Summer Sides
Beating the Heat... with Delicious
Greetings Friends,
We are almost halfway through the calendar year of 2022!
This means Summer heat ☀️ is on full blast… Backyard BBQ’s are in full swing and summer vegetables are peaking!
One of the hallmarks of being a great cook is the ability to cook (or prepare) vegetables properly. Further, summer fruits and vegetables are particularly well suited to simple, yet delicious preparations.
Here’s a quick list that will be a great reference to get you headed in the right direction.
Remember, in most cases seasonal fruits and vegetables tend to be lower cost due to supply being high and reduced freight costs due to local availability.
Summer Produce:
Cucumber 🥒
Watermelon 🍉
Corn 🌽
Okra
Tomato 🍅
Greens 🥬
Squash
Zucchini
Eggplant 🍆
Shallots & Sweet Onions 🧅
Peppers & Chilis 🫑 🌶
Berries 🍓 🫐
*Note: there will be variations depending on your specific geographic area.
Beating the Heat
We’ve talked in the past about using flavor contrasts to make delicious food. This also applies to temperatures. When it’s blazing hot 🥵 outside and you’re grilling or smoking meats… a room temperature or cold side makes a pleasant and refreshing contrast for your palate and taste buds.
People will automatically think of leafy green salads 🥗. However, there are a ton of other salads, sides, chilled desserts and other preparations worth exploring. Salads can be made with anything from Rice 🍚 to Potato 🥔 to Watermelon 🍉which we will explore, but today I want to share a family recipe with you that is peak Summer Vegetable bliss.
Marinated Vegetables 🍅 🥒 🧅
One of the most misunderstood stereotypes about Southern cooking is that it is greasy, heavy and unhealthy. Somewhere along the line the cuisine became identified only by bacon 🥓 , country ham, biscuits & fried chicken 🍗 .
While these can all be delicious, and enjoyed in moderation… it completely omits the very large presence that vegetables historically had on the Southern Table. Summertime was characterized by huge harvests of fruit and vegetable crops. Picked at peak ripeness, summer recipes would be more minimal (“less is more” in regards to ingredients) to celebrate the natural flavors of the produce. Leftovers that wouldn’t keep would be jarred, pickled and/or preserved to be on hand in the Fall/Winter before Spring crops would be coming up.
I was lucky enough to have some relatives with farmland. Vivid memories of childhood visits. Breakfast was always amazing. Buttermilk biscuits and bacon 🤤. Lunches were very light with simply prepared vegetables straight out of the garden.
This is where my first memories of marinated vegetables came from. Fresh tomato, cucumbers and onion were simply sliced and left to sit in a vinegar mixture that was lightly sweetened. The mild sweet and sour flavor never overpowered, but elevated the flavors of the 🍅, 🥒 & 🧅 .
To this day I can’t go through a summer without making a batch of marinated vegetables. In fact, this was one component of an extremely memorable Father’s Day meal!
*Pro-Tip: Take any remaining steak juices and pour them into your marinated vegetables for a delicious flavor bump.
I’ll drop the original recipe now, and then add some notes at the end on some different riffs I will do from time to time.
INGREDIENTS
Vegetables
Farm Fresh Tomato 🍅
Cucumber 🥒
Onion 🧅 (preferably sweet; yellow is fine too)
*The amount of vegetables you use is totally flexible and according to your taste. You just need to have enough marinade to cover. Some vegetables can be slightly poking out, as they will release some liquid while marinating which will finish covering the vegetables.
Marinade:
1 1/2 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1 c granulated sugar
3/4 c neutral oil (avocado, peanut or palm. Olive Oil is too assertive.)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper (you can use black pepper; slight different flavor and will muddy the marinade color, if you’re worried about aesthetic).
METHOD
To Prepare the Marinade:
In a medium mixing bowl add the vinegar and oil. Then add the sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved (may take 30 seconds or so).
Finally, add the salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. (Note, the marinade will not be emulsified like a true salad dressing. This is normal).
To Prepare the Vegetables
Tomato 🍅 : Take a paring knife and remove the stem end. Then cut in half down the center. Now cut each half into thin wedges. Place all of the tomato slices in a mixing bowl with any juices on the board. (Pics below)
Cucumber 🥒 : Preferably a hot-house or English cucumber. Rinse thoroughly and dry. With a vegetable peeler, take strips of the skin off, alternating to leave some skin intact in between. (Pics below). Then cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, and scoop out any seeds with a spoon; they can leave a slightly bitter taste. Now cut in half moon slices 1/4-1/2inch.
Onion 🧅 : Take the onion and cut in half between the root end. Remove the outer skin, then cut the onion in thin slices from pole to pole. This will ensure the onion retains texture and doesn’t break down. (See pics).
Now combine all your vegetables in a mixing bowl with plenty of room. You’ll notice I cracked the white pepper over the vegetables, not the marinade.
Now cover the vegetables in the marinade and place in the fridge (covered). They will be ready in 3 hours, but can definitely go over night.
Recipe Notes:
The vegetables will keep for days, however after 72 hours they will become much softer. (Still delicious, and you can also blend them to use as a salad dressing base).
This is one of the few times I use granulated sugar. It’s clean and provides the crucial sweetness that rounds out the flavors. If you are 100% against granulated sugar, you can try using honey but it will be a different flavor. Use 2/3 of the amount called for in the recipe.
Fresh herbs can really enhance the vegetables as well. Fresh thyme leaves or fresh dill are what I recommend (mint or basil not so much). Preferably hand picked and not chopped as that will muddy up the marinade turn it a slightly off color. For thyme, just pull the leaves off the sprigs and add, or pluck pieces of dill off the stems.
I hope you enjoy this Summertime Preparation that is perfect for BBQ’s, Picnics or any meal during warm weather seasons.
Stay tuned for the next Substack where we are going to take a grill 🔥… corn 🌽 … and bone marrow 👀 🙌 to make one of the tasties summer sides known to mankind!
Until Next Time!
These marinated vegetables are my new favorite thing! So refreshing and bright for summer!
Would a couple fresh bay leaves work?