Fresh Tomatoes, 00 Flour & Handmade Pasta

Our tomatoes have started to arrive from our container garden and along with some extra tomatoes from Blooming Glen's stand at the Headhouse Market, we picked some herbs from the garden to make a simple pasta dish that incorporated handmade noodles.

I've never been blown away with our earlier attempts at handmade pasta - it was always OK but it seemed a little too soft, despite attempts to cook it al dente.  I had heard that using the right kind of flour can make a big difference, so we picked up a bag of 00 flour from Claudio's and made some dough using the standard 1 egg to a generous 3/4 cups of flour.

I noticed that the dough itself was a little firmer, less elastic than when we're used regular All-Purpose flour. I was a little worried when we began rolling the dough as it tended to jam up a little more than usual. However, we didn't need to use nearly as much flour to keep it from sticking to the roller bars and once we got down to the smaller sized rollers, the dough was looking beautiful.

The pasta cooked in under 5 minutes and retained a firmness that seemed to be lacking in previous attempts with AP flour.  We served it up with a tomato sauce and some tiny veal meatballs.

Alongside the pasta we enjoyed a green heirloom tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella salad.

Although the bag wasn't cheap - $5 for about lbs. - if you're going to go through the process of homemade pasta, it's worth the extra $$. You just need to be a little cautious about using the right amount of flour; my dough was a little too dry and hard to work with when I used the same amount that I normally would with AP flour.

Squid, Octopus, Olive & Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad

Last week we stopped into Bocca mid-day to grab a few of the plates that seems to be above average for Old City fare...read what the professionals are saying about the cretivity coming out of the kitchen here.

One dish that really grabbed our attention was the octopus salad; served with an brushed olive glaze and little roasted cherry tomatoes with crispy tomato-skin 'flags' still attached, it was instant inspiration for a great summer seafood starter. The chef came out to ask us if we liked the dish and when we pried for his technique on the roasted tomatoes, he playfully laughed and said it was a secret.

We just so happen to be neck-deep in cherry tomatoes thanks to the Sweet 100 plant in the container garden, so we figured why not try and recreate those little garnishes...and while we're at it, thrown in a squid & octopus salad to boot.

Here's the results of Elizabeth's experiments with the tomatoes. A little bit of oil and a slow roast kept the body intact while crisping up the skin...getting them to stay upright was the only challenge.

As for the seafood, we purchased some squid caps and baby octopus from Whole Foods. Marinated in some olive oil then flashed on a hot grill pan and sprinkled with mint, they turned out just right.

Finally, we tossed the squid & octopus in with some kalamatas, a little bit of torn arugula and laid it on a spread of tapenade we made with the leftover olives. Finally, our cheery cherry tomatoes studded the salad plate...It wasn't as pretty as Bocca's, but the flavors were pretty darn close and those little tomatoes will probably make a repeat appearance later this summer.

Fiori di Zucca con Insalata di Polpo Estate - Crispy Zucchini Blossoms with Octopus Summer Salad

One of our favorite farmer's stand, Blooming Glen, is bringing back the "wow" produce from last summer...massive zucchini blossoms. We decided to take advantage of the large cavities of these blossoms to stuff them after a quick-fry and a light dusting of cheese.

The result is a Crispy Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed with Octopus Summer Salad.


Fiori di Zucca con Insalata di Polpo Estate

Why Octopus? We were going to go with something a little more light & sweet, like crab-meat, scallops or shrimp, but we notice that Whole Foods had baby octopus on sale for $5.99#.



Baby octopus, unlike their full-grown siblings, are much less of an ordeal to clean & cook; no need for elaborate tenderization procedures here...just cut the head off and make sure the body is clear of ink sacs and any odd bits. Discard the heads and rinse the remaining body & legs.



Next, the octopus bodies go into a marinade for about an hour; we used a mixture of lemon juice, capers & caper brine from the jar with a healthy dose of olive oil. I threw in a few green peppercorns after the fact just because I was curious what the milder spice would do...in the end it wasn't a noticeable addition of heat.



With the "polpo" marinating, it was time to prep the blossoms. We clipped the "fruit" off the end, a miniature version of what most people associate with being the zucchini. Next, we sliced the mini-zucchini into matchsticks, making sure to trim off any hint of seedy center...I probably could've used a veggie peeler or mandolin to get the same effect of thin green zuchini shavings.



Elizabeth seeded & finely diced some heirloom tomatoes from the farmer's market.

Next, the zucchini strands were blanched in hot water, then shocked in a ice-bath.



"Summer Salad" - The veg mixture was combined together with some kosher salt, cracked pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and diced garlic scapes...yes, garlic scapes. If you're not familiar with these, take a moment to brush up with this link...for the rushed reader, simply imagine a garlic-flavored crunchy green bean...these added not only crucnhy chew, but a pop of subtle garlic flavor to the intense tomato & zucchini flavors.



With the salad chilling it was time to apply soem heat. The marinating octopus went onto a super hot grill plate to char-grill. Just a few moments and these cephalopods were ready to be pulled off, cooled and chopped up.



While the octopus grilled away, Elizabeth prepped the blossoms for frying. Normally we stuff these with cheese or batter them before frying, but lately we've come to enjoy the simply delicate crunch of a lightly floured & fried blossom...naked blossoms is one way to describe it.

Elizabeth sprays them with some olive-oil non-stick before shaking the flower in a flour-filled bag to coat; we use rice-flour as opposed to all-purpose because it creates a tighter crust with more crunch, but regular flour is fine...just make sure to add a pinch of salt to avoid a bland coating.




Next, the flour-dusted blossom gets handed off to me for a quick dunk in the boiling oil; I use the tongs to maintain the right shape of the final blossom...in this case, I actually insert the tongs up into the blossom and spread the folds of the bloom back to prevent them from closing up as it bubbles away in the bath...after all, we're going to be stuffing these with the zucchini-tomato salad, then topping with octopus, so we'll need to have them splayed out for an easier time.




The blossom comes out of the fryer and then it's a race against the clock...a heaping spoonful of the zucchini-tomate salad goes into the blossom, the we top it with a sprinkling of chopped octopus and finally dust the entire plate with some mild pecorino cheese to give it some aroma and provide some flavor to the delicate crispy petals of the fried blossom.

The final result is a colorful tribute to the flavors of a high-summer garden with a little unusual protein thrown in to compliment the somewhat unordinary crispy texture & taste of the stuffed cheese-dusted zucchini blossom crisps.