boil, then add a good squeeze of lemon juice. It depends on your lemon but you’ll need about 1 lemon to every 1/2 quart (2 litters) of milk. Very gently stir it through and then wait at least 5 minutes to allow the curds to separate from the whey. If they are not separating, add a splash more lemon juice and turn the heat back on for a moment- without boiling- and then turn back off and wait again. Gently spoon the curds out of the whey and place in the strainer lined with cheesecloth. I like to sprinkle a little salt over the ricotta at this point and I always reserve a bit of whey, in case I want to blend the ricotta to smooth it- in which case I add just a splash of whey as I do so.
Ways to use ricotta (oh there are so many ways, here are just a few):
serve on a platter underneath grilled summer vegetables- zucchini, eggplant, peppers, tomato- and top with salsa verde
slathered on toast and topped with jam.
slathered on toast and topped with tomatoes, basil and olive oil.
make a batch of ricotta gnocchi (gnudi)
Bill Granger’s life-changing ricotta hotcakes
use ricotta that has been blended to make ricotta whip, which is a wonderful, stable whipped cream for cakes or serving with most desserts
serve alongside a piece of honeycomb with some good bread for a heavenly breakfast
mix a cup of ricotta with an egg, a little grated parmesan or lemon zest, a good pinch of salt and some chopped herbs such as parsley or thyme. Spread over rolled out puff pastry, leaving an inch or so at the sides. Top with sliced tomato, a drizzle of olive oil and flakey salt. Roll up the sides of the pastry over the filling and brush the pastry with a beaten egg (optional) bake in a pre-heated 400F/200C oven for about 30 minutes or until pastry is deep golden brown.
Quick Jam
There is so much good fruit coming in right now. I love jam and ricotta on toast or baguette, but the idea of making a big batch of jam for storing feels like a big undertaking. I have instead taken to making small batches of quick jam using just a few pieces of fruit, enough sugar to make them sweet enough (no need for excessive amounts of sugar if you’re not actually preserving it) and good squeeze of lemon. Roughly chop the fruit and place in a pan with lemon and sugar- stir it and taste to see if you think it needs more sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for about 3-5 minutes, just long enough to concentrate the flavors of the fruit while keeping them buoyant.
I made a batch of quick apricot jam using half a dozen apricots, about half a cup of sugar, a strip of lemon peel and squeeze of juice. I also added a good splash of vanilla extract also, because vanilla and apricots are very good friends. Perfect slathered on toast or stirred though homemade ice cream!
Homemade Ice Cream
‘Tis the season. I like to keep a tub of vanilla ice cream in my freezer so that I can eat it by the spoonful, straight from the tub whenever I please. I have also taken to pouring some of my afternoon coffee over a little vanilla ice cream for an affogato- yes please! Of course, you do not need homemade ice cream to enjoy an affogato, so don’t make that an excuse not to make yourself one asap. You could also just make a batch of coffee cream!
Making ice cream is one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen, so it doesn’t take much convincing to get me to do it. I always make the custard a day ahead of freezing, chilling it overnight before freezing in my much beloved most-basic Cusinart ice cream churn. Doing this makes better ice cream and also makes it feel somehow like even less effort.
To make any fruity ice cream of your dreams, stir through about 3/4 of a cup of quick jam (above). Chill overnight, just like the custard, before stirring through the custard and freezing in an ice cream maker.
