FROM THE MOON VOL. 1
Welcome to our new journal series, FROM THE MOON, where we talk about some our favorite things we’ve been into lately. We’ll be sharing good food, ideas, people, places, and everything under the moon that’s giving us inspiration and truly enriching our lives.
In our home, we listen to music while engaging in all kinds of activities. So this series will generally be geared towards the things that we often find ourselves enjoying while listening to music. I would say one of the most important pursuits we have as a family is cooking, and we always have tunes on in the background while we cook. Usually, our 7 year old daughter will saunter into the kitchen to help out for hot second and then dance her way back out to the music a few minutes later. Thanks for the help Rowen!
We cook a LOT, and we are kind of intense about it. Often times, we’ll focus on a single region or cookbook and cook our way through it for a few weeks or a month. I mean, once you have all of the ingredients on hand, you may as well take advantage of all of that prep work you’ve done. And it’s become a form of travel for us over the years. During the pandemic especially, it was a way to escape and feel as if we were experiencing someplace new. Learning about a culture through food, the ingredients, the colors, and the history of the dishes can evoke all of the senses in a way that can make you feel like you are there. Throw on a little local music on in the background and it can really be transportive.
Earlier in the summer we happened upon Jamie Oliver’s cooking series on Discovery Plus called, Jamie Cooks Italy. I honestly don’t know how I managed to miss this one for so long. I’ve got loads of his cook books from way back when he was just starting out. So we’ve been a fan for a long time. In this series, he travels around Italy to different regions picking up recipes from Italian nonnas eager to pass down their family secrets. It’s charming, and makes you want to cook. And Jamie has such an informal way of preparing food that is loose and non fussy, engaging and genuine. He travels with his friend and mentor Gennaro Contaldo, who is the BEST HYPE MAN of all time. Please watch it for no other reason than to hear the delight and enthusiasm from Gennaro as he helps Jamie prepare the dishes. He is a treasure. A treasure I tell you. Watch it. You will not be disappointed.
After we finished the series I bought the cookbook and we’ve been working our way through our favorite recipes from the show. Today we are sharing one of our favorites from the book, which is actually reminiscent of another, very similar, from one of his earliest cookbooks that I’ve been making for years. We’ll pair it up with a basic grilled chicken and a big loaf of crusty bread for a quick summer meal that looks way more impressive than the time you’ve put into it. This newer version is more elevated but comes together quickly, and I have deemed it THE salad of the summer. I’ve been substituting local Texas peaches instead of the apricots. And I’m using greens and variety of hot summer herbs from our garden like basil and mint and dill. I’ve also been substituting white balsamic for the vinegar because it’s a bit sweeter and all I had on hand when I made it the first time, but we loved it paired with the peaches. Also, let me just say that pink peppercorn is my new favorite spice. Wait till you crush it and smell that floral pepperiness. I’m now trying to figure out how to incorporate more pink peppercorn into my life!
Buon appetito!
This is the recipe as it appears in the cookbook Jamie Cooks Italy, and I’ve put my substitutions in italics next to the ingredient list. Use what you have if you can’t find what’s mentioned. It’s a very forgiving recipe.
And for your viewing pleasure, you can watch Gennaro make it here. He’s precious. Just precious I tell you.
Jamie Oliver’s Grilled Apricot Salad
SERVES 4 | 25 MINUTES
Ingredients
8 ripe apricots - I used Texas peaches here because they are local and seasonal right now
8 sprigs of fresh thyme, ideally the flowering kind
olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar - I used white balsamic instead because that’s what I had on hand
extra virgin olive oil
1 big pinch of pink peppercorns
1⁄2 a red onion - I used shallots here, again because that’s what I had at the time
2 large handfuls of salad leaves, such as escarole, Castelfranco, wild rocket - I used mixed greens and added basil and mint leaves as well
4 slices of prosciutto
125g ball of mozzarella cheese
1 lemon
Method
Put a griddle pan on a high heat. Halve and de-stone the apricots then, on a platter, toss with half the thyme sprigs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place the dressed fruit cut side down on the hot griddle for 6 minutes, or until charred and caramelized, turning halfway.
Meanwhile, pour the vinegar on to the platter with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Crush and crumble the pink peppercorns over the platter, then peel, very finely slice and sprinkle over the onion, giving it a little mix in the dressing to lightly pickle it. Pick through your salad leaves, tearing or slicing the larger ones. Add to the platter and gently toss together, then season to perfection. Tear the prosciutto and it drape over in waves.
Gently tear open the mozzarella, season with sea salt, black pepper, a fine grating of lemon zest and a few drips of extra virgin olive oil, then tear over the salad. Place your grilled apricots in and around the salad, sprinkling over any crispy thyme leaves and the remaining leaves and flowers. Drizzle with a tiny bit more extra virgin olive oil, then serve.
Oliver, Jamie. “Grilled Apricot Salad.” Jamie Cooks Italy. Penguin Random House, 2018. 54. Print.
RHUBARB AND CREAM CHEESE HAND PIES
And last but not least, this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen is one that I referred to in our Instagram post last week on the Strawberry Moon. I added fresh strawberries from our garden in with the rhubarb and omitted the cream cheese layer because I wanted an all fruit pie this time. They were a huge hit, so easy to make, and will definitely be in regular rotation in the spring and early summer when rhubarb is in season. You are welcome.
