Beat the Heat!

Here I am on a Friday, blogging away. What got me out of bed at this hour, you ask? The inimitable--and totally hilarious--Grace of A Southern Grace is hosting a blog event called "Beat the Heat."

The challenge is to prepare a dish that does not require the use of any heat. With South Florida's temperatures in the 90's and the humidity at, like, 1,000 percent, and my clothes sticking to my skin every time I walk from my front door to my car, how could I not take up this challenge?

Interestingly, with this recipe, things got hot, but not because I turned on the stove.

Preparing this recipe, I learned a thing or two about poblano peppers. It turns out that the heat of poblano peppers varies a lot. One poblano might exude a pitiful amount of heat. Its presence may be barely discernible in a dish. You could use the whole pepper, seeds and all, no problem. And that's what I did when I made chiles rellenos on Sunday night: I used one entire poblano and got a satisfying, but not excessive, degree of heat from it.

And then--it turns out--there are poblanos that will scorch your skin as you chop them, make you cry with their fumes, and generally turn your dish into a steaming pit of hell-fire. That's what this little demon fruit nearly did to my gazpacho:

Cute, huh? I wasn't quite prepared for what it had in store. Let's just say that I sampled the recipe at just the right time. Always taste your recipes as you go along. All those screeching reality show chefs can't be wrong.

Because I took a bite of the gazpacho before dumping all of the poblano in there, I saved myself and my husband from a capsaicin conniption.

Conclusion: the amount of poblano that you include in this recipe will depend on the individual pepper and your tolerance for heat. I suggest that you sample a small piece of the pepper and proceed accordingly.

Citrus Gazpacho
A Fritter Original
Serves: 2

1 small fennel bulb, chopped
1 small shallot, minced
1 English cucumber, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon poblano pepper, chopped (see narrative above)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can of fire-roasted tomatoes, chilled (place the unopened can in the fridge for 30 minutes)
1/8 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped roughly
1 tablespoon fennel fronds, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 Valencia orange
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 avocado
4 tablespoons of chilled, pre-steamed crab meat (available at the fish counter)

In a medium bowl, combine the fennel, shallot, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, poblano pepper, garlic, tomatoes, flat-leaf parsley, and fennel fronds. Gently stir until well-incorporated. Add the lime juice and squeeze half of the orange over the gazpacho, and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve the remaining half of the orange for later use.

Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours, until ready to serve.

When ready to serve the gazpacho, scoop equal portions into 2 bowls. In a separate mixing bowl, gently toss the chilled crab with the juice from the remaining orange half. Top each bowl of gazpacho with two tablespoons of the crab. Garnish with several slices of avocado, and serve.

And here's the true genius of gazpacho: it moves effortlessly from dinner to brunch, like a tank top that looks killer with your Sevens and your sweat pants. Pulse your leftover gazpacho in your processor for 5 seconds, add a shot of vodka, and you've got the most vitamin-rich Bloody Mary around.

Boom! Two recipes in one!

Eggplant and Barley Salad

Not too long ago, I wrote about Fort Lauderdale's regular summer thunderstorms. Well, we're a bit off schedule today. As I write this, early in the morning, lightning is webbing the sky to my east and bursts of thunder are shaking the windows. If I abruptly end this post and you do not hear from me for weeks, it is because my computer got fried.

Changing subjects, in the last few weeks, a number of my friends and acquaintances have declared an intention to eat less meat.

Perhaps these vows have something to do with the recent coverage of the toll that large-scale meat operations take on the environment, perhaps they simply are reactions to the cost of meat in the check out aisle (an exhaustive discussion can be found here). Whatever the cause, I have been asked to post some vegetable-based recipes.

I am happy to oblige, partly because I like my friends, and partly because these requests suit my own ends. You see, I like vegetables. When I was in elementary school, I would eat salads as after-school snacks. This preference started because I liked the salad dressing that my mom bought, but eventually I came to like veggies on their own merits.

Eggplant is one of my favorites. I like tomatoes a lot, too. I started eating zucchini after deciding that it does not need to be squishy and slimy, if you prepare it correctly.

This eggplant and barley salad makes a lovely, cool summer meal. For those of you who take a dim view of rabbit food, it has the advantage of being a salad that is not based on fussy green leafies. This salad is a meal.

Turning back to the weather, it is now sunny and raining at the same time. That's kind of pretty.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad
Adapted from this recipe in Gourmet

1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 zucchini, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped scallion (from 1 bunch)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup pearl barley (8 oz)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
8 cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
4-6 Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and halved
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained if desired
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the eggplant and zucchini with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl, then spread in an even layer in a baking pan. Roast the vegetables in the oven, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Set aside and cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, cook the barley. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat, then saute the scallion, cumin, coriander, and cayenne, for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

Add the barley and stir so that it is coated with the spices. Saute the barley for 2 minutes, then add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Once the barley is cooked, spread it in a shallow baking pan so that it cools quickly to room temperature.

While the barley is cooling, make the salad dressing. Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large bowl. Add the barley, the roasted vegetables, and the remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss gently to coat with the dressing.

Serves: 4 entree portions, or 6 smaller side portions