Vegetables

Cook the stalk sections in the salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Stir in the leafy strips and cook until the leaves are wilted and the stalks are fork tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat until aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add the drained Swiss chard, cook and stir for 2 minutes; season with salt to taste.

Smothered Cabbage, Venetian Style

Any variety of cabbage—Savoy cabbage, red cabbage, or the common pale- green cabbage—works well in this recipe. It is shredded very fine and cooked very slowly in the vapors from its own escaping moisture combined with olive oil and a small amount of vinegar. The Venetian word for the method is sofegao, or smothered.

For 6 servings

2 pounds green, red, or Savoy cabbage

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh

from the mill

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

Detach and discard the first few outer leaves of the cabbage. The remaining head of leaves must be shredded very fine. If you are going to do it by hand, cut the leaves into fine shreds, slicing them off the whole head. Turn the head after you have sliced a section of it until gradually you expose the entire core, which must be discarded. If you want to use the food processor, cut the leaves off from the core in sections, discard the core, and process the leaves through a shredding attachment.

Put the onion and olive oil into a large saute pan, and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it becomes colored a deep gold, then add the garlic. When you have cooked the garlic until it becomes colored a very pale gold, add the shredded cabbage. Turn the cabbage over 2 or 3 times to coat it well, and cook it until it is wilted.

Add salt, pepper, and the vinegar. Turn the cabbage over once completely, lower the heat to minimum, and cover the pan tightly. Cook for at least 1½ hours, or until it is very tender, turning it from time to time. If while it is cooking, the liquid in the pan should become insufficient, add 2 tablespoons water as needed. When done, taste and correct for salt and pepper. Allow it to settle a few minutes off heat before serving.

Almond Wild Rice

Made with both brown rice and wild rice, this popular pilaf has a hint of fruity sweetness, thanks to golden raisins. I prepare the casserole the morning of the party, then refrigerate it in an ovenproof dish to heat through later. -Mark Trinklein, Cedarburg, Wisconsin

Prep Time: 25 Min

Cook Time: 55 Min

Ready In: 1 Hr 20 Min

Yield 10 servings

5½ cups chicken broth, divided

1 cup golden raisins

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided

1 cup uncooked wild rice

1 cup uncooked brown rice

1 cup slivered almonds

½ cup minced fresh parsley

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup broth to a boil. Remove from the heat; add raisins and set aside (do not drain). In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups of broth and 2 tablespoons of butter to a boil. Add wild rice; cover and simmer for 55-60 minutes or until the rice is tender (drain if necessary).

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine the brown rice, 2 tablespoons butter and remaining broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until rice is tender (drain if necessary).

In a skillet, sauté the almonds in remaining butter until lightly browned. In a serving bowl, combine the wild rice, brown rice, raisin mixture, almonds, parsley, salt and pepper.

Plain Boiled Basmati Rice

Here the rice is boiled briskly for a short time in a large quantity of water until almost tender. Then it is drained and rinsed, and returned to the pot. The pot is then placed over the lowest possible heat. The rice is steamed until it is fluffy and tender, and the grains are all separated. The water for soaking the rice is not used for cooking.

Bring a large quantity of water (about 6-7 times the quantity of rice) to a boil in a deep pot. Add the soaked rice, and stir immediately for ½ minute (this prevents the rice from settling) being careful not to break the fragile rice grains. Bring the water to a second boil (it will take about 3 minutes), and cook the rice for 2 minutes.

Pour the entire contents into a large sieve held over the kitchen sink. Hold the sieve under the tap, and let cold water run through the rice at medium speed for 3-5 seconds. Shake the sieve to drain the rice thoroughly.

Return the rice to the pot, and cover it tightly. Place the pot over the lowest possible heat, raised above the burner with a pair of tongs, or a Chinese wok ring. Let the rice steam for 10 minutes.

To wash the rice, put it in a large bowl, and fill with cold water. The water will grow milky, and several pieces of bran, husk, and other objects will float to the top. Let the rice settle to the bottom for 2-3 seconds. Then tilt the bowl and pour off the water. Repeat this process 8 or 9 times, until the water runs clean and clear.

Soaking: This is an essential step, unique to basmati rice cooking. The only other rice in the world that is soaked before being cooked is the Persian rice called Domsia. But Domsia requires a much longer soaking, usually overnight. In the soaking process, the rice grains absorb moisture and thereby "relax" prior to being cooked. As a result, they expand to long thin grains that will not crack or break when water is added during cooking.

To soak the rice, add twice the amount of cold water as there is raw rice (2 cups water to 1 cup rice, and so on). Let the rice soak exactly ½ hour, and drain, reserving the water. (In Indian cooking, unless otherwise specified, the rice is always cooked in the water in which it is soaked.) The soaked rice will be chalk-white in color and very fragile. Therefore be careful when you handle it.

Cooking Basmati Rice

The basmati rice can be cooked plain in one of three ways; steamed, boiled, or baked, all referred to as sada chawal or obla chawal. All three methods produce excellent results. It can be cooked with fat or oil, spices, herbs, vegetables, and all types of meat and cheese. When it is cooked with other ingredients the dish is called pullao, biriyani, or tahari. No matter what rice dish you are preparing, each is created from one of these three basic techniques.

Basic Technique for Cooking Plain Steamed Basmati Rice

In this process the rice is simmered, in the same water it has been soaking in, until it is almost tender and the water is absorbed. It is then steamed gently over very low heat until the rice grains are all separated and become tender, springy, and fluffy.

Basmati Rice

yield: Makes 6 servings

active time: 15 min

total time: 40 min

Traditional Indian recipes for basmati rice call for soaking the rice, but we find that it isn’t necessary in this case.

2 cups basmati rice (14 oz)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3¹/₃ cups water

1 teaspoon salt

Rinse rice in several changes of cold water until water runs clear. Drain well in a fine-mesh sieve. Melt butter in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, then add rice and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in water and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered and undisturbed, 5 minutes. Fluff rice gently with a fork.

Cooks’ note: Rice can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled in an airtight container. Reheat rice, its surface covered with a dampened paper towel, in a colander set over a saucepan of boiling water, covered, 5 to 10 minutes.

Coconut Rice

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ready In: 30 Minutes

Servings: 7

"Basmati rice is simmered in coconut milk, instead of water, giving it a rich flavor."

2½ cups Basmati rice

4 (10 ounce) cans coconut milk

1 pinch salt

1. In a large saucepan over high heat, combine rice, coconut milk and salt; bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Swiss Chard Stalks Gratineed with Parmesan Cheese

For 4 servings

The broad, white stalks from 2 bunches mature Swiss chard

An oven-to-table baking dish

Butter for smearing and dotting the baking dish

Salt

²/₃ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Note: This is an excellent recipe to keep in mind if you have used chard leaves in pasta, soup, or a cooked salad. You can keep the trimmed stalks in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days. Or, if it is the leaves that are going to be left over after doing this dish, try to use them in one of the ways cited above within 24 hours.

1. Cut the chard stalks into pieces about 4 inches long, and wash them in cold water. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil, drop in the stalks, and cook at a moderate boil until they feel tender when prodded with a fork, approximately 30 minutes, depending on the stalks. Drain and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Smear the bottom and sides of a baking dish with butter, place a layer of chard stalks on the bottom, laying them end to end, and if necessary, trimming to fit. Sprinkle lightly with salt and with grated cheese, and dot sparingly with butter. Repeat the procedure, building up layers of stalks, until you have used them all. The top layer should be sprinkled generously with Parmesan and thickly dotted with butter.

4. Bake on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven until the cheese melts and forms a light, golden crust on top. You might begin to check after 10 or 15 minutes. After taking it out of the oven, let it settle for a few minutes before bringing it to the table.

Roasted Cauliflower With Tahini-Parsley Sauce

This Middle Eastern sauce goes wonderfully with foods other than roasted cauliflower. It’s traditionally served with falafel and keftes, fish, salads, deep-fried vegetables — or just with pita bread.

1 large cauliflower, broken into florets

Salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 to 3 garlic cloves, to taste, cut in half, green shoots removed

1 cup sesame tahini

¼ to ¾ cup fresh lemon juice, to taste

1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (2 bunches)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the cauliflower. Blanch for two minutes, and transfer to the ice water. Drain and blot dry. Transfer to a baking dish.

Season the cauliflower with salt and pepper, and toss with the olive oil. Place in the oven, and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring from time to time, until tender and lightly browned.

Puree the garlic cloves with ¼ teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a bowl, and whisk in the sesame tahini. Whisk in the lemon juice, beginning with the smaller amount. The mixture will stiffen up. Gradually whisk in up to ½ cup water, until the sauce has the consistency of thick cream (or runny yogurt). Stir in the parsley. Taste, and adjust salt and lemon juice. Serve with the cauliflower. You will have some sauce left over.

Variation: A plain tahini-garlic sauce is made the same way, without the addition of parsley.

Yield: Serves four to six, with some sauce left over.

Advance preparation: The color won’t be as nice, because the acid in the lemon juice will dull the green of the parsley. But the sauce will taste good for three or four days. Keep in the refrigerator.

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Serve as a side dish at a meal for 2 or as part of a banquet for 4

Otherwise known as ‘gai lan’, these are the Chinese greens you’ll know from yum cha, where it’s wheeled around on big steel trolleys, ready to be briefly plunged into boiling water and drizzled with oyster sauce. This recipe is incredibly easy but the secret, as with most Chinese vegetable dishes, is to cook it at the last minute.

1 bunch Chinese broccoli (gai lan)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

dash of sesame oil

1 tablespoon peanut oil

Trim 5 cm (2 in) from ends of broccoli, cut bunch crossways into 3 lengths and wash thoroughly.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Stir in vegetable oil, add broccoli and simmer until broccoli is bright green and tender — this should take about 1 minute. Using tongs, immediately remove broccoli from water and place on a platter. Drizzle with oyster sauce and sesame oil.

Heat peanut oil in a small frying pan until moderately hot and carefully pour over broccoli. Serve immediately.

Basmati Rice

for Cooking:Cleaning: Often when you buy basmati rice you may notice that it contains a few unhulled rice grains, pieces of stones, and sticks. These should be removed. Put the rice in a large plate such as a paraath (p. 387) or a serving platter, or simply spread it on the kitchen or dining table. Gather a small portion aside so that the grains are all separated and the foreign objects clearly visible. Pick out and discard all the dirt pieces, and push the cleaned rice to one side. Spread more of the rice the same way, and continue cleaning until the entire amount is clear of foreign particles. (There is no need to remove the husk and bran pieces, since they will disappear when the rice is washed.)

Washing: No matter which quality basmati you use, as long as it is basmati, and cooked the Indian way, it must be washed. Washing removes light foreign objects, which will float. It also removes the starch clinging to the rice grains, which could make the cooked rice sticky and gummy.

Put the reserved water into a large heavy-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid, and bring to a boil. Add the soaked rice, and stir carefully with a narrow stirring implement such as a fork or knife (so that the rice grains are not crushed) until the water comes to a second boil. (Stirring will keep the rice from settling or lumping.)

1. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until most of the water is absorbed and the surface of the rice is full of steamy holes (about 10-15 minutes). There is no need to stir the rice but if you wish to do so, use a fork or knife.

2. Cover the pan tightly, reduce heat further to the lowest possible level, and raise the pan about an inch away from the source of the heat. (This can be achieved by placing a pair of tongs or a Chinese wok ring over the burner and resting the pot on it.) Let the rice steam for 10 minutes.

Persian Rice

6-8 servings time to make 50 min 10 min prep

3 cups long grain white rice

½ cup melted butter

¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

2 quarts water

1 cup water

1. Start the 2 quarts water and salt boiling in large stock pot or dutch oven.

2. Rinse rice until water runs clear (or as close to clear as you can get it).

3. Add rice to boiling water, boil about 10 minutes or until rice is about half cooked.

4. Drain rice in colander, reserve.

5. In stock pot or dutch oven, pour about ¼ cup melted butter on bottom, tilt to cover 2 inches up sides.

6. Pour the half-cooked rice into the pot, try to make a nice mound in the middle, and avoid the sides as much as possible.

7. With the end of a wooden spoon, make holes in the mound of rice (5 or 6 places) evenly around.

8. Pour the remaining melted butter onto the rice, and drizzle ¼ cup of the extra water into the holes you made. Cover pot with kitchen towel to absorb the steam, place pot lid on towel.

9. Cook on very low heat, checking after about 15 minutes. If the rice is browning too fast, add the remaining extra water a little bit at a time.

10. Cook rice until it’s done, about 30 minutes.

11. Try not to check it too often, as it needs to steam.

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Serve as a side dish at a meal for 2 or as part of a banquet for 4

Otherwise known as ‘gai lan,’ these are the Chinese greens you’ll know from yum cha, where it’s wheeled around on big steel trolleys, ready to be briefly plunged into boiling water and drizzled with oyster sauce. This recipe is incredibly easy but the secret, as with most Chinese vegetable dishes, is to cook it at the last minute.

1 bunch Chinese broccoli (gai lan)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Dash of sesame oil

1 tablespoon peanut oil

Trim 5 cm (2 in) from ends of broccoli, cut bunch crossways into 3 lengths and wash thoroughly.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Stir in vegetable oil, add broccoli and simmer until broccoli is bright green and tender — this should take about 1 minute. Using tongs, immediately remove broccoli from water and place on a platter. Drizzle with oyster sauce and sesame oil.

Heat peanut oil in a small frying pan until moderately hot and carefully pour over broccoli. Serve immediately.

Stuffed Onions

4 large white onions

Unflavored bread crumbs

Stuffing :

1 lb ham

1 bouquet of parsley

7 to 8 cloves of garlic

3 Tbs of cream (preferably crème fraîche)

Grated Swiss cheese (5 oz. or approximately 5 Tbs)

Cut the onions in half crosswise and then boil in salted water.

Take out the onions when the first layer of skin starts to come off.

Chop the ham, parsley and garlic (this can be done in a food processor). Mix with the other ingredients.

Detach each layer of skin from the onions and stuff them.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs liberally over the onions and bake at 400° F for about 30 minutes or until the breadcrumbs take a nice golden color .

Serve hot or cold.

Zucchini :

Sautée 1 or 2 chopped onions and a tomato and add to the stuffing mixture.

Swiss Chard Stalks Gratineed with Parmesan Cheese

For 4 servings

The broad, white stalks from 2 bunches mature Swiss chard

An oven-to-table baking dish Butter for smearing and dotting the baking dish

Salt

²/₃ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Note — This is an excellent recipe to keep in mind if you have used chard leaves in pasta, soup, or a cooked salad. You can keep the trimmed stalks in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days. Or, if it is the leaves that are going to be left over after doing this dish, try to use them in one of the ways cited above within 24 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

Sautéed Swiss Chard Stalks with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Parsley

For 4 servings

2½ cups Swiss chard stalks, cut into pieces 1½ inches long

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1½ teaspoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chopped parsley Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

1. Wash the chard stalks in cold water. (See note on page 489 about using the chard leaves.) Bring 3 quarts water to a boil, drop in the stalks, and cook at a moderate boil until they feel tender when prodded with a fork, approximately 30 minutes, depending on the stalks. Drain and set aside.

2. Put the olive oil and garlic in a sauté pan, turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes very lightly colored, then add the boiled stalks, the parsley, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat up to medium high, tossing and turning the stalks to coat them well. Cook for about 5 minutes, then transfer the contents of the pan to a warm plate and serve at once.

Swiss Chard Torte with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Tegliata di Biete

THE TREASURES that Venice brought back from its trade and its wars with the empires of the East did not consist solely of silks and marbles, of gems and precious artifacts, but of ingredients and ways of cooking that were new to the West. Some examples, such as the fish in saor on page 63, are still part of the city’s everyday fare. But in the seldom-explored recesses of Venetian cooking are others just as wonderful, like this tasty vegetable pie of young chard, onion, pine nuts, raisins, and Parmesan cheese. For 4 to 6servings

2½ pounds young Swiss chard with undeveloped stalks or ¾ pounds mature chard

Salt

Extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup for cooking the chard plus more for greasing and topping the pan

²/₃ cup onion chopped fine

1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

¼ cup pignoli (pine nuts)

¹/₃ cup seedless raisins, preferably of the muscat variety, soaking in enough water to cover

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

A 9½ - or 10-inch springform baking pan

²/₃ heaping cup unflavored bread crumbs, lightly toasted

1. If using mature chard, cut off the broad stalks and set aside to use in vegetable soup or bake as described on page 489. Cut the leaves and any very thin stalks into •A-inch shreds. Soak the shredded chard in a basin with several changes of cold water, until the water runs completely clear of any soil.

2. Put about 1 quart water in a pot large enough to contain the chard later, and bring it to a boil. Add a liberal quantity of salt, wait for the water to resume a fast boil, then drop in the chard. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes depending on the youth and freshness of the chard, then drain and set aside to cool.

3. When cool enough to handle, take as much chard in your hand as you can hold and squeeze as much moisture out of it as you can. When you have done all the chard, chop it very fine—into pieces no bigger than !4 inch— using a knife, not the food processor.

4. Preheat oven to 350°.

5. Choose a sauté pan that can subsequently contain all the chard, put in !4 cup olive oil and the chopped onion, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the onion, stirring frequently, until it becomes colored a light nut-brown.

6. Add the chopped chard, and turn up the heat to high. Cook, turning the chard over frequently, until it becomes difficult to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan, then transfer the entire contents of the pan to a bowl and set aside to cool.

7. When the chard has cooled down to room temperature, add the grated Parmesan, the beaten eggs, and the pine nuts. Drain the raisins, squeeze them dry in your hand, and add them to the bowl, together with a few grindings of pepper. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly combined, and taste and correct for salt and pepper.

8. Smear the bottom and sides of the springform pan with about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Put in a little more than half the bread crumbs, spreading them to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Add the chard mixture, leveling it off, but not pressing it hard. Top with the remaining bread crumbs, and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil poured in a thin stream. Put the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.

9. When you take the pan out, run a knife blade around the edge of the torte, loosening it from the sides of the pan, then unlatch the springform hoop and remove it. After 5 or 6 minutes, use a spatula to loosen the torte from the pan’s bottom section and slide it, without turning it over, onto a serving platter. Serve at room temperature. Do not refrigerate.

Pureed Turnips

Purée de navets à la crème

300 g (3⁄4 lb) turnips, peeled, 1‑cm (3⁄8‑in) slices

2 T butter

45 ml (3 T) chicken stock

pinch bread crumbs

pinch sugar

pinch

freshly ground nutmeg

pinch freshly ground black pepper

1 T glace de volaille

1 T heavy cream

fine salt, to taste

1. Blanch the turnip slices in boiling, salted water for a minute. Drain.

2. Place the turnip slices in a saucepan along with half the butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently for a few minutes. Do not let the turnips brown.

3. Add the stock, bread crumbs, sugar, nutmeg, and pepper. Cook, covered, over low heat until the turnips are soft, about 25 minutes.

4. Puree the turnips in a food processor. Place the puree in a bowl along with the glace, cream, the remaining butter, and some salt. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Optional: pass the puree through a strainer.

5. Reheat the puree just before serving.

Yield: 2 servings.

Gratin dauphinois

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hr

For 6 servings

4 lb potatoes (Roseval or other firm variety)

1 qt milk

100 g crème fraîche (optional)

5 Tbs butter

¾ C grated Swiss cheese (gruyère)

1 clove of garlic

Salt, pepper and nutmet

Use an oven dish that is 2 or 3 inches deep. Slice the peeled potatoes into thin slices.

Season with a tablespoon of salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Mix and pour into the dish that has been rubbed down with garlic.

Add the milk and cream so that it comes up to the top of the potatoes, sprinkle on chunks of butter.

Bake at 350°F for 2 hours, adding milk if needed. When the gratin is ¾ coooked, and the potatoes are nearly cooked, increase the temperature in the oven to brown the top of the gratin.

At this point, sprinkle on the grated cheese. Depending on the type of potato, it may take 2 ½ hours for the potatoes to be entirely cooked.

Zucchini with Tomato and Basil

For 6 servings

1½ pounds fresh zucchini

½ cup onion sliced thin

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1½ teaspoons garlic chopped coarse

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

²/₃ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, chopped coarse, with their juice

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill 6 or more fresh basil leaves

1. Soak and clean the zucchini as directed on page 530, trimming away both ends, and cut them into disks a little less than ½ inch thick.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. Choose a flameproof oven-to-table pan, preferably enameled cast-iron ware, put in the onion and oil, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it becomes colored a light gold, then add the garlic. When the garlic becomes colored a very pale gold, add the parsley, stirring it quickly once or twice, then put in the tomatoes with their juice. Cook at a

steady, gentle simmer until the oil floats free of the tomatoes, about 20 minutes.

4. Add the sliced zucchini, salt, and pepper, and turn the zucchini over once or twice to coat well. Cook for 5 minutes on top of the stove, then transfer the pan to the uppermost rack of the preheated oven. Cook until the liquid shed by the zucchini dries out, and the zucchini rounds are tender.

Ahead-of-time note — The dish may be completed up to this point several hours in advance on the day you are going to serve it. Do not refrigerate. Reheat in a hot oven before proceeding with the next step.

5. Take the pan out of the oven. Wash the basil in cold water, tear the leaves into one or two pieces by hand, distribute them over the zucchini, and bring to the table.

Fried Zucchini with Vinegar

Zucchine fritte all’aceto

After you’ve done these once, you can regulate the quantity of vinegar and garlic to suit your taste. I don’t like any more than an intriguing suggestion of garlic, so I remove the cloves after about 5 minutes.

Menu Suggestions: In addition to being a superb accompaniment to meat, especially pork or sausages, these zucchini make an enticing antipasto. They are also a tasty side dish for a buffet.

For 4 to 6 persons

1 pound zucchini

Salt

Vegetable oil, enough to come ½ inch up the side of the pan

1 cup all-purpose flour, spread on a dish or on waxed paper

2 to 3 tablespoons good-quality wine vinegar, preferably imported French vinegar

2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed with a heavy knife handle and peeled

Freshly ground pepper, about 4 twists of the mill

1. Clean the zucchini as directed on page 392. Cut them into sticks about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle with the salt and set aside for 30 minutes.

2. When the 30 minutes have elapsed, the zucchini will have thrown off quite a bit of liquid. Drain them and pat them dry with a cloth or paper towels.

3. Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. When the oil is quite hot, lightly dip the zucchini in flour and slip into the skillet. (Don’t put too many in at one time. They should fit very loosely in the pan.) Turn them as they brown.

4. When the zucchini are a deep golden brown, transfer to a deep dish, using a slotted spoon. While they are still hot, sprinkle them with vinegar. You will hear them sizzle.

5. When all the zucchini are done, bury the garlic in their midst, and season with pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Last updated October 25, 2012

Bruce Graham

Vegetables

Italian-Style Swiss Chard Recipe

Smothered Cabbage, Venetian Style

Almond Wild Rice

Plain Boiled Basmati Rice

Basmati Rice

Coconut Rice

Swiss Chard Stalks Gratineed with Parmesan Cheese

Roasted Cauliflower With Tahini-Parsley Sauce

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Basmati Rice

Persian Rice

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Stuffed Onions

Swiss Chard Stalks Gratineed with Parmesan Cheese

Sautéed Swiss Chard Stalks with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Parsley

Swiss Chard Torte with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Pureed Turnips

Gratin dauphinois

Zucchini with Tomato and Basil

Fried Zucchini with Vinegar

Sections

Food

Search this Site

Guestbook