A visit to a country farm stand and a recipe for a colorful French gratin

This is a typical country farm stand that can be found in the mountains of western North Carolina and north Georgia.

They sell all sorts of things in the fall including bright orange pumpkins, colorful fall mums in a variety of different colors, Indian corn to hang on your door, lots of different kinds of winter squashes and apples, roasted peanuts, and hand crafted bird houses.

Look at all of these pretty turban squashes. Their golden yellow flesh tastes as if it’s been flavored with hazelnuts.

Turban squash makes a lovely soup bowl if you slice its top off, hollow it out, and fill it with your favorite fall soup. I’m thinking for Thanksgiving that it would be perfect filled with my creamy rich Clam Zucchini Chowder.   

Most country farm stands sell roasted peanuts. Here they roast their own and the smell fills the air as you drive up.

How about a hand crafted birdhouse?

While we were there, I picked up some zucchini and tomatoes to make a French gratin. This is one of our favorite side dishes of all times. It seems to pair with almost any kind of meat or chicken dish, it’s gorgeous to look at, and a snap to make. It is equally good served hot as well as room temperature, making it ideal for a buffet.

I normally use a heavy French gratin dish, such as the Le Creuset oval au gratin baker, for this dish. Today I decided to give it a little star power and make it in a tart pan with a removable bottom. If you decide to make it in a tart pan, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, after you fill the tart pan with the squash and tomatoes, put it on a sheet pan to bake it, because it has a tendency to leak. Secondly, it helps to take the vegetables up in rows with a long, slender blade spatula for serving. If you wish to take up the entire tart and place it on a plate, use two pancake turners to lift the gratin and remove the bottom of the tart pan very carefully.

The cheese is optional, but highly recommended. The original recipe called for freshly grated imported Parmesan, which is what I used here. We’ve also used Gruyere cheese and it makes a fantastic, rich topping. Don’t be tempted to use dried thyme. The fresh thyme just makes it and its fresh flavor really sings.

French Zucchini & Tomato Gratin
Gratin de Courgettes et Tomates
Adapted from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells

1 large garlic clove, peeled and halved
1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), ends trimmed, thinly sliced
8 small red Roma tomatoes (about 2 pounds), cored & thinly sliced
Kosher or sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup freshly grated imported Gruyere or Parmesan cheese (optional but delicious)

Note: Try to find zucchini & tomatoes that are about the same size to be able to alternate in the dish.

Preheat the oven to 450. Rub the bottom of a large oval porcelain gratin dish or tart pan with garlic. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer over the bottom of the pan, alternating the slices of zucchini and tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then the fresh thyme and olive oil.

Bake, uncovered, until meltingly soft, about 20 minutes. (If using a tart pan with a removable bottom, place the tart pan on a sheet pan before baking to catch spills.) After 20 minutes, top with cheese if using and place under the broiler to melt. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Clam zucchini chowder – made with local garden fresh vegetables for the lazy days of summer time

Summer time is my absolute favorite time of the year, primarily because I love the flip flop lifestyle. Everyone sports lazy day, lightweight cottons and of course wears my favorite shoes – flip flops or sandals. Men wear cool shorts and short sleeve polo shirts or T’s while the ladies favor colorful sundresses. Farmer’s markets are overflowing with freshly picked summer vegetables such as dark green zucchini, bright yellow squash, freshly picked corn, cucumbers and my all time favorite – tomatoes. I’m always enchanted with the handmade signs directing you to neighbor’s gardens, where they’ve set up tables of freshly picked produce and a jar or box for you to leave your money and make change based on the honor system.

Every time I see zucchini I think of Wanda. For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you may remember Wanda. She was Meakin’s late step-mother who, according to him, “was the best home cook he’d ever known.” While that was true, she was also very difficult to please (remember the bay leaf wreath I surprised her with for Christmas one year?) and, much to my chagrin, she would never ever share her recipes with me. You probably know someone who doesn’t share their recipes either. I never quite figured them out, but that’s another story.

This chowder is one of the recipes in particular I remember begging her for. She served it as a first course and it was so different from anything I’d ever eaten. It was luscious and tasted like a rich New England clam chowder stuffed full of fresh vegetables. Of course I absolutely had to have the recipe, but no go, she wasn’t sharing.

The only thing I knew for sure about her chowder was that it was cream based and contained zucchini, potatoes, and clams and was finished it in a food processor. At the time the Cuisinart food processors were brand new and all the rage. Everyone was talking about them. Consequently, there were many cookbooks designed especially for this new, must have kitchen appliance.

Never underestimate the determination of a cook like myself on the prowl for a recipe. Later that year I was visited Meakin’s mother in Florida and I spotted several issues of Cuisinart’s little cooking magazine on her coffee table. I had what you might call an “ah ha” moment. I thought maybe, just maybe, Wanda’s recipe might be in one of these little magazines. I quickly started flipping through them and low and behold, there it was - Wanda’s “secret recipe” for clam zucchini chowder.

The chowder is perfect for summer time when zucchini is abundant. The richness (including the fat & calories) can be controlled by the kind of milk you use. Light cream makes it luscious, but skim milk works well also. I added thyme, mostly because when we lived in the islands the Bahamians always added dried thyme to their chowders and I’ve done the same since then. If you don’t have a food processor, a blender works perfectly well and so would a handheld stick blender, or boat motor as Emerill Lagassee likes to calls it. I hope you’ll enjoy Wanda’s secret chowder as much as we do and please feel free to share it with anyone who asks for the recipe. I’m always thrilled when someone asks for one of my recipes and I believe it’s one of the best compliments a cook can get. Besides, it’s just the gracious thing to do.

Wanda’s secret Clam Zucchini Chowder
Serves 4.

1 strip of bacon, plus extra for garnish if desired (see below)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 small zucchini, ends removed & sliced into 1” chunks
1 large carrot, peeled & sliced into 1” chunks
2 medium potatoes, peeled & chopped into 1” chunks
½ teaspoon dried chopped thyme
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 10 oz can whole or chopped baby clams in water
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup milk or light cream (I use a combination)
Additional Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

For a garnish:
Finely chop a little extra zucchini and carrot and sauté them in a little of the bacon drippings. Add the extra crumbled bacon to the vegetables and use as a garnish for the chowder.

Sauté bacon in a large saucepan or stockpot until fairly crisp.  Remove, crumble & set aside. Keep one tablespoon of drippings in the saucepan and discard the remainder.  Add the chopped onion to drippings & sauté slowly until it takes on a little color and starts to brown.  Add zucchini, carrot, potatoes, thyme, chicken broth, water from clams, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, a little freshly ground black pepper and the crumbled bacon, keeping back some of the bacon for garnish. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat & simmer, covered for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Remove the vegetables & process in batches in the food processor or blender until smooth.  Or you could leave the vegetables a little chunky as I did if you like a more rustic, homemade look. Return mixture to the saucepan and add the clams & milk.  Gently reheat and taste to see if additional salt & pepper are needed.  Garnish and serve.