Roasted Red Pepper with Basil Ricotta

Perfect as an appetizer, veggie side, or doubled up for a main course, this tasty combo comes together a lot faster than you would think. Preheat your oven to 400, halve and remove the seeds and stems from your red peppers, then rub them with olive oil and salt and place them skin side down in a large roasting dish.

In a small bowl mix together some minced anchovy, one fillet per half pepper, minced garlic, and enough olive oil to form a mustard-like consistency. Spoon the mixture into the red pepper halves, and use a basting brush to spread it around. Roast for about 40 minutes, or until the peppers start to brown on the edges.

While the peppers are cooking, stir together some ricotta, chopped basil, extra virgin olive oil, and coarse salt to taste. Serve the peppers either right out of oven, or at room temperature, with a generous dollop of the ricotta mixture.

Roast Potato and Cucumber Salad

This time of year it’s all about going local, keeping it simple, and letting the flavors speak for themselves. And roasting versus boiling your potatoes will really bring out their September goodness.

Cut your fingerlings in half and toss with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can use another potato variety; just make sure to stick with one that will hold its shape like a red potato. Roast until well browned and cooked through, and then set aside to cool.

Cut an equal amount of cucumber into half inch chunks, along with some sliced scallion and chopped parsley. Toss them together with the potatoes, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simplicity at its best!

Tomato Almond Pesto

The extended summer weather means the tomatoes keep coming and coming, here’s an interesting pesto that will be ready long before your pasta is even cooked.

Throw a handful of slivered almonds in a food processor with a couple of peeled garlic cloves and half a teaspoon of salt, run until it forms a paste. Add a cup and a half of fresh cherry, or chopped tomatoes, and a half a cup of fresh basil. Pulse until it’s a chunky puree, adding some olive oil if it needs to be thinned out. Before tossing with your cooked pasta, salt to taste, and serve with grated parmesan.

Shrimp Curry

Just because it comes in a can, doesn’t mean it can’t be as good as a restaurant. Maesri curry paste from Thailand is the real deal, and if they have it in Warren, VT they must have it at your local market.

The dish comes together quickly, so it’s best to prep everything first. Start by coarsely chopping a medium sweet onion and a large handful of cilantro, peel the shrimp, shuck and cut the corn from the cob, open up a can each of red curry paste and coconut milk, and get some salted water boiling for the rice noodles.

Here we go, in a large heavy pot, saute the onion until translucent, then add the corn. After a few minutes add the coconut milk and red curry paste, then simmer for another five minutes. If it isn’t spicy enough, add some Sriracha to taste.

Next, throw your rice noodles into the boiling water, shut the heat, and let stand until they’re tender and drain. While the noodles are cooking, add the shrimp and cilantro to the curry sauce and continue to simmer until the shrimp are cooked though…it doesn’t take long. Throw some tomatoes in too if you have them, it is the season.

Serve over the noodles with plenty of sauce.