Summer Bounty Meets the Fall Harvest
September is the limbo month. Monday can mean a scarf and gloves and by Friday the heat might have you back at the beach for some end of summer sun bathing. The morning’s crisp air brings the excitement of fall flavors, but the hot days keep you away from the oven. Straddling the waning days of summer and the coming cool of fall, September sits poised to take the best of both worlds: the best of summer’s late harvest and an early taste of autumn’s bounty.
Summer may be wrapping up but there still are more than enough fruits and veggies to keep you at least tasting summer for the next few weeks. Before making the transition to cooking butternuts and pumpkin, keep your eye out for a few more summer squashes to work into your meals. Zucchinis and yellow squash can be chopped and stir-fried, grated and tossed with angel hair pasta, or julienned and mixed into a slaw.
Tomatoes don’t go away until the frost comes, so take advantage of this time of year by transitioning from cold gazpachos to warm tomato soups blended with roasted red peppers, another veggie peaking this time of year. Eggplants that hit the grill for a vegetarian favorite the last few months can now move indoors for eggplant parmesan. Or try sliced up Japanese eggplant and toss with shrimp or cut chicken for an Asian stir-fry.
The early fall fruits and vegetables are not to be ignored and can marry easily with some of summer’s favorites. Relatively common vegetables like broccoli and cabbage are available year-round but are at their best in fall and winter, so seek out the arrivals now. Okra has just started to appear and can be worked in just as well into a warm veggie salad as it can into a heartier soup or stew.
The branches of citrus trees are heaviest with limes over the next month or two, perfect for warm weather fare like salsas and margaritas or for working into vinaigrettes for salads and fish. Apples and pears are two traditional fall fruits that work just as well in warm weather salads as they do body-warming pies.
As far as seasoning a dish goes, making the transition from bright fresh flavors of spring and summer to the richer flavors of fall and winter often means going from a heavy hand on the fresh herbs to working more through the spice cabinet. This is not to say fresh herbs are not available year-round, which they pretty much are whether you are growing sage in your garden or buying fresh basil in the store. It is just that much of what we associate with traditional fall flavors involves spices like cloves, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, and anise, all spices that we most often work with in the dried and ground form. Fresh herbs and dry spices do not have to be mutually exclusive; a side salad can use up the basil left in the garden in the vinaigrette while the main course of grilled meat or fish gets a dusting of Chinese Five Spice for that hint of fall flavors to come.
In regard to cooking techniques, you can really go any direction this time of year depending on what time and the day’s weather dictate. The days may be getting shorter but an early weekend barbecue (or some good outdoor lighting) means that barbecue does not have to go into hibernation just yet. But it might be cool enough that it’s okay to venture back into the kitchen and fire up the oven again. Grilled meats with a side of early fall cauliflower roasted to draw out its sweetness is a lovely combination. Warm soups, which you may have stayed away from over the last few months, are now a perfect use for end of summer corn in a chowder or eggplant that has been roasted and pureed.
Summer vacation may be long gone and the holiday season is still a couple of months away, but September can be fun all on its own. Combining the best of late summer with the early tastes of fall can make for some fun and interesting meals. The bright taste of fresh herbs in salads pairs very well alongside meats cooked with a bit of fall spice while the endless combos of summer and fall vegetables, as well as cooking techniques, will keep you busy in the kitchen all the way to Thanksgiving.
Made with zucchini, Napa cabbage, limes, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar, onion, salt, black pepper, basil leaves, ahi tuna steaks
Serves/Makes: 3
- 1 green apple
- 1 medium zucchini
- 3 large leaves Napa cabbage
- 2 limes, juiced
- 8 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup packed basil leaves, chopped
- 3 ahi tuna steaks
- 2 tablespoons five spice powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- additional salt and pepper
Cut the apple into quarters and remove the core. Leaving the skin on, slice each quarter into 1/8 inch slices. Take each slice and cut again into 1/8 inch strips for a julienne. Toss the apples with the lime juice in a medium bowl.
Cut the zucchini in half and proceed just as with the apple, cutting 1/8 inch thick slices and cutting the slices into 1/8 inch thick julienne. Cut each cabbage leaf horizontally into 1/8 inch thick strips. Toss cabbage and zucchini with the apple slices.
To a blender add 6 Tablespoons of the vegetable oil, minced onion, salt, pepper, and basil. Blend until smooth. Toss julienne-cut vegetables with the basil vinaigrette. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
Heat remaining 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil in a large saute pan over a medium high flame. Season tuna steaks with salt and pepper on both sides.
Mix together five spice powder and chili powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture on both sides of each tuna steak. When the pan is hot, sear tuna for about 1 minute per side for rare, 2 minutes per side for medium.
Remove tuna steaks to a cutting board. Slice each steak into 1/2-inch thick slices. Divide tuna slices up among individual plates and serve immediately with the slaw.
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