A Good Dish

making food simpler

No Cook Meals for Hot Summer Days

Cool summer salad Bowl by Scott Chamberlin
Cool summer salad
Bowl by Scott Chamberlin

Now that it is summer and it’s hot, the last thing you want to do is prepare a cooked meal that will heat up your kitchen. Over the next few weeks, while temperatures are high, I will post some suggestions for cold, easy to assemble recipes that don’t require turning on your oven or stove at all. The first is a simple, refreshing salad. It has only a handful of ingredients but is surprisingly tasty and cooling, just what you want on a hot summer day. It travels well for lunch or a picnic and is easily multiplied for a large group.

Cucumber and Pineapple Salad

  • 1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored and diced, with any juice that collects when you cut it
  • 4 Kirby cucumbers, sliced (1 hothouse or 2 regular cukes would work)
  • Large handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
  • Pinch salt

Toss all ingredients together and refrigerate until cold. If leaving in the refrigerator overnight, don’t add the mint until about an hour before plating, if you don’t want it wilted. Serves 4 people.

If you want to add some protein, chopped leftover chicken, ham, roast pork, fried tofu, Marcona almonds or cooked shrimp would make a complete dinner salad, nicely served in lettuce leaves or with tortilla chips or crackers. Sprinkle with a couple of chopped scallion or some diced red onion and a sprinkle of cayenne to zest it all up.

Cool summer salad Bowl by Scott Chamberlin
Cool summer salad
Bowl by Scott Chamberlin

 

Refreshing Summer Cocktails

A Campari and an Aperol Spritz tumblers by Julia Galloway
A Campari and an Aperol Spritz
tumblers by Julia Galloway

Summer days can be hot and humid and one bit of relief is a refreshing cocktail at the end of the day. I think the best summer drinks are light on alcohol but with just enough to help us forget the blazing heat and not enough to knock you silly. I am actually such a lightweight that I enjoy a cocktail in one hand and a glass of water in the other. I know many people love a margarita but since I haven’t been able to smell, much less drink, tequila since high school, you won’t find me recommending it. Bartenders and cocktail aficionados everywhere are coming up with new and inventive drinks all the time but some of my favorites are still the traditional ones. With the holiday weekend approaching, here is a reminder of some easy and reliable cocktail standards.

Q is a good quality brand for mixers with pure ingredients
Q is a good quality brand for mixers with pure ingredients

A classic summer highball is the gin and tonic. I go light on the gin (but make sure it is a flavorful one like Hendricks) and heavy on the tonic. Q is an especially delicious tonic, with no strange or chemical ingredients (just agave, bitters, quinine and citric acid in carbonated water) and not sugary sweet. Another good brand is FeverTree but Q would be my first choice. Just pour a shot of gin over ice and fill your glass with tonic. Add lots of lime slices and sip away.

bottles

One of the tastiest summer drinks on a hot afternoon is a Campari or an Aperol Spritz, the former redder and more bitter and the latter more orange and a bit sweeter but both herbaceous. Sipping either one, you could almost imagine yourself under an umbrella on an Italian piazza. Both are made with a 3-2-1 recipe – 3 parts Prosecco or another sparkling wine (I think Cava works well here if you don’t have Prosecco), 2 parts liqueur and 1 part soda water or seltzer over ice. You could garnish with an orange wedge or not.

Use St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, (only around since 2007 although the old fashioned bottle would have you think otherwise),  to make a St. Germain cocktail, one we often serve to guests during the summer. The proportions are just a little different from the Spritz – 3 parts sparkling wine, 2 parts bubbly water, 1 part elderflower liqueur – which makes for an even lighter drink. Citrus slices and halved strawberries make a complementary garnish.

Pimm's Cup in a tumbler by Julia Galloway
Pimm’s Cup in a tumbler by Julia Galloway

Similarly tasty but quite a different flavor is the Pimm’s cup. Pimm’s is an herby, gin-based liquor (I can’t tell you exactly what is in it since the recipe is a secret) traditionally mixed with carbonated lemonade or ginger ale and garnished with a cucumber spear, mint leaves and any combination of apple, orange, lemon, cherries or strawberries. I think it is delicious with ginger beer, which is a bit spicier than your ordinary ginger ale, or Q ginger, made by the same company that produces the good tasting tonic water.

Shandy fixings - just pour together and enjoy
Shandy fixings – just pour together and enjoy

Another thirst quenching summer beverage is a shandy. Ok – you are probably thinking, why ruin a perfectly good beer with lemonade or ginger ale? When it’s hot, you want a little less alcohol and a little more refreshment hence the half and half mixture of any lager or ale you enjoy with lemonade, ginger ale, ginger beer, a lemon-lime soda or even fruit juice. A sprig of mint is a fitting garnish, if you feel it needs one.

Whenever we have a party, I always like to make a pitcher of a mixed drink to make bar tending easier for us and for our guests. In winter, I might mix whiskey sours or bourbon and ginger but in summer I prefer something lighter, like the St. Germain cocktail, which is easy to mix in a big batch. A pitcher of white sangria made with white wine, a little cognac, lemon juice and sugar or agave with peach slices or red sangria with lots of cut up fruit is festive and easy to drink. Traditional red sangria can pack quite a punch because it is fortified with brandy and sometimes also Cointreau or another liquor. In summer, I simply mix red wine with some orange juice and bubbly water with just a dash of liqueur and load up on fruit for a less potent version.

Lastly, one of my favorite drinks, no matter the season, is a sweet red vermouth on the rocks with a twist or slice of lemon or orange. (For comments on different brands, see my post on a Continental Drift). My old Mr. Boston Bartender’s Guide mistakenly calls this an Americano (which also contains Campari) but I just call it refreshing. 

Sweet Vermouth on the rocks tumbler by Julia Galloway
Sweet Vermouth on the rocks
tumbler by Julia Galloway

Raffetto’s: 110 Years of Fresh Pasta and Still Innovating

Entrance on Houston Street
Entrance on Houston Street

Despite widespread gentrification and demolition, New York still has many old, unique food shops specializing in everything from cake-decorating supplies to Spanish imports. One of my favorites is Raffetto’s, a more than 100-year old Italian market on Houston Street near 6th Avenue. A charming, old-world type store with wood cabinetry and shelves stocked with all kinds of locally produced and imported Italian foods and ingredients. It is a place you need to visit for a taste of non-sarcastic “artisanal” food. Their pasta is simply delicious.

wall of pasta

I first stumbled upon Raffetto’s in the mid-80s, when I was an art advisor and used to spend a lot of time combing the galleries of Soho (before they morphed into expensive boutiques and chain stores). Walking north across Houston Street, I would pass Raffetto’s on the way to get a coffee or hear music in the Village. When I finally stopped in, I was amazed at the other world behind its front door – a wall of different colors and shapes of dried pasta on one side and shelves full of grains, beans, soup mixes, oils, vinegars, a refrigerated case with fresh sauces, cheeses and more on the other. In the back, several women in white lab coats were packaging sauces and filled pasta in an open kitchen and were cutting fresh pasta to order, something I hadn’t seen before.

Kitchen and packing area in the back of the store
Kitchen and packing area in the back of the store

According to their website, and from the looks of it, Raffetto’s is still using the same pasta-rolling machine that their patriarch/founder bought when he opened the store in 1906. And the pasta “guillotine”, on which you have your fresh pasta cut to your choice of widths, dates from 1916. Don’t you wish more equipment was still made and maintained that well now? Three generations of the Raffetto family are working in and running the business, making the pasta and sauces and staffing the shop. But I’m getting lost in history: the real story is the food they produce.

fresh flavors

Raffetto’s offers cut-to-order fresh pasta in traditional and non-traditional flavors Including tomato, parley-basil, wholefrozen wheat, lemon red pepper, rosemary, black squid-ink and, my favorite, black pepper. Sometimes you can get lucky and arrive when chestnut, lemon, saffron or even chocolate are available. Ravioli fillings range from the usual cheese or cheese and spinach to pesto, goat cheese, seafood and chicken with smoked mozzarella and the occasional special like arugula and ricotta, pumpkin or Gorgonzola and walnut. (My son says he doesn’t like mushrooms but he loves Raffetto’s mushroom ravioli. Go figure!) Tortellini and potato gnocchi are made and sold here in a range of fillings and flavors. Happily for all of us, many varieties of the ravioli are available at stores like Fairway and Citarella and the jumbo ravioli are available at Zabar’s. Both the fresh and filled pastas freeze well, although I wouldn’t keep them in the freezer for more than a few months.

glutenfree

In addition to the fresh and filled varieties, Raffetto’s stocks a selection of imported dried pastas, including spelt, farro and quinoa, and a huge assortment of shapes. If you aren’t a pasta eater, there are plenty of delicious red and green sauces, olives, anchovies, condiments and seasonings to buy for yourself or for a gift. Arriving with a bag full of groceries from Raffetto’s (easy to make dinner) would make you a dream house guest!

pork storeRaffetto’s was one of many Italian food stores in its West Village neighborhood and you can still find a few others pastryopen. Faicco’s Pork Store, dating from its first incarnation on Thompson Street in 1900, operates a couple blocks away on Bleecker Street, as does Pasticcerio Rocco, which opened in 1974, the youngster of the group. Caffe Reggio, claiming to have served the first cappuccino in New York, has offered espresso to generation after generation of NYU students and tourists since 1927 on MacDougal Street.

Unfortunately, other old establishments in this little “Little Italy” didn’t make it. Joe’s Dairy, across Houston Street, produced and sold the best smoked mozzarella I’ve ever tasted, but they moved to New Jersey where costs were less expensive. Balducci’s, which started in Brooklyn in 1900 and moved to the Village in 1946, had a large bustling market on 6th Avenue, about 10 blocks north, but it closed after being bought out by a big food company. (Incarnations have opened and closed and opened in various spots around the city). The charming Cafe Dante on MacDougal, with a case full of more than a dozen flavors of gelato before gelato was a household word, closed last year, a victim of surging rent, now replaced by an upscale restaurant of the same name.

Fortunately, Raffetto’s survives, possibly because it keeps up with what people want, continues to innovate, provides quality products and maintains a knowledgeable, efficient and friendly staff. In order to meet wholesale demands, they expanded by opening a small factory, first nearby and now located in New Jersey. It probably doesn’t hurt that they own their own building on Houston. But whatever the reasons for its success, I hope Raffetto’s continues producing delicious pastas and sauces far into the future.

Black pepper pasta with vegetables Earthenware dish by Ayumi Horie
Black pepper pasta with vegetables
Earthenware dish by Ayumi Horie

Black Pepper (or Rosemary, Whole Wheat or Parsley-Basil) Pasta with Vegetables

  • 1/2 lb. fresh black pepper pasta, cut to your preference of width
  • 1/2 package of frozen peas
  • 2 or 3 handfuls of clean arugula or spinach
  • 3 TBs olive oil
  • 1 TB butter or ghee
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a big pinch of salt. Shake the cornmeal off the pasta and add to the boiling water, stirring immediately to break the starch bonds and avoid clumping.

Check for doneness after 2 minutes and again at 3. Just before the pasta is cooked to your liking, add the peas and greens and cook 30 seconds and then drain.

Heat the oil and butter or ghee in the now empty but still warm pan over medium heat and then add the garlic with a pinch of salt. As soon as the garlic is softened, about 1 minute, turn off the heat, add the drained pasta and vegetables and toss to mix. Add additional salt to taste. If you like, sprinkle with freshly grated cheese. Makes 4 starter or 2-3 main course servings.

Note: Preparing the fresh pasta or ravioli makes one of the easiest dinners ever. It cooks much faster than dried pasta so watch it carefully – a few minutes is really sufficient. To fortify, you can toss in some small pieces of broccoli or cauliflower and some cooked beans, with or without cheese. Alternatively, use a tomato sauce or pesto (the garlic scape pesto recipe from a few weeks ago would be delicious with the whole wheat pasta), add some cooked chicken or shrimp, sprinkle with fresh parsley or basil and you’ve amped up your main course to restaurant status.

Salmon Burgers Make an Easy and Economical Meal

Salmon burgers plate by Chandra DeBuse
Salmon burgers
plate by Chandra DeBuse

Salmon burgers, patties, cakes, croquettes, or whatever you prefer to call them, probably aren’t the first thing you think of when compiling a grocery list. You should keep them in mind, however, because salmon burgers are easy to make, economical, healthy and can be eaten hot or cold, giving you flexibility in timing when you make and serve them. They fit into all but vegetarian and vegan diets yet there is probably some seasoning blend, perhaps with Italian herbs or curry, that would make a meatless soy version acceptable.

I try to make fish or seafood at least 3 times a week, especially fish rich in desirable omega-3 fatty acids like wild salmon, sardines and Arctic char. In winter, I bake fish simply with a little white wine and herbs but as the weather turns warmer, I try not to turn on the oven.

More and more, it is difficult to stay informed on which fish are not contaminated, wild or sustainably farmed and therefore safe to eat. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a new app –  Seafood Watch – which makes this much easier. They do the work to keep up with the best choices for fish and other seafood, good alternatives when your favorite is tainted and what to avoid based on sustainability issues. It’s free to download and makes shopping for fish much simpler.

On days when what is available at the grocery seafood counter doesn’t look appealing or prices are astronomical, I look for other ways to serve fish to my family. Sometimes I make a canned salmon salad (recipe coming this summer). Other times, I sauté frozen scallops or make pasta with fresh or tinned clams. I’ve even been known to serve fish sticks on occasion (from deep water fish) or simply open and plate a can of sprats (smoked sardines) when it is really to hot to do anything else.

Canned salmon is easy to buy and store
Canned salmon is easy to buy and store

A few weeks my sister told me her family loves the salmon patties she makes them for dinner. I make frozen, pre-made wild salmon burgers (from Costco) as a back up when I don’t have a better dinner option, but why not make them myself? How hard could it be? Lots of recipes for salmon burgers call for chopping up fresh fish but with the price of wild salmon hovering between 20 and 30 dollars per pound, I am not about to use it for a burger. I followed my sister’s lead and used canned wild salmon: much more economical (between $4-6 per can), shelf stable and available year round. She learned the recipe from a mother at her daughter’s pre-school and adapted it to fit her current gluten-free diet by substituting almond flour for bread crumbs. Smart. Just as I added my own twist with fresh herbs, pickles and mustard, you can adjust it to suit your tastes.

cooked salmon burgers
cooked salmon burgers

Traditional salmon croquettes contain about half potatoes. Because this recipe substitutes vegetables and a small amount of almond flour for the potatoes, the fish is the main event. I added some chopped sweet pickles to a batch with tasty results. If you use a cast iron pan for its heat retaining quality, the patties cook quickly so they won’t overheat your kitchen. Broiling is even faster (but make sure to oil your pan to avoid sticking) if you are willing to turn on the oven. I serve them with some horseradish mustard (half Dijon mustard, half horseradish with a dash of pickle juice). Susie said her family likes them with a crunchy cabbage salad. We thought they were good both warm with mashed potatoes and cooked greens and cold on a green salad. You will want to double the recipe and have a few leftovers – they are even better the next day.

Susie’s Salmon Burgers

  • 1 14.75 oz can of wild red or pink salmon, rinsed, drained and mashed (I leave the bones-for the calcium and they just blend in if you mash well – but I remove the skin for aesthetic reasons although it isn’t necessary. Do as you like).
  • 3 TBs olive, avocado or coconut oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3-5 stalks celery, depending on size, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup almond flour, breadcrumbs or ground oats
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt

The following are optional but, I think, make a big difference in flavor:

  • 1/2 cup chopped dill (optional)
  • 1/4 chopped chives (optional)
  • 1 TB chopped sweet pickles
  • 1 TB Dijon mustard (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper (optional)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (optional)

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 TBs oil and sauté onion until becoming clear. Add the celery and cook until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and cook one more minute.

Add the cooked vegetables to the mashed salmon and mix to combine. Add the eggs and crumbs, oats or almond flour, herbs, mustard, seasonings and the cheese, if you are using it. Mix just enough to combine. If the mixture isn’t holding together, add one more egg.

Form into medium sized burgers (I find this recipe makes 6-7 patties). Wipe out the pan you used to sauté the vegetables, add another tablespoon or 2 of oil, heat and pan fry the salmon cakes for a couple of minutes until nicely browned. Flip and cook until both sides have a nicely browned crust. Pile on a plate and continue cooking the rest, adding oil as necessary. I tried broiling the patties and they worked just fine. They had a little less crunch but a lot less fat. If you broil, definitely oil the pan.

Serve the cooked salmon burgers unadorned (or on buns, rolls or brioche), with plain or horseradish mustard if you like. These patties refrigerate very well and are quite good in a lunchbox with a salad or in a sandwich with mustard, lettuce and pickles. Makes 6-7 medium or 4 large burgers.

Same dinner, different meal: Taming the Flavor-Seeking Beast

While our son was away at college this year, Brooks and I ate mostly vegetables, beans, whole grains, fruit and some fish and seafood with an occasional grass-fed burger or free-range turkey or chicken, piece of cheese or yogurt and lots and lots of salad. It suited us just fine and we were feeling pretty virtuous. When Alex came home and snapped out of his exam-induced, lack of sleep stupor and finished his seemingly endless loads of laundry, he looked up one day and asked “Couldn’t we eat something fun for a change?” My heart sank but I put on a smile and replied “sure!”

Lobster roll from Luke's was a temporary solution
Lobster roll from Luke’s was a temporary solution

I actually enjoy cooking for my family, especially when they enjoy what I make. I thought I was making appealing meals but they were not satisfying my flavor-craving son. We don’t want to eat the salty, fatty, white flour way he wishes, but could I find a compromise? Our boy had thrown down the gauntlet and I wanted to rise to the challenge. I needed time to think so when it was time for lunch, we walked down Amsterdam Avenue and got a lobster roll at Luke’s – delicious every time but a temporary fix that didn’t solve the problem.

I knew seasoning and spice factored into his ideas of flavor so I began there. I bought some fresh black pepper linguini with the zip already in the pasta and added some veggies Alex likes – peas and arugula – with some garlic in olive oil. Pretty simple and a hit – Hoorah! Next I pulled out the chicken and apple sausage, an old standby for him, and coupled it with seasoned rice and broccoli, 2 sides he eats without complaining. When I heard “boring”, I curbed my instinctual reaction to tell him where he could go and tried to think how these ingredients could be better combined. As I was thinking fried rice, Alex asked why I didn’t make a stir-fry. There it was – we had come to the same idea at the same time and I knew how to go forward. I wouldn’t have to completely change our diet, just rearrange the parts and add a little zing. I could stir fry some onion and celery with plenty of ginger and garlic, toss in the broccoli, rice, sausage and some sesame soy combo to satisfy his taste. Yes, he would have been happier with white rice but he would have to settle for brown as that was where I drew the line of compromise. (If you are not eating grains, add more veggies and cut down the amount of sauce). When I tried it again the next day with leftover chicken and more ginger and garlic, we all liked it even better. (I did notice he was picking out the celery!)

garlic

Even though I was insulted by his comments at first, Alex helped me realize I was not being as adventurous with food as I imagined. I still like pretty simple cooking but now I am making an effort to add a little zest and more seasoning to shake up my routine. The real bonus to his involvement is that our son is discovering what goes into food prep and stands on the edge of cooking for himself.

Stir Fried Rice with Whatever You Like

2 TBs neutral oil, like canola or avocado

1 medium onion, sliced and chopped

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

3″ piece of ginger, peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 cups cooked and cut up protein (sausages, ham, chicken, shrimp or tofu)

1-2 cups lightly steamed broccoli (or whatever green veg you like or have leftover)

3 cups cooked rice (I used brown but use any kind you like)

Sauce:

2 TBs soy sauce

2 TBs water

1 TB rice vinegar

1 TB toasted sesame oil

Big pinch cayenne

Heat oil in a large sauté pan, add onion and cook 2 minutes. Add celery and cook another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and ginger and cook another 30 seconds. Add cut up sausage (or whatever protein you are using), rice and broccoli and stir until combined well. Add sauce and cook one more minute, stirring to mix completely. Taste and add more sauce ingredients as you choose. This would be good sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and scallions. Serves 2-4 people or one hungry 20 year old.

Stir Fried Leftovers Plate by Anthony Phillips
Stir Fried Leftovers
Plate by Anthony Phillips

A few other solutions I think will suffice: Sriracha-glazed lamb chops on garlic mashed potatoes with sautéed greens, brown rice nori rolls (lots of wasabi) with watercress salad, leftover chicken doused in green sauce and made into tacos, and rice and beans with salsa and guacamole wrapped into a burrito. It may not be Eleven Madison or Amada but it sure beats what he will get back at school!