Named for the ancient Persian city of Shiraz—reknown for it’s connection to wine, poetry and flowers—this simple salad is best at the height of summer when juicy tomatoes and crisp cucumbers abound. Persian cucumbers are delicate with few seeds. If your cucumbers have larger seeds, just scoop them out with a spoon and use the remaining flesh. Peeling is not necessary if you’re using organic fruit—much of the nutritional content is concentrated in the skin and seeds.
This easy sauté features crunchy sweet corn and summer tomatoes, stirred up with the spices of Mexico. Wrap some in a warm tortilla, scoop it with corn chips or serve as a side dish. Add a can of rinsed and drained black beans for a more substantial main course. Or a minced jalapeño for spice.
Iowa City, Iowa — We’re visiting family in the Midwest, and today is another in a series of 90-plus-degree scorchers. Hot stew on a hot summer day? The idea sounds absurd, if not downright tortured. The usual loyal kitchen helpers are likely to scatter the moment you crank up the stove. No doubt you’ll be left chopping and stirring in solitude. No worries. Ratatouille is a simple dish, just right for one cook. Use vine-ripened tomatoes, tender-skinned squash and sweet peppers, plus plenty of garlic and onion. Sauté each vegetable in olive oil, one at a time, then stir them all together in a sturdy pot and simmer the mixture, so the flavors commingle in a magical way.
This recipe is adapted from a favorite cookbook author, Neelam Batra (1000 Indian Recipes). You’ll find fenugreek seeds (a mustard-colored, flat and squarish whole Indian spice, pictured at right-center in the photo below) at Whole Foods or other high-quality markets, but you’ll probably need to head to an Indian grocery for jarred tamarind paste (also called tamarind concentrate). If you live in the San Francisco Bay area you shouldn’t have any trouble locating one nearby, and the trip is well worth taking for inexpensive bulk spices, tea and unusual produce as well.
We’ve been compiling a list of summer cooking projects all year. Not our ordinary fare, the summer list involves any or all of the following: complex methods that require additional research and secondary sources including calls to grandmas and other expert cooks; Google searches to translate mysterious ingredients into plain English and pinpoint local suppliers (usually unexplored ethnic or specialty markets—a side bonus); kneading; equipment that’s tucked away in the garage (and requires a stepladder to reach) or borrowed; painstaking stirring and long stretches of waiting; pastry flour; squash blossoms; stone fruit and berries; sweet treats.