This week I’ve been reading “Cooking for Mr. Latte” by Amanda Hesser, former food editor of the New York Times. All this week’s recipes come from that book – a lovely combination of memoir and cookbook.
Ingredients:
5 small squash, ends trimmed 1 small onion, chopped 2 scallions, white part only, thinly sliced Leaves from three inner stalks of celery 6 basil leaves About 1/4 cup all-purpose flour Sea salt 1 cup coarsely chopped tomatoes 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice squash into 1/4-inch long sticks. Move squash slices into colander and add onion, scallions, celery and basil leaves. Season lightly with salt and sprinkle flour over all. Using one hand, press and toss ingredients together until well mixed and lightly coated with flour. It should be moist but not gooey. Add tomatoes, season again with salt and toss once more.
Coat the bottom of a baking dish or pie plate with half the olive oil. Fill dish with squash and grind pepper over everything. Sprinkle with remaining oil and put dish in oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until ingredients are just cooked, but firm, and edges are brown.