WHAT TO EAT RIGHT NOW Season’s Eatings-Use these recipes and start cooking gourmet cool-weather meals such as calabacitas and chile con queso
By Susan Belsinger
Say hello to cooler weather with these hot fall flavors...
September and October are peak harvest season for squash, corn, and tangy chiles—the hallmark of Southwestern cuisine. As love for the piquant flavors of poblano, serrano, and jalapeño has spread, chiles themselves have migrated so they’re now available in farmer’s markets across the country. This end-of-summer harvest dinner celebrates Southwestern and other fall flavors—you decide whether you want hot or mild.
CALABACITAS (SUMMER SQUASH AND CORN STEW)
A medley of fall flavors unites in this versatile Southwestern favorite, named after the Spanish word for gourd: calabaza. Although corn and squash are the recipe’s staples, I love the color and taste that bell peppers, jalapeños, and tomatoes add. If you don’t care for cilantro, use the same amount of fresh basil or about 3 tablespoons of fresh oregano. Calabacitas may be served as a side vegetable with rice and beans, or it can be paired with chile con queso and eaten with tortillas.
SERVES 6
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (corn or olive)
1 cup coarsely chopped red onion
2 small zucchini, patty pan, or chayote squash (6 to 8 ounces)
1 cup chopped red or green bell pepper (optional)
2 jalapeño or serrano chiles, halved, seeded, and sliced (optional)
5 to 6 ears fresh corn, about 3 cups kernels
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large ripe tomato, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground
1/3 cup packed cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped Salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat oil in a heavy-bottom sauté pan. Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes. If you’re using zucchini, halve lengthwise and slice in 1/4-inch slices; if using patty pan or chayote, quarter and slice into 1/4-inch slices. Add squash, bell pepper, and jalapeño and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If using fresh corn, cut kernels from the cobs. If you like, slice one or two ears into 1/4-inch rounds. Add the corn, garlic, tomato, and cumin into the sauté pan; stir well, cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for about 5 minutes. If the pan is dry, add a splash of water, vegetable stock, or white wine. If you don’t use the tomato, you may need to add up to 1/2 cup of liquid.
Add cilantro, salt, and pepper. Stir well and cook, covered, for another 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste. Serve with warm tortillas.
CHILE CON QUESO
SERVES 4 TO 6
From humble peasant origins, this spicy roasted chile and onion sauté is a far cry from the processed cheese dips served in most restaurants—more chile and less queso. Poblano chiles are traditional, but try Anaheims, Hungarians (also called sweet banana peppers), or whatever is fresh from your garden or market.
8 to 10 large poblano chiles
1 large yellow onion
8 to 12 cloves garlic
2 to 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
11/2 to 2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
12 whole-wheat flour tortillas, warmed
Roast, peel, and seed chiles, then cut lengthwise into 1/2- to 3/4-inch strips. Top, tail, and peel the onion, halve it lengthwise, and slice 1/2-inch thick. Peel the garlic and cut into thin slivers.
Heat oil in large sauté pan. Add onions and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chiles and stir; cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Add garlic, stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook another 5 minutes. Stir, season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle cheese over contents of pan, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes until melted. Serve hot with whole-wheat tortillas cut into quarters, which you may use to scoop up the chile con queso.
SALAD OF GARDEN GREENS WITH PEACHES AND PEPITAS
This lovely, refreshing salad plays well with the spiciness of chile con queso and calabacitas. Spinach and sweet butter and leaf lettuces go especially well with the peaches, but a few handfuls of pungent or bitter greens such as arugula, watercress, radicchio, frisee, mizuna, tatsoi, or any of the chicories are good additions. The peach vinegar is easy to prepare and great to have on hand for all kinds of salads.
SERVES 8
10 to 12 cups salad greens
1 small red onion, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise into thin slices
2 or 3 ripe peaches or nectarines
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup peach vinegar (see recipe below) or 3 to 4 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
About 1/4 cup pepitas (toasted, salted pumpkin seeds)
First, prepare the peach vinegar and set aside.
Wash, pick over, and dry salad greens. Soak onion slices in ice water for about 20 to 30 minutes to sweeten the onion’s flavor. Slice peaches and drizzle them with peach vinegar or lemon juice to prevent darkening.
In a small bowl or pitcher, combine olive oil and peach vinegar; season with salt and pepper, and blend well with a fork.
Arrange salad greens on a platter or in a shallow bowl. Gently squeeze the onions and pat them dry. Arrange the peach slices over the greens and scatter the onions over them. Garnish with the pepitas just before serving. Pass the dressing.
PEACH VINEGAR
MAKES ABOUT 11/2 CUPS
11/2 cups white wine or rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 large ripe peach, diced
Bring vinegar to a simmer in a nonreactive pan. Stir in the sugar to dissolve. Add vanilla bean and peach. Return to a simmer, cover, and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.
The vinegar will keep for about a week with the peaches in it. To store it longer, strain to remove the peaches, pressing lightly to remove the essence, and transfer to a glass container with the vanilla bean. This will keep in a cool place for 6 months.
SKILLET CAKE WITH PLUMS
Although you can bake this cake in a conventional cake pan, using an iron skillet gives it a golden-brown, succulent crust. The tang of the buttermilk offers a nice counterpoint to the sweet, juicy fruit. End-of-the-season peaches, nectarines, apricots or fresh figs are delicious in this recipe.
MAKES A 10-INCH CAKE, 8 TO 12 SLICES
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 firm, ripe plums such as Santa Rosa or Red Ace, pitted and sliced into eighths
(or 12 prune, greengage, or Damson plums, sliced into quarters or halves)
21/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
21/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 extra-large eggs
11/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 generous teaspoon grated lemon zest
Preheat oven to 375°°° degrees Fahrenheit
Heat 6 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch iron skillet over medium-low heat until melted. Add the brown sugar and stir until it turns to thick syrup. Continue to cook until the mixture just starts to bubble, then promptly remove from heat.
Arrange plum slices close together in a single layer on the butter and sugar. If you have extra slices, place them around the edge of the skillet or reserve for another use.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon zest, and mix until blended.
Add dry ingredients into the bowl, and beat until the batter is mixed together and smooth. Pour the batter over the plums in the skillet.
Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°°° degrees Fahrenheit and bake for about 25 minutes more. The cake is done when it is golden brown, the edges pull slightly from the sides, and a tester comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and carefully run a metal spatula around the edges. Place a cake plate over the skillet and gently turn the cake out onto the plate. It should come out easily. Rearrange plum slices as necessary. If there is excess topping in the skillet, scrape it onto the cake. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or frozen vanilla yogurt.