Recipes for Your Fresh Produce
This week, our recipe focus is on fresh beans, zucchini, cabbage and tomatoes.
Let us know if there is something you would like us to put in our column, or if you have a recipe to share, please submit to ads@thedrummer.com.
Bacon Ranch Green Beans
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cook Time: 20 min.
Total Time: 35 min.
Yield: 4 servings
1 lb. green beans trimmed
1 sm. red onion minced
8 oz. of white mushrooms cleaned & sliced
2 T. butter
2-3 tsp. ranch powder or more to taste
1/3 c. crumbled bacon
1/3 c. french fried onions
2 T. fresh parsley minced
Salt & pepper to taste
In a large pan over medium heat melt 1 tablespoon of butter.
Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes or until mushrooms have started to brown. Season vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the mushrooms and onion from pan and set aside.
Place the green beans in the pan with 1/4 cup water. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until green beans are crisp tender and water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season green beans with salt and pepper to taste.
Put the onions and mushrooms back in the pan. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and 2 teaspoons of ranch powder. Taste and add more ranch powder until you get to desired flavor level.
Stir to coat all the vegetables evenly with the butter and ranch powder. Cook for 2 minutes more.
Pour the vegetables onto a serving platter and top with the french fried onions, bacon and parsley. Serve immediately.
Classic Three Bean Salad
Yields: 6 servings
Prep Time:15 mins
Total Time:20 mins
For The Salad:
Kosher salt
1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
1 (15 oz.) can cannellini or other white beans, drained & rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped red onion
2 T. chopped parsley
For The Dressing:
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
For the salad: Heat a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Season generously with salt. Add the green beans and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender, but still have a slight crunch. Drain in a colander and rinse well under cold water until cool. Chop into 1-inch pieces.
For the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk to combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper.
Add the cooled green beans, cannellini beans, kidney beans, celery, red onion, and parsley to the bowl with the dressing. Toss well to combine and serve.
Egg Roll Noodle Bowl
Total Time: 30 min.
Yield: 4 servings
1 T. sesame oil
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 T. soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 c. shredded cabbage (about 1 sm. head)
2 lg. carrots, shredded (about 2 c.)
4 oz. rice noodles
3 green onions, thinly sliced
Additional soy sauce, opt.
In a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook and crumble pork until browned, 4-6 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, garlic and seasonings. Add cabbage and carrots; cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, 4-6 minutes longer.
Cook rice noodles according to package directions; drain and immediately add to pork mixture, tossing to combine. Sprinkle with green onions. If desired, serve with additional soy sauce.
Green Bean Casserole
Yield: 10 servings
Prep Time: 35 min.
Cook Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Total Time: 2 hrs. 5 min.
For the Fried Shallots:
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 large shallots, peeled & thinly sliced into rings
Canola or your favorite vegetable oil, for frying
For the Green Beans, Bacon and Gravy:
2-1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed & halved (use a little less if you like a bigger gravy to beans ratio)
8 oz. bacon
6 T. unsalted butter, div.
16 oz. sliced button mushrooms (for more mushroom flavor, use cremini variety)
1/3 c. finely chopped shallots
3 cloves (large) garlic, minced
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. low sodium chicken stock
2 c. half-and-half
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the fried shallots: In a medium bowl that has a lid, whisk together flour, cayenne, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Add sliced shallots. Place lid tightly on bowl and shake the bowl a few times to evenly coat shallots with flour mixture.
Pour canola oil into a medium saucepan to a 1-inch depth and place over medium-high heat. Heat to 325°F, using a deep-frying thermometer. Fry shallots in batches until golden brown and lightly crispy. Take care to not let them get too dark, as they will also bake for a bit in the oven on top of the casserole. This should take about 3–5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and set aside.
For the green beans, bacon, and homemade gravy: Preheat oven to 375° F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add green beans. Cook beans for 2–3 minutes, until bright green in color and tender crisp. Drain beans and pour into a large bowl of ice water to stop from cooking. Drain again and set aside.
In an extra large skillet with tall sides, over medium to medium-high heat, fry bacon until chewy-crisp. Transfer bacon from skillet to a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool. Once bacon has cooled, roughly chop and set aside.
Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet. Return skillet to stove top over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet. Once butter is melted, add the mushrooms and stir to incorporate. Cook, stirring regularly, until mushrooms are softened. Add chopped shallots and garlic, stirring to incorporate. Cook for another 2–3 minutes, until garlic is fragrant.
Now slide everything in the skillet to one side. Add remaining 4 tablespoons of butter to other side of skillet. When the butter is melted, sprinkle the flour over the butter, whisking all the while. A flat whisk works awesome here. Draw in as much liquid as you can, into the flour. The mixture will be very thick. Let it cook for one minute, until slightly browned and fragrant. Slowly whisk in chicken stock until flour mixture is smooth. Then whisk in the half and half. Now bring the entire contents of the skillet together, scraping the bottom of the skillet, and folding to incorporate. Turn heat up to medium-high and cook until thickened and bubbly, about 4–5 minutes, stirring periodically.
Remove skillet from heat. Stir in soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Then sprinkle Parmesan, rosemary, and thyme over the top and stir to combine. Now is the time to taste test and add more salt and pepper, if desired. I usually add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper at this point. Fold in blanched green beans. Transfer mixture to a baking dish and place in oven to bake for 30 minutes. Remove casserole from oven and arrange fried shallots and chopped bacon over the top, leaving green beans exposed around the perimeter of the dish. Place in oven and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until edges of casserole are bubbling and the top is golden. Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving.
Heirloom Tomato Galette with Pecorino
Prep Time: 10 min. + chilling
Bake Time: 25 min. + cooling
Yield: 6 servings
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1/2 c. cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 c. sour cream
2 c. heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
3 oz. pecorino Romano cheese, thinly sliced
Whisk flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in sour cream until dough forms a ball. Shape into a disk; cover and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 2 hours.
Meanwhile, place tomatoes in a colander; toss with remaining salt. Let stand 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°. On a floured sheet of parchment, roll dough into a 12-in. circle. Transfer to a baking sheet.
Place cheese slices over crust to within 2 in. of edge; arrange tomatoes over cheese. Fold crust edges over filling, pleating as you go and leaving center uncovered. Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before slicing.
Pennsylvania Dutch Coleslaw
Prep: 15 min. + chilling
Yield: 16 servings
1 med. head green cabbage, shredded (about 8 c.)
1 c. shredded red cabbage
4 to 5 carrots, shredded
1 c. mayonnaise
2 T. cider vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
In a large bowl, combine cabbage and carrots; set aside. In a small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients; pour over cabbage mixture. Toss well and refrigerate overnight.
Zucchini-Corn Fritters
Level: Easy
Total: 45 min
Active: 45 min
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
2 med. zucchini, coarsely shredded
Kosher salt
1 T. unsalted butter
1/2 sm. onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 ears corn, kernels cut off 1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 lg. egg
Vegetable oil, for frying
Toss the zucchini with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Wrap the zucchini in a kitchen towel and squeeze dry.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and egg in a large bowl, then stir in the corn-onion mixture and zucchini. Add the cornmeal mixture and stir until just combined.
Wipe out the skillet the corn-onion mixture cooked in. Pour in about 1/8 inch vegetable oil and place over medium heat. Working in batches, scoop scant 1/4 cupfuls of the batter into the oil and use the back of the measuring cup to flatten the scoops. Cook until the fritters are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Serve warm or at room temperature. (You can make the fritters up to 2 hours ahead; reheat in a 375 degrees F oven on a rack set on a baking sheet.)
Zucchini Muffins
Level: Easy
Total: 1 hr. 15 min
(includes cooling time)
Active: 15 min
Yield: 18 muffins
1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. fine salt
1 stick (8 T.) unsalted butter, melted
1 c. sugar
1 c. Greek yogurt
3 lg. eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 med. zucchini, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 1 c.)
1/2 c. golden raisins
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.
Whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours with the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Beat the butter, sugar, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla together in another large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture until combined. Stir in the zucchini and raisins. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool the muffins in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from the pans and cool completely on the rack.
Cook’s Note: When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)
Lemon Rhubarb Dessert
Graham cracker crust
6 c. rhubarb, peeled & cup up
Sugar, to taste
3/4 c. water
1 sm. box red gelatin
4-1/2 T. corn starch, heaping
Cold water
8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 sm. box lemon instant pudding
2 c. milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x12 glass pan with non-stick cooking spray. Reserve 2 T. of the graham cracker crust; press remaining in prepared pan and bake for 7 minutes.
Put rhubarb, sugar, and water in saucepan. Begin cooking; stir in the gelatin, so it dissolves. Continue cooking until rhubarb is softened. Mix cornstarch with cold water to make a thickener. Add to rhubarb mixture; cook and stir until thickened.
Pour the rhubarb over the baked graham cracker crust. Cool.
Mix whipped topping with marshmallows; spread over cooled rhubarb layer.
Mix lemon pudding mix with milk; beat until slightly thickened. Spread or spoon over whipped topping layer, then sprinkle with reserved graham cracker crumbs. Cover and store in refrigerator.
Quote of the Week:
‘’The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.’’
- Jean-Paul Sartre
