Eating Local and Squash Carpaccio

So in the interim before I take possession of my new kitchen, I've occasionally been using other peoples' kitchens to cook. Recently I was inspired by Sur La Table's new cookbook, 'Eating Local -- The Cookbook Inspired by America's Farmers.' Normally I'm a little skeptical of cookbooks based on locavore/seasonal/ecological principles, not because I don't agree with these ideas, but because many locavore-oriented cookbooks are written by people who are not truly cooks at heart -- they are activists who also like to cook, and it shows in the recipes. Since I myself am just such a person (an activist who also likes to cook), I look for cookbooks that inspire me to become a better and more subtle cook.

When the farm I work for (Amy's Garden) was one of 10 small farms across the country profiled and referred to in this Eating Local cookbook, I was excited, but somewhat dubious about the quality of the recipes that would appear alongside all the pretty farm pictures. The book is, as many cookbooks today seem to be, just as much a coffee-table art book as it is a culinary resource. And that's great, because the pictures in it are absolutely lovely. For some reason, they make me excited to be working on a farm. As for the recipes...well, they're not bad. In fact, I actually kind of like them. They're cute and trendy and really fit with my cooking style, which means they don't cross seasonal boundaries, they specifically refer to and use many common market crops, and they're definitely not boring. So, with the first round of Zephyr squash on the table at the market and Eating Local under my arm, I actually went and cooked something.



This is my version of Eating Local's squash carpaccio. And yes, 'cooking' is a figurative term, since I didn't heat anything, but at this point in my culinary career, even this little salad is quite an accomplishment. I'll rewrite the recipe for you here since my version is diffferent than the one in the book.

2-3 medium-sized Zephyr yellow squash
1/4 bunch sorrel
walnuts
block of parmesan cheese
lemons
olive oil
salt and pepper
garlic

Cut the tops off the squash and peel off thin strips using a vegetable peeler. Mix up a nice vinaigrette with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and a clove of garlic. The proportions here aren't incredibly important, though I used a little less olive oil than I normally do, maybe just adding enough so that I had it in a 1:1 ratio with the lemon juice. Toss that vinaigrette with the squash strips. Toast walnuts and chop them coarsely, then add them as well. Chiffonade as much sorrel as you like, and toss that in. Now use that same vegetable peeler and add in nice thin pieces of parmesan. Add a little fresh-ground pepper when serving.