Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

Asparagus is a beautiful spring vegetable, a wonderful ingredient for late May. Native to the old world, asparagus has been cultivated with the young shoot being consumed by humans for thousands of years appearing in the likes of Roman cookbooks and Egyptian friezes. Because of its wide appeal, asparagus lends itself well to any number of dishes and cooking techniques, but tends to shine with minor cooking. Balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs, garlic and honey provide and deliciously neutral flavor palate for roasted vegetables, so that they may be paired with many different entrées or eaten on their own as an appetizer, salad or snack. Balsamic roasted vegetables could easily be paired with an stuffed peppers, homemade pizza or a chicken tagine.

This recipe also works well on the grill. Different combination of vegetables and herbs may be used depending upon availability.

½ lb asparagus, trimmed

2 medium summer squash, trimmed and sliced lengthwise and ¼" thick

1 medium red bell pepper, trimmed and sliced lengthwise into 1" segments

1 medium red onion, trimmed and sliced lengthwise and ½" thick

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 medium clove garlic, smashed

2 tsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped

1. Arrange vegetables evenly in a large glass-baking dish. Combine vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil in a small bowl. Pour over vegetables and gently toss to evenly coat. Cover vegetables, place in refrigerator and marinate overnight, gently tossing occasionally.

2. In a single layer, arrange marinated squash, asparagus and bell pepper on a large baking sheet with edges. Spread onions and garlic on top of vegetables.

3. Preheat broiler. Broil vegetables for 5-7 minutes, until asparagus and onions are done. Remove asparagus, onions and garlic, flip squash and bell pepper, return to broiler for 2-3 minutes, until done. Once done, remove vegetables from heat and set aside

4. Meanwhile, place marinade in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring marinade to a simmer and continue simmering until marinade has been reduced and thickened, about half as thick. Remove reduction from heat, cool slightly and add freshly chopped herbs.

5. Spoon reduction over vegetables before serving. Serve vegetables warm, room temperature or chilled.

Serves 3-4

Summer Squash Fritters

Young squash, such as zucchini and summer, are a vegetable stand-by for me, and I try to always have them on hand because they are a useful versatile vegetable. I have found they can be added to many different dishes to increase the amount and diversity of vegetables consumed, not to mention texture and flavor. However, they are also lovely on their own, or at least made the central ingredient, with their smooth texture and light taste. Though they are so mild and fresh, they do maintain integrity while cooked, a nice quality in any ingredient. I decided to pair them with fresh herbs and lemon for a spring inspired fritters. Technically a fritter is coated with a batter and then fried, but I decided to combine the vegetables with the batter, creating a cross between a fritter and a pancake of sorts, proving culinary terms and labels can be complicated indeed. These fritters would be delicious paired with a beet salad and roasted potatoes.

Straight summer squash or zucchini will work just as well as the combination.

1 medium zucchini, grated

1 medium summer squash, grated

2 scallions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, pressed or finely chopped

1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1 egg

¼ c parmesan, grated

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper, ground

1 tbsp olive oil

1. Place grated zucchini and summer squash in a colander, sprinkle with salt, toss and drain for about 20 minutes. Wrap the squash in cheese cloth and squeeze to remove excess water. Once squash is mostly dry, wrap in a clean dish towel and set aside.

2. Combine scallions, garlic, lemon zest, pepper, parmesan, flour and egg in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to combine, add squash and thoroughly mix ingredients.

3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Form batter into 1" balls and flatten into patties, about ½" thick. Fry patties until golden brown, 3-4 minutes per side. Continue process until all batter has been fried.

4. Serve fritters warm, room temperature or cold.

Makes 8 fritters

Butternut Squash Purée with Nutmeg

Butternut squash is still one of my favorite squashes because it maintains its rich orange color after cooking and has a sweet creamy flavor. Nutmeg pairs well with squash, especially creamy squash such as butternut, due to the mild background squash provides for the strong flavor of nutmeg. Nutmeg comes from the Myristica fragrans, an evergreen nutmeg tree from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, which provides both nutmeg, the seed and mace, the seed's aril or covering. Though I think of fall and winter too, butternut squash purée reminds me of spring because it is bright in color and light in taste. I like to pair this purée with orange pecan kale, wheat berry salad or blue potatoes and use it as a pizza topping with goat cheese and caramelized onions.

Milk may be used in place of cream. A larger or smaller squash may be used with slight quantity adjustments to the other ingredients.

1 1.5-2 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½" cubes

2 tbsp butter

¼ c cream

¼ tsp nutmeg, grated

salt and pepper

1. Place cubed squash in a steamer basket over a pot with water up to the basket. Cover and steam until squash is very tender, about 15 minutes. Remove squash from heat and place steamed squash in food processor.

2. Add cream, butter and nutmeg to squash and purée until smooth, adding more cream as necessary to reach desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Serve squash purée warm or room temperature.

Serves 3-4

Summer Squash Stuffed with Ricotta

Squash originated in the Americas and the genus Curcurbita has been cultivated for thousands of years. Summer squash, like zucchini, are fruits from the species C. pepo. Summer squash are harvested when still immature so that their rind is still tender and therefore edible. Due to their tenderness, summer squash have a shorter storage life than their winter counterparts. Summer squash are versatile vegetables, being so tender and mild, and I like cooking with them often. The ricotta filling accompanies the squash well with a subtle but rich flavor. I have served stuffed squash with gnocchi and arugula pesto or creamy polenta.

Zucchini may be used instead of summer squash.

2 medium summer squash, halved

1 medium carrot, trimmed and finely diced

1 stalk celery, trimmed and finely diced

1 small yellow onion, trimmed and finely diced

1 clove garlic, pressed or finely chopped

¼ c parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling

1 c ricotta

¼ c breadcrumbs

1 small tomato, sliced into thin rounds

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees. Using a spoon, scoop seeds and pulp from squash halves until the shells are roughly ¼ inch thick. Brush with olive oil and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes, add garlic and remove from heat.

3. Combine ricotta, parsley, breadcrumbs and sautéed ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Fill each squash half with ricotta mixture until level with rim. Place halves in a baking dish with filling sides up, lay tomato rounds on top of filled squash and drizzle with olive oil.

5. Bake squash halves until lightly browned and tender, 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool, 5-10 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

Makes 4 stuffed squash

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Red Quinoa

I grew up eating quinoa, thanks to my whole food roots, and although I was not always fond of it as a child, I have been able to appreciate quinoa again as an adult. Quinoa, from the Andes, is not actually a grain but instead a chenopod, closely related to beets and spinach. Red quinoa is especially nice because it maintains its color after cooking and provides a good contrast to the yellow of the squash. Greens such as mustard green soup, orange pecan kale or walnut lemon chard compliment the sweet flavor of squash.

Other varieties of similarly sized squash could be used. Most fresh herbs may be used in addition to or as a substitute. Any type of quinoa may be used in place of red quinoa.

Dedicated to the lovely Samantha Wren, who joined my sister and I in eating these squash.

1 acorn squash, halved and seeded

1 c cooked red quinoa

1 medium carrot, trimmed and finely diced

½ white onion, trimmed and finely diced

1 stalk celery, trimmed and finely diced

5 button mushrooms, halved and thinly sliced

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp sage, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil plus more for rubbing squash

salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Rub squash halves with olive oil and place in oven. Bake until tender and slightly browned, 30-45 minutes. Remove squash from oven when ready, set aside and leave oven on.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, sautéing until the onion is translucent. Add mushrooms and continue sautéing vegetables until mushrooms are tender. Turn heat off; add herbs and sauté off heat for another minute or until the herbs are fragrant.

3. Combine cooked red quinoa with the sautéed vegetables in a medium mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Finally, stuff each squash half with red quinoa stuffing and place both stuffed halves in a baking dish. Return the squash to the oven and bake until the red quinoa begins to brown, 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

Serves 2-4

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Roasting is one of my favorite methods of preparation, especially when the weather is cooler as it both warms the house and smells deliciously of fall. I find roasting squash is an easy way to both prepare it, because little work is involved, and a good way to enhance the flavor of any given recipe, especially those that have few ingredients. I like to roast squash until it may easily be pierced with a knife, its skin separates from the flesh and its surface begins to caramelize. I like butternut squash soup with pasties or stuffed bell peppers.

Other squash varieties may be used instead of or in addition to butternut. Any fairly tart apple will work well. I topped my soup with sour cream, fried shallots and sautéed scallions.

1 1b butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

2 tart apples, peeled, cored and roughly cut

1 medium yellow onion, trimmed and roughly cut

1 large carrot, peeled, trimmed and roughly cut

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil plus additional to rub squash

water

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425. Rub squash with some olive oil and place in oven face side up. Roast squash until tender and slightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, remove flesh from skin, place in mixing bowl and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add butter and olive oil, once melted add carrots, onions and apples. Stir occasionally, remove from heat when carrots are tender.

3. Purée squash with about ½ c water until smooth. Add squash to a large pot. Purée carrots, onions and apples with about ½ c water until smooth. Add to puréed squash.

4. Using a whisk, combine both purées and slowly add water until soup reaches desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm, plain or with desired toppings.

Serves 3-4