Dear Helen: With the zucchini plants producing so prolifically this summer, I was glad to see recipes in one of your columns for making quiche and pizza crusts with this vegetable. But the recipe I really wanted to see again was one you had in a column a while back for a zucchini tart. I had clipped it out of the paper and subsequently lost it. I’m sure other gardeners would like to try it.
L.S.
The zucchini tart you remember is a summer standby recipe in my home. It is from a cooking school called “Tutti a Tavola” (Everyone to Table) that was operating in the late 1990s in the Chianti district of Tuscany.
Torta salatadi zucchine(Zucchini tart)
1 golden onion
2 Tbsp butter
2 lb. zucchini, sliced
• salt
4 eggs
1 cup cream
• black olives, sliced
• Parmesan cheese, grated
1 pie shell
Sautée a sliced onion golden in 2 Tbsp butter.
Add 2 lb. sliced zucchini. Cook slowly in a covered pot for about 20 minutes. Add salt, cool slightly, and mix with a pre-blended combination of four eggs and 1 cup cream.
Arrange a pie shell in a broad, shallow pan and pierce it with a fork in several places. Pour the filling into the shell and bake at 375 F for about 25 minutes, until golden on top.
I often arrange sliced black olives and sprinkle grated parmesan on the tart before baking.
A wonderful variation on the zucchini tart is to substitute spinach and garlic for the zucchini. Start the same way by sautéeing an onion for a few minutes. Then add four or five finely minced garlic cloves. Add washed, drained, chopped spinach and cook, covered, until it is thoroughly wilted. I don’t measure the spinach, but when finely sliced and packed gently down it should probably fill around 4 cups. Still another tasty combination in the tart filling is leek and pea.
Dear Helen: A question you answered recently about saving bean seeds recommended a separation between varieties of 46 metres. Isn’t this an impossibly long distance in most gardens?
M.P.
Yes it is. Few home gardeners have huge spaces for growing vegetables. I was thinking the same thing as I researched the answer to the original question. That is why, before suggesting that long distance between bean varieties for the greatest possible protection against cross-pollination, I did mention that cross-pollination is not a usual problem with most beans.
I probably should have emphasized that optimistic point more in my answer. Because cross-pollination between most beans is infrequent, even simply growing a row of a different vegetable between rows of different bean varieties will decrease the likelihood of cross-pollination between the beans. For the separating row of a different vegetable consider choosing from among those that grow well with beans, such as cabbage family vegetables, potato, chard, or peas.
Dear Helen: I acquired a variegated sea holly called Jade Frost this year, because the plant is attractive and I have a close relative with that name. It is in a large pot. Do I need to plant it in the garden?
G.J.
Eryngium planum ‘Jade Frost’ is recommended for growing in both the open garden and containers. The plant is very hardy, down to zone 3 (-40 C) and should be all right kept in its pot over the winter.
The key issue will be to protect it from winter wet conditions. Though Jade Frost needs to be watered while the plant is becoming established, it will not tolerate wet soil, especially in winter. As the rains start up in the fall, move the pot to some area of overhead shelter, perhaps against a house wall that has a broad roof overhang to keep the rain off. You may have to give the pot’s soil the odd dribble of water during the winter to keep it from drying completely.
Saturday: I’ll be taking time off from writing a column for Saturday on this coming holiday weekend. A happy Labour Day to all. May you revel in the bounty of your gardens as you celebrate and honour the gift of useful work.
GARDEN EVENT
Lily meeting. The Victoria Lily Society will meet on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Salvation Army Citadel, Quadra at McKenzie. John from Elk Lake Garden Centre will give a presentation on Growing Lillies in Pots.
