RECIPES USING PRESERVED PRODUCE
Having talked about preserving summer produce for winter meals for two weeks, it’s only logical to look at various ways to use it. The gifts are self-explanatory, but serving the frozen produce is wide open. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
RECIPES
WHOLE GREEN BEANS
Ham and Beans au Gratin: Serves 4
1 lb. beans
8 slices Deli ham – custom cut 1/16 to 3/8 of an inch thick
½ cup grated sharp cheese
2 cups milk
4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. flour
¼ tsp. garlic powder
Salt& pepper
Paprika and dried parsley for garnish
1 envelope chicken bouillon granules –optional
Parboil the beans until crisp tender, about 8 min. Shock under cold water and drain well. Divide the beans into 8 piles of about 10 beans each, and wrap each bundle in a slice of ham. Place bundles in a greased dish, seam side down. Make a simple cream sauce by heating the butter in a saucepan until it foams, Add the flour and stir to a smooth paste. Quickly add the milk, return to medium heat and stir constantly until sauce becomes smooth and thick, about 3 min. Add seasonings; pour the sauce over the bean-ham bundles and top with the cheese and garnish. Bake at 350 deg. until bubbly and cheese melts and browns slightly, about 15 min. Serve hot at once. Tip: plate with a spatula, taking care to serve the bundles intact.
Green Beans with Soy Mushrooms: Serves 4-6
1 lb. whole green beans-cooked to tender and hot
4 oz. mushrooms-caps, caps with stems or sliced
½ tsp. butter-melted
Soy sauce to taste
Toss mushrooms in butter and bake in a 300 deg. oven until they release their juice. Add soy sauce and bake about 3 min. more. Serve over hot beans.
Chow Tao: Serves 4
1 ½ lb. whole green beans
½ lb. thinly sliced pork
1 Tbs. oil
1 tsp. chopped fresh ginger
Salt and pepper
Soy sauce
Heat a wok or sauté pan on medium, brown pork with ginger in oil until golden, add beans and soy sauce cook, 10 min. longer or until beans are tender Season with salt and pepper, drizzle optionally, with more soy. Let flavors blend 1-2 min. before serving.
CORN
Corn Salad: Serves 4
2 cups corn kernels-thawed and parboiled-see directions above
½ a jarred fire-roasted red pepper- in thin strips about ½ inch long
2 scallions-white and light green portions only, sliced thin
1/3 of a green bell pepper –finely diced
1/3 cup light vinaigrette
4 medium tomatoes seeds hollowed out or 4 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise and seeds removed.
Mix the vegetables, toss with the dressing, fill the tomatoes and chill before serving.
Bean Salad with Corn: Serves 2
(1) 15 oz. can pinto or pink kidney beans-drained and rinsed
5-7 grape tomatoes-halved OR 1 large jarred roasted red bell pepper julienned
½ cup corn kernels
Cider vinaigrette
Romaine or other green lettuce
Line plates with lettuce leaves. Toss beans with tomatoes or pepper strips and place on lettuce. Top with corn and drizzle with vinaigrette.
Arugula and Liver Salad with Corn: Serves 4-From French Bistro Cooking by John Varnom
2 Tbs. butter
4½ Tbs. walnut oil
2/3 cup corn
8 chicken livers
1 small head frisee lettuce or green leaf lettuce
1 small head of arugula
4 ½ Tbs. balsamic vinaigrette
Arrange lettuces on the plates. Sauté the livers in the butter and oil, over high heat, for 3 min. per side. Add corn and remove pan from the heat. Place 2 livers on each plate and deglaze the pan with the vinaigrette. Spoon the dressing and corn over the plated livers and serve warm.
PEACHES
Peach Salsa; Yield 3 cups
2 cups peaches
½ cup sliced grape tomatoes-or chopped tomato
½ green bell pepper-chopped
1 scallion-thinly sliced-white and green parts only
Generous dash garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and allow flavors to meld for about 20 min. Store covered and chilled for 2 days. Serve with fish, poultry and rice.
Peach Syrup Topping –Filling: Yield 1 ½ cups-Excellent over waffles, pancakes or ice cream or toasted slices of pound or angel food cake
1cup peaches
1 Tbs. butter
1/3 cup apple juice
1tsp.lemon juice
1 tsp. corn starch
Pinch powdered ginger-optional
Sugar to taste-if needed-preferably brown
1 tsp. > 1 Tbs. Brandy, rum, Madera or Triple Sec-optional—extracts may be substituted
Mix the liquids and flavorings in a cup and dissolve the corn starch. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the peaches, gently stirring and shaking until the color brightens 1-2 min. Add the liquid and continue stirring gently until the mixture thickens and clarifies-3 min. Store extra chilled and slightly reheat to use again.
Quick Dessert Cups: Serves 6
12 wonton wrappers
2 Tbs. butter
1 ½ cups sliced or diced peaches
½ cup whipped cream or flavored yogurt
2 Tbs. all fruit spread-optional, but keeps pastry from becoming soggy if cups are prepared ahead.
6 cup muffin pan
Place a wrapper diagonally in each muffin cup. Brush with butter and lay another diagonally across the first, so the 4 corners stand up in points. Brush with butter and bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven for 10 min. until golden. Cool and remove from the pan; can be done ahead. Spread a teaspoon of the jam in the bottom of each wonton cup, and divide the filling among them. Top with a dab of yogurt or whipped cream.
Don’t forget the thawed peach slices can be used by themselves scattered over ice cream, meats, in salads, mixed with winter fruits in compotes and other ways, even over cereal to brighten a dreary winter morning.
ZUCCHINI
One of the best ways to preserve zucchini is to accept the fact that it’s going to change texture, become limp and combine it, with other ingredients, into a ‘base’, which will keep for several months, for future dishes. Food Tips and Cooking Tricks by David Joachim has an excellent recipe for such a base and ideas on how to use it but, of course, once made, you can use it as you please.
Zucchini Base; Yield 8 cups
5 lbs. zucchini –shredded in a food processor or the large teeth of a hand grater, but avoid the seedy core.
1 onion -finely chopped
1 garlic clove- minced
2 Tbs. oil
Sauté onion and garlic in oil until softened. Add zucchini and stir until soft. Cool drain most of the moisture by squeezing in a towel or pressing in a colander. Freeze in desired sized containers with firm lids.
USES: Add salt and pepper as desired to all the below
Chilled Zucchini Soup: 4 servings
1 chopped onion
1 minced garlic clove
2 Tbs. butter
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. coriander
1/8 tsp. red pepper
3 ½ cups base
3 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth
1cup plain yogurt
¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts
Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter until soft. Add the base, seasonings and broth. Simmer 10 min. Add the yogurt and chill. Puree if desired and serve garnished with walnuts.
Hot Zucchini Soup: Serves 4
Follow the directions for the chilled soup omitting the coriander, reducing the curry powder to 1 tsp., changing the yogurt to light cream and optionally choosing beef broth. The addition of left-over meat is welcome as are cooked pasta, diced potatoes or rice.
Primavera Sauce: Serves 4
1lb. shaped pasta
Follow the directions for the soups, slicing the onion and substituting oil for the butter. Omit the seasonings and add 3 medium chopped tomatoes and 2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil with the base. Cook 2 min. and serve over cooked pasta garnished with ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese and pass extra cheese.
Stuffed Eggplant: Serves 4
2 eggplants -split lengthwise, seeds removed and most of the meat scooped out and diced
Follow the directions for the sauce, mix it with the diced eggplant and use it to stuff the eggplant shells. Top with the cheese and bake on a sheet in a preheated 350 deg. oven until tender, about 30 min. Serve at once.
Of course, zucchini is best fresh. It keeps only a few days at room temperature but over a week refrigerated. However, cooked fresh with other ingredients, it can be frozen.
Microwaving zucchini is my favorite method to cook it for everyday eating. It’s so easy to slice one, add a quarter of an onion sliced, a drizzle of oil, pinch of garlic powder, salt, pepper and herb(s) of choice, basil, oregano, rosemary, fennel ,and nuke it for 3-5 min. until crisp tender. Topped with Parmesan, it’s a great vegetable side, but it’s also good on toast as a snack or sandwich.
The addition of tomatoes, diced, canned are great, and, optionally, peppers turns it into an instant ratatouille, which is not only a good side, or sandwich filling but makes excellent bedding for fish. Simply spread it in the bottom of a dish, place the fish on top and bake or broil until cooked.
This concoction freezes for about a month and can be perked up with the addition of cooked cut green beans, mushrooms or spinach to serve at a later date. Adding rice and sausage, leftover ham or hot dog slices turns it into a quick dinner casserole.
TOMATOES
Sundried Tomato Pate: Serves 6-8—From Tea Time Journeys by Gail Greco
½ cup oil packed sundried tomatoes-drained, save oil for another use.
8 oz. cream cheese
¼ cup butter
½ cup grated parmesan
¼ cup butter
¼ tsp. EACH dried oregano and basil
½ tsp. rosemary
Blend everything until smooth. Chill at least 6 hrs. before serving.
Chicken Giardino with Sour Cream: Serves 2
2 split chicken breasts, thighs or quarters
½ cup sliced onions
½ cup sliced green bell peppers
4 sundried tomatoes-sliced
1 envelope chicken bouillon granules
2 Tbs. oil
water
garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup sour cream
Clean, trim and soak chicken in salted water for 10 min. , rinse and dry well. In an oven proof dish which easily holds the meat, layer the oil, then the vegetables, the bouillon, the pepper and the chicken. Add enough water to cover about ½ an inch of the meat, and dust with garlic powder. Bake at 375 deg. 40-50 min. until skin is golden, maintaining level of liquid by adding more water as needed. Remove meat and tent to keep warm. Stir sour cream into dish and reheat to warm. Serve sauce under meat, or return meat to dish and table serve.
