Meatless Monday: First Day Of Fall Plate

On a first day of Fall, I had an assortment of summery and Fall produce.

I had some summer patty squashes, amazing purple haricots “verts” (which do turn a green color when they are cooked :)), apples, sweet and delicious San Marzano tomatoes, and nettles. Yes, nettles!, that old flame of mine which had made a come back. It was also a particularly busy day for kiddo and me. So to honor the change of season while using a variety of vegetables, keeping the nutritional content high, and cooking something relatively quick, I decided to make a simple plate with a quick vegetable ragu over quinoa (protein boost and whole grains), purple beans with roasted walnuts (added nutrients, good fats and omegas), and slices of apple for a simple but fresh finish (added fibers, vitamins and low glycemic index ending).

For the ragu, I chopped a few patty squash, 2-3 tomatoes and nettles. I sautéed them in a little extra virgin olive oil with a garlic clove cut and left in halves (so I could easily remove them after the cooking), added a little water, and let them simmer for a while until they were cooked and soft, and the flavors had developed. When the ragu was cooked, I finished it with some toasted pine nuts. Meanwhile, I cooked the quinoa: 1 cup of quinoa per 2 cups of water with a little salt, brought to boil, then cooked on simmer with a lid on until all the water had been absorbed (about 15').

The purple beans side dish was a very simple and extremely flavorful affair: steam them until cooked but still firm, coat them with olive oil, sprinkle them with chopped walnuts roasted in the oven or on the stove, season with pepper and salt, preferably smoked Alder salt if you have any (like I was lucky to find at my store).

Then I just cut half an apple into fine slices and layered them for prettiness. I was lucky to have found some delicious Mutsu apples at the Farmers Market, a variety that has a great sweetness (they are derived from Golden Delicious and you can tell), with just a little tartness while being perfectly crisp (they are also called Crispin :)). After foregoing apples for a while now, I am glad to be able to enjoy them every once in a while.

This plate was such a comforting way to start a new Fall, with some warm dishes, lovely flavors and textures, and a little sweetness to finish. Farewell Summer!

By the way:

• Nettles are divine and give a lovely nuttiness to pasta sauces and ragus (and many more things), but if you cannot find them, you can replace them with spinach or the green parts of chards.
• You can also replace the San Marzano tomatoes with 4-5 ripe medium Roma tomatoes (do wait for them to ripen up on your counter - not in the fridge! - if store bought), and the squashes with zucchini.
• This plate is gluten-free, dairy-free, and the ragu dish is low in FODMAP, as is the bean side-dish in moderation.

Quick and Fresh Summer Eats From The New Greenmarket Cookbook

Typical summer produce such as cucurbits, tomatoes, and squash have been in full abundance in the past few weeks.

Leading to buying a lot of cucumbers, tomatoes, and summer squashes. Looking for inspiration to use all these buys, I turned to the New Greenmarket Cookbook by Gabrielle Langholtz, Editor of Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn. The book is a collection of recipes involving local, seasonal, market-fresh produce and developed by Chefs committed to using those produce, and culinary and food movement leading figures such as Michael Pollan. The book is a gem, not only because of the gorgeous pictures and enticing eats, but because of the additional information it contains, namely Gabrielle Langholtz's introduction to the history and rise of the Greenmarket program, its ties to and importance for the community, and the features on local farmers and producers.

Returning from a local Farmers Market run with lemon cucumbers, and fresh herbs, I started by making the Cucumber Soup, contributed by Kenneth Wiss from Diner and Marlow & Sons. It was very simple to make: chop veggies, de-seed as needed, add herbs, oil and seasonings, blend.

Though, in full disclosure, I had forgotten to put the lime juice, the herbs made the soup very fragrant and pleasant on a summer eve, perfect for a non-fuss but nice week-end dinner.

My next foray into the book's summer recipes followed from the purchase of two really large beefsteak heirloom tomatoes at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Gorgeous looking, they seemed to fit the bill for Food52.com co-founder Amanda Hesser's Brown Butter Tomatoes.

Brown butter, with good quality (preferably organic on my end) butter, is always a memorable experience. I had never tried using it with fresh tomatoes so I was intrigued but it worked beautifully!

Again, a very easy recipe: slice tomatoes, make brown butter, pour over tomato, season with nice salt and pepper. Finish with market fresh berries for good measure. Done. This was a great simple mid-week dinner eat.

Last but not least, I had two bags of squashes from the same run at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, including tender zephyr squashes and sweet small zucchinis, and had fresh radishes too. So I set out to make the Raw Squash Salad, a recipe by Seamus Mullen from Tertulia, for a light end of week lunch. As I wanted a fast prep in the morning, I used my blender to slice the vegetables and quickly whipped the lemon vinaigrette, for which I used some orange blossom honey from that Farmers Market's run too. I decided to skip the cheese listed in the recipe, and add a few fragrant edible flowers to complement the salad. It was absolute love at first bite. The utter highlight of this recipe: the vinaigrette, which combined so perfectly with the veggies. I only regretted to not have made enough for 3 servings.

So those Summer on a plate moments will keep me coming back to the book for more inspiration as the seasons unfold. :)

By the way:

• Union-Square Market, where I got my copy, and Greenmarkets around the city sell the book, but for non NYC-dwellers, the book is available online.
• While this is a book about NYC markets, it will inspire (home) cooks all around as all products will be available in local markets.
• All these eats are gluten-free, are or can be made low in FODMAP, and will please veggielovers, vegetarians, vegans (for the first and last salads), Meatless Monday eaters, paleo and healthy eaters alike.