Zucchini, Burst Cherry Tomatoes and Shrimp Salad

It’s summertime—gardens are bursting with tomatoes and zucchini and hot peppers! Over the last few years I have been setting up little garden beds wherever I can fit them in my Los Angeles home’s small yard, but last winter I went whole-hog: I transformed my front lawn into four new raised garden beds, separated by gravel paths and succulents.  Over the winter, these new beds yielded bountiful crops of fava beans, Tuscan kale and all manner of lettuces. And as summer gets going, they are already producing great cherry tomatoes, hot peppers, zucchini and borlotti beans.

 

This has all been inspired by my childhood. While we never had a garden at our own house growing up, my grandfather was a proud gardener on a small patch of land in his yard. A true Italian, he grew as many of his own vegetables and herbs as he could fit. In fact, one of my favorite old photos is of my grandfather Giuseppe holding me as a baby in front of that garden (see photo). His gardening even led me to borrow some garden space from a neighbor, Mr. Vetter, where I proudly grew a cabbage bigger than my head!

 

So when people say you can’t grow vegetables and such in tiny Los Angeles yards, tell them they are wrong. All it takes is a small amount of space, some love and care, and before you know it the gardening bug will bite you, too!

 

This recipe serves 4 as an appetizer or first course.

 

•Good quality olive oil

 

•1 small onion, diced

 

•2 garlic cloves, whole with outside paper skin removed

 

•24 large shrimp, defrosted, shelled with tail on, and deveined

 

•¼ cup good quality tomato puree

 

•1 small branch of fresh rosemary

 

•4 small, straight-shaped zucchini

 

•1 fennel bulb

 

•2-3 small branches of fresh thyme

 

•1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes (rinsed and dried)

 

•¼-teaspoon dried oregano (Sicilian oregano if available)

 

•Pickled sliced hot Italian peppers (garnish)

 

•Black flying fish roe (garnish) – available a sushi counters or Japanese and Korean markets

 

This dish is intended for serving at room temperature. You can prepare portions early and then assemble right before serving.

 

•Mandolin slicer

 

•2” ring mold

 

In a sauté pan over medium heat add small splash of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the diced onions and 1 garlic clove. Sprinkle with a small pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent. Discard the garlic clove.

 

Add the tomato puree and the leaves from a small branch of rosemary. Reduce heat to low. Simmer until the rosemary has wilted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to your liking. There should be just enough sauce to coat the shrimp.

 

Add the shrimp turning once and coating with the sauce. Cook until the shrimp is cooked through; about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

 

Slice the zucchini on the mandolin slicer with the ¼-inch teeth raised and to a thickness of ¼-inch (or you could use one of those spiral slicer things!). Soak the zucchini in a bowl of cold water to separate the strands and make them more pliable.  Slice the fennel bulb to a ¼-inch thickness using the mandolin with the teeth lowered or removed.

 

In a sauté pan over medium heat, add a small splash of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the diced onions and 1 garlic clove. Sprinkle with a small pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent. Discard the garlic clove.

 

Add the sliced fennel and the thyme. Sauté until the fennel is soft and slightly caramelized.  Season with salt. Then drain the zucchini and add to the sauté pan. Season with more salt and some pepper. Sauté over medium heat until the zucchini is soft of a similar texture to the fennel. Remove from heat.

 

Heat a cast-iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed pan over high heat.

 

Add the cherry tomatoes and oregano, along with some salt and pepper. Shaking the pan occasionally, cook until the tomatoes burst, are slightly burnt and become a little saucy. Remove from heat.

 

Place a ring mold in the center of the plate. Twirl 1/4 of the zucchini mixture into the bottom of the mold.

 

Remove the shrimp from its sauce and place in a circular pattern on top of the zucchini.

 

Spoon 1/4 of the burst tomatoes around ring mold and remove the ring mold.

 

Garnish with a few pickled hot pepper slices and some black flying fish roe for a briny, crunchy texture.