Roasted Nectarine and Zucchini Salad

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Roasted Nectarine and Zucchini Salad

Here is a quick recipe I dreamt up, while on my roasted produce kick this week, using what is in abundance in the gardens and at the market. Thankfully, it turned out to be heavenly, lick-the-bowl-clean good.

There is a magical, sum is definitely greater than it's parts, result here, as with many very simple summer dishes (think: Tomatoes+Basil+Olive Oil.). Sweet and sour and earthy and salty and bright and crunchy all going on in your mouth together. Roasting the nectarines and zucchini really intensifies their flavor and makes them both feel like vegetables...or fruit...or something new and unique completely. A beautiful side dish for any summer meal, I imagine this would also be spectacular atop grilled fish, pork, or chicken.


	ROASTED NECTARINE AND ZUCCHINI SALAD by Catie Schwalb Serves 4 as a side dish. 2 medium zucchini, about 5 cups cubed 4 nectarines, about 3 cups cubed (I used yellow nectarines, which are slightly more tart than the white.) salt, to taste 1/4 + 1/4 cup olive oil 1 1/4 tablespoons lemon juice 4 ounces feta cheese 3 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted Heat oven to 425 F. Toss zucchini and nectarines separately in a 1/4 cup of olive oil total between the two, just enough so they have a slight sheen. Season with a good pinch of salt. Taste, and add more if necessary. Place nectarines and zucchini on a baking sheet in a single layer. Keep them separate as they will be finished at different times. Place in the top half of the oven. After about 10 minutes check the zucchini and nectarines. If starting to brown on one side, gently turn over with a spatula. The cooking time will depend on the ripeness of your produce and the size of your pieces. For a half inch cube, my nectarines took 12 minutes and zucchini took 22 minutes. Check them again in a few minutes, and taste a piece to check for doneness. Remove from the oven when they are brown on the edges and tender, but not mushy, all the way through. Spread out on a plate or cool baking sheet and allow to cool. Either chill or leave at room temperature. Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and lemon juice. Hold off using extra salt in this vinaigrette, as the salt already on the roasted zucchini and nectarines and in the feta should be plenty. Just before serving, combine zucchini and nectarines, with feta, dill, and pumpkin seeds. Gently toss with the lemon vinaigrette. Taste, and add salt if necessary. Serve immediately. Zucchini and nectarines can be roasted a day in advance and kept in the refrigerator.

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Technique Tuesday: Roasted Vegetables and Fruit

By this point in the summer I definitely get into a rut and prepare fruit and vegetables from the gardens and market in almost the same ways daily. Not that that is a bad thing, as with produce this amazing, at the height of their season, there is often very little that can improve upon them. A little grilling here, a little lightly dressed salad there, a little sautéing tossed with fresh pasta over there…

Vegetable and fruit roasting feels like almost too basic a technique to even justify a whole blog post. However, several times during the year I have these ah-ha moments where I am bored with what I have been cooking and then suddenly remember to mix things up I just need to roast, which I somehow forget about for spells at a time.

The long exposure to dry heat and the contact with the surface of a baking sheet or roasting pan transforms produce in ways very different than grilling, steaming or sautéing. Most importantly it evaporates much of the water in the fruit or vegetable, drying it out some (Take that watery zucchini!), and deeply concentrating the flesh and the flavor. Also the edges of the produce start to get brown and sweet and caramelized and utterly irresistible after the natural sugars are exposed to heat and the surface of the baking dish.

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Catie Baumer Schwalb is a chef, food writer and photographer, who splits her life between the city and the country. Not too long ago Catie was a New York City based actress and playwright for more than a decade. She has her Master of Fine Arts from the National Theater Conservatory, and her Grand Diplôme in classic culinary arts from the French Culinary Institute in New York City. ... Read More ≫

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