A riff on one of my favourite recipes
Plus how I'm having a moment with zucchini
Hi. Can I say it is just HOT HOT HOT.
It’s the hottest it’s been since I’ve been born and it’s very UNCOOL. Literally and figuratively. I can’t really stomach anything when the weather is hot, which is quite ironic considering I’ll be sharing some not very hot-weather-friendly dishes today. All I want to eat are COLD salads, gazpachos (although I’ve never actually had one), acai bowls, fruit..
I got to thinking how upsetting it is that we, as humans, simply don’t take scientists’ warning about global warming and climate change seriously enough. (Browsing a vicenews video about climate change the other day, I was shocked at the comments about “fake news” and “if global warming is happening why is it getting colder”. OMG I CAN’T.) And how as a population, we are collectively lamenting about what terrible weather conditions we are being put through when really, do we have anyone else to blame? (I read the other day how someone said you can’t refer to people e.g. traffic as if you’re not part of the collective and don’t add to the problem, so it is indeed upon us all to take responsibility for all actions of humans.) It’s very unfair and irresponsible but no surprise there about humans being the worst of the lot.
I’m not that aware about many things going on in the world, but I blame huge corporations and governments (supposed world leaders) for much of the state the world is in. I can’t really bring myself to dive deep into the Palestinian/Israeli conflict because I know I’ll be in shambles if I do. Some Israelis I follow on Instagram seem to want people to take their side regarding this whole thing. But if you zoom out and look at the bigger picture on a humanitarian POV, I don’t think taking sides helps with anything. It’s a mass murder/massacre and while it’s easy for me to say that this violence should just stop and it’s inhumane, kids are dying, regular civilians who just want to go about their lives building their families and doing their best to survive in this world don’t deserve any of this etc. It is also understandable that Israel can’t just sit back and watch a terrorist group attack them and not retaliate. No party is right in this case, but we can agree to put the blame on Hamas? Terrorism is NEVER okay.
But when will this end? (I know it won’t.) The collateral is gut-wrenching to say the least. When you think about all this going on in the world, it makes you wonder.. Should I be bringing kids into this world? Does anything I do make a difference at all? Is it okay to be living life (in a definition that is applicable to me) out here while there is so much suffering going on in the world? It all feels so gratuitous and privileged and luxurious and ignorant and self-absorbed. One way to reframe it is to be hella grateful that I’m lucky enough to be living in a safe and peaceful country, and that I’m mostly shielded from all these terrors. (Very thankfully reminded by a video Maggie Rogers posted.) But you know that feeling in your chest? A palpitation of unsettle while your mind tries to tell you it’s okay.
ANYHOO.
Jamie Oliver’s roasted chicken
is a recipe I’ve made countless times, which you can find here. It’s crazy easy and very hands-off and the first time I made it, I was highly impressed at how delicious it was with so little effort. I know it’s not the right weather for roasted chicken and turning your oven on (oh, the irony as a river that courses through my life), but every now and then you just want a roasting tin chicken dish thingamajig, you know?
If you make this recipe accordingly in this weather, make sure to throw in LOTS of basil. This weather demands freshness in the form of herbs. But also a COLD, COLD, COLD cucumber salad tossed in good olive oil, flaky sea salt, something zesty like lemon juice or sumac or black lime, or a sweeter vinegar like rice vinegar with a mountain of herbs would pair nicely.
Yesterday, I didn’t have any of that and I just wanted to riff on it a little. I sweat some sliced onions (2 large yellow ones) with olive oil and a touch of sea salt, threw in about two teaspoons of aleppo chili and a teaspoon of preserved lemon paste *, then added about half a cup of chicken broth (hot water with some bouillon - use a good one!) and let all of them get to know each other for a hot minute.
* I usually have preserved lemons on hand — I make a batch and it keeps forever. I wax and wane with my love for them. The cycle goes like this: I love it so much, put it in everything, get terribly sick of and repulsed by it, leave it alone for months, then rediscover it. Almost all recipes I’ve seen call for preserved lemon peel, and to discard the flesh because it’s saltier and less fragrant, but I find it such a waste. Instead, I remove seeds, blend it all up and end up with a preserved lemon paste that I find so much easier to use. You no longer have scoop up a quarter and chop its peel when you want to use it — simply scoop, dump, and then you have time to make a cocktail and enjoy life while cooking.
This formed the bed for a little sweet, zesty, savoury something beneath the chicken and tomatoes, and the gravy was astounding. Rice or beans or crusty bread would have been very nice to soak it all up, but to be honest I lost my appetite halfway through the meal from the sheer exhaustion of eating hot food in this weather.
The versatility of zucchini
I’m not sure what kind of a rep zucchini gets with everyone else, but I LOVE it. I find it fairly neutral in flavour and yearn to try a sweet, flavourful one one day. But for now I will settle for it as a staple because it’s always available. When shopping for them at a market where there is free rein, go for the smaller, slimmer ones that are less watery and seedy. They should pack a firmer/denser texture.
I love grating it and then, depending on how you’re using it, salting and squeezing moisture out of it, or just adding it straight. It’s a great way to sneak greens in and I’m very annoying about getting greens in at every meal. I snuck it into some porridge once and thought: why don’t I do this more? (In this case, you don’t have to salt and remove moisture as it contributes moisture.)
Another time, in orzo for a super quick meal. This was almost like a zucchini cacio e pepe and came together in such a snap, while I was cleaning up the kitchen. I loved the texture as it retained some bite, which was texturally enjoyable
And most recently, in a zucchini and white bean soup. While I was NOT pleased it took me almost 3 hours to cook the damn beans, the soup came out delicious and everyone loved it. It was cooked on a whim, so I didn’t soak the beans overnight but DAMN how dry and stale must those beans have been?!
Minus the time it took to cook those beans, this soup came together in maybe like 20 minutes. BUT cooking beans is, I feel, essential in bean soups or brothy beans. You get the chance to really flavour your beans and create a bean broth that you will use in brothy beans / soups. And soups are all about flavourful bases in the form of broth. Suuure, you could use canned beans but me being me.. I would probably try making a vegetable broth at least, on top of using canned beans. Depth of flavour is something I value a lot.
For this soup that I had to keep vegetarian, a LOT of flavour came from parmigiano rind. I have a stash hoarded in my freezer and this was the perfect occasion to use them. It adds a deeply umami, a pleasant funk (we love funk!) and tremendous flavour. If you don’t have the rind, though, you could substitute with dashi or just konbu.
After the beans were done, in a separate pot, sweat some minced onions, throw in zucchini chunks, let it get a little cooked and translucent, add some yuzu kosho if you’d like, then basically pour in all your beans (strained of aromatics and rind), along with the broth. Bring to a boil, simmer for a bit, and add lots of pepper and lemon juice to brighten, and you’re good to go!
I finished it with meyer lemon kosho, which I know is out of reach for most of us. I had the sweet chance of making some a while back when I was making meyer lemon bars. It is just delightful. Beautifully aromatic and spicy with huge uplifting power. Green yuzu kosho, of course, would be just as wonderful. Just remember to go easy on seasoning initially because yuzu kosho is plenty salty, especailly if you want to add more for flavour.
Oh finally, I did also stir in some shredded butterhead lettuce (any lettuce would be lovely) for crunch and more greens. It was a really hearty yet light soup, perfect for dinner.
Wishing you all the best in this weather!!!
Bisous xx
M.