The Summer Casserole

This has got to stop! The produce coming from my CSA and from the weekly trips to the local farmers’ market where eggplant and bouquets of basil are stacked in bountiful piles that I just can’t leave there have me inundated with vegetables.

This week, I made a dish that I make at least a couple of times every summer when I have these feelings of being buried in zucchini. It’s not really a recipe, per se, and the beauty of it is that you can use whatever you hand. There are no set amounts of anything to put in this dish, so if you don’t like eggplant or you you’ve got fresh thyme, but no basil, this will still turn out to be delicious.

Here’s what you do:

Pull out all the vegetables that you need to use. This can be tomatoes, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and any kind of herb. Cut the vegetables up into slices or chunks, mince the garlic and a handful of whatever herbs you have, and put them in a big bowl. Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil (not much, 2 tablespoons will do for a huge, huge, batch), sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and toss everything together. Put the vegetables in a baking dish, cover, and bake at 350F until the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. You don’t need to add water or liquid to the dish, the vegetables will give off their own juices. This is not one of those crisp-tender preparations, so don’t expect crunchy vegetables. They all sort of meld together and some of the eggplant and tomatoes will fall apart, but it’s a very good thing.

What to do with it now? Serve the vegetables over pasta (as in the photo above), polenta, or grits; coarsely chop the vegetables and put them in an omelette or a frittata; or just serve them as a side dish, sprinkled with a little Parmesan cheese along with whatever you’re grilling this week. It’s a healthy, easy, delicious, low-carb way to use up whatever you’ve hauled out of your garden or home from your local market.

Crispy Potato and Spinach Salad with Parmesan

The new potatoes are finally in here at the farmers’ markets in New York. Which, of course makes me long for my mom’s homemade potato salad, full of mayonnaise and hard boiled eggs, onion, and celery, and sprinkled with paprika on the top. I will definitely make this version before summer is over (maybe lightening the mayo with some fat-free Greek yogurt), but I thought I’d satisfy my current potato salad craving with something a little lighter.

For this salad, I slice the potatoes thin and sauté them in a nonstick skillet in a bit of olive oil until they’re brown and crispy. I put them on plates, then top them with a spinach salad dressed with a sharp red wine vinaigrette and tossed with shards of salty Parmesan cheese. It’s the perfect balance of crispy potatoes, bitter greens, and rich cheese.

I used spinach in this salad, because that’s what I had on hand. I think arugula or watercress would be even better, but any salad greens you have on hand would work. And if your potatoes are freshly dug, just wash off the dirt, no need to peel. Don’t go overboard on the portion, though. Three ounces of potatoes (1 small) have about 15 grams of carbs, or 1 Carb Choice.

Crispy Potato and Spinach Salad with Parmesan

Makes 2 servings

Potatoes

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 small potatoes (about 3 ounces each), scrubbed and thinly sliced

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Salad

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Pinch of kosher salt

Pinch of freshly ground pepper

3 cups spinach, arugula, or other greens

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

To make the potatoes, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Add the oil and tilt the pan to coat the bottom.

Add the potatoes, keeping them well-spread in the pan for even browning. Cook, turning the potatoes as they brown, until tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the salad, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the potatoes are done, divide them evenly between 2 plates. Add the spinach to the dressing and toss to coat. Top the potatoes with the spinach and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Serve at once.  

Each serving: 18 g carbohydrate, 179 calories, 11 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein, 263 mg sodium

Carb Choices: 1; Exchanges: 1 starch, 2 fat