By Luci
As Autumn approaches, the ever-so-tasty fresh fruits and vegetables of summer begin to disappear from markets to be replaced by produce grown hydroponically or shipped unripe from faraway farms.
This menu focuses on fruits of different types in all dishes; each course featuring a different type.
MENU
Appetizers - Melons
Kabob of Honey Dew Melon, Speck and Basil
Kabob with Hami Melon, Beemster Cheese with Truffles and Mint
Humboldt-Fog Young Goat Cheese
Soup - Vegetable-Like
Michele’s Squash and Apple Soup
Main - Stone Centers
Chicken Thighs and/or Breasts with Mango Sauce
Rice with Coconut
Salad - Vegetable-Like
Heirloom Tomatoes with Basil
Desserts - Berries
Billa’s Blueberry Lemon Crème Brûlée Tart
Raspberries and Blackberries with Lemon-Verbena and Honey Sauce
RECIPES
Melon Appetizers
Melons are marvelously sweet, delicious and SO refreshing. They are popular as appetizers, especially when paired with pork and/or cheese. Did that classic Italian appetizer of melon and prosciutto, sometimes with basil, pop into your mind? So how about a couple of appetizers that pair melon with a pork product, a cheese and an herb? Add a great cheese with crackers to complete a trio of summer starters.
Kabob of Honeydew Melon, Speck and Basil
If the combination of honeydew melon, prosciutto and basil is a winner, using speck, rather than prosciutto, should make a delicious variation. Speck is a northern Italian pork preparation that is cured, smoked, (rather than air dried as is prosciutto) and flavored with spices such as bay and juniper. Compared to prosciutto, its flavor is delightfully savory and smoky with a denser texture and more prominent aroma.
I love speck and have used it successfully in appetizers and pasta dishes, always sliced thin. Unfortunately, I thought using thicker slices from an unsliced block would be better for a kabob than thin slices. Nope. The thick (a little less than 1/16th inch) slices were terribly chewy, rendering this appetizer not very appetizing. Nevertheless, the combination with thin slices wrapped around melon and basil should be a winner.
Ingredients
1 honeydew melon
1/4 pound speck, in a whole piece
1/3 cup basil leaves
Preparation
Cut bite-size pieces from all three ingredients
Skewer the three with the green melon in center
Kabob of Hami Melon, Beemster Cheese with Truffles and Mint
No problem with this combination. Hami melon is very sweet but not cloying with crisp texture. Its name comes from the city of Hami in northwestern China where it was first grown. It is highly prized in China and other parts of Asia. Interestingly, areas in other parts of Asia have tried to grow it but the resulting melons were not as good as those from Hami, probably because of differences in soil. I agree, having tasted Hami melon in Hami and note that the Hamis grown in Western areas are also not as good. Still, the Hamis here are quite delightful.
Beemster is a cow’s milk cheese similar to Gouda and very tasty. The addition of truffles was a great idea, as all the guests noted. I got it from Pastosa on Forest Avenue.
Ingredients
1 Hami or other orange melon
1/4 pound Beemster or other yellow cheese such as Gouda
1/3 cup mint leaves
Preparation
Cut bite-size pieces from all three ingredients
Skewer the three with the orange melon in center
Humboldt-Fog Young Goat Cheese
This is one of my favorite cheeses and guests always comment on its deliciousness. Its creamy and tangy with complexities that I find hard to characterize. Gorgeous, too, with a dark line of edible vegetable ash running through it. Aging intensifies the flavor, becoming more earthy and richer. For those who like their cheese on the funky side, get it aged.
Soup Using a Vegetable-Like Fruit
Michele’s Butternut Squash Soup
Michele notes that roasting the butternut squash and adding a Fuji apple give this soup a warm and sweet taste. The blend of spices balances out the flavors, while the butter adds depth and richness. As you can see, it is a very pretty soup.
Ingredients
4 cups of cubed butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus ½ teaspoon
Black pepper to taste
1 medium onion, skin on, cut in half
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 Fuji apple, peeled, seeded and cored, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons butter
3-4 cups vegetable broth
Garnish - chopped parsley and sliced almonds
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375F. Place foil on sheet pan.
Spread butternut cubes onto pan. Toss with olive oil and black pepper to taste
On cut side of each onion spread ¼ tsp olive oil and place on roasting sheet, cut side
down, along with garlic cloves.
Roast until butternut squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove sheet pan from oven
and set aside to cool.
Peel outer skins of onion and cut each half in half.
In a large mixing bowl, add onion, squash and garlic, along with apple, salt, nutmeg, ginger, butter and 3 cups of broth. Working in two batches, put mixture into blender (I used my Vitamix) and blend until smooth. If soup is too thick add more broth to your desired consistency. Adjust seasoning to your taste. Transfer to medium saucepan and warm before serving. Top with garnish.
Main Using Stone Fruits
The main course offered guests a change of pace in two ways. Stone fruits are heftier, more dense, than the other fruits used here which are soft. In addition, the fruits are tropical.
Chicken Thighs and Breasts with Mango Sauce
Do you love mangoes for their spicy-sweet taste? Wouldn’t making a sauce with them for chicken or fish be great? (Sorry to sound like a flight attendant.) My guests thought so, raving about it and how it worked so well with chicken. Even one guest who is not a fan of chicken thought the dish was pretty decent. (Thanks, Martin.). Using both thighs and breasts is a good idea because some prefer thighs and others opt for breasts. On this occasion, everyone opted for thighs. The leftover breasts were thoroughly enjoyable the next day.
For the Chicken
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 boneless chicken thighs and 3 boneless breasts, with or without skin
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Heat to medium one skillet for the thighs and 1 skillet for the breasts.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in each skillet.
Brown chicken pieces on both sides. The breasts are thicker and will require more time.
For the Mango Sauce
Ingredients
2 medium mangoes, peeled, divided
1 tablespoon peanut oil (Other oils are fine.)
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Preparation
Process mango flesh from 1 mango. You will need about 1 cup. Cut flesh from other mango and slice into small chunks. You will need about 3/4 cup.
Heat oil in skillet. Sauté onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, and cloves.
Add broth, soy and 3/4 cup processed mango. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Just before serving, add the small mango chunks.
To serve
Place thighs and breasts on a platter. Cover the chicken pieces with the sauce.
Coconut Rice
Coconuts are the fruit of the coconut tree. As a tropical fruit, they are critical to many dishes originating in the tropics and very tasty raw from the shell. Many of us from temperate climes avoid dishes with coconut because they have trouble cracking the shell to remove the flesh. However, applying some heat before opening the shell makes the task quite easy. See websites on opening coconuts. It pays to use fresh coconuts rather than shredded or, as found in some groceries, chunks of coconut that can be stale.
To maximize the taste of coconut, this recipe uses coconut oil to sauté the aromatics and small pieces of fresh coconut. Kaffir lime, a citrus fruit, enlivens dishes in a way quite superior to the lime we know. It is very fragrant; its soft, citrusy flavor is certainly tangy but devoid of the bitterness we find in limes familiar to us. The leaves, fresh or dried, whole or chopped into small pieces, are surprisingly delicious, brightening whatever is cooked. A bonus - kaffir lime leaves will last at least two years in the freezer. Basmati rice is my favorite for its fragrance and taste but jasmine rice would work very well too.
Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped fine
2 ounces small pieces of fresh coconut
1 tablespoon chopped, dried kaffir lime or 2 leaves kaffir lime
1 cup basmati rice
1 3/4 cup water
Preparation
Over medium heat in a heavy pot, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until fragrant and slightly colored. Add the coconut pieces, lime, and rice. Cook, stirring until rice is slightly colored, about 2 minutes.
While the above is being sautéed, boil the water.
Add the boiling water to the pot, stir once, cover pot and turn heat to low. Cook for 17 minutes. Turn heat off, keep lid on pot and let rice rest for 10 minutes.
Water Spinach
Not a fruit but a vegetable well known and loved by South Asians. In some areas they are used in every meal (very healthy). It is prolific along waterways, its abundance allowing individuals to harvest it in the wild and take advantage of cheap prices in markets. Its leaves and hollow stems are both edible. Its taste is mild, the texture soft and just a bit chewy. The preparation here was similar to the way we often add garlic to vegetables such as spinach or broccoli rabe. In this case, I used young garlic stems and garlic flowers that I found in our local Chinese market. It was a good move but overall, the dish did not have the punch, e.g. as in broccoli rabe with mature garlic.
For more information on this, for us, unfamiliar green vegetable, go to https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-water-spinach or https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/beaverbag/?p=174
Ingredients
1 large bunch water spinach
2 young (green) garlic (substitute 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced if young is not available)
1/3 cup garlic flowers. Skip info available.
1 tablespoon peanut oil
Preparation
Cut off the garlic flowers from the stems of the plants. Reserve.
Cut the root from the young garlic and finely chop the white parts.
Rinse the water spinach if necessary (mine was perfectly clean). Roughly chop and steam for about 2 minutes.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the chopped young garlic. Stir for about 1 minute. Add the chopped spinach and stir until well coated. Gently heat for 1-2 minutes, just until everything is warm.
Put the spinach mixture into a serving bowl. Top each individual serving with a generous spoonful of garlic flowers.
Vegetable-Like Fruit
Heirloom Tomato and Basil Salad
Yes, tomatoes are a fruit. If you would like to get information about wonderful heirloom tomatoes, please take a look at my previous blog at https://manage.wix.com/dashboard/51b7df7d-41df-4eac-8a08-4d274fe699eb/blog/a247ceba-74f0-4fbd-b988-86e07f977899/edit?referralInfo=sidebar.
Ingredients
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
2 - 2 1/2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, mixed colors
1/2 cup strips of basil leaves
Preparation
Make dressing. Combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper.
Just before serving, cut tomatoes into bite-size pieces in a large bowl. Add basil and dressing: gently mix.
Desserts with Berries
While many berries are available throughout the year, fresh-picked berries from local farms or, if you’re lucky, picked right from the bush, are more vibrant than those grown hydroponically or shipped not fully ripe.
Billa, for her contribution to dinner, chose the recipe below. It certainly was fabulous but as Billa commented, labor intensive. I would add it is not a dish for amateur cooks. Billa is very accomplished at making pastry crusts and tricky preps such as the filling used here.
Billa’s Blueberry Lemon Crème Brûlée Tart
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
For the Crust
13 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, at room temperature for 15 minutes
⅔ cup confectioner's sugar
1 large egg yolk
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon heavy cream or soy milk
1 egg white, whisked, for brushing after tart is baked
For the Blueberry Lemon Filling:
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon, preferable a Meyer lemon
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 4-5 lemons worth
1 large egg yolk
4 large eggs
¾ cup heavy cream or soy milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted
½ cup fresh blueberries
2-3 tablespoons sugar
Preparation
Place the butter or margarine and the confectioner's sugar into
the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream the mixture at medium speed
until no sugar is visible. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with
a spatula. Add the egg yolk and beat until blended. Scrape down
the sides of the bowl again. Add half of the flour and beat until
dough becomes crumbly. Add remaining flour and the cream
or soy milk. Beat until dough forms a sticky mass. Scrape the
dough onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper. Flatten into a
disc and place in refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours
Remove from the refrigerator and press into the bottom and up the
sides of a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. The dough will
be sticky, so don't bother with a rolling pin. Just flour your hands
and use the heel of your palm and the side of your thumb to work it
evenly into the pan. Place this shell into the freezer for 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 375° F. Prick the bottom of the tart all over
with a fork. Place tart pan on a baking sheet; the heat it conducts
will help brown the crust evenly. Bake the tart shell for 18-20
minutes, until pastry is golden and the interior is dry. Remove
tart from oven and evenly brush the egg white over the entire
surface of the tart. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F.
Prepare the filling. Place the sugar and lemon zest into a medium
bowl. Rub the sugar and zest together between the palms of your
hands. Add the lemon juice, egg yolk, eggs, cream or soy milk,
and melted butter or margarine. Whisk to combine. Pour filling
into crust. Sprinkle in the fresh blueberries, scattering them evenly
in the tart filling. Bake until filling is slightly puffed at edges and
set in center, about 30 minutes. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
If you have a hand held blow torch, it is a snap to caramelize
the top. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the tart, then with the
torch nozzle 4 inches from the top, circle the flame until the
sugar has melted and caramelizes. If you don't have a torch
preheat the oven to broil. Carefully wrap the exposed tart dough
with aluminum foil, or it will turn black. Place the tart on a
rack 4-6 inches from broiler coil. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over
the filling. Place under the broiler from 2-5 minutes, watching
the entire time to make sure the sugar turns golden
Store at room temperature
Raspberries and Blackberries with Lemon-Verbena and Honey
By chance a few weeks ago I made some tea with an infusion of lemon verbena from the small garden on my deck. On a whim I added honey for a sweetener. It was so delicious I made a simple syrup and added it to the berries.
Ingredients
6 4-inch lemon verbena leaves, rubbed between your fingers before use.
1 4-ounce package of raspberry
1 4-ounce package of blackberries
1 teaspoon honey or amount to your taste
Preparation
Make a simple syrup by infusing 1 cup of water with the lemon verbena leaves. Boil the water, plunge the lemon verbena leaves into the water. Immediately turn the heat off, cover and let rest for 1/2 - 1hour. Strain out the lemon verbena leaves.
Add honey. Stir well until honey is dissolved. Cool in serving bowl.
Add the syrup to the berries about 15-30 minutes before serving. Gently mix.
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