Young Zucchini Gratin

Last Friday, I visited my local farmers market for the first time this year. Field tomatoes are not there yet because the spring was very cold but many greens are already available--different kinds of beets, a variety of kale, radish and young zucchinis. I left the market with bags full of spring greens and a couple of pounds of different zucchinis to make my favorite dishes and to experiment with the new ones.

Late spring zucchinis are still rather small and probably the tastiest. The menu of dishes that can be made with them is endless. Many simplest ones, like zucchinis just sauteed in olive oil and herbs, are among the best.

Yesterday, I tried a zucchini gratin recipe. Gratin dishes usually make the vegetables well cooked. This recipe however cooks zucchinis only to the point where they are still tender. Also, gratin dishes, contrary to popular believes, are delicate and not very rich in calories. Just look at all the slim Italians or French who make many dishes based on this Béchamel sauce.

This particular combination of young zucchinis and Béchamel sauce with a moderate addition of goat cheese seems perfect and can be served for lunch or dinner.

Young Zucchini Gratin
(serves four)

Ingredients:
2 lb of small, baby green and yellow zucchinis, sliced in 1/2-inch slices,
2 small shallots, chopped,
a small bunch of fresh preferably lemon thyme--leaves only,
1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese,
4 tbsp butter,
2 tbsp all purpose flour,
1 and 1/2 cup reduced fat milk,
4 tbsp breadcrumbs,
2 tbsp olive oil,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Heat the olive oil and fry shallots in it for about 3 minutes. Add sliced zucchinis and fry them for about 3 minutes, tossing them frequently.

3. Transfer zucchinis to a medium oven-proof dish. Sprinkle them with thyme leaves, and crumbled goat cheese.

4. To make a Béchamel sauce, melt 2 tbsp of butter in a medium pot. Add the flour and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Take off the heat and add milk. Using a whisker incorporate milk until the sauce is smooth and no clumps remain. Return the sauce to the heat and bring to boil stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spread the hot Béchamel on top of the zucchinis. Sprinkle the dish with the remaining butter and breadcrumbs.
6. Bake the zucchinis for about 25-30 minutes, until the sauce bubbles and breadcrumbs become gold.

Serve hot alone or with a baguette.

Leeks in Béchamel Sauce

This is probably the last chance this season to share the recipe for leeks since they are rather a fall-winter vegetable. And once the spring hopefully comes one day soon we will crave more the fresh and crispy vegetables, so leeks will be forgotten until fall.

Leeks are a wonderful vegetable, but you either like them or not. I am one of those who love them and one of my favorite dishes are leeks in mustard sauce, which I make often during cold months and serve as cold cuts accompaniment.

But recently I had some leeks and extra ham and made this nice, warm dish in Béchamel. I tried something similar years ago in London and it worked well then too. And if you are not yet a leek lover I believe this could the best way to get acquainted with them.

Only the white/yellowish and sweet parts are used which very much remind onion. Leeks are wrapped in French or Italian cooked ham and baked in a creamy Béchamel sauce with a little bit of cheese on top. They cut easily and taste really good soaked in Béchamel, especially accompanied by fresh baguette and a glass of wine. They can also be served with rice, making a dinner dish. Either way, it is a very tasty dish, which all leek lovers will appreciate.

Leeks in Béchamel Sauce
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
4 large leeks,
4 large or 8 smaller slices of cooked (preferably French or Italian) ham,
3 tbsp butter, plus extra one to butter the baking dish,
1/4 cup all purpose flour,
2 cups of milk,
1/2 cup Gruyère, or cheddar cheese,
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg,
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped flat leaves parsley

Preparation:
1. Cut out the most green and hard parts of leeks and wash toughly making sure that you rinse out the soil from between the leaves. If your leeks are long cut them in half.
2. In a large pot bring water to boil with a tbsp of salt. Put in the leeks and cook them for 3-5 minutes. Drain on the colander.
3. Make the Béchamel sauce. In a medium heavy duty pot melt butter. Add flour and, using a wooden spoon or a whisker, mix until a gold and thick paste forms. Using a whisker incorporate a cup of milk. When there are no lumps in the mixture, pour in the rest of the milk and heat. Whisk until the sauce thickens and becomes velvety smooth. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes stirring frequently. Season the sauce with nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Preheat oven to 400 F.
5. Grease a medium oven-proof dish with butter.
6. Place the slices of ham on the cutting board, put at the end leeks and roll them up in ham.

Place leeks in the oven-proof dish.

Cover with Béchamel and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for about 15-20 minutes. take off the foil and continue baking until the cheese becomes gold, which will take another 10-15 minutes.

Serve warm, sprinkle with parsley.

Fennel and Goat Cheese Gratin--Finally a Succes!

There is a recipe in my folder, which I clipped out from an English magazine almost twenty years ago, and all these years I have meant to try it, but somehow I have never managed to.

It was presented by a well known chef and on the photograph it looked very appetizing. Finally, last week I got all the products and made it! And the dish turned out to be one of my biggest culinary disappointments. It was inedible. I will not go into details, but let me just say that the dish was bitter and dry--an absolute disaster. And I would not advise anyone to bake radicchio.

I was very frustrated, threw away the final product, and could only regret that I had not made a salad of it, as usual.

The next dish on my "finally made it" list came from another well known chef, Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow's favorite. It was fennel gratin, a popular Italian dish. Sounded delicious, but who knew how this would turn out. I was pretty apprehensive after my first try. I knew fennel and ate it many times, but somehow never made it myself. It has always tasted delicious, but I was afraid of it strong anise aroma, which could be overwhelming if fenel is used as the main ingredient.

Finally, the moment of trying came when at my Whole Foods store I saw beautiful, light green fresh fennel bulbs. I bought two and decided to make gratin of them. The preparation was quick and easy, and the dish came out wonderful. Fennel was delicate, the sauce creamy, and goat cheese on top gave it an extra twist. A perfect spring vegetarian dish, to be accompanied by a crispy salad.

Fennel and Goat Cheese Gratin
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
2 large fennel bulbs,
2 tbsp butter,
1 1/2 cup milk,
1/4 tsp salt,
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg,
ground pepper,
1/2 cup fontina cheese,
6 oz of fresh goat cheese, sliced.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Boil water with a spoon of salt in a medium pot.
3. Trim away stalks from the fennel leaving only the light parts and cut into slices.
4. Blanch fennel in boiling water for about 10 minutes, and drain when tender.
5. In a saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, mix, and cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Add milk whisking constantly. Cook stirring continuously for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
7. Season the sauce with salt, nutmeg, and pepper.
8. Place fennel in a 10 inch baking dish and cover with sauce.

9.Place slices of goat cheese on top and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbles.

Let it cool slightly, and serve with bread and salad.

White Zucchini Lasagna--No Pasta Required

With the first days of spring and warmer weather, I bury in my refrigerator all those meats and potatoes, which missed their chance to become comfort food during the cold days, and look with desire at all the crunchy and green vegetables that the spring brings about. Before we will even notice cold soups and fresh vegetable pasta will rule on our deck tables, and the neighborhood yards will beam with the aroma of grilled meats.

This winter I made exceptionally many comfort dishes, often coming from my native tradition, trying to keep my mother busy in the kitchen, but many of these winter specialties I will save for the next season.

Influenced by the weather, I came home from grocery shopping with a bag full of vegetables, which looked so fresh as if they grew in my own yard. I bought a couple of pounds of zucchini, red peppers, and fennel, for the first time ever. As a result, last week we had many vegetarian dishes for dinner to celebrate the first days of spring.

I bought so much zucchini that I decided to make the whole dish of them and I came with an idea of a zucchini lasagna in white cheese and béchamel sauce. White sauce lasagna with spinach is my kids' favorite, so I was hoping I could rely on that to smuggle zucchini into their diet. For those who never made, preparing the béchamel sauce is the most difficult part of this recipe. Other than that, it is a very simple dish.

Contrary to the conventional culinary wisdom, I always make my béchamel sauce with cold rather than warm milk. In spite of that, it has always turned out perfect. The use of cheese increases the calorie content of this dish, but it is still a leaner dish than a typical lasagna, which is based on pasta.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:
For bechamel sauce
3 tbsp butter,
3 tbsp flour,
2 cups milk,
1/4 tsp nutmeg,
salt and pepper to taste.
For lasagna
8-10 medium green zucchinis, sliced lengthwise into 3-4 slices each (with the ends trimmed),
15 oz ricotta cheese,
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese,
4 cloves garlic, sliced,
1 egg,
salt and pepper,

Preparation:
To make béchamel sauce
1. Melt butter in a medium pot over a low heat and, when liquid, add flour. Mix well with an egg whisker until it turns into a smooth paste.
2. Take the pot off the heat and pour in one cup of milk. Mix well with a whisker until it makes a smooth sauce. Add another part of milk and whisk.
3. Return to the heat and mixing constantly bring the sauce to boil. Let it boil for about 2-3 minutes on the low heat. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
To make lasagna
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Spread half of the béchamel sauce over a bottom of a medium sized oven-proof dish. Cover with slices of zucchini and slices of garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Mix ricotta with egg and spread half of it on top of the first zucchini layer.
4. Cover ricotta cheese with another layer of zucchini and again season with salt, pepper, and garlic.
5. Cover the second layer of zucchini with the remaining ricotta.
6. Put the last zucchini layer on top of the ricotta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and the rest of the bechamel sauce over it.
7. Cover the bechamel sauce with shredded mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and the top becomes gold.

Serve with a lettuce salad, either with bread or as stand alone dish.

Brussels Sprouts in Béchamel Sauce--a Taste from the Childhood Garden

When I saw stalks of Brussels sprouts at my local food store, all my childhood memories came back to me at once. Brussels sprouts, with their very intriguing way of growing, for some mysterious reason, were the only vegetable thriving in my parents' garden. We tried to grow absolutely every vegetable that was known in Poland at that time, but the only vegetable that ended up being impressive were the Brussels sprouts. To my deep disappointment, we never managed to see various lettuces we planted to turn into lettuce heads. And I did not know at that time that a baby salad mix was considered more desirable in the culinary world than a lettuce head and cherry tomatoes were more sweet than those on the vine. I guess we considered their size rather than their taste as the proof of quality.

While being famous for the love of cabbage, we have never befriended Brussels sprouts. You can spot them occasionally on a Polish table, served with buttered bread crumbs, but compared to other cuisines, their presence in our culinary tradition was timid to say the least. Therefore, when I think Brussels sprouts I feel completely free to choose how to make them. From various experiments I have conducted with Brussels sprouts, I concluded that they tasted best when baked in béchamel sauce.

Brussels Sprouts in Béchamel Sauce

Ingredients:
2 lb Brussels sprouts,
2 tbsp butter,
2 tbsp white flour,
2 cups milk at room temperature,
1/2 cup shredded Fontina cheese,
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Cook Brussels sprouts in salted water for 5-10 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat the oven to 375F.
3. To make béchamel sauce melt butter in a saucepan, over a medium heat.
4. Add flour and using a whisker mix until the sauce becomes smooth.
5. Pour in at first 1/2 cup milk whisking continuously. Add the remainig milk gradually, and let the sauce simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent it from burning.
6. Take the saucepan off the heat, add nutmeg, salt,pepper and Fontina cheese.
7. Place Brussels sprouts in oven proof dish and cover with the sauce.
8. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the sauce starts bubbling and becomes dark gold.

Serve with a tomato salad and white bread.

Cauliflower from my Hometown

Whenever I visit the farmers market in my hometown, I am overwhelmed by the great number of stands selling fruits and vegetables. I have to admit that I have never seen anything as impressive in the US and only the open-air market hosted by Geneva's Plaine de Plainpalais was comparable to this one, which is located in a relatively small provincial city in Poland.

All the products sold are very fresh and most of them, including eggs, are genuinely organic. Although you can find there only about four kinds of lettuce, I am sure that there are not many places in the world, maybe with the exception of Italy or Spain, where you can find so many--probably around twenty--different kinds of tomatoes. And they all are wonderfully ripe and tasty. There is also an enormous variety of potatoes, and many different types of cucumbers and peppers. Green beans are green only in their name as they come in various colors, from purple to white, and in many shapes and sizes.

Behind each stand there are mountains of cabbage and of course cauliflowers--large snow white curds, which are very fresh and aromatic in an earthy sort of way. Without any hesitation I have chosen the biggest cauliflower curd (in Poland we always say "cauliflower head" though) I could find for today's dinner and I will prepare it in a traditional Polish way with buttery, crispy bread crumbs, and I will serve it accompanied by a tomato salad. But can anyone else anywhere in the world get excited like me about a cauliflower cooked in such a simple way? True, a simple cauliflower tastes really great only when it had been grown locally in a good soil, with the right amount of water and sun, and was harvested in the morning of the very same day it was sold at the market.

Probably this is the reason why I do not cook it as often anymore in my American home, and if I do, I typically serve it in béchamel sauce or baked with garlic, since both methods can make even a supermarket cauliflower taste rich and interesting.

Cauliflower Pie

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower,
1 egg,
3 cloves of garlic,
1 tbsp of sour cream,
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese,
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg,
1 tbsp chopped parsley,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Divide cauliflower into smaller pieces and cook in salted water until almost soft.
3. Mix the whole egg, cream, and Parmesan cheese together.
4. Cool slightly the pieces of cooked cauliflower and, using food processor, break them into smaller rice-like pieces.
5. Add to the cauliflower the egg mixture, add chopped parsley and crushed garlic, and mix well.
6. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
7. Put cauliflower in a buttered oven-proof dish and bake for 35–45 minutes, or until the it turns slightly gold at the top.

Cauliflower prepared this way can be served as a self-standing, vegetarian dish and will taste even better with a tomato salad. It can also accompany any meat or fish. If enriched by adding chopped, smoked ham, it turns into a very rich meal in itself. It is not very photogenic but it tastes better than it looks!