Pinzimonio: Play with your food!

Play with your food!

Leave it to the Italians to turn produce into whimsical fun.  Pinzimonio is a raw vegetable antipasto that can be as simple or as complicated as you'd like to make it.  In this version, long skinny vegetables are bundled, ready for dipping in olive oil seasoned with lemon juice and salt.  Serve with plenty of napkins.
  
Prep time:  20 minutes
Serves  4 as an appetizer or side dish.

INGREDIENTS
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
2-3 Carrots, scraped, ends removed
1/2 pound long, slender green beans
1 bunch scallions, leaves separated and reserved.
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt

DIRECTIONS
Slice peppers and carrots into long thin spears (about 1/8 to 1/4" wide).  Bundle a variety of spears and gently tie with scallion leaves.  Assemble these packets on a tray.

Distribute the oil and lemon juice between 4 ramekins or small bowls.  Dip a bundle into the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, and crunch.

Tip:  Scallion leaves are easier to tie if you leave them out on the counter for an hour so that the leaves lose some of their water and soften.  (This is the only recipe I can think of where I recommend a vegetable less than fresh!)

Photo and recipe by  Tod Dimmick

Real Greek Salad

 






In Greek mythology, Prometheus deceives Zeus by giving him the choice between two offerings. One offering was skin and bones, covered with snow-white fat. The other was the edible beef, covered with unappetizing entrails. Zeus chose the pile covered with fat, and was angry to find the contents. Today some local restaurants seem to offer a similar choice, where a seductive layer of cheese in a “Greek” salad hides greenish tomatoes, soggy cucumbers, and (sacrilege) Iceberg Lettuce!

For years I thought this was what a Greek salad should be, but then happy chance brought me to the real thing. I remember it like it was yesterday. At the outdoor Greek restaurant, we were served what I thought at first was a simple platter of vegetables, resplendent with chunks of juicy tomato, cucumbers, savory onion, and crisp sweet peppers, all topped with fresh basil and Kalamata olives, and glistening with olive oil and wine vinegar. On this masterpiece reclined a wedge of feta so creamy I wanted to eat it alone. I looked around at other tables: one man carefully assembled a bite that included every ingredient. We attempted the same. It was the best Greek salad I’ve ever tasted, and since then I make them (and eat them) the same way.

Prep time:  15 minutes
Serves:  6-8 (can easily be scaled up or down)

INGREDIENTS
2 fresh tomatoes cut into bite size chunks
2 fresh green bell peppers, seeds removed, cut into bite size chunks
1 fresh cucumber, half peeled into “stripes”, split lengthwise, and cut into bite size pieces
1/2 a large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut into 1/4" pieces
Fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
About 25 Kalamata olives
4-5 ounces block Feta cheese, cut into chunks
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Combine tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, and basil, drizzle to taste with vinegar and olive oil, and mix. Top with olives and wedges of Feta, and salt and pepper to taste.

Devour while contemplating the origins of democracy.

Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Corn, Cucumber, & Escarole Salad

Simple is good.

Prep time:  5 minutes
Serves:  4 as a salad side dish

INGREDIENTS
1 cucumber, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
5-6 large leaves escarole, coarsely chopped(or lettuce/endive/arugula, etc)
1 cup cooked corn
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 TB pine nuts
2 TB shredded Parmesan
Juice from 1/2 lemon
3 TB olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Combine cues, escarole, corn, parsley, pine nuts, and Parmesan in your serving bowl, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil, and toss lightly to combine.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Tip:  one ear of cooked corn, leftover from last night, yields just enough kernels for this salad.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Fresh Veg Chef Salad

Crunchy-creamy and satisfying, this hearty salad will keep you going.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2, easily scaled

2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 sweet pepper, 1/4 inch dice
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup toasted almonds (or other nuts)
Your favorite vinaigrette
Parmesan for topping

Served up by Tod Dimmick

Cold Cucumber Soup

 

















My friend Paul Wood made this for me as thanks for supplying him with cucumbers. I got the better end of that deal - this is delicious.

Prep time:  15 minutes
Yield:  about two quarts

INGREDIENTS
3-4 good size cucumbers
16 ounces sour cream
16 ounces  plain yogurt
1/2-2/3 quart buttermilk
1 bunch fresh dill
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
Peel and de-seed the cucumbers. Pour about 2 cups of buttermilk in a blender or food processor, then add sliced cucumbers. Process to a smooth consistency.  Pour off 1/2 of the liquid into a large bowl, and put in more chopped cucumbers. Pour off about 1/2 the liquid again and add sour cream and yogurt.  Continue until all ingredients are processed.  Stir to mix.

Feel free to play around with the proportions. More sour cream to make it thicker and richer. In general, it's somewhat close to 1/3 of each.

After everything is mixed, pour back about 2 cups into the blender and add 7-8 branches of dill with the garlic and put the blender on high to really blend it. Pour everything together and add a little salt  to taste. At this point you decide if you want more buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt or leave it alone!

It tastes best the next day when the garlic and dill really settle in.

Photo by Tod Dimmick

Cucumber Soup

Recipe courtesy of Sophie Cannon. Acclaim from the group: Delicious.

2 large onions peeled and cut
Cucumbers washed, blemishes peeled, quartered and seeds cut out
Potatoes peeled and sliced
small amount of other light colored bland tasting veggie if you have things to get rid off (I added a small head of cabbage and 1 small summer squash)
vegetable bouillon cubes or Bragg Liquid aminos
ume plum vinegar (adds taste, you can skip if you don't have any)
hot sauce (only if you like)


Sautee onions in olive oil until they are translucent
Add water and potatoes and bring to a boil
Cook for 5 minutes

Add cucumbers cut into small pieces
Add other veggies if you have any
Have enough water to cover the veggies

Add 2 cubes of vegetable bouillon, or if you are out like me you can
substitute Bragg

Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender (25 minutes or so)

When cooked, add lots of dill (fresh is best!) and cook for 2 minutes

Buzz with a hand held blender

Add pepper and some ume plum vinegar (adds taste and is a substitute for
salt) and hot sauce if you like.

This soup can be served hot or cold and you can add yogourt or sour cream to
taste when you serve it.

Kid favorite alert!

Salad of Beets, Cucumbers and Greens

Beets are nutritious and versatile. Keep a container of cooked beets in the fridge, and you're a few chops away from a colorful salad like this.

Refrigerator Pickles

This recipe is from Organic Gardening Magazine. I am now tinkering aggressively with to reduce or eliminate the need for sugar. Stay tuned!

1 lb medium cucumbers
3 cloves garlic
½ tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp fresh dill weed
1 bay leaf
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 ½ TB white distilled vinegar
6 ½ TB white wine vinegar
¾ cup water

Cut cukes into spears and put in container or jar with a lid. Add the herbs. Stir together sugar, vinegar and water, pour over cukes and cover and shake. Cover and chill for 24 hours plus. Will keep for up to 3 months in the fridge.

Very Green Salad

 





If you're not shy about assertive flavors, try a combination like this.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Serves:  4 or more

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch arugula, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped
1 cucumber, quartered lengthwise and chopped into 1/2" sections
About 1 cup Parsley, coarsely chopped
4 scallions, cleaned and chopped into 1/4" sections (white, light green, and as much of the dark green section as you like)
a handful raw sugar snap peas, for entertainment
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries. (Dried cherries can be found at Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
Your favorite vinaigrette

DIRECTIONS
Mix.

Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Fennel, Cucumber & Fresh Greens Salad

 






A crunchy, savory salad that is hard to stop eating.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2-4

INGREDIENTS
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
4 cups fresh spinach (or other greens)
1 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1 cucumber, chopped into 1/4" pieces
1 small sweet onion, chopped into 1/4" pieces
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
2-3 TB fresh lemon juice
2 TB olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Combine solid ingredients, and toss with lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick