My favorite summertime treat--Bruschetta!

Nothing says summer like fresh produce! 

One of my all time favorite things to make in the summer is bruschetta (pronounced "brew-skett-ah" for us non-native Italians). For us in northern Minnesota, we haven't quite reached that gardening phase in the summer when you're surrounded by a million tomatoes that seem to ripen (then overripe) by the second but when we do, this is my go-to recipe to use up a lot of tomatoes quickly. 

Tomato Basil Bruschetta

8 small tomatoes, about 4 cups diced (Roma or plum tomatoes are my favorite for this but any will do)
8-10 fresh basil leaves (3-4 TB)
3-4 garlic cloves (2TB)
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
3 TB balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 loaf of french bread and additional olive oil and garlic for seasoning

Directions:

Peel the tomatoes. To do this, put the tomatoes in boiling water for no more than one minute to loosen the skins (parboil). Shock them with cold water to make sure they don't stew. Peel the skins off. Cut the tomatoes into wedges and remove the inner juice and seeds. Dice the tomato into small pieces (like the consistency of chunky salsa).

Finely chop the fresh basil and garlic cloves. Combine with the tomatoes and add the olive oil and vinegar. Taste as you go and adjust to your preferences. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to combine. This can be made a day ahead and enjoyed several days after (if it can last that long!)

To prepare the bread, slice the loaf into 1/2 inch slices and lay out flat on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush a bit of olive oil on both sides (or leave it dry if you'd prefer to save a few calories). Bake at 375 for about five minutes on each side or alternatively, broil on low on each side for a few minutes. For extra flavor, sprinkle some salt or once the bread has cooled a bit, you can rub fresh garlic clove lightly over each piece. 

Serve together. You could also garnish with extra basil or a small hunk of Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. 

 some simple ingredients

 parboiling the tomatoes

see how easy that skin comes off? so worth the minute to boil them!

 the admittedly messy process of taking out the juice and seeds! 

I always have tomato juice dripping from my elbows

dice up the tomatoes nice and fine

basil and garlic

everything combined together! Yum!

 there it is... about to disappear!

Photos were all taken with my little iphone since I didn't have my fancy Canon at the lake house. Nice work, iphone. I knew you were meant for more than facebook!

 Enjoy!

-Nina

gigi kept taking bites out of my tomatoes and stealing my ingredients. ha ha! nothing like a toddler to make you laugh at your own foodie-ness

Gnocchi with Zucchini & Cherry Tomatoes

So we've been little vacationistas the last couple of weeks so while I've been up to lots of projects I just haven't quite made the time to blog about it. Back to a regular schedule!

We continue with our incredible CSA farm, picking up our lovely veggies every Tuesday. One of my favorite experimental veggies surprised me when it appeared in the box--zucchini!

this week's box: lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and my star ZUCCHINI!

Let me tell you about zucchini in my family. My grandfather was an awesome gardener. I remember him planting two HUGE gardens (or maybe they just seemed huge to me) when I was little. My dad got the bug and we planted a little garden ourselves. My mom always insisted on planting zucchini and I was amazed at how large they would grow. Looking back the more amazing thing was what my mom did with it--desserts! I didn't eat zucchini as a vegetable until well into my adulthood. Zucchini for us meant cake, bread, or brownies. Now it's one of my favorite summer vegetables. 

I had to go with an old favorite recipe for this week's CSA box. It's so very simple, full of vegetables and just enough butter to make it all come together. It's also a great SUMMER make-ahead meal. I think it always tastes better the second day after all the juices have soaked into the gnocchi.

Gnocchi with Zucchini & Cherry Tomatoes
click title for easy printing

Ingredients

1 pound fresh or frozen gnocchi

2 tablespoons butter

2 medium shallots, thinly sliced

1 pound zucchini, (about 3 small), very thinly sliced lengthwise

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook gnocchi until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Ere on the side of underdone. DO NOT overcook or you’ll get a soupy mess by the time you add it to the vegetables later. Drain and set aside.

Use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini lengthwise in long ribbons. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. (Tip! Put the tomatoes between two storage lids and run a knife between to make quick work of this.)

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add shallots and brown them a bit to start caramelizing them.  Add zucchini and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes, salt, nutmeg and pepper and continue cooking, stirring often, until the tomatoes are just starting to break down, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and parsley. Add the gnocchi and toss to coat. Serve immediately or cool and store for a make-ahead meal.

zucchini ribbons with a vegetable peeler 

my trick for cutting small tomatoes in half (thank you, Rachel Ray!) 

 pile between to storage lids, carefully slide a knife through

ta da! two swipes and I was done 

everything combined in the saucepan 

shredding up some parm cheese and chopping parsley 

 toss them in at the end and serve!

a delicious hot mess