It sure feels like the height of the summer when you step outside on this muggy, humid Friday, doesn't it? Today's GCF will be simple and full of quintessentially summery ingredients - fresh, local, and delish.
So let's get going!
I would probably utilize either some nice thin Mediterranean flat bread or even nicely toasted pita bread for this sandwich, less carbohydrate heavy than say a Pullman bread and on a day like today you want something light and easy don't you!?
The first ingredient that goes into this sandwich is summer squash. Summer squash is obviously a member of the squash family but do you know why it is called "summer" squash and not just regular squash? Two reasons:
1. It is harvested when really young so that one is able to ingest the skin etc.
2. It has an extremely short shelf life, unlike the winter squashes that have thicker skins which protect them and thus provide them with a longer shelf life.
Without getting too sidetracked here, let's get back to our GCF....Take one nice summer squash, you can generally tell if they are ready to use if they are not too hard or too soft to the touch, similar to telling if a zucchini is ready to use. Slice it really thinly. Toss this in a small skillet with some extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and some diced up shallots. Cover the pan and cook over very low heat for about six to eight minutes or until the summer squash is al dente, still crunchy yet somewhat cooked.
While your summer squash is cooking, it's time to make some homemade pesto with fresh basil. In the summer months, the basil that you buy is definitely locally sourced and tastes so much better than the basil shipped into our region in the winter months. So a nice simple pesto I think is a fantastic ode to my favorite herb. Let's keep things simple with this pesto, toss the following ingredients into your food processor and blend together.
One bunch of basil
Two cloves of garlic
1/3 - 1/2 cup of pine nuts
1/3 cup of Parmesan
Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Extra virgin Olive Oil
I like to add a little bit of red pepper flakes for a little kick.
Now once your pesto is done, top either side of your flat bread with your pesto, summer squash, and a few leaves of purple basil. Purple basil is also a quintessentially summery ingredient -- more intense and developed in flavor than its green cousin, this adds a nice color and flavor kick to your sandwich!
The sandwich's last ingredient is of course the cheese and here I choose to use the lovely Pyrenees Brebis, a sheep's milk cheese made in the Basque region of the French Pyrenees. With a yellowish orange rind and an ivory center -- this cheese is firm yet with an excellent melt in your mouth quality from the fat content of the sheep's milk utilized in the production of this cheese. It is aged for anywhere between four and six months and is full of herbacious, grassy, sweet, nutty notes -- the perfect complement to our fresh summer squash two basil pesto GCF. Go ahead and slice a few nice pieces of Pyrenees Brebis on top of your other sandwich ingredients and throw this baby under the heat. Once melted, enjoy this sandwich with a nice light white wine.
Happy Friday Folks!
No comments:
Post a Comment