Turnip greens again. I cannot recommend this Creamed Greens recipe enough (yes, this is the last time I will push it on you). I think I said this last week – make the creamed greens, serve them as a side dish, spoon them over baked potatoes as dinner, and, if there’s anything left, they make a delicious nest for baked eggs.
Still no okra (which I find so surprising given the continuing high temperatures and lack of rain) but a sweet bag of green beans.
If you’d like to turn those green beans into dinner, try this recipe from adapted from seriouseats.com. It calls for button mushrooms but if you can get to a farmers market this weekend I hope you can find some local mushrooms to use instead.
Sautéed Green Beans with Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 cups onion quarters
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 pound button mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and cut into quarters
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
4 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon picked fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon juice from 1 lemon
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions, season well with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, and cook, turning occasionally, until onions are a deep, caramel brown.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add beans and cook until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain and run under cool running water until at cold. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat until lightly smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they’ve released all their liquid and are browned, about 10 minutes total, reducing heat if oil starts to smoke excessively. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add shallots, garlic, thyme, and remaining tablespoon butter and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add soy sauce and toss to combine.
Add green beans, onions, and lemon juice to mushrooms and toss to reheat and combine. Serve immediately.
And then there was my one squash. A big one, but not enough for a dish by itself. So I’m making pizza. I have no idea where the idea came from originally. It’s definitely pretty detailed so probably from a source like Cook’s Illustrated or America’s Test Kitchen..
You can definitely use your own pizza dough, but sometimes it’s ok to buy dough at the grocery store. It definitely saves time. But is it as tasty?
Summer Squash Pizza
1 batch homemade or store-bought pizza dough
1 large summer squash, thinly sliced and cut into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks (grate it if you don’t have the patience to cut it into matchsticks)
8 medium cloves garlic (2 minced, 6 thinly sliced), divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
12 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into rough chunks and drained
1 lemon, very thinly sliced, seeds removed
8 ounces feta, roughly crumbled into 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, divided
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and light green parts only
Divide dough into four equal parts and place each in a covered quart-sized deli container or in a zipper-lock freezer bag. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before baking.
Combine squash and minced garlic in a medium bowl. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and toss to coat. Transfer to a strainer and set over the bowl. Let rest for 30 minutes. Squeeze squash with your hands to remove all excess moisture. Transfer squash to a paper towel–lined plate and set aside until ready to use.
Adjust oven rack to 6 inches under broiler and place stone or steel on rack. Preheat oven to highest possible temperature (500 or 550°F) for at least 45 minutes.
When ready to bake, turn one dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press out dough into a rough 8-inch circle, leaving the outer 1 inch higher than the center. Gently stretch dough into a 10- to 12-inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick, by draping over knuckles and gently stretching. Transfer to non-rimmed baking sheet.
Preheat broiler to high. Spread 1/4 of mozzarella over pizza, followed by a few lemon rings, 1/4 of zucchini, 1/4 of feta, and 1/4 of thinly sliced garlic. Sprinkle lightly with salt and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Run pizza under broiler, rotating regularly for even cooking, until edges are puffed and lightly charred and bottom is crisp, 3 to 6 minutes total. Remove pizza from oven and let rest one minute before serving. Repeat for remaining pizzas.
Sprinkle with scallions, slice, and serve immediately.