Inspired by our Yuzu glaze and the summer produce explosion at the Asheville City Market right now, and a menu from David Tanis’s A Platter of Figs - we cooked a dinner celebrating yellow in all its glorious hues. Veggies and flowers provided by the always-inspiring The Culinary Gardener and Ten Mile Farm.
PEPPER + TOMATO GAZPACHO
adapted slightly from Samin Nosrat's recipe via NYT
- 2 yellow bell peppers - seeds and ribs removed
- 2.5 pounds yellow heirloom tomatoes
- 1 red onion
- 2 Persian cucumbers - peeled
- 1 serrano pepper - seeds and ribs removed
- 2 cloves garlic - peeled
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- salt to taste
Roughly chop the peppers, tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, pepper, and garlic - and place in the bowl of a food processor. Add vinegar and blend on high speed until smooth. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl - using a spatula to work contents through. Season with salt to taste, and more vinegar - depending on the acidity of your tomatoes. Garnish with any variety of toppings - we used freshly made olive oil croutons and basil oil.
PEACH + FETA SALAD
- 2 pounds barely-ripe yellow peaches
- 1/4 cup feta cheese - crumbled
- small handful of basil
- 2 large shallots - peeled and thinly sliced
- juice of one lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
First, pickle your shallots - Place shallots into a small bowl with a teaspoon each of salt + sugar and lemon juice. Stir to combine and let sit for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, cut the peaches into bite-sized wedges and add to a large bowl along with the feta cheese. Whisk the olive oil in to the shallots and their pickling brine - and pour over the peaches. Gently stir to combine and top with basil chiffonade.
TURMERIC ROASTED HALIBUT WITH ANCHOVY BUTTER
- 2 halibut fillets - portioned and pin bones removed
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1 clove garlic - peeled
- zest of one lemon
- pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Dust the halibut fillets with turmeric and set aside while you prepare the compound butter.
In a mortar and pestle mash together the garlic and anchovies with a small pinch of salt until they come together in a paste. Stir the garlic-anchovy mixture and lemon zest into the softened butter.
Place fish in a baking dish and spread a dollop of the anchovy butter on top of each fillet. Roast until fish is just opaque - about 10 minutes.
In holding true to the yellow theme, we served our halibut alongside yellow chard stems (recipe below) - but this would also be tasty with roasted fingerling potatoes or a tangy summer bean salad.
SWISS CHARD STEMS WITH GARLIC AND LEMON
- 2 bunches of swiss chard
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic - minced
- juice of one lemon
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Strip the chard leaves from their stems and set aside (Don't toss these! They're lovely quickly sautéed or stirred into a soup). Cut the chard stems in half lengthwise, and cut them into 3-4 inch batons. Season your water with lots of salt and blanch the stems in simmering water for about five minutes, or until tender. While the stems are cooking - fill a large bowl with ice water. Submerge your stems in the ice water to stop their cooking.
Heat oil + butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter starts foaming, add the garlic and chard stems. Cook until chard stems are lightly browned and garlic is fragrant - about five minutes. Turn off heat and lightly toss with lemon juice.