Purslane and a lemon vinaigrette dress up grilled zucchini and tomatoes for a light summer salad. For a first foray into cooking with purslane, it turned out pretty well.

I found the ratio of dressing to vegetables to be slightly overwhelming, and would be more cautious with how much I add next time. (The original recipe doesn’t warn against this.)

If purslane shows up in our CSA share again, it might be worth trying it in a Mexican stew with pork.

Grilled Zucchini Salad with Purslane and Tomato

slightly adapted from epicurious.com

• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing zucchini
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 4 zucchini (1¾ to 2 lb total), halved lengthwise
• 12 oz purslane, thick stems removed (4 cups)
• 10 oz pear or cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Prepare grill for cooking. If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom of grill.

(Zucchini can also be grilled in a lightly oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat. Cooking time may differ slightly. Alternately, it can be broiled.)

Make dressing:
Whisk together zest, lemon juice, shallot, mustard, and salt in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until dressing is emulsified. Whisk in pepper and parsley.

Grill zucchini:
Lightly brush zucchini all over with oil. When fire is hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 1 to 2 seconds), grill zucchini, cut sides down first, on lightly oiled grill rack, uncovered, turning once, until zucchini are just tender, 8 to 12 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and cool slightly, then cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Toss zucchini with purslane and tomatoes in a large bowl, then drizzle with just enough dressing to lightly coat vegetables and toss again. Serve immediately.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When your CSA gives you zucchini – and eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and garlic – make ratatouille.

Ratatouille, it turns out, is a great way to cook away your CSA. Plus, with five zucchini in our half-share this week, there was no better opportunity to try out this famed French stew.

After briefly toying with the idea of attempting Thomas Keller’s version of the dish, confit byaldi, I selected Julia Child’s recipe, which Knopf Doubleday released in pdf form on their website, no doubt in anticipation of the release of the movie, Julie & Julia. Mr. Keller’s recipe, however fascinating in its intricate preparation and presentation, was simply too complicated to attempt that night. (Incidentally, the confit byaldi was created for another movie, Ratatouille.) Ms. Child’s, on the other hand, looked a bit more attainable: and so I set off to the kitchen with recipe in hand (or rather, on laptop screen).

It took a good amount of time to cut each vegetable to the recommended dimensions, then cook them separately before simmering them together, but the finished product was well worth the toil. The zucchini, eggplant, tomato, peppers, and onions maintained their own distinctive flavors, and there was none of the soggy, mushy mess that some associate with the dish.

Another commonly held assumption about ratatouille is that it tastes better the day after it’s made. Oddly, I actually preferred it on the day it was cooked, after letting it rest for 30 minutes or so: at this point, the vegetables still maintained their individual characteristics while being united in one dish. A day later, the flavors had deepened somewhat, but they also coalesced into uniformity. It tasted like a mundane stir-fry, sadly enough.

Regardless, I’d make this again when zucchini (or another vegetable) strikes.

You can find Julia Child’s recipe for ratatouille here.

In this week’s share:

• red onions
• green peppers – long and bell varieties
• zucchini
• parsley
• beets
• Swiss chard
• purple potatoes
• tomato (a surprise!)

I’m excited about the purple potatoes, those tuberous amethyst beauties.

What’s less exciting is getting beets – again. Really, now, a girl can only do so much with beets before she grows tired of them!

A Good Brunch doesn’t always require hours of prep in the kitchen. (If it did, it would make for a rather Grumpy Weekend: either sleep must be sacrificed or satiation delayed, and who wants to choose between the two on a Saturday?)

That’s why I like this recipe for Easy Breakfast Potatoes. Not only are they a cinch to make on a lazy morning, they’re also crisp on the outside while tender inside – and low in fat.

Easy Breakfast Potatoes

from divinecaroline.com

• Two large russet potatoes, scrubbed and pricked with a fork in several places
• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• One small sprig fresh rosemary (dry rosemary has the texture of sticks)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put the whole, scrubbed, pricked potatoes into the microwave for about three minutes (time may vary depending on microwave and potato size). The idea is to get the cooking process started, but not to actually cook them in the microwave. Potatoes should still be hot but very hard, even crisp, and definitely not mealy when you remove them.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan.

Carefully remove hot potatoes from microwave and slice into cubes, leaving the peel on. Potatoes should not be cooked enough for the skin to slide around or slip off the potato.

Chop fresh rosemary leaves into small pieces.

Add potatoes, rosemary, parsley, salt, and pepper to the oil, toss, and fry on medium-high heat, covered, about ten to fifteen minutes, tossing occasionally.

When potatoes begin to look cooked through, remove lid and allow them to brown, tossing occasionally, for about five to ten more minutes. Serve hot.

A simple sauté of kale and onions accompanies the potatoes nicely. Bring to boil a pot of salted water; in the meantime, slice an onion and chop the kale into 1-inch wide strips. When water comes to a boil, blanche the kale – this will take a couple minutes, (longer than required for spinach) – then drain. In a medium pan, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat. When caramelized (golden brown), add kale and toss. Serve immediately.

In this week’s share:

• green beans
  
• lettuce mix
• zucchini & summer squash
  
• cucumbers
  
• green romaine lettuce
  
• green crisp lettuce
  
• scallions
  
• parsley

We were also supposed to receive purslane and Red Norland potatoes – the first potatoes of the season! – but, for whatever reason, there weren’t any in the box. Someone erroneously thought that substituting carrots and (more) beets for these would suffice. Alas: it was a sad, sad day, and a salad-filled week.