2017 Buy Local Cookout Recipe – Smoked Summer Squash Caponata with Chèvre on Toast

Chef: Elise Wendland, The Comus Inn at Sugarloaf Mountain (Montgomery County)

Ingredients

3 pounds zucchini and summer squash
1½ pounds tomatoes
18 fresh red grapes
3 garlic cloves
1 small onion
8 large fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons capers
¼ cup olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper
8 ounces chèvre goat cheese
1 French baguette

Preparation
Makes 16 servings, 2 ounces each

To make the caponata begin by prepping the vegetables. It is important to cut all the vegetables the same size so they cook evenly. Remove the seeds from the zucchini, squash and tomatoes. Cut the vegetables into a small dice. Peel and dice the onion. Remove the grapes from the stem and cut each grape into four pieces. Mince the garlic and chiffonade the basil.

Preheat a large sauté pan with the olive oil. Add all the cut vegetables, onions, garlic and grapes. Sauté over medium heat for a few minutes and then add red wine vinegar, tomato paste, basil, smoked paprika and capers. Reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally and simmer until onions are cooked through and vegetables soft. Remove from heat and cool. While the caponata is cooling, pull the chèvre out of the refrigerator to soften. Slice and toast the baguette. To serve, spread the toasted baguette with a thin layer of chèvre and top with the warm caponata.

Producers Used in this Recipe

• Zucchini, Summer Squash, Tomatoes, and Onions – Lewis Orchards (Montgomery County
• Chèvre – Cherry Glen Farm (Montgomery County)

This recipe is featured on page 20 of the 2017 Buy Local Cookbook!