Summer is here

Plums
I was at a Food52 board meeting this week and we were looking at where the company is going.  It was a great collaborative thought provoking meeting which is always a good thing.  We were looking at a few things and on the screen I noticed a plum salad with mozarella and balsamic vinegar.  I could not get it out of my head.  I told Amanda and Merrill I was going to have to make that over the weekend. 

We got out to the beach and I picked up some fresh mozzarella at Balsam Farms.  Josh opened it up and took a bite and said "this is so good" and after finishing the piece off he declared that it was officially summer.  It is summer where I spend a tremendous amount of time cooking and everything just tastes so damn good because it comes from the local farms.

Our friends came over for dinner and I made two salads next to a piece of local swordfish.  The first salad is with the plums.

1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup pine nuts toasted

1/4 cup chopped mint

1 large piece of room temperature mozzarella

4 plums sliced in half and pitted

Boiled down the balsamic vinegar on a medium high until it become thick.  About 10 minutes.  Then add the plums and turn off the heat, let them sit in there for a few minutes.  I then took them out of the sauce with a slotted spoon and sat them in a separate bowl until you serve the dish.  We had some local plums that were very small so I used about 10 of them so up to you based on size. 

Sliced the mozzarella, place the plums on top, dribble the boiled down balsamic over the top, toss some pine nuts on top and chopped mint.  Voila.

Asparagus
There were also fresh peas at the farm stand.  I shelled them and put them in boiling water for a few minutes tops.  There was also freshly cut asparagus.  I grilled the asparagus.  We had a few tomatoes left over from lunch so I chopped them up.  I made a simple French vinegarette, mixed it with the tomatoes and built the salad.  Asparagus on the bottom, peas over the top and the tomato mixture over that.  Season with some salt. 

I agree with Josh, summer is here. 

Comments (Archived):

  1. Lisa Abeyta

    Looks delightful; I’m going to have to try this if I can find some fresh plums. That is the one thing I miss living in NM – very few farm stands and very few choices from the ones that exist. Of course, all is forgiven when the chile crops are in and the aroma of fresh roasting chiles waft through all of the grocery store parking lots.

    1. Gotham Gal

      honestly you could use chiles to do this with a little sugar and balsamic it would probably be delicious.

      1. Lisa Abeyta

        Hmmmm – I think if I use fresh red chiles, which have a bit sweeter base, you’re right. I’ll have to try it and let you know how it goes.

  2. Laura Yecies

    I had my “summer is here” moment just Monday evening. June has been incredibly busy with work then hectic weekend in NJ for a wedding. Drove out to Montauk Monday afternoon, lots of traffic on the LIE – stressful drive. Finally get to Gosmans where I was meeting my family for dinner. I step out of the car, take a deep breath and smell the ocean. My entire body relaxed as I got immediately into vacation/summer mode. It’s interesting how much scents can trigger strong emotions.

    1. Gotham Gal

      The beach definitely has that calming effect. Enjoy your time out there

  3. JLM

    .Love the salads.We get a bit more summer in Texas — starts officially on Memorial Day and a sunburn if you can get one.Ends on the first night Longhorn football game when one does not break a sweat. Well after Labor Day.Happy Birthday, America, we all really love you. Happy summer to everyone.Is this a great country or what?JLM.

  4. daryn

    Sounds delicious. Always looking for things to do with the wealth of plums from the tree in our backyard.