Published on Saturday, Jun. 30, 2007 12:00AM EDT Last updated on Friday, Mar. 13, 2009 8:59PM EDT
An Italian-inspired meal with lots of little twists for a special summer dinner. If you love to eat outside, this meal captures the essence of summer outdoor dining. The carpaccio and the dessert are made ahead of time and the chops can be grilled while you are enjoying the breezes. The food is simple, light and appetizing and uses our best local produce as it appears at the market. Farmers markets are booming all over Canada and ingredients such as wonderful organic strawberries, garlic scapes, tiny arugula and zucchini the size of a baby's fist are all available.
GARDEN CARPACCIO
A take on carpaccio using zucchini instead of meat. Look for small zucchini (but not baby) as they are sweeter. Use your best extra virgin olive oil and the finest Parmesan for this simple dish. It is all in the flavour of the ingredients. It is prettiest when you can combine the colours, but use all yellow or all green if that is what is available. Use Maldon salt or fleur de sel to finish this dish as the crunchiness of the salt enhances the texture.
What you need
6 small yellow and green zucchini, or 4 larger ones
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Maldon salt or fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper
2 cups baby arugula leaves or mixed greens
4 ounces Parmesan
What you do
Thinly slice zucchini in diagonal slices using a sharp knife or a mandolin. Place zucchini slices in a circular pattern on four individual serving plates. Combine lemon juice and olive oil and drizzle over zucchini. Season with Maldon salt or fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper.
Scatter arugula leaves over plate or make a bouquet in the centre. Shave Parmesan over zucchini. Serves 4
VEAL CHOPS WITH GARLIC SCAPE PESTO
Serve with roasted red potatoes and green beans or your favourite green vegetable. Frenched veal chops come from the rib and have the long bone cleaned to make it look more attractive.
Garlic scapes are in the market right now. They are the curled tops of garlic plants, which are removed to allow the garlic pods to grow bigger. Use them in pesto or as a vegetable, but discard the little garlic seed pod. They have a mild garlicky flavour similar to a garlic chive. If you don't make this whole dish, make the pesto and toss it with a short pasta and extra olive oil for an incredible summer meal.
What you need
¼cup grainy mustard
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 375-gram (12-ounce) Frenched veal chops
Pesto:
½ cup garlic scapes, coarsely chopped
¼cup basil, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
Salt to taste
What you do
Combine grainy mustard, basil, soy sauce and olive oil. Season with pepper. Spread over veal chops and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
To make pesto, combine garlic scapes, basil, Parmesan, lemon juice and olive oil in a food processor or mini-chop and process until it forms a chunky mixture. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.
Preheat grill to high. Place chops on grill and grill about six minutes a side or until still pink. Remove from grill and let sit for five minutes. Serve with pesto on the side. Serves 4.
STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY MOSAIC
A simple dessert that shows off the fresh taste of summer seasonal fruit. You could also use cherries, but they are more work as you have to pit them. The better the balsamic you use the better the final taste.
What you need
½ cup yogurt cheese*
½ cup mascarpone cheese
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup strawberries
1 cup raspberries
1 teaspoon icing sugar
4 mint sprigs
What you do
Whisk yogurt and mascarpone with sugar. Beat in balsamic. Layer in four glasses with strawberries and raspberries finishing with fruit. Sift a tiny amount of icing sugar over fruit and garnish with a mint sprig.
Serves 4.
*Yogurt cheese - place cheese cloth in a strainer over a bowl. Spoon in yogurt, refrigerate and let drip overnight. The resulting thick yogurt is called yogurt cheese. Discard liquid and refrigerate cheese.
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