Yellow Squash Pickles

The southern vegetarian meal I’ve been going on about this week was inspired by the veggies in our CSA pick-up. What I haven’t mentioned until now is that in it we received a very generous pile of golden, yellow summer squash. After reading the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, I had mentally tucked away the notion of making zucchini pickles. When I saw all of those summer squashes from our CSA, I decided it was pickle time with a slight change to the main ingredient. The Zuni zucchini pickles are well-known for their fluorescent, green color, but my version resulted in very saturated, yellow pickles instead. They were a great addition to the meal. I actually doubled the recipe and filled a tall jar of them, so there are plenty more waiting in the refrigerator for future meals.

I don’t know if this is against the rules of southern-style vegetable pickling or not, but my preference is for tart, vinegary pickles rather than sweet ones. I may have just ruined the meal’s theme by throwing some non-sweet pickles on the table. And, while I’m confessing, I don’t like sugar in my tea either. So, I made the brine with less than half the suggested amount of sugar. First, two pounds of yellow squash were thinly sliced on a Benriner, and a couple of onions were cut into thin slices as well. Those were combined and tossed with salt in a large bowl. Ice cubes and cold water were added, and it was left to sit for an hour before being drained and patted dry. Cider vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, mustard seeds, and turmeric, the secret to the vivid color, were combined and simmered for a few minutes. The brine was allowed to cool before being poured over the prepared squash and onion. All of it was packed into a large glass jar and placed in the refrigerator where it will keep indefinitely.

I had one minor concern about the brine because the powdery dry mustard and turmeric made it appear a little cloudy. I worried that the pickles might come out of the jar with a slight grittiness from the spices. That was not the case, and I forgot all about it when I tasted the chilled pickles the next day. Any cloudiness or grit that was present on the first day had dissolved or settled in the jar. The flavor of the pickles was just where I’d hoped it would be. The reduced amount of sugar provided some balance, but the tartness was evident. They added a spunky, crunchy element to our main course of vegetable stew, and they’ll be delicious with burgers and salads to come. I thought I had made a ridiculously large batch, but the jar is getting emptier every day as I snack on a few pickles every time I open the refrigerator.

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Open-Faced Apple Tart

I’ve heard from a few sources that the best tart crust is found in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, so I gave it a try with the open-faced apple tart which is also in the book. First, I should explain that this book contains a lot of insightful information with each recipe. There are introductions explaining reasons behind the ingredients and techniques and very detailed instructions. It’s clear that Judy Rodgers really cares about food and is keenly interested in passing on her expertise. There’s a lot to learn in this book, and I enjoy re-reading sections each time I use it.

For the basic rich tart dough, Rodgers begins by explaining her use of salted butter. Salted butter? Yes. She prefers a salted butter with 90 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon for the crispy pastry and rich flavor it produces. I used Kerrygold pure Irish butter, because I’m now infatuated with Irish butter, and it contains 105 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon. Close enough. This basic tart dough involves working the butter and flour together with no water. This technique is simple but different from other recipes I’ve followed. The butter is cut into ¼ inch pieces and flipped in the flour to coat. Then, the pieces of butter are pinched with your fingers to make shards and cupped shapes. You continue working the butter and flour with your fingers until the butter breaks apart allowing it all to come together to form a dough. This happened very easily, and the dough was chilled in plastic to let the glutens relax. I left the dough between sheets of plastic wrap, rolled it out without adding more flour, fit it into a tart pan, and set it in the freezer for about an hour.

To fill the tart, cored, halved apples were thinly sliced cross-wise. I used organic Galas and overlapped the slices in a spiral shape. Then, salt makes another appearance. The surface was sprinkled with a couple of pinches of salt to help bring out the fruit’s flavor, Rodgers explains. Sugar was sprinkled over as well. The tart baked for 40 minutes, and I brushed on a honey glaze when it was cool.

The simpler the ingredient list, the more perfect each item needs to be. The apples were crisp and sweet, and the delicious, salted butter worked its magic. The crust was a little thin, so I’ll use a smaller pan next time, but that was my only complaint. The tart tasted of apply apples and buttery butter which may sound silly but that’s the best I can do. The flavors are very straightforward but magnified and better than ever. Try salted butter and try adding a pinch or two of salt over apples in this tart, and enjoy the really surprisingly elevated flavors that result.

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